My Birthday Dinner(s)

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. Traditionally, we celebrate it at home, and my wife makes the best Beef Wellington in the entire world just for us. However, this year, we were going to be traveling on my birthday, and ended up with two birthday dinners at restaurants: one here at home in Las Vegas, one in Monterey, CA. 

New Comics: Catalyst Prime & Noble

This week is a bit longer than my usual posts; more of an essay than a simple blog post. But it’s about a new line of comics I find myself feeling pretty passionate about, and that I wanted to share with you.

I’ve been a comics reader and fan for as long as I can remember, but I seem to have reached the point where I don't get excited about comics news as much as I used to. If a creator I like is working on a new project or returning to an earlier creation of theirs, my interest is generally piqued. If something I've loved is being reprinted, that generally gets my attention. Otherwise, I now take a "wait and see if it's any good" attitude towards comics news. So I found myself surprised that I was getting pretty excited about Catalyst Prime, a new line of superhero comics in a shared universe from Lion Forge Comics.

What's in the Box?!? May Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty

I got back from vacation to find the latest Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty box waiting for me, and it was HUGE! Easily the largest box I’ve gotten from any of the Funko subscription series to date. This month’s theme is the 40th anniversary of A New Hope, which I first saw at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco during its initial run. The movie is represented by an image of Princess Leia on the box. Let’s take a look at what’s inside!

What's in the Box?!? May Funko DC Legion of Collectors

While we have been enjoying the Funko subscription boxes Star Wars Smuggler’s Bounty, Marvel Collector Corps, and the new Disney Treasures, my wife and I had been holding off on subscribing to the DC Legion of Collectors box. I used to be a huge DC Comics fan, but my interest in their books has dropped sharply in recent years, for a number of reasons. Plus, most of their movies do not interest us, so when Funko puts out a box featuring characters from the Suicide Squad or Superman vs Batman movies, we know it’s going to a box chock full of stuff we probably don’t want.

However, when we watched the unboxing video for the March Superman box, it all looked pretty cool. And we do watch the DC TV shows. Plus, one DC movie we are excited about is the Wonder Woman movie. Unlike the other DC movies to date, the trailers show Wonder Woman fighting bad guys, not other heroes, they show characters making jokes and smiling, and there are even scenes that appear to take place during the day and without any rain. My wife loves Wonder Woman as a character, so we took the plunge and ordered this box. Here’s what we found inside.

Cloak and Dagger: Shadows and Light

I didn't realize it until recently, but I am a huge fan of Bill Mantlo's Cloak and Dagger series from Marvel Comics. To be honest, until recently, I didn't even give Mantlo his due as a creator. He wrote so many comics for Marvel, and quietly did them well, I took him for granted. I think I also unfairly judged him for his work on licensed comics based on toys like Micronauts and Rom: Spaceknight. Today, however, I realize what a truly creative writer he was, and I'm really happy to see his creations getting their due, in the movies and on TV, as well as comics. And while I love seeing his Rocket Raccoon on the big screen, I may be even more excited about the upcoming Cloak & Dagger TV series on Freeform.

What's in the Box?!?: Marvel Collector Corps April 2017

About a week after receiving the first Funko Disney Treasures box, the latest Funko Marvel Collector Corps box arrived. This month’s box features Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, and as a longtime fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy in general, and Rocket Raccoon in particular, I had been eagerly awaiting this box. So let’s take a look inside.

What's in the Box?!?: Funko Disney Treasures April 2017

My wife and I both love Disney. And we love Funko. As my regular reader knows, every month (because they ship bi-monthly on opposite months) I look forward to the Marvel Collector Corps box and the Star Wars Smugglers Bounty box from Funko. So when Funko announced Disney Treasures, a new subscription box full of exclusive items, including something from the parks in each box, we couldn’t wait to sign up. 

We recently received the first box, with the theme Pirates Cove. Here’s what’s inside.

(Clearly, spoilers after the jump.)