You see the contrast between episodes here amazingly well.
Episode 11 featured the Lennon Sisters and episode 12 featured Zsa Zsa Gabor.
In episode 11, there was a limited amount of comedy bits, with the main one being what seemed to be similar to the Muppet Show’s At the Dance skit where members of Sha Na Na danced with the Lennon Sisters and the camera followed them to each couple to tell a bad joke. That was a decent little use of the comedy (though that laugh track is still just obnoxious).
Also in episode 11, they did multiple songs including Rockin’ Robin, Runaround Sue, Tonight You Belong to Me (with the Lennon Sisters on the stage), The Great Pretender and a tribute to Elvis (interestingly, they never used the word Presley. I wonder if it was a rights thing.) in that tribute they did three songs, Heartbreak Hotel, Love Me Tender and Hound Dog.
Honestly, episode 11 may have been my favorite one so far.
Then, episode 12 was an over-reliance on the comedy bits. Way too many of them because none of them were funny. Plus, the songs were limited to Sha-Boom and 16 Candles. They did a comedy bit featuring The Lion Sleeps Tonight with Sha Na Na dressed up as cannibals.
Episode 12 may have been my least favorite so far.
When the show focused on the music, it was outstanding. When they pushed the comedy, especially without the guys in the band, it flopped. The comedy bit with The Lion Sleeps Tonight was just too long and, again, not funny.
They have so many great singers in Sha Na Na, I want them to play more music and I believe it worked much better when the special guest star(s) were musical too. I have nothing against Zsa Zsa, but her bits were just not as entertaining as the Lennon Sisters singing.
That is what I figured since each episode so far has focused on one of the Crain children. I did not know that Luke and Nellie were actually twins.
Luke has been in the background a lot so far. We knew about him being in recovery for an addiction and stealing from his siblings, but that is about it.
I have to say, this was the first time I thought of Steve as a dick. But watching him at the dinner when Luke brought Joey to his brother’s.
I wasn’t sure of the time frame until we get the scene between Luke and Steve when Luke was stealing his brother’s camera.
I have found Luke to be my favorite character of the show so far. The final line of the episode gave me chills as Luke, because of a twin thing, says that it wasn’t suicide. He could feel it.
It was also very spooky with the bowler hat man following Luke into adulthood, and outside of Hill House. Is it a wonder that Luke became an addict? The scene where the bowler hat man came right up to Luke and it turned into Nellie’s face, leading into the car’s headlights was just amazing. The fact that Luke was so cold and that his legs and arms were stiffening up told us how connected he was to his sister.
I really liked this episode and I felt the most connection to Luke of all of the children so far. His scenes in the Hill House were some of the creepiest of the series so far, with that one where Luke was under the bed being right up there.
I am anxious to see what the show will give us now that Luke knows his twin committed suicide (or did she?).
I finally got around to seeing the first two episodes of the second season of Hazbin Hotel. The animated series on Amazon Prime was a big surprise with the quality and entertainment. I am been looking forward to the second season of the show for awhile.
The first episode was good, but I loved the second episode with Sir Pentious in heaven. This did a great job of following up the story of Sir Pentious’ redemption.
The music is just banger after banger. They have done such tremendous job with music. The lyrics are so clever and work so well together.
These episodes did a great job of setting up conflict moving along for the rest of the season. The show will be releasing two episodes every week and has a total of 8 episodes in season two. That means that the show will be over very quickly (three more weeks).
The animation continues to be spectacular and the character design is awesome. This is a highly entertaining series that is fun.
Forty-five years ago today, I woke up at my friend Jeff’s house after we went trick or treating and spent the night reading his comics. Jeff had a “folder” at Comic World in Dubuque and he had a bunch of X-Men and Avengers. It was the next day that I decided that I would begin to collect comics too.
Of course, there were years where I did not buy many books. Specifically during the college years and immediate years after when I subbed. I just did not have enough money for the hobby. However, I always considered myself a comic collector. I have always considered November 1st as my anniversary. Now a days, I buy a bunch of books a month.
