What a Revoltin’ Development!

With Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing) now a major movie star, it’s funny to think that he used to be the subject of many a desperate tie-in to gain that devious dollar. You’d think these projects would be easy wins given the subject matter. With his cursed life and easy going/explosive rampage personality, Ben Grimm has always been one of my favorite Marvel Comics characters. Yet… these projects seemed to miss the mark.

In 1979, toy manufacturer ‘Fun Stuff’ developed the ever loving blue-eyed Thing into an inflatable toy… no it’s all true.

See below (courtesy of FuzzyMemories.TV where I finally found a video of Bozo the Clown!):

In addition, the character starred in his very own solo cartoon series. Great, right? Not so much. See, this version of the Thing was a teenager named Benji who used a magic ring turn into the Thing and fight crime… or do whatever he wanted, really. Fred and Barney from the Flintstones co-starred.

In 1994 the master of schlock filmmaker Roger Corman made a hasty Fantastic Four film in which the Thing was very similar to his inflatable toy persona from Fun Stuff.

Marvel Comics has created many colorful and charismatic characters over the years and these characters have been used to sell everything from breakfast cereal to toilet paper. They’ve been in children’s TV programs and big budget motion pictures. Some of them have been great, others… not so much.

In the very words of Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew, Ben was robbed.

Recommended:
The Thing: Idol of Millions (Fantastic Four)
Essential Marvel Two in One (Volume 1)
Essential Marvel Two-In-One, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials)

New Fantastic Four trade dress revealed

TOM BREVOORT UNVEILS NEW “FANTASTIC FOUR” TRADE DRESS
by CBR News Team, Editor
Posted: November 30, 2007The new “Fantastic Four” trade dress debuts in February with Mark Millar and Byran Hitch
In anticipation of the February debut of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s run on Marvel Comics’ “Fantastic Four,” editor Tom Brevoort unveiled today in a blog post to marvel.com the title’s new trade dress. Featuring a minimalist logo design and headlines and copy like that of a magazine, the new “Fantastic Four” trade dress is unlike any employed by the title before.

“I’m really enamored of the book’s new trade dress,” Brevoort said. “‘Fantastic Four’ once again looks sleek and progressive and cutting edge on the racks. In the same way as when the Ultimate books were first introduced, FF will now not be mistaken for anything else we’re publishing.”

In response to fan and industry-wide incredulousness as to artist Byran Hitch’s ability to deliver a monthly “Fantastic Four” comic on schedule, Brevoort added in his post that the artist has already completed penciling more than six issues of the title.

UK writer Mark Millar, known for his edgy style and popular runs on everything from Superman Adventures to the Ultimates to Wolverine to Civil War teams up with Bryan Hitch, popular artist of the Authority and his work as designer on the new Doctor Who have teamed up to make the former flagship title of Marvel Comics a hit again.

Introduced as the first science fiction/super hero/sitcom comic book of its kind by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the FF have had some peaks and valleys in its incredibly long run, but nothing has ever really come close to that initial 100-issue run by Stan and Jack (though I do recommend the John Byrne or Mark Waid runs).

There is a precedence for Marvel turning poorly selling series into major monthly successes, just look at The New Avengers. But will they succeed in catching lightning twice? We’ll have to wait and see.

Personally, I’m enjoying the current storyline featuring Doom, Black Panther and Prince Namor traveling from the future to stop Reed from ruining history. While Dwayne McDuffy’s run on the JLA has been a disappointment, his Fantastic Four work is top notch. It’ll be sad to see him go, but I’m glad the series is getting so much attention.

At one time the Fantastic Four was one of the most loved Marvel Comics (next to Spider-Man), it will be interesting to see if it can reach that mark again.

Marvel Zombie Attack!

I just realized that I’ve been giving lots of attention to the Distinguished Competition lately and have decided to fix that.

A lifelong Marvel Zombie (that’s what the editors called us, so that’s what I call me too), at one time in the late 80’s I collected roughly 11-13 titles (including the odd never seen since titles such as Strange Tales, Strikeforce Morituri, and Stalkers) , all published by Marvel. I’m still not sure how I could afford this and how I avoided all the Spider-Man titles.

