Bitsy & Boozle Tell A Story! (Family Comic Friday)

Bitsy is an aspiring storyteller. Her first adventure will star her best friend, the diminutive wizard, Boozle. Enticed with the chance of a story that ends with a 'happily ever after', Boozle agrees to become the protagonist in a quest that will put him against the fierce Gruffin of Clawmax Peak!

I had an absolute blast reading this 2024 book. Boozle is hilarious. He only speaks in symbols. Yet, he completely steals the show with his over-the-top reactions, tiny fast moving feet and expressive pointy little fingers. 

While this story depicts a quest to save a pair of small villages on nearby Story Mountain, from being terrorized by a giant golden winged beast, there's something secret going on: learning! See as storytelling Bitsy details Boozle's epic adventure, she's also teaching the reader about the basics of storytelling!  Add in the hilarious glossary of terms hosted by Bitsy's sisters and a guide to 'Boozle speak' and you've got a graphic novel that entertained and educated me! 

Parents and guardians will love this book for the very purpose that children will learn as they read (and are entertained) this book. There were some surprising twists, amazing supporting characters and brilliant dialogue found inside. Boozle is a wizard and he does cast a few spells. They mostly end up being ways that enable Bitsy to explain plot devices such as a fast forward and a flashback. However, their are some adults who won't want the young readers in their lives to associate with anything magical or fantastical like ogres and goblins. 

The fright factor in this book recommended for readers aged 6-10 is about a 3. For about half of the book, the Gruffin is nothing more than a menacing shadow. However by book's end I can guarantee that the monster will become your child's newest favorite character; after Boozle, of course.

I'm not sure how they would do it. But I would really love for creative duo Sara Goetter and Natalie Riess to craft a sequel. I want more interaction with Boozle. He was such fun and I enjoyed all the chuckles his exploits gave me.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Lunar New Year Love Story

I bought this 2024 graphic novel after last year's Lunar New Year. My favorite comic shop, who makes great recommendations, ordered it, knowing I love holiday books. So I had to wait almost an entire year to read. I collect holiday comics and graphic novels for all seasons and occasions. This is my first involving Chinese New Year. However, it very well could be a Valentine's Day read.

Val loves Valentine's Day. She dreams of a romance like those 80s flicks where a pair of unlikely people find true love. However, when Val learns that her mother really isn't dead but instead left her and her father at a very young age, Val is convinced she is cursed to never find love. 

During a Lunar New Year celebration, Val vows to give up on finding true love. With a 1-year deadline, looming Val runs into Leslie, a young man from a wealthy family who goes to a private school across town. But things are complicated by the fact that Leslie likes to take things very slow. Plus, he seems to have a lot of female friends who act like they're more than friends. 

As the year comes to a close, Val's heart is mixed up in a love triangle between Leslie and his cousin. It appears that the other boy is Val's true love; only it's causing bad blood between the cousins. With the announcement that he's moving back to Korea, Val decides to runaway on love herself, doomed to become the latest victim of her family's relationship curse. 

Lunar New Year Love Story is over 300 pages. The first 60 pages all involve Valentine's Day. The spirit of St. Valentine is a major character in this story and hearts and chocolates play important roles. Despite that, this is a very Asian graphic novel. Val is Vietnamese. Leslie is Chinese. The cousin is Korean. I did not know until reading this book that all 3 cultures celebrated the Lunar New Year! So it's kinda culturally insensitive to only wish a Happy Chinese New Year during this time of year. 

I was on the fence about keeping this book after reading it as it was a romance. I should have known that this was going to be an amazing work since it was written by Gene Luen Yang and I've never had any qualms with his epic storytelling. The art is by Leuyen Pham. My first encounter with her work. But it was equally as amazing as the storytelling. 

