"Heavy Metal," Magazine to Return in 2025

There was never much of an official announcement, "Heavy Metal," magazine just kind of ended with a whimper. It was a bummer as the magazine had been through so many highs and lows, and petered out in 2023. The publication sometimes had really thoughtful and mature comics. Sometimes it was mostly boobs, butts, guns, and sci-fi-influenced mixtures of the three in an effort to be experimental and erotic. It was always an interesting publication, however, from the early days in the 70s all the way to when Grant Morrison was briefly at the helm later in its term. The thing is, when I wrote about the end of, "Heavy Metal," (linked above) I did say how barring some unforeseen rising from the ashes of failure like a mythical phoenix I thought it was done. I guess the Phoneix is rising because--you guessed it--"Heavy Metal," is due for a return.

Heavy Metal International has CEO Marhsall Lees confirming the magazine shall relaunch in 2025. Frank Forte will be the Editor-in-Chief, Dave Kelly the new Executive Editor, and Chris Thompson the Editorial Manager. Preorders for the extra-big first issue shall be done via Kickstarter (which will also offer limited edition covers and such). I hope this relaunch is successful so that creators who want to make weird and interesting stuff have a platform to do so for the fans that want to buy the aforementioned interesting and weird stuff. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more information as well--such as when the Kickstarter launches and who will be contributing to this new debut issue!

The Hot Comics Revue 19--Talking Absolutes With Batman

"Absolute Batman," was promoted heavily as a part of DC's new, "Absolute," line. Stores ordered tons of copies. It sold out the first printing at the distributor level but that happens with plenty of comics that sit on store shelves. People on Reddit and in my comic forums scoffed at the idea such a, "Big," book could heat up significantly. AND YET! Comic stores found that even if they went heavy on the first issue, people wanted it, and now the shelves are bare in many places. 

Absolute Batman's cover A.

The comic is getting really good reviews with its fresh take on Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta and that mixed with curiosity from fans and regular folks hearing about it has resulted in a run on the book. Supply has dried up of a book that should have--in theory--been clogging up dollar bins in a year from being supposedly so overprinted. Still, the A cover of, "Absolute Batman," keeps climbing in popularity and price to the point people will pay 20 or 25 bucks for it online. Will this book keep gaining in popularity? Will it fizzle? Could it end up being like a, "Spawn," #1 where even though tons of copies exist it always sells for $20-$30 over the decades? I don't know, but I can say this book is currently quite hot and everybody wants a piece. A second and third printing are already coming and this has interest piqued in the other, "Absolute," books coming down the pipeline too.

Other incoming titles.

I was able to grab a copy of, "Absolute Batman," as the variant covers are still pretty cheap for now. I plan to read it once I have some time to sit back and properly enjoy it. I dug the, "DC All-in Special," so between that and the debut of this new Batman it looks like DC might actually have a hit new line of books on their hands thanks to some great ideas and quality storytelling. Sometimes effort is rewarded, I suppose!

That, "Joker: Folie à Deux," Really Bombed Hard

I didn't see the first, "Joker," movie. It seemed to barely have anything to do with, "Batman," conceptually, and looked like a really negative, sour, and unpleasant movie--even if Joaquin Phoneix is a great actor. The sequel--"Joker: Folie à Deux," looked quite strange but still tonally dark, with the movie becoming a musical, somehow. Then it got awful reviews, had an ending few liked, and technically bombed in theaters as it did come in first at the box office the week it debuted, but didn't make nearly as much as was hoped for. It even has set a record of sorts for the, "'worst second-week box office drop' in comic book movie history," according to the AV Club. It fell off a metaphorical cliff. Everyone is blaming everyone else who was involved with the movie. Is it Phoenix demanding rewrites and new scenes? Is it how Lady Gaga had a lot of scenes cut? Director Todd Philips' refusal to work with the studio and let them offer opinions? 