Since that time, I’ve explored the other side of the street and now my weekly pull is mainly DC titles. Still, a large part of me will always be a card-carrying member of the Mighty Marvel Marching Society and in this post I will let you know about some very nice additions to your collection that you might not have.

Marvel Animated Features have been releasing straight to DVD cartoon films for a few years now with a roaring success. Their first attempt, the Ultimate Avengers - The Movie, practically flew off the shelves on release day and was quickly followed by a sequel featuring Black Panther, Ultimate Avengers 2 and the Invincible Iron Man film.

Marvel continues their foray into the DVD line with Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. Like the other cartoon films, this one chronicles the decline of surgeon Stephen Strange, his search for himself in Tibet and the rise of the Sorcerer Supreme.

It’s a fun and innovative way to grab new readers in ways that the X-Men cartoon did in the 90’s and perhaps the 60’s cartoons back in the day.

The only problem here is that there are no Doctor Strange books to meet the need, should it arise, of Doctor Strange fans. If the viewer is unfortunate enough to enjoy the film and wants to read about this character, they can join the long line of disgruntled Doctor Strange fans who have been waiting for decades for a decent series.

I suppose in a pinch there are reprints, such as Essential Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 By Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Why not an animated Defenders movie?

Oh… right… no comic series.

Captain America recently made the papers by being brutally murdered in a crossfire plot that is still being untangled in his monthly comic.

But the story that writer Ed Brubaker has been working on goes beyond just Captain America #25 and according to Brubaker has been planned all along.

I’ve written about my love for Captain America on a previous post, but Ed Brubaker and artists Steve Epting and Mike Perkins took the ailing comic series that had been revamped and handled by so many creators that many were bored simply by seeing another issue 1 on the stands.

It was their loss because the fifth turn at the bat hit a home run. A vibrant, relevant and beautifully drawn series, the stories collected in the Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1 take the character for such a wild ride that you’d think that Cap had only just been defrosted from WWII.

Using the premise that Captain America is working with SHIELD to fight the Global War on Terror, the series takes a distinct turn for the dark as Captain America’s most dangerous villain the Red Skull is assassinated and returns more powerful than ever. Captain America has to grapple with his past, hos love for Sharon Carter and even the strange and unexpected return of a friend thought long dead… never knowing who is secretly pulling the strings of a deadly trap that springs on both Captain America and the reader.

If you buy just one of the Ginormous Marvel Omnibus books this year, let it be this one.

Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1 collects Captain America #1-25, The Captain America 65th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills.

Or this one.

When I was just getting started in this comic book thing, I snuck into my brother’s room and read his Frank Miller Daredevil comics. The most masterfully crafted comics in the business, Marvel has packaged the issues that made the Mayor of Sin City who he is today a number of times.

Finally, those Frank Miller issues I read are collected in the gigantic Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus.

If you have heard of Daredevil (not the movie) or Frank Miller himself, but never read the issues… you are missing out. It was in these issues (not X-Men) that the angst and agony of the 90’s was born. As a wee teenager I read the issue where Matt Murdock’s enhanced senses told him that his Elektra was still very much alive, leading him to crawl through the snow-covered cemetery and embrace her cold headstone.

The incredibly drawn pages were so moving and emotive that many a fan sighed, ‘this would make a great movie.’

Oh well… it’s still a great comic.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson took a comic book no one cared about and made it into the most talked about comic series of the early 80’s. Now is your chance to buy a brick of brilliance for that nice Pier One coffee table.

Recommended Reading/Viewing:

Ultimate Avengers - The Movie
Ultimate Avengers 2
Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus
Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme

New Team for Fantastic Four

The artist that created the Authority, Bryan Hitch and the madman who tore it down, Mark Millar, have teamed up as the new creative force behind The Fantastic Four.

Known for his gorgeous linework and incredibly detailed designs (which greatly influenced the 2005 rebirth of Doctor Who where he was artistic director), Bryan Hitch is the perfect artist for the title. Millar, on the other hand, is famous for dragging the pristine characters of Marvel Comics through the mud and ‘dirtying them up’ with the same glee that I had when I cherry bombed my first C-3PO.

