The Super Heroes Monthly #8

I've just been so busy and exhausted with the new school year and all that. I've been reading comics and graphic novels. I've just been too (fill in the blank) to do any reviewing. I seem to have caught a break today.

From the U.K., I couldn't tell you where I found this magazine of black and white DC reprints. But I know that I didn't spend more than a buck on it. So I must have gotten this years ago at a Con and totally forgot about it.

There are 3 stories inside. First up is a reprinting of the very first appearance of the Barry Allen Flash. The Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert origin is forever imprinted in my mind. But I had forgotten that the first villain that the Fastest Man Alive takes on is known as the Turtle Man, the Slowest Man on Earth! Kinda comical. But it's a pairing that makes sense.

The Super Heroes Monthly had been running through the complete Man-Bat saga for several issues up to this point. In this issue featuring story by Frank Robbins and art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, the Man-Bat takes a bride.

I've either previously read, own a copy or both when it came to both stories. Had I bothered to check the contents of this book whenever I bought it, I probably would have passed over it. At least the third and final story was one that I never read before. It stars Superman featuring Len Wein on scripts and art by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson; which in itself is an all-star crew. Unfortunately, it's a Man of Steel story that isn't really good.

The premise to this tale has an intriguing beginning. Lex Luthor laments the disappearance of the entire population of Earth. In his latest attempt to destroy the Man of Steel, Luthor's robotic assassin overheats, causing the nuclear core to meltdown and wipe out not just Superman, but everyone and everything on the planet. Birds, snakes and all!

When we learn what the MacGuffin behind the disappearances really details, the explanation is so implausible, it really lowered the quality of the story. I know that a lot of Superman stories stunk up news stands and comic collections during the 70s. If we were to place this story on the list, and believe me, I am, then 'The Man Who Murdered the Earth' has be the durian of all Superman tales from 1970-79!

I love the Alan Craddock cover of Superman and the Flash attempting to outrace a speeding locomotive. It is what enticed me to buy this book. But the fact that I already have 2/3 of the stories contained within and I hate that last one, this issue is going to be taken in for hopefully a little bit of trade credit instead of taking up valuable shelf space.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Batgirl, Vol. 1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's Spring of 1967. The novelty of ABC's live-action comic book, Batman, is beginning to wane. Producer William Dozier is desperate for a third season. Clocking in at 94 episodes, Batman is just inches away from the 100 episode golden parachute that will, at the time, guarantee that the show will live on in syndication. 

DC Comics is also hoping for a third season. The live action series starring Adam West and Burt Ward sparked a renewed interest in DC Comics, which had been seeing Marvel Comics nipping at their heels in recent years. Bat-mania had become the source of a licensing boom of everything from toy cars to trading cards for DC. 

The idea of a new character offered hope for that third season. During initial planning stages, editor Julius Schwartz suggested that the new character be female in order to attract new female viewers. Schwartz and Dozier agreed that the new character continues with the Bat theme of the show and be known as Batgirl. However, there had already been a Bat-Girl in the pages of Batman back in the 1950s and Schwartz had buried the character for being too corny. Thus a new Batgirl would need to be created.

Legend has it that it was William Dozier who decided that Batgirl would be Barbara 'Babs' Gordon, daughter of police commissioner Jim Gordon. After viewing a concept sketch of the new Batgirl by Carmine Infantino, Dozier optioned the character for use on the series and a 7-minute long intro pilot was filmed. Along with cutting the number of shows from twice per week to just one, ABC was excited with the new character and green-lit a third season.

Batgirl was to be portrayed by actress Yvonne Craig, a veteran of a pair of Elvis films. Dressed in a sparkling purple catsuit, Craig's Batgirl debuted first on the airwaves in the September 14th episode titled 'Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin.' In that episode's closing credits, sole ownership of Batgirl was attributed to DC Comics.

To build up hype, DC Comics introduced the new Batgirl in the pages of Detective Comics #359, albeit with a new origin story. Like in the intro pilot, the first main villain Batgirl tangles with is Killer Moth. However, instead of rescuing Batman and Robin from the fiend's cocoon trap, comic book Batgirl arrives on the scene stumbling upon Bruce Wayne being kidnapped by the foe while on her way to a costume ball dressed as a female version of the Caped Crusader. Good thing she knows judo and other methods of physical defense!