I think the first, "Joker," movie was a bit of a, "Lightning in a bottle," moment that had people curious enough to check it out. Still, nobody wanted more in the form of, "Joker: Folie à Deux," perhaps. It looked like, "Joker," but with more confusing elements (why a musical?) and narrative shifts to the, "Saga," of this Joker that everybody seems to have hated. The , "Joker, " sequel thankfully is its own, "Elseworlds," kind of tale and not related to the main DC continuity now being built up by James Gunn and Peter Safran. That take on the DC Universe has me more optimistic for a good time than I ever had for these, "Joker," flicks, which just seemed to be saturated with negativity, cynicism, and little else of a point besides saying, "Life sucks, oh well." I don't know who to blame for how badly this sequel went, but this particular take on a DC character is clearly finished and ended as a big ol' awful mess.

The Latest Saint Charles Quad Con is Just Over a Week Away!

I always have a grand time at the Quad Con held in Saint Charles at the Steel Shop Event Center. The next one is a week from tomorrow on October 20th, starting at 10AM (and going until 4PM). It is just $5 to get in with free admission for military and free entry for all after 2:30 PM. The Quad Con always has a metric ton of vendors selling everything from comics, to toys, crafts, trading cards, Funko Pops, vintage video-games, original art, cosplay, and more! I highly encourage anyone in the area to be at the Quad Con on Sunday the 20th, I plan on attending and having a fantastic experience! See you there!

Marvel Doing Zany Character Pairings? Sounds Fun!

The Marvel Universe is a big place. There are well-known characters who did not meet for years of existence or whom still haven't hung out. With this in mind,  J. Michael Straczynski is going to be writing a number of one-shots for Marvel featuring, "...characters who had either never been paired before, or only minimally," for the amusement of us readers! JMS returned to Marvel a bit ago to write, "Captain America," after previously leaving on less-than-stellar terms when Editorial overrode how he wanted to finish his, "Amazing Spider-Man," run. JMS's take so far on, "Captain America," has been a bit quirky, but still fun. Hence, it is interesting to think he'll write about Rocket Racoon and Doctor Doom, Nick Fury going against Fin Fang Foom, Hulk chilling with Doctor Strange, and so forth. 

The only story that made me scratch my head in that it doesn't sound like a strange duo is, "Spider-Man Vs. Doctor Octopus." I mean, they interacted enough that at one point Otto literally took over Peter's body and served as, "The Superior Spider-Man," for a controversial run--perhaps there is a twist to that story? Whatever the case, we get to enjoy some wild matchups this January with JMS scripting and a variety of great artists illustrating.

Silver Sprocket is Doing a Fundraiser--With Rewards!

I am a big fan of the independent comic publisher Silver Sprocket. They put out works that are creative, edgy, experimental, and simply awesome. They are celebrating 15 years of existence by running a fundraiser! They're looking for 200 more people to become members/subscribers which can get you all their awesome releases in digital or print form. They're also selling snazzy prints (I have one pictured above) and signed books that the authors were kind enough to autograph. 

This fundraiser will help them to keep printing superb works and make sure everyone at Silver Sprocket can make a living wage (not easy to do in comic-books, sadly). Here is that link again so that you can buy something cool and help give Silver Sprocket some more cash so that they can look forward to another 15 (and more) years!

"Funko Fusion," is a Disappointment of a Game

I've loved playing Lego-themed videogames over the years. There have been many from, "Star Wars," to, "DC," "Marvel," and ones that mash-up a bunch of properties to an interesting result. When Funko announced their own game, "Funko Fusion," I had hoped it would be fun like the Lego games. I've played a bit of, "Funko Fusion," and am disappointed to share that it is pretty mediocre.

The Lego games are full of charm and fun gameplay. "Funko Fusion," is a mostly uninspired 3rd-person shooter with boring landscapes, annoyingly long boss fights, lame puzzles, and a shocking lack of personality considering how fun and quirky real-life Pops can be. Some surprisingly graphic body-horror imagery aside (as others noticed) there isn't much of interest in this game. It's just drab and dull. This is such a missed opportunity and I'm glad my library (libraries rock!) had it for me to check out instead of having to drop a stack of cash to be underwhelmed. At least we still have the Lego-themed games to enjoy after this missed opportunity.

