Tonia Haddix, of, "Chimp Crazy," Fame has Plead Guilty to Perjury and Obstruction of Justice

Tonia Haddix is a local-ish celebrity, living in Missouri and gaining notoriety for her role in faking the death of celebrity chimp Tonka--all of which was chronicled in the documentary, "Chimp Crazy." She admitted in court today she committed crimes when she had claimed Tonka was deceased while under oath and he was actually living in her basement. The whole story is bizarre and I'd encourage you to check out, "Chimp Crazy," on MAX for a wild ride. Having pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, Tonia will be sentenced in July. 

Tonia Haddix could face years in person for her actions and some hefty fines too. I don't condone her actions at all and personally feel Tonka is served better living in a safe and big habitat with other chimps--but all of that said, I am somewhat impressed that someone could love a chimp that much. I don't know about you, but I would not be willing to face decades in prison for chimp, no matter how charming/adorable/lovable he or she is. We'll see what the future holds for Haddix this July.

Mary Jane Watson is the New Venom...Okay?

Venom was originally Eddie Brock (after Peter Parker rejected the alien suit and it sought revenge). However, at this point, so many people have been Venom or shared their body with a symbiote that it might be easier to make a list of who hasn't even bonded with one. Eddie Brock is currently working with the Carnage symbiote so as to keep its bloodthirsty urges in check and for a while his son, Dylan, was bonded with the Venom symbiote but after some assorted comic events, it became a mystery who the newest Venom was. That's been the plot of the latest ongoing series, "All-New Venom," which introduced a variety of, "Suspects," but within the fifth issue this week, it will be revealed it wasn't anybody on our radar. Nope, it's Mary Jane Watson, because why not?

I'm a little befuddled why Mary Jane would want to bond with Venom considering when he first emerged on the scene (bonded with Eddie Brock back in his earliest appearances) he harassed/terrified/otherwise was pretty awful towards her and Peter Parker. I guess she's come around on the idea of sharing a body with a symbiote, however, as it has been confirmed that, "All-New Venom," #5 is coming out this week and will confirm she is the latest iteration of the anti-hero (he quit being a baddie a good number of decades ago). I'm not mad at this reveal or particularly excited. I'm fine with it. I read the news and said, "Okay," with a bit more confusion than anything else. If it serves the story well (and writer Al Ewing is a fantastic storyteller) I'm all good with this latest, "Host," for Venom.

A Combination IHOP and Applebee's Exists--How Did I Just Learn About This?

Apparently, back in late 2024, it was announced that there were going to be a restaurant that served as a combination of IHOP and Applebee's. It would be one big space that featured the decor of each brand on either side, but you could order from both menus regardless of where you sat. I did not know about this, but in February of this year, the first combo spot opened in Texas. It reminds me of those Pizza Hut/Taco Bell locations that used to be very popular and which inspired the infamous song, "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell." I am a fan of both IHOP and Applebee's so being able to get a mix of items all in one place sounds appealing to me. I don't intend to take a road trip just for this purpose anytime soon, but if they wanted to open one of these franchises in the Saint Louis region I'd gladly visit.

Film Friday: "Moana 2," is a Fun and Serviceable Sequel

"Moana," is a fantastic movie. The plot is great, the songs are superb, and the animation is a treat with the water effects being a feast for the eyes. The sequel, "Moana 2," looks just as beautiful...and has a solid enough plot with forgettable tunes. It's fun and serviceable as a sequel, in other words. It has an amazing foundation with the first flick and gives us something pleasant even if it isn't amazing.

The biggest element missing in, "Moana 2," is without a doubt Lin-Manuel Miranda. He made a number of insanely catchy tunes for the first flick and does not return for this one. Instead, we get Barlow and Bear who have on offer songs that are by no means bad, but besides maybe, "We're Back," I struggle to remember any songs in, "Moana 2," as compared to the original film with a number of great tunes. Miranda is a tough act to follow, without a doubt. The plot is intriguing, with more Gods involved and the idea of finding other cultures out on the ocean. The movie also introduces a younger sister to Moana, Simea, who seems to serve almost no purpose within the story and was created for little reason other than to sell toys (or maybe serve a bigger role in the inevitable, "Moana 3," I imagine we'll be getting).

Everything in, "Moana 2," continues to look gorgeous. From the wave effects to an imposing sea monster, and more. Even if you find yourself zoning out a bit during some of the songs you'll snap back once an assortment of exciting set pieces occur. There are some good zingers as well, with Dwayne Johnson (Maui) well-versed in telling one-liners at this point in his career and Auli'i Cravalho's return as Moana being most welcome as she excels in her portrayal of the character's mix of grit, determination, and a dash of self-doubt (as we all have to some degree). Everyone is doing a stellar job acting and the visuals match, making this an enjoyable sequel overall even if it doesn't amaze as much as the debut film. In summary, if you adored, "Moana," you'll like, "Moana 2."

3.5 out of 5 Stars.

"Batman," #158 Kicks off, "Hush 2." Time for my Thoughts on this Sequel's Debut

DC has been excitedly promoting a new story arc in, "Batman," that kicked off with this week's issue (#158). Titled, "Hush 2," it is a big sequel-of-sorts to the original, "Hush," storyline that introduced the villain, a former childhood, "Friend," of Bruce Wayne actually named Tommy Elliot (he was secretly quite crazy). The original, "Hush," featured the writing of Jeph Loeb and art by Jim Lee. They've reunited for this new arc years later and what I've read so far is good, but not great.

I have a mix of feelings. I don't know what the point is of a, "Hush 2," storyline as since the original one a lot has changed for the main characters of Tommy and Bruce. The comic acknowledges this, however, and even makes some meta-comments by having Batman's internal monologue express surprise when the Joker tries to recycle an old gag/crime and it throws our hero off as the Joker isn't generally that lazy in his capers. It's almost like Loeb and Lee know we're going to question, "Why Hush 2 and why now?" and they want to head us off. Lee, to his credit, is as skilled an artist as ever when he isn't busy running comic companies and his artwork is a beauty to behold. 