Despite being advised by Batman to hang up her cowl as it's not ladylike fighting crime and all that, Batgirl eventually becomes one of the Dynamic Duo's most trusted allies. But not before testing the romantic waters with Batman! Early on, Catwoman eyes Batgirl as a barrier to her affections with Batman, turning into a heroine in hopes of wooing the vigilante. Batman then recruits both Batgirl and Wonder Woman to pretend to fall head over heels in love for the hero, in a bizarre plot to trap the serpentine for, Copperhead. 

This book sees the foundation of a decades long relationship with perhaps her true love, Dick Grayson in a 2-part murder mystery with an Edgar Allan Poe theme. Soon after, a new paramour is introduced in Babs' life; the amateur sleuth Jason Bard. Gordon will solve crimes with the young man as both an expert librarian and as Batgirl. While Bard won't put 2-and-2 together that the two fiery redheads in his life are the same woman, an important person in Barbara's life will make the connection; her father, Jim Gordon. 

While investigating the murder of a Gotham City police officer, Batgirl uncovers a plot to murder the Commissioner by framing a known radical cop-hater. When a sniper sneaks up upon Gordon, Batgirl accidentally calls out a warning to 'Dad', leading the commissioner to deduce the true identity of Batgirl. A couple stories later, Barbara reveals her secret identity to dear old dad before taking his place as candidate for US Congress. 

When Babs wins the congressional race, it's assumed that Batgirl will go in retirement. However, a year later in the pages of Superman, of all places, Batgirl returns to save reporter Clark Kent from a Washington DC based spy ring. This massive volume of Showcase Presents ends with a Batgirl/Man of Steel reunion in Metropolis before Batgirl and her BFF, Supergirl team up for the fourth time to stop a girl claiming to be Cleopatra from becoming the new queen of the United States of America.

Had DC not shut down the fan favorite Showcase Presents line of reprints, fans would have gotten to see more of Batgirl's life in the nation's capitol before beginning a series of team-ups with Robin, now a college aged man. These Batgirl adventures would appear in the anthology title Batman Family before returning to the backup feature status in Detective Comics. With 1985's Crisis, Batgirl wasn't retconned. But her importance was lessened. Many of her adventures were now retooled to have taken place with Power Girl instead of Supergirl. 1988's The Killing Joke would redefine Barbara Gordon's importance in the Bat Family, when she's left a paraplegic from a bullet fired by the Joker. Now operating in the shadows, Babs would become Batman's eyes and ears as the tech-savvy Oracle before being granted the ability to walk once again thanks to an experimental surgery using nanobot implants.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #25 (With a Female Lead Character) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batgirl: A Knight Alone (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

After being given back the gift of speech and literacy, Cassandra Cain discovers that she's lost her near metahuman ability to predict a person's moves during combat. It has put Cassandra in a bit of a funk and made her lose her confidence. Being unexpectedly shot will do that to a person. Originally, Cassandra was allowed to be Batgirl without formal martial arts training because of her ability to know when her foes were going to strike before they did. Now the Batman has benched her until she can master the art of defense.

Endless nights of research and practice has become boring for the young women. Cassandra is just itching to get back out on the streets and dispense some vigilante justice. Thus she will make a literal deal with the devil, in the form of Lady Shiva, just for a taste of being a hero again. Batgirl had better enjoy it because in return for regaining her sixth sense in battle, Cassandra Cain must agree to combat Shiva in a year's time in a battle to the death. 

Cassandra is the daughter of David Cain and a woman named Sandra. Cassandra was raised to become the perfect bodyguard and assassin for Ra's al Ghul. Cassandra is not taught to read or read; only how to interpret the body language of others. Her training by David is abusive and callous. But deep down, David loves her and seeks to repent from his wicked ways in hopes of one day rekindling a relationship with the daughter he never really had. As for Sandra, she leaves Cassandra almost immediately after the child's birth. But mother and daughter will be reunited because Sandra will one day become Lady Shiva.

The character of Cassandra Cain was created by Kelley Puckett and Daimon Smith. Her debut in comics was Batman #567 (July, 1999). A month later, she would become the next Batgirl in the pages of Legends of the Dark Knight #120, during the 'No Man's Land storyline that saw Gotham devastated by an earthquake. A fan favorite character, she became the first Batgirl to star in her own title just a year later. 

