Early November 2026? Time for a Fun ToyMan Show

The ToyMan Show is always great fun to attend. It is stuffed to the metaphorical gills with comics, toys, DVDs, CDs, VHS, Funko, trading cards, and all kinds of collectibles. I often plan to just go for a brief bit in the morning and end up staying longer than intended due to losing track of the time browsing all the great wares and chatting with the many awesome vendors!

As soon as doors opened, the show got healthily busy.

Clarkson came along with me and enjoyed riding in his cart. We started the show off by saying hello to our friend Spike from Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles. We also chatted with John from Bigfoot Comics and caught up with Tim Metzger. Jack from Fortress Comics had a bunch of cool older books, and we discussed how he'd been doing. I ran into the awesome folks of Go Getter Gamez; we discussed how remakes and remasters have been especially popular lately. They were kind enough to pose for a picture with some of their snazzy wares:

Next, I saw some of the superb folk from Tatertot; they are always a treat! In the upstairs area was the show's special guest, Karen Whitfield, the Bronze Age Batgirl. "From 1978–1985, Karen toured with the legendary Adam West, Burt Ward, and the Caped Crusaders, bringing the excitement of Batman to live audiences," as her official bio shares. As we continued tooling around the show, I saw Kerry O'Brien, and he told me how he had a new book out--a memoir titled, "Emotional Graffiti." Speaking of books, I picked up the latest release from Jacqueline James, "A Thru Z Day at the Zoo." I showed it to Gibson later that day, and he loved saying the alphabet and seeing what letters went with which animals! Here is a photo of my copy:

Other author friends of mine were present as well. I had a lovely time talking with Jessica Mathews about how the family and I had been, then Lindsay Hornsby told me about her recent attendance at SLICE and agreed to draw her interpretation of Moon Knight for me on a sketch card--she'll be in touch in the next day or two with the finished project, and I can't wait! Before heading out from the show, we said hi to Cayden of Tri Fox Shoppe, and he filled us in on how life had been and which keychains and stickers had been selling well versus which had not. It was a cool way to hear about what kind of fandoms seemed to be trending/bigger than others lately. Right before walking out the door, I was able to grab a pretty crisp copy of, "Uncanny X-Men," #221. It's a personal favorite issue of mine thanks to the awesome cover featuring Havok and how it contains the first full appearance of the ever-zany Mr. Sinister. Here's a pic of that:

This ToyMan Show was spectacular. I talked with old friends, made some new ones, browsed a metric ton of nerdy goodies, and Clarkson enjoyed seeing all the items and hanging out in his cart as well. The next show is December 13th, and the December show is always a massive one. I'll see you there at the Machinist Hall (12365 St. Charles Rock Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044)!

Another Happy Birthday to Samii!

 I wanted to wish my wife, Samii, a happy birthday! We had a fun afternoon going out with our boys, eating some grub, and playing arcade games. She is a wonderful mother to Clarkson and Gibson, in addition to being a caring and hardworking individual in general! Happy birthday, Samii, we love you!

Go Check Out the Autumnal Hobby Street Market on November 15th!

Endless Comics, Games, and Cards are some great folks with snazzy stores and they're helping do a cool event in a smidgen over a week! That's right, not this coming Sunday (it's the next one), there will be the Autumnal Hobby Street Market! There will be a whole mix of folks selling their hobby items, from board games to toys, dice, video-games, comics, and more! It'll be held from 11AM to 2PM on the 15th at 440a Rue Saint Francois in Florissant. It should be a fun time, and I look forward to stopping by!

Two New Horror-Themed Comics From DC Are Quite Fantastic

DC's Absolute line is getting lots of attention lately, but the, "Main," universe hasn't been slouching either! That's especially the case with two newer horror-focused titles that both happen to feature a sole individual as the writer and artist! The books are, "The Demon," by James Harren and, "Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death," by Michael Walsh. 

"The Demon," is full of mysticism, following Jason Blood as he struggles to contain the power of Etrigan the Demon and stop a supernatural threat involving a desperate Morgaine le Fey, captive Merlin, and all kinds of magical creatures. Harren gives a seemingly, "Normal," Gotham City a fantastical vibe and throws in a nice bit of humor into everything as well, adding some levity to the tale. The two issues that have been released so far are a little scary, but a lot of fun. Meanwhile, the new Jonah Hex comic is a straight-up Western-themed nightmare.

"Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death," features a retired-from-killing Hex working to forget his violent past on the outskirts of a small town named Ashecott. The problem is, something twisted and evil is working to infect the region under a guise of religious love and vague offers of eternal life. Walsh illustrates the horrors of Hex's mind as they mix with the frights of reality, creating a general eerie concern that everyone is in a whole lot of danger. The first two issues have been gruesome, creepy, and superb.