The plot eventually has Hush abduct Joker and possibly plan to kill him to prove a point about Batman's refusal to let even a monster like the Joker die--this is, again, a reused story idea and the comic makes it clear it is aware it is retreading old ground. Does pointing out that you are doing repetitive plotting with a meta-wink at the reader excuse the fact you are still being lazy, however? Your own personal answer to that question may influence how much you enjoy issue #158 of, "Batman," as it kicks off this new Hush 2 story. I myself loved the art and thought the story so far was alright if not amazing. Then again, even the original Hush was more of an excuse to have Batman face a bunch of his villains as they were drawn impressively well with the plot more in place to give Jim Lee an excuse to draw cool stuff. That is a bit of the vibe I'm getting we'll receive with Hush 2 as well so I guess the more things change the more they stay the same, as the saying goes.

3 out of 5 Stars.

I'm Not a Fan of Beef Tallow For a Simple Reason

There has been a lot of talk lately about how we should cook or fry foods at certain restaurants and whether said establishments should be using seed oil or beef tallow. It has become a whole politicized debate regarding what’s healthy or not, natural or artificial, etc. There is much discussion on whether we should eat more meat, less meat, or focus on meat substitutes, and I know everyone has their own reasons for how they feel. I am personally opposed to beef tallow for reasons that are not political, ecological, or anything too high-concept. As longtime readers know, I am allergic to beef and anything fried with beef tallow will send me running to, “Blow up,” the nearest restroom, if we’re being blunt.

I do not know where this beef allergy came from as while other members of my family have certain allergies nobody is allergic to beef. I can tell you that it is not due to a tick bite as people who suffer from that cannot eat a variety of meats which I am capable of ingesting. It is easy for me to have a buffalo burger as long as it’s not prepared anywhere by beef— It’s something specific with cows. If food that does not normally contain beef is prepared via frying in beef tallow I will get a miserable stomachache. This isn’t me hypothesizing either. I have experience with this problem. 

In the past, I would eat at Buffalo Wild Wings and then usually get pretty bad stomach cramps, diarrhea, and otherwise find myself feeling miserable after eating a bunch of boneless chicken wings and french fries. I was confused about what the problem could be. Eventually, I looked into it and discovered Buffalo Wild Wings was an establishment that fries their food in beef tallow. At that moment everything kind of clicked into place and I realized what the problem was.

It is annoying to see beef tallow versus seed oil become a thing that’s being debated because if a restaurant is going to make a loud proclamation about how they’re going to use beef tallow from this point forward, kind of like how Steak and Shake did, I’m going to plan not to eat there. I don’t have any moral issue with what people fry food in, I just simply cannot eat beef products. Feel free to fry your food in seed oil, chicken fat, or anything else— I just request if you’re going to use beef tallow you make it readily apparent so I know I need to avoid your restaurant. It’s nothing personal, I just would prefer to avoid a stomachache. I’m sure anyone who has to use the bathroom after me will appreciate it too.

Alliance Entertainment Plans to Buy Diamond Comic Distributors

As we entered into 2025, Diamond Comic Distributors went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company supposedly planned to restructure and survive. It quickly became apparent that things were bad, however, and all the various entities that were a part of Diamond were to go to auction. One compay has swooped in to claim much of Diamond, interestingly enough. That operation is Alliance Entertainment.

Alliance Entertainment does a lot with music, movies, video-games, purchased a toy company called, "Handmade by Robots," and does a lot with, "Entertainment," as its name would suggest...except for comics. It seems AEnt is happy to work in the field of comics but the main aspect of Diamond's infastructure/remants that appealed appears to be that Direct Market for toys, games, and so forth. As Heidi MacDonald of Comicsbeat discusses in this article, we don't know much for sure as this is the early days and a court has to approve the sale, but there is some cautious optimism as well as folks not knowing what to make of AEnt. There will be a lot of questions these next few weeks, but at least we now know who will be the company where the answers all come from.

Music Monday: "Nokia," Shows Drake Can Still Make Good Music When He's Not Busy Losing Feuds

Kendrick Lamar and Drake had a big rap feud. Unless you live under a rock that is under another rock you probably heard about it. Kendrick beat Drake, handily, to the point Drake literally sued due to disliking being called pedophilic in some of Kendrick's verses on, "Not Like Us." I have commented on multiple occasions about Drake's problematic behavior toward minor girls so my opinion on that is known. Still, when Drake isn't making questionable choices about who he texts or losing a rap beef so badly he tries suing...he does still make music that bumps suitably well. This is shown by a recent release, "Nokia," done in partnership with PARTYNEXTDOOR.

The song, "Give Me a Hug," has gotten a lot of attention with its wild jumping between beats, melodies, and samples, but for my money, "Nokia," is a much more focused and tighter song. It does switch up its sound and tempo a bit halfway through but is a lot less over-the-top than, "Give Me Hug," and so darn catchy. Give it a listen:

It makes you want to dance around a bit, doesn't it? If Drake focused on making good hits like this he wouldn't even need to acknowledge how badly Kendrick spanked him in their rap battles, he could just live with the fact he lost and go on to make some hot tunes. Instead, everyone keeps dunking on him for being a sore loser even though he's got some heat with this track, among others--just let it go, Drake! If you'd focus on making fun tracks and not a finished feud we'd all be happier that way.

Squishmallows Cereal is Impressively Tasty

Oftentimes when I try a cereal associated with a popular brand it is either the same as a normal cereal with the tiniest of changes or absolute garbage. This isn't always the case (Toy Story 4's cereal was legit yummy) but I always am guarded when I try a corporate tie-in cereal. I saw one for Squishmallows at Target, however, and was intrigued. We love those wild little plushes in our household and the cereal looked like it could be decent. I've tried it, and I was impressed with the taste!

