Creation Boston 2025 - Supernatural Convention

Last weekend, Mrs Dex and I went to our first Creation Entertainment convention, which was also our first Supernatural convention. 

 

 Creation has been around since 1971 and they specialize in fandom specific conventions. I've been to I don't know how many local comic conventions and a handful of Star Wars Celebrations but this was definitely the most intimate con I've attended. And I have to say, it was probably the best run con I've been to with regards to making sure people got their autographs and photo ops. Of course there were lines, but they did a great job calling up people by rows to get in the lines and keep them relatively short.

 

Supernatural fans are called family. Now, before you start getting in your Fast & Furious jokes, let me tell you I now know why that is. Everyone we interacted with from fans, to vendors, to the celebrities were all incredibly nice. They were also welcoming and excited for us when we mentioned it was our first Supernatural con. 

 

Even though Boston is about 20 minutes away, we made this our "big vacation" for the year; splurging on a hotel room, upgraded tickets packages, and a few photo ops. It was definitely nice to only be a few floors up and not have to travel into the city every day.

 

Being a smaller con, the majority of the events took place in the hotel ballroom. This was nice because there wasn't much in the way of counter programming where you had to choose one event over another. Most of the events were panels of one or more actors talking to the fans and doing Q&As. Our tickets included assigned seating which was great because we were close to the stage and it also meant we were sitting next to the same people all weekend so we got to know a few folks.

 

Book Report - Dungeon Crawler Carl

 A couple years ago, an ad for Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC from here on) popped up in my Facebook feed. It sounded like fun so I promptly add it to my "books to check out" list...and there it sat. Recently, the book has come up in a couple of podcasts so I figured now was the time to check it out.

 

 The apocalypse will be televised!

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

 DCC falls into the LitRPG genre. This is my first dip into LitRPG which I find kind of funny because it sounds like the kind of thing I'd really be into. LitRPG is short for literary Role-Playing Game but you probably could have figured that out. LitRPG smashes up traditional fantasy/sci-fi books with video game RPG elements.

 

DCC is a seven book series and I am currently halfway through book 2, so if you know the series and I present inaccurate information, this is why.

 

 In the tradition of Hitchhiker's Guide, aliens arrive on Earth but instead of a hyperspace bypass, these aliens are mining the planet. To enact their plan, they flatten the surface of the Earth. From cars to skyscrapers, it's all flattened, wiping out a good chunk of the population that were not outside. Those that are left alive are given the choice to compete in a galactic dungeon crawl reality show. 

 

The book has plenty of humor and action. One of the main things that made this book so much fun for me is the dynamic between Carl and Donut. The only reason Carl is alive is because Donut got outside in the middle of the night and Carl had to hurriedly get dressed to chase her. Unfortunately for him, he was only in his heart-decorated boxers and grabbed a leather jacket and his ex's too-small Crocs. One of the running jokes is that Carl isn't able to find pants or shoes.

 

 Another effect of the alien's arrival is that Donut can now talk! Carl is an every man and Donut is his ex's prize winning show cat so they aren't exactly best friends from the start but their relationship evolves as they rely on each other to get through the dungeon.

 

Speaking of dungeons, that's the other contributing factor to my enjoyment: the Diablo-esque escapades of killing monsters, getting loot and achievements, and leveling up. It's very much like reading a video game, which I guess is what LitRPG is usually. It also seems like there's some world building as the story goes on and Carl finds out more about the dungeon itself and those behind it.

 

And just like a video game, the book is addicting. If you're one of those gamers who just has to see what's in the next room or tries to get that gear upgraded before bed, I think you'll really like this series.

Monthly Media Recap - March 2025

 This year, we are the April Fool's...and the January, February, March...

 

Anyway, on to the stuff I watched last month. I won't be using any Amazon affiliate links for the foreseeable future.

 

Series

 

Dexter: New Blood (Paramount+)

We got Paramount to check out the new Dexter prequel series because we loved the original. Despite that, we never watched the sequel series and decided to knock it out before the prequel. I heard a lot of not good things about this season but really enjoyed it. I suspect people didn't like the way it ended but I think it was well done.

