What your life is missing!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to inform you that you're life..is probably not complete. You may think it is, but nope, you're wrong. UNLESS, you're reading my favorite magazine, you're not getting all the joy out of life that you could be. No, I'm not talking about porn, that's a whole other category. What I'm talking about is Cereal:Geek Magazine.

A lot of you may not even KNOW what the hell Cereal:Geek is, and that's a problem. Published by my good buddy James "Busta Toons" Eatock, Cereal:Geek is a magazine that provides THE most in-depth and informative articles about cartoons of the 1980's. And c'mon, we ALL love those. They were some of the best! Thundercats, GI Joe, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Dungeons and Dragons, Mr. T, Thundarr the Barbarian, Turbo Teen, Laser Tag Academy...the list goes on and on. Production wise, you have NEVER seen a magazine like this in your life!!! It's a bigger than a normal magazine, each issue is 100 pages, full color, and PACKED with amazing illustrations, super awesome articles by a lot of people that actually WORKED on the cartoons, and some really cool regular features like "A REAL Cartoon" where they take a live action movie or television show (Beverly Hills Cop. The A-Team), and imagine what it would be like if that property had it's own animated series! Personally, I'm still holding out for a Mr. Belvedere cartoon, but who isn't, right?
-Now, you won't find this magazine in bookstores, or newstands or grocery stores. The easiest was to get it, is by going to the website and ordering it directly from James & co. IF, you by chance live in the Chicago area, Challengers Comics + Conversation can help you out, as they proudly carry the magazine. So, stop reading this, get clickin' on those links and grab some issues of this magazine. It will change the way you watch your cartoons. Haven't you always wondered why the He-Man show reused so much footage? Or what the writers were thinking when they wrote some of those episodes? Did you know comic legend Jack "King" Kirby helped create Thundarr the Barbarian? AND the Mr. T cartoon? You would if you read this magazine!!!
James also has written an incredible guide to He-Man & The Masters of the Universe cartoon, which you can pick up here:
http://www.bustatoons.com/heman_cartoon_guide/guide.htm
He's also the man responsible for the OFFICIAL He-Man Youtube channel, which you can check out here:
https://www.youtube.com/HeMan
And you can follow him on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/cerealgeek
So yeah, do all these things, and you're on your way to leading a more complete, fullfilling, accomplished life. You're welcome!

Comic-Con Day 2 wrap up! The winner is...

These 2 guys!!

That's right kids, Challengers Comics + Conversation won the Will Eisner Spirit of Retailing award for Best Comic Store Friday night at the VERY end of the show (dear Eisner guy, would it kill you to announce this award earlier in the evening? I was REALLY freakin' tired by the time the award was presented) !!!!! A HUGE congratulations go out to owners Patrick Brower & W. Dal Bush!!! These two guys literally built this store with their own 2 hands, (OK, 4 hands) and have over the last 5 years that Challengers has been in business taken the city of Chicago by storm. Also, they are two very close friends of mine, who have helped and supported me greatly over the past 20 years. I've been a part of the Challengers team for a little over a year, and it's been an honor and privilege to work with them, just like old times. But now, in a HEALTHY work environment. Again, congratulations to them, and all my fellow Challengers!!!
-Now, beyond that, after reviewing the news coming out of SDCC yesterday, I have to declare the (2nd) place winner of the day..............................

BY. A. LANDSLIDE!!! First, Mattel held it's Mattypalooza panel, focusing on it's Masters of the Universe Classics, Ghostbusters, DC Comics, Watchmen and more. Revealed on the panel were some long awaited MOTUC figures, including the Horde Troopers!!!

And PLUNDOR!!!

Moving on to Ghostbusters, the best toy EVER was announced-An Ecto 1 that is in scale with the Matty Collector 6 inch line that comes with Ray and Peter figures with removable backpacks!!

But later on, the BEST TOY EVER was announced at Mattel's DC Panel. Ladies and Gentlemen........................MICHAEL KEATON BATMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I have been waiting for a Michael Keaton Batman figure that actually LOOKS like Michael Keaton since 1989!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOO F'ing excited for this!!!
-So, there you have it. Day 2's winners were Challengers and Mattel. What if they joined forces? Hmmmmmmmmmm.
-No time for a recap on other stuff today, but I'll be back tomorrow with coverage of day 3 (and it's gonna be pretty damn awesome). See you tomorrow!!