Squishmallow cereal is a bit like Cheerios in shape & Lucky Charms in flavor with a slightly sweeter and vanilla taste to the grain part and, of course, some marshmallows. The marshmallows in this case are themed for various Squishmallows. I tried a handful of the cereal, "Dry," and liked it before making a bowl with some milk (lactose-free to spare my tummy) and enjoying what I ate a great deal. This wasn't the best cereal I'd ever tasted, but it was pretty darn good. Others online agree with me, too. Considering this was made to tie in with a random plush line, I am pleased with the effort that went into crafting Squishmallow cereal. I plan to eat the whole box and seek some more out.

5 out of 5 Stars.

New Printings of, "Transformers," and, "Void Rivals," Will Come With Sound Chips, an Interesting Promotion

I enjoy a good gimmick cover with my comic-books. From holofoil to die-cut, and everything in-between it can seem silly, but a little fun doesn't hurt either (when gimmick covers become the whole selling point and the comic is lame that can be unfortunate, however). One interesting new promotion is that Skybound (an imprint of Image) will have some comics with little sound chips that, "Talk." This fall there will be reprints of, "Void Rivals," #1 and, "Transformers," #1, featuring "...the iconic Transformers Signature Sound of the bots shifting from robot to alt mode – or vice versa," with different sounds for each comic.

This kind of thing has been done before--one humorous example is the low-budget horror movie, "Frankenhooker," with a button that plays the audio, "Want a date?" from the flick on the VHS box. In regards to comics, there was the recent, "Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong," which had, "Roar," variants as well. Even if this isn't exactly a brand-new novelty, I like seeing it!

Flashback Friday: Remember That Zany Occasion Where Beast and Dark Beast Teamed Up?

"X-Men: Endangered Species," could have been a mostly forgettable series of backup strips that explained a chunk of plot holes before a big X-Men event, but it managed to be pretty darn cool. It kicked off with a one-shot before being a series of strips in the back of X-titles. The comic followed Beast of the X-Men as he tried to explore any avenue he could to undo how Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch) had turned most mutants into humans at the end of, "House of M." 

This all led to what was called, "M-Day," and various comics that spun out of the event. "Endangered Species," essentially set up, the "Messiah Complex," event which slowly began reintroducing mutants to the Marvel Universe and a thankless task of answering why the X-Men hadn't undone Wanda's spell. The series followed Beast stopping by various old hangouts of mutants only to find nobody could help him with science, magic, or anything else. Old mutant blood samples had turned human, even most dead mutants had reverted to human, and so forth. Then, right as Beast is about to give up he discovers how someone else has been working trying to figure everything out--him, sorta.

Dark Beast was an evil version of Henry McCoy from the, "Apocalypse," Universe. He ended up in the main Marvel Universe and was in some series off and on but hadn't been heard from for a bit, until, "Endangered Species," which midway through turns into a twisted and dark buddy-comedy with the two beasts trying various avenues to figure out what can be done. Eventually, the evil McCoy's more extreme methods result in them going their separate ways and we reach a conclusion-of-sorts where Beast sees he's out of options (right before, "Messiah Complex," begins and changes the so-called, "Rules," of everything). Still, for the period of time Beast and Dark Beast are together it is a hoot witnessing the little metaphorical devil on Beast's shoulder (who is literally a twisted version of him) suggesting how extreme they could be to save mutants.

After, "Messiah Complex," Beast kept getting increasingly questionable in his actions. During the whole, "Krakoan," era of X-Men we essentially saw Henry become enough of a villain that towards the end of the arc a bunch of messy plot trickery was done to erase how much of a baddie he'd become (clones were involved) As for Dark Beast, he died, came back, and died again, with Mister Sinister preserving his head because that's how that zany character rolls. 

The most recent years have been pretty rough for fans of any version of Beast with him being so dishonorable in any reality, but at least back in 2007 the, "Main," Beast wasn't yet too morally corrupt and it was fun to see him struggle with right-and-wrong alongside a more mischievous form. I also am glad the, "Endangered Species," one-shot and back-up strips were all collected as well so that the other handful of fans of this comic can read it without having to track down various assorted comics.

2 Random Notable Things Are Occurring--Diamond's Auction and March Madness

March 19th was the deadline for bids on Diamond Comic Distributors' various sub-companies. March Madness has started this week as well. Both things are very different but both are also big and notable events for sure. I honestly only care much about one, however (Diamond). Bids protected by NDAs have been submitted. Come Monday the 24th, a lot more will be revealed as Diamond finds itself broken and sold into various parts. Various rumors have spread about Diamond and what the future holds, and nobody can be sure what is going to happen. That's a lot like March Madness, which often finds people making brackets that have one-in-a-120 billion odds of being perfect. Seriously, your odds are a lot better to win the lottery than they are to create a slam-dunk bracket. We've all got theories about Diamond and March Madness but until everything is said and done it is just a lot of (most likely incorrect) guesswork.

I am incredibly curious how things shake out with Diamond and know a ton of people are pumped about March Madness. Even if I don't follow basketball much (pro or collegiate) it still is always great to see how excited people get. Plus, that bulldog mascot from Drake University (Griff II), is a real cutie. As April arrives a lot will be figured out regarding Diamond and on April 7th March Madness will have its National Championship to determine a winner. In other words, by mid-April, we'll know a lot more than we do now about both of these subjects.

We Tried Dutch Bros!

The first Dutch Bros Coffee in our region had its grand opening yesterday! A decent-ish drive away in O'Fallon, Missouri, I was around there today and figured I'd pick some goodies up for Samii and myself to try. I was surprised (but shouldn't have been) by the long line. I imagine other folks in the area are excited to try Dutch Bros too, after all. The line moved along briskly enough and all the employees were quite friendly throughout the ordering process. After I got everything we headed home to sample the drinks and snacks.

