I just got a friend request from a Hotel. The Super 8 in Moline. I approved the request, as I normally do approve requests from commercial entities seeking to pad their friend count (hey, I’m a businessman too, I know the game), and also because I thought it was funny that a hotel, particularly the Super 8, sent me a friend request. However, the friend request I really want to get is from the Traveler Inn. The Traveler is a little off-the-highway craphole in Davenport that boasts closed circuit TVs on their sign. I guess at one point that was a big draw. That one point? 1955. I’ve never... Read More

As if we’ve never said goodbye… With a twist. When we last saw our beloved Will & Grace, their kids were grown up and marrying each other. Naturally a reboot was expected to stay on course and reveal what’s happened to everyone, right? Wrong. What is revealed in a hysterical game of Heads Up – and one of the best openings in sitcom history – is that all of that nonsense was the product of one drunken Karen Walker and her wandering mind. Within seconds, the Will & Grace creators crossed that off the list of their viewers score cards and moved on. It was It... Read More

On the last weekend of July I had my busiest weekend of the year. Saturday was the annual QC Planet Con at the Holiday Inn Rock Island, simultaneously in Iowa City was Anime Iowa. I attended both conventions that weekend. First up that weekend was the QC Planet Con. I’ve been involved with the QC Planet Con since it’s inception in 2009. So my Friday night got started with loading boxes filled with comics, toys and statues onto a truck to drive to the hotel to start setup for the big show Saturday. I have to thank the event staff at the Holiday Inn for doing the literal heavy lifting... Read More

The following column is excerpted from Sean Leary’s upcoming humor book, Do Vampires Poop? And Other Incredibly Important Questions, available in bookstores worldwide in September. Ever walk into your house after you’ve been away, or walk into a room and notice a strange smell? Of course, once you do, you have to try to find it, because who wants a strange smell in their house? I’ll usually look for some dropped food or something behind or under furniture, and sometimes that’s the case. Some bit of stray potable that tried to escape and sadly discovered its motion was limited to whatever... Read More

The following column is excerpted from Sean Leary’s upcoming humor book, Do Vampires Poop? And Other Incredibly Important Questions, available in bookstores worldwide in August. Whenever I watch a zombie movie, I always imagine different ways that I could escape zombies if I ever found myself in that situation. I’m sure you can all relate. Now, to be clear, I’m talking about your standard issue, usual zombies that you see in TV and movies, the kind that move very slowly, shambling along, whose bodies are in a constant state of disrepair, and who seem very easily outrun, although of course... Read More

This week, the indie music world blew up with news that the band Deerhoof was aiming their horns and charging squarely at local and national music site Daytrotter. According to various sites and magazines, including Pitchfork and Spin, Deerhoof are ticked that Daytrotter released an LP of a session they did eight years ago. They claim they did not give permission for the session to be released. They also claim they weren’t paid for the LP nor did they receive royalties, and likewise, that their work for the site was placed behind a paywall for which they likewise received no royalties. Daytrotter,... Read More

It’s been a slow couple of weeks in the comic book industry, but that should be about to turn around. Summer is finally upon us, so convention season will start in earnest soon. San Diego Comic Con is a little more than a month away and with it all the major comic book news. Here in the Quad Cities though we kicked off the summer convention season with Mighty Con. Mighty Con started last year in the summer of 2016. It’s a two day show for comic fans and collectors. They had the first con at the Davenport Fair Grounds, to an amazing turnout from what I heard at the time. I wouldn’t know as... Read More

Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is traditionally held on the first Saturday in May, but various comics shops have mixed things up to get new readers into the fold. Regardless, it’s been a great idea. FCBD has its start with Joe Field, comic book retailer and columnist for the Comic Buyer’s Guide, a now defunct comic industry magazine. He recommended the practice of comic book stores giving away to increase the readership of comics since people were going to the theatre to see comic book movies. His suggestion was very popular among his readers. Jim Valentino, one of the co-founders of Image Comics,... Read More

Vote for Hacker, He’s No Slacker When Khalil Hacker ran for class president his slogan was: “Vote for Hacker, he’s no Slacker”. As Hacker recalls, “The kids took that slogan and ran with it. In hallways, classes, buses, kids would chant “Vote for Hacker, he’s YOUR Slacker!” Khalil Slacker is the name he embraced and thus Slacker Productions was born. Slacker Productions is a YouTube channel which releases in-depth movie reviews, comical gaming videos, and miscellaneous videos related to films and the art of film-making. Hacker says, “It started as just... Read More

Going over the news coming out of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) there was a comic coming out from DC Comics that is following a recent trend in comics that I personally find overexposed. Following DC’s new Batman event Dark Nights: Metal, DC is starting a new imprint: Dark Matter. Dark Matter appears to be the most 90’s thing I’ve seen in comics since they announced the new Youngblood comic. One of the ways you know how 90’s these comics are is because DC’s announcement let the writers play second fiddle to the artists they had on these books. To the point that the artists... Read More