All posts by Noob of All Trades

Shawn Lucas is the self identified "Noob of All Trades". He is married and the father of three boys, two of whom help with their own podcast every couple of months. Raised on Atari, Nintendo, and Sega, he enjoys all games and will play all of them to the best of his ability, which is often average at best. Currently, he is most interested in Magic, Heroclix, and other games that he can play with Chris and his sons.
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Superman (Gunn Version) Review

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Introduction

The second entry in the most anticipated July movie season in recent memory released this week. The first was Jurassic World. Next is Fantastic Four in a couple of weeks. A few of our friends saw the movie in early screenings on Thursday. We waited until yesterday and went as a family. As I watched the movie, I wondered how to frame this Superman (Gunn Version) review.

I considered writing a straight review of the movie. However, that rarely fits with my style. So, I tried to think of other ways to write it. The most obvious, and my final choice, revolves around the “controversies” of the movie. As I wrote on social media earlier in the week. Superman is not woke. You’re just a terrible person.

As much as I hate to platform these Nazi fucks, I feel that it is important to show just how dumb they are. And, people fall into the trap every single time.

Really? Okay, Fine, Let’s Do This

SyderBots vs. James Gunn’s Superman: I saw this one early in the development of the movie. Snyder’s fans came out of the woodwork to bash the casting of David Coronswet. They further went on to say that the movie looked too “cartoony”. It’s a fucking comic book movie, you cretins! They absolutely lost their shit when Krypto showed up on the sneak preview trailer. Look, I hated Snyder’s take on Superman. But, I gave it chance after chance and watched every single one of the movies. Except the Snyder Cut. By that time, they exhausted me and I gave up. I mean, these dudes are just deranged. And, I like the meta commentary of the infinite monkeys in the movie. That’s what I’ll call them from now on.

Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow: Other than the fact that Superman debuted in a country famous for jingoism, I never understood the “American Way” version of the original slogan. Besides, why is the default always the “United States” of America. We named two whole ass continents America. And, even so, they only represent a small fraction of the world population as a whole. So, Superman, a dude who flies around the world and saves everyone equally, now represents that world’s population. The absolute horror. Seriouly, folks, shut off that right wing echo chamber and take a breath.

Note: My SEO addon suggests that I limit my subheadings to less that three hundred words. As a result, I moved this one to its own subheading.

Superman is Woke?

Let’s ignore, for a moment, that the word woke has lost all meaning. The infinite monkeys did what they always do. They co-opted something good and turned it into something bad so that they could relentlessly attack it. I used to joke that “woke” became their new word because they couldn’t use the N-word. It’s not a joke anymore because now they do the same with DEI. I watched the movie. Yes, it leans into the theme of Superman as an immigrant. James Gunn chose that theme to appeal to your empathy. If you can accept Superman, the ultimate illegal immigrant, as a good person, maybe you can apply that empathy to actual living human beings. Human beings that now find themselves being threated with swamps filled with alligators.

I never thought I’d have to say it, but if you’re rooting for people to be eaten by alligators, you’re not a good person. They named the guy who wanted to do that Dr. Evil, for the love of all that is holy. What breaks inside of you that makes you pick on those weaker than you? Why punch down? What gains come from that? Meanwhile, the people who always harm society and the planet continue to commit actual violence against us and our environment. Lex Luthor, the soulless capitalist perverting and exploiting everything to his whims. I know people want to sound smart, by positing “there’s no true good or evil”, but why can’t we agree that the d-bags who hoover up all the money and leave us fighting for scraps probably aren’t the heroes that we make them out to be? I mean, any time something horrible happens, it can always be traced back to them and their decisions.

We Live in Parody

Once upon a time, we considered that so ridiculous that they included it in an Austin Powers movie. Austin Powers is an over the top parody of an already over the top genre. Sorry to explain the joke, but we’ve definitely lost the thread recently.

I never thought I’d see the day when Superman became controversial. Above, I told people to shut off Fox News. At this point, that should just be a given. They paid out numerous fees and penalties. They admitted in a court of law that they qualify as “entertainment” and not “news”. Yet, they continue to break ratings records. Unreal.

Lately, I advocate for kicking everyone off social media for 5 years or so. Give us all time to reset our brains and interact with one another without the algorithm telling us who to hate. Yes, even rich people. Repeatedly, I talk about guillotines or wood chippers. However, if we force rich people to start interacting with poor people, things might change. Get rid of charter schools and make the rich kids come back to public school. Rezone everything for affordable housing and prevent them from owning multiple properties until everyone has a home.

