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RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Episode 8 – Snatch Game Power Rankings

February 26, 2024 by krisis

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Episode 8 was the Season 16 Snatch Game! That meant we also got our annual “The Library is Open” reading challenge – plus, an unusually animated Dancing Queens runway theme.

It’s incredible that an oddball challenge spoofing old game shows from way back in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2 has become the most iconic challenge on every franchise of the show – and also the most harrowing gauntlet for its contestants.

Hearing Drag Race queens talk about their Snatch Game experiences is like hearing war stories, even when they are from queens who do well.

No matter how well you prepare for Snatch Game by working on your impression and your improv skills, there’s just no way to completely anticipate how Ru will react and volley with your character. Planning answers and bits ahead of time isn’t always the wisest move, because you’ve got to be able to follow Ru’s lead in the room and pick up on what she finds amusing.

I was fascinated to see some strong queens miss these hints, while one in particular snatched every one.

What does that mean for our Power Rankings compared to last week’s epic “The Sound of Rusic” Rusical performance power rankings? Things have been truly shaken up, with one unlikely queen pushing into contention for the finale while a previous surefire winner sags in the rankings. Plus, we have a new supreme as a certain Russian doll turned into a real live queen over the course of this episode.

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best drag queen win!

Recapping the 42(!) Marvel Omnibuses announced for August 2024 through January 2025 – LIVE on Near Mint Condition

February 25, 2024 by krisis

We interrupt your regular weekend wall-to-wall Drag Race coverage for this special announcement: I’m going LIVE with Omar on Near Mint Condition at 2:30pm US ET to review every Marvel omnibus announced from August 2024 through January 2025. That’s 42 new and reprint omnibuses!

(I’ll be back with my weekly Power Rankings of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 tomorrow.)

Unlike our recent Evergreen shows, this show is pure high-quality analysis of why these omnibuses were announced, what they contain, and if you should check them out. I think this is one of the strongest release slates Marvel has ever had – there’s really just one or two books I think are weak, and only one I’d call “garbage.”

Tune in to Near Mint Condition later today. for over two hours of 1:1 discussion between Omar and I, plus comments from the amazing Minties in the live chat. Then, come back later this week for my own recap of all 42 of these books – including which guides you can find them in on Crushing Comics.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World Season 2, Episode 3 – Drag Race World Power Rankings

February 24, 2024 by krisis

It’s another week of the Olympics of Drag Race! RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World Season 2 Episode 3 was “Drag Race World,” a tricky commercial challenge that paired personal branding with creating a marketable immerse experience. It was paired with a franchise-favorite “Ruveal Yourself” runway.

This was one of those “is the challenge bad or are the queens not getting it” weeks of Drag Race for me.

The assignment was to advertise an experiential VIP fan experience unique to the brand of each queen’s drag. Effectively, queens had to make commercials for themselves – and for what it would be like to meet them in person.

Some queens got the VIP experience part, and some queens got the brand part, but only a handful of queens were able to marry them in a way that made sense, was funny, and also was something sellable.

That lead one queen to ruveal more than just a runway look, but also a previously-secret talent she has kept under wraps through her entire Drag Race experience. It also gave us a fresh pair of winners, one surprisingly near-flop, and two very different senses of humor on the runway from a pair of UK queens. That lead to a number of shakeups in our power ranking compared to last week’s fairytale-themed “Happy Ending Ball” challenge.

(Want to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World outside of the UK? For most of the world, it’s available with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best international drag superstar win!

Drag Race Belgique Season 2, Episode 4 – “Masquerade” & Mille et Une Belgiques à l’Eurovision runway Power Rankings

February 23, 2024 by krisis

Bon retour, mes chers lecteurs, dans plus de classements! Drag Race Belgique Season 2 Episode 4 was titled “Masquerade,” which gave the queens a chance to propose a law as a part of Belgium’s first Drag Government. It was followed by Mille et Une Belgiques à l’Eurovision as the runway theme (“1,001 Belgiums at Eurovision”) – a chance to pay tribute to iconic Eurovision looks.

This is the first episode that allowed the cast to fully show off their intelligence and personality in a challenge. That created a night-and-day difference compared to the Girl Groups challenge last week. These queens are clearly more cerebral than they are choreographers – even the weakest speeches of this challenges were better than the safe verses from last week!

This episode also had a brief moment of controversy, with Star and Gabanna walking onto set before the judges arrived to peak at their notes behind the desk. Despite the campy “security footage” confirming their snooping, it did not seem like a very serious offense to me. Unusual and certainly inappropriate, yes – but, I question how a pair of queens in the middle of getting into drag even walked behind the judge’s table without a producer or director stopping them!

I know international seasons often have their workrooms and runways on the same set, sometimes even facing each other, but… this was in the middle of the full camera coverage of the queens getting ready. Heaven only knows how it happened, but I do think it’s funny that this supposed crime was perpetrated by both the oldest and the most youthful contestant (if not the youngest).

Aussi… mes amis, je dois être honnête avec vous: writing about Belgique this year has not resulted in much ongoing readership after the first episode. Of course, if you are reading this, you’re part of the solution, not the problem! And, it could simply be that this season isn’t very popular – it is one of the least-seen franchises. However, unless things change, this might be the only non-English franchise I cover this year. As much as I love to write about Drag Race, I could use this same time to write about comic books!

If you’re enjoying my writing (either during the run of the season or after the fact), please share this post on social media or in your favorite Drag Race communities or group chats! I’d love to have a reason to continue to cover every franchise of Drag Race.

An intellectual episode evened out our powers rankings a bit compared to last week’s disastrous Girl Groups challenge and its big power rankings shakeup. I think we now have a clear-eyed look at how this season might progress from here.

(Want to watch Drag Race Belgique outside of Belgium? For most of the world, it’s available with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 28 2024

February 22, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 9th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 28 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 21 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Gang War ends, Tony Stark’s X-era, nostalgic Power Pack perfection, the conclusion of unexpectedly great turns on Punisher & White Widow, and more!

This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. For each new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!

Marvel Comics February 28 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8: Spider-Man’s First Hunt
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953447 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This collects the arc that directly precedes Gang War and vaguely follows up on Dark Web with a focus on new comedy character Rep-Rap. It was fine, but ever since the initial meta-arc of this book wrapped up in issue #25 it has felt a bit directionless. I wouldn’t call this a jumping-on point.

Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection: Underboss
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956332 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This recollects Brian Bendis’s run from the start. However, it is not the same mapping as Daredevil by Bendis & Maleev Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 because it collects the typically skipped arc from #20-25! This is the first time that arc has ever been collected in sequential order along with the issues that surround it.

The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The Wedding of Tony Stark and Emma Frost
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947590 / digital)
See Guide to Iron Man – Tony Stark. If you haven’t been reading Iron Man I imagine that title might warrant an eye-roll or the assumption that this is a big sales gimmick forcing a romance between Tony and Emma. In reality, this is a surprisingly organic outgrowth of the continuing plot of Fall of X extending out of the 2023 Hellfire Gala.

In this collection, Iron Man is 100% an X-book, and here’s a secret: Gerry Duggan is way better with a solo title with one or two characters than a big team book, so importing Emma here means he has room to really have fun with both her and Tony. Issues #9-10 are perfection, especially if you’ve also been reading Duggan’s X-Men (2021).