Carly on Comics

Carly's Thoughts on Thor

2011-09-08T09:05:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! Back again with another movie review! Woo woo!

The God of Douchebaggery.

Over the weekend in addition to Red State, The Editor and I also sat down and watched Thor. My thoughts? The movie was disappointing at worst and wildly mediocre at best. I'm going to preface this by saying that everyone I know personally told me that it was a great movie. I really need to stop getting my hopes up about movies. Or at very least stop listening to my friends.

I was expecting this movie to be much more substantial than it was. I was totally enjoying hanging out in Asgard, but then Thor had to turn into a total douche and get banished to Earth. Thank God Natalie Portman was there to save the day! I was loving the fact that she was hysterical when he left to go back to Asgard, and that she's working on a way to bring him back to Earth. You knew the guy for like, 12 hours, and for all you knew he was a homeless schitzo. Behavior like that merits at least a little under the bra action.You guys didn't even get to second base.

I guess what it came down to was the fact that Thor was basically every guy I dated up until I was 23 or 24. The pretty guy who was popular in high school who still thinks he's hot shit 10 years after the fact, did whatever the Hell he wanted to do and treated me like I was an idiot. Yet, when I banished him from my life that's when he was sorry. Well, fuck you Thor, you're kind of a dick.

I also liked when he went back to Asgard and was all "Oh Loki, I've changed, please believe me!". Loki isn't falling for that shit. Loki is a trickster. He will not be fooled that easily. Also, at what point did Thor change? When the chick he knew for five minutes looked into his eyes? Or when he saw the garbage incinerator monster destroying the town? I mean, you can be upset about the town getting attacked, but you kinda did the same thing to the Frost Giants, amiright? Then you expect the King Frost Giant to just be like "No worries, it's all good. It's no big deal that you killed a bunch of my people and came into my realm and started a war. Whatev.". Life doesn't work that way.

I get it, Thor was one of those movies where I wasn't supposed to think. I was supposed to shut off my brain and just enjoy it. I was thinking way too much about it, and for that I apologize. I have yet to watch Captain America, but I'm pretty sure I'll like that better.From what I understand it's more or less a period piece, and it's the classic underdog story, as opposed to Thor where you start out as a douche, and end up as a slightly less douchey douche.

I guess I just don't really care about Thor as a character. Never have, probably never will. I suppose that's where the disconnect comes from. I'm also slightly bitter that he scored a part in The Avengers, but my beloved Ms. Marvel was left out in the cold.

I understand where people would like the movie. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I just wanted a little more substance behind it. My favorite part about the movie (besides looking at how beautiful the computer generated Asgard and Bifrost Bridge) was muttering "As you wiiiiiiiiish..." to The Editor every time Fandral came on the screen. That goatee brought back so many great childhood memories...

I am not the dread pirate Roberts

I know Evan T. is going to be pissed about my assessment, but to that I say, we're all entitled to our own opinion. However, I think at the end of the day we can both agree that Sif is pretty hot.

Carly's Thoughts on Red State and Kevin Smith

2011-09-06T07:54:00.000-04:00

**Some spoilers ahead**

Over the fabulously rainy Upstate New York Labor Day holiday, we decided to sit down and watch a couple of movies. This week I'll be reviewing some of the movies and some TV I've been watching. Sorry if my post is full of grammatical errors, I'm still half asleep. Hopefully The Editor will take care of some of that in post for me!

Unbeknownst to me until late last week, Kevin Smith decided to take his new movie Red State to OnDemand this weekend. Last night Cara M., Evan T., The Editor and myself watched it, and there was somewhat of a split on where things stood.

If you haven't heard about it, Red State is Kev Smith's foray into a new genre of movies for himself. Red State is part horror movie, part "dick and fart joke" comedy, and part action flick. It's basically about three teenage guys who contact someone looking for sex (insert dick and fart jokes), go to meet her, and basically get kidnapped by what is the Westboro Baptist Church (the God Hates Fags people) with guns. It doesn't take the boys long to figure out that the Five Points Church are behind at least one murder in their town, and figure out that they're the next ones to die. Enter John Goodman as the ATF agent who is brought in to take the Five Points compound down for purchasing some illegal weapons.

When the Feds show up, Five Points Church begins to open fire on them. Goodman's character who is torn by what to do at the compound when he is given the order to breach perimeter and kill everyone inside. I don't want to give too much away, so I won't. The only thing I can say is that there were a few "Holy shit. I didn't see that coming!" moments.

Overall, The Editor and I really dug the movie. It was quick (90 minutes) and to the point. There wasn't really a whole lot of time to be bored or over analyze anything thanks to Smith's fast dialogue and quick camera changes. Michael Parks' delivers an Oscar winning performance as Pastor Abin Cooper. He plays such a chilling role that you'll hear him singing hymns in your dreams, and it'll definitely make you think twice about hooking up with someone off the internet.

As previously stated, this was Smith's attempt to create a movie that was unlike any of his others. I think he did a great job at that. Sure, there were sprinklings of Kevin Smith in some of the dialogue, but overall, the whole tone was different. The cinematography was brilliant, and the dialogue was short but said what it needed to say. Evan T. made the point that you didn't really care about any of the characters, and I suppose that is true, however, that didn't make the movie any less enjoyable to me.

Kevin Smith basically did everything himself for this movie as well. He tends to be a self-important ass at times and as much as Red State was a "fuck you" to Hollywood and movie critics it was just as much made to pump his own ego. I like the guy, I just think that he thinks he's much more interesting than he is.

Keeping himself out of the movie studios meant that Smith could do a lot more with a lot less. He's been using the Smodcast Podcast network and social media to promote the movie, as opposed to traditional movie previews on TV. Evan T. took a bit of an issue with the fact that Smith is essentially just promoting the movie to his own fans, and to that my response was "Why shouldn't he?". Kevin Smith is one of those directors, like Spike Lee or Quentin Tarentino, where people either really like their movies, or don't. Smith has had a reputation for making movies that don't appeal to a wide audience and are somewhat juvenile. I guess my point is, what is the point of trying to convince people who don't care for your work to care for it? There are a lot of people in the country who could watch the trailer and love it, but as soon as they see Kevin