Before Halloween, Let's Dispel Two Big Myths Relating to the Holiday

Every year I see two false things get repeated about Halloween. They are:

1. Check your candy for razors/drugs/something dangerous because people could do bad things to candy!

2. Black cats shouldn't be adopted out because people use them as decor and return them or do awful things to them.

You're theoretically more likely to find candy in your razor blades than the other way around,
if you think about it from a humorus angle.

First off, the whole razors-in-candy nonsense is mainly an urban legend with a bunch of made-up stories, hoaxes, and a real-life case where someone poisoned their own child's Halloween candy to collect life insurance money. As for addictive drugs...who the Hell is giving drugs away for free? I swear, DARE taught me that I wouldn't be able to walk down the street without dealers offering me free doses of the hardest smack available, yet the most I've ever been offered by anyone is a beer or a joint from my friends who drink or smoke cannabis (I always decline as I hate beer and don't like smoking anything). If someone is on drugs, they aren't going to give them away to their kids. Have you ever tried to help an addict kick a habit and had to basically pry the drugs from their hands? Plus, dealers have plenty of customers, they don't need to give a 10-year-old with zero money to his/her name fentanyl. There isn't money in it, just potentially really bad press and legal issues if the, "Drugged candy," is traced back to them.

The only immediate danger this black cat faces is being too cute!

As for black cats, there is pretty much zero objective evidence of people adopting them to torture or kill in some kind of twisted ceremony. Again, there are some spotty and unclear stories and a lot of made-up silliness. This is another example of moral panic and if anything, adds even more negative associations to black cats. As for them being returned? That's murky as tons of animals get adopted and unfortunately find themselves returned back to a shelter for a myriad of reasons. It could be allergies, aggression, the family is moving, and so forth. Will someone go through the effort of spending 100-ish dollars, filling out paperwork, and taking a black cat home merely to use it for a party decoration and return it? It's possible, but quite doubtful. Honestly, certain breeds of dogs are at much higher risk of abuse (being used for fighting, bait dogs, and so forth) than a black cat is of being adopted under the guise of a new home that's actually malicious.

You're as likely to get Razor-filled or drugged candy as you are to stumble upon someone sacrificing a black cat. That said, we all have that one friend with anecdotal evidence about how they've witnessed these things themselves. Or maybe it was their friend...perhaps a guy who knew another guy; whatever the case, it totally happened! These myths persist, however, and nobody benefits from them except perhaps parents who can grab handfuls of candy from their kiddos with the claim, "I've gotta inspect it!" My point is, let's please quit spreading misinformation about dangerous candy or applying any more stigma to black cats than they already face due to superstition or such, resulting in tragically low adoption rates and upsettingly high euthanasia data. All of that said, let's have a great Halloween tomorrow!

Patrick Stewart Has Died

Patrick Stewart has died at 86. According to his wife, Sunny Ozell, he had, "...a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."His career spanned over six decades. He performed Shakespeare , he was in sci-fi, "Star Trek," movies, and he was the Professor Xavier. His voice alone commanded attention, somehow working perfectly in the silliest roles imaginable. He could be the wacky Deputy Director of the CIA on, "American Dad," or a literal poop symbol in, "The Emoji  Movie," and Stewart seemed to commit 100% to the role. As a fan of his work, this news is a real bummer.

I know Patrick Stewart was quite aged, but it just seemed like he'd always be around, somehow. The man was just so ubiquitous to so many movies and shows. He would be performing Macbeth one minute and appearing as Captain Ahab the next. He might pop up in one movie as a cold and calculating white supremacist ("Green Room,") and then narrate a comedy about a magical talking stuffed bear that likes getting high ("Ted,"). He was married in 2013 to the aforementioned Sunny Ozell. Fun fact, his close friend Ian McKellen was the officiant. In his personal life he engaged in activism for everything from raising awareness about domestic violence to preventing cruelty towards animals (especially pitbulls), and he was a proud LGBTQ+ ally. He is survived by his wife and two children. I imagine they, his many friends, and a lot of us fans are all quite upset today with the news of his passing. At least we have so many years of amazing works he contributed to that we can enjoy from now until the end of time.

Mike Wolfer is Crowdfunding His Latest, "Widow," Comic!

Friend of the blog, Mike Wolfer, has been making quality comics for decades. His classic, "Widow," series has been going through the process of being remastered and tweaked as, "Widow Unleashed." A number of issues that have been released were funded via Kickstarter, but due to recent concerns about how strict or lenient they might be with anything vaguely "Adult," in nature, the latest entry, "Widow Unleashed," #25, which is also the first part of the, "Progeny," arc, is being funded on Dooz. Dooz is a sub-site of sorts that Zoop (a snazzy comic crowdfunding site) created to help creators with anything a bit racy get funds for their comic without fear of Kickstarter deciding to randomly shut things down for whatever obtuse reason.