See how quickly they change the rules to better fund public insitutions. Also, require people to vote. As it stands, only the crazies on the right and the centrists have a voice right now. Everyone needs to get out and give their opinions. Restore balance. Otherwise, kiss it all good-bye. We’ve seen this story and it never ends well.

The Verdict – Superman (Gunn Version) Review

The TLDR of my Superman (Gunn Version) Review: I loved it. Christine asked if it was accurate to the comics. I replied, “There’s been 700 different Superman characters, so it’s tough to say.” What I can say is that this version of Superman followed the character the most closely since the Christopher Reeve movies. We don’t need a grittier version of Superman. One, it already exists in at least three forms (Brightburn, Omni Man, and Homelander). Two, Superman represents those things; truth, justice, and a better future. For everyone.

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Jurassic World Rebirth Review

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Introduction

On Wednesday, Quinn, Christine, and I went to see the new entry into the Jurassic Park franchise. I heard both that it was the best movie since the first two and that it was the worst of the sequels. You all know that I like to make my own decisions about popular culture independent of the rage baiting of social media. You also know that I generally find something to enjoy about every creative project. Besides, at the beginning of the movie, I turned to Quinn and said, “32 years ago, I sat in a theater and watched the first movie.” So, the TLDR of it all is that my Jurassic World Rebirth review will be mostly positive. If you’re looking for a miserable take, look elsewhere.

Note: Ratings out of 🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖

Characters

None of them stand out on their own. They try with a variety of backstories that mostly boil down to a dead friend or colleague haunts them. And, their poverty pushes them into ever more dangerous scenarios. That’s the “professionals”, hired mercenaries to lead an expedition to collect dinosaur DNA that can potentially save millions of lives. At a price, of course. More on that in a minute or so. 🦖🦖

Hot lady mercenary, hot dude mercenary, and hot museum curator.

The movie introduces a family into the dinosaur madness. They’re apparently sailing across part of the ocean to celebrate their daughter’s graduation and acceptance into college. After and encounter with the mosasaur, they get rescued by the mission and become a side plot with some fun scenes. More on that in a bit. Their characters are slightly more fleshed out and show some growth throughout the movie and you genuinely root for them. They write them as obvious protagonists. However, you also cheer for them because you genuinely like them. 🦖🦖🦖🦖

They, too, are all impossibly good looking. I guess ugly people don’t ever have adventures.

Plot

Without giving away too much, it’s what you’d expect. I already covered some of it in the characters section, but here goes more specifics. A mercenary team along with a dinosaur expert travel to a remote area in order to retrieve living dinosaur DNA. They save a family from a dinosaur encounter. When they get to the island, the plot splits them up The mercenaries travel around to collect the samples. The movie gives us a beautiful scene with some Titanosaurus, an absolutely terrifying encounter with avian dinosaurs, and a final encounter with a butt ugly mutant that needs to be put out of its misery.

Meanwhile, the family follow in the footsteps of Grant and the kids from the first movie. More than once, I thought to myself, this is like the first movie. I mean, it makes sense because it’s the same creative team (minus Crichton), but it was still cool. They also get the obligatory T-Rex encounter that I eluded to in the last section. Small predators stalk them in an enclosed space and play no small part in the final show down. In every one of these scenarios, I wanted them to win (except for the very beginning when you are meant to hate the boyfriend).

Overall Plot: 🦖🦖

Themes

The Enshitification of Everything and the Fallout: By the time we get to this movie, people are so used to the dinosaurs that they’ve become a public nuisance. As Quinn put it when we talked about the movie after, it’s a meta commentary on social media and society as a whole. Instead of meeting the movies with awe and wonder, people now just sort of roll their eyes and crap all over the movies because “we’ve seen it all before.” I see this as an extension of the capitalists (more on them in a minute) making everything worse in the name of squeezing every last penny of profit from it. People now just naturally respond to something new with the skepticism that it’s just another ploy to get their money. 🦖🦖

I mean, this scene alone made the movie worth my time. And there are others that are just as cool.

