This Company's Idea of, "Owning," Part of a Comic or Other Objects Just Sounds Dumb and Borderline Scammy

Courtesy of sometimes-interesting and sometimes-clickbaity/dumb website Bleeding Cool we have a new article that is interesting but about really dumb idea. Basically, this company called, "Otis," does a thing called, "Alternative asset ownership," where people buy a, "Share," of a physical object and then as that object theoretically gains in value or (possibly?) gets sold for a profit you get some money for your share.

They've done this with vintage comics, apparently, making it possible for people to buy shares of one. This seems really stupid to me. You either own a comic or someone else owns it, it is a singular object. Saying, "100 people share ownership of this thing," seems like trying to take some stock market concepts (and the stock market itself is arguably one big con game that has some very real examples of how it has caused great harm--e.g. the Great Depression) and apply it to things you can't really do such a thing with. I mean, I guess pizza is an object in that you can literally carve that up and share it in the form of slices...but how do you engage in that with a comic?

Even if this works, I have questions. Suppose a majority of shareholders in this comic want it sold for a profit, can they vote on it and have that done, or does the investment company that truly has the comic in its hands maintain the full rights to actually sell it? Would it even do so considering it could just take a bunch of money from suckers for their, "Shares," and then store it in a warehouse assuring people their money is safe whilst the company spends it on whatever it wants? I wish I had answers, but the Otis website and is really threadbare and provides no reassurance to how this whole thing functions. It sounds dumb for sure and quite possibly like a scam. The bit of information I could find on the website after digging in their FAQ section indicates they and only they can sell any items people own shares in or Otis can choose to display it for money somewhere, and they then give you any potential profit pro-rata. Until something gets a check for being on display or sells, however, all your wealth is just theoretical shares...yuck. Oh, and one segment, in particular, worries me in the FAQ I found on my deep-dive. It goes as such...

"[Disclosure] There is currently no public trading market for our Interests, and an active market may not develop or be sustained. There is no guarantee that appropriate regulatory approval to permit such secondary trading will ever be obtained. If an active public trading market for our securities does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult or impossible for you to resell your shares at any price. Even if a public market does develop, the market price could decline below the amount you paid for your shares. Please refer to our offering circular for more details regarding potential distributions."

In other words, once you buy a share you are stuck with it despite reassurances they are working on a way to sell and trade shares (with a service fee, of course). You can't sell your share to someone else, and if the object somehow loses value or becomes impossible to ever sell due to declining interest in the market for that comic (or other stuff they offer buying shares in like--I shit you not--expensive shoes) then you are out those dollars.

You know, in the stock market if you buy a stock and it starts bombing you at least have the option to sell it before it is totally worthless, you at least, "Own," some rights to that paper. With this business concept Otis has, however, the investor seems to basically be giving them money with no oversight or safeguards. If the stock market is arguably one big con game that at least supposedly has rules, what does that make something with virtually no guidelines to how they handle your money? For real, in my research I did I found Otis said how they are exempt from any SEC oversight as pursuant to, "Regulation A of Section 3(6) of the Securities Act, for Tier 2 Offerings." They only are operating on a, "Best efforts basis," which sounds encouraging, we all give our best effort, right? Well, if you break-down that phrasing it just means...

"An agreement between an underwriter and an issuer in which the underwriter agrees to place as much of an offering with investors as possible, but is not responsible for any portion of the offering it fails to sell."

Again, you are giving Otis your money, and they essentially have no responsibility to ever actually handle your money appropriately or sell any of the comics, sneakers, purses, etc. you are giving them funds to own these theoretical shares in. That is not good.

To review, Otis is this, "Investment," concept where you supposedly own a share of a physical object, but can't actually do anything with your so-called share and they have zero oversight from the SEC which makes sure that people's securities (and money) are exchanged in legal and controlled ways. If someone were to bring this idea to me on a show like, "Shark Tank," it would take me less than a second to say, "Yeah...I'm out." Should anyone try to encourage you to invest in this Otis thing run away, run away as fast you can.

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving this year if they live in the United States. Should you live in another country, I hope you have a good day too! I'm gonna kick-back and chill.

My Short and Sweet Statement on Comic Piracy (Spoiler: It's Bad)

The past number of days the debate has really blown-up regarding people pirating comics and whether it is right, wrong, sometimes okay, never okay, etc. Many excuses have been made, bad-faith arguments have abounded, false equivalences have been made and I have a short and sweet statement about comic piracy--it goes as such:

Stealing is bad, even if certain exceptions exist (stealing food to feed your family). Pirating comics is stealing without an exception, so don't do it.

