560
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Witches of the Water (The Mermaid’s Curse)
Witches of the Water begins with a couple going at it on the beach, until the siren song lures the man away and the mermaid begins to chew through his neck. Then she turns on the woman.
It’s a simple enough make up, latex obscuring the face of a woman clad in a long white gown. She screams and intimidates just fine. On the other end of the title card, we have two men talking about disappearances and and in the area. There’s an old sailor sitting nearby them in the coffee shop who warned them it’s nothing human behind these disappearances. Young man from the paper followed him but can’t get any more information. But on the beach, he sees him, and he can hear her song. Unfortunately, the seller gets it while the reporter is discovering that his ex is sleeping with his friend.
He goes to the beach to mope, and while he’s doing so, he finds a 
mermaid – though he thinks she’s just a girl on the beach. So he brings her home to try and help, she revives in the bathtub and goes and eats his roommate. In the meantime, the ex-girlfriend wants to make nice and try and make up for the indiscretion… I’m personally hoping that the mermaid eats her next. Useful though, helping us find a website that talked a little bit about the disappearances in the area… It’s the agent Coulson of the Louisa Warren films! The same YouTube that gave us exclamations in some of her other movies. Meanwhile, still searching for the truth, he’s starting to fall in love with the mermaid… Little does he know, she’s not the only siren in these waters, and in love or not, she still can’t control her desire to feed.
So while the reporter’s waking up in bed with a predator, the girlfriends chatting up the sailor again. He encountered them back in the day, and he knows their true origin. You see, there’s a reason why this movie was originally called Witches of the Water insted of the incredibly misleading (but easier to sell) mermaids curse. Think Salem with trials. Something like that. They weren’t trusted by the community. There were rumblings among the populace that they put a spell on the men folk, and then,- trials and execution. They say the women were convicted, though, there’s rumors that the men had their way with them before they drowned them, and this caused such anger and pain and fury that these witches invoked a curse which allowed them to come back and devour the living. I love this origin, almost as much as I love the origin from Louise Warren’s leprechaun. She’s taking very basic mythology and giving it a far more interesting twist and backstory. 
But now, reporter is in thrall and it’s actually up to the ex girlfriend to try and rescue him and banish the witches in the water… an action that might just have longer lasting consequences than she realizes.
This is actually a fascinating character study, with a brilliant new take on the idea of mermaids. I really wish they hadn’t renamed this, because while they’re mistaken for sirens, they’re really not. They’re more Witch than mermaid, and the actresses in these roles know how to emote and communicate without ever saying a word in the film. It’s one of the more effective make ups and monsters that I’ve seen from the director, and a story that sticks with me, far more than a lot of her previous work. It’s good stuff and a serious growth as a filmmaker. Well shucks, now I want A trilogy of THESE movies!
Belzebuth
We have the US and Mexico border there’s a special team there just to do investigate possession demonic activity. Our story starts in the maternity ward near there, a very sinister looking nurse locks the door and goes all Stabby on the babies, before cutting her own throat.
OK, you have my attention.
Five years later. School shooting, being investigated by Detective Emanuel, one of those who lost a child at the baby massacre. Mother of the shooter describes an account of her son had with one of them something bad is about to happen… And five more of these incidents were to come. Outside, reporters swarmed the detective, and in the distance, Tobin Bell watches.
The cops asked for help, and in come The paranormal forensics team. In the meantime, we get a second killing, with a spaced out janitor jumping into the public pool with jumper cables attached to her and the electrical outlet
There’s strange things going on at the crime scenes. curious sounds, and prints all over the walls, it’s enough that the detective is beginning to soften and listen to the paranormal forensics team
They consult a psychic, and it all goes spectacularly wrong. A tarot reading, somehow, all the cards come up as the devil. Generally you’re not supposed to take these things literally, but when every one of them is the devil and that’s followed by massive psychic disturbance, knocking and flying things… It may be time to suspect some diabolical influence. It’s definitely enough to spook Detective Emmanuel to the point where he’s sleeping with a gun under his pillow.
