Picture Perfect Panini is Delicious!

The West County Mall has been doing the, "Pop up eateries," and it has allowed me to try some delicious new food places! Today, I had the opportunity to meet the folks behind Picture Perfect Panini and try some of their tasty food. I enjoyed their chicken bacon, and ranch panini with some fries, with it being yummy. I also tried their fried Oreos, those were a treat! Everything was really good and I'd encourage anyone in the region to visit the West County Mall while they are there through January 22nd or to visit their food truck whenever it is in your area during the upcoming warmer months.

People Are Really, "Excited," About the Newly Redesigned, "Clue," Characters and it Says a Lot About the Fantasy of Faux-Danger

The internet. It is a place where someone is bound to have an opinion the complete opposite of yours, no matter how absurd. Also, it is a place where everyone is horny--especially for danger. It happens often. We had folks wishing a 10-foot-tall female character from, "Resident Evil: The Village," would seduce them and possibly also step on them back in 2021, Now we have it where lots of people are hoping the cast of a newly redesigned, "Clue," will give them orgasms as opposed to blunt-force trauma--or maybe both? Seriously, I stumbled upon at least two articles on sites I frequent that covered how folks think the new box cover art for, "Clue," looks like everyone is giving you, "Come hither eyes," and/or plotting to kill you. Having looked at the cover art, I do admittedly see where people are coming from but I think the intentions do look more murderous than erotic.

While we all enjoy cute stories of happy romance, people also like danger. The risk is sexy. Hence, lots of people see the cast of Clue, notice the illustrations are a bit attractive, consider the danger that a murder might happen a sexy bonus, and get really thirsty--especially it seems for Chef White. No one wants to be in actual danger, of course, it is a fantasy. Just as people like to read erotic novels about characters in the Victorian era or a dystopian future, it is fun to imagine something dangerous and sexy. Folks role-play all kinds of stuff that would not be okay in real life because it is dangerous or illegal (if you ever actually have a naughty nurse during a hospital stay that is more likely to result in a call to HR than a letter to Penthouse). It just is interesting that of all the things that are intentionally raunchy on the internet that a whole bunch of people got horny for a game of, "Clue." I wonder if the Monopoly Man is due for a sexy redesign too? After all, what's hotter than real estate?

People Are Mad About a Story Where the Joker Becomes, "Pregnant," and Vomits up a Shape-Shifting Mud Monster

Bear with me here. There is an out-of-continuity backup story in, "The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing," #4 that is intended to be funny with a dash of body-horror. The Joker angers the magician Zatanna and she casts a spell that makes him pregnant. He vomits up a sentient pile of mud that can shape-shift so it makes itself look like a young Joker in order to avoid the narcissistic psychopath from killing it. The whole thing is played for laughs. However, folks heard all kinds of crazy things about the story and got mad.

Some people think it is a story about the Joker being transgender and somehow having Batman's baby. To the credit of some sites, they realize this is silly (even TMZ can see the intended absurdity). Fox News totally missed the point, however, along with others who think this is some kind of, "Woke liberal conspiracy," as opposed to the Joker magically getting pregnant with sentient mud he throws up. I know a lot of people don't fully understand how babies are born, but they don't emerge as self-aware vomit.

There are no gender politics at play here, and even if there were, who cares? The Joker was magically made pregnant by Zatanna, puked up some shape-shifting mud, and more silliness will follow in the next issue. Chill out, people.

I Wonder What Could Have Been With the Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley's, "Hulk," Run

One thing to get out of the way is how "Immortal Hulk," was an amazing comic and whatever came after it was sure to fail to measure up. Still, when it was announced Donny Cates would be writing a new, "Hulk," comic and Ryan Ottley would illustrate it, that gave me hope we would get something cool and different from, "Immortal Hulk," even if it wouldn't be as magical. Then the, "Hulk," comic started and it was pretty cool and zany! It crossed over with the, "Thor," comic Cates had been writing for a while and then...was really delayed. Super delayed. Suddenly fill-writers seemed to become permanent on, "Thor," and, "Hulk," with Ottley taking over the writing and drawing. At some point, Marvel decided it was better to just outright cancel the comic than retool it because after it became apparent Cates was gone and Ottley was going to be done too. Therefore, the whole thing will end with issue #14. It's like someone suddenly yelled, "Shut it down," and the series with its Titan Hulk and other fun weirdness went kaput.