Cassandra's journey to restore her abilities to understand human behavior and body language precognitively were chronicled in issues #7-11 and collected in the trade paperback Batgirl: A Knight Alone.  Also included in this collection is a fateful meeting between Father and daughter, Cassandra gets tangled up in a CIA mission gone awry and a new Bat Cave is christened. 

Kelley Puckett pens all of the stories contained in this trade. Daimon Smith pencils with some assists by Coy Turnbull (Koi Turnbull). Along with Smith, covers are penciled by Robert Campanella, Aaron Dowd and John Lowe. 

All 7 issues would be reissued in a 2025 omnibus edition titled DC Finest: Batgirl- Nobody Dies Tonight.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (Book Begins with the Letter B) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Bizarro World (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Bizarro World is a loose sequel to 2001's Bizarro Comics. Whereas the earlier book was a collection of vignettes and previously cancelled material from some of the industry's top Indy talent, book-ended by a story in which Mr. Mxyzptlk is aided by Bizarro to save his 5th dimension home from an alien invader, the later work was a strict anthology in every sense of the word.

Featuring the talents of the Hernandez Brothers, Evan Dorkin, Raina Telgemeier and a host of others, 2005's Bizarro World pales in comparison to it's processor with one major deviation: Christmas stories! 

Andy Merrill and Roger Langridge's 'Jing Kal-El' is an oddball Elseworld in which we see what would have happened to the Last Son of Krypton if his rocket ship had crash landed into Santa's work shop at the North Pole. In 'Batman Smells', actor-comedian Patton Oswalt reveals the origins to the alternate lyrics of Jingle Bells. Artist Bob Fingerman takes viewers on a tour through Gotham City sewers and the Batcave in order to discover the answer. A couple of other stories have scenes that take place in otherwise non-holiday themed tales. But it adds to the unexpected merriment of an otherwise lacking anthology.

For being a graphic novel named after the Superman Family character, Bizarro is noticeably absent from a majority of this book. He does appear in the title story by Chris Duffy and Scott Morse, explaining that 'Bizarro World' is a DC Comics themed amusement park designed from a Bizarro point of view. However, the real Bizarro #1 is a closeted intellectual who milks his backwards persona for profit. Only those riches come at the cost of the anti-villain's dignity. A Harvey Pekar penned farce also stars Bizarro bringing the total number of appearances to 2. 

Not counting the cover by Jaime Hernandez. Batman is the winner of most starring roles in this book with a grand total of 8! The Legion of Super-heroes comes in third with a trio of appearances.

While a very Batman heavy book, just about every character in the DC Universe appears in this book, if only for just a 'Wheres Waldo?' type-cameo as part of the background scenery of a panel. Supergirl, The Spectre and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth are among the characters who star in this collection of over 2 dozen short stories that look at DC Comics with an askew view.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (An Anthology) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Best of DC Digest #30 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's not often that the Dark Knight is wrong. However, when he claims that 11 crimes have been committed on the cover of The Best of DC Digest #30, there are actually only 10 infractions in need of solving. That's because the Robin/Batgirl story is a 2-parter. 

The run down for this issue is as follows:

• 'Wanted for Murder One: The Batman'. A talk show host with a grudge against the Caped Crusader is found dead. Off in the distance, Batman is witnessed fleeing the scene. With the GCPD on his trail, Batman must clear his name or surrender in disgrace.
• 'The Assassin Express Contract'. Christopher Chase accepts a mission to impersonate a wealthy industrialist who has a hit out on him. Already confined by the limits of a racing train, the Human Target must restrict himself further when it's revealed that the subject he's tasked with portraying now has an injured eye.
• 'Riddle of the Unseen Man' sees Roy Raymond, the famed TV Detective who investigates strange but true occurrences is besieged by a seemingly invisible person throughout his daily operations.
• 'Burial For a Batgirl' and ' Midnight is the Dying Hour's sees Barbara Gordon at Gotham State University for a festival honoring Edgar Allen Poe. When a controversial figure is found murdered on campus, Batgirl and the Boy Wonder swing into action to find the killer.
• Magical Mirror Mystery.' When the new mirror Ralph Dibny buys for his wife, Sue, shows the image of a missing woman, the Elongated Man travels to the mansion of the girl's father to solve the mystery.
• Famed magician Mysto aims to solve the 'Three Feats of Peril' that his fallen mentor seeked to perform before his untimely death.
• Crippled private investigator Jason Bard aims to solve how a daredevil skydiver was stabbed to death in the middle of a jump in 'The Case of the Dead-on Target.'
• Captain Mark Compass finds his attempts to crush a ring of smugglers thwarted at his ever turn in 'The Ocean Pest.'
• J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, appears in 'The Man With 20 Lives.' Gifted with mental telepathy, the Martian knows that a Gotham City thug committed an impossible murder. But in order to solve the crime, he must operate as human police detective John Jones to extract a confession of guilt.
• Batman bursts into the middle of a performance of MacBeth as a sniper takes aim at the star in The Stage is Set - For Murder!'

