Frankenberry redesigns by DC Comics

Just in time for...um...Halloween...it's a look at the new General Mills monster cereal boxes!  This year saw yet another convergence of things Jeff loves, as folks at DC Comics redesigned the three main monsters for the 2014 Halloween cereal line.  The front of the three boxes was drawn by a DC staffer: Dave Johnson drew Frankenberry, Jim Lee drew Boo Berry and Terry and Rachel Dodson did Count Chocula.  I am biased, of course, but I will say that Johnson's Frankenberry was the best of the bunch, even though none presented any major changes to the characters.

Target once again sold retro boxes.  These ones were my favorites, as they included cut-out Halloween masks on the back, but I had to get a few of the regular design to check out the artwork.  And as in years prior, the regular boxes featured brand new comics.

The 2014 version, at last, had new comics on the backs of each box, with each comic including all three monsters but highlighting the main character of each cereal.  Above is the Frankenberry comic...

...here's the Boo Berry comic...

...and here's the Count Chocula comic, which I didn't buy but took a picture of in the store.  It apparently includes some references to Twitter in it.

Each of these comics looks to be drawn in the same style.  I didn't recognize the artists offhand, but DC's press release names them (what a novel concept) as Sholly Fisch, Brent Schooner and Dave McCaig.  It's a pretty good step up from what General Mills has done in years past.  And, of course, the cereal is friggin delicious.

If General Mills is looking to expand even further on their comics theme in the future, let me suggest including a mini comic book in each box for 2015.  I'll write it.  Please let me write it.

In other Halloween news, my nephew dressed up again in superhero gear.  he actually got a Hulk costume for the big day, but here's a picture of him trying on the top half of my Comic-Con Superman outfit.

And Larry...went as Mrs. Doubtfire, interestingly enough.

Happy Halloween, 2013!

Ah, Halloween, a time when people all over can come together and dress like gorillas poorly dressed as people.  It's a special time for all.

I took a few hours on Thursday to toss on my gorilla suit and head out with fellow Franks and Beans star Larry.  I thought it'd be funny to dress as a gorilla trying desperately to fool people that he was actually a human.  I don't think anyone got the joke, but whatever.  Larry spent a little more time on his costume and went as the Terminator.

Larry spent the entire night reciting lines from "Kindergarden Cop", which I thought was a really nice touch, though I eventually got tired of hearing about strangers' fathers and their employment.

As usual, though, my nephews end up being so damn cute that it makes me wonder why I try at all.  They even helped me out by pulling up the comic book quotient for this blog.  Thanks, guys!

This looks like he's going to fly off, leaving shattered pavement behind.  Perhaps he will.

Happy Halloween!  Let's eat some candy.

A new Frankenberry cereal comic!

After years of slowly disappearing from the shelves, becoming more and more difficult to find, I'm happy that Frankenberry, Boo Berry and all of the General Mills Monster Cereals have been reappearing with some frequency over the last few years.  I long for the day when I can go out and buy a box of Frankenberry on any day of the year as opposed to just around Halloween, but I'll take what I can get.  It's a little bit inconvenient to store 20 boxes of cereal in your basement because you don't want to run out by March, but it's worth it.  This year, General Mills even brought back Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute, which was an added treat.

A few years ago, Monster Cereal boxes came with an honest-to-goodness comic on the back.  The comic ran for several years but was retired this year in favor of a brand new comic, still by an unknown artist, featuring all five cereal mascots.  The artwork is fun and interesting.  The image in the middle of Yummy Mummy is particularly well done.

Dear General Mills: if you one day decide to produce a Frankenberry comic, I will totally write it, and I'll even accept boxes of Frankenberry as payment.  Please make this happen.

Target has these cereals stocked up and on sale, and in retro boxes, even.  Time to stock up like I am.

The Thing "Ben Cooper" Halloween Costume, Dustin Tokarski's goalie mask, Kickstarter(s) and more RANDOM NOTES!

It's been a while since we had some random notes here at blog central, and the masses have been clamoring.  I am, of course, but a humble servant, so here we are with more thoughts about a bunch of stuff, most of which is actually comic related.  And also Franks and Beans.  Away we go!

- Ben Cooper was a company that made popular Halloween costumes a few decades back, and for a while they had a licensing agreement with Marvel Comics to produce costumes based on some of their more popular characters.  One of those costumes happened to be of the ever-lovin' Thing, and I managed to land one of my favorite non-pornographic website in the world, eBay, for a great price.