Man vs. Nature: If I remember my high school English courses, this is one of the fundamental conflicts of fiction. Jurassic Park always revolves around this one (and man vs. man, but that’s discussed next) with the caveat that while man can momentarily overcome nature, ultimately nature will win. Its a good reminder for those who think that we can continually abuse our planet and think that there will be no repercussions for it. She’s notices and she won’t forget. 🦖🦖🦖

Science vs. Capitalism: People sometimes talk about how the science goes wrong in Crichton stories. I used to think that, too. Then, I read and argument that the science went right and that capitalism, and that search for endless profit, corrupted the science and caused it to fail. That makes so much more sense in context and they bring this argument back in a big way in this movie. Hell, one of the characters plainly brings this point up to another during a conversation. 🦖🦖🦖🦖

The Verdict (Jurassic World Rebirth Review)

I told you that, even with the minor quibbles I have with the movie, my Jurassic World Rebirth review is full of positivity. Like I said to some guy on the internet ™ on Reddit, all I want from my entertainment is to be entertained. Well, this movie entertained me. Let me know what you all thought in the comments. Maybe we can have a spirited debate. 🦖🦖🦖

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Thunderbolts* Dad Vibes

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Introduction

The Thunderbolts* are many things; B-list super heros/villains/anti-heros? But, how would they stack up as Dads? So, in Thunderbolts* Dad Vibes, we aim to rate the team in five important “Dad” categories; Grill Mastery, School Pickup Reliability, DIY Skills, Dad Joke Prowess, Emotional Availability. Specifically, we hope to crown the Baddest and Daddest of them all and settle the argument that nobody else cares anything about.

Because I already told the story of how we finally got to the theater to see Thunderbolts* in a previous article, you can read there. Previously, I wrote there, the trip mirrored the dysfunction of the team quite nicely. While writing that article, I got the idea to have this one for a little more fun because I enjoyed the movie so much and the themes resonated with me on such a visceral level.

Honorable (?) Mention

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine: “Come over here and I’ll give you something to cry about!” Her unresolved trauma from her childhood drives her to want her “kids” to have better, even if that kills both her and them. I don’t agree with that style of parenting. However, you have to say that it was effective in developing the team and bringing them closer together. Sometimes all you need is a common enemy.

Taskmaster: Goes out for milk (gets shot in the head and dies, *spoiler alert*) at the beginning of the movie and never returns. Perhaps, the absentee father who makes things better by not being in the picture? While some have made that argument and I must admit that there’s some merit, the best we can do here is an incomplete.

The Rankings (1 – 4 New Balance)

Yelena Belova:

  • Grill Mastery: 👟👟Reluctantly takes the lead during the cookout.
  • School Pickup Reliability: 👟👟👟Surely, that Red Room training comes in handy for punctuality
  • DIY Skills: 👟👟👟She can break it, but she can also fix it.
  • Dad Jokes: 👟👟All that repressed trauma develops a wicked sense of humor.
  • Emotional Availability: 👟Shove them all down into that black pit in the middle of your soul

USAgent

  • Grill Mastery: 👟 👟Not great, but he’s convinced that he’s a four.
  • School Pickup Reliability: 👟Too busy reading old headlines
  • DIY Skills: 👟 👟Gets an extra for being willing to ask for help
  • Dad Jokes: 👟Thinks he’s joking. Everyone else thinks he’s an asshole
  • Emotional Availability: 👟His black pit is his entire soul right now

Bucky Barnes

  • Grill Mastery: 👟 👟 👟 You just know he knows his way around a grill.
  • School Pickup Reliability: 👟 👟 👟 👟He has the entire US military at his disposal to find you
  • DIY Skills: 👟 👟 👟Picked up a few things from Shuri
  • Dad Jokes: 👟Hydra must have rewired all the humor out of him
  • Emotional Availability: 👟 👟His time with Steve and Sam brings out his soft side now and then.

Ghost

  • Grill Mastery: 👟👟👟But you know she prefers take out
  • Schoool Pickup Reliability: 👟👟She may take an extra job and not be able to make it on time
  • DIY Skills: 👟👟👟Took it upon herself to find a way to counteract her “powers”
  • Jokes:👟She has no time for jokes
  • Emotional Availability:👟It takes everything she has in order to keep her physical being together and can’t afford feelings

Red Guardian

  • Grill Mastery:👟👟But, like Bucky, he thinks he’s a four
  • School Pickup Reliability: 👟👟👟👟He may show up with some VIPs in the limo, but he’ll be there.
  • DIY Skills: 👟👟He will fix things up only when absolutely necessary
  • Dad Jokes: 👟👟👟👟The GOAT on the team when it comes to breaking the tension
  • Emotional Availability: 👟👟👟👟Wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to you that he loves you and Mother Russia
Note: The rankings are a conglomeration of Bob and Sentry as Void would quickly send him into negative territory and that’s unfair.