I ordered a cold brew coffee and a strawberry-flavored soda. I found both quite tasty, with the cold brew going down smoothly and the soda's syrups were just right too (not overly sweet or anything). Samii got a tea with some flavors and found it decent, but we think they might have used green tea as the base instead of black tea--as we requested. She was still pleased overall though. As for the snacks, the granola bar was a big and chunky piece of deliciousness,s and the muffin tops/muffies were solid if not as good compared to the granola bar (it was legit yummers). We either liked or loved everything today from Dutch Bros and I can see why it has a lot of hardcore fans. That said, I still think Scooters is my absolute favorite coffee joint, currently. Still, anytime I happen to be in O'Fallon I will eagerly stop by Dutch Bros for something scrumptious.

4.5 out of 5 Stars overall.

Christopher Priest and Joe Quesada Are Teaming Up for, "Marvel Knights: The World to Come," This June

Two fantastic creators are returning to Marvel for an intriguing mini-series. I am pleased. The gentlemen in question are Christopher Priest and Joe Quesada. The comic is, "Marvel Knights: The World to Come," and it will be a six-issue series set in a possible future of Marvel and Wakanda in particular. I like the sounds of all of this.

Christopher Priest has been writing comics for longer than I've been alive--and pretty much anything he does is excellent. Priest has the ability to take a character I don't care about and make me excited or take characters I love and get me even more pumped. It would take forever to list all he's written, so I'll just shout out his recent work on, "Deathstroke," and his current, 'Vampirella," comics as being worth checking out. Joe Quesada is a skilled artist who also co-founded the Marvel Knights imprint and eventually rose to the position of editor-in-chief at Marvel before moving on to some other projects and positions--his time at Marvel was extremely productive and is fondly remembered though (occasional misfire aside like, "One More Day," which he heavily pushed for). Both men have a history with Marvel (Priest's run on, "Black Panther," was beloved) and I am a fan of their work so seeing they'll be teaming up is quite cool.

I enjoy alternate universe stories in the Marvel Universe because the story can do things that can't happen in the, "Regular," World. I love Priest's work and I am a big fan of Quesada's art. This makes, "Marvel Knights: The World to Come," sound like something I'm going to adore. I mean, it could be bad, but the odds are my excitement is warranted. We'll see in June!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2025!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Clarkson and Gibson are clearly in the spirit with some fun matching shirts (featuring a green Spider-Man). My Grandma Burton always eagerly celebrated Saint Patrick's Day as she had a ton of Irish heritage. I often think of her on this holiday and hope everyone else has a good (and responsible) time today too!

Marvel (and DC) Continue to Treat Creators Quite Poorly and They Are Speaking Out

When it comes to comic books if you own your property that's really important. Your comic might not be that popular, but you still own it. It could become a huge hit that gets adapted into a movie or game, and you own that and get money for it. If you work for Marvel or DC you get the thrill of writing well-known properties, but the pay will suck and if something you created is used for an epic storyline, the best you can hope for is a small check (maybe) and a little, "Thank you," spot in the credits of the multimillion/billion dollar film from the big conglomerate that otherwise could give a damn you contributed the key foundation to that flick. Creators normally are hesitant to outright bash Marvel or DC, but more are coming forward realizing they can burn that bridge if they have zero intent to ever use it again.

Marvel is especially getting slammed lately, although DC is still catching some smoke, so to speak. Multiple creators have talked about the crappy pay, questionable business practices, or simply pointed out they don't see the point in putting in a bunch of work to have little to show for it (Rob Guillory revealed what he legally could about the chance to revamp a character for little in the way of money/thanks and how he passed). You might not get rich working with an independent publisher who lets you keep the rights to everything you do (like Image). That said, if whatever you make takes off you won't still be broke as you would with Marvel or DC. Creator rights in comics is always been a topic that comes up, and gets addressed a little, but then a lot of problematic stuff stays the same. It is a damn shame because anyone who created characters or stories that are making tons upon tons of money shouldn't be struggling to pay medical bills. This reminds me, please contribute to the GoFundMe for Peter David if you can. The man has written some amazing stuff and he is currently in crisis.

I Had a Vasectomy Yesterday

I had a Vasectomy yesterday. It was something Samii and I had discussed for a bit as we know we are done having children. I would not want another kiddo with anyone but her and due to various medical concerns she cannot safely be pregnant again or easily go through any procedures to reduce/eliminate her fertility. Therefore, it made sense for me to do the (comparably) simple procedure of getting a vasectomy. There were a few more steps involved than I expected.

Mercy and its hospitals are great for lots of stuff. There are, however, Catholic-affiliated. This leads to complications regarding anything that has to do with any kind of birth control from a pill to a procedure. I asked the doctor who had served as my primary physician for a bit (the previous one had retired and this one was okay so I didn't change anything in the office) for a referral for a vasectomy, having explained everything and was told he couldn't do that kind of referral as he's (I guess very) Catholic. I wrote back it would be helpful to have a doctor who could make such a referral so my wife and I don't have to practice abstinence or get an abortion (even with all the attempts to make it hard legally she has enough medical issues it would theoretically be easier than in some cases) if she gets pregnant as her body simply can't handle another pregnancy. I was tempted to make a joke about how we could use condoms but that would make Jesus cry, but I felt I'd already made enough of a point.

I must have pissed my primary doctor off as someone else in the office called about how I could get in touch with Mercy Urology and they'd be able to help me with no problem. Plus, I was going to be assigned a new Primary Care doctor and they mentioned one I'd worked with before when my other was out sick and as he seemed cool I said that was fine. So yes, wanting to get a vasectomy and being mouthy about it got me a new primary care doctor in the process. Anyway, I got in touch with Urology and scheduled an appointment to consult for a vasectomy, easy as that once I knew what needed to be done.