I've Officially Known Samii 13 Years as of Today!

I met Samii 13 years ago today! We chatted online via OkCupid, went on a date (then many more), and now here we are all these years later. I am thankful every day that Samii went from being my girlfriend, to my wife, to the mother of our wonderful boys. It is wild to think we were strangers when I went and met her in-person for the first time at the Crestwood Mall (which was replaced with a Dierbergs and some housing awhile ago). I'm glad I didn't scare her off with my eccentric demeanor and continue to marvel at how caring a person she is. Clarkson and Gibson have the best mommy and I have the best partner in life. It's been a wild 13 years and I look forward to many more!

"The Comics Courier," is the Print Comics Criticism I've Been Yearning For

I love absorbing all forms of media as well as reading crictism of that media. Whether I agree with a review or article, if it makes me think about a movie/show/comic/whatever in a new way, I appreciate that. We don't have much print comics crictism, lately. Magazines that focused on comic-books all went out of print besides a yearly-ish edition of, "The Comics Journal." Hence, seeing that there is a Kickstarter campaign for, "The Comics Courier, A New Comics Criticism Journal," has my attention.

As much as I love reading about comics online, I enjoy a good magazine regarding subjects I enjoy too. Print isn't dead, with plenty of topics still getting magazines, so a biannual (twice a year) print publication dedicated to comics sounds superb. The creator/main editor is Tiffany Babb, who has almost a decade of experience regarding comics. She has recruited a bunch of great folks who write about comics as well and if I had any issue with this new publication it would just be how I wish they'd included me because I love to write about comics and can usually ramble on long enough to meet double the needed word-count--editors love/hate me a lot! My quibble of being left out of this debut issue aside (seriously, hit me up if you want an article in a future issue, Tiffany) I love the idea of, "The Comics Courier," and have already backed it at the level for a physical copy (you can get just a digital, but I just told ya'll I want it in my dirty mitts)! Go and back it on Kickstarter now if you value comic-book criticism too--which considering how I do a chunk of that, I figure you must be into reading folk's thoughts on comics!

You Were Warned About Those Commercial DNA Kits

I've given my genetic information to companies that have to follow strict privacy rules. I'm talking about HIPPA laws regarding genetic testing for myself and my family members. That said, I've always been leery of 3rd party companies like 23andMe or Ancestry that want my DNA and don't seem beholden to any particular rules about what they do with my information. Seriously, I wrote about it back in 2020. Now, 23andMe is on the brink of bankruptcy and has all that useful genetic data they could sell to survive. I warned ya'll.

Could this information serve great medical purposes? Yes. You could anonymize data and study a bulk of it to see how certain genetic markers can be linked to other ones for health issues. Am I paranoid at the idea that it could be sold to advertising companies or law enforcement? Yes, because a lot of information could be in that genetic code and there is zero responsibility to privacy for 23andMe--once you signed up and spat in a tube for them you signed away your rights.

It sounds like a science-fiction concept, but imagine a company getting your genetic information and putting it in a database. This database finds you have a gene that predisposes you to really liking dark chocolate. The company sells this money to an advertisement agency with a corporation that sells chocolate as a client. One day, they trawl their data and decide to send anyone with the chocolate-loving gene a coupon for a discount on a new line of dark chocolate bars with various fun nut options. That isn't too nefarious, but things could get a lot more twisted and intrusive. 

I could be paranoid, but if I give someone all my genetic code and they don't have any privacy obligation, maybe they don't anonymize data and sell my DNA data if they get into a tight spot. I bet a few decades ago the idea of sending a company your salvia so you could find out if you're 30% Irish or such sounded outlandish, but now here we are. Your genetic code could translate to dollar signs. Be careful who gets your DNA because Lord only knows what will be possible to learn from it in the next couple of years.