It’s the final West Week Ever of 2025! I mean, I just posted one of these the other day, but I still have a bunch to say before we wrap things up here. Some loose ends to tie up before the annual year-end wrap-up. Christmas has come and gone, but I’m gonna try to milk it til January 1st.
I’ll say that one of the best “gifts” I got was being able to visit with my buddy Chad, who swung through town on Christmas Eve. Our visit consisted of a brief comic shop trip, as well as a parking lot conclave, but it made all the difference. I’ve said it before, but my “social media” friends are REAL friends, and I love the chance to meet up with them. Chad and I have hung out many times, but it still means a lot that he takes the time to come through we he makes it to Maryland. See, y’all? This could be us, but y’all playin’!
If you haven’t listened to the most recent episode of After Lunch, I was invited to join Michael and David to discuss the 2007 Christmas film This Christmas. The title is based on the Donny Hathaway song of the same name that I LOATHED because it’s played in EVERY black Christmas commercial. It’s just as bad as Stevie Wonder’s version of “Happy Birthday” (Man, I can’t stand that song…). Anyway, I had pretty much stayed away from it because of the title AND the fact that its biggest star was Chris Brown. Yes, that Chris Brown. This was about 2 years before RihannaGate, so I guess he thought he was gonna pivot to movies. After all that, though, his cinematic dreams were dashed. However, in true Christmas fashion, Brown – like Mr. Potter – never really got his comeuppance for all that, and he currently charges several thousand dollars for female fans to take often-times vulgar photos with him after his concerts.
This Christmas is like all of those New Years Day and Love Actually movies where there are more characters than there is runtime. There’s a LOT going on. Loretta Devine is an older woman running the family dry cleaner, preparing for her adult children to come home for Christmas. She’s been cavorting with Delroy Lindo’s Joe, who’s her man friend who has been living in the house with her “secretly”. I put that in quotes, because all the kids know, but she doesn’t allow Joe to make an honest woman of her, as she’s still somewhat pining for her ex-husband – and children’s father – who ran out on them to become a jazz musician. Oh, and her oldest son, played by Idris Elba, had also run off to become a jazz musician. So now, “Baby” (Brown) is afraid to tell her that he, too, wants to run off to pursue a life in music. Meanwhile, another son comes home from the Army for the holiday, yet it turns out he’s actually AWOL and he has a secret white wife that he hasn’t told his family about. Meanwhile, Regina King plays the oldest daughter, who’s married to a man she doesn’t love (and who’s having an affair behind her back), and resenting everyone else in the family because they were able to go to college, while she was not, as she felt she had to stay behind and help their mom with the family business. So, as you can imagine, all of these plots scatter and intersect, and you end up with a story where the message is “There’s nothing more important than family”, which I guess is a great message for those somewhat estranged from some members of their family, but an awful message for those without any family at all. “There’s nothing more important than family? Well, I’m alone, so I guess I’ll just go fuck myself, huh?” Anyway, it’s a cute movie, and I’m sorry I hadn’t watched it sooner. That said, we had a great conversation about it, so you should probably go check out that episode.
Trailer Park
Avengers: Doomsday (Theaters, December 18, 2026)
I think my reaction to this can be best summed up by:
I mean, I guess it’s a start, but that movie is a full year away. At this rate, we’re getting nothing during the Super Bowl, and they don’t even have to give us the first real trailer til Memorial Day. I’m gonna save my excitement til I see something swoon worthy.
Run The Numbers
It’s coming down to the wire. Less than a week left, and I’ve got to read 33 comics and 2 more books. I’m not worried about the former, but rather the latter. I think I know what two books I’m going to read, but I need to do the actual reading.
This week, I signed up for the DC Universe Infinite app, and I’ve been trying to read all of the Christmas comics they have available. As I was reading, I noticed something about those books, and wondered if they reflected the changing world in which they were published.