Movies 

 

Becky (2020, Paramount+)

Imagine Home Alone but Kevin is a teenage girl that could give Rambo a run for his money and instead of the Wet Bandits, you've got a gang of neo-Nazis lead by Kevin James. Did I mention the horror movie-level violence? The plot behind why everything is happening could be better but I was having so much fun watching Becky murdelize people, I didn't really care.

 

Rating: 6/10

LEGO Minifigs Series 27 - Wolfpack Beastmaster

 When it comes to blind packed LEGO minifigs, I typically limit my collecting to those that would fit in a Halloween scene because there are just so many fun figures. Since I picked up a handful of the Dungeons & Dragons minifigs, I felt like this guy needed to join them. Possibly opening a dangerous door of needing to collect D&D-ish minifigs.

 

 Meet the Wolfpack Beastmaster from series 27, currently in stores. This guy's probably pretty good at hunting. You know who else is good at hunting? Me! I have been looking for this guy for months, scanning every single figure I could find. I actually found the box last week in a store but someone had opened it and taken the contents! The D&D Dragonborn Paladin wasn't even this hard to find. There's no doubt he's a cool figure but I think part of his popularity is that he comes with a wolf.

 

 Here's a closer look at his outfit. You have to appreciate someone that knows how to brand their look. He's got he wolfpack logo on his shield and on his chest. The little details are great from the chain "holding" his cape on down to the little studs on his belt. 

 

I'm not quite sure what's going on with his armor. Those aren't bracers he's wearing, it's the sleeves of what looks like a chain shirt with leather armor over it, or maybe it's hide? His face has all kinds of character to it. When he's got his hood on, you can barely see the muttonchops.

 

 Speaking of his face, he's got two! I'm thinking the second one is him whistling a command to the wolf, or he just stepped on a LEGO brick barefoot.

 

Ready for battle!

Doctor Strange Playing Cards by Fantasma

 Prepare your mind, dear reader, as we venture into the world of magic with Fantasma's Doctor Strange playing cards. But this is no mere deck of cards. Oh no! This deck will allow you to conjure your own feats of magic!

 

It's also not just a deck of cards.

 

 In addition to the deck, you also get a "Book of Secrets", a couple trick assisting cards, and a metal "card guard" to protect your deck. Here's a better pic of the guard (It's black and I'm terrible at lighting). The guard has a trick assist feature where is you know the suit of a chosen card, you can press a finger into the suit icon to "blister" the icon into your finger for a surprise reveal.

 

What makes this deck extra magical is that it's a tapered, or stripper, deck. This makes it super easy to find a card someone takes from it. It's clumsy to explain but here's a good video showing it in action. Even I was able to work it with minimal practice.

 

 In the top row, we have the card back and the Ace of Spades featuring Doc's Eye of Agamotto amulet. The bottom row has a 5 of Hearts with the same image on both sides, a regular Joker with Doc's long time nemesis Baron Mordo, and a trick Joker with the Queen of Diamonds printed on it.

 

 Even the deck box has a couple of trick assists built into it! If you force someone to choose the 7 of Diamonds, you can reveal it by showing them the "barcode".  The number under the barcode ends in 1089 and there's instructions for a little math magic to force someone to come up with that number.

 

 

On top of being a trick deck, this is one of the best Doctor Strange decks I've come across. Every single card has a different image on it. Going through the deck, you'll spot cameos of Clea, Wong, the Hulk, and even the Grim Reaper. How's that for a deep cut? The Queens in the deck all feature the Scarlet Witch. As someone that vibes more with the magic side of Marvel, it's a nice touch.

 Fantasma also makes a Spider-Man and Black Panther deck like this. Even if you're not into card magic, these decks are a great collectible for fans of the character. 

 

Here you'll find out why they call him the Amazing Spider-Man!

Monthly Media Recap - February 2025

 

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025, Disney+)

I like it! A lot! I like the animation style, the action, the character choices, the new twists, and that theme song slaps! Do the kids say slaps still? The one thing I didn't like about it initially, is how Peter got his powers. It seemed stupid. But they actually explained in a way that made sense by the end of the season.

 

SNL50 (2025, Peacock)

Beyond Saturday Night, the 4 part docu-series, was very good. I don't know that we needed a whole episode on the Cowbell sketch but the look inside what goes into making the show every week is mind boggling.

Ladies & Gentlemen, 50 Years of SNL Music is also great. Some good behind the scenes stories and whoever edited that opening montage deserves an award!