The next incident, a bombing at a movie theater, right after a couple of guys, including bell, snatch a kid and runoff in a unmarked van.
Their investigation rules them through a creepy area, tagged with graffiti reading children’s slayer, crazy priest. The investigator asked the detective “do you have faith?“
“In Mexico, even the atheists are believers.“
“The belief isn’t the same as faith… And if things keep up this way, we’re going to need both.“
That’s a great quote. Worth the price of admission all by itself.
In the ruins of the church to find strange markings, things designed to torture demons, and the remnants of an insane priest.
A carriage moves by itself and a babies laugh rings out. Children’s voices chant, and lead them deeper into the building. A broken crucifix comes to life, and a demon speaks through the crumbling statue, as it struggles to free at self from the nails in his hands and feet “It’s almost time for my son to walk the earth” but it’s willing to make a deal… The life of one child and she’ll go away for 1000 years. Or is it just tempting them? It is a spectacular set piece with an explosive climax, leaving them drained and frustrated.
Interestingly enough, it’s Tobin Bell who comes to the rescue. He’s was there 
to explain the plot. Once every thousand years, the Messiah is reincarnated. And every time, the devil attempts to destroy him as a child, just as he did with Jesus Christ. Bell suggests that the first time he was returning, the child was killed during the crusades. But this time, they have him. Still, the devil is trying to destroy everything around him… Killing the baby that would’ve reincarnated as John the Baptist, reincarnated as Saint Paul. And now his entire mission is to protect this child, that he says is the reincarnations Christ. Get them across the border to a safe place… A monastery that he can grow and develop his power.
Seems to me like that’s the queue for our third act to begin.
Decide the best bet to get the kid to safety is to go through smuggler blue lid and confusing as labyrinth. Full of Catholic skeletons, statues, and nightmares. It is an unholy place, which leads to the detective been possessed.
Tobin Bell initiates the most chill exorcism I’ve ever seen. (but don’t worry, The second try to goes full on gonzo crazy) He’s cool low-key performance consistently conveys more power than any amount of bluster. The lighting plays with the sinister look of the demon possessed Detective forgives Chase as the mother and the Messiah flee into the climax of the film.
It’s a smart film with a lot of interesting ideas. There’s certainly some misreading of the Bible here, but catholic mysticism in the horror movie is always kind of its own thing… Without a lot of resemblance to reality.
Tobin Bell is shockingly good here, in an understanding performance. When is almost tempted to suggest he’s under Used, but really… I think it’s just enough. I’m honestly not quite sure what to make of Joaquin costume. At times he feels wrong as a detective, but he’s exactly the sort of Hawking threat that we need towards the end of the film, and his arrogance and bluster really sell the character.
It’s a good film. It’s exactly the sort of thing that you sign up for Shudder for.
559
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
558
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Cowboys vs Zombies
The first thing about cowboys versus zombies that strikes me is that it’s not a old Western. It’s set in modern times. It’s still in the remote western town, but the modern setting definitely isn’t what I was hoping for.
After a brief introduction with one of the main characters burying a body, we switch to a house of ill reputed to try and touch base with the rest of our cast.
Despite being modern day, it’s trying very hard to hit all the western tropes. A shoot out in the street, Mysterious mercenary drifter, drunkin Sheriff, even those swinging half saloon doors.
Still, it’s a very talky first half of the movie, and the zombies themselves are wandering on screen towards the town for at least 10 minutes before anyone notices, but when the zombies finally do attack, it’s a welcome relief. The Cowboys pull out guns and blast away in a brilliant fire fight. The digital blood gets distracted from time to time 
but trick shots and constant gunplay make for an entertaining spectacle. The muzzle flash is a real, and we have a bit of bone and blood in brain spatter across the screen as they retreat back into the saloon where they discuss the backstory.
