Film Friday: The First, "Superman," Teaser Trailer is Out

Yesterday morning the first teaser trailer was released for, "Superman." The latest movie from James Gunn and meant to kick off a whole new DC Cinematic Universe, it looked fun! We get Superman, his dog Krypto, we witness some romance with Lois Lane, get a glimpse or two of Lex Luthor and have some quick cuts of other superpowered beings. It is a teaser, in other words. Perhaps some of the internet was expecting some kind of Earth-shattering revelation to hit the web, but it seems people are pleased with what we've seen. It looks like a movie with Superman and not much of an opinion can be generated from 2 minutes (after all, trailers can be great for bad movies or awful for surprisingly awesome movies). Here is a link to the trailer if you haven't viewed it yet:

This first peek at everything has caught my attention, so mission accomplished. Now, as July 2025 nears we'll get a better idea of just what the future holds for Superman and the rest of the (new) DC film slate.

Discussing an Epidemiological Aspect of the Idea of Time Travel that Concerns Me

Whenever I read/watch stories about time travel there is one thing that concerns me. Putting aside how possible or impossible it would be to travel through time the Public Health student within me worries about the epidemiological aspects of time travel. I mean, if I were to travel even to just the early 1900s I would need to ensure I'm vaccinated for illnesses from back then that we don't vaccinate for today (e.g. Smallpox being eliminated) and I'd be concerned about bringing my future germs to the past before such an illness even existed (COVID-19 popping-up a century early could be really bad). Plus, even if I could travel to the future, what kinds of new viruses or bacteria could exist my body is not ready for? I don't want to catch the latest animal flu and have it kill me easily because I didn't deal with an earlier form that was weaker and helped people build immunity, after all.

I know it sounds pedantic to worry about the epidemiological aspects of time travel when it isn't even, you know, possible. Still, if developed the technology where we could move forward and backward in time, these are the kind of technical things that have to be considered. As fun as it might be to visit our great-great-grandparents, we also don't want to accidentally kill them with our future germs and then suddenly dissipate into dust like an, "Avengers,' movie because we messed up the timeline. I guess my point is that if we do manage to make it possible to travel through time, we need to just jump a little bit into the future or past so as to avoid any massive issues from our germs...or generally messing up everything. Essentially, don't take any future tech to the past and create an anachronism (often worried about in fiction) or cough some germs onto someone from the past unprepared for them (less considered). If we can be careful about taking stuff too far back or picking up anything too far, "Forward," we should be okay...right?

Beckett (and Therefore CBCS) are Under New Ownership

Beckett Media & Collectibles does everything from price guides to monthly collecting magazines and grading. They've been having some financial troubles (not much interest in their assorted grading services, for example) and have been acquired by a company known as, "Collēctīvus," which has weirdly enough emphasized this is not per se an acquisition, just that they'll be a new parent company. They acquired Beckett, but supposedly plan to keep it independent and be, "Hands off," for now. 

All this is notable if you like to collect comic books as Beckett has owned CBCS since 2017. Therefore, CBCS is now owned by Collēctīvus as well. The exact impact this may have on CBCS remains to be seen, but they've always been a distant second to CGC in regards to comics and with PSA entering the comic grading biz in 2025 I am quite curious how CBCS and CGC will pivot as needed--with this latest business news only complicating things in further unpredictable ways. 2025 is going to be an interesting time for comic grading.

Television Tuesday: "Malcolm in the Middle," is Returning!

"Malcolm in the Middle," was quite an entertaining sitcom that ran back in the early 2000's. It starred an incredibly dysfunctional family with Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) being the focal point. In a surprise announcement, the show will be back with four special episodes on Disney+ in the near future (an exact release date has not been released). An early synopsis is that these episodes will involve Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and demanding the presence of Malcolm and a daughter he's apparently had in the fictional universe since the show concluded. No other casting has been revealed so we shall see who else comes back. 

Cranston has been in a ton of shows/movies since his sitcom days ("Breaking Bad," being a huge one) and Kaczmarek has appeared in a variety of projects as well; it will be fun to see them return to these roles. Muniz hasn't really done much acting these past number of years, instead focusing on professional racing--there must've been a really good script for him to be interested as well. I look forward to the show returning before too long and more details being revealed!