On the day of my consult, I went to the Mercy office and reviewed why I was getting a vasectomy, the steps to be ready for one, how it is permanent (.01% of cases aside), and got one scheduled. The doctor was nice and when I asked about all the rules with Mercy he said they can discuss it on-site and schedule stuff, but I'm off-site at another office he and other doctors work at because the, "Hallowed ground," of Mercy won't allow a vasectomy on their grounds much in the same way in emergency cases where an abortion is necessary to save a woman's life they'll allow a transfer to another hospital but not do it on their grounds. I suppose it is good Mercy will transfer people somewhere for needed help, but it is odd that having a religious affiliation lets a hospital outright deny care (or let some of their doctors deny care) because it is felt to be, "Wrong/sinful." I think if you're in a medical profession you should be able to do your damn job without your personal feelings causing an issue. 

Let's do a metaphor. If I take my car to a mechanic I would like to know they'll give me the best oil in my oil change possible even if they have strong feelings against synthetic in the same way I'd hope my doctors tell me all the options regarding my reproductive health even if they don't like the idea of a vasectomy. Plus, I'm saying this as a man, imagine all the Hell (no pun intended) women go through trying to get any kind of reproductive care ranging from birth control pills to choosing sterilization or if they need an abortion (for any reason from medical to personal choice).

Yesterday, I went to the office where my vasectomy was scheduled. My wife joked because of Mercy's rules we'd be out back at a dumpster behind one of the various cookie stores in Saint Louis. That wasn't the case, it was a very nice office--just clearly not one affiliated directly with Mercy for the procedures it did. The vasectomy itself wasn't awful in terms of pain but I'm glad it is done. Without getting too visceral, there are numbing injections that feel a bit like a bee stinging your testicles and then the strangest sensation as the anesthetic takes effect. After that, you're good, however. I was extremely sore later in the day when numbing wore off but I took some prescribed pain stuff a bit stronger than what you get at the store so I could get to sleep at night. As of today, I'm just doing Tylenol and Motrin. I'm still pretty tender but it is bearable. 

I'm glad I had my vasectomy done and was surprised at how it was a bit harder to get it plotted out than I expected. I mean, I'm a man and I encountered obstacles to being responsible for my reproductive health. I faced maybe 1/10th of what a woman would face, and it goes to illustrate just how messed up our nation can be regarding sexuality. Our country needs to be less weird about people trying to exercise options regarding reproductive health, simple as that. I did get a fun koozie too, as seen above. I didn't want to name any doctors in this post to respect their privacy, but if anyone in the Saint Louis region needs a recommendation for a good vasectomy doctor don't hesitate to holler at me!

Film Friday: I Would NOT Back This Stan Lee Documentary

When we remember people we tend to try to picture them in a happy way. We don't want to think about when a person was sick with an illness, or fragile and weak from age. We like to remember everyone from loved ones to celebrities when they were in their prime. Stan Lee's physical health has been cataloged as being very poor in his last handful of years, with basically everyone in his orbit taking as much advantage as possible to wring any money from him they could. "Stan Lee: The Final Chapter," contains a bunch of footage regarding Lee's last days and how bad things got. The person behind it is himself surrounded by controversy too, even with the questionable taste of the film aside. I'm not linking to the Kickstarter itself as I do not support it.

I'm not sure I'd want to see Lee in a way besides his energetic, spritely self we all remember. Jon Bolerjack is making a movie all about the terrible ways Lee was milked for money (and sometimes literally blood) but seems to be misrepresenting how important he was to the Stan Lee estate or how much of an effort he made to try to, "Help," Lee as opposed to being with all the handlers, Lee's daughter, and so forth in taking him for everything he was worth. Look, Stan Lee was not a perfect person and screwed plenty of people over, but that doesn't excuse what happened to him in the last years of his life. We should be allowed to live with dignity when we're older and be cared for as opposed to having all the wealth we worked for taken for a ride--specifically out of our pockets. Having this movie as a way to gawk at all the terrible things that happened to Lee as he was in a physical and mental decline already sounds gross, and reading that Bolerjack is by no means the saint he claims to be is making things even worse. I won't be backing this Kickstarter campaign and would advise others to do the same.

Assorted News and Links for March 2025

It's March. The weather doesn't know whether it wants to feel like a nice and warm spring day...or be brutally cold and snowy. We alternate between needing a coat, enjoying the sunshine, facing storms with hail, and so forth. That's March for ya, though. Besides my musings about the weather, I thought I would share some interesting links and news. Read on and learn something new, perhaps!

I used to live in Cortland, New York, and my folks still are there. I was saddened to learn the town's only newspaper, "The Cortland Standard," has declared bankruptcy, with today being their last edition. One of NY's oldest papers, the town of Cortland is now in a news desert to a degree, which sucks.

Cartoonist R.E. Burke is from Britain and has been backpacking around America and Canada. A Visa issue landed her in detention and treated horrifically because I.C.E. has become a modern-day fascistic wet dream under President Trump. A GoFundMe has been established to assist with legal fees, advisory support, and so forth.

DC's new, "Absolute," comics have been quite good and clearly are building up to the eventual formation of a new Justice League or such. There have been rumblings of a big event for the Absolute Universe at the end of 2025 and I look forward to such a thing.

"Moana 2," became available to stream on Disney+ yesterday. I've heard it isn't as good as the original, but solid. Our eldest (Clarkson) loved the first flick and our youngest (Gibson) adores this talking Maui toy we have, so I'm thinking we'll give the sequel a viewing sometime soon and see what our household thinks!

"Who do you think you are? I am!" is a famous phrase spouted by Pete Weber when he won a major bowling championship for a record fifth time. It was on February 26th, 2012 that he won the U.S. Open by a single pin and said--to give the entire phrase--"“Yes, goddamn it, yes! That is right, I did it! Number five! Are you kidding me?! That’s right! Who do you think you are? I am! Damn it right!” There is now an extensive oral history of how such a random statement became enmeshed in popular culture courtesy of Alan Siegel with The Ringer. Whether you know a lot about the sport of bowling or not (I know very little) it is a fascinating read.