Bob/Sentry/Void

  • Grill Mastery: 👟/👟👟Bob would forget and burn everything/Sentry has better things to do
  • School Pickup Reliability: 👟👟👟/👟👟Again, Bob would forget, but take you out for ice cream/Sentry has better things to do
  • DIY Skills: 👟/👟Neither Bob nor Sentry posess the skills to fix what’s broken
  • Dad Jokes: 👟👟👟👟/👟Like Yelena, Bob funnels some of his trauma into inappropriate humor/Sentry has better things to do.
  • Emotional Availability: 👟👟👟/👟Bob tried to ignore his pain, but it bubbled to the surface in a big way. Sentry has better things to do

The Final Tally

Tied for Last: John Walker and Sentry with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟 (7)

Fifth: Ghost with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟(10)

Fourth: Yelena with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟(11)

Third: Bob with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟(12)

Second: Bucky with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟(13)

First: No surprise, the Baddest Daddest of the team, Alexei with 👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟👟(16). His Thunderbolts* Dad Vibes are practically off the charts.

The Verdict

Hopefully you enjoyed our Father’s Day article ranking the characters by their Thunderbolts* Dad Vibes as much as we enjoyed writing it. I have a feeling some of you might disagree with our rankings of Bucky. If so, get in touch and let’s have a conversation about it! Come back next week for an epic playthrough of my Warhammer Age of Sigmar miniatures.

All appropriate copyrights to Disney and Marvel.

Digital Playground

Five Games for Summer 2025

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Introduction

Over on Tik Tok, I posted a countdown to summer that some people enjoyed. Whatever I happen to be working on that day gets posted along with the countdown. I’ve covered Warhammer, end of the year Teacher Bingo, my water after a particularly long and hot day, and the comic book review among others. I also posted about my attempts to knock some games off my Steam nonplayed list last month. Putting those ideas together gave me the idea to write this quick article about five games for summer 2025.

Most of these games, as often happens around here, are old. I swore off new games during the Playstation 1 era. If you’re looking for the latest and greatest games, come back in about 5 years. I’m sure that I’ll get around to them by then. For now, let’s talk about the best games from the previous decade or so.

Honorable Mention

Enter the Gungeon: I tried this game a few years ago. Then, I picked it up again briefly last month for the “Steam cleaning” article. Both times, I enjoyed the game greatly. However, my skill needs some honing. Maybe I’ll take some time to do that this summer

Fallout: I played the introduction for the first four Fallout games. For whatever reason, I always put it down and never get past that initial part of the story. No better time than the summer when I have unlimited time.

Doors: I played this for the first time during my “Steam cleaning” phase last month. I liked the game so much that I think i want to use it as my first game to stream towards the end of June. The simple and laid back game play fits right in with my philosophy of gaming.

The Five

Pikmin 2: I started playing Pikmin 3 when I bought my Switch last year. I played the game when it first released on the Gamecube, but never made it very far. Playing the 3rd one inspired me to pick up the first one again and I played it through to completion. Now, on to the second one.

Red Dead Redemption 2: I loved the first game. I like it more thana the GTA series. I picked up GTA3 for my handheld emulator and that made me think of RDR. Having never played the second one, I think it’s time to remedy that.

Last of Us: I wanted to play this game, but never got the chance for some reason. We watched both seasons of the show and I enjoyed it immensely. When Aiden bought the PS5, I stumbled on the game again and downloaded it in order to play through.

Spider-Man: The main reason I wanted a Sony console was these games. All of my kids already beat the first one. Aiden beat all three and 100%’d them as well, I think. So, by the time I sit down this summer, I will have to suffer through Jefferson Davis’s death four times. Pray for me, chat.

Hades: Chris, as you know, introduced me to this game. Then, Liam bought it for me for Christmas. I played it through that Christmas break and into the year. Periodically, I pick it up again. Most recently, I tried it on the Switch Lite to see how it ported. With the second one out there, I want to finish this one.

The Verdict

These five games for summer 2025 plus the few honorable mentions are sure to keep me busy throughout the summer. For a couple of them, I can bring them to the UK with us, so I think I can actually make it happen that I play every one of them and accomplish the goals I set. Follow me on Tik Tok and YouTube to see my progress.

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Great Good Decent May 2025

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A Visual Guide

Following on last month’s ideas, I recorded a video for my 3 picks for Great Good Decent May 2025. Now, I present to you the visual guide for all of my picks from last month. Let me know either there or here what you agree with and what you don’t.

Great

Good

Decent

The Video

The Verdict

The end of May was crazy, so it took an extra week to get this video and article out onto the internet. But, I feel good about my Great Good Decent May 2025. Some books improved. Others lost ground. But, overall, as I’ve said more than once, this is a great time to be a comic book fan. Just in the short time that I posted on Tik Tok, I found another dude who posts about comics all the time and he’s a prety cool dude. Aiden and I have something else to talk about because he’s gotten back into comics, too.

