After All That Merging, Warner Brothers Discovery Might Split Split Itself Up

Warner Brothers Discovery was formed when Warner Brothers bought up Discovery--obviously. The company has slashed and burned everything from a mostly complete, "Batgirl," movie to video-games, and so forth in an effort to save money and not run at a loss. A lot of the, "Thanks," for this goes to David Zaslav and the company still finds itself struggling. The latest idea? Split everything back up because why the Hell not?

As Mary Kate Carr over at the AV Club tells it, "WBD is apparently considering splitting itself up, so that the movie studio and streaming service (Max) would be one company and the linear networks (CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery Channel, etc.) would be another." Warner Brothers Discovery was recently considering acquiring more stuff with Paramount but now the plan is to do the opposite, it appears. I really feel like WBD is at the point where they spin a wheel with random ideas and do whatever it says. Sometimes the wheel declares, "Shelve a movie," and other times it says, "Reboot the DC Universe." Now it says, "Maybe try splitting up stuff?" Between the aforementioned Paramount having woes (they ended up getting bought by Skydance) and Warner Brothers Discovery struggling, things are rough. Perhaps having a handful of merged megacorporations that try to run everything but fail miserably at it isn't a smart idea after all? Who would've thought an economic dystopia would be bad--besides everyone?

Chip Zdarsky Published a Comic Newsletter/Mini-Magazine ONLY About His Comics and It's Hilarious

Chip Zdarsky writes (and sometimes draws) damn good comics ranging from funny to surprisingly serious. I say it is startling they are sincere as in his personal life he seems to be a pretty wacky guy. Everyone describes him as pretty chill, funny, and wacky. The guy once was a reporter in Canada, struck up a friendship with the Facebook page of an Applebees and now has done something both hilarious, clever, and self-aware in its vanity. Chip Zdarsky has put out his own version of a comic-book newsletter/zine/whatever that stores get, but it only is about comics he works on. It is, "Zdarsky Comic News." It is completely free to pick up and stores got this batch at no cost. There will be future issues and they'll be cheap for stores to get, apparently. Zdarsky's internet newsletter (so he's got two forms now, basically) discusses how he did it out of a love of comic shops, print, and self-promotion.

I'm all for this as I literally just posted yesterday about how I miss print publications focused on comic-books with things like, "Wizard," gone and, "The Comics Journal," making one huge issue every year or two. A little weird mini-magazine created by Chip Zdarsky is entertaining and I support him doing it. If more creators, publishers, fans, or whatever start making small comic-focused magazines I will support them too. Pick up your copy of ZCN at a local shop just like how I did, there should be some free.

"American Nature Presents," #1 is a Lovely Blend of Comics and Articles

Floating World Comics is a stellar publisher and I try to read almost anything they release. One new publication is, "American Nature Presents." A nice comic/magazine it only costs $6 but is full of, "All killer, no filler," content. There are some awesome comics by talents such as Joss Pettinger (of, "Tedward," fame) and more. There is a big interview with various folks from the comic-book biz, articles exploring everything from anime to back in the day when we had Winamp skins (ask someone born in the 1900s), and it is just an incredibly fun read--and positively a steal at six bucks. There are reviews, a fun classified section, and just lots of cool stuff.

As someone who loves print magazines and sometimes is sad they aren't nearly as popular as back in the day, having something such as, "American Nature Presents," is wonderful. We just don't really have magazine publications anymore focused on discussing comics besides how once every year or so, "The Comics Journal," does a mega-tome. Something that mixes journalism with some comics is fun and nowadays quite rare. I'd highly recommend buying a copy of, "American Nature Presents," #1, and I hope that a bunch more issues get made!

5 out of 5 stars.

The ToyMan Show Yesterday Was a Hoot!

Yesterday, July 14th, I had the chance to attend the latest ToyMan Show. It was great fun, as always, and so many cool vendors and creators were there. There was the usual assortment of vintage toys, comics, Funko Pops, Lego, Barbie, Hot Wheels, VHS tapes, original art, and more. I started the show by visiting with my friend, Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles. I then chatted with Joh from the awesome store Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles. Jack Thomas of Fortress Comics was selling great books, as was my chum Tim Metzger. I picked up some cool comics for cheap from my friends Dustin and Tammy too:

I also enjoyed catching up with Bruce Reynolds and Vince of VK Toys on the main show floor while shopping. Tom from Alliance Comics, Toys, & Games was at ToyMan too! Here is a cool picture of the show floor from the morning while things were being set up:

In the upstairs area, I had fun talking with my friend Jack AKA Storyboardlad who had his usual cool art prints for sale. I also saw my buddies who are authors, Jessica Mathews and Lindsay Hornsby. Lindsay had an awesome new coloring book I bought for Clarkson to enjoy of the Princess Pups:

This ToyMan show was incredibly fun just like every ToyMan show is. I always get so excited anytime its the day for ToyMan and now eagerly await August 25th for the next one!

Somebody Tried to Assassinate Trump/What a Mess America is

Today a bullet grazed the ear of former President Trump while he spoke at one of his campaign rallies. A chunk of the internet is already claiming it was somehow staged and another segment of folks are declaring it must be some kind of secret liberal elite plot with high-up Democrats trying to, "Get," Trump. I also saw a meme saying that Hunter Biden is involved somehow because this World is a mess, and we don't live in a true reality so much as everyone has their own pocket reality. What we do know is that in the late afternoon/early evening, someone apparently tried to shoot Donald Trump and a bullet grazed his ear. The shooter is dead as well as a bystander, from early reports. Others are critically injured.