There you go. If you can't afford a comic there are legal ways to read it such as going to your local library and even getting legal free copies to read on Hoopla (which you can enjoy with a library card). This helps fund creators. Pirating comics only helps those illegal websites make money, and again, is stealing. Don't twist your beliefs into a pretzel trying to make what you're doing sound moral or principled. If you pirate comics you are stealing, so either stop or own-up to it without excuses.

Stop by STL Comics for Their Store's Grand Opening--It is This Black Friday Weekend!

I've mentioned previously how my friend Eric Meyer of STL Comics is opening a permanent store location. Well, the grand opening of the STL Comics, Toys & More store is this Black Friday weekend! The store will be open from 10AM-7PM both Friday and Saturday, plus there will be awesome guests on both days from 10AM-4PM.

Comic-creator Rick Burchett will be there Friday and Jeff Edwards on Saturday, which should be pretty rad! Not to mention there will be plenty of Black Friday-related deals going on at the store. Should you be in the area I'd encourage you to attend the grand opening at 10431 St. Charles Rock Rd, Saint Ann, Missouri, 63074--note that the store itself is actually within the Manhattan Antique Marketplace, which is a very cool location as well!

I'm excited to swing by the shop and see Eric and his friendly employees such as Jay (a really cool guy). In-between your stampeding with others as you attempt to get a cheap flat-screen television/clothing discount/etc. It will be 100% fun and I'm 99.9% sure no brawls will break-out unlike at some stores this weekend.

The Typography Aficionado in Me Likes What DC is Doing With Their Black Label Books

I am a bit of a typography nerd. Not a huge one, but I have read article about comic-book lettering, enjoyed a book on typography titled, "Just My Type," and otherwise am always intrigued how the design of letters can really impart a mood/tone/etc. With this in mind I've noticed one thing I like about DC Comic's new Black Label books--the over-sized ones in particular. Namely, on the back of the comics they have a description of the contents and oftentimes this text is pretty cool, fitting-in with the appearance/design of the comic. For an example of this look at the text on the back-cover of the latest, "The Question," comic:

It is regimented, all-CAPS, stern. It evokes how the Question is a character that at times has been that harsh and thorough (and depending on who is writing him, Objectivist or a bit more Zen). Now, observe the scrawling and disorganized style of, "Joker: Killer Smile," and the way it imparts this is a book about all kinds of psychological stuff:

These little flourishes are pretty cool, and are a nice additional touch to the DC Black Label books that are magazine-sized and have the space for something snazzy like these bits of unique typography.

David Gorden's Inktober Book is Out!

In my post earlier this month where I discussed going to the Toyman show I mentioned how my friend David Gorden would have a book coming-out soon collecting his daily sketches he did as a part of the, "Inktober," challenge in 2019. Well he let me know it has been released and it is for sale now on Amazon! Gorden is great guy and talented artist so if you are a fan of quality artwork and like witnessing the creative process of sketches and inking, give his book a try!

Local Comic Shop Day 2019 is Tomorrow

Local Comic Shop Day is always a fun little event. It is for comic-stores to sell wares you can only get by stopping by (what else?) your local comic shop! There are generally some snazzy variant-covers, exclusives, and cool trade paperbacks and hardcovers for sale. LCSD 2019 is tomorrow and I myself am intrigued by an exclusive comic collecting a, "The Walking Dead," story written by Brian K. Vaughn (which up until now has only been available digitally). I am not really a fan of, "The Walking Dead," but I do love the work of Brian K. Vaughn, so I for sure want to grab that if I can! Should your comic store be doing LCSD be sure and stop by to support them, and even if they aren't doing LCSD it is still always good to go and support your local comic shop!

This Way of Collecting All the New, "X-Men," Comics is Pretty Clever

Since re-launching the X-Men with Jonathan Hickman's, "House of X/Powers of X," mini-series and now him writing some of the titles and basically overseeing the rest as guiding-force of sorts with an assortment of books coming out, I was curious how Marvel would collect them. There tends to be a title every week (sometimes two) and each issue has a guide in the back discussing the proper order to read the comics as they are all so tightly linked. I guess with this in mind Marvel is going to (at least initially) release trade paperbacks for these first six issues of all the series or so that collects the assortment of books in the order they were released (within some big volumes). That means you'll be able to get a book and it'll be set-up so you already know that,"Marauders #1," is before, "Excalibur #1, but, "Excalibur #2," comes before, "Marauders  #2," because the trades will reflect that in their assorted volumes.

