Want to make a dessert that honors both comics and the U.S. of A? Then this is your lucky day:
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Flash Fried
Freebie promotional comics have been common for years. We all breathed a little easier when Captain America fought the Asthma Monster and it was an exciting roller coaster ride when the X-Men visited the State Fair of Texas. Sure these books are a little cheesy and they are clearly part of the marketing monster we all live with but, intentionally or not, they can be fun.
Fast food restaurants have been taking part in the fun for years with Captain D's setting sail on the four colored seas a few decades ago, among others. Not to be outdone by a Captain, Colonel Sanders recently decided it was time to jump from the chicken bucket to the comic pages, and thus, we get "The Colonel of Two Worlds" from DC:
I love that instead of the often overused Big Guns of the DCU (Superman & Batman) they used the Flash as the main hero. It probably helps that he has a hit show on the air currently but, hey, it's his time to shine.
The story begins with the Mirror Master bringing Captain Cold up to date on his latest plan. Tying in with the New 52 story Forever Evil, MM plans to bring over another ne'er-do-well from the evil Earth-3 to help them with their nefarious plans to rob banks and whatnot. But instead of a member of the Crime Syndicate, or anyone that might make sense, he chooses the Colonel Sanders of Earth-3: Colonel Sunder!
It soon becomes clear to the two Rogues that this might not have been the best All Star Team-Up since Sunder's plan seems to involve doing practically nothing while the two of them are forced to take thankless jobs in his crappy restaurant:
Sunder steps up his game after awhile when he starts glory hounding for attention by bragging about how bad his chicken is and how little effort he puts into it. It can be assumed that this is a common advertising method on Earth-3. Possibly the Bizarro World as well.
Well that's about all a certain Southern Earth-1 gentleman can stand and so Colonel Sanders decides to enter the fray:
Hey, remember how the Flash was supposed to be in this? Well, he finally makes his appearance at this point, complete with an all-new, unnecessarily redesigned costume that includes unnecessary extra elements. The Flash costume has historically been revered for being sleek and streamlined but those days are over:
Green Lantern is also involved but he really doesn't do anything of any consequence. He just seems to be hanging out, which I guess super heroes do from time to time. In fact, the Flash really doesn't do much either. The real hero of the story is Colonel Sanders and he proves he is a man of action as the two Justice Leaguers try to catch up. It doesn't take long for Sanders to run afoul of Sunder and we get the Colonel vs. Colonel showdown we've been craving:
Not only does Colonel Sanders' military training immediately kick in but he seems to have an overflowing bucket of special skills and possible super powers: from hurling a table into Sunders' "Nugget Gun" defense system, to being able to withstand the dreaded "Pink Slime Ray." He's able to shrug it off with what appears to be another white suit that he has on underneath his signature threads:
As you can guess, good eventually triumphs over evil while the Flash is protecting bystanders from the deep fried fracas. Captain Cold and the Mirror Master don't do a whole lot either. At this point these seem to realize the error inherent in teaming up with an Earth-3 tyrant who only seems to be interested in bragging about how bad his food is. So once things cool down they all head to their local KFC franchise to break biscuits:
And if that isn't a happy enough ending for you the Colonel shows why is he known far and wide as a compassionate warrior and offers the two Rogues the best fate ex-cons can have: full time employment at Kentucky Fried Chicken!
I know we are all hoping that this story remains in continuity. The potential is nearly endless. I see a story line where Colonel Sanders is offered Justice League membership but he turns it down because he thinks they're all a bunch of jive turkeys. Or maybe a spin-off title featuring Captain Cold and Mirror Master working their way up the chain to finally owning their own KFC franchise? Once that happens...imagine the shenanigans! Imagine them!!!
Fast food restaurants have been taking part in the fun for years with Captain D's setting sail on the four colored seas a few decades ago, among others. Not to be outdone by a Captain, Colonel Sanders recently decided it was time to jump from the chicken bucket to the comic pages, and thus, we get "The Colonel of Two Worlds" from DC:
I love that instead of the often overused Big Guns of the DCU (Superman & Batman) they used the Flash as the main hero. It probably helps that he has a hit show on the air currently but, hey, it's his time to shine.