A new videogame called, "Wanderstop," has as one big element of the game being brewing tea. There is a whole plot and characters and such, but you get to make tea with fancy contraptions and that sounds fun.

There is going to be a new, "Thunderbolts," comic coming out right in time to sync up with the new movie. It has a random assortment of members, including...Carnage? I get the idea that the comic is nowadays a bit like, "Suicide Squad," with baddies trying to do good (originally it was about villains as posing as heroes and the focus shifted), but Carnage is a psychotic monster who can't be redeemed. Wait, Eddie Brock (the original Venom) is now Carnage? Man, comic-books keep getting weirder and weirder. I'm not mad at it.

Lastly, there is a lot of fancy and high-concept talk regarding colonizing Mars. It is, quite frankly, improbable to the point of being impossible, as this humorous article by Albert Burneko discusses. Thanks to Kieron Gilllen for sharing it in his newsletter.

Television Tuesday: "The Traitors," Season 3 Was Some Good Television

"The Traitors," has been a huge hit on Peacock. It's the American version of the popular game show. I wrote about the second season and broke down how the game, "Works," in a previous post, and much of the show remained the same this season (a small group of traitors hide who they are and, "Murder," the rest of the faithful before being found out). Fun little twists kept things fresh as well as the fact that the traitors this season turned on each other really fast. Sometimes it is fun to see the traitors masterfully pick everyone off (Season 1 with Ciere) and other times pure chaos is a hoot (this season). It is always fascinating to see people from other shows be shockingly good or bad at, "The Traitors," as you never know what to expect. 

This show is full of little surprises. In the second season, Dan Gheelsing (one of the best, "Big Brother," players ever) washed out shockingly quickly and in this season Dylan Efron (a man who readily declares he is only known for being Zac Efron's brother) was insanely skilled at this game of deduction and became a fan-favorite! You always guess who is going to go far or be terrible, and you generally are shockingly wrong...if you're me at least. That's all part of the fun, however, as viewers know who is a traitor or faithful from the start and get to chuckle at how bad some faithful are in their theories and how eerily on the mark others are regarding who they go after.

Season 3 of, "The Traitors," was a real treat between the various cast members, wild roundtables full of accusations, and host Alan Cumming rolling the R in, "Murder," like a boss. If you have Peacock you should watch this show and if don't have Peacock, this program is a good reason to try it out!

5 out of 5 Stars (for this season).

Mario Day 2025 is Here!

Today is March 10. Shorten that to Mar. 10 and you get something that looks a bit like, "Mario." Hence, the unofficial, "Mario Day," began and took off enough it is now an, "Official," holiday that Nintendo itself even acknowledges. Last year Mario Day randomly happened to overlap with Daylight Saving having us Spring Forward. This year, occurred yesterday, so Mario gets March 10th all to himself!

When I was young the big console war was between Sega and Nintendo. I was one of those people who didn't truly pick a side as I would go from a Sega Genesis to a Nintendo 64. Then, a Dreamcast, and so forth. Eventually, Sega quit making consoles and Nintendo won that particular war--although Sony's entrance with the PlayStation and Microsoft's joining in later with the Xbox ushered in a whole new era of console battles. That said, Nintendo is one of the oldest video-game companies around that has survived to the present day (Atari is more of a zombie of itself so we won't count it) and Mario is to thank for much of that success. Happy Mario Day, everyone!

Publisher Spotlight: Reviews of Three Great Comics From 2dcloud

2dcloud is an indie publisher located not too far from me--they're in Chicago. They specialize in comics, graphic novels, interesting artistic projects with a comic bent, and so forth. I had some familiarity with their works having read other reviews of projects they released or checking some titles out in the past at comic shops that had a good indie section. Therefore, I leaped at the chance when they reached out and offered me a list of titles I could select to review if I were interested. Three specific comics that were all quite different caught my eye and I am now pleased to offer my thoughts on all of them in this publisher spotlight on 2dcloud and their great output.

"Nuie," by nuie

This comic is the smallest and shortest of the three. A wordless piece it is an incredibly minimalist and impressionistic work. "Nuie," features a male and female in a boxing match. The paintwork is gorgeous and at times you can tell what is happening to a pretty good degree and other times there is a lot of abstraction--leaving much of the book open to interpretation.

There is a lush beauty to, "Nuie," that I adored. As someone stares at the pages one's mind can begin to fill in the blank spaces, with nuie's work encouraging a reader's imagination to run wild with the careful brushstrokes, blending what is actually there with what we readers feel is there. It's a superb work and I eagerly rate, "Nuie," 5 out of 5 stars.

"East District," by Ash H.G. 

This graphic novel is beautiful but the story's intentionally disjointed and at times confusing narrative had me struggling to keep up at times. We witness little vignettes in a World that seems a bit irregular. A weirdly detached reality that is a bit postapocalyptic but yet with a sense of off-kilter normalcy. Something bad happened at some point. There are people who have something quite wrong with them and they need to be fought off or killed (not zombies though, that would be a bit cliche). Otherwise life just kind of goes on as regularly as it can even though everyone feels a "Wrongness," of sorts with the World.

Ash H.G. provides some spectacular and moody artwork. Even when I was finding myself a bit confused or disoriented by the plot (or purposeful lack thereof), I continued to have a fantastic time looking at, "East District," and its masterful use of black-and-white to create an intriguing mix of bright and ominous dark throughout the pages. Even if the storytelling is intentionally obtuse (and I struggled with that at times) I was able to make enough sense of the plotting to understand I liked what I was reading and--as mentioned--the illustrations set the tone perfectly--and looked great. I'd give, "East District," a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

"EGIRL Magazine," by Katherine Dee (with various illustrators)

This isn't exactly a comic so much as an artistic zine in the tradition of that long-lived and beloved format. Katherine Dee starts with a timeline set decades in the past and then we move further along towards the present, highlighting interesting moments in the development of the internet and social media that led to the creation of the EGIRL/E-Girl. An E-Girl is basically any woman online, as a woman online is bound to be treated to a certain degree as a sexualized object. Whether such an idea is leaned into or fought against depends on the woman herself and how she responds to our culture at large.