In the beginning, the books seemed to take the story of Jesus fairly literally. Like, as far as DC’s sometimes-Jewish writers were concerned, the story of Jesus’s birth was a real thing, that happened within the timeline of the DC Universe. Now, I figure Vandal Savage or Darkseid might disagree, but the stories treated it as an event that happened, and continues to inspire “good people” in the modern day. This is true from 1977’s DC Special Series #21 through 1988’s Christmas With The Super-Heroes #2. There’s even a Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes story where he tasks them with setting out and finding the star that guided the Wise Men. One of them tried to be like “Science has shown there isn’t, nor has there ever been, a star in that location”, while the other Legionnaires were like “That sounds tops! Let’s go!” Then, starting in 1997’s DCU Holiday Bash #1, the stories start to focus more on the Christmas Spirit, as opposed to the supposed origins of the holiday. They also start adding in more Hanukkah, and even some Kwanzaa, stories.
Now, I get that the world, in general, has gotten more secular, but I was surprised to read those earlier stories, as they were published before I was reading comics. I pretty much grew up with the same vibe as that of the Holiday Bash books. As I get older, though, part of me wonders if those early publications were so bad. I know someone is gonna jump on me about all the damage “The Church” has done, and might even go as far as to say that Jesus wasn’t real. Well, guess what: Neither is Superman! And stories about both tend to inspire people.
Not to get all “Grandpa” about it, but the older stories just felt more intentional, and not some forced corporate line item. In fact, I’ve shied away from recent DC holiday books, as they’re all $9.99 books of varying quality. They’re the sort of thing that would be fine if you fished them out of a dollar box, but there’s hardly $9.99 worth of value there. Plus, they do them for EVERYTHING now: Halloween, Summer, Christmas, Valentine’s Day. They’re just cash grabs, but maybe that’s more of a statement on what holidays have become in general. Anyway, I’m gonna try to knock out the rest on the app before New Years, but it was pretty interesting to read a powerful, wordless Enemy Ace story, where he brings supplies to his enemy’s Army hospital, and then read a more recent story, where stereotypical 90s black action hero Black Lightning beats up a gang, while trying to teach the audience about Kwanzaa.
Meanwhile, IDW is putting out some amazing Star Trek comics right now. I didn’t love The Last Starship #2, but #3 brought things back in focus. I’ve got a better idea of what’s going on now, and I’m excited to see where it goes. Not to get all “sciency” about it, but the Borg didn’t exactly resurrect Kirk, but rather they cloned him. Though he claims to remember his death in Generations, this feels like a younger, hungrier Kirk. He’s driven by the fact that the Klingons killed his son, which is convenient, seeing as how the enemy appears to be a sect of Klingons who have broken off from the majority have decided to follow The Black Path. My biggest complaint is that I don’t feel like we’re really getting to know the characters involved in the story. I don’t know the intended length, but I don’t see this working as a typical 5-issue miniseries. Maybe this is a 12-issue deal, as they’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the crew. The Chief Medical Officer is a drug-addicted Ferengi, the Helm officer was Bajoran – ya know, before her console blew up in her face and killed her. This is a motley bunch on a scattershot ship, built out of salvaged relics. I like what we’ve gotten, but I need more.
Meanwhile, characters aren’t a problem with Star Trek: Red Shirts. I know John Scalzi wrote that book, but this comic leans into the fact that these guys are just cannon fodder. The thing that’s never really addressed in other media, however, is the fact that they not only know this, but they accept it. They know that they’re dispatched to do Starfleet’s dirty work, and they’re never given the whole reason for their missions. They accept their orders and don’t ask questions. We meet a group of about 12 Starfleet security “red shirts”, who are assigned to guard a weather satellite on an abandoned planet. They soon realize it’s not just any old weather transmitter, and that they underestimated the assignment. We learn just enough about each member of the Away Team for us to feel bad when they’re swiftly dispatched. It’s the sort of story where a little goes a long way, not everyone is who (or what) they seem, and you’re just hoping someone will survive to tell their tale. I’ve read the first three issues so far, and I’ve got 2 more to wrap things up, but so far it’s been a great read.