While I will admit I groaned a little bit when somebody pulled out of katana, the movie was worth a dollar I paid for it. It’s fun for the zombie battles And the third act is bonkers, a relentless and unending zombie battle. but feels like it falls short and its potential.
85% of the cast is under 25
Bad CGI (common, afterFX, same old blood packs)
Cover misrepresents the movie
Copyright free name that sounds like another franchise (Cowboys vs Aliens)
557
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Zombies vs Strippers
Man, I cannot believe that full moon pictures mockbustered me. When I looked at this package, I mistook this film for zombie strippers – the one with Robert England and
Jenna Jamison. When the full moon pictures logo came up, I knew I was in the wrong place.
Full moon is a staple of indie movies, and usually bring surprisingly good quality, but they never ever had a budget that could afford someone like Robert England (maybe Jenna Jamison cameo but I’m not even sure about that!). Still, with a Full moon film, you know exactly what you’re going to get. They play it straight, they take it seriously. However, they also know when exactly to add some humour and lightness.
This is not the sort of zombie movie that is going to change the world, but that doesn’t keep it from being fun. The movie is entirely set at a strip club, though we occasionally get glimpses of the parking lot, for the most part it’s inside the club.the owner is depressed because businesses bad – indeed throughout the entire movie we never see more than a couple of patrons – and he is planning on selling it. In fact, the paperwork has already gone through and tonight is the last night. It probably wouldn’t have any customers at all, if not for the zombie outbreak… Its early stages and no one knows what’s going on yet. A couple of people show up here because the strip clubs they were at descended into chaos, but they are saying is just your normal Friday night. We get further description of what’s going on outside through news reports and our patrons tales of what happened at the previous clubs they attended. Beyond that, it’s very straightforward – zombies show up, somebody gets bitten, zombies beaten back or hidden from, zombies show up again, someone turns… It’s all extremely by the numbers. The zombies here are also very much what we’ve seen before – shambling mumbling “brains! “.
There is nothing new here, but don’t let that turn you off. While you don’t get the social commentary of George Romero, or the gritty post apocalypse of the walking dead, they still take themselves seriously enough to not tip over into the wackyness of evil dead. While the movie doesn’t really add anything to either the catalogue or the zombie mythology, it also doesn’t take away from it. A box set like this is exactly where it belongs… part of an anthology perhaps. In a set like this it’s going to get more attention than it would on a streaming channel or doing a broadcast on SyFy – in those cases, I can just change the channel. On the other hand , Being a collection like this you won’t feel bad about possibly paying too much for this movie the way you might have if you had bought it for $5 in the dump bin at Wal-Mart. If this were something that I had rented for a dollar at the local video store on a Saturday night, I’m confident to say I would have walked away satisfied that I enjoy this, and it’s definitely a good sign if this is what I have coming up in the rest of the set.
85% of the cast is under 25
Mostly one location
Copyright free name that sounds like another franchise (Amityville, Ouija, ect)
Mockbuster
Halloween : The Curse of Michael Meyers
I was still in college when Halloween : the Curse of Michael Myers came out. I remember that I was working at a Wendy’s at the time, and one of my coworkers came in just raving about how great the movie was.
In any event, this is really not the movie to introduce Michael Myers to someone. Also, my coworker and I had different standards for “lots of 
blood and gore“. Still, Michael is brutal enough here and there, and as a newcomer I just assumed the whole “cult of thorn” thing was always part of the mythology (actually, it’s sort of is. If you’ve ever read the novelization of the first movie, you’ll find the author spends a good third of the book tying Michael into some dark northern mythology, as a repeating ghost and the avatar of a cult. It’s not hard to see where they got the idea from.)! I have no idea who Tommy Doyle was though, and while I could infer who this old dude chasing Michael down was, he seemed like an odd choice for the action hero of the piece.
se just in case an estranged masked visitor shows up. Indeed he does, shortly followed by his pursuer, Dr. Loomis and now it’s time to try and put Michael away for good… In the meantime discovering the origin of his invincibility and white coat keeps coming back- A druidic order called the cult of the thorn.