If you want to talk comics with either of us, find us on Tik Tok, YouTube, or sometimes Instagram. I’m also here with one article a week. So, if you agree or disagree, let’s start a conversation. Like I wrote last week, though, be sure to come with some sort of intelligent remarks. I refuse to engage in ridiculous arguments about the “wokeness” of anything, especially comics. They’ve always been woke. You just grew up to be a terrible person.

Books scanned by myself, but remain the IP of Marvel, DC, Image, and IDW.

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We (Finally) Saw Thunderbolts*

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The Unexpected Heart Behind the Misfit Team Up

Aiden saw the movie on opening weekend. We missed it due to being busy with Wizard of Oz. However, we made plans to go as soon as possible. The plans changed from weekday to weekend, included (then uninvited) Liam’s girlfriend and Christine, and continued to push back until we finally saw Thunderbolts* yesterday evening. And, even that looked to be in some peril!

I suppose the chaos of putting together the plans aptly matches the overall vibe of the film. I don’t care much about spoilers, as you all know, so that wasn’t a consideration. But, as time wore on Liam (and even I once or twice), cried, “By the time we see this movie, it won’t even be in the theaters!” Hell, even a couple of days ago, Chris and Jason texted about playing some cards yesterday. But, I held firm and went with Liam and Quinn to see the movie.

The Team

My introduction to Thunderbolts (as many of my anti-heroes) came during the Warren Ellis run with Norman Osborne. So, when they announced the lineup, I wondered how they might build this team of second tier heroes from some of the more maligned Marvel projects.

Yelena/Black Widow: They introduced her in Black Widow, where she unquestionably stole the show. Unfortunately, Covid timing killed the vibe of the movie, but anyone who watched the movie knew that Pugh had the chops to carry a film, especially one built to her strengths.

Red Guardian: Also brought to life during Black Widow, Harbour brought the chaotic but loveable dad energy that he perfected on Stranger Things. He continues that journey in this film, acting as the fraying knot that holds this whole group together.

Bucky: A B-lister who found himself written to the A-list and then put back on the bench after Falcon and Winter Soldier, some wanted him to take up the mantle of Captain America. True to the comics, they gave it to Sam (and I don’t care what you fuckers say, that was a damn good movie) so Buck went about changing things his own way. You can see Cap’s influence on him.

USAgent/”Captain America”: A main plot to Falcon and the Winter Solider (another project that got whacked by Covid and other real life issues), USAgent shows what can go wrong when the super soldier’s flaws threaten to defeat him.

Ghost: Introduced during Quantumania (another movie I enjoyed) Ghost gets slightly more significant screen time here. But, she still takes a back seat to the other members of the team. As Yelena said, “She killed a lot of people then was killed. Just like all of us one day.”

Other Characters

Our favorite character once we finally saw Thunderbolts* has to be Bob. When I first saw the character, I thought he was Hydra Bob. Without giving too much away (yes, I will repect spoilers this time) they give him

Spoiler

Sentry

[collapse]
a much better fit with this story. Julia Louis Dreyfuss gave us quite a treat as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the creator and de facto leader of the team. Taskmaster makes an appearance. That is all. I get it. No spoilers.

The Story

Being the Thunderbolts, these characters need to come together in a less than heroic scenario to serve a heroic purpose. de Fontaine gives them that push, bringing together Ghost, Widow, USAgent, and Taskmaster before they run into Bob. Red Guardian learns of de Fontaine’s plan and comes to the rescue. Bucky also comes to the “rescue.” And the core team forms.

Bob turns out to be more than expected and forms a bond with the members of the team. When de Fontaine twists things to her own benefit, the team starts to fall apart before they realize that they’re all they (and the world at large) have to stop what’s happening. Spoiler Alert: The “good guys” win and so, of course, does de Fontaine.

Themes

Family and the ties that bind: I often say, “family is nothing but blood.” That sometimes rubs my wife the wrong way. What I mean is basically the old, “you can choose your friends, but not your family.” Well, fuck (we’re now rated “R” for this article) that. You can absolutely choose your family. If the people you’re born with aren’t serving you, ship them and find ones that do. If your family shuns you for your identity, there are others who will welcome you. This movie functions solely on this propositiono and Red Guardian helps everyone remember that.