The costume and box have some scuffs to them, but overall these are in nice shape and I'll be happy to wear this costume to every Halloween party until I die and also if I ever decide to start committing crimes.  I have a feeling, though, that if I would ever start to go down that dangerous path, the goodness and rightness of the Thing would pull me back before I was too far gone.

This costume is, of course, hideous (though the mask is surprisingly well done), but this is part of its charm.  Ben Cooper, as I said, made a number of costumes and all of them were embarrassingly simplistic and/or ugly, but this was the style of a kids Halloween costume in the 1960s, '70s and '80s and I love this find.  I appreciate the sticker on the box, as seen above, that tells you just how one is supposed to wear the costume.  Thanks, B.C.

- I've gotten a few pieces of art framed recently at the Wood Street Frame shop in Pittsburgh, and they've done a good job at what I've turned in so far.  The latest item is Jeff Lafferty's original Teddy and the Yeti art, which I'm relieved to say that I've finally got behind glass.  Much of what I have framed tends to be big and therefore a little cumbersome, but this here is small enough that I can close my hand around it, which should make finding a place for it much easier.

- If you're a fan of the NHL, then you're aware the city of Montreal exists in real life.  They have hockey there, and they speak French.  And also the goaltender for the Canadiens has the Tick on his goalie mask.

Dustin "Tic" Tokarski is enough a fan of his nickname and the popular '90s cartoon that he decided to emblazon his helmet with the big blue hero busting out of the side.

This isn't the first time he's done it, even.  He spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and put the Tick on that helmet as well.  If I had to choose, I'd say that the Lightning helmet is my favorite of the two, as the blue works better as part of the overall scheme.

Should I...should I send this guy a copy of the Free Comic Book Day issue?  Maybe we'll become fast friends.

- There are a couple new Kickstarter projects going on right now that feature work from friends of the blog.  First, Paul Tucker is teaming up with Tim (Hack/Slash) Seeley and others to work on a project called "Mini Comics Included", which takes its cues from those little comics that would be packaged with action figures most famously in the 1980s (He-Man springs to mind).  There are six tiny comics in all and Paul is drawing two of them!  The've got some great rewards up for grabs so check out the page and back it if you can: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1168046118/mini-comics-included-0

The other Kickstarter project I'm backing is a short film adaptation of FUBAR head honcho Jeff McComsey's "American Terror"!  I inquired about how much I would have to donate to play a role in the short of someone who gets killed, but alas, the film is in post-production and the fundraiser is just to get it over the hump.  Regardless, you can check out the American Terror page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2097901631/american-terror-short-film

Everyone's buddy "Artboy_X" brought this one to my attention from Art Thibert, who might be best known for his work on a whole bunch of X-Men titles.  Thibert is Kickstarting his own title, Chrono Mechanics, about company that specializes in repairing problems in the timeline.  The CM Kickstarter page is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461073089/chrono-mechanics-potholes-in-the-cosmic-road?ref=home_location

- I bought an early issue of Marvel Team-Up a few months back with Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic teaming up to, I don't know, battle evil or something.  I thought the first page credits were pretty funny - specifically the inking credit.  At first I thought that it was a charming reminder of the "seat of your pants" attitude that must have reigned at Marvel in those early days, but then I remembered that there are still plenty of books out there today that employ four or five (or more) inkers for a single story.

- Lastly, it's been a while since I've posted any new Franks and Beans.  So here's our 58th episode, "A Watched Pot"!  Enjoy!  Or just watch it.  Please.

God bless the creator of this Thing Halloween pumpkin creature

I saw this marvel of humanity when it first appeared on the Internets around Halloween of this year.  Why it's taken me this long to mention it is beyond reasoning.  Simply put, good work should be praised, and this is some of the good-est work involving a pumpkin that I've ever seen.  It's a pumpkin Halloween statue, nay, shrine!, to Ben Grimm, the Fantastic Four's Thing.

This monstrosity was created by the Reddit user wizardtig using bits and pieces of 11 pumpkins, including the head, a wooden framework and chicken wire.  The effort and determination were well worth it, in my opinion, as the final product in nothing shy of incredible!

The person behind this has gained a special place in my heart.  My hat is off to you, wizardtig, for creating a lasting tribute to the Thing.  And by "lasting" I mean "until you had to tear it down".  I hope that, at the very least, when you had to tear this apart, you at least once yelled "It's clobberin' time!" between sobs of dismay.

Click here to see more pictures of the process, click here to see the original Reddit page with comments, and click here to see the short writeup io9 made for the project.

Happy Halloween 2012!

