A book is like the TARDIS. Open it up and it's bigger on the inside. One part reading journal, one part educational tool for pop culture newbies and parents of young geeks. This blog is your portal into the world of movies, TV, superheroes, and of course books!
I'm a little late in reviewing this, so please forgive... This is in no way a comic for kids. Thankfully, despite being vulgar and stupid, it wasn't blasphemous. Other than a funny running gag that Santa's wife is named 'Mary Christmas' there wasn't anything that seemed pointed at the Christmas story. Why even their search for the true meaning of Christmas was balanced with A Peanuts Christmas nativity and A Christmas Story commercialism. Bottom line, if this wasn't a Christmas comic (or other holidays) I wouldn't have bought it and I can most definitely say this series is not going on my wish list anytime soon. Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
Sometimes when you are researching for these Advent postings, you find some really unusual stuff. Case in point is today's offering. It's by Bryan Adams who has done some Christmas stuff before like Run Rudolph Run and Christmas Time.
With both of those releases, which have had some semi-regular play on the airwaves, the Canadian rocker should be disqualified from this year's theme of artists not known for putting out holidays hits. And then I came across this 1984 ditty. It's called Reggae Christmas. That's right, it's a reggae tune. Something Bob Marley or some endless incarnation of the Wailers should have put out. Instead, it's performed by the guy who brought us Summer of 69.
Reggae Christmas was released in 1984 as the B-side to the song Christmas Time. As it's never been re-released on any of Adams' Greatest Hits albums, unless you are a fan of Bryan Adams, odds are you've never heard of this song before. And even that chance is slim seeing that Reggae Christmas has never been issued as a cassette or CD single either. I had this song being presented to you a few days prior. But I really had doubts as to if this song belonged on this year's Advent. But then I saw the music video and I just couldn't put off sharing this any longer. In the early days of MTV, they would host a holiday party. Select artists would comprise Christmas tunes meant only for the televised special. And that's what Bryan Adams did in 1984. All of the original MTV Veejays are in the clip having a gay ole time to the Caribbean carol.
Again, this song probably would not made my list if not for the addition of one fan favorite of mine being added to the video, Mr. Pee Wee Herman! Not only does it have Pee Wee in it; Reggae Christmas has Pee Wee dancing while wearing a Santa hat... with dreadlocks! It's truly bizarre and something you must see! So for the sake of fairness, I am changing the theme of today's Advent to THEY MADE A REGGAE CHRISTMAS MUSIC VIDEO? Enjoy!
I'm not what you would call a fan of Beavis and Butt-Head. I never watched the series, though I did watch Beavis and Butt-Head Do America during a lazy Sunday some years ago during summer vacation from school. It was okay, had some funny moments but it didn't turn me into a fan. So why am I reviewing an issue of the Beavis and Butt-Head comic from the fine folks at Marvel? What can I say? It's a holiday comic. I have a special section of my collection devoted to comics featuring Christmas, Valentines, Independence Day, even Easter. Okay- I don't think I have any Easter comics... Yet! So let's talk about the issue. It's Halloween day and the guys realize that despite that they are too old for trick or treating, it's a great opportunity to score some free candy... and maybe score with some vampire chicks. As night falls, the boys crash a friends party, get mixed up with some pranks gone wrong, and end up haunting a haunted house. The art was crude and the jokes were even cruder and while I wasn't big on this comic, I did think it captured the spirit of Beavis and Butt-Head quite well. I DID enjoy the segments in which the guys criticize comics kinda like how they would ridicule music videos. I thought that was very clever. Am I a fan now? Not on your life. Do I feel like I wasted the dollar I paid for this? Not on your life. An okay Halloween themed read that entertained but didn't thrill. Oh, one more thing. My issue had a really bizarre printing error. The middle page(s) of the book were somehow folded around in a way that half of the page on the right somehow wound up near the very front of the book. I really can't figure out this goof but if it happened to one, it might have happened to others. That's probably why I found this book in a bargain bin. But it's something to be aware of if you need this issue to complete your Beavis and Butt-Head collection. Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
So I started off the 2014 Holiday Comics reading season with this one. It was unexpected until just last Friday when I bought this in a buy-one-get-one-free dollar comics sale for Black Friday. I'm always on the hunt for holiday comics but I must admit, this one is one that I had no clue about.
I had no idea that they made a Beavis and Butthead comic. If you'd ask me to put money on whether or not Marvel made it, I would've bet no and lost! Even more shocking is the fact that this comic is exactly like the TV show and there wasn't any kind of parental warning on it. The book released from 1994 to 1996 was issued without the Comics Code. Still, with references to masturbation, drugs, and sexual deviancy, I'm really surprised this thing got published at all, based on my extensive knowledge of comic book censorship.
So, what's this issue all about? The stars of the book are two goofball high schoolers named Beavis and Butthead from an MTV series of the same name. They're slackers to the Nth degree looking for fast cash and faster women. In this issue, the boys take a job as a mall santa and his helper elf. IT was perhaps the best story of the book because the guys wind up bribing kids to give them nachos from the food court if they want Santa to fill their wish lists.
The next story involves Beavis and Butthead and their class Christmas party. The boys attempt to take advantage of the situation and up their chances of scoring with 'chicks' by being in charge of the mistletoe. In typical selfish fashion, the boys end up ruining the secret santa grab bag and are forced to compose an essay on the true meaning of Christmas or receive an F.
On the show, the boys would watch heavy metal music videos and comment on them. The same goes for here, but instead of videos, they give they are mixed up opinions on comic books. It's actually pretty smart marketing because according to the 'bullpen's bulletins' page, the books they reviewed came out that same month. Talk about free advertising.
I'm not really sure about this book. Yes- this issue meets my requirements of a holiday comic- it takes places leading to and/ or during Christmas. The's festive hijinks and the Christmasy cover does match the material inside it. But this book was crude. It started out pretty good but went down hill fast. Even the letters page was insipid and gross.
This is in no way a comic for kids. Thankfully, despite being vulgar and stupid, it wasn't blasphemous. Other than a funny running gag that Santa's wife is named 'Mary Christmas' there wasn't anything that seemed pointed at the Christmas story. Why even their search for the true meaning of Christmas was balanced with A Peanuts Christmas nativity and A Christmas Story commercialism.
Bottom line, if this wasn't a Christmas comic (or other holidays) I wouldn't have bought it and I can most definitely say this series is not going on my wishlist anytime soon.
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