Movies

I don't know why but for some reason I got it into my head to watch all the Ghoulies movies when looking for stuff to watch. That'll teach me to listen to my brain! 

 

 

*Ghoulies (1985, Tubi)

Technically a re-watch but I haven't seen it since it came out. Prior to watching it, I remembered three things: the Ghoulies (duh), green eyes, and that I saw it with a boy/girl mixed group of high school friends. This was originally going to be directed by Charles Band with Stan Winston doing the creatures and I can only dream what that movie would have been like. Even grading this on an 80s horror curve, it's only kind of okay. It oddly feels like something that could have been made in the 50s.

Rating: 4/10

Adventure Time Playpak Series 3 Trading Cards

C'mon, grab you friends, we'll go to very distant lands to take a look at the Adventure Time Playpak Series 3 trading cards from Cryptozoic.

 

 I've actually had these for maybe two months and haven't ripped the entire box yet. I'm most of the way there but I like saving a few for when I need a quick pick me up during the day. The packs and box art feature Fionna and Cake the Cat, the gender swapped universe versions of Finn and Jake the Dog.

 

 I haven't see these in any stores and am glad I was able to grab a box directly from Cryptozoic's site. There are 24 packs per box with 5 cards in each pack. In theory, that's enough packs to get two full 45 card sets with some extras left over. I have 7 packs left to open to get the one card I need to complete a single set. 

 

Let's see what sort of fun cards in the packs.

 

Polly Pocket Collector The Addams Family Compact

 Since I didn't get around to doing a Holiday Haul post, there will likely be scattered posts here and there about some of the gifts I got. Here's one of my favorites that Mrs Dex got me: The Addams Family Polly Pocket Compact.

 

 

Obviously, this was put out to capitalize on the Netflix Wednesday series but I'm glad they didn't brand it that way and used Addams Family instead. I love the show and feel it does a great job of being Addams-y, but this gives me more of a classic Addams vibe.

 

 

 

The sides of the box have some very Addams artwork.

 

 Unfortunately, the way they pack this in the box, it would be next to impossible (or require an exacto, steady hands, and patience) to extract it without ruining the packaging. I just can't bring myself to "open" it and destroy the background! That also makes it ridiculously difficult to photograph well due to all the plastic.

 

The main members of the family are all here. Staying true to their cartoon roots, Pugsley is blonde. As you'd expect from Polly Pocket, there's all kinds of little play features. Behind Gomez is a giant Venus Flytrap that opens and next to Pugsley is a coffin that you can stuff a figure into. 

 

There are a few spots within the playset with little holes so you can stand a figure at those locations. This feature is probably something common with Polly Pocket sets but I've never owned one and am too lazy to look it up.

 

 Here's Wednesday and even a tiny Thing that can clasp on to someone's arm. The top level has a crystal ball, a suit of armor that opens to fit a figure, and a piano. The lower level has a bookcase with all sorts of fun stuff and it opens to reveal a "passage" to the garden. One of the things I love about the background are the little portraits of Uncle Fester, Lurch and, Cousin Itt.

 

 The lid of the compact has a cool lenticular portrait of the family...

 

 that turns them to skeletons when you move it!

 

If you want to see much better photos (or pick one up), head over to Mattel's website.

Monthly Media Recap - January 2025

Whew, what a year that was! What? 

What do you mean it's only February? 

I swear New Years was like...a year ago.

Series

A Man on the Inside (Netflix)

If you pitched me a show about an elderly man getting hired by a PI to go undercover in a retirement community I would probably say it's not for me. Boy, was I wrong! Ted Danson just seems to get better with age and really, the entire cast here is great. It has its comedic moments and a lot of emotional beats too.

 

Cobra Kai (Netflix, Season 6.5 or whatever they're calling the latest episodes)

I've never watched a minute of a real telenovela but I bet this show could give them a run for their drama money. It was all worth it for the over the top, over extended brawl in the final episode. Thank goodness these kids have karate in their life to help keep them focused.

Movies

 

There's Something in the Barn (2023, Netflix)

This is the holiday horror comedy I was looking for last month! It's sort of like Gremlins but with murderous elves and more blood. I've been a fan of Martin Starr and it was good to see him in a starring role for a change.

