The Donner Party With Blitzen!

Day 2 of my Christmas comic book reads took me to the North Pole. It's a couple of days after Christmas and Santa's about to go on a much needed vacation with some Eskimos. With Mrs. Claus off to visit her sister, St. Nick leaves his brother, Christmas Steve, in charge of the work shop.

With the boss man gone, the reindeer wanna party. But Rudolph is such a goody-goody. But he'll be easy to deal with... Still, there's no way Christmas Steve will let the reindeer play. That is until the Santa of the southern hemisphere asks the Christmas caribou to go on a beer run! 

Yeah... things are going to go smoothly.

This book is from a small independent publisher from the Durham, NC area. I bought this book from my favorite local comic shop and I've met creator Kelly Stiles before at a local comic book event. So the odds that more than a few hundred people have ever heard of this book is low. But man, should they!

This book was hilarious. It was irreverent. It was awesome! Only 16 pages long. But it was 16 ad free pages. I only paid like $3 and that was with tax. I gotta say; this was one of the best investments I ever made to my holiday themed comics collection. 

If only there was more! 

If you love holiday comics and you like it when things are not taken too seriously, head over to Indyplanet.com and pick yourself up a copy or two and get some for your friends! It's that good.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars.

Looney Tunes #263 (Family Comic Friday)

If I was to quiz you as to what is currently the longest continuing running DC Comic what would you guess? Action Comics? Detective Comics? Would you believe it's Looney Tunes? Starting in 1994, DC Comics has captured the antics of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz, Tweety & Sylvester and countless others. In this issue, the focus is on Wile E. Coyote and Ralph The Wolf!

I didn't know this but Wile E. and Ralph are not the same character! I always thought that Ralph in the Ralph and Sam cartoons was always Wile E. Coyote and that Sam was calling him Ralph as a bit of a joke. But thanks to this issue, I've learned that Sam looks just like the coyote but with a couple of changes. Ralph's nose is red and he has a snaggle tooth. 

In the opening story, Ralph and Wile E. are laid up in the hospital after their most recent run-ins with the Road Runner and Sam the Sheepdog. Their doctor recommends a change of pace. So the two canine cousins decide to take on their other's domain. Thus it's Wile E. in the meadows trying to score one of Sam's sheep and Ralph has a vast inventory of Acme Co. products at his disposal! 

Wile. E Coyote also appears in feature #2. Here, Yosemite Sam is hosting a documentary on the hunting habits of the North American Coyote. Unfortunately, Sam has chosen Wile E. Coyote as his documentary subject and naturally, things are anything but textbook. 

Lastly, Sylvester and his son are trying to capture a mouse. This happens just as the local circus' Tasmanian Devil has escaped. Taz is just about to eat the mouse when a deal is struck. Don't eat the rodent and in return, the little squeaker will serve up a bigger meal- Sylvester the Cat!

Only the first story was all-new. But it didn't really matter to me. It was all great stuff. I would love to have the complete Looney Tunes run and having the reprints could help with that. Back issues are not cheap as many of them have been thrown out or destroyed by young readers as time goes by. 

This issue just debuted on shelves within the last couple of weeks. If you can find a LCS that offers kids comics, you should be able to find a copy no problem. You can also go to Amazon and eBay. But with shipping, you could have bought 2 or 3 extra comics for the young reader in your life at the comics shop.

A must for any fan of Looney Tunes!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tis The Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 3

I write many of my Advent posts days or even weeks in advance. At the time of writing this post, I had just finished watching a commercial for a limited edition Arby's Curly Fries VODKA! 

That weird bit of promotion has me inspired. For today's look at ugly sweaters, here are 10 sweaters inspired by pop food products...

Here's a look at several sweaters in just 1 image!

You can't wear this on Sundays.

From the Land Down Under- It's Vegemite, a disgusting yeast spread that Australians like to smear on toast.

That was a fun but brief look at food franchise inspired ugly sweaters. But let's not let the fun end yet. Here's a look at some classic holiday-themed commercials! It's my Day 3 Advent gift to you.

Enjoy!

Star Wars: Life Day #1

For the first time ever in comicdom- a holiday special involving the Star Wars universe!

When I found out about this issue, I was so excited. I grew up on Star Wars. I am obsessed with holiday comic books. This just seemed to be a win-win. And I decided to make it the first read in my 2021 Christmas Comic reads!

It's Life Day- the Star Wars version of Christmas. Han and Chewie are on a mission for the New Republic with things go pear-shaped. In the ensuing fire-fight, Han reflects on past Life Day instances. 

This one-shot holiday special was a unique look at how your favorite Star Wars characters celebrate Life Day without the musical stylings of Carrie Fisher or the appearances of Bea Arthur or Harvey Korman. 