Begun by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as a way to combine the science fiction/horror elements of the old Atlas line with the Silver Age super heroics just emerging on the comic’s scene, the Fantastic Four comic series is the mortar of the Marvel Comics Universe.

What are Millar’s plans?

He told reporters: “I’m always quite tough on myself and measure anything I do against the best stuff when I’m writing. I was inspired by [John] Buscema’s ‘Avengers’ for ‘The Ultimates’ and Frank Miller’s ‘Wolverine’ for ‘Enemy of the State.’ So even if you fall short, it’s important to go in there trying to compete with the best. The stuff I’m trying to measure up to are the first 110 ['FF'] issues and the Byrne stuff. I’ve championed Byrne as often as possible these past couple of years because I specifically think his ‘FF’ run counts as some of the best Marvel books ever. I think it’s up there with his ‘X-Men.’ Just amazing stuff.”

Not a bad ideal to look up to. Byrne’s FF run, full of time travel, alternate histories, Nazi robots, sentient planets and other staples of the Fantastic Four, has been described by fans as ‘Doctor Who with a budget.’

Fans are in for a real treat when the team takes over next year.

Marvel Comics put together a special trailer for the series which you can view here.

So you like Fantastic Four, or think you do?

There’s a new Fantastic Four movie coming out tomorrow, which leads to one of a few possibilities:

1. You haven’t read the comic in years and are all geared up to jump back in, what to do?
2. You’ve never read the comic and are curious about what the hooplah is.
3. You have this blockbuster movie bonfire to hist and have no idea what to bring.

I can help you.

A series that started in the 60’s on the back of monster comics by Kirby, Ditko and Ayers, the Fantastic Four is an odd mixture of a family sitcom, fisticuffs, super heroics and mind-bending sci-fi. In the olden days you’d have to actually go to a comic book store for back issues or steal them from some nerdy kid who bagged and boarded them all.

No more.

In the current age of consumerism, we have this invention called the trade paperback. In a trade (as the kids call em) you can find either a series of consecutive issues or handpicked comics that fit a common theme.

Here are my Fantastic Four reading suggestions for you, the comic fan, you the uninitiated and you the fascist book burner.

1. Essential Fantastic Four #1- Obvious choice, sure, but if you have to get one book, this is the one. A great read by Stan and Jack as they stumble along the path of greatness creating a mythology of heroes and villains. In this collection you’ll find the first 20 odd issues of the series including the introduction of Doctor Doom, the infamous time travel/Blue Beard story, the introduction of the Skrulls and other fan faves as Marvel’s first family gallantly marches into fame.

2. Fantastic Four: 1, 2, 3, 4 - Grant Morrison and Jae Lee teamed up to produce one of the most inspired pieces on the Fantastic Four with this one. With everything from the sexual tension between Sue and Namor, Ben Grimm’s extreme desire to regain his humanity and Reed Richards almost complete alienation from everyone, this is a series worthy of your book shelf.

3. Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules - Independent comic book fans got taken by surprise by this one. James Strum (The Golem’s Mighty Swing ) and Guy Davis (The Marquis, Sandman Mystery Theater) collaborated on a very odd tale that sits the comic book fantasy next to the twisted and socially awkward Fantastic Four in a story that was so amazing that I feared it might be terrible. To me, that’s always the sign of a great work of art.

4. Maximum FF - Stan and Jack’s issues are analyzed one panel at a time by mystery novelist Walter Mosley. With the panels blown up to the size of an entire page, the experience is completely altered. If nothing else, the oddest FF bok ever produced (unless you count the Marvel Fitness Book).

5. Marvel Knights FF : The Wolf At The Door - While at first I doubted this series which promised a more sophisticated and adult look at the FF, it turneed out to be an incredible series. Steve McNiven (of Civil War fame) and writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa team up to give you the FF like you’ve never seen them before (and let me tell you, THAT is something!).