I honestly don't think this was staged because in this day and age how could anyone keep something so big a secret? I also don't think that Joe Biden or other powerful Democrats are somehow using a deep state or something silly. I am pretty sure that before long we will find out someone who was mentally unwell and shouldn't have been able to access a firearm got their hands on a gun and wanted to kill Donald Trump. Whether they were a liberal, some kind of conservative mad at Trump for not being right-wing enough in their mind, or not even political and instead suffering from some kind of delusions unrelated to politics will undoubtedly be revealed. I am almost positive it will be some lone person who was--as we basically define it--crazy.

I don't ever want violence in politics. Whether we agree with or hate a candidate we shouldn't wish them dead. I dislike seeing all the jokes about this from those with left or right political leanings. Everyone seems to have an agenda about what happened today and is writing their own narrative before we know anything about the gunman, even if I'm doing that to some degree assuming it will be some mentally disturbed person. This was a bad day in our Nation and something is wrong in America. What exactly that is I wish I could say, then we could try and fix it. For now though, here we are. One Nation, Under Chaos.

Film Friday: "Captain America: Brave New World," Has a Teaser Trailer

"Captain America: Brave New World," isn't due for release until early February of 2025, but is close enough that the first teaser trailer just dropped. Rumor has it the movie went through extensive reshoots and cost a pretty penny, but things look pretty snazzy based on the trailer alone, I'd say.

I see we've got Harrison Ford as President, "Thunderbolt," Ross, replacing William Hurt due to his passing in real life, Tim Blake Nelson is back after not appearing since, "Incredible Hulk," way back in 2008, and Giancarlo Esposito is a mysterious baddie that people think could be a dude named George Washington Bridge or Moon Knight's foe, Bushman. The main plot seems to be that Ross can't trust anyone outside of Anthony Mackie's Captain America due to a lot of people being after him. There the trailer has a big spy-thriller vibe and I've seen some folk online dig it and others think it looks mediocre. Some people have expressed concerns about an Israeli character as well due to recent World events between Israel and Palestine, but how big a role that character plays remains to be seen. Give the trailer a view here:

Did you notice that cool thing at the end? Yep, we've got a Red Hulk, one assumes played by Harrison Ford because Ross is, of course, the Red Hulk in the comics. "Deadpool and Wolverine," comes out this July and will arguably tee up the rest of the Marvel slate for the foreseeable future, so assuming that is a hit and then this is as snazzy as it may look perhaps Marvel will be back on track after some recent box-office struggles.

Happy First Birthday to Gibson!

Exactly a year ago today--very early in the morning--our baby Gibson was born! It is wild to think that Gibson is now a big one-year-old. He is a sweet and smart little guy who wants to crawl everywhere and eat anything tasty he sees. He loves to try and climb all over his big brother, Clarkson, too. Clarkson is generally patient with Gibby. We love our boys so much and are thankful to have Gibson as a wonderful addition to the family. Happy Birthday to our lovely boy!

BOOM! Studios Bought by Penguin Random House

I've been a fan of BOOM! Studios since the company's early days. One fun fact is there were the first, "Bigger," publishers to be willing to put my blog on their press list years ago for news updates and such. That was a mini-honor for me to feel recognized in that way. Well, it seems the people behind BOOM! Studios have decided to sell, with the company now bought by Penguin Random House. PRH is known for publishing a lot of books and being the main distributor for Marvel Comics. BOOM! will become part of the Random House Worlds portfolio of imprints alongside Del Rey, Inklore, and the RH Worlds licensing program and weirdly enough will still be distributed by Diamond (for now) due to previous deals, I surmise.

This makes me concerned because too often a smaller company is acquired by a larger one only to lose whatever made it special--or eventually closed/taken apart. Think about all the game studios that get bought up and then stripped for parts by larger companies. Consider how Amazon bought Comixology and eventually destroyed it. I have a desire for PRH to do right by BOOM! Studios, but I worry. There will obviously be a chunk of layoffs during this acquisition AKA "Redunacies," but let's hope things stay (mostly) stable.

More Information is Leaking About DC's New, "Absolute," Line of Comics

DC is going to be launching a new Ultimate Universe-style line of comics called, "Absolute." That was rumored a while ago but there is now concrete proof in the form of an, "Absolute Batman," ashcan due to release at the upcoming Comic-Con International AKA San Diego Comic-Con. This new Absolute Universe will run concurrently with the standard DC Universe and they will somehow connect/acknowledge each other via, "DC All-In," which is the term for the new publishing initiative of the standard DC Universe and the Absolute version--two narrative strands that will intertwine in some fashion, I suppose?

The latest Ultimate Universe that Marvel is doing have been a lovely surprise of great stories so if DC wants to experiment a bit without going too far (the New 52 was a lot, after all), I'm all for it. The biggest mystery as of now is how everything will connect. I imagine CCI/SDCC will answer many questions, so I look forward to late July!

The Kickstarter Campaign has Launched for, "Widow Unleashed," #11 and #12

Are you fan of comics full of action, horror elements, and a good dose of eroticism too? Well, then you should back the epic collection of, "Widow," comics that creator Mike Wolfer has been doing lately via Kickstarter. He is the writer and artist with Natalie Jane as the letterer. These new editions are known as, "Widow: Unleashed," collecting material from various iterations of the comic while also tweaking storytelling and art to give everything an extra nice metaphorical sheen. The newest campaign is for issues #11 and #12.

All the original, "Widow," stuff is reproduced and fixed up as well as the more explicit segments from the, "Widow X," version of the comic that were published at one point being incorporated as well--this isn't a simple adult/porny comic or such, with tons of story, awesome art, and more. I've been a fan of Wolfer's work for years and he's a friend of the blog so I always like to promote his Kickstarter campaigns here and back them--that's right, I always put my money where my mouth is with Wolfer's great comics! You can back the new Kickstarter campaign for issues #11 and #12 here with it easy to get the earlier issues as well so don't ever think it is too late to check out this awesome series!