It would not surprise me if all the series get individually collected as well eventually or as the books proceed and potentially are less closely-linked this, "All-in-one," trade volumes will cease. For now though this is a pretty clever method of having readers follow-along to the mega-story Hickman and everyone else are making.

Listening to Her Raunchy Music Made Me Wonder...What if Megan Thee Stallion Was Secretly Vanilla?

Megan Thee Stallion is a rapper who is known for some saucy lyrics. She talks about how good she is at wild and kinky sex, a lot. Some of her lyrics include bragging about how her vagina has so much grip men can't last more than a minute in bed with her and that she messes them up in the head and causes them to obsess about her thanks to her sex-abilities. She talks about all kinds of wild sex acts like climbing on a man's face and, "Doing a luau," and other assorted actions that incorporate pain or domination. Now, I am by no means stating Megan Thee Stallion is bad at sex, I'm sure her partner/s are always very satisfied, but what if Megan Thee Stallion was secretly vanilla and had us all fooled?

Musicians will sometimes create an image of themselves that is exaggerated or over-the-top. After all, many musicians are not partying constantly (and those who do often sadly end up dead) and lots of gangster rappers are not actually selling drugs or shooting rivals (and rappers who do engage in crimes have tended to end-up in prison or also sadly dead). Hence, it would be kind of funny if it turned out Megan Thee Stallion were actually really mellow and chill when it came to sex as opposed to violently mounting her partners and riding their genitals like, "A stolen car." For all I know Megan Thee Stallion is as extreme sexually as she claims, but it would be funny if at some point the opposite turned out to be true.

Mid-November 2019 Links and News

Thanksgiving (Slowly) Nears

Thanksgiving is right near the end of the month of November this year, so it seems like we have to wait forever to eat all that Turkey/Ham/Vegetarian alternative we're looking forward to digging into. It is just Mid-November right now, so to help us bide our time here are some interesting links or bits of news you can snack on.

Links and News, Wishbone not Included

I am quite excited for a Jeopardy, "Greatest of All Time," tournament where the (arguably) three best players ever face-off in prime-time for a chunk of cash. We shall see who will win when it airs this January!

I and my other friends such the folk at Comics Heating Up are extremely excited for the launch this week of a new mini-series with the character, "The Question."Featuring the talented writing of Jeff Lemire as well as art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz (who both have drawn Vic Sage in the past with great skill) it will most likely be quite grand. I feel like a weekly show focused on the character solving mysteries would just be awesome.

It seems like everybody has an opinion on this whole, "OK Boomer," meme. I don't have much to say besides it is kind of funny to see how mad Baby Boomers get about it considering the years they went on-and-on about how everyone else was being an overly-sensitive, "Snowflake." Because nothing can simply remain a silly meme, Fox has apparently applied to trademark the phrase for use in comedy programs or game shows.

I still have yet to watch, "The Mandalorian," show on Disney+ even though we have the service. I have heard many good things however, including one interesting observation about how delightfully old-school, "Star Wars," it feels compared to the more slick and fancy new movies. Plus, it has a baby alien from Yoda's species who is absolutely adorable!

"Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp," already had issues with how mercenary it was. Introducing a paid subscription service for the game just sounds atrocious and I'm glad I quit playing it when I did. I will always prefer versions you pay for upfront and can enjoy without micro-transactions.

Speaking of video-games I have not played in forever but sometimes follow the news of, Professor Oak and Ash's Mom are definitely hooking-up in the, "Pokemon," Universe.

"Saturday Night Live," can be quite good or pretty bad. I'll give it up to the, "Days of our Impeachment," bit that opened the last show  however. It made fun of the idea that the impeachment hearings of Donald Trump lack, "Pizzazz," and need to be more dramatic to get people to care. Putting aside how sad it is people need our President committing crimes to be, "Entertaining television," it was a good segment in all its absurdity, despite some apparent issues with where the camera was supposed to be.

God, will people please stop going on about this mythological, "Snyder Cut," unless it is in the context of a fascinating documentary tracing the history of how the, "Justice League," movie went so wrong?

Lastly, the game platform company Valve that used to make games actually announced the have a new, "Half Life," game in the works after over a decade of people waiting. The reason this was not huge news as you would normally expect is that it is a prequel game that uses VR. Yeah, that VR-headset technology some people thought would be huge years ago and which has had a lukewarm-at-best reception by the gaming market. More will be revealed November 21st apparently, so perhaps this will sound more exciting as details emerge? For now, it is quite underwhelming.