BOOM! Studios Launching, "20 for 20," and it Sounds Snazzy

In 2025 the company known as BOOM! Studios will be 20 years old! To mark the occasion they will be releasing 20 trade paperbacks from their large and varying catalog, all priced at a pleasant 20 dollars. It is their, "20 for 20," program. These special editions of sorts will be released throughout 2025 and serve as a great introduction to BOOM! and their assorted series. I have a soft spot for one of the October releases, "Hero Squared," which first came out quite early in the company's life--I'd definitely recommend folks check that out along with the other fun TPBs as part of this interesting promotion.

Mixed Feelings: The Fourth

This is the fourth time I've done a, "Mixed Feelings," post on the 15th of December. It's been 5 years since we lost our pregnancy today. It is also a day of celebration for my mother as it is her birthday. I love my Mom very much and want her to have a good day. I also just feel a bit sad and angry today thinking back how hard December 2019-December 2020 was. We lost a pregnancy, a number of loved ones, and COVID-19 becoming a Worldwide pandemic was the cherry on top of it all.

For a chunk of time, I tried to ignore my feelings about how awful those twelve months were, which was incredibly unhealthy. Then I would feel more sad at points, and mad at others. Yesterday I was really mad and irritable. It just still stings to not have Shalom after we wanted him so much and got as far as we did in our pregnancy. Anger is normal, but you don't want to to engulf you completely and leave you just an enraged shell of a human being. Now I just feel a bit sad and reflective. Distance from a traumatic event helps to some degree but some elements still feel weirdly immediate in my memory. It felt so scary and lonely as we were dealing with my wife's hernia bursting as well as our pregnancy becoming unviable all at once. In the years since we've talked with other folks who lost a pregnancy, and it does help to not feel as alone. Grief can be isolating to a degree, however. Sometimes we need a moment to ourselves to feel all the feelings, and I still have many.

I am joyful here in 2024 as well. We have our wonderful boys Clarkson and Gibson. Gibson is our baby we had after our loss, sometimes referred to as a, "Rainbow baby," in popular culture. A rainbow after a storm. I am eternally grateful for our two sweet boys but still miss the child we could not have. It is a lot of mixed feelings, hence the title of the posts. I love my family, from the members we have here to celebrate a happy occasion with to those who have sadly left us or didn't even get to fully join us on this planet. We live in a World of constant change--for the better or worse. I just am trying my best to keep up with it all.

"Marvel Rivals," Early Impressions

"Marvel Rivals," was announced back in March and looked like it could be fun. The developer behind it, Netease, got roasted online for requiring people testing the game to say only positive things, and that was embarrassing. The thing is, the game is actually quite fun and turning into a hit, so in retrospect that rule wasn't even needed. Yes, "Marvel Rivals," is a bit of a knock-off of, "Overwatch," in the third-person instead of first but it is also quite entertaining from the bit I've had a chance to play so far.

Essentially, a bunch of characters who all play pretty differently yet somehow manage to (mostly) balance each other out and compete in arenas (which are somewhat destructible as a nice touch) to win a match. The rules can involve escorting an item/device to a new location or claiming a spot for your team in a best-out-of-three situation, to name some scenarios. The game is completely free with every single character playable from the start. You see, in a manner similar to a game like, "Fortnite," the money comes from folks buying cosmetic upgrades and customizations--you don't pay to gain any actual in-game advantage. The, "Cast," is insanely stacked with 33--yes you read that right--different options. One character is even kind of two as it is Cloak and Dagger. More are somehow on the way as well.

I haven't played every character yet but I did (obviously) sample Moon Knight and immediately enjoyed gliding around with my crescent moon cape. I also had a pretty good time playing the up-close-brawler of Captain America as having the shield to block projectile fire from other foes generally gave me a few much-needed seconds to figure out the best way to close some distance and smack them around. One especially interesting little touch is some characters can synergize with each other a bit if they're on the same team and unlock little extra boosts or moves (Hulk throwing Wolverine via a Fastball Special to give one example).

"Marvel Rivals," has been out barely a couple weeks but already is garnering a lot of attention due to being fun, fast, and (essentially) free. It has also helped some lesser-known characters from the comics who are on the roster get a lot of sudden attention (I'm all for folks loving Jeff the Landshark). With such a huge assortment of characters some can feel a little overpowered or underpowered against too many other options, but Netease is making constant tweaks to balance things out. Plus, as the game is out longer I'm sure more teams will form that take advantage of those synergistic powers. I haven't played a ton of Marvel Rivals yet on my PS5, but from what I have this is a darn good time.