Will Around The Web
Like I already said, I wrote a “Special Edition” post this week, so go read that!
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- After almost 40 years of holding the master license to make toys for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Playmates Toys announced that its license will not be renewed when it expires at the end of 2026.
- Everybody ready for “Comics Giveaway Day”? That’s the name some publishers will be using for their free books that were traditionally offered on Free Comic Book Day. These books will still be released the same day, for free, but the FCBD trademark is now owned by a competitor with which some don’t want to play ball.
- Bowen Yang left Saturday Night Live after last week’s show, following a hastily released announcement that had been released the day before. I mean, he clearly didn’t look like he wanted to be there this season, and this was the best way to ensure he received a “Goodbye”. In other news, this season has been proof to me that the show should probably just end with Lorne’s eventual retirement.
- The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball released its second season on Hulu this week, and was renewed for two more seasons. If you loved the Cartoon Network incarnation, you’ll love this, as it’s the same quality show.
- Casting for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was announced this week, as former Punisher Thomas Jane will portray Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the series finale, while newcomer Kai Murakami will portray Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu.
It’s a weird week, so weird things happen. I didn’t necessarily feel anything had the West Week Ever. Until today. You see, I was driving around, running errands, and catching up on podcasts. I’ve mentioned it before, but you guys should really be listening to Sitcom All Ye Faithful over on FansNotExperts. Mike has done The Lord’s work, giving us 25 days of podcasts based on the Christmas episodes of sitcoms. Everything from Joanie Loves Chachi to Dear John was represented, and it’s been a great time. Yeah, I know there are a lot of Christmas podcasts – many of which are made by my friends – but I’m impressed that he didn’t bank these over the course of the year, but rather almost posted them live. He would watch the show that morning, and then record that night. He was shooting from the hip! And, as always, even if you knw nothing of the sitcom being discussed, you’re gonna Love! His! Theme Song!
Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed this podcast this holiday season. Today, I listened to the final entry for 2025, which was The Simpsons, season 7, episode 11: “Marge Be Not Proud”. You know the episode. Bart steals the Bonestorm video game. And if you don’t remember it, then you can go to Hell! Two things about this episode really stood out to me, though. First up, Mike used an episode bumper from our local Fox 5 affiliate. I love hearing local stuff elsewhere, and he also got me the other day, when he was discussing The George Michael Sports Machine. He’s not even from here! He just knows my nostalgic stuff from here. The other thing, however, was a refreshing take I just never hear anymore: Mike was talking about how he still loves The Simpsons.
I can’t tell you how tired I am of meeting people who purport to love The Simpsons, but can’t wait to tell you how much it sucks now. They’re right up there with the people who go “You know it’s fake, right?” when you tell them you’re a wrestling fan. I grew up with The Simpsons, but I don’t think I ever reached a place where I would have called it my favorite show. Hell, I probably called Dear John my favorite show more than I would have The Simpsons! That said, I respected The Simpsons. It was always there, and it was always a steady performer. Favorite or not, it’s just what you watched on Sundays, then Thursdays, and then Sundays. I’ve said I fell off during college, around the time of the “Yvan Et Nioj” episode, but there was never a point where it “sucked” to me. Life just got in the way. Throughout the years, though, I’d check in every now and then, and still enjoy it. It’s not cranking out Mr. Plow or Homer jumping the Springfield Gorge anymore, but it’s aging with the times quite nicely. In fact, I’ve come around to where I would call it one of my favorite shows now. I’ve been working from home since the Spring, and FXX shows a block every day. I’ve caught up on old favorites, and discovered some new ones. I still enjoy The Simpsons, and I’ll be sad when it eventually ends (though they’d probably just reboot it with AI a few years later, since nothing stays dead, and they hate giving that cast raises!). So, it was nice to find another Brother In Springfield in Mike. So, that clenched it right there! The West Week Ever had been staring me right in my ears (just go with it). For the impressive schedule, output, sheer entertainment, and the added bonus of being another person carrying the torch for Springfield, Sitcom All Ye Faithful had the West Week Ever.