I'm not sure if, "The Demon," is set to be a mini-series, maxi-series, or ongoing; it is rad enough that I'd say the more the better! "Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death," was solicited as a six-issue mini-series, but considering it took about a decade and a half since the last Hex-starring series, I'd be perfectly content for this to keep rolling along as well because it is so great! Plus, a bit of Western horror mixed in with all the superhero floppies provides a nice dash of variety.

The Demon (first two issues): 5 out of 5 Stars.

Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death (first two issues): 5 out of 5 Stars.

"The Myth of 8-Opus," is a New Sci-Fi Comic by Tom Scioli? Yeah, I'm Down for That!

 

Tom Scioli's ability to craft amazing comics results in my considering him a modern master of the art form. Hence, when Image announced a new ongoing series titled, "The Myth of 8-Opus," that got my attention. The man can write, draw, do colors, lettering...I mean, Tom Scioli does it all. As for the plot:

"For centuries, intergalactic peace was kept by the warrior known only as 8-Opus! Ten years ago, he disappeared and chaos reigned supreme. Buried in a techno-cosmic sarcophagus, within a crimson pyramid on a hellish grailworld, kept alive by a combination of science, sorcery, and spite, 8-Opus breaks free, vowing revenge on whoever put him there. If he's going to survive, 8-Opus will have to fight a host of demi-gargoyles, old foes, and even the old friends who've abandoned him to his fate."

That sounds cool, but what's really got me ready to buy this is Scioli's amazing art. He could make a story about how to craft a club sandwich, and I'd probably be enraptured. The first issue of, "The Myth of 8-Opus," is set to hit stores in February of 2027. That's a bit of time away, but for Scioli's great creations, I can wait!

Philbo Distribution Has Plans to Keep Growing

I've written before about how Philbo Distribution exists as a great option for indie and small-press comic companies to get their stuff out to comic shops. To assist the companies making comics and the stores buying them, Philbo has announced a variety of new plans and initiatives. There will be flat 50% off retail pricing for stores (many distributors have order levels for discounts), no minimum order amounts, a shorter FOC (30 days instead of 60 so stores can wait a bit longer for any last-minute orders), and a physical retailer catalog will be available. A limited return program was announced as well (the Direct Market generally has no returns, so that's quite intriguing). 

The printed catalog launches in January, which I imagine will help draw some more eyes to their varied offerings of cool-but-oftentimes-overlooked comic-makers. PRH and Lunar have been great for the, "Big Dogs," of comic-books and some smaller companies, especially since Diamond's outright demise, but having another option for those publishers who are really small or, "Micro-press," if you will, is great too! I wish Philbo Distribution continued growth and success in 2027!

Wait, America, I Have Some Optimism For You?

Well, I started today in a good mood. You see, I've written plenty of times about my views of Donald Trump, his fascist tendencies, and a GOP too scared of him to do anything. As long as Trump could be seen as, "Winning," and getting support, the Republican Party would put up with his outrageous statements, rude behavior, and so forth. Polls showed Republicans could be in trouble in many Midterm contests, but many people disregard polls as overly optimistic/pessimistic. I don't think many polls predicted just how strong of a showing Democrats would have nationwide. Texas has a new Democratic senator, elected a Democratic Governor. Michigan elected Abdul El-Sayed to the Senate--an incredibly smart man who happens to be Muslim and who faced a horrible smear campaign. Democrats took back the Senate and House! In Missouri, we shut down an attempt to re-ban abortion and voted against basically anything our state's GOP tried to push on the people. My district has been stuck with Ann Wagner for years as our person in the House of Representatives, and she lost to Fred Wellman, a Democrat who a number of pundits at first discounted as too progressive or liberal. 

America seems to be seeing that Trump's empty promises of lowering costs, avoiding wars, and otherwise making America great are lies. The rich have funds pouring in while gas is crazy-pricey, groceries suffer, "Shrinkflation," and yelling about how we need the GOP to protect us from those terrfying Transgender people has become apparent as a distraction that scapegoats a minuscule portion of the population. I mean, a transwoman or transman didn't make you pay $100 at the pump just to fill up your car. Many people across America did not vote for Democrats; they voted against Republicans. The Democratic Party excels at screwing things up when stuff has otherwise seemed to be going their way, so while I am shocked to have some optimism, for once, regarding America's future, it comes with trepidation too. The Democrats need to listen to the people who chose them. It is time to deliver on promises of holding Trump accountable for his B.S. as well as prioritizing helping the 99% of the population who don't have millions (or more) in cash sitting in their bank account.

