Tuesday, May 23, 2023
I have entered the Spider-Verse with Burger King's Spider-Verse Whopper
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Let's take a look at "The Illustrated Al" from Z2 Comics!
Every once in a while, two great things converge. Sometimes the result is ranch dressing-flavored ice cream. But other times, two great things coalesce into a somehow perfect combination. Even more infrequently, I get to make the dang things. So here we are at today's much-anticipated blog post about The Illustrated Al, Z2's "Weird Al" Yankovic graphic novel, inspired by Al's catalog of songs.
As an aside, would you look at that picture at the top? I'm going to be buried with it. Anyway, let's move on.
The Illustrated Al is a collection of graphic adaptations of a number of Weird Al songs, mostly focusing on his original material from various albums over Al's decades-long career. I was contacted by Z2's EIC in May of last year asking if I would like to participate to this project, to which Al himself was overseeing. I've loved comics only slightly longer than I have loved Weird Al, so I naturally agreed and picked my contribution from a list of pre-selected songs. Wouldn't you know, my all-time favorite Weird Al song, "Good Old Days" from the 1988 "Even Worse" album, was available, so I jumped on that and contacted my friends Jeff McComsey and Mark Welser to help me make this short story. Folks, I gave it my all, and I'm happy with the results.
There was a Weird Al flash mob that performed outside at the UHF screening, earlier in the evening: pic.twitter.com/fe0bI8bQ74
— Jeff McClelland (@JeffMcClelland) September 9, 2022
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Spice up your love life with these Tick-themed Valentine's Day cards
Wow, these were pretty great! They could only be made better by some unlikely appearance by the Thing, but what are the chances of th-
Monday, January 30, 2023
Let's take a look at this custom Thing bust by Mark Valentine
The bust itself can stand alone and is mightily impressive. The figure work is excellent for what I understand is a custom piece, not officially licensed. I don't consider this to be a bootleg figure since I believe this is a 1/1 item.
The detail work on the rocks is really something. This is better than a number of licensed Thing items.
The base also comes unpainted and is a white resin. It's got a peg at top for the bust to sit on. The base shows off some wreckage from an apparent brawl that went down on Yancy Street.
The street sign is there and is a nice feature.
The back looks like...wait a minute...is that...
Okay, here's a strange and kind of unexpected addition - it's the Impossible Man! Or at least his head. Or at least an image of his head. Does this imply that the base is actually the man from Poppup? Is he just hiding out amid the rubble? This was an odd choice, but hey, I'm happy to get another FF character included here.
Another fun surprise is on the bottom of the base, where the original sculptor, Mark Valentine, both signed and drew a great Thing sketch.
I'd love to know more about this unique item - whether this is truly a 1/1 item and why Mr. Valentine made it. It reminds me of one of the '90s-era Thing model kits in size and function. I suppose that this was meant to be painted, but I don't know if I could bring myself to do it. The bust, anyway, strikes an imposing figure as it is. In any case, it makes a fine addition to my Thing collection, and I'll happily put it on display.
Saturday, December 31, 2022
"It's Cobblerin' Time" by Second Sin Brewing
My friend (and yours) Larry often tells me, "for someone who doesn't drink, you sure buy a lot of alcohol." Look, this is true. It's a contradiction to be sure. But Star Trek now makes a licensed Cardassian Kanar and Klingon Blood Wine! The Steelers have made commemorative beer cans for decades! There are several Weird Al-themed IPAs! And now, thanks to the Philadelphia-area Second Sin Brewing, there's a Thing-inspired sour ale named "It's Cobblerin' Time!" So I ask you this - what am I to do? NOT buy these collectable beverages? Nonsense.
I found out about this new drink over the summer (back when I used to actually post to this long-neglected blog), and after a small amount of research, I discovered that the brewery where it is made and canned was not too far away. So I sent off an email to try to see where I might locate the final product and was told that...I'd have to go to the brewery itself. Second Sin is starting off small. But that was okay - I took the drive to just outside of Philadelphia, where not only was I able to purchase a Fantastic four-pack (I couldn't wait any longer to use that), but I was offered a tour of the brewery itself. Naturally, I took the owners up on it. I was greeted as "the Thing guy!", which is a title I am happy to wield.
I spent about a half hour hanging out in the back room brewery, watching the machines pour the beer and seal the cans, and I got to chat with some of the workers about comics and the Thing. I can hang around pretty much anywhere and talk comics, so this was naturally a great time for me. I got to learn a little more about the label's fruity-Thing artwork (a local artist drew it) and about the seasonal Cobblerin' offerings that the brewery cooks up throughout the year.
On the way out, the owners sent me off with the different, seasonal labels...
...and their last Cobblerin' Time glass! I'm really grateful for the time and effort that everyone at Second Sin shared with me on this hot summer day, chatting about the Thing and their new brew. I'm sure Ben Grimm would drink it daily, out of a dirty mug or something.