There have been ample rumors about why Donny Cates has seemed to quit all his Marvel series as of late. More optimistic theories are that he is working on something big for Marvel--possibly with Greg Capullo. Some people think he had some kind of emotional breakdown for one reason or another. He has confirmed he is single and went through a divorce and needed a break due to various life events. I honestly don't know what Cates did or did not go through but as a fan of his work wish him the best. If it turns out he is doing something really snazzy like bringing back the Ultimate Universe or such I will be pleased, and if he simply needs to take time for his mental health and do a few creator-owned series and chill, I'm happy for him as well. I just wonder what could have been with his and Ottley's run on, "Hulk," if everything had continued as initially planned. 

Ottley has expressed he'll be moving back to shorter runs on various creator-owned series as after doing, "Invincible," a long time and now abbreviated, "Hulk," run he wants to dabble in various titles briefly as opposed to spending all his time on a single book. Cates is mostly radio silent about future plans with his comics but will probably share more when he is ready. It's just a bummer.

Flashback Friday: "Final Crisis," Was Great, Even if it Was a Mess

D. Emerson Eddy has a new post on Comicsbeat in which they discuss how, "Final Crisis is a bit of a mess. It’s also one of the greatest events that DC has ever published." I honestly could not agree more. "Final Crisis," was a mixture of its own self-contained weirdness thanks to writer Grant Morrison, something that had been led into via other DC series by different writers, and the climax of a bunch of Morrison's own other DC that was seemingly unrelated to, "Final Crisis," but arguably more important than official tie-ins or lead-up series. You can both read it by itself and be confused, or read it with everything that relates to it and...still be pretty flabbergasted, but still in a good way.

As Eddy says, "It's a spectacular mess." The art is great, even as fill-in talents were needed due to delays, the story is at its most basic about ultimate evil (Darkseid) versus ultimate good (Superman and other versions of Superman from various realities too). However, that is extremely reductive to say as all kinds of other random stuff gets thrown into the story too, from sentient computers (OMAC) kids from the future (Kamandi), other random New Gods, there is intrigue from outer space via Green Lanterns, the, "Batman R.I.P.," storyline Morrison was doing heavily overlaps with everything, Martian Manhunter dies, Barry Allen comes back to life, Monitor-related characters return, an Obama-inspired Presidential Superman appears, and more, and more, and more, damn it! People have talked about how, "Crisis on Infinite Earths," or, "Infinite Crisis," felt a bit like DC was taking everything and the kitchen sink and combining it into an event. Well, "Final Crisis," does that and shatters the sink into a bunch of random asides and concepts that don't quite glue back together perfectly but still manage to make something functional and cool.

I was not very familiar with the DC Universe when I read, "Final Crisis." The only DC series I had been following closely at that point were, "Green Lantern," and, "Batman." I was incredibly overwhelmed, confused, and unsure of what the Hell was happening in the event. I still had a great time reading it, though. If that isn't the definition of a mess that is also somehow amazingly great, I am unable to say what is.

Frankie's Comics Files for Bankruptcy/The Beginning of the End for Store Variants?

Frankie's Comics, an online store specializing in store variants, has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A, "Store Variant," is a variant cover for a new comic exclusively sold by one or a handful of stores. They can have great artwork but usually have zero value to speculators or such. They look good though and have been popular at points. I guess the popularity has clearly waned, though. 

I saw the bankruptcy discussed in some comic forums I frequent and then Bleedingcool made a post about it today as well. According to the paperwork, Frankie's owes about one million dollars to companies ranging from comic distributors such as Diamond and Penguin Random House to Paypal. Artist Ivan Tao is due $6,000 as well. One sticking point is that Frankie's isn't going out of business (in theory) with a Chapter 11 filing but can fix things and then supposedly get back on track. I doubt many companies would want to trust them again, however. It also sucks that Ivan Tao can't even be paid the 6K he is owed while they actively sell the comic he made the variant cover for--that personally strikes me as sleazy.