The story begins with the Mirror Master bringing Captain Cold up to date on his latest plan. Tying in with the New 52 story Forever Evil, MM plans to bring over another ne'er-do-well from the evil Earth-3 to help them with their nefarious plans to rob banks and whatnot. But instead of a member of the Crime Syndicate, or anyone that might make sense, he chooses the Colonel Sanders of Earth-3: Colonel Sunder!
It soon becomes clear to the two Rogues that this might not have been the best All Star Team-Up since Sunder's plan seems to involve doing practically nothing while the two of them are forced to take thankless jobs in his crappy restaurant:
Sunder steps up his game after awhile when he starts glory hounding for attention by bragging about how bad his chicken is and how little effort he puts into it. It can be assumed that this is a common advertising method on Earth-3. Possibly the Bizarro World as well.
Well that's about all a certain Southern Earth-1 gentleman can stand and so Colonel Sanders decides to enter the fray:
Hey, remember how the Flash was supposed to be in this? Well, he finally makes his appearance at this point, complete with an all-new, unnecessarily redesigned costume that includes unnecessary extra elements. The Flash costume has historically been revered for being sleek and streamlined but those days are over:
Green Lantern is also involved but he really doesn't do anything of any consequence. He just seems to be hanging out, which I guess super heroes do from time to time. In fact, the Flash really doesn't do much either. The real hero of the story is Colonel Sanders and he proves he is a man of action as the two Justice Leaguers try to catch up. It doesn't take long for Sanders to run afoul of Sunder and we get the Colonel vs. Colonel showdown we've been craving:
Not only does Colonel Sanders' military training immediately kick in but he seems to have an overflowing bucket of special skills and possible super powers: from hurling a table into Sunders' "Nugget Gun" defense system, to being able to withstand the dreaded "Pink Slime Ray." He's able to shrug it off with what appears to be another white suit that he has on underneath his signature threads:
As you can guess, good eventually triumphs over evil while the Flash is protecting bystanders from the deep fried fracas. Captain Cold and the Mirror Master don't do a whole lot either. At this point these seem to realize the error inherent in teaming up with an Earth-3 tyrant who only seems to be interested in bragging about how bad his food is. So once things cool down they all head to their local KFC franchise to break biscuits:
And if that isn't a happy enough ending for you the Colonel shows why is he known far and wide as a compassionate warrior and offers the two Rogues the best fate ex-cons can have: full time employment at Kentucky Fried Chicken!
I know we are all hoping that this story remains in continuity. The potential is nearly endless. I see a story line where Colonel Sanders is offered Justice League membership but he turns it down because he thinks they're all a bunch of jive turkeys. Or maybe a spin-off title featuring Captain Cold and Mirror Master working their way up the chain to finally owning their own KFC franchise? Once that happens...imagine the shenanigans! Imagine them!!!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Mini Bars
When you're involved in the fast paced "Super Hero Food" game you see a lot of stuff. Tons of it is chocolate and most of it is Avengers related promotional products. But occasionally you turn a corner in an unsuspecting soda themed gift shop and find yet another Avengers themed chocolate candy...that you haven't seen before...and so here we are. Let's crack open the bag and see what's what:
No surprises here. We've got the fab four in wrapper form but not in candy form. The mini bars are a little bigger than the chocolate mints that are left pillows at various upscale hotels and at crappy Italian food chains. Not too much to see here but they make up for a lack of shapes with "Fun Facts" inside each wrapper:
Although they should be renamed "Fun" Facts. Info about the Abomination and Mjölnir are joined by Shellhead's other nickname and the fact that Cap likes motorcycles. I haven't opened up any more yet. I'm hoping they'll last until Halloween. So maybe buried somewhere in there are spoilers about Captain America: Civil War. Trick or treat!
Monday, August 10, 2015
It's Marketin' Time!
You wouldn't know it from the grocery aisles but there's a new Fantastic Four movie in theaters now. So with the lack of Human Torch Flamin' Cheetos and/or Mr. Flan-tastic Instant Custard Mix, Denny's has decided to pick up the slack with some Fantastic Four (loosely) themed menu items.