This month is the fifth week of the month, which generally means a lower amount of books. I still was able to get a group of solid comics.
Books this week:
Sleep #6. Written, drawn and cover art by Zander Cannon. Jonathan found a way for him to contain the shocking transformation… or so it seemed. It was a fascinating issue as Jonathan seemed to be protecting Tabby. There was also a post credit scene. Very cool. Two more issues in this book which has been so great.
Black Cat #3. “III: Word Gets Around.” Written by G. Willow Wilson and art by Gleb Melnikov. Cover art was done by Adam Hughes (Bronze medalist). Lots of cool cameos in the newly super heroic Black Cat. Ms. Marvel, Sandman… Cat has to face off with Tombstone.
Feral #17. “Onslaught” Written by Tony Fleecs and art by Trish Forstner & Tonbe Rodriguez. Cover art was done by Trish Forstner (Gold Medlaist), I was talking to another Comic World customer who told me that his girlfriend read Feral and described it as a cross between Lion King and Walking Dead. It is a perfect example. This issue really feel like a Walking Dead book with cats. I love the horror movie homage covers for this book.
Undeadpool #1. Written by Tim Seeley with art by Carlos Magno. Cover art was done by E.M. Gist. It is the Age of Revelation and X Years Later… Wade Wilson has an all new way about him as the X-virus changed him into an undead zombie-like being, but he still had his narration skills. Undeadpool is another cool concept in the current Marvel storyline.
X-Vengers #1. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. Cover art was done by Mike McKone & Morry Hollowell. The Age of Revelation moves along X Years Later with a different variation of the Avengers. Dani Moonstar has cap’s shield, Shang Chi, Cannonball, Hawkeye (with multiple arms), Vision, Water Widow (yes, it is Natasha), and Variable Man (Scott Lang, thank you). Seeing how the X-Virus affected the heroes of the Marvel Universe is fascinating.
Cloak or Dagger #1. Written by Justina Ireland with art by Lorenzo Tammetta. Cover art was done by Mike McKone & Rachelle Rosenberg. In the Age of Revelation, X Years Later… Tyrone and Tandy are married, but they can only exist on the same plane of existence at the same time very a very short time. They tag each other out like they are in a WWE tag team. Cloak & Dagger have been a favorite of mine for awhile now and I am glad they get a book in this new adventure.
Expatriate X-Men #1. Written by Eve L. Ewing and art by Francesco Mortarino. Cover art by Francesco Mortarino & Raul Angulo. Ms. Marvel is leading a group of X-Men featuring a bunch I am not as familiar with including Rift, Bronze and Melee… with a connection to Mystique.
Return to Sleepy Hollow #1. Written by Casey Gilly and art and cover art by Savanna Mayer. Ichabod Crane is back in Sleepy Hollow to investigate a new murder. This is apparently a follow up to the movie Sleepy Hollow.
Runaways #5. “Think of the Children” Part Five. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Elena Casagrande & Roberta Ingranata. Cover art is done by Stephanie Hans. The storyline with the Runaways and the Doombot’s identity crisis is wrapped up here. I really love these characters and hope they return again.
Stake Presents: Jessamy #1. Written by David A. Byrne and illustrated and cover art by Francesca Fantini (Silver Medalist). I had no idea what this book was about when I spotted it on the shelf. The cover was what attracted me to the book. It was not a book that I found that intriguing after reading it, but it is a beautiful looking book. More vampire stuff.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2025. Written by Kenny Porter and art by Michael Shelfer. Cover art by Mateus Santolouco. The annual that is like the end of the Jason Aaron run of TMNT, but without Jason Aaron. I found myself less than interested in this annual which may not be a good sign for this book moving forward with Jason Aaron gone.
Absolute Batman Annual 2025 #1. Written and art by Daniel Warren Johnson with cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. However, this Absolute Batman annual really kicked some ass. Some of the best imagery from the series yet. This was excellent.
Rocketfellers #10. Written by Peter J. Tomasi and art and cover art by Francis Manapul. It is Halloween for the Rocketfellers and they allow the kids to go trick or treating before they attempt to get away. Aunt Raina finds them and chases them away.