Today is Lunar New Year. So it's too late to read for that holiday. But with Valentine's Day still a couple of weeks away, there is still time to read while covered under the awning of the holidays of the season. Had I known that this book took place during high school, I would have read this book for my Family Comic Friday reviews. But the couple on the cover looked like adults to me. Don't let the age of the characters full you. This was a very mature read. If you've ever complained that Hallmark has never made a Lunar New Year movie, this book could be the inspiration to the adaptation of your wish come true!

Gosh darn it! This was a perfect read. I'm going have an honest to goodness romance in my holiday collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Duck and Moose: Duck in the Dark! ( Family Comic Friday)

Duck is a new resident of Denali National Park. He's made an immediate best friend in the like of Moose. However, Duck hasn't experienced his first ever Alaskan winter, where it gets very dark for longer periods of time throughout the day. 

Experience the wild and wacky ways Duck will try to keep the darkness at bay. That's because deep down, Duck is afraid of the dark. He just wouldn't admit it to his best bud, Moose. He's got too much pride.

This is the third book in the Duck and Moose series. My first experience with the series as it was on the new shelf at my local library having debuted in December of last year. You don't have to start on book #1. Author Kirk Reedstrom does a great job keeping the reader informed on the important details on what has transpired previously. Pretty much with 'Duck in the Dark', all you need to know previously is that Duck is new to the region and doesn't know what Alaskan winters are like.

I thought that the book was adorable. And funny. I laughed out loud a couple of times at the highly unexpected antics of Duck. He's the funny guy in the duo with Moose as the straight man in the comedy routine. 

I highly recommend this book. It deals with fears and how to overcome them. There's nothing a parent or guardian of a young reader should object to. No fighting. And despite being considered a slapstick comedy, there's no mayhem on the level of the Three Stooges. Just some very over-the-top ideas on how to survive a dark night in the 50th State. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Alligator Loki Holiday Special #1

Alligator Loki: the scene-stealing darling of the first season of Disney+'s Loki. In typical fashion, Marvel Comics decided to create a digital comic series based on the character. But because I am strictly a paper comics guy, I didn't know this!

When I saw in a copy of Previews that this book was dropping, I promptly ordered a copy through my favorite LCS. It wasn't the star of the book that was why I wanted this book so much. True, it's touted as a holiday special. But even that wasn't what made this the Christmas comic I absolutely had to have of the 3 holiday one-shots from Marvel in 2024. The reason I had to have this book was because of the goats!

Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder were a pair of goats that stole every scene that they appeared in in Thor: Love and Thunder. In Marvel Comics lore, they are the goats that led Odin's sleigh, whenever the ruler of Asgard visited the Norse people of Midgard. This later inspires the reindeer that Santa Claus uses to make his midnight rides every year. And while I've always been down with this element of Pagan Christmas origins, that's not why this book was a must own. 

No, it's because I own goats as pets. I always saw myself as a cat person. I never knew that I was also a goat person as well.

My impression of this special was that Alligator Loki assisted by Odin's goats were going to save Christmas. I couldn't have been more wrong.

This special consists of about a dozen shorts. With the exception of the first story, and possibly one winter time snowball fight caper in the middle, none of the other tales are Christmas themed nor set. Instead, all of those backups are 'reprints' of Alligator Loki stories from Marvel's digital comics service. The opener is supposedly brand new. It sees Alligator Loki and Asgardian Loki trying their very best to get into the holiday spirit. At least I think that was the case. All of the stories were done with little to no dialogue and most of the dialogue was done as emojis. Just like with Marvel Meow, I kept getting lost. I really needed some dialogue. I also needed an expert on current Marvel Comics.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like Loki is now a member of the Avengers. Or at least he's on good terms with them. Plus, is Loki now roommates with Thor? Can someone tell me why these two seem to be sharing a Manhattan apartment together along with Alligator Loki and Frog Thor. Or was that all just for the sake of Alyssa Wong's Alligator Loki series? Could it be that  Alligator Loki isn't canon? I just wish somebody could answer my questions because the Marvel Wiki was zero help.