These midterms were a repudiation of Trump. Things are maybe going to get better, but he is only going to get worse. He'll scream, he'll rage-post, and he'll flail about for anyone to blame for how badly the GOP lost when he isn't denying reality and claiming this is somehow an epic level of fraud. The one part of all this that could improve is the GOP maybe, just maybe, realizing Trump has turned into more of a hazard than an asset. If he can't help you win, why grovel at his feet? Why pay him much attention, at all? He's about to have a long two years as a, "Lame Duck," President and for all his bluster and the powers he does have as the Executive Branch, he's been weakened. He has a cult of personality that worships him as an orange God, but they aren't enough anymore. Enough people have shifted away and are thinking for themselves that it truly is a cult--a small, isolated, and admittedly dangerous group...but one with little ability to impact too much change (at least anymore). Trump wants adoration and attention more than anything. This election illustrated he's losing the former and quite possibly now will get a lot less of the latter. I'm not sure Trump feels many emotions, but he doubtlessly is full of fear at the idea of being rendered irrelevant and forgotten. 

We've been living in an American nightmare ever since Trump's second term started. It looks like America maybe, just maybe, woke up to an astonishing degree. Plenty of things can still go wrong, but for once, there is a chance for improvement. A little bit of hope can go a long way, and for the first time in a long time, much of America seems to have aspirations for improvement. We've got a long way to go, but yesterday's Midterms were an integral first step.

Check Out Comic-Book Podcast, "Short Box Dads," Run by Two of my Friends

My friends Austin and Mark recently started doing a podcast focused on comics. Titled, "Short Box Dads," you can find it on Amazon Music, Spotify, and so forth! I just recently finished listening to the fourth episode where the topic of variant and ratio covers was discussed. I quite enjoy SBD as it feels like you're sitting there with Austin and Mark chatting about comics with two enthusiastic guys. I've heard too many podcasts where the host/hosts sound bored with their subject, so I'm glad that isn't the case here. Between Austin being the slightly wackier one and Mark trying to keep things organized and not going too, "Off the rails," it's a stellar show to tune into. Try them out and see what you think!

Music Mondays: It Just Keeps Getting Hot In Her(r)e

Nelly's song, "Hot in Herre," is a song I know well. It was a hit single off his sophmore LP, "Nellyville," which came out way back in May of 2002. I bought the CD at my local FYE in West Virginia (where I was living at the time) and listened to the album so, so many times over the Summer. There were some other bangers such as, "Air Force Ones," "Pimp Juice," and undoubtedly, "Dilemma," with Kelly Rowland. That said, "Hot in Herre," was probably the biggest track off of, "Nellyville." It has stayed relevant for quite some time as well, thanks to various artists sampling it. 

A bunch of tunes have used aspects of, "Hot in Herre," but two that really seem to be popular would be, "Buss It,"by Erika Banks (which was getting a ton of radio play in 2020) and, "Risk it All," by KWN--which released this year and its really catchy. Nelly hasn't released too much new music lately himself, but something about, "Hot in Herre," managed to stick with people. Perhaps because it is just so catchy, fun, energetic, and a bit silly? Whatever the case, over two decades later, it remains quite hot in her(r)e.

The New Saint Charles We Rock the Spectrum Gym is Fantastic!

There are, "We Rock the Spectrum," franchised gyms all over the World, with different owners putting unique spins on their locations. Our family loves visiting the one located in Fenton quite often, and we heard that a spot had just opened in Saint Charles. Clarkson was up early today (his body thought it was 8-ish even if with falling back for DST it was 7-ish) and wanted to stay home and nap in the afternoon, but Gibson had slept in and wanted to get some energy out. Hence, we visited the new We Rock the Spectrum Gym in Saint Charles and had a lot of fun!

Some of the cool stuff to play on/with!

This new location was a big space that the owner, Suzeanne, had spent a number of months getting ready for the recent grand opening. The outside of the building is a gorgeous blue, with the inside full of fun equipment, stations for art, imaginary play, and more! The bathrooms are disability-accessible, and they took steps to ensure there was an adult changing table as well--a topic often discussed among those who have family members with a disability that may need help with their bathroom needs. There is a space for older kids, a calming room, and Gibson loved playing with some other kiddos who were there and exploring a familiar-yet-new space. It is great to know that, depending on whether one location is busy or if various circumstances have us closer to Fenton or Saint Charles, if the boys want to play at WRTS, we have two stellar options!