Mortal Thor #3. “The Father of Lies.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Pasqual Ferry. Cover art by Alex Ross. The Serpents attack Sigmund at his construction site. Not a good idea for them. Sigmund is a real bad ass with that little hammer. It is a really violent book.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Cover art by David Marquez & Federico Blee. Ghost Spider showed up to battle her old symbiote. Flash Thompson has returned as Agent Anti-Venom. I am very happy that Gwen’s symbiote and weird powers are gone and she is back to the regular Spider-Gwen.
The Beauty #1. Written by Jeremy Haun & Jason A. Hurley and art by Emanuela Lupacchino. Cover art by Jeremy Haun & Nick Filardi. New book from Ignition Comics. There is a new STD disease, but it is one that people want to be infected by because it turned the infected into their most beautiful selves. This was a great new series.
Moonshine Bigfoot #4. Written by Mike Marlow & Zach Howard and pencils by Steve Ellis. Cover art by Steve Ellis & Zach Howard. Moonshine Bigfoot’s first arc is all done with this. The book really does feel like a Dukes of Hazzard cross with the X-Files. I have enjoyed Moonshine Bigfoot.
Supernatural #1. Written by Greg Pak and art by Eder Messias. Clayton Crain did the cover art. I never watched this TV show, despite it having been on TV for like 125 years. I was curious about the book because Dynamite has done some really good stuff lately. I will say that I did like the book, but I was not blown away by it. I am not sure if I enjoyed it enough to add this to a pull list with my other massive list of books. Fans of the show should enjoy this.
Sam and Twitch: Case Files #19. Script by Thomas Healy and art by Von Randal. Cover art was done by Federico Sabbatini. There is a new arc for Sam and Twitch with a story in the past of Sam which is coming back around today. I liked this new issue quite a bit.
Death of the Silver Surfer #5. “Farewells” Written by Greg Pak and pencils by Sumit Kumar with Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Frank D’Armata. Not sure how I felt about this. Is this a future event or is it in continuity? A new Silver Surfer is out there.
Voyeur #1-2. Written by Leah Williams and illustrated by David Baldeón. Covers were done by Joelle Jones. I saw issue to on the stand on Thursday. I was not sure when issue one came out, but I was able to pick it up too. I had the ashcan of the book and I was wanting to pick it up. Love this issue. The first two issues show the same events in different POV (which always reminds me of LOST). Good stuff so far.
Blue Palo Verde #5. Written by Ray Fawkes and art by Rimanti. I have to say, I loved this book at the beginning, but it feels like it fell off hard. I was not as interested in the conclusion as it went way weirder than I expected.
Star Wars: Han Solo- Hunt for the Falcon #2. Written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon Rosanas. Ramon Rosanas and GURU-eFX did the cover art. Han and Chewy continue to try and find the missing Millennium Falcon.
Other books this week: Rivals: King in Black #1, Emma Frost: White Queen #5, Nights #16, Toxie Team-Up #5, and the Treat or Read Comics (X-Men ’97 #1, Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1, Venom: Lethal Protector, and Hallowed Hauntings #1).
Quick Hits: I picked up the Universal Monsters: Dracula Black & White Special. I have the issues from Image, but this looked so beautiful that I needed to pick it up. The Phantom #2 came out this week with a fun adventure that felt very much like a Phantom book. Battleworld #2 brought a bunch of heroes from across the time frame. Keensport’s book Don’t Run With Scissors #4 concluded with one of the oddest ending possible. Sonja Reborn #3 and Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #2 both have classic characters thrown into different situations. Another book with the question about where the continuity falls is Imperial #4, which ends that little series. I don’t know if it is the actually happening. I know that other Marvel books seem to have ties to it even though I don’t know how Hulk could be involved if this is current continuity. It hurts my head when I think about it. Thanks a lot Hickman. Then, Blink and You’ll Miss It #3 is fairly confusing too.
