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...

The Unexpected #220

The cover alone of this 1981 issue of The Unexpected is the reason why so many comic book fans want it. A Joe Kubert classic . It's become a fan favorite of horror fans and fans of holiday comics. As a collector of both, it's why I wanted it.

Unfortunately, only the first story is holiday based. A woman is left alone with her child on Christmas Eve as reports of an escaped lunatic wearing a Santa costume come in over the radio. If the plot reminds you of the story 'And All Through The House' from Vault of Horror #35 (and no less than 2 live action adaptations), then give yourself a sugar cookie! There's definitely some inspiration here though our tale has a much happier and magical ending.

The other 3 stories are tales of terror. And like I stated earlier, there's nothing seasonal about them at all. A man dying of radiation poisoning, takes unique revenge on the owner of the nuclear power plant that made him sick. Then a trio of amateur drug dealers hire a mysterious man being trailed by the local authorities as their guide through a dense jungle. Lastly, a bridge troll keeps being evicted from his choice of overpass domiciles.

Vic Catan's artwork on the man dying from radiation sickness was amazing. I thought that the middle story about the guide was a true work of horror. That last story had elements of humor to it. So much that I didn't think it was scary at all. But the ending really was... unexpected.

I paid a little more than I probably should for this issue. But it's a book that is in large demand. The number of times it appears on the pages of the various Facebook groups I am a member of is proof of that. (I've seen it at least twice so far this season.) Along with having some holiday elements to it, this is also an anniversary issue. Marking the 25th anniversary of the title's creation, the page long account of the history of how this series was birthed during a tumultuous period in comic book history as Tales of the Unexpected was a fascinating read that added to my enjoyment of this book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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!

Monster Fun Christmas Special 2022

Rebellion's revival of the classic 1970s UK horror humor title celebrates the season of giving. From 2022, if this feels like a British version of The Nightmare Before Christmas, you'd be right. Here you've got vampires, devils and Frankenstein's monster taking part in Christmas festivities.

Not every segment was Christmas themed. The android Steel Commando story was a continuation from the previous issue. Since it was playing off a cliffhanger, I was okay that it wasn't a set during the holidays. However, the Leopard From Lime Street was working off of a continuous plotline and they managed to celebrate Christmas. True, the amount of Christmas detrimental to the plotline was about as debatable to if Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not.

The main title of this book is Monster Fun and I had a lot of fun reading this tabloid sized read. Despite being heavy on creatures of the night, there's a healthy dose of Santa Claus. Being a British comic, I was surprised that Krampus only appears in 1 story. As for the primary punchline, it was Brussel sprouts! I didn't realize until after reading this issue and later doing some research, but Brussels are an English Christmas dinner staple. But why all the hate? The once hated vegetable has undergone a revolution in the States. I wonder if the Brussels across the pond haven't been hybridized to remove their bitterness...

I didn't plan it, but my holiday readings for this year have been very heavy on books from Europe. Since it's turning out this way, I'm getting a pretty good idea of what titles are on task for my upcoming 2024 Christmas comic book reads. If anything, I got inspiration as well as a few laughs out of this international read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Raptors (Santa Saves Christmas, Book II) by Ben Wolf

Book 2 of Ben Wolf's 'Santa Saves Christmas' trilogy starts off almost immediately after the events What The Frost? It's Christmas Day. Dinosaurs are running amok in Moscow and Santa Claus might have something to do with that. As he arrives in Russia with his trusty triple barreled shotgun, a whip made of a strand of holiday lights and his genius tech-savvy elf Snoot, Santa comes face-to-face with a new terror: a talking Utahraptor with the ability to bend time called the Time Raptor. 

Feeling strongly that dinosaurs deserve another chance as the dominant species on Earth, the Time Raptor has opened a series of quantum portals back to prehistoric times, herding dinosaurs of all shapes, sizes and levels of death and destruction to make sure that this is mankind's last Christmas ever!

All of the main characters from the last book are back. Mrs. Claus and several of the elves have bigger roles this time around. And it doesn't read like book 2 is a rehash of the first volume. But it sure started that way. 

While dinosaurs are not the main antagonists of the first book, they do play a big roll in the third act. Having Santa Claus and his allies battle the thunder lizards again felt stale. I would have liked the opening 30-40 pages of this book a whole lot better if we hadn't already had dinosaurs already. The Time Raptor was an interesting twist. However, there's a scene where the new villain goes to Jamaica in order to feed and what the Time Raptor does or more specifically doesn't do, pretty much told how the book was going to end.

What really saves this book is the banter. Snoot is hilarious. Santa's unlikely ally in the battle against the dinosaurs is a great character as well. But I don't want to spoil who that character is. New developments in Santa's time piece which allows him to slow down time in order to make all his deliveries in a single night where pretty cool and we've yet to see everything that specialized stopwatch can do.

I liked what I read enough, despite the slight repetitive nature of the presence of ancient reptiles (or birds, depending your school of thought), to order the third and final book before I finished this one. I had about 120 pages to go and I didn't want to waste a day or two waiting to know what happens next. Though at the time of this review, I've not read as much of that last book as I'd like as holiday happenings and a couple of unexpected events have eaten into my reading time the past couple of days. But at least I've not been left in the cold unable to see what comes afterwards. I'm just going at a much slower pace than I want right now.

Another fun book filled with holiday laughs and Jurassic Park level gore.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.