The other reason to watch this is obviously Donald Pleasence recurring his role as Dr. Loomis… and doing so for the final time. The presence of pleasance always manages to elevate even the most meger fair… even when he’s phoning it in as he does here. But Moore importantly, much like the Phantasm films eventually turned into sort of, family reunions… A chance to hang out with Reggie and Mike and Bill and Don and Angus… So too, the Halloween films have absorb the same quality. It’s a chance to hang out with familiar faces in old friends like Donald Pleasence.
Tomorrowland
Does anybody else remember going out to see explorers, flight of the navigator, the last starfighter or the goonies as a child? It seems like back then there was an endless stream of adventure films featuring kids for kids arriving at the local cineplexes that we could go to see with their families period it’s not like that any more,today it feels like it’s all franchisees period it’s the latest superhero film, or the latest trend, the craze Harry Potter or hunger games or Twilight. It’s another derivative computer-generated cartoon with the same plan as last five. remember the two Coreys? Could such a phenomena and even exist in today’s cinematic universe? I’m not sure . I can’t imagine seeing something like the Dark Crystal or Dragonworld be created today period and that’s why Tomorrowland is so important period we complain of a lot about the lack of originality of lack of creativity in mannered cinema especially when it comes to genre film the service and horror and sci-fi and fantasy get hit with it the most. But have you looked at children’s cinema today? Seriously, as a father I take my kids to movies on a regular basis and it’s so much of the same stuff and I wonder what happened to the kids movie of my day. And that’s why Tomorrowland is so important. It’s the first 
time in a very long time that I’ve seen a completely original adventure movie for kids, with kids. Something that isn’t trying to set up a franchise, something that isn’t pulling from the latest teen fad, the hottest new young adult novel or most recent comic book. It’s simply a good adventure film, with an original premise period and that’s something that Hollywood at large and Disney in general is sorely lacking. The trailer covers the plot well enough, although I will admit I was frequently wondering what was going to happen next period it’s not as straightforward as it seems . the performances are well done son George Clooney is on his game here which is nice to see, it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed him outside of the Oceans movie. Our young actresses are perfectly competent and while the film is quite indulgent and CGI it fits within this world. It’s justified by the creativity of the story. I want to encourage everybody to go see this, not just because it’s a good film not just because it’s something safe and entertaining to take the kids to. I want to encourage everybody to go see this because it’s a genuine attempt at an original idea which makes it so very different from everything else there is out there right now
555
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Muppets Mayhem
Muppets Mayhem landed on Disney + with a whimper, rather than a bang. Not a lot of promotion and honestly, while I like the netflix model of releasing a whole season at once, for Disney to do it this way shows a lack of interest on their part. That’s a shame, because the people making this threw thier heart and soul into it and created some of the best Muppets I’ve seen in decades.
Thats not a statement I make lightly. I was seriously critical of the last TV outing for the Muppets. I still can’t go back and watch it, even though it was one of the offerings listed on D+ (but no muppets tonight! WTF?). And while I defended the first Disney Muppet movie (as well as Muppets Wizard of OZ.) Muppets Most wanted was just…meh.
Insted of trying to reinvent the uppets and trying to be a new fersion of the prime Muppet Show, t
hey decided to try something diffrent. Insted of being Cheers, they decided to be Fraiser. Insted of being the Andy Griffith Show, they decided to be Gomer Pyle USMC.
And it works.
We get origins we never knew we needed. We get unprecedented development for more background characters like Zoot and Lips. More importantly, they cracked the formula that has always worked for me in sitcoms – pretty girl, smart mouth puppet (s) outragous humor (especially wordplay) with a dash of drama halfway through, then ended with a bang of a gag. We get music that is genuinely 
good – and a series where the soundtrack actually MATTERS every bit as much as the soundtrack to The Crow, Frozen or the original Muppet Movie.