Had I known that this wasn't a real holiday special, I still would have ordered it. I just wouldn't have rushed like crazy to get my hands on a copy. Who am I kidding? With that adorable variant cover of Alligator Loki driving Odin's sleigh with Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder Nicoletta Baldari,I would have still been impatient waiting for this to drop. (Bless the guys at Books Do Furnish a Room for ordering me the variant cover, which was so freaking Disney and cute!)

Now can we just get a paper collection of the various digital Marvel Unlimited Infinity Christmas specials that have gone unread because I refuse to go paperless?! I'd pay good money for a hardcover edition of such!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2024 #1

I waited as long as I could to read the Christmas annual I look forward to the most. This year's 2024 Archie Christmas Spectacular did not disappoint in the least. In fact, I feel like Archie Comics might have listened to some of my criticisms, because instead of trying to cram in a brand new magical, they went into a totally different direction.

In order to enjoy the opening story, you had to have read this year's Halloween special. In that issue, a foe of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, threatened revenge upon the blonde pixie. Since that episode, Sabrina gifted her foe, Amber Nightstone, with a holiday present. One that was personal and really well thought out. The story opens with Archie and friends being kidnapped by Amber. But they're not in danger from the events that occurred during All Hallows Eve. Instead, they're being forced to help their kidnapper find an even better present for Sabrina!

There's also 4 other stories in this special. Normally, they're reprints. But not one of them are stories that I've ever read before. So I don't know if they were previously published or if Archie took my advice and crafted more all-new festive fare for their Christmas special. 

The fun begins with Jughead and Big Ethel getting to the bottom of a rumor that Christmas is cancelled. Then Betty and Veronica, as their superhero alter egos Power Teen and Super Teen, help the two Mighty Crusaders who bear the moniker of the Jaguar to recover Santa's stolen sleigh. Betty and Veronica then give a potential new recruit to the Mighty Crusaders a makeover.

Lastly, Archie helps the Shield solve the mystery of a super-weapon that was stolen during a Christmas party at a museum dedicated to America's first patriotic superhero. 

Every story was great fun. But the last story was my favorite. The story is set up where readers are supposed to examine the party-goers for clues to the whereabouts of the missing artifact. But in reality it was a ploy to prevent the readers from missing the countless cameos of iconic and forgotten characters from 85 years of Archie Comics that were hidden in every panel. While I do wish that I could have solved the mystery, I greatly value the deception because I would have missed out on seeing some long lost friends from my childhood, such as L'il Jinx!

This is perhaps my favorite of all the Archie Christmas Spectaculars. It was magical. It was fun. It was nostalgic. It's everything that I've been asking Santa for in an Archie holiday special.

Keep up the good work!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 25

We made it to another Christmas. There's one last Advent calendar to explore. I know that I've featured an Advent that had a nativity scene. However, that calendar was more about the angels in the tree above the manager and not the story of Christ's birth. 

There are several Advent calendars out there in which you can build your own nativity scene. Most have figures that look more like Fisher Price people and they're great for little tykes. However I chose the advent from Flivoosh because it looked more like the nativity scene I had when I was younger. My nativity which I bought years ago by piecing together at Woolworth's after-Christmas sale looked like it was sculpted from marble. It had a Renaissance look and feel to it and despite being a Christmas decoration, I played with that thing for hours, arranging and rearranging the figures into the perfect lineup.

This advent has 24 windows which contain scenery, animals, the Wise Men and the Holy Family. There's even a piece that looks like the city of Jerusalem forming the background setting. I imagine that the first couple of days worth of offerings involve making up the set. with the scenery pieces. But hopefully, people like the shepherds will be available quickly. The most important thing is that the Baby Jesus is the gift for day 24. It was a rule in my family that the Christ Child couldn't go in the nativity until Christmas Day. I've heard that's been a tradition for many families as well. I really want that to be the case with this advent but since I don't own this set, I'm merely speculating.