Cavan Scott, Jodie Houser,and George Jeantys (among others) work together to craft an anthology style holiday comic. And for the most part, these stories are really good. There is one story that takes place during the rule of the Old Republic. I'm wasn't familiar with some of the background characters mentioned in it. Plus, how can Han Solo recall this episode in Wookiee history? That is unless this is a tale told to him by Chewbacca. It's just that Chewie doesn't seem like the storytelling type to me.

The ending of the framing story had an ending scene that foretells something ominous. But again, I'm not so very versed in non-movie trilogy stuff. So, I'm not sure if it's just a passing clever ending or is there something in the countless novels or modern Marvel Star Wars comics that I just am not familiar with.  

I kinda wish that this special was more just one really good holiday themed Star Wars story and not a handful of okay/pretty good stories. The art for all were great. But the degree of authorship was varying. 

I really think if this was done in the fashion of Tales From Vader's Castle, the Star Wars Halloween annual miniseries, where this special was focused on being more all ages centered, this special would have been an instant classic. Maybe next year's attempt might go that route!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Tis The Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 2

Celebrities and Christmas has gone hand-in-hand ever since the first Christmas. I mean Jesus was the first holiday celeb if you think of it. A lot of folks knew all about him and he was just a few minutes old. 

So for day 2 of this Advent, I thought we'd look at celebs who did their best to rock the ugly Christmas sweater.

Jimmy Fallon's annual 12 Days of Ugly Christmas Sweaters has been an inspiration for my sharing of the horrid holiday jumpers. I don't watch The Tonight Show any more. But I've been keeping the tradition alive for the past couple of years with my wife. This year, I'm also sharing the fun with you!

GMA's Michael Strahan paying homage to holiday treats and sweets.

The Lord of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne celebrating in his own way.

King James sporting some Ugly Pajamas.

Here's Matt Damon rockin' an ugly sweater vest for the holidays.

Leave it to Gwen Stefani to turn an ugly sweater into a stylish pair of overalls.

After years of trolling Hugh Jackman, Wolverine got revenge on Ryan Reynolds by having Jake Gyllenhaal tell Deadpool that his holiday party required an Ugly Christmas Sweater. The Free Guy was the only one to wear a sweater and he got teased big time!

Things got meta for director Sophia Coppola who wore a 'Lost in Translation' inspired ugly sweater.

I wonder what Frosty is smoking in his pipe. I pretty much know what Snoop Dogg is smoking.

I think Katy Perry wins the award for the Ugliest Sweater of All-time!

As my Advent gift for you today, here's a look at the top 10 ugliest Christmas sweaters worn by celebs during the 2020 holiday season!  Note- this has no sound.

Enjoy!

Marvel Comics Presents #24

Marvel Comics Presents says goodbye to one Summers and welcomes another to its pages.

The Cyclops crap-o-rama finally comes to a close. It was terrible. Why is X-Factor on my wish list when I hate Scott Summers (and Jean Grey) so?! Am I a glutton for punishment?

Cyclops' brother Xavok takes the reigns in a new multi-issue story. It starts off with Wolverine in a guest-starring role. Why do I get the feeling that this story is going to focus more on him and not Alex Summers?

The Black Panther story keeps dragging on for way to long. 

The last story- a single 8-pager- stars a character that I am not familiar with: Shamrock. A former contestant in The Contest of Champions, this Irish super-heroine returns to her homeland to reconcile with her estranged father. This story delves into her origin and complicated family dynamic. It was a very good story that I wish was longer.

Another MCP stinker. Only one out of 4 stories was any good and it was way too short!

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Tis the Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 1

I'm starting out Ugly Sweater Advent with a look at my favorite things. Sorry, if you thought it was comic books, you'd be wrong. Star Wars and Doctor Who guesses are wrong too. If I had to choose the one constant love in my life, it would be those sweet little fur balls with claws- CATS!

Enjoy a look at how the holidays can be celebrated with ugly Kitty sweaters. (Just remember, the sweaters are ugly- not the cats!)

Sorry we peed on the present!

It's also good for holding a beer, the remote, a subway $5 footlong.

As a person who had to herd cats, I know for sure nobody got their presents this year...

Deck the halls with boughs of gatos!

For cat and cafe lovers

I have a student who would just love this!

Aahhhh, I miss Grumpy Cat...

It's an ugly sweater for cats!

For those fans of Christmas Vacation. 
Poor kitty...

It's the bows and bells that makes this one truly uggo

And now, as I do every Advent year, here's a gift from me. It's a video of some cute kittens wearing some ugly sweaters. Enjoy!