Stuff you should buy...7/17/13

OK, comic fans!!! Listen, I'm short on time, BUT it's San Diego week, so some posts later in the week will make up for this one. That being said, I'm only going to spotlight TWO comics this week. The first one, is a frequent here on the site, and it's....

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #4: Eternia has been defeated. The bad guys have won. Yes, I'm crying. Shut up.
Next comes a book that I've been waiting for since I was a kid....

BATMAN '66 #1!!!!!!!!!!!! Do I really need to tell you why you need to buy this?!?!??!?! NO, I didn't think so.
-Now, there's lots of other great comics out this week: Dream Thief, GI Joe: Special Missions, Justice League of America, Red Sonja and more. Get on down to Challengers Comics + Conversation and pick some up!!!!

What you should buy-6/26/13

LOTS and LOTS of good stuff this week!! Let's get right to it!!

Justice League #21: The origin of Shazam concludes and the road to Trinity War gets underway!!!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #3: He-Man has to defend Castle Grayskull! Seriously, people think he does it all the damn time, but this issue he ACTUALLY has to defend Castle Grayskull.

Ghostbusters #5: Spooky train!!!

Flash #21: Flash meets Kid Flash! And from the looks of things, he's not too impressed!

Captain America #8: Crazy. Super freakin crazy.

Previews #298: Spotlighting stuff coming out in September of this year-this issue features the upcoming The Star Wars from Dark Horse!!
-Get all this stuff and MORE at you're local comic shop. As always, I'll be at Challengers Comics + Conversation, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by!! And get ready for next week:

What you should buy-5/15/13

A decent size week of really entertaining books. Let's dive right in:

He-Man & The Masters of The Universe #2: BOOK OF THE WEEK!!! After last issue's shock ending, what more can go wrong for He-Man? I guess we'll find out!

Mark Waid's Green Hornet #2: This book is AWESOME!!! It's what the Green Hornet should've been from the start!!

Dream Thief #1: This book is CRAZY awesome!!!!! Now, you can tell just what kind of comics that I like. This is about as far removed from that kind of book that you can get and I'm over the moon crazy about it!!!! BUY IT!!

Battlestar Galactica #1: The ORIGINAL BSG returns!!! And I can't think of a better creative team than "DNA"! If you're even a slight fan of the show, grab this one!

Conan the Barbarian #16: Stop being so awesome, Brian Wood!!!

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1: This is GREAT!!!! Starts a crossover with a few other Avengers titles. VERY well written and interesting.

Bionic Man vs Bionic Woman #5: This is it! The last issue of this awesome crossover!!! Sad to see it go, but can't wait to read the ending!!

-This is one of those weeks, were I really haven't even scratched the surface of all the good stuff that's coming out. Make sure you head down to your local comic store and grab them up!!! If you're in Chicago, stop by the city's finest comic store, Challengers Comics + Conversation. Have a great Wednesday!!!

Comics You Should Buy-1/30/13

Wow! ANOTHER awesome week of comics! When will these big weeks stop? Personally, I'm hoping never, cause they're awesome. Yeah, it's hard on the wallet, but it's just so much FUN!!! Let's get right to it:

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #9: It's no secret that this is one of my favorite series. It's got everything to please both a hard-core Flash Gordon fan like myself, and someone who's never heard of Flash Gordon before. GRAB IT!!

Bad Medicine Volume 1: This is a FANTASTIC mystery series that will leave you guessing right up until the end. Then, you'll want to read it again, just because it's that awesome. Featuring art by THE Christopher Mitten.

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #4: Mac is being hunted by bounty hunters, he's be the victim of a traitor, he's in a race around the world, and things don't look good. CLASSIC MACGYVER!!!

Superior Spider-Man #2: If you've ever had ANY interest in Spider-Man-GET THIS!!!

The Savage Hawkman #16: Word on the street is that this series is cancelled. But, more on that on Thursday. For now, pick up this savage comic.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #6: I'm very nervous that He-Man's going to be OK. And that he can keep Eternia safe from Skeletor.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: The Origin of He-Man #1: NEVER before told!!...except in the shitty 2002 series. But here, get the TRUE origin of He-Man!!! This is MUST READ BOOK OF THE WEEK FOR ME!!
-You KNOW if you're in Chicago, I'll see you at Challengers. If you're not...well, you should be. Life's too short to shop at shitty comic stores. See you on Wednesday!!