The team loses their fortune almost overnight and must find jobs and a new place to live. This was a throw-away idea that Stan and Jack used in an old FF issue way back and this series improves on the concept. Perhaps the most touching tale is Reed Richards‘ first day at an office where he finds he cannot get into the building because of a suicide jumper. Reed stretches up and has long talk with the distraught man that belongs in the old ‘Best of Marvel’ books that used to come out.

Oh, and Steve draws the sexiest Sue.

6. Fantastic Four Vol. 1- by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo arrived in 2002 to revitalize the ailing title and boy did they achieve their goal! A thrilling and exciting series that returns the characters to their rightful place as a dysfunctional family fighting alien menaces, this collection is a neat coffee table book and Wieringo’s art looks outstanding blown up on the oversized pages. The closer story is, in my opinion, one of the best Doctor Doom tales ever.

Waid is a capable and skilled writer (proven several times over by his extraordinary work on Superman, the JLA and the Flash), but it seems like he really hit a stride with this series. Unfortunately Wieringo, who became one of my favorite FF artists, does not work on every issue so that impairs the enjoyment of the series to an extent. But when he is on the book, he makes it glitter with that old Marvel shine.

There are of course runner ups recommendations on the FF and feel free to throw in your own take, but I just wanted to give the average guy a place to start.

Check out more comics and other the cool stuff at the Daily P.O.P. Shop!

Funny book movie news 6/13/07

William Hurt (of Lost in Space fame) is set to play General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross in the upcoming Taco Bell big gulp glass tie-in, The Incredible Hulk.

In the 2003 Ang Lee Hulk film, Ross was played by Sam Eliot (the Dude abides… ) and his mustache. A seething bulldog of pent-up rage, this version of Ross was the Marvel Comic character ramped up to 11.

While Hurt is a capable actor, he is also a very sensitive and nuanced man with more of a bent toward intellectual and caring roles (if you ignore the absolutely stellar performance he gave in A History of Violence). The Incredible Hulk film is looking more and more like a very unique movie… and I mean that in a good way.

Silver Surfer (who as of this writing has still not seen life on the big screen in his Fantastic Four 2 film), is already getting considered for a spin-off movie. The writer lined up to work on it is Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. An experienced comic scribe of some notability, JMS has breathed new and controversial life into The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics. Something of a Stan Lee-type, he will undoubtedly bring a polished air of grandeur to the project.

Rumor also has it that goldilocks (seen here at a local Magic the Gathering tournament) himself is set to thump the silver screen alive with his magic hammer (sounds like an exotic dancer, doesn’t it?). The Mighty Thor is rumored to have Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn working on it… sure… that makes sense. A hooligan head-thumping working class Thor might be just the way to go.

This just in from the illustrious Greg Moutafis:

Marvel has also developed the first soap-opera/comic book crossover property with the daily program ‘Guiding Light.’

Trailer below:

Part genius, part saddening, this is. I mean, remember how lame and run into the ground ‘virtual reality’ was? Each version of it was painful to the extreme, movies, TV, comics… all of it sucked. But with this kind of cross-platform appeal, super heroes have officially become lamer than virtual reality.

This is how the comic book super hero boom ends… and we haven’t even seen a Watchmen movie yet.

So, uh… don’t forget to TiVo the November episodes, right?

FF 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer clips!

Here are the six recently unveiled clips from Fantastic Four sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, out on this Friday June 15th.

• Ioan Gruffudd is slightly less wooden as Reed Richards
• Chris Evans once again steels the show as Johnny Human Torch
• Sue Storm saves the London Eye (rumor is that actress Jessica Alba demanded more for her character to do resulting in the Thing doing less)
• Silver Surfer makes a kick-ass action hero and…
• Brian Posehn as the preacher at Reed and Sue’s wedding?? How’d I miss that?

Fantastic Four: Shadow of Galactus?

First glimpse of Galactus? Maybe… Look at the latest TV pot, 21 seconds in and compare to this pic from Ultimate Extinction:

Look for recommended goodies at the Daily P.O.P. Store!

Rise of the Silver Trailer

Apparently this just went online, the full trailer of Fantastic Four: the Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. Nice to finally hear Fishburne as the voice of the Silver Surfer!

Doesn’t the Fantasticar look amazing?

and check out Doctor Doom’s new armor!