We have not seen the Pennywise clown version as of yet, and that is pretty cool. We definitely see the shape-shifting clown in other forms… and those forms are absolutely gross and frightening. The fang-filled vagina of Ronnie’s mother…. and the pickle jar with pieces of Lilly’s father. Man, those were rough.
The show is looking at the racism of the time more than the IT movies did. The racism in Derry was definitely in the movies, but this feels like a new level of focus on it. It has a feel much like Watchmen and Lovecraft Country. The smartest characters of the show seem to be the people of color.
We are introduced to a couple new kids in the show after the slaughter at the theater last week. Poor Lilly was facing her own struggles and the sheriff trying to get her to change her story about that night in order to get Ronnie’s father as the killer. Lilly kept saying that she did not see her father that night. The sheriff manipulates her to give him something he can use to arrest him.
We get the driving force behind the use of the military in this show. We learn that the military is in search of a weapon they can use in the Cold War. It is a weapon that can create fear in any man. It is clearly Pennywise that they are searching for.
There are a lot of really great scenes in this episode, including one in a jail cell involving a Russian gun. IT: Welcome to Derry has been very good so far, with amazing visuals and a group of intriguing characters.
This was another show that I was doing a watch for. I had never seen any of this show but I had seen some episodes of the 1970s Battlestar Galactica with Loren Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. I was never a fan of that sci-fi show so I was not rushing to watch the new version when it came out on the SyFy Network.
The show went for four seasons, along with a starting mini series and a few movie specials. I had heard a lot of positive comments about the show, especially from Marc Bernardin from Fatman Beyond who said that Battlestar was his favorite show ever. It
The cast was excellent. It included Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park. They are playing new versions from the first series.
Battlestar Galactica became one of the best sci-fi show on television. The complex storylines dove into the human condition. The Cylons, the robotic villains from the first season, were able to be repurposed into human-looking versions. It was such a great move because the Cylons were able to infiltrate the human race. As the seasons progressed, the Cylons became more human than what was expected.
Lucille Ball was the undisputed queen of the sitcom for years. She was a powerful force on TV and her show, I Love Lucy will be remembered for ever.
While I may not have followed this on a regular basis, I Love Lucy was a treat every time it made it to my TV screen.
Some of the adventures of Lucy Ricardo were crazy and the iconic woman did what she needed to do for a laugh. She put herself in ridiculous, undignified situations- wrapping chocolates, stomping grapes etc, all for the laugh.
Lucy brought slapstick and pratfalls to TV, making them high comedy. She inspired a ton of female comedians to a career that they may not have believed was possible.
Desi Arnez co-starred as Ricky Ricardo with his real life wife, Lucille Ball. Lucy friend-in-crazy was neighbor Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel’s husband was Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley.
I Love Lucy ran from 1951-1957 on CBS. They recorded 180 episodes.
The 5th week of the month is always a little short with comics, but there are several really good covers any way.
One variant and two A covers this week. All three are very apropos for the time of the year we are (Happy Halloween everybody!)
Also-Rans: Mighty Thor #3, Undeadpool #1, Runaways #5, Cloak or Dagger #1, The Phantom #2, Sleep #6 and Return to Sleepy Hallow #1.
Bronze Medalist
Black Cat #3
Cover art by Adam Hughes
Felicia has herself a top notch cover. I have not read the book yet, but that sure makes me think about Sandman. The black suited Felicia sure stands out beautifully from this sandy background.
Silver Medalist
Stake Presents Jessamy #1.
Cover art by Francesca Fantini
I had no idea what this book was, but this cover was so beautiful that it drew me to it. What a stunning cover with some wonderful imagery. The blood roses and the bats around the big moon… just exceptional.
Gold Medalist
Feral #17
Variant Cover B
Cover art by Trish Forstner
I love these horror film homages that Feral has been doing and there is yet another gold medal for it. This is a homage to Halloween and the jack lantern with the fangs just makes the cover. Love the black background against the orange pumpkin. Another sensational Feral Cover B variant.