Ivan Tao's cover he is actively owed money for.

Full disclosure, a couple years ago I bought some fun store variant covers from Frankie's and other retailers off-and-on but I quit buying them as they just took-up space and basically cost a premium for the same comic you can get at any store with a slightly cooler cover. Having your business do essentially nothing but store variants just sounds like a bad idea, and Frankie's owing more than a million dollars to a bunch of people makes me wonder if we are at the beginning of the end of the store variant era? At one point it seemed every comic store was doing a store variant for the latest hot comic, but the market has significantly cooled and folks aren't spending nearly as much on, "Key," issues of comics, let alone brand-new store variants.

I will be watching with great curiosity if Frankie's Comics can weather this bankruptcy and emerge stronger and solvent. If they truly end up out of business, however, I do wonder if other retailers that specialize in basically just store variants will find themselves in trouble too.

My Article About, "10 Movies That Show Why Dogs Are Great!," is Posted on Cinemaways!

I will write articles for my chums at other sites on occasion and I recently did just that for the good folks over at Cinemaways. I contributed an article about, "10 Movies That Show Why Dogs Are Great!" and enjoyed discussing an assortment of quality films featuring puppies and full-grown canines (both real and animated). Give my article a read here and let me know if I forgot any dog-featuring movies that you believe deserve more praise!

"The Journey Of Marcel Grob," Is a Fascinatingly Tragic Story

I am on the press list for the publisher Dead Reckoning and always enjoy the historically-centered comics they release. Their latest original graphic novel is, "The Journey of Marcel Grob." It is an intriguing piece of historical fiction, opening in the year 2009 as 83-year-old Marcel Grob finds himself questioned about ties to the Nazis back during World War II. Was he forced to join the Nazi army and did his best to not hurt anyone, or was he a willing volunteer who eagerly committed war crimes? Author Philippe Collin and illustrator Sébastien Goethals explore Marcel's story as he discusses to a judge why he was conscripted from the German-speaking region of France known as Alsace but had zero desire to actually be a Nazi.

Collin does an expert job at showing us what it must have been like to be a regular civilian terrified that an occupying force is making you join them--and you know they're the villain but can do quite little about it. The Nazi's were unquestionably evil, vicious, and terrible, but Marcel is stuck among them trying his best not to end up on the wrong end of any fellow soldier's rifles.

It also really struck me was how superb Goethal's art was. The present is illustrated in a crisp and clear style, but as we move into the past things are a bit more loose and hazy, just as the memories of long ago would be in a symbolic sense. Goethal draws the beauty of the sun over a beach with the same careful precision as horrific scenes of villages being massacred.

There is a chapter of text at the end of the book featuring a descriptive historical account by Christian Ingrao--a specialist in the history of Nazisim--which breaks down the very real incidents portrayed in the book through the eyes of the fictional Marcel Grob. It makes it discusses how his story of being forced to join the Nazis was that of many French in Alsace who then had to deal with shame and embarrassment for the rest of their lives when it came to what they did during World War II.

"The Journey of Marcel Grob," is a beautifully done portrayal of a grotesque time in history. Collin's writing and Goethal's art are both superb and Ingaro's breakdown of the history itself serves as an insightful epilogue to the book. I'd rate this publication...

5 out of 5 stars.

My Review of, "Bro-D Can't Be Broken," Is Up at Forces of Geek!

I wrote a review of the upcoming graphic novel, "Bro-D Can't Be Broken," for my friends over at Forces of Geek. Written and illustrated by Benjamin Humeniuk, this Young Adult-geared book was pretty snazzy! You can read my full review on the FOG website here.

Happy New Year 2023/Links to All of the 2022 in Review Posts

Happy 2023! I hope your 2022 ended well and let's also hope that 2023 kicks off and continues in a pleasant manner. In alphabetical order, I present my posts that looked back over what is now last year...

Album of the Year: Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

Food Item of the Year: Bone-In Chicken Wings

Mom and Son of the Year: Samii and Clarkson

Movie Franchise Shake-Up of the Year: DC and Warner Brothers Discovery in General

New Comics of the Year

Television Shows of the Year: Silly Dating Shows

Video-Games of the Year: The Quarry and Marvel Snap