Looks like a combination of a few storylines, including the recent J Michael Straczynski issues (swapping powers). Oh, and it looks really good, too. (Of course we don’t get to hear Dr Doom sounding like Charles Nelson Riley as we did in the first film… whose idea was that??).

Built to fail

(Or: Who knew that the comics Stan Lee’s wife dared him to create would be so successful that they’d be made into major motion pictures?)

At a time when Atlas Comics (which later became the Marvel Comics Group) was facing bankruptcy, Stan Lee’s wife urged him to just do what he always wanted to do. If he was going to fail anyway, what was the risk?

THE FANTASTIC FOUR and the SILVER SURFER

The first idea that Stan Lee tried out was the family comic, the Fantastic Four. Looking at the first issue, it’s very similar in tone to the monster and sci-fi comics that he had produced with Steve Ditko, Dick Ayers and Jack Kirby. The main characters didn’t even have any colorful costumes in their first adventure. The story was apparently mapped out in a cafe between Stan and Jack and Kirby was so excited that he left the meeting only to draw out the entire first issue on his own. The ‘Marvel Style,’ a method where a pitch is drawn by the artist and then embellished with dialog by the writer was born.

The series spear-headed the explosion of ‘guys in tights’ that Marvel has been known for since. Not just colorful characters, but ‘characters with problems.’ The Fantastic Four faced cosmic menaces with nary a sweaty brow, but eviction from their building was another issue.

Fantastic Four was modestly produced and a major commercial success due to it’s low production cost and the fact there were no other decent movies to see at the time. Lucky FF dodges the collection man again. It’s not my favorite comic book movie, but it is the only ‘family-oriented’ comic book film. The X-Men Trilogy , Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 ,Hulk , Superman Returns and Batman Begins are all far superior movies but feature various levels of gruesome violence and subject material that would bore the average kid. The Fantastic Four film, despite its drawbacks in character development and casting, is fun, colorful and innocent.

Doctor Doom makes me want to tear my eyes out, but never mind.

The new film due out this summer, Rise of the Silver Surfer, will attempt to tell the most successful and well-loved Fantastic Four stories of all time, the Coming of Galactus trilogy from issues 48-50 (featured in the hefty Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 2) back in the early days of the series. That’s ambitious to say the least. The images I’ve seen of the Silver Surfer look great and casting Laurence Fishburne as the voice of the Silver Surfer is appropriate. I’ve heard nothing but rumblings of disappointment over the depiction of Galactus the World Devourer in the movie, so my hopes aren’t that high.

It’s big concept Stan and Jack material that is almost impossible to pull off in a movie. It’s surprising that Stan and Jack made the same ideas work in the comic! So bully to the producers for giving it a shot.

Just so long as it doesn’t suck.

SPIDER-MAN
Surfing about, I found this very impressive image from the forthcoming Spider-Man 3. Since the announcement of the first Spider-Man movie, I’ve tried to figure out where they were going to take the films. In the comics, the character has been all over the place.

 

 

The comics created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko depicted Peter Parker as a very clever and frustrated teenager, slowly developing into an impressive and powerful character, a teenage super-hero in more ways than one. He was surrounded by the likes of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Doctor Strange, all established adult heroes that never took him seriously. While the FF flew to other dimensions, Peter Parker fought a head cold, a broken arm, and still had to stop Doc Ock from blowing up the city while maintaining his secret identity from his ailing Aunt… who was dreadfully behind on the rent. Reading those early issues, you can see that Stan and Steve… well, Steve, were very intent on where they wanted to take the character. Nothing was easy for Peter Parker, but it was clear in those first 23 issues or so that Spider-Man was maturing and would outshine the likes of both the Fantastic Four’s egghead Reed Richards and the rampaging Hulk. But that never came to pass and in my opinion the character more or less stopped developing after Steve Ditko left. He became the eternal teenager.

With John Romita at the drawing chores, the comic developed very much into the series we have had for the past few decades. Slick, stylish and full of adventure. Strangely, Peter has become dumber in recent years. No longer a clever and inventive fighter, he’s more likely to make awkward jokes and pop-culture references in the middle if a fight, overlooking several moments to defeat his opponent, who is more annoyed by Spider-Man than acting the typical ‘evil villain’ routine.