Community above all

Mental Illness: Depression. Bipolar disorder. Generational trauma. The movie deftly deals with all of these in a purposeful and heartfelt way. They show how these conditions steal joy from people in a very real way. They also show how genuine human connection can help fight these. However, it stops short of falling into the trap that you can “cure” yourself simply by reaching out. You also may need professional therapy and/or medication.

Politicians and political influence: Keeping with the counter culture history of comics (they’ve always been “woke”, you’re just now an idiot), government in the MCU exists solely to enrich themselves and keep the people under their thumbs. Sure, they dress it in a veneer of “helpful” or “good intentions”, but that’s all window dressing for their greed and corruption.

The Verdict (We finally saw Thunderbolts*)

As time went on, I found myself waffling a bit and willing to wait until streaming to see the movie. However, I’m now thrilled that we finally saw Thunderbolts*. Like Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie spoke to me on a deeper level than some of the others and I put it in my top 10, possibly top 5 MCU movies right now. If you get a chance and haven’t already, see the movie in the theaters. You won’t regret it.

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Return of the Sinister Six

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A 90s Time Capsule of Cheese, Charm, and Peak Fun

A few months ago, while taking inventory of my comics, I noticed that I owned some of the early 1990s Spider-Man with some big names on the cover. Think David Micheline, Erik Larsen, and yes even Uncle Todd. Several of the books stood out to me. Issues 334-339: Return of the Sinister Six.

The six part series tells the main story of how Doc Ock gets the band back together. However, Micheline jams a couple of important sub plots in between the pages of Spidey vs. his old nemeses. Let me try to explain why the old heads look back so fondly, both in spite and because of, on this era of comic books.

Part 1 (Issue 334)

In Part 1, Doc Ock visits Electro and Sandman to start the process. Meanwhile, we get a look at Pete and MJ’s relationship (more on that in a bit), Spider-Man takes on some thugs, and as you can see in the panel below, Iron Man makes a cameo. Overall, a solid introduction that, if they hadn’t spoiled it in the title, might not have you thinking that this is anything but a typical Spider-Man arc.

Part 2 (Issue 335)

Okay, now things are getting serious. Hobby (3), Shocker (4, never mind), and Mysterio (4) all join the cause. This time, there’s a Captain America cameo, Flash and Felicia are dating, and I just have to say that I love, love this version of Peter and MJ. You can have drama without constantly threatening the whole of the relationship.

Nice shorts, Flash!
Wholesome content alert.

Part 3 (Issue 336)

The Vulture (5) starts the issue working for Kingpin, but Doc Ock offers a better dental package. Return of the Sinister Six is complete Another cameo, this time by Doctor Strange. And, who the hell is Chance? They promise that someone dies in the issue and someone does. It happens in a fashion very similar to Gwen Stacy. While a minor character (at least I don’t remember him), the last panel gives it an importance and gravitas sometimes missing from modern deaths.

RIP to a real one. Oof…

Part 4 (Issue 337)

We finally get some action between Spidey and the Six. He takes them on two at a time; Hobby and Mysterio, Vulture and Sandman, and then Electro at the end. There’s also some about the Flash/Felicia sub plot, a Nova cameo (literally, just him flying across the page), and some dude who is obsessed with MJ. Literally, how much can you jam into these issue, David Micheline?

Right there on the page: WHOOOOOOSH! LMAO

Part 5 (Issue 338)

They promise us the all out knock down drag out brawl finally. But first, we need to console Aunt May, work in the cameo (Mr. Fantastic on the TV in the background while MJ exercises), someone tries to kill Peter and then Caesar threatens to kill a dude unless he sets up a meeting with MJ. 20 pages. All of this in the first half of the book. Then, we finally get to the fight. Thankfully, it’s well worth it.

I mean, this is just the first page of the fight. It gets better from here.

Part 6 (Issue 339)

The thrilling conclusion. And, no, I don’t mean that sarcastically. They resolve the MJ drama by some dude shooting Caesar. But, he’s also a damn stalker. She eventually clocks him upside the head with her purse to escape. Meanwhile, there’s a satellite that will poison the planet if they don’t give in to Doc Ock’s demands of being rulers. Spider-Man faces off against the head honcho and then asks Thor to come help with the satellite. Old Thunder God takes care of it and, as you’ll see in a minute, we get the typical Spidey “happily ever after.”

Overall (Return of the Sinister Six)

These books have everything you expect from the 1990’s era Marvel. The sometimes overblown writing. Made me laugh that Micheline gave us that heart wrenching ending to part 3 and couldn’t help himself to go a bit overboard in the very next issue. Also, the beginning with the “electricity is his god, his drug, his reason to be” line? A bit much.