It’s heartwarming, it’s funny, it’s cute and there’s a bunch of new figures I’ve got to 3d print now. Go watch this series because I’m DYING for a second season.
553
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Pagan Warrior
Pagan warrior begins with a boy playing in a castle and then heading out into the woods, playing with his ball. He loses it in the forest, and comes upon terrifying creature. The year is 1812, and this boy, much like other Vikings have gone missing in the woods. Some say it’s an animal, some say it’s a monster, a demon from the underworld… one that wakes every year for one day to claim a life.
It is three days from yule, and the Vikings are coming to sack the castle. They meet opposition in the woods The family is slaughtered and the daughter taken, and the raiders move on.
The body of the king is found in the woods by a couple of healers who manages to bring him back, even as the Vikings take over castle Sussex. They tell him that they could summon him help. a monster… They call Krampus. 
He will demand a price… The price that will be paid equal to the service he renders, and paid 10 years hence.
He walks out into the clearing, in a genuinely good makeup that looks like a orc with horns and the voice of Frank Welker. Under all that latex, he’s still delivering a great performance. Still, we’ve had to wait a long enough. With the exception of that brief appearance at the beginning, we’ve had to wait over half the movie for Krampus to arrive.
He does go about his bloody work and it’s quite interesting to see him out there and killing. He is a terrifying spectacle as he carries out the curse, accidentally killing a few people that weren’t on the list… A weird pumpkinhead-like mixup, and the king wants to terminate the contract. That isn’t going to happen so 10 years pass, and we’re back to that prologue… Remember? It’s a great way to book end this movie and how to make it genuinely poignant.
Big problem here, is all of Warren’s medieval films really look so similar. It’s the same woods, the same cast, the same pagan huts, the same cast. The color grading and the composition is the same, and at this point Warren is really overusing those overhead drone shots of the English countryside. I feel like every establishing 
shot is one of these overheads, and they come every five minutes. They’re beautiful, but they were beautiful the first twenty times and now I’m seeing this shot too often. Still, the Krampus makes for one of the best monsters I’ve seen any of her films… Which makes the title “Pagan Warrior“ all the more confusing.
When I think pre-Christian soldier, I may think Viking and Northern, but I don’t think Krampus. And he does appear to be the titular pagan warrior of the film. It’s not a particular Christmassy film though , so perhaps that’s why they chose not to use the name Krampus in the title. Still it seems like it would give it a little more push. In any event, I enjoy seeing him as part of Warren’s pantheon of monsters, and I’m genuinely hoping will see a return of this creature in a modern day setting, alongside her scarecrows and mermaids and leprechauns and tooth fairy.
Daughter of Darkness
I certainly can’t fault Daughter of Darkness for starting in a graveyard. Not only do we have a funeral, we have Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend (The fact that the character is from Chicago just abuses me all the more) chasing a black robed figure into a bolt that transforms into a long handled chamber… Between this opening in the knowledge that Anthony Perkins is going to show up in a second, I’m totally on board.
For a TV movie, this has got a good opening scare, and I kind of dig the Dark Shadows font on the credits. They’re setting it in Romania (actually filming it in Bucharest, Hungary) you know the Stuart Gordon is going to make the most of that landscape!
There in Romania, Mia Sara dreams of more black robes, and mysterious shops, and people catching on fire. She awakens from the nightmare, so it only makes sense for her to pop on down to the American Embassy, manned by Jack Coleman from Heroes… (Or more importantly Nightmare Café ). She’s looking for her father, the only family she has left.
As she searches through Romania for some trace of her father or his work, she discovers the glassworks he used to work at, inhabited now by Anthony Perkins… who introduces himself as her father’s old apprentice. Perkins also informs her that her father is dead. She just can’t believe it, and decides to stick around a little while longer to investigate.