After the ending of LOST, I had a huge gap in my heart and I was not interested in replacing it with another TV show. I did not watch much TV after LOST left. I did not watch The Walking Dead’s first season because of that. I had heard some good word of mouth about the comic book adaptation, so I decided I would catch up on the first, short season.
It was so wonderful, it helped in the recovery from post-LOST life.
Few shows have generated the anguish that The Walking Dead has over its eleven seasons. I will be honest, I did not watch much of the last few years of the show. There was onlky so much pain one could take.
I remember the spot that began my end with this show. It was Glen. I am not sure that any TV death has ever been as emptying as when Negan smashed Lucille, his baseball bat, into Glen’s skull, as he did in the comics, it was horrific and left me feeling hollow. I knew it was done brilliantly well and created all kinds of story, but the fact was that Glen’s death was the slow end for me.
Before that though, The Walking Dead was so amazing. It had so many unbelievable moments. Shane and his craziness. Carol telling Lizzie to look at the flowers before shooting her in the head. Daryl Dixon and his overall awesomeness. Rick screaming for Carl.
One of the best additions in the later part of the show was Michonne, played by Danai Gurira. Michonne and her katana was so bad ass. I also enjoyed her eventual relationship with Rick, which I saw more of in the spin of featuring those two characters, The Ones Who Lived.
The Walking Dead took advantage of the resurgence of zombies, leading the way among pop culture in presenting some of the most frightening moments featuring the monsters. However, the show never justbecame about the zombies, or Walkers as they dubbed them. The show was about the relationships between and the choices made by the survivors, and proved consistently that the humans might be the real monsters in a zombie apocalypse.
This past summer, I did a TV show first time watch by watching all six seasons of the FX series What We Do in the Shadows. Since they had usually around 10 episodes a season at about a half and hour, I would binge a season in one day and then do a write up.
What We Do in the Shadows was based on a movie from writer/director Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. The show is shot in the mockumentary format following a group of four vampire roommates living together in Staten Island.
The cast was exceptional and had a ton of chemistry with each other. The main stars included Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, and Kristen Schaal.
Much of the POV came from the human character Guillermo, who was the familiar for Nandor the Relentless, one of the four roommates. There was the married couple Lazlo and Nadja and the “energy vampire” Colin Robinson.
Every episode saw this out of time foursome dealing with something unbelievable. The one thing you could count on with What We Do in the Shadows was that it was funny.
The show was not only funny, but it was shocking. There was blood and other bodily fluids involved and provided a humorous look at a world that one wouldn’t think of as funny.
There were a ton of guests stars during the six seasons including such notable stars as Mark Hamill, Tilda Swinton, Dave Bautista, Paul Reubens, Scott Bakula, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Pollak, John Slattery, Wesley Snipes, and Evan Rachel Woods. This is just a few of the stars who found their way to this show.
The mockumentary style of the show was one of the big stars as well. It brought a wonderful quirkiness to the show that worked.
Every season was hilarious and, even the weaker ones, had some fabulous moments.
Another season of Only Murders in the Building wrapped up with a finale that revealed the killer of the beloved doorman Lester and tied all the loose ends up neatly.
It turned out that Mayor Beau Tillman, played by Keegan-Michael Key, killed Lester, and it was his finger that had been severed and placed in Oliver’s shrimp. The billionaires knew about the whole thing too. They were in the game to find the finger and that person would receive the casino contract from the city.
After they were arrested, it seemed as if the building was saved, though I am not 100% sure how that happened.
I do love this show and there were so many wonderful moments in this finale as they were capturing the Mayor. Charles shimmying up the pole and sliding down like a stripper (instead of a fireman) was a hoot.
Introducing the “New mob” to the “Old Mob” was another fun thing. That group of men was ridiculously funny.
The show also set up the next mystery for season six as we hear a new podcast from Cinda Canning (Tina Fey) and she seems to have be killed… just outside the Arconia, disappointing everyone that she was not “in the building.” A final twitch of the body brought her hand just inside the gate… allowing the trio to investigate the new case.
Love this show. I can’t wait for the next season. This finale was much better than the penultimate episode.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 