Dooz is also interesting, as you aren't simply, "Backing," a project with a funding goal. It is more of a true preorder. When you pick the item you want to buy, you pay half now and the rest when the campaign items you bought are ready for shipment. No matter how much or how little is raised, the item shall be shipped to buyers. I like that concept as opposed to how, for some time, Kickstarter basically would go, "Whoops, sucks to be you!" if something was fully funded but never delivered on its promises. Mike Wolfer has always been quite reliable as a creator for his Kickstarter campaigns though. I am excited to offer my support for this latest, "Widow Unleashed," issue on Dooz for sure! Here's the link to it again if you want to check it out as well.

These Two Upcoming Comics Have Covers That Caught My Eye

A comic book's cover can be a huge asset or a major hindrance. If you've got a dull one, that is a problem…but when you've got something that really pops for one reason or another? Yeah, that's helpful. Randomly, two covers made me stop and say, "Yeah, I dig that," recently. Let's look:

Writer Dan Watters, artist Kyle Hotz, colorist Dan Brown, and letterer Steve Wands are bringing us the upcoming Elseworlds mini-series, "Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos." It follows a future where humanity is conquering and colonizing outer space with only the Green Lanterns--and one human aligned with the corps, Hal Jordan--trying to stop the Human crusade in the stars. That all sounds interesting, but what really grabbed my attention was a variant cover for the first issue by Ashley Wood. As can be seen above, it is really cool. I'm a longtime fan of Mr. Wood, and he keeps making great stuff.

I've discussed the upcoming Marvel and Star Wars crossover before. I'm cautiously optimistic about this potentially wacky event that will feature Kevin Smith writing and David Marquez on art. It could be clever, hokey, or a little of both. That said, the image of one of the most powerful people in the Star Wars Universe, Darth Vader, holding one of the most powerful objects in the Marvel Universe, the Infinity Gauntlet, is superb. Drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, it is a nerdy treat to see something this wild and have it be an official image. We've seen fan art with ideas like this before, but the idea of a, "Real," Marvel comic having such a scene does make the nerdy side of me a bit enthusiastic. 

Will these comics be good? I have no clue. I can say, at least, that these covers are, "Straight fire," as the kids these days say. They do still say that, right?

The Saint Charles QuadCon is this Saturday, Halloween!

This Saturday will mark both Halloween and the latest QuadCon in Saint Charles. QuadCon puts on all kinds of great shows, and it is fun that folks can spend the morning and afternoon at a great comic show and then spend the evening/night going trick-or-treating! The show will go from 10AM to 4PM, costing just $5 to enter, with kiddos 12 and under getting in free! It will be at its usual great spot, The Steel Shop Event Center. One especially exciting element of this Fall's show is a cosplay showcase event in the afternoon, with $500 in random drawings for anyone who shows up in cosplay and enters into the event! I'm quite excited for the show, and I hope to see you all there!

A Bee Stung My Index Finger Today. I Didn't LIke it

I've been stung by bees maybe twice in my life. Once on my shoulder at the pool (I wasn't wearing a shirt); another time on my arm at a park. It is always unpleasant, starting with a sudden sharp and throbbing pain before the, "Ouch," sensation fades away (thankfully) quickly, replaced with a warm soreness and slight swelling on my skin where I was stung. Well, I was stung today, and it remains something I highly dislike. Oh, and it was right on my index finger, to add insult to (literal) injury.

To set the scene of how this went down, I had just gotten a pizza at IMO's to share with Samii. The plan was for me to drop it off so she'd have some today and some to save. They were kind enough to give me a smaller box that I put some slices for myself in too. So, I'm juggling a big box and a small box in my hands as go outside and get my card door open. I get the boxes set down and start sliding onto my seat when I feel what I think is a piece of farbric from my pants rubbing my upper leg, or maybe a fly? I go to brush it away and then suddenly my hand feels as if it is on fire. I look down to see a bright yellow bee falling onto my floorboard and then glance at my hand where a big ol' stinger is lodged in the base of my index finger. After shouting some swear words, I grab a wipe (I'm always carrying wipes in case the children or myself need the, "Potty," because I don't want some cheap toilet paper wherever the urge to toilet strikes) and carefully extract the stinger. 

I know the World literally needs bees to survive, but the one that stung me can burn in Hell!
This bee's okay though.

The drama seems done. I wait a minute for the pain to go down, and start driving. I assume the bee is dead, only to then hear a buzz and witness it moving around on the passenger floor mat. I do the safe thing and make sure no one is behind me, slam on the brakes, and proceed to batter the fly to death with my small pizza box. It was like that scene in, "Misery," where James Caan's character is wailing on Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) with a big vintage telephone. I just kept whacking the thing until it was nothing but viscera. 