My assessment on Spider-Man’s development in the comic and Steve Ditko’s influence on the series may differ from yours, but I prefer the frustrated and intelligent Ditko character. It appears that Sam Raimi does too.

In the first two films, nothing goes right for Peter Parker. He tries so hard to be a noble hero, fighting back his passion for revenge and anger at the villains he is fighting, only to end up alone and full of pent-up anxiety. So when Peter wound up with Mary Jane at the close of Spider-Man 2, I knew things could only get worse… much worse. From everything I’ve seen in the trailers, this looks like an amazing story that continues to draw upon the mood and direction set in those early Spider-Man comics.

And it includes Venom, a character that embodies the style and energy of Todd McFarlane. Personally, I never cared for Venom, but I cannot deny that he has an incredible fan following and with the right visual effects team, will make a lasting impression on the movie-going audiences.

As long as the same energy and emotion that Raimi and company inserted into the first two Spider-Man films goes into the third installment, I think we’re in for a great film.

And if it sucks, I’ll just dig out my old Marvel Tales comics.

IRON MAN
The story goes that Stan Lee was feeling cocky about the success he was having at Marvel with the FF and Spider-Man. He claimed that he could make the worst, most unappealing premise into a comic book that would sell like hotcakes.

At this point in entertainment, war wasn’t in fashion. In fact, it was at this point that GI Joe changed from being a soldier to an ‘adventurer’ fighting Yetis and Mummy’s.

Weird, huh?

So Stan Lee decides to have a munitions salesman as his ‘hero.’ Not only that, but this ‘hero’ would be a devilishly clever businessman and globe-trotting jet-setter, zooming about in his hot-rods with a different sexy lady on his arm ever day.

The catch was that the hero, Tony Stark, was dying. Wounded by a piece of shrapnel lodged in his chest from a land mine in Korea, the only thing keeping him alive was his chestplate which kept the deadly metal from piercing his heart and ending his rich lifestyle.

Pretty tragic, huh?

While Iron Man started off in a clunky and battleship gray costume, a new outfit was later introduced, designed by Steve Ditko. In his now familiar red and yellow armor, he was one of the most colorful characters to grace the comic page. In many ways, Iron Man the ‘Wolverine‘ of his era, often placed on the cover of any comic to give it that extra star power needed for sales… or to sell Hostess Fruit Pies, whatever the situation called for.

Given the character’s failure to gain a steady audience in the 80’s and 90’s, that kind of star power is hard to swallow, that is until recent months which have seen Iron Man regain his major player status in Marvel Comics . What strikes me as very ironic is that in a time where America is involved in an unpopular and difficult war, we again are seeing Iron Man introduced into Pop Culture.

It’s unclear to me if this version of the character will be depicted as a war profiteer, but if so the Iron Man film will have an uphill battle to gain an approval from the audiences. An ingenious casting decision to have Robert Downey Jr., a very strong actor but troubled personality, play Iron Man is sure to give the movie some clout. For those of you not in the know, Tony Stark is a recovering alcoholic. See, his heart problem got solved and Marvel Editorial thought they’d give him another hurtle to overcome. Having an actor who has been seen fighting a substance abuse problem so prominently in the public eye playing a character embroiled in a similar internal conflict was recently revealed to not be a coincidence.

Downey himself said: “He struggles with his lifestyle, he struggles with the drinking. He faces the same issues a lot of people do. I see Tony Stark as the best and occasionally worst in Americans and citizens around the world. He’s a brilliant guy, an inventor who can’t totally separate himself from the repercussions of the weapons he builds. There’s a real sense of honor and I know a thing or two about honor.”

So here we are seeing a set of ideas that were seen as definite failures in comics fighting the battle to win the box office. In Spider-Man’s case, the concept has worked like magic, or at least so far. Will Spider-Man 3, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four be so lucky?

I hope so… but if they don’t work, at least I’ve got that closet full of comics to keep me warm.

Look for recommended goodies at the Daily P.O.P. Store!