Rating: 8/10

The Fall Guy (2024, Amazon Prime)

Do you like KISS's "I Was Made for Lovin You"? Then have I got your movie! I never watched the TV series but the movie was a good time. Plenty of action/stunts and even a couple of audio Easter eggs. The plot feels like it's trying a little too hard on twists but I guess you have to do something to string the set pieces together. I wonder if it was weird for the cast and crew to be working on a movie about working on a movie.

Rating: 7/10

Sincromillian & Glysentry STELLAR Glyos Figures

 About a month ago, Onell Design released wave 104 of their Glyos figures. Many of the figures in that wave are an homage to the 1979 Disney sci-fi classic The Black Hole (I said what I said). I will always, and forever, hold this movie close to my heart. For the love of Mickey, with all the remakes Disney cranks out, I feel like this would be a great one to tackle. I had to restrain myself from getting all the movie-inspired figures to save both my wallet and space.

 

The figures I didn't get were this V.I.N.CENT inspired drone and one of the Sentry security robot. I picked the STAR version over the Sentry because there wasn't a figure of it when I was a kid. Even with the Kenner Star Wars line, the aliens and robots were my favorite figures. Maybe it's because they weren't main characters and you could make up whatever story about them you wanted. With The Black Hole, I only had the robot figures, didn't really care for the humans.

Being Glyos figures, everything comes apart and all the pieces are compatible allowing you to do pretty much what you want with them.

 

They did a nice job recreating the Black Hole's dual blasters by simply using separate pieces to connect to the top and bottom of the hand..

 

This figure is about 2.5" tall and comes with a couple of extra heads and assorted pieces to make your own bounty hunting Murderbot.

 

 

Speaking of Murderbots, if you're doing a Black Hole tribute, you gotta have Maximilian! This 3.5" tall chonky boi has got all sorts of implements for entertaining at your next party in your spaceship that's precariously hanging out at a black hole.

You can keep your Johnny 5, your Robbie the Robot, your Terminator, for me Maximilian is right up there with Artoo and Threepio in the pantheon of movie robots!

These guys, and the Sentry, are still available at the Onell Store. If you're a Black Hole fan, I'd also recommend checking out the Onell Blog to see their Golden Book version of The Dark Vortex.

Skelton's Keys to the Classics

 I was going to do a Holiday Haul post but things are still scattered all around which means I'd have to actually make an effort to sort stuff and figure out where it's going to go. Too much for me right now, so instead, here's one of the cool gift(s) that Mrs Dex got me: Skelton's Keys to the Classics.

 

There's a secret library inside the old Skelton farm. Hidden within the collection of classics are keys to fantastic places, enchanted kingdoms and lost worlds. Find the library, and unlock adventure . . . if you dare. 

At first glance, these appear to be small books.

But when you open them...

Monthly Media Recap - December 2024

Happy New Year!

I feel like I was a little "short" on movies this month. I usually try to cram in a few more holiday horrors but honestly, there's so many terrible ones out there I had a hard time bringing myself to try more than what I did. I've been playing a lot of Star Wars Outlaws (love it!) and watching a few series. I also found myself just not feeling like watching movies when I was looking for something to watch.

Series

The Creep Tapes (Shudder)

Did we need a prequel anthology series to 2014's wonderfully weird found footage, serial killer movie Creep? Not really but I'm glad we got it! Each of the short episodes give Mark Duplass another chance to show his talent as this socially awkward murderer. You don't need to see the movies prior to the series, but if you're a horror fan and haven't seen Creep, you're missing out.  

 

 

Hysteria (Peacock)

I don't usually do trailers for series but I really liked this and wanted to make sure more people are aware of it. As someone that enjoys heavy metal and was around during the 80s Satanic Panic, this was a must see. I was expecting it to be more poking fun at things but it surprised me by being low-key horror with an intriguing mystery. It seems like they left it open for a sequel which I wouldn't mind so they could explain a somewhat major thing that was just left out there.

 

Game Changers (Max)

An 8 part series looking at the history of popular video games like Minecraft, Madden, and Call of Duty and the companies like Nintendo, Sega, and Atari, that made them. I'm not the biggest fan of these franchises but from a gamer history angle, they were still interesting. There's also an episode about Monopoly, Operation, and Scrabble.