Next Week: It. All. Ends.

New Comics You Should Buy-1/23/13

January is a 5 Wednesday month, and this is probably considered the "light" week. But, there are by NO MEANS a shortage of awesome comics to read. Here's what I recommend you pick up this week if you like awesome things:

 THE ANSWER #1: This book is AWESOME!!!!! Creator Mike Norton struck it big with BattlePug, I'm guessing this is going to be just popular, if not MORE SO!!

THE LONE RANGER #12: Month in, month out, one of the consistently BEST comics out there!

 MASKS #3: This book is surprisingly great! I love these characters, so I was bound to like it, but I had no idea it would be this much fun, and with such a great mood.

 THE BIONIC WOMAN #7: If only the TV series from a few years ago would've been done in this format. Awesomely entertaining book, that is a lot of fun to read.

 AVENGERS #3: LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!!!

 CASTLE #2: Last issue, there was a pretty awesome mystery set up. I can't wait to see where this goes. And, art by Robert Atkins, which is awesome!!

 COBRA #21: Sadly, the last issue of this fantastic series. BUT, it returns in April with a brand-new title(The Cobra Files)with the same awesome creative team!

UNCANNY AVENGERS #3: There is some CRAZY shit that goes down this issue. CRAZY!!

STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS #1: The prequel series to this summer's Star Trek Into Darkness. PEOPLE!!! THINGS HAPPEN!!!! This is a GREAT book!!!

-Whew! That's quite a pile of awesome comics. AND there's lots more that I didn't have room to mention. As always, if it's New Comics Day, I'll be at Challengers Comics, so if you're in Chicago you'd better stop by and say hello!!!

NEXT WEEK: I got the FEVAH....and the only preSCIPTION....is more He-Man!!!

The List-December 19, 2012

What a HUGE week for comics!!!! It's almost like 2 weeks combined into one, because almost NOTHING is shipping next week on the 26th(except the all ready spoiled Amazing Spider-Man #700). Anyway, here's just a FEW of the comics that I recommend picking up this week:

All New X-Men #4-I never imagined in a million years that this book would be as good as it has been.

Bionic Woman #6-THIS BOOK IS WAY BETTER THAN IT SHOULD BE!!!!

Avengers #2-A whole shit ton of people show up!!!! And it's awesome!!!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5-He-Man VERSUS Battle Cat!!!!!

Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow #20-THINGS ARE HEATING UP as the series is winding down!!

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #3-I love this series so much!!!Buy it. Read it. Repeat. 

-There you have it!! Again, LOTS of great stuff to buy this week and isn't it a perfect time to buy a pile of comics and read them? A lot of you will be traveling, and that's the perfect time to read and not have to make awkward conversation with the weird person next to you! If you're in Chicago, I'll see you tomorrow at Challengers!!!

NEW Masters of the Universe Comic!!!

At 2pm today, a BRAND NEW Masters of the Universe comic debuted on Comixology!!! This series, written by a bunch of different creators, is a companion piece to the upcoming Masters of the Universe DC Comics series debuting in comic shops July 4th.
-First off, I'm totally going into spoiler country, so look away if you don't want to know.

OK, you've been warned. This is TOTALLY an old fashioned MOTU mini comic for the new age. I LOVED it, but I'm more inclined to like it because I love the franchise so much. This issue tells the story of the Geoff Johns created Masters of the Universe character, Sir Laser Lot. It's a great comic that introduces and spotlights the character, just like the old mini comics that came with the toys did. The story leads off with 2 boys running away from a PACK of Bestmen. Then a mysterious figure(who we later find out is Sir Laser Lot) comes to their rescue. This "issue" is action PACKED just like the adventures that you had playing with the toys when you were a kid. The most shocking part of the whole comic to me was Skeletor & crew showing up at the end, looking VERY different that they have before. I'm OK with this. I like things shooken up every now and then and this is DEFINITELY not another rehash/update of the characters. You can tell something is different here. They reference King Grayskull quite a bit and they are going somewhat off the MOTUC bios, which everyone seems to hate(I have no problem with them myself). To sum it up, you should REALLY download this issue. It's only .99¢ and it's a great read. You can download is over at Comixology and read it there. If you like Masters of the Universe, you're going to have a good time with this. And, just because I'm in a good mood and you deserve it, here's a picture of a cute Teela(who does NOT appear in the comic)