Soon-ish We Shall Feast

While it may still seem a bit of a ways away, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Then, after that it is one big wild mess of all the Winter holidays before the New Year.

Superman Revealing His Identity Again Seems Like Such Lazy Writing

I am a fan of the comic writer known as Brian Michael Bendis. I am realistic tho, loving some of his work and admittedly thinking parts of it are not as good (his team-books oftentimes were lackluster compared to titles focused on a singular hero). Some time ago he went to work for DC Comics after years at Marvel and his big thing right now is having Superman reveal his identity as Clark Kent...which yes, happened like a couple years ago when Lois Lane spilled the beans.

This seems so lazy because as I said, it happened some years ago and nobody really cared, so why are we treading the same/really similar ground? I would argue the fact Clark Kent and Superman are the same person is the least interesting thing about both identities, the whole point is that Superman represents goodness and doing the best you can while Clark Kent is a way for Superman to live a normal and human life...so by revealing they are the one person that erases the point of Clark Kent, arguably. Heck, having Clark Kent as an identity helps humanize Superman as well, keeping him grounded despite being so almighty--there is a big monologue in, "Kill Bill: Volume 2," about this actually:



Bendis does not seem to care about any of the reasons I and the late David Carradine list as the upcoming, "Superman," #18 will apparently have the big reveal (unless this is all some clever trick to hide a more wild twist, in which case that would be pretty impressive). I have not seen any excitement about this, just people shrugging and thinking this is a redundant idea from Bendis at best or, "Chasing headlines," at worst, as my friend Agent Poyo at Comics Heating Up describes it. Perhaps this will be a great story somehow, for now I'm not that enthusiastic.

The Cortaca Jug Was Today and at MetLife Stadium!

The 61st annual Cortaca Jug occurred today. It is where the Division 3 Football teams of Cortland and Ithaca play against each other. It is a healthy little rivalry and each college takes turns hosting every year. One neat thing was Ithaca was the host but was able to get the game at the huge MetLife stadium where actual NFL games happen. The stadium was flooded with Red for Cortland and Blue for Ithaca as the teams played today. The college I attended (Cortland) lost, sadly, but it was still cool to have the whole thing occur where it did!

"Universilent" #1 and #2 Review

In a previous post where I discussed my time at the most recent Toyman show I mentioned having met and purchased comics from Kevin Kessler of Kazolf Comics. Titled, "Universilent," the series takes place in the far-future where sound has been erased from Earth and a number of the main characters are deaf. Mr. Kessler is himself deaf and came-up with this idea for his series of a World with no sound, "Just as Kevin's World is," as his comic's biographical-section discusses. I bought the first and second issue of, 'Universilent," and greatly enjoyed reading them.

The two issues focus on a squad from the future-version of Earth (now called Eyeth) as they inspect a possible danger on another planet. The second issue reveals this threat in full after hinting about its powers. Kessler illustrates the dialogue in the creative way of drawing the character's hand-gestures as they communicate via sign language which we then read as traditional comic speech bubbles. Kessler also creates a wide-range of cool-looking futuristic robots and aliens that are delightfully strange and imposing. Were I to have any criticism it is that there is a lot of text in the first issue as a bit of an, "Info-dump," to fill readers in on this future-Universe, but by the second issue with the background established the comic is able to focus on what it excels at--neat robots, strange aliens, and wild space-battling action.

"Universilent" is only two issues in so where exactly the plot may be heading is unclear, but I'm excited to see what happens next. I encourage you to visit the website for, 'Universilent," where you can buy the first two issues for yourself and check the series out--I know I'm eager for issue #3!
4.5 out of 5 stars (for both issues).

Goodbye, Tom Spurgeon

For years I have loved reading Tom Spurgeon's website, The Comics Reporter. The man was a huge name in comic-related journalism, having been the editor of The Comics Journal for five years in the 1990's and doing The Comics Reporter for over 15 years. He had been health problems these past years and I just recently learned he has passed. Sometimes with the comic-books coming out that week he would put-up a post of the stuff that looked interesting...and now we won't have him to tell us about any future weeks or share his thoughts on comic conventions, note the birthdays of comic creators, or the like.