As we learn more about her father’s background, his work as a reformer and his flight from the secret police, one can almost forget that I’m watching a vampire movie … 
except for Sarah’s dreams, and a brief scene with one of the club kids… but as we get into the second act, we’re definitely about to be plunged into vampire madness. Sara starts to fall for a vampire club kid, but at the same time attracting the attention of the Romanian government who claim her father didn’t exist. Indeed, when the exhume the grave, that’s not her fathers body there, but that of an old woman. Moreover, she discovers that the necklace she wears is the crest an old family, rumored to be vampiric. She is determined to find their family strong hold, which resides of course, in Transylvania.
The castle is now a tourist attraction, but a statue in the courtyard catches Sara‘s attention. It’s the black cloak to figure from her dreams and it’s pendant matches hers. It’s about here, at the halfway point of the film, that the vampire cult catches up with her, and she discovers that Perkins himself is in fact, her father.
It seems like a missed opportunity when she calls him a maniac… She should’ve 
called him a psycho. Just saying.
While Mia Sara is inprisoned with other vampire victims, the vampire council debates her fate… and it’s the first time I really feel like I am in a TV movie. We’ve got some of these councilmembers pulled straight out of central casting chewing the scenery. Still the entire subject matter is quite a bit spicier than what I expect to see on a CBS movie of the week, and it’s still lit with shocking skill. Stuart Gordon has his fingerprints all over this.
The plan is to breed Sara, to create a hybrid vampire… A race that could in fact, walk in the light. The club kid tries his best to seduce her, two woo her, but she’s not having any of it. Her father to, would not wish that life upon her. He springs her, and spirits her away. The cult however, isn’t willing to relinquish their prey quite so easily, and reach out through their vengeance on her father.
It’s such a strange collection of actors and actresses, that in of itself makes the film feel eclectic. But the mixture of Stuart Gordon and television production values is another one of those things that really makes us curious oddity. It feels like exactly the sort of film that should’ve been a regular rental at Blockbuster, like the Patrick Stewart vehicle Safehouse, or the Curse of the Blair Witch. In many ways, Gordon infuses the fun that I usually find a full moon feature, perhaps with just a touch less lunacy in a bit more sterility. Moreover, he’s come up with a curious twist on the vampire. Indeed, Stuart Gordon has given us most unique creature designs I’ve ever seen for a vampire… completely out of left field and way more creative than anything you expect from a TV movie. I almost wonder what this would be like if Gordon hadn’t given the option to do this as unrated or R rated. But honestly, I can’t see it making a huge amount of difference. The film stands on its own and acquits itself well. It’s actually the best feature in the set.
Way Of The Wicked
Way of the Wicked begins with Christian Slater investigating a schoolyard fight. The young victim didn’t really hit any of the bullies, and yet one of the bullies ended up choking on his own blood. The priest is concerned, but the mother chases them away.
Five years pass. There’s a new boy in town, who’s got a thing for The local detectives daughter. Turns out it’s the same kid from that case all those years ago. Strange things start to happen, when he gets into a fight with a girl‘s boyfriend, and the boy bursts in blood. Later, if I get murdered, run over by a combine in the dark… After he got a little Handsy with her. All the while, the priest lurks in the woods around the school… Watching.
The priest catches up with the detective and explains that there’s something demonic going on here. But time is not on their side, the kid knows. On the schoolyard, suspicions grow and he becomes increasingly isolated.While we’re generally short on gore here, the film does love it’s nosebleeds.
him… And she wants him to come to the graveyard! This is a bad thing, because the priest of prophecy… “Two angels must be crushed for the wicked to arise“ and there’s a Stone angel there in the graveyard… That’s the first. The detectives daughter will be the second. Now it’s a race against time to get to her before the demon boy does.