Doesn't this blog have enough pictures of people in costumes?  Oh well, perhaps it's like Jell-O.  There's always room for more.  Or perhaps this is the case:

In either case, Halloween is tomorrow and I might as well get these pictures up and online before something else comes along and distracts me, like any of the legitimate reasons I have for being on the computer as opposed to adding a new post to the blog.

The picture of the very top is another by my friend Vicki, a photographer who asked me to dress up like the Flash for a project featuring shoes.  I was sold when I heard the word "Flash".  Oh, who am I kidding.  I was sold when she said she wanted to take a picture of me.  I'm so damn photogenic.  Vicki also photographed me at Pittsburgh Comics a little while back.

It's interesting that a mass marketed Frankenberry costume is made.  If the brand is that popular, why doesn't General Mills make the cereal all year round and not just for one month, forcing me to buy a dozen boxes every October?  I guess I'll never know.  I bought this costume at the last minute on eBay. It was my fourth attempt at bidding on one.  At three separate opportunities I was outbid my voracious buyers on eBay.  How is that possible?  Oh well.  I got one in the end, and it showed up just in time.  I went out to a party on Saturday and poured out some cereal to those who wanted it, or at least those who allowed me, a stranger in a costume, to pour unknown cereal into their hands.

Larry was there, too, revisiting the wrestling theme.  He talked the DJ into creating a new category so he could enter the contest, which he won, and then won a prize for the best overall costume.  That smooth talker.

The place had a Ms. Pac Man machine.  Does anyone ever play Galaga on these dual cabinets?  My big Frankenberry mitts would present an added challenge.

And for some reason, my nephews decided to dress up for Halloween, too.  It's strange to see kids dressing up when Halloween costumes are obviously something that only adults do.  But whatever...maybe they're trying to emulate me or something.  Jake here dressed up as the Flash last year, so he's keeping the super hero theme going.  And his new little brother, "near mint" Logan, is his dutiful sidekick.

My sister and her husband have taught Jake the theme to the 1960s Batman TV show.  Fifty years old and that thing still has legs.  Crazy.

Happy Halloween!

I did absolutely nothing for Halloween.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  But I'm thinking of going next year as evil Jeff, a la Spock from the Mirror Universe episodes of Star Trek...that's right, just adding a mustache and goatee and bam!  Instant costume.  Maybe I'll wear a Hulk shirt or something.

Anyway, that doesn't mean that others weren't more in the spirit of Halloween, if there is such as thing. Look at how Franks and Beans co-star Larry spent the night!

It's tough, however, to top cute babies, and it's even tougher when they're dressed as the Flash, as my nephew was.  Although he looks totally fat in this apparently padded costume.

Tomorrow: maybe I'll post something real.

Who drew this Frankenberry comic?

It is well documented (at least it should be) that I love Frankenberry cereal.  Love it.  I like Boo Berry to an extent as well (I'm no fan of Count Chocula or any chocolate cereal, in case you were wondering), but Frankenberry is my one true cereal love.  Unfortunately it's become increasingly difficult to find, so when Halloween rolls around, I make sure and buy five or six boxes to stock up for a couple months.

Cereals have changed over the last few decades in that you won't find many - if any - cereals that offer a toy inside the box.  Instead, most cereals have some game or cutout printed on the back, as if that makes up for their newfound stinginess.  In any case, this year's boxes of monster cereal feature a comic with art that I think is really well done.  I can't help but wonder who drew it - if it's a comic industry professional or just someone General Mills has in its art department.  It looks a lot like the art of Sean "Cheeks" Galloway or even my buddy Ruben Cordero (though I think I would have heard if it was Ruben's work).  There's no signature or other credit given, not that I expected there to be on the back of a cereal box, but still, I wonder just who drew up this intriguing piece.

As I write this, I'm getting hungry.

Halloween 2009

I'm not usually one to get dressed up for Halloween - I'm not really sure why, it just seems that I never think about it until it's too late. This year, however, I made the decision to make a costume with a few hours to spare, otherwise known as enough time to run down to Goodwill and frantically try and throw something together (which, as it turns out, is a thought that many many other people have, as the store I went to was teeming with dozens of other Halloween costume procrastinators).

As this is a comic book related blog, I will let you figure out who I decided to go as. Some incorrect answers I heard ALL NIGHT are as follows: guy who was in a plane crash, guy who needed to go to the dry cleaners (??), and the most popular of the three, "The Castaway." Apparently I had a Tom Hanks vibe going on that day. I HAVE PURPLE PANTS, PEOPLE! COME ON!!

Also, two dogs managed to sneak into this picture. One is real.