Sometimes Tom would have a fun theme for the weekend where he would ask people to contribute their thoughts about comics (like, "Name your five favorite close copies of Batman."), and I would sometimes email my thoughts for a segment if I had an opinion. He also would at times request people send him links to retrospectives written about shows or famous comic-creators who had passed and I'd do that too. Now I'm writing an obituary for Tom himself, and it feels so strange and just wrong to be doing so. There is a big hole left in the comic industry and journalism by Tom's passing, and although I did not know him super-closely I enjoyed our occasional email correspondence and checked his site daily. Goodbye, Tom, you will be missed.

Thoughts on Disney+ AKA the, "Puppy Dog Pals," Streaming-Service

There is a new streaming service called, "Disney+," which allows you to stream both seasons of my son's favorite show, "Puppy Dog Pals," for just $6.99 a month, commercial free. Considering how much space old episodes we recorded are taking-up on our DVR and that the DisneyNOW app has tons of ads, this is a great deal with the launch of Disney+ this week we eagerly subscribed. Apparently, this streaming-service includes other features beyond, "Puppy Dog Pals," as a nice bonus too, as I posted on Facebook to my friends/Tweeted to my countless (okay, 100-ish) followers.

I'm being silly, but one of the main reasons our house thought Disney+ sounded good was it included a lot of Disney Junior shows Clarkson loves, in addition to a number of classic-to-newer Disney films he will watch (Clarkson always is down to view, "Moana," for example). Plus, there is, "Star Wars," content and a chunk of Marvel movies that are not currently tied-up with other services for a bit longer. Also, it is just $6.99 which is a Hell of a deal considering how expensive all the other streaming services are becoming. Speaking of, "Other streaming services," it is not secret I am getting sick and tired of so many streaming platforms emerging, but yeah, Disney+ is pretty snazzy so far.

Clarkson's favorite show besides, "Wheel of Fortune," or, "The Price is Right."
Yep, cartoons and game shows are his jam.

We've watched some of Clarkson's shows plus, there is, "The Simpsons," which is fun to check-out old episodes of, and the original content like, "The Mandalorian," which is based in the Star Wars-Universe is apparently off to a good start as a weekly-updated show (I have not watched it yet). Plus, in the future Disney+ will have my, "Moon Knight," show, so I was going to have to get it at some point no matter what for that. There is by no means as much content as some other streaming services, but what is there is mostly killer with no filler. Even the, "Filler," is stuff I like, such as those old hokey Disney Channel movies I watched as a kid--"Mom's Dating a Vampire," and, "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century,"--or the direct-to-VHS sequels Disney did for some years (anybody up for, "Aladdin and the King of Thieves," to kill an hour?), so it is all pretty snazzy stuff.

With everyone using Disney+ it has had some technical hiccups, and we've seen those too having tried it out. Shows and movies suddenly having the screen freeze while audio continues, the whole program slowing to a near-freeze and then speeding-up really fast. It is a little annoying but not system-breaking glitches. The program itself is easy to navigate and will feel familiar to anyone who has used Netflix/Hulu/whatever. Disney+ is still clearly really, really new and will need some time to add more content, but as it stands now it is pretty snazzy. Plus again, that is a great price (there is a combo version that has Hulu and ESPN stuff as well, should want to explore that). Disney+ is not perfect, but it is pretty cool and it has, "Puppy Dog Pals," which is basically worth the price alone.

Two Rumors I've Heard Enough to Maybe Believe about the Marvel Cinematic Universe

In February of 2018 I shared three rumors relating to Marvel/Disney. The one about plans to make a, "Blade," movie turned out to be extremely true, as I was proud to brag about when his flick was announced as in-the-works during July of 2019. Well, of those three rumors I also mentioned there was some possible planning to utilize Ghost Rider in a big way, but it was unclear if it would be the Robbie Reyes version that drove a car or a more old-school iteration like Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch. Then a planned Hulu show with a Robbie Reyes-styled Ghost Rider was canceled and it is all seeming to fall into place. You see, I've been hearing some chatter from people (who won't be named) that tend to steer me in the right direction about stuff so there is a rumor I'm starting to believe and another rumor that grows out of it.

The first rumor is to possibly expect to see Ghost Rider in the, "Blade," movie in some way, shape, or form. I don't know if we are talking just Johnny Blaze (maybe Ketch) before he become the Ghost Rider, a brief appearance of the well-known flaming skull in the after-the-credits stinger, or what, but Marvel/Disney has plans for Ghost Rider in the MCU and he'll be popping-up in a Blade-related film, supposedly.