Illustrations of various notable internet celebrities accompany the text along with more interpretive art pieces by talents such as Kristina Tzekova, Blaise Larmee, Bubbles, and Raighne. We all have noticed how something made to link us together (the internet) has resulted in even more division and the mix of love or hatred for the E-girl is heavily interrogated. Do we lust for the lady online who makes silly faces and flashes her body upon command (with a healthy monetary tip thrown in) or do we scorn the, "Fake gamer girl," we angrily call a slut for refusing to accept our digital advances? If you've been on the internet you know the answer is, "Basically, both," and this comic-magazine does a stellar job delving into it. This is envisioned as the first entry in a series about internet culture and I would eagerly read any future issues. I'd give, "EGIRL Magazine," 5 out of 5 stars.

I'm Going to Miss the ToyMan Show Tomorrow, but You Ought to Go!

Due to various life things (nothing bad, just lots of stuff happening), I won't have the time to visit the ToyMan Show that is taking place tomorrow. However, if you can attend I 100% recommend going to the Machinist Hall at 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd in Bridgeton. It is always a fantastic and fun event. 

The ToyMan show is so full of stuff that if you can't find something you're after, you just need to look a little harder! From toys, to comics, Funko Pops, Legos, trading cards, DVDs, VHS, CDS, Pokemon, vinyl, posters, and lots else, if it is entertaining it is probably somewhere around ToyMan. Go check it out tomorrow from 9AM-2PM or get in with the early bird price at 8AM if you want to browse the good stuff for sale as soon as possible. Have a great time and know that I hope to be at the next ToyMan even if I can't make this one!

Local Radio Station Hot 104.1 Fired All Its On-Air Talent and May Be Shutting Down/Changing Formats

I enjoy listening to the radio when I am in the car. There are a number of big syndicated shows I always eagerly tune into such as the Rickey Smiley Morning Show or the Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God. We have more local programming too such the Courtney Show on 106.5 and after the morning stuff there are afternoon people I like listening to as well. Hot 104.1 briefly had its own morning show--The Home Team--but it unceremoniously was canceled a bit ago. There were still other hosts throughout the day, however, such as Shae Bae, Princess Stormm, and D.J. Raymond. Well, they've been fired. All on-air talent has been let go from Hot 104.1, quite suddenly. The owner of 104.1 is the national entity Audacy, and the plan now is, "The station will begin carrying the signal of AM station KMOX, home of live Cardinals broadcasts, according to the Radio Insight report. Audacy also owns KMOX." This doesn't bode well for the station's future.

It sounds like Hot 104.1 will potentially cease to exist and serve as the FM home of the other channel. I'm bummed at the idea we will lose a fun station that played a lot of enjoyable Hip Hop as well as R&B. We do still have 100.3 AKA The Beat (which airs the aforementioned syndicated show The Breakfast Club), but losing a station one enjoys is always a bummer. I still remember when ALT 104.9 suddenly became a random right-wing talk radio station instead of playing punk rock and spending mornings with The Woody Show. If Hot 104.1 stops existing as we know it that will be unfortunate. If people are expected to listen to terrestrial radio maybe the big companies behind it shouldn't get rid of stations and eliminate the option of people to enjoy certain genres or shows and then be mad that folks are switching to streaming/podcasts/etc. I don't work in radio, so I don't know who crunched what numbers to determine this was a good idea, but I am sad about it. I now just hope everyone who worked at Hot 104.1 is able to get new (and maybe even better-paying/more stable) positions.

Film Friday: "Kirbyvision," To Bring us a Jack Kirby Documentary

Jack Kirby is a person without whom we would not have the comic industry as we know it. A lot of his co-creations are household names, from Captain America (who he made with Joe Simon), to the Avengers, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Thor, the X-Men, and even more, those produced with Stan Lee. Let's not forget his epic, "Fourth World," with DC either. The list of his creations go on and on. He also was outspoken for creator rights, proudly opposed to fascism, or bigotry, and generally a fascinating fellow. I and many others have written about how Stan Lee seems to get all the credit for his co-creations (and some credit is of course due), but Kirby gets overlooked by the general populace. Thankfully, we are going to be getting a documentary dedicated to Jack Kirby, titled, "Kribyvision." This is superb news!

Ricki Stern is set to direct with the Estate of Jack Kirby providing ample behind-the-scenes materials from drawings, to notes, home movies, and more. I'm excited to watch, "Kirbyvision," when it is complete and hope it helps to make comic fans and those who only know a bit a comics more aware of the powerhouse of creativity that was Jack Kirby. A detailed history of the man should be fascinating.

Fresh New Tariffs Are Here Causing Havoc--Update: Delayed Again

Update From Later in the Same Day: 

Apparently some tariffs are due to be delayed, again. This is getting exhausting with tariffs, "On," and then, "Off."

Original Post:

Our supposedly genius President, Donald Trump, threatened tariffs to our biggest trade partners, then dropped the idea when he felt his ego was properly stroked by the other nations. However, now we suddenly do have tariffs being put in place, and this will play havoc with everything from food to tech, to--yep--comics. I wrote about this concern back in January and it remains as big a problem as ever. From bigger comic publishers to smaller and, of course, comic shops themselves, it is going to be messy. Lately, it seems par for the course with America's so-called leadership. I mean, Trump and Elon Musk and all the other cronies want to get rid of the Department of Education now. What does that look like besides a villainous attempt to make Americans less informed and ready to comply with any B.S. Trump concots? My concern for our Nation surviving into the near future keeps hitting new all-time highs due to how bad things keep getting.

