Intermission — April 23 — Bigfoot Problems

There are some Bigfoot problems that hit harder than others — and for certain legendary figures, male pattern baldness anxiety isn’t just about looks… it’s about legacy. Today’s comic imagines what happens when one very famous cryptid starts wondering if his myth might not survive a receding hairline.


What I’m Watching: Invincible, JJK, and the Great Animation Trade-Off

I’ve been watching Invincible with my sons, and I’ve got… thoughts.

First off: the story? Very, very good. Genuinely compelling stuff — even though the violence and gore is way past my personal comfort range. I'm not super comfortable with one character shooting another. The stuff that happens on a median-level episode of Invincible is a real challenge for me.

As someone who does NSFW comics, I'm constantly amazed at how perfectly acceptable Invincible is... yet an animated series based on Phil Foglio's XXXenophile would have people losing their ever-loving minds.

Further, it's a little disappointing to go from watching Jujutsu Kaisen (which we're also following at the moment) to watching Invincible.

JJK features jaw-dropping visuals and animation that constantly raises the bar episode after episode. It's phenomenal.

On the other side of the spectrum, Invincible clearly put all of its budget into getting celebrity voice talent. Some of them are very good.

I just wish a few of those Amazon dollars had been spent on the animation. Some of the scenes are pretty clearly PNGs that get enlarged to show an object moving through space, and it's a goddamned embarrassment.

But the story itself is very, very good.

Mad Monster Party — LIVE!

Mad Monster Party — LIVE!

According to Animation Magazine, Warner Brothers has optioned the rights to one of my favorite Rankin-Bass animated features, Mad Monster Party. Mad Monster Party was a Halloween-themed stop-motion animation from the masters who brought you all of those great Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. With a heavy influency from MAD magazine — it was co-written by Harvey Kurtzman and the characters were designed by Jack Davis — it’s a real treat. And with voices by Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller, it’s absolutely irresistible. In a notable change from the Victorian-era women in the Christmas specials, the female lead, Francesca, is a curvy, buxom, husky-voiced sexy red-head with a mind just as sinister as the ghastliest of the monsters. I am officially champing at the bit.