Another thing this advent doesn't seem to have is a small instruction book. The listing on Amazon calls this an educational tool about the story of the First Christmas. However, unless a learned grown-up is available to explain all the parts that make up this nativity, there's not much teaching going to happen. I guess folks could always use a Bible. But I'd also like a kind of fact book that dug a little deeper into each daily addition to the manger scene.

And that's my 2024 Advent. I've hope you have enjoyed my adventures through the world of the advent calendar. Before I close, let's see what I received from the final envelope in my Batman Advent calendar...

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024 Day 24

Santa comes tonight! For the penultimate Advent calendar of 2024, I returned to Solgarden in Mebane, North Carolina. They sell a really neat looking Countdown to Christmas which is 3-D printed and extremely clever.

The main structure is a red chimney. At the very top stands Santa Claus. Throughout the length of the chimney, there are these green planks that are numbered 1-24. Each day, you remove the plank with the corresponding number until on the 24th where you remove the final piece and Santa Claus plops right down into the fire place. 

It's rather brilliant. I'm not sure who manufactured it and I think the asking price was around $50. 

This calendar is very similar to the piece that inspired this year's theme. It's a wooden countdown of Nakatomi Plaza from the Bruce Willis holiday classic Die Hard. Starting from the top, the numbers start at 1 with 24 at the very bottom. Each day, as you get closer to Christmas Eve, you take the small figure of Alan Rickman's villainous Hans Gruber just a little bit closer towards going splat onto the parking lot below. As my brother in law says 'It's not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls off of Nakatomi Plaza.' With this Advent, he'd be right.

Before I dive into my Batman Advent gift for the day, I want to explain why I didn't choose to focus on the Die Hard advent yesterday or any other day. Why the honorable mention of sorts? Originally I was going to feature the Hans Gruber calendar for the 23rd and today be about Santa as I normally do. But as I got to thinking about it, I didn't want to feature two nearly identical concepts back-to-back. A last minute editorial call, I switched things up to keep things from getting stale. I hope you'll forgive my indulgence and enjoyed my picks regardless.

Adventures in Advent, Advent 2024, Day 23

If you've been a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know that I support endeavors that encourage children to read. You probably have also gathered that I love comic books and superheroes. One of my all-time favorite quotes about the importance of reading and how comic books can be used as such a tool for kids is by LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation Fame.

I feel like today's Advent really plays into the importance of reading and how the interest in subjects is vital if you want children to enjoy reading. It's the Marvel Storybook Collection Advent from Autumn Publishing. The calendar features 24 miniature storybooks recommended for readers 5-8 years of age. Each book is 24 pages long and features characters such as Spider-Man, The Guardians of the Galaxy and Fin Fang Foom! 

I recognize some of these titles from being listed in the past on the Midtown Comics website for sale in regular storybook size. Those titles retail for about $10 a piece. As this advent sells for $16.99, that's a tremendous value if you don't mind that these are smaller books. I know if I was a kid, I sure as heck wouldn't. They remind me of the tiny Little Golden Books that were readable complete tinier versions of the regular sized classics. And they had a gold string in order to hang on your tree as an ornament. 

I would have liked if these books were also ornaments. With a trusty hot glue gun and some ribbon, you could make that a DIY project with your child, if you like. What I'd really would have liked is for all 24 books to have been holiday themed. Alas, none of them are. Still, if your child is obsessed with the Marvel Universe don't let my opinion stop you from using this as a reading tool and a Countdown to Christmas 2025. Buy it now and be ready for when December 1st rolls back around next year!

Holiday Tales to Astonish #1

I must have been really good this year. Or Marvel must have gotten tired of me complaining. Because this year, the House of Ideas released not one, not two, but 3 Christmas specials!  