And, the art. It’s gorgeous, but the cliches you know from the 90s exist for a reason. What the hell is that early 90’s MJ? And Flash’s shorts in that one panel? Plus, the MJ in a full split in one panel and the outfit she wore to meet Caesar. All of it is just so delightfully chaotic. Some of this might not sound like my usual positive self. But, trust me, I say all of this with love. Every so often I pine for the simpler days of the 90s and the wild and crazy comics they brought us then.

Return of the Sinister Six brought me back to the days of riding my bike up the street to the comic book store. Walking along the racks looking for my favorites and trying to find some new ones. I gave you a peek into my 90s comics love with a tribute to Uncle Todd last month. I wanted to take another trip back to show that it’s not just a one time thing. It’s a way of life.

Thanks to mighty Marvel for bringing Spider-Man to life.

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Great Good Decent April 2025

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A Visual Guide

I finally realized my dream of recording and posting a video review of the comics for the month in Great, Good, Decent April 2025. Since I don’t want to neglect the web page, I came up with the idea for a visual gude here. Plus, with cross promotion, I can include a link to the video and the actual video below. Enjoy

Great

Good

Decent

The Video

The Verdict

What do you think of my great good decent April 2025? Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments or in the comments of the video. I’d love to have a conversation. When given the opportunity, I’ll gladly defend my selections that aren’t explained in the video or on Instagram or Tik Tok.

It’s one of the things that makes comics enjoyable for me. What one person likes, another might not and vice versa. As long as we are having an interesting and intelligent dialogue, I’m happy to engage. When people start screaming about “woke” this or “Mary Sue” that, that’s when I pack up my opinons and go home. Because, at that point, it’s clear that you aren’t interested in having a conversation and anything said will fall on deaf ears. Okay, glad to get that off my chest.

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Casual 4 Life: Forever Noob

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Introduction: The Noob Manifesto

I didn’t choose the noob life, the noob life caught me when I failed out of pro gamer school. When I came up with the idea for this concept over a decade ago, I always envisioned it as a place for people like me to meet and discuss games in a fun way. The idea came at a time and as a result of the push to make competitive gaming and e-sports a thing. I always thought this a ridiculous concept. Those around me agreed. So, Chris and I set out to create that space. Unfortunately, life intervened and the page quickly became a passion project. Fortunately, I live the “Casual 4 Life” motto and kept the passion project going.

Why You Should Embrace the Noob Life

1 – Zero Stress, All Vibes: Without the pressure of needing to be great (or even good) at a game, it frees you to play the way you want to play. This offers you the chance to both explore games at your own pace and learn the mechanics through trial and error. Like I said to my student who invited me to play 40k with them, “Let me make my mistakes and learn from them.”

These guys don’t mind dying a few times while I figure it out.

2 – The Joy of Being Pleasantly Terrible: Sure, I have no idea how to play Terraria, even after 5 times of trying. However, I am capable of doing something new after each playthrough. For example, I recently failed up by building a Terraria shelter that even a zombie would pity. Who knows, maybe next time I can actually build a functional base. Stay tuned to find out.

3 – No meta? No Problem!: Once again, without the stress of having to pay attention to what your opponent might or might not be playing, you have the freedom to do whatever the hell you want. And, every once in a while you accidentally build a meta breaker.  Ionce farmed Hunters with a priest deck so janky, it confused the meta into submission. Modern problems require chaotic solutions. A few months ago I climbed all the way to Gold in MTGA with a stupid elf deck.

Mostly, though, it’s just dumb fun.

The “Dark Side” of Casual

1 – Wait, how do I do this? *runs to Google*: Whenever I play a game, even one I played for thousands of hours, like Minecraft, I keep my phone next to me so that I can Google how to do something. Slightly frustrated by my continued noobiness in Terraria, I actually looked up a “How to Get Started” guide. It helped…some.

2 – When the tryhards rage at you: My most relatable story about this involves a foray into League of Legends. In 5 games, exactly one teammate worked with me and offered assistance. The rest? Let’s just say their ‘coaching’ sounded like a Call of Duty lobby crossed with my old football coach. I hate my old football coach.

My friends, I’m just an angry chicken.

How to Casual Like a Pro

Tip 1: Embrace the meme. If it’s stupid, but works, that’s not stupid. It’s advanced noobtech. As long as you are having fun, that’s all that matters

Tip 2: Curate your tribe. This is what this web page meant to do. While I failed so far to find many other noobs to share my enjoyment of games with, I’m taking another shot at it. This time, I’ve had some success.