5 out of 5 Stars (as an early impression).

Flashback/Film Friday: Would, "Friday the 13th Part V," Be Good Without that Dumb Final Twist?

When I discuss movies from the, "Friday the 13th," franchise I discuss how the fifth tries to be a slow-burn and creepy, but fizzles out at the end. I always tell folks to watch the fourth and sixth as those are great, but that the fifth sucks. However, on this latest (actual) Friday the 13th, I wonder...could Part V be good without that last-minute twist where it is revealed the killer is not Jason?

That's right, I won't bore you with the exact plot details but in the last 10 minutes of the flick we get the shocking/stupid climax where we find out a random guy named Roy Burns was pretending to be Jason. His idea was to get revenge for a bunch of barely legal teens getting a character named Joey killed. Joey (unbeknownst to everyone) was Roy's son. Without that reveal, if it somehow were Jason, could Part V be better? It is at times eerie, has some wild kills that, "Jason," commits, and so forth. Heck, even without the real Jaosn is it potentially a fun flick?

NOT Jason.

Maybe everyone is hard on Part V because we don't get Jason despite the, "Friday the 13th," moniker? I mean, "Halloween 3," got a lot of hate for having nothing to do with Michael Meyers and later on was reevaluated as a classic, does Part V deserve a bit more love? Part of me says, "Maybe." The other part of me says, "There's no Jason, I hate it and the ending retroactively makes the rest of the movie suck." It's a, "Two wolves inside of us," sort of situation. I guess hardcore fans of the franchise should watch Part V and could reevaluate it a little, but those just dipping their toes into the franchise should still avoid this entry.

Exit 11 Coffee is a Great Local Chain!

I was driving around the Saint Peters region for some errands and noticed a coffee stand. I have never seen it before and that intrigued me as a person who loves coffee. I pulled up and discovered it was called, "Exit 11 Coffee." They informed me this location had been here for about 2 years--why I had not ever, "Seen," it is beyond me, but I'm glad I stopped there as they were really snazzy!

With seven different drive-through locations around Missouri, Exit 11 has an assortment of coffees, tasty flavored teas (they can be iced or slushy-style), and a good deal of food items as an all-day breakfast. I wasn't hungry or I would've tried a cinnamon roll--I'll go back soon for one. I did, however, try a RAVE Energy Tea known as the, "Nervous Breakdown." It was a lovely blend of fruity flavors including blackberry, lime, raspberry and strawberry; I dug it. I also had an Americano and it was perfect in terms of not being too bitter or too light. It was smooth and tasty.

I am pleased to have discovered Exit 11 Coffee and will be going back there anytime I am near one of their locations. I encourage you to check them out online and if you live in Missouri/find yourself traveling through here you should visit a stop!

BOOM! Studios Has a Timeline on Going PRH Exclusive as Diamond Suffers Increasing Woes

A bit earlier on in 2024, the company known as BOOM! Studios was acquired by Penguin Random House. Strangely enough, the company kept distribution with Diamond despite PRH being its own distributor of comics for a growing number of publishers (including Marvel). However, a timeline is now in place for BOOM! to go PRH exclusive. It'll be around July 2025. Diamond will still be able to distribute BOOM! titles to comic stores as a third-party wholesaler for shops that don't want to juggle between those two and Lunar (who distributes DC as well as other companies). Diamond is having some problems, though.

Diamond isn't making itself look particularly appealing as a company for retailers to want to keep working with lately due to a downsizing of warehouses, thereby making comics late at some stores for 3 weeks now. That is three weeks a store could be missing a big chunk of inventory to put on the shelves or tuck away for those with a pullbox. Three weeks where an already thin margin of profit with comic-books is gone. Seeing as how Diamond has had more competition in the last half-decade than before you'd think the company would be on its best behavior and working extra hard to please retailers. Apparently, you would be thinking in an incorrect manner. BOOM! leaving Diamond is another chip away at the company and before too long there may be nothing left for Diamond to lose and still have an impact/matter at all in the comic-book biz. We shall see if Diamond will course-correct in time, I suppose.