Holiday Tales to Astonish #1 was the first one that I read. It's regular cover by Luciano Maher elicits memories of that pair of tabloid sized holiday specials from the 1970s. It really got me right in the holiday feels. Thankfully unlike those classics, of which I'm still on the hunt for one of them, there's no reprints here. Instead, we get 3 great all-new seasonal stories that represent Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's.

The Fantastic Four star in the Christmas themed story. Don't worry, Ben Grimm is still a member of the Tribe and his faith is represented at the beginning. However, the Festival of Lights is saved for story #2. In the opener, Reed Richards is getting reports of traces of plutonium popping up in Manhattan. Investigating a possible nuclear weapon being armed, the FF instead run into Doctor Doom, dressed as Santa Claus and playing the role of the Grinch by stealing toys from the boys and girls of the Big Apple.

The middle story goes back in time to the Chris Claremont/John Byrne era of the Uncanny X-Men. It shows Kitty Pryde's first Hanukkah at the Xavier School. Don't worry, classic Hanukkah issue Uncanny X-Men #143 is still canon. We just catch a glimpse of what transpired during the other 7 days of Hanukkah. 

The final story occurs on New Year's Eve. When his girlfriend comes under the weather, Miles Morales gets invited to a different countdown to the New Year party by folks he didn't realize considered him a friend. When the Peter Parker Spidey and Hydro-Man interrupt the festivities, Miles learns an important lesson about the personal sacrifices a superhero has to make. 

All three stories were exceptionally written. The art varied. Pat Olliffe is definitely a graduate of the John Byrne school of uncanny art. It felt like an lost tale from one of the greatest partnerships in Marvel history. Dylan Burnett's work on the Spider-Men story was fair. It has more of that teen graphic novel look to it. Not as detailed but still pleasant on the eyes. But what in the world happened on that Fantastic Four story?

Phil Noto was the artist. Normally, his work is amazing. Noto does stunning work on the various Star Wars titles he contributes too. Especially his covers. Maybe that is more of his forte, because the art for the opener was a hot mess. Look, I know that I don't read that much modern Fantastic Four. But what is up with Johnny Storm's porn star mustache? Just because Mr. Fantastic can assume very fluid shapes, that doesn't mean that he should always be drawn like that. And I know that Wolverine is short. But he's not a midget. A lot of long-established Marvel fans criticize the current offerings of art as really bad. I tend to be more forgiving. However, with the first story, along with some of ads for upcoming 2025 projects, I could see what they're talking about.

Speaking of 2025, I cannot wait for the 5 What If... Galactus one-shots coming up in January. They look epic!

Great reading. Varying art. 100% holiday themed. Thank you Marvel for putting out an honest to goodness holiday special! It was a great gift for the fans and I hope it's a tradition that continues for years to come!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 22

I've been complaining throughout this Advent how I hate it when the packaging ruins the surprises in store. Well I've finally discovered an Advent that not only do you not know what's inside, you don't even know which calendar door to open next!

Exit: The Game is a series of escape room themed board games. This year, game manufacturer Thames & Kosmos released a 24 Day long escape room adventure. Subtitled 'The Missing Hollywood Star', participants must solve a daily riddle. Only when you solve the puzzle, you only then discover which Advent calendar door you open the following day. Presumably, when you make it to Day 24, you'll locate the missing starlet. Though I reality, you should know where she is on Day 23, because the December 24th door will be the only one left unopened.

Best of luck that you get all of the puzzles correct. It would stink if you made a miscalculation and found the actress on Day 6

Another thing you'll need is time. The Amazon posting for this Advent recommends about 15 minutes per day to solve the daily enigma. This isn't an Advent that you'll be able to just rush through 

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 21

If you follow my Advents annually, you'll know that I devote one of my days to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. My wife is half Jewish and we celebrate the festival of lights by putting up a fire safe menorah (because we have cats) and decorate one of the trees in our yard with blue and white lights and decorations.