Sadly, the film doesn’t really pass the watch test. At 91 minutes, it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, but it’s very talky, with a lot of macho puffery from the various bullies, and not quite enough blood or catholic mysticism for my tastes. Also, Christian Slater’s ever-changing cross… It seems to get bigger in each scene, becomes a distraction. I’ve got admit as well, I have a hard time really sympathizing with the pretty, popular blonde teenage girl who keeps blowing off her dad. She feels like a high school social climber… Even though they’re trying to make her come off as more grounded. It doesn’t quite work In those skimpy or sexy outfits.
Where do I get is OK. Extremely average… Right down the center. The problem is, I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I’ve seen it done better.
552
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
551
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
333
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Lady in Black
Our main character awakens from a vision of his death, and visions of murder… And there is a lady in black to be seen.
I did something I don’t usually do with this movie, I watched the trailer before watching the film. The trailer seems to suggest a sort of crime thriller with a premonition edge. That’s not what the cover looks like. Obviously the covers meant to evoke the image of the woman in black, and was released around the same time as the Daniel Radcliffe film. I get the distinct impression that I’ve been bait and switched.
What you’re getting here is essentially ghost whisperer mixed with CSI. Our hero is acting as a consultant to the detectives and the local murder case, trying to convince him of his premonitions and go from there.
I’m afraid this movie is not my bag, but if you’re into thrillers with a mystery and police edge, this might just be perfect for you. Don’t get fooled by the cover. This isn’t a ghost story.
85% of the cast is under 25
Copyright free name that sounds like another franchise (Amityville, Ouija, ect)
Mockbuster
Renamed by marketing to sound like a mainstream horror title/series
Cover patterned after a current mainstream movie
550
Posting the best strips from the series, in order from the beginning.
Every Wednesday and Friday
Spring Zombie Walk 2023
Why oh why did this have to fall on Free Comic Book Day??? Man, that just makes for a REALLY busy Saturday! Nevertheless, it’s always fun to unleash the undead on Lakewood as we raise money for the local foodbank!
Free Comic Book Day 2023
It’s that time again, Free Comic Book Day is upon us. It’s not quite the social event that it used to be back when we still had midnight parties to celebrate. Still, Carol and John’s does their best to make it celebration on the day itself, creating a small bazaar of artists and crafters at the overflow space they use for the day. While they limit people to 12 of the 40 books offered, they also make up for it by throwing in an extra graphic novel and creating a poster for the day. This time around, they even had the artist who made the poster available to sign it.
It’s a lot of that social aspect that keeps me driving out there those Saturday mornings. There’s enough people around to make it worth dressing up in costume (This year it’s Kraglin. Sean Gunn’s character from the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3), and it’s where I’m most likely to run into friends and acquaintances. Indeed, as I stood in line, the Cleveland Ghostbusters Ecto mini rolled up and found a parking space. Everybody in line was ohhhing and awwwing at it and then looked at me in disbelief when the Ghostbusters jumped out and ran over to come and hang out with me and chat for a while!
Heroes Alliance was there wandering through with Star Wars and Clack Widow characters, and even the Grinch came out on his motorcycle!
After Carol and John’s, I still headed over to C
omics Are Go. They offer one of every fcbd comics they have, Which takes the stress out of trying to get a more or less complete set. I skip over a few things… Marvel voices really doesn’t appeal to me anymore than a lot of the kids stuff. But manage to grab a couple of duplications for Maddie, who was just not getting out of bed this morning. You know, teenagers. It’s also a great opportunity to pick up passes for NEO comicon. Even without the passes though, I notice I always spend more over at comics are go. They’ve got really good dollar boxes, and usually an interesting deal spread out on their sidewalk sale. It’s great fun. Between the free comics and the ones that I bought, I pulled a stack about 50 home with me.Looks like I’ll be set for reading material for a while!
(At least until next Free Comic Book Day!)
Argo City Comics 