This leads to the next rumor I've heard that makes some sense but seems a bit more shaky. Basically, you may recall people were mumbling about a, "Dark Avengers," team, but thought it would be something like the comics with Norman Osborn. What if I told you this, "Dark Avengers," is actually just a more commercial-name for the Midnight Sons AKA Marvel's team of supernatural heroes? The thing is some of the better-known Midnight Sons have complex copyright concerns (Morbius has his film rights over at Sony), so if a supernatural team were being built why not just call it the Dark Avengers?

This could all turn out to be smoke being blown up my tuckus or it could end-up I'm right on the money. As it is, I am pretty ready to believe the first rumor I've heard and kinda see the logic behind the second, but think that is less credible and more a case of the people I've talked to stretching the limits of what they actually know versus giving me solid scuttlebutt.

Happy Veterans' Day!

Veterans' Day is every year on November 11th. With that in mind I just wanted to thank all the Veteran's who helped keep our country safe and those currently serving as well! I have a number of friends and relatives who have served (or are serving) in the armed forces and they all deserve to be honored and thanked. While there is a lot to unwrap politically in regards to the those in power who control the military and sometimes misuse it horribly (a number of Presidents have gotten us embroiled in pointless conflicts), we always honor and support the troops who serve our country.

I Feel a Mixture of Joy (For the Show) and Dread (Due to Some of the Fanbase) as, "Rick and Morty," Returns for Season 4

It has been a good year-and-a-half since there has been a new episode of the television show, "Rick and Morty." Tonight it returns to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block at 11:30 PM Eastern, 10:30 PM Central. This new season will be 10 episodes and it is going to start-off with five straight weeks (I think) of the show and then there will be a break before the season finishes-out its second half in early 2020 or so, I imagine, with the show returning after the winter holidays. I am both excited and honestly dreading this a bit because while I personally love the show, it has a fan-base that can be pretty toxic.

Don't get me wrong, I have met some wonderful men and women via my love of, "Rick and Morty," who have as big a fondness for the show as me while also not totally misinterpreting the show as if Rick is someone to look up to as opposed to pity. I know lots of folk who love this show and don't threaten to throw a riot if a loosely-tied-in-to-the-show dipping sauce happens to run-out at McDonald's restaurants. Sadly, however, the internet and everyday life is full of people who are unpleasant and either act like they are the only people who, "Get it," in regards to the show or who otherwise are just big jerks towards everyone else because some fandoms just can sadly develop a nasty-but-loud contingent who try their hardest to poison the entire fandom with their venom (look at the newer, "Star Wars," movies for a good example of this).

I really do love, "Rick and Morty," and am eager to watch it. I just am not that pumped to witness some people insult and otherwise be mean towards others because they think they get to be gatekeepers of the fandom for, "Rick and Morty." The show's creators have outright disowned the haters, so hopefully they'll just shut-up and let the 99% of people who are kind and pleasant enjoy our time sitting down and going on some weird and often-dangerous adventures with Rick, Morty, and the rest of the family. Yes, even the eternal loser, Jerry.

It is 2019 and Chicken Sandwiches Are Political

It is the year 2019, and chicken sandwiches are political. People who enjoy Popeye's chicken sandwich find it loaded with complex socio-political discussions about how some are engaging in Black shaming with it, saying racist things about Black people liking the sandwich and that they, "Should line-up to vote," which is hurtful and stupid because nobody said all the white folk lining-up for Pumpkin Spice Lattes needed to do the same thing--so yeah, some racism in there. Plus, liking fried chicken has never been a race thing.

White people love fried chicken, Black people love fried chicken, Asians love fried chicken, vegetarians love fried chicken so much there are vegetarians who make exceptions for eating chicken because it tastes so great. So yes, all races and demographics love fried chicken, making it a weird race thing is stupid when we should all join greasy-hands across the World regardless of race, belief-system, gender, etc. and sing the praises of fried chicken. Oh, but wait, belief systems are important for fried chicken too? Yep.

Back with a whole lot of debate...

That's right, apparently now if you're more liberal and progressive you should eat at Popeye's if you desire a chicken sandwich because Chick-Fil-A and their chicken sandwiches have a political and religious history that is...troublesome at best. There has always been a social, religious, and political element to food (from stereotypes of certain cultures eating certain things to religious objections to some kinds of foods), but in 2019 subtlety is dead and we're just now outright screaming at each other about chicken sandwiches being racist, being homophobic, and thinking the act of driving-through a particular establishment is making a huge statement...which it kind of is, I guess? It seems the only thing everyone can agree on is that the Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich from McDonald's is utterly forgettable, so I guess we've got some unity on one thing.