But 2024 is a bit of an anomaly. Hanukkah begins on December 25th and I always make sure to focus on the birth of Christ on my Christmas Day Advents. I also partially plan out my Advents weeks in advance and I've got my next 4 days set. Thankfully I didn't have a calendar selected for today and I'm able to continue my annual look at Hanukkah.

You might think that they don't make Hanukkah Advent calendars. Well, you'd be wrong. Instead of being 12, 24 or 25 days long, Hanukkah Advent calendars are only 8 nights- NOT DAYS- long. That's because of the miracle of the Temple in which God stretched out the oil for the lamps to last slightly over a week. Plus as with all Jewish days, they start a new at sundown- not midnight.

#1- Astor Chocolate sells a Hanukkah Chocolate Calendar. Filled with chocolate coins, called gelts,  made of dark chocolate and milk chocolate which is the currency of choice for the most serious of dreidel players. 

#2 on Etsy, seller Ohhappydayconfection offers a Hanukkah Countdown comprised of cookies and gummy candy. 

3. With seller Cubinizer on Amazon, you can make your own Hanukkah Countdown. You receive 8 small linen sacks that are numbered and bear classic Hanukkah images. Fill them with treats and goodies. Reuse yearly. 

4. Poshmark and other online sellers has felt  and fabric calendars similar to the one I had as a kid and reviewed for Day 1. It's a multicolored felt countdown equipped with 8 numbered candles. Each night you add a flame until you have the whole octet blazing.

5. Why should the humans have all the fun? Middle sells a Chanukah Countdown Calendar for cats! This countdown features 8 boxes being Hanukkah images filled with an assortment of balls, stuffed mice and more. Made of sturdy material, the boxes can be refilled and reused every year.

6. Make all 8 nights of Hanukkah a movie night (or TV marathon) with the Pop 'N Dulge Movie Night Popcorn Set. You receive 5 bags of corn for popping including a blue and ruby variety as well as 5 seasoning packs. I know that this adds up to 10. But 3 bags of popcorn are of the classic golden variety, so I think for 2 nights you're supposed to highlight the flavor packs and not the popcorn. Anyone for an Adam Sandler film festival?

7. Knitting your thing? Teeny Button Studio from Louisiana has an Advent where for 7 nights, you get a mini skein (length of yarn) of certain colors and for night #8 you receive a full sized speckled skein for a festive project.

8. Celebrate Hanukkah in luxury with Budhagirl's Hanukkah Advent calendar. Over the course of 8 days, you receive a variety of metallic all weather bangles from the noted French jewelry maker. A combined value of $350, the Advent is a bargain at $250 retail.

And there you have 8 Hanukkah Advent calendars. With 4 days until the double holiday, there's still time to get in on the action if you act now. And just so you know, I'm not a paid endorser for any of these companies. I just happened to be looking for Hanukkah gifts for my bride and this is what I came across. Best of luck and Shalom!

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 20

Some Advent calendars like yesterday's offering are a feast for the eyes. Today's Advent calendar is music to my ears. Manufactured by Coppernrath, the standard cardboard poster board or display box is replaced with plastic and vinyl in the form of a gramophone, which is an old school record player.  (Kids, a record player was a device used to play music on large thin black discs.)

Since this is a miniaturization, the discs are about the size of a drink coaster. Select the corresponding day's disc, which are numbered from 1-24, insert into the center depression of the gramophone, place the needle over the disc and hit play. 

I haven't heard of most of the songs selected. Since this is a German made Advent calendar (Germany, by the way is the birthplace of the Advent calendar), I suspect those carols are from the Old Country. But there are some songs that should be familiar to American audiences such as Jingle Bells and Joy to the World. 

Throughout this Advent, I've been disappointed in the packaging spoiling the surprise of the Advent gifts. However, considering how many of these songs are ones I suspect not many have even heard of, the playlist on the back of the display box might actually be necessary in order to fully enjoy this unique Advent.

Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? #131

I don't know how I missed this. I don't know know how my favorite comic book shop missed this. A new Christmas issue of Scooby-Doo! 