Chip Zdarsky Writing, "Captain America," Sounds Promising

Chip Zdarsky is a skilled writer who, "Hits," a lot more often than he, "Misses." He had some recent runs on, "Daredevil," that drew a ton of admiration and is wrapping up a generally-liked take on, "Batman." He's done art on comics such as, "Sex Criminals," with Matt Fraction (I liked the art, but oddly was cold on the actual story) and written such bangers as, "Avengers: Twilight," and, "Spider-Man: Life Story," pretty recently. He's got plenty of great indie books too such as,  "Stillwater," "Public Domain," and my point is he does a lot of comics and many of them are great. Now, he's going to be taking on Captian America. In that, he will be writing the series, not fighting Steve Rogers. That would be awkward to witness.

First off, yes, Chip is a Canadian and generally, only Americans have written Cap in his own book. Plenty of folks from different nations have used Captain America in comics, however, so it isn't a huge deal, but it is kind of a fun little tidbit. There is a run of, "Captain America," finishing in a bit with J. Michael Straczynski plotting and it started pretty well before getting a bit too fantastical and otherworldly for my tastes. Still, at least Straczynski is seeing a comic through to its end as he often has a tendency to start a series strong and then go in weird directions/trail off, or outright quit a book to go do something else. Having Chip writing Captain America sounds promising and I didn't even mention yet how the artist will be Valerio Schiti! Schiti's work is always fantastic and I can't wait to see what this upcoming run of, "Captain America," will be like with such a stellar creative team. I look forward to the book's launch this July!

Television Tuesday: "Deal or No Deal Island," is an Entertaining Mish-Mash of Shows

"Deal or No Deal Island," is a show that took a chunk of different programs, shoved them into a blender, and it resulted in a weird but somehow tasty mix. It's got some, "Survivor," with the nature setting and challenges that incorporate the wilds. It gives me some, "Big Brother," vibes as everyone is making secret alliances and plotting against each other. There also is a game show element with folks literally playing a version of, "Deal or No Deal," to try and grow a prize pot and not get kicked off the island. This arguably should not work as an odd mix of genres, but it somehow does. I didn't watch the first season because I wasn't intrigued by the show at the time. However, the second season drew me in when I saw one of the best players of, "Big Brother," ever would appear, Dr. Will. I started watching for Will and liked the show enough that I'm now kind of hooked. 

The cast is an interesting blend of regular folks and reality show celebs--a bit like the first season of, "The Traitors," before it started only using, "Known," individuals. This mix works quite well as television newbies and old vets conspire with or against each other. The extremely affable Joe Manganiello hosts and I enjoy his presence as the man is both a great actor and delightfully open about being a huge nerd even if he's all fit/muscular. Most episodes involve a challenge where suitcases with monetary amounts are gathered to be used later in the show (and the chance to be safe from any risk of going home usually is involved too). Then, contestants chat and make plans to help or hinder one another with the episode generally culminating in a mini-game of, "Deal or No Deal," where whoever is, "Facing the banker," hopes to have a suitcase worth the most money possible of leftover cases if they don't cut a deal (lest they go home), or a really bad suitcase if they do cut a deal so they get to stay on the island and send someone else home. 

Honestly, the last part is probably the least interesting aspect of the show as I never cared much for, "Deal or No Deal," when it was simply a show as the whole thing is just a random numbers and odds game. However, putting all this intrigue and chaos around the mini-gameshow at the end manages to make the whole endeavor quite interesting overall--greater than the sum of its Frankensteined parts that created this show. Dr. Will wasn't even on this season of, "Deal or No Deal Island," for too long as everybody disliked him and was eager to vote the guy out. I like the show though so I'm going to be here watching this season to the end (a new episode is tonight) and if there are future ones I will probably check those out too!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Music Mondays: "BMF," by SZA Has a Fun Callback to an Old Tune

I am a fan of SZA. You hear about her a lot in Saint Louis as she is a native of the city and it makes me happy we've got some great artists to emerge from here...and Sexyy Red is from here too so I guess you can't win them all. Anyway, I quite like a new song SZA has on her album, "Lana," which is a reissue of, "SOS," with some fresh ditties. The song is, "BMF," but was also known as, "Boy from South Detroit," at one point. I quite like how it incorporates, "The Girl from Ipanema," in its lyricism and sound. "The Girl from Ipanema," is a lovely bossa nova song that has had multiple covers and samplings, and it is always a treat to, "See," it involved in another tune. It isn't my favorite new song on, "Lana," as that would be, "30 for 30," with Kendrick Lamar, but it is a close second! Give it a listen here if you would like--I know I've been playing it a lot.

The First Spector Club Comic Show of 2025 Was Immense Fun!

I love the comic show that happens in the VFW found at 7300 Lansdowne in Shrewsbury. Put on the Spector Club, it is consistently full of great comics at a wide range of price points. There are plenty of big and fancy major key issues as well as a ton of dollar (or less!) books! I got out there early in the day and had so much fun browsing, chatting, trading, and buying!

A bunch of my friends were there including Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles, John from Bigfoot Comics, as well as Tom of Alliance Comics, Toys, and Games, to name a few. They had a great mix of comics and I enjoyed visiting with my chum Jack of Fortress Comics--he had lots of $5 Silver and Bronze series! Dave from All American Collectibles was busy working with Spike to coordinate the show and I was happy to see him too.

A picture of when everyone was setting up!

The show had a good mix of modern and older books--with my expertise being, "Newer," stuff from the 2000s and up but I loved looking at the vintage comics from the 80s, 70s, 60s, and even older! There were some new sellers at the show as well as folks who set up at almost every event. I always love digging in the short and longboxes at this comic show as I find cool stuff at basically every seller's table! The next show is May 5th and getting in costs only three bucks after 10AM with kiddos free (six dollars for early-bird attendees at 9AM). I'd encourage anyone who will be in the area on May 5th to visit the next Spector Club Comic Show and enjoy all the neat stuff you'll find on sale!