Happy Birthday to My Wonderful Wife!

Today was the birthday of my amazing wife, Samii. She is the love of my life and just plain awesome. She is loving, caring, and puts up with my never-ending jokes full of terrible puns. She is a fantastic Mother and all-around stupendous human being. I was honored to spend another of her birthdays with her. She's the best!

"Letters from Midia," is a Stellar Read!

I was on Reddit looking at the comic-related posts as I enjoy doing and indie comic-creator Boluwatife Oriowo was discussing a new comic he'd published, "Letters from Midia." Available on Amazon as a paperback or for reading on a Kindle, it follows the story of a mysterious knight trying to track-down his love, a young princess named Midia who has been kidnapped by some cruel folk who plan to use a mysterious black ichor on her to create a weapon (they want to take over the Kingdom, as villains tend to desire). A theme emerges as the knight keeps fighting new challenges in the hopes of getting closer, only to find yet another letter...and another letter...just letter after letter. There is a really cool part in the book that helps illustrate just how many letters there are and has us wondering if Midia will ever possibly be rescued. I won't spoil the ending, but I found it very satisfying and bittersweet.

Oriowo's artwork is fantastic, with it masterfully illustrating the range of fights the knight faces. Whether he's combating ogres, dueling mid-air with half-human half-bird alchemists, or jumping-around a stone giant in the hopes of finding a weak-spot, it all is kinetic and gorgeous. Between the great story and how wonderful the books looks I really enjoyed, "Letters from Midia," and appreciate that Oriowo was willing to send me a free digital copy for the purposes of review when I messaged him about my interest in the book. I rate it a stellar 5 out of 5 stars. You can buy a copy of, "Letters from Midia," for yourself on Amazon, and you can also see more of Oriowo's stuff by visiting his Tumblr page or dropping-by his Twitter.

Television Tuesday: Stop Torturing Your Kids With Cruel Halloween Candy, "Pranks," In the Hope You Get on T.V.

Normally the idea of a parent doing a cruel prank on their own children that results in the kids screaming and crying sounds like borderline child-abuse to anyone with common sense. However, when the host of a late-night comedy show asks people to lie to their kids about eating all of their Halloween candy--and then send-in a video of the kids having a meltdown so he can air it at the start of November--that's just apparently peachy-keen. People must be cool with its because this is the ninth year of this dumb shit being all the craze.

Doing this, "Prank," is cruel to kids who worked hard to get that candy so some grown adults who should know better can laugh at a child's expense. Don't purposely make your children cry or throw a fit for an idiotic, "Prank," in the hopes you'll be able to further embarrass your kids on television should their rage/tears make it on Kimmel's show. It is an awful way to kick-off November, a month with a holiday about treasuring family/friends and treating them well. This is just mean, pure and simple.

I Had A Stellar Time at the November 2019 Toyman Show

By this point if you've been reading my blog much you'll know I am a huge fan of the Toyman Shows that happen multiple times a year (sometimes they fall monthly, sometimes every two months). Anytime I go to a show I bring stuff to trade or sell to my favorite vendors and I end-up with some awesome items of my own to take-home and treasure. This show was no different than any other in that it was jam-packed with amazing vendors, stellar creative guests, and was otherwise a splendid show. As I enjoy talking about all the people I saw and stuff I got I shall now discuss how much of a ball I had...

I started the show as I generally do, on the first floor where I walk around to all the numerous vendor tables and see what amazing goodies I can find. I saw the cool folk of Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles who were more than happy to cut a deal with me for some of my comics. I also saw Eric of STL Comics who has the Geeky Extravaganza coming up November 9th (which is sure to be awesome fun as well)! I was able to trade him some of my knick-knacks and comics for a cool old Atari cartridge of Pac-Man that I thought would make a good decoration on my bookshelf, perhaps. I also picked-up a cool old comic of, "The Flash," from a random table that just looked like a good issue. Observe:

As I continued exploring all the great wares on the the first floor I saw my friend Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles who had some impressive items this show. He had some incredible vintage, "Star Wars," stuff I imagine sold pretty quickly. As I looked around on the first floor I also was able to trade some of my older comics for a really cool, "Mickey Mouse Club Scrapbook," which is full of old Disney-related songs and pictures of retro Disney gear and clothing. I am always intrigued by old collectibles and this book is full of images of them! Check it out:

Before I went upstairs to the ,"Artists' Attic," I said hello to my friend, Steven, who sells a lot of toys. Last show when I saw him we talked about postcards and how he had an assortment. He was willing to trade a big collection of movie-themed postcards he had for some of my Funko Pops. I was excited to do this as I like sending my friends and family postcards, so having these cool ones celebrating famous movies is really neat and will allow me to send some snazzy postcards to my loved ones. Anyways, I went upstairs and one of the first folk I ran into was Jessica Mathews who had just released her latest cool children's book, "The Lazy Vampire." I eagerly bought a copy to read to my son! Here is a picture of the copy I bought:

The book's illustrator and talented artist Jennifer Stolzer was there too and always a pleasure to chat with! I next ran into my chum J.E. Nelson whom has her next book soon-to-release for her, "The Power Within," series that follows the story of a young girl with autism in a post-apocalypse. I asked her to keep me informed when the book is out and she said she would! I proceeded to walk around Artists' Attic and saw friend of the blog, Leigh Savage. We talked about the number of shows she had been at selling her erotica novels and spoke about some upcoming releases that collect her, "Quickie," short-stories into a big anthology book once she completes a couple more tales--it sounds like she'll be having a busy November of writing and I look forward to her upcoming books!

Leigh's author logo.

I also saw the always-awesome David Gorden who spoke with me about how his, "Inktober," had been crazy as he made a new drawing (pencils and inks) every day for the 31 in October. We discussed how he planned to release it as a collection sometime soon and I told him that sounded like it would be a fantastic book! In addition, my buddy Lorenzo Lizana was at the show where he was hard at work on a number of gorgeous commissions. One he had done for a client of Wonder Woman was phenomenal. I would've asked to take a picture, but generally it is rude to snap a pic of a commission someone else has paid for, I feel, so I did not request to do so. I ran into my friend Lonnie Johnson who was selling items to raise funds for the non-profit, Heroes for Kids. Heroes for Kids always does great things for the community and I'd encourage everyone to read-up on it!

A great group!

I also had the chance to meet famous sculptor/artist/super-creative guy Randy Bowen, who was a treat to speak with! Before heading downstairs I also met for the first time Kevin Kessler of Kazolf Comics, who had two copies of his comic, "Universilent," of which he is the writer and artist. The comic sounded really cool as it is set in a Sci-Fi Universe where a number of the characters are deaf and sound is nonexistent. Kevin was inspired to create the comic as he is deaf. I bought a copy of each issue and he told me he'd love for me to read them and review them on my website sometime, which I plan to do! Here are the two issues I purchased:

This Toyman show had an incredible array of vendors, a number of fantastic creators, and was just as much fun as I always expect--and I expect a lot of fun! I would encourage anyone who is able to attend the next Toyman Show on December 8th. Parking is free and it only costs $5 to get in, with anybody 16 years-old or younger free (there is early-bird admission at 8AM for $12 as well if you are the type to wake-up early). I just want to thank the man in charge, Chris McQuillen for without fail putting-on such great shows. I was literally just at Toyman yesterday and now I'm already counting-down for December 8th, that is how great a time I always have!

Daylight Saving Time Ends Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 2AM Daylight Saving Time shall conclude. This means we all get an extra hour of sleep because we, "Fall back." even if its at the expense of throwing everyone within America (in States that do it) way off. Seriously, now it'll be darker a lot earlier and once Spring arrives we lose the hour anyway. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of DST and plenty of studies have proven it is a bad idea, but it seems to be going nowhere anytime soon, so let's just enjoy the bit of extra sleep for now, consequences be damned!

Reviews of, "Death Stranding," Make it Sound Weird and Interesting, Maybe Good

Hey, ya'll know that, "Death Stranding," game that's been getting a chunk of hype? Well, the reviews are starting to be posted and it is apparently really weird and interesting, maybe good. Some reviews are glowing, some are vaguely intrigued, some find the whole thing humdrum even if it looks really good and has some-off-the-wall ideas because at the end of day the game is mainly a bunch of walking around for fetch-quests (with big fancy cut-scenes thrown in too). Hideo Kojima founded his own studio, hired a bunch of people, got some famous friends, and made his game. Whether it becomes a huge hit or ends up falling-flat on its face will be seen when it is released November 8th, 2019.

"Death Stranding," is clearly good-looking, very odd, and has whole lot of ideas. We shall see if it is also fun or a success. I know I at least want to give it a try on my PS4 at some point, if for no other reason than I enjoy zany stuff, generally.