Tip 3: Wear “skill issue” as a badge of honor “Git gud?” Hard pass. I’m too busy git’ing fun. Finish my quests, have some fun, mine all day for diamonds, explore a new game, or watch your kids do any of those.

Outro: Casual 4 Life

I may never grace the leaderboards or celebrate a world first. But, I enjoy games much more than it seems the salty dudes on Twich ever do. I play games that I want to play when I want to play and how I want to play them. My family explores new games together on a regular basis. Fellow noobs, give your “Casual 4 Life” bona fides in the comments.

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Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane

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Introduction

Subtitle: The Rebel Who Changed Comics Forever. I planned this article a couple months ago. However, at that time I concentrated too heavily on the articles (which take some time to write) and failed as a result. Since focusing more on Tik Tok (the last two videos are downright viral!) and focusing on only one article a month, I think I can bring the page back from the dead. So, we launch this new feature with Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane.

Love him or hate him, McFarlane is like punk rock of comic creators. We tip our hand pretty heavily here when it comes to the old man. Affectionately known as Uncle Todd, we fall firmly in the “love” category. While not everything he touches is gold, he (in the words of wise sage Fred Durst) did it his way. His career is a masterclass in balancing artistic rebellion and business savvy to build an empire from the ashes of his former life.

Early Days: Pushing Marvel’s Limits

Many of us know that McFarlane got his big break at Marvel. Joining David Michelinie on Amazing Spider-Man, he brought a new style to the character that influenced generations of artists. His work on the cover of ASM #300 alone probably launched the careers of dozens of comic book artists.

Younger readers out there probably recognize the black costume from the Venom movies. Maybe, if you played the video games, you saw a version of the costume there. Yes, it’s true. Uncle Todd helped design the black suit and co-created the character of Venom. That led to several spin off characters, most notably Carnage. He also received the go ahead to write and illustrate his own Spider-Man title.

Image Comics: His Own Way

Frustrated by how Marvel and DC treated their creatives and their creations, he and several other giants at the time broke off and created their own label, Image Comics. Uncle Todd, for his book under the new label, created a character that looked very much like Spider-Man. However, Spawn dealt with much more “adult” issues than Marvel or DC ever touched in the past.

Spawn tells the story of a military man sent back from hell with a symbiote suit (sound familiar?) and powers to help Hell fight battles against Heaven on Earth. Simmons also uses his new found status to right some wrongs along the way. The comic sold 1.7 million issues, a record for a creator owned comic at the time. I, myself, bought the issue thrice. It’s a long story that I told more than once, so I will spare you this time. It wasn’t all wine and roses for the Image crew. Critics called the books the ultimate “style over substance” but rebellious teenagers like me didn’t give a shit what those stuffy dudes thought. I, for one, still don’t.

The McFarlane Legacy: Triumphs and Tensions

Unwilling to rest on his laurels, Uncle Todd spun his comics off into an action figure line. The accuracy and attention to detail also changed the way that action figures are made. Spawn also enjoyed success on the small, with an HBO animated series, and big, with a theater released movie, screens. Maybe success is pushing it some with regards to the movie. While decent, it suffered during a time before Disney and Marvel redefined comic book movies. To his credit, another movie under the Blumhouse label looks to improve on that misstep.

Speaking of missteps, Uncle Todd experienced his share of them. In addition to the fight over the creation of Venom, he also fought against Neil Gaiman for the rights to certain characters. Though, to be honest, now that Gaiman has been exposes as a sex pest, McFarlane maybe dodged a bullet there.

Why Uncle Todd Continues to Matter Today

Image Comics released some of my favorite books. Titles like The Maxx, Pitt, and Spawn continue to entertain me even today. My son loves Invincible. The Walking Dead spawned an entire cinematic universe unto itself. It feels weird calling Image books independent because of the vast range of titles and popularity. However, they remain true to their vision of allowing creators to retain all rights to their creations.

I just mentioned the reboot of the movie with Blumhouse as the distributor. I know people hated their Halloween movies, but I enjoyed them (yes, even Ends), so if it ever happens, I hold out hope they’ll do it justice. His toy line continues to expand with every new IP and retains the reputation for quality. Hey, you know me. I Stan for my heroes and Uncle Todd lives in that space.

The Verdict

I leave it to you, the fans, to decide. I presented the case in this Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane. What say you? Uncle Todd: Visionary or Stubborn Relic? If it’s the former, vote below. If the latter, let me know why in the comments.

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Creator Spotlight: Todd McFarlane

Uncle Todd's Most Lasting Contribution