In the cover story, the Mystery Inc. gang are visiting a toy convention where they're collecting toys for the annual Christmas toy drive for the nearby orphanage. Getting donations is going to be tough because an evil elf is terrorizing the attendees of the convention and stealing the toys to boot.

The secondary story is a reprint from the 2010s. It's not a Christmas story. But it features a character that has become affiliated with the holidays thanks to a nearly 60 years old holiday special. An indoor climbing facility is being terrorized by an abominable snowman! 

Derek Fridolfs wrote the main story. While it's set around Christmas, this was a mystery that could have occurred anytime of year. Christmas just happens to be when the story occurs. Except for a festive book-ending, you wouldn't know that the this was a holiday story. I mean Die Hard is more of a Christmas story than this tale.

But those first couple of pages were so Christmasy. I want to live in that world! Plus those supporting characters were so dynamic. I forgot that this was a Scooby-Doo comic. Major praises to artist Walter Carzon.

The Yeti story was kinda silly. Like why would a Bumble haunt a climbing wall? However, this was one of the most un-Scooby-like mysteries I've ever come across. It must be because of the writing talents of the amazing Sholly Fisch! To craft a mystery that has a trio of suspects that have nothing to do (directly) with the story and to make this primarily a story about the plan to take the culprit down - that's a true sign of this Hanna-Barbera comic master's mastery!

Not 100% Christmas. And some of the content is debatable. But I enjoyed the heck out of it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 19

Today's Advent features a location that is very near and dear to my heart. I've never visited it. But one year in high school (sophomore year, I think), I spent 31 class periods drawing an intricate landscape of this legendary locale: Neuschwanstein Castle.

Built from 1869-1886, the castle is located in the Alps of Southern Bavaria. This was intended to be the most ornate palace of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He never officially lived at Neuschwanstein dying shortly before it's completion, drowning in a nearby lake. Ruled a suicide, there's debate that he might have been murdered by enemies, due to bruises on the body or if he died suddenly of a heart attack brought about by the frigid conditions of the water.

If Neuschwanstein Castle looks familiar, that's probably because you've seen it in movies. Spaceballs and Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang are among some of the films to have used the location as a set. The castle also served as inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland and was recently an inspiration for a palace in a Pokemon animated feature.

When I drew Neuschwanstein, the scene was set during the spring or summer. In the Advent calendar I found, the setting is Christmas. Based on a famous image from a set of Bavarian beer steins of all things, the painting is of a snowy landscape at Christmas time with a sleigh arriving presumably for the beginning of a great feast. It's evening and the hundreds of windows of the royal residence is illuminated by candlelight.

The calendar is made of double thick cardboard. On each corresponding day, you open a tiny door to reveal images of the interior of Neuschwanstein and the surrounding area. There's also a portrait of King Ludwig II to discover. Speaking of discoveries, let's see what I got from my Batman Advent today...

Adventures in Advent: Advent: 2024, Day 18

It's time for some more Advent calendars that I found during a recent shopping trip to Mebane. Back at Solgarden, after I discovered the Advent I reviewed on Day 14, I found this set of scratcher Advents.

They look like a cross between the board bingo games you'd play with as a kid in the back of your parents card and a lottery ticket. Each board came with 25 numbered circles which when scratched would reveal an image. I noticed 3 distinct themes, 'Icons of Christmas', musical instruments and dogs. To better capture the calendar aspect, the back of the board had cardboard cutouts in which an easel type stand could be erected so that the calendar could stand up by itself.

I seemed to only have taken 1 photo of the icons calendar. I tried to Google the others in order to show what they look like to no success. However I learned that many companies make scratch-off Advents. Many just reveal a random image. But there's some really neat ones that when the proper window is scratched off, it challenges you to do something festive and fun. For example, the Starry Night Scratch Off Advent Calendar from Pinhole Press encourages you to do things such as 'Go Christmas Shopping' and 'Watch A Holiday Movie'. 

Some similar Advents inspire you to help others. The Scratch Off Kindness Advent from Catholic Supply of St. Louis has you perform little random acts to spread the joy of Christmas, such as 'Donate a Toy' or to 'Hug Someone.' The interesting thing about this calendar is that there are no numbers on any of the scratcher circles. You get 5 sheets of scratcher stickers that you place however you want on the blank Advent calendar. Once all 25 are affixed, you could go in order from left to right or make it completely random and scratch whichever window you like! I'm actually thinking about buying one for next year. It's seems really fun!

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 17

If you've got $1,200, then today's featured Advent calendar is for you. It's the Swarovski Advent Calendar 2024 edition. An annual offering, this year's theme is a snowy journey on a holiday train; all in shining clear crystal. 

Boxed in a luxurious red Swarovski box with gold lettering and a red bow, the box opens like a book with windows numbered 1-25. Unlike a majority of the Advents I've researched for my posts, this Calendar has a present for you on Christmas Day. Based on the price, you ought to get enough prizes to cover the 12 days of Christmas that come about after December 25th! 

Recipients of this Advent are basically collecting 2 things: a 7 piece crystal choo-choo and a number of miniature ornaments complete with tiny ribbons for hanging. Not everything is just clear and colorless. Some of the ornaments have accents of green, red and brown. Items like the reindeer have black dots for eyes. The connectors on the train pieces have finishes of gold. 

Being made of crystal, this Advent is pretty hefty. It weighs over 7 pounds! Some of you can debate the price of this Advent being a negative. To me, the biggest disappointment is that the surprise of this Advent is ruined by a cheat sheet on the back of the box. So if you don't want to know what's in store, avoid the back of this Advent!

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 16

 It's Monday and that means Monday Night Football. Unless the schedule changes drastically, the Chicago Bears are expected to head to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Vikings (I write my Advent posts a few days in advance. So if 2 different teams are now on the schedule to play instead of Bears/Vikings, I'm sorry.)

Since there's football today I thought I'd look at an Advent calendar devoted to the pigskin. The one I selected is the NFL Funko 24 Day Countdown Calendar. Each corresponding day you open up the correct door and unearth a miniature vinyl figure of the most popular players in the league. There's a Patrick Mahommes, a Lamar Jackson and a T.J. Watt among the players to be found in this Advent. 

While you don't know which player you will receive, you do know which team that they play for. That's because each door is designed to look like a Christmas ornament with 1 of 24 different teams logos on it. You might be wondering 'aren't there 32 teams currently in the NFL?', and you'd be right. If you are a fan of the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders or the New England Patriots, you are out of luck. Sorry, no Bears either.

You've got to really be a fan of the league to enjoy this set. What true Steelers fan is going to want a player from divisional rivals, the Cleveland Browns? 

Don't expect custom work either. While the D.K. Metcalf figure is black, there are no distinguished features among these Funko Pops unlike their regular sized counterparts who has a ton of tattoos on both arms. 

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 15

This was another Advent I found in Mebane North Carolina the other day. We went to the Sweet Grace Market at the Melville Trading Company where I found a handful of this calendar: the Harry Potter/Jelly Belly Advent Calendar 2024. With days 1-24, you get 1 of 10 randomly inserted flavors which include cinnamon, toasted marshmallow and candy floss. For those of you who don't know, candy floss is what Brits call cotton candy.

Too bad that Jelly Belly didn't make this a Bertie Botts selection of flavors. They still license the  'Every Flavor' brand of Harry Potter inspired jelly beans. So why couldn't they have used ear wax and toothpaste flavor instead of green apple and cherry? And would it have been too much of a problem to include some of Jelly Belly's holiday flavors like egg nog and peppermint? No Bertie Botts and no holiday flavors. Just seems like a missed opportunity if you ask me...