Unfortunately it seems to fairly difficult to re-brand various stacks of pancakes with exciting Fantastic Four elements. So much so that pretty much none of them are worth mentioning or even stealing pics from Denny's website. If you squint just right the Thing Burger might kind of look like the Thing. Here's the promo:
Don't forget to tip your server!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Fromage of Ultron
It's always nice to get out of the cereal/candy/cracker vortex and find the Super Hero Food genre in a different grocery aisle. And, don't ask me why but, anything that's especially perishable seems especially special. This, of course, brings us to the topic of Avengers Cheese:
In this continuity "string cheese" is known as "Hero Twists." A little artificial coloring gives us two toned "twists" which, we can assume, is twice the fun? As with many Avengers products we only get appearances of the Fab Four, both on the outside and the inside:
Well, what else can be said? They taste like cheese (because they are cheese) and they would fit perfectly in your Hulk lunch box. To put them in an historical perspective, they join a precious few other examples of cheesy hero goodness such as Justice League Cheese Snacks:
And Superman Pasteurized Cheese Food Product:
In this continuity "string cheese" is known as "Hero Twists." A little artificial coloring gives us two toned "twists" which, we can assume, is twice the fun? As with many Avengers products we only get appearances of the Fab Four, both on the outside and the inside:
Well, what else can be said? They taste like cheese (because they are cheese) and they would fit perfectly in your Hulk lunch box. To put them in an historical perspective, they join a precious few other examples of cheesy hero goodness such as Justice League Cheese Snacks:
And Superman Pasteurized Cheese Food Product:
Monday, July 6, 2015
Infinity Bars
Marvel went retro with its latest snack treat offering. When you buy a box of these chewy granola bars you get faced down by the old school Avengers (and Spidey) and for a group of guys who are hanging out on the front of a box of granola bars, they sure look pissed!
All right, not bad I guess. It's always good to see a rare appearance of Black Widow on a food product. Even rarer to see her in the retro style. Additionally, each character wrapper contains a factoid about that character that may or may not be completely made up.
For example, "Iron Man's Armor adds five inches and 200 pounds to his frame." While your head is spinning for that information, let's head to the back of the box:
We've got some games and the tried and true "cut out collectible trading card." The Hulk card definitely makes up for not getting a Hulk wrapper although I am wondering what his factoid would have been. Maybe something about the cut and length of his purple pants.
It's also worth noting that cutting along those dotted lines is entirely too stressful. So I'm going to need a few minutes to get psyched up.
Even with the all star line up on the front the box beckons you, nay commands you, to "see the character wrappers" inside. Since they're so proud of them let's take a look:
All right, not bad I guess. It's always good to see a rare appearance of Black Widow on a food product. Even rarer to see her in the retro style. Additionally, each character wrapper contains a factoid about that character that may or may not be completely made up.
For example, "Iron Man's Armor adds five inches and 200 pounds to his frame." While your head is spinning for that information, let's head to the back of the box:
We've got some games and the tried and true "cut out collectible trading card." The Hulk card definitely makes up for not getting a Hulk wrapper although I am wondering what his factoid would have been. Maybe something about the cut and length of his purple pants.
It's also worth noting that cutting along those dotted lines is entirely too stressful. So I'm going to need a few minutes to get psyched up.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Punished
There are some characters that struggle to find a niche in the Super Hero Food market. At the top of that list is the super violent (and beloved) vengeance machine known as the Punisher. But Frank Castle has finally gotten his due in the form of SK's Energy Shots:
Cap's uptight chagrin notwithstanding, Marvel's original badboy seems like a good fit with the often wild world of energy drink marketing. And it's always good to see comic characters venturing away from the cereal aisle and on to the labels of other types of goodies.
You can find these beauties at the check out aisles of grocery stores, convenience stores and wherever else the weight of the world has crushed you to the point that you need a little energy boost. There is also a Daredevil variety but, for the life of me, I can't find them anywhere. Anyone seen them?
It's also worth noting that several years ago Frank popped up on a label for a series of collectible cand bars along with some of his Marvel cronies:
It's been a long time since we've seen him but maybe this is the start of a Punisher renaissance!
Cap's uptight chagrin notwithstanding, Marvel's original badboy seems like a good fit with the often wild world of energy drink marketing. And it's always good to see comic characters venturing away from the cereal aisle and on to the labels of other types of goodies.
You can find these beauties at the check out aisles of grocery stores, convenience stores and wherever else the weight of the world has crushed you to the point that you need a little energy boost. There is also a Daredevil variety but, for the life of me, I can't find them anywhere. Anyone seen them?
It's also worth noting that several years ago Frank popped up on a label for a series of collectible cand bars along with some of his Marvel cronies:
It's been a long time since we've seen him but maybe this is the start of a Punisher renaissance!
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