After what felt like an eon of bashing the pizza box on the floor, I was breathing heavy and sweaty from the sheer amount of energy I'd expended smashing this bee to bits in a mix of fear and an admitted desire for some revenge. I dropped the big bee-gut-free pizza off to my wife, who was happy I was okay, besides my hand hurting. It is now evening, and the spot is just a bit sore if I touch it or stretch my finger too much. Getting stung by a bee is not the worst pain ever, but it sucks. If I can go the rest of my life without ever getting stung by a bee again, that works for me

I Didn't Make it To the Saint Louis GalaxyCon this Year

Well, I didn't make it out to the GalaxyCon in Saint Louis this year. I had plans set and they were kind enough to grant me a press pass, but a whole bunch of life stuff came up. This week had me alternatively insanely busy and exhausted (there was nothing terrible, just a lot). I have seen a variety of praise from those who were able to go, and it looks like it was a ton of fun. I hope that when we presumably have another GalaxyCon for Saint Louis in 2027, I will be able to go and have a great time.

Flashback Friday: Those Middle Earth Games With the, "Nemesis," System Were Fun

I wrote about the video-game, "Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor," back in--lemme check my notes here--ah, yes, early 2015. Yes, over a decade ago we were introduced to a good game with an amazing concept. I am referring to the Nemesis System. You could run around a chunk of Middle Earth, fighting baddies who would remember you. You'd beat them up and they'd perhaps run away, only to return with some scars and a thirst for vengeance. Maybe you'd lose a fight, but instead of getting struck down they'd laugh and walk away, declaring you weren't worth slicing up. With that first game, there was a whole eheleon of Orc/Uruks/etc. fighting for power, and you could impact it all. A sequel game, "Middle Earth: Shadow of War," was released in 2017, with folks still loving the Nemesis system even if some other elements of the second game were weaker. The joke was that all the other games were going to start ripping off the Nemesis system, but nope.

How come nobody else did the Nemesis system? The reasons were threefold: Technical, financial, and legal. A lot of programming was needed to create a system like that from scratch, with tons of complex artificial intelligence. That would be pricey to create or simply pay for if the publisher at the time, Warner Bros. had decided to license the tech (they did not). Then, in 2021, the Nemesis system itself was patented and can't be copied until 2035 or so. Games can do things a bit like that system, but engage in a design too much like it and you could get sued. A, "Wonder Woman," game was apparently in the works that would've utilized something a lot like the Nemesis System, but it was canceled, and the studio behind the Middle Earth games that had moved on to make that? Well, that was shut down. The Nemesis system wasn't something cheap, easy, or generic enough to copy. It was complex, specialized, and expensive enough that Warner Bros. wanted to lock it off from anyone else. So, now it sits. Game studios tragically being shut down happens often, however, just look at the recent (quite sad) news with Bioware and Mass Effect! Why is all of this fresh in my mind, however? Well, guess what two games recently had some minor tweaks and were re-released for the Switch 2? 

Various foes with assorted feelings about you, mostly quite negative!

Yep, both, "Shadow or Mordor," and, "Shadow of War," can be purchased in the online shop and enjoyed. I picked up the first game for the release-sale price of ten bucks. It was totally worth it to dip my toes back into the Nemesis system and wonder about what could have been for games. I'm not alone, as a modder has been doing his own version for the PC iteration of, "Red Dead Redemption 2," and as he isn't some big studio or making money off this, it is all legal. Could the Nemesis sytem or something quite like return, someday? Just like franchises themselves, a good game mechanic/gimmick never stays dead. At some point the new owner of the combined Paramount, Warner Brothers Discovery AKA Skydance might decide to dust off the system for some other game or license the tech out. That, or in a chunk of years when anyone can do something like the system for a profit, they probably will. Unless humanity wipes itself out due to a nuclear war, biological outbreak, or the robots take over and kill us all, I bet the Nemesis system will return someday. Hell, maybe with the AI advances, those Orcs won't just be simulating a grudge; they'll truly hate the players behind the controller (an equally intriguing and scary thought)!

I'm in, "Undie Comix," #5!

The fifth issue of, "Undie Comix," is available for order. I have a new article they were kind enough to include in this latest edition! You can get yourself a copy at this link and, as always, check out the Patreon here. My article is about how the character of, "The Punisher," could very well work as an Underground Comix concept. Have a peek:

I want to thank Undie Comix again for being kind enough to consider my work for inclusion in their fun 'zine and would encourage everyone to show them some love/support!

11 Years Ago We Got Married!

Samii and I got married 11 years ago, on this day! It randomly happened to be the unofficial, "Back to the Future Day," as well, due to how, in the flick, "Back to the Future II," October 21st, 2015 was the exact day a still-young Marty McFly visits when he travels to the (then) future and meets a bunch of old iterations of people he knows. 11 years later, here we are! I'm so thankful to Samii for our awesome boys, Clarkson and Gibson. Much love to her and our two kiddos as we commemorate our marriage and its unplanned tie-in with a movie!