Each story appeared previously in the pages of Detective Comics. Talent such as Frank Robbins, Dennis O'Neil, Irv Novick, Joe Certa and Vince Colletta worked on these tales which at some point all challenge the reader to solve the mystery from clues sprinkled throughout each story before the hero does. Some of the clues are easy to piece together while some hints require expert level expertise. It's those more difficult leads that feel like cheats, playing upon obscure knowledge of animals, cultures and even the laws of physics in able to solve the mysteries. 

Len Wein was this issue's contributing editor with Mike W. Barr acting as special consultant. 

Completing this review completes Task #38 (A Comic Book Digest) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batman and Robin Adventures #3

Here we are! My final holiday comic review for the 2024 season. Based on the iconic Batman: The Animated Series, this comic sees the Riddler holding a prestigious gentlemen's club being held hostage during its annual Christmas party. 

First of all, when I use the term gentlemen's club, I'm not referring to the seedy nudie bar near the airport. Second, when I use the term holiday comic, I'm actually actually referring to the time of year this book is set. Otherwise, this story is one that could have been told the other 364 days of the year.

Christmas is basically just a prop. The Riddler does cause a fire at the club by turning all of the Christmas tree table decorations into incendiaries. However, the fiend could have set the blaze with any sort of decor. The Riddler's scheme could have happened during the club's annual Easter banquet, Fourth of July fete or Thanksgiving feast. 

This is no Christmas With the Joker.

I also had trouble with the ending. Riddler's escape hangs upon dumb luck. Somehow after escaping Batman's clutches, the villain dons a Gotham City SWAT team uniform. He manages to flee the scene when Commissioner Gordon orders the Riddler's SWAT team 'officer' to request fire and rescue and in order to do that, he's got to get inside a transport vehicle to get on the horn to make the inquiry. How would the Riddler have planned to have escaped if Gordon didn't pick him to contact the GCFD?

The ending really rests on a 'hand of fate' decision. The Riddler's heists are too well planned to the finest detail that having this escape step of his scheme hangs on random selection is just too implausible to me. Considering how perfect Paul Dini's Batman: TAS stories are, he really got a little sloppy with this plot. A Riddler caper has to be like clockwork and I'm not talking about using a sun dial. 

Ty Templeton's art work was flawless. So clean and so screen accurate. It really steals the show... Uh, comic. 

Not a true Christmas story. Not the most well thought out Riddler story. But some darn fine artwork. 

Rating: 6 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!

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.

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...

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 14

I went shopping in Downtown Mebane, North Carolina with my wife and her family. While there, I came across several Advent calendars that stuck my fancy. At Solgarden, an eclectic shop of clothing, antiques and funky items you didn't know that you needed was this awesome Advent that brings Santa Claus closer to your home with each passing day.

The majority of the calendar is a wooden track with the numbers 1-23 marking tiny holes. A small red house at the end is designated #24. Every morning, you take a ceramic Santa inside his sleigh, with metal runners and place him in the corresponding day. On Christmas Eve, Santa makes it to the top of the house. Along the side of the piece in embossed red letters is the phrase 'Here Comes Santa Claus.'

This Santa tracker is manufactured by Demdaco. There was a price for it at Solgarden. A quick Google search revealed a MSRP of $65.00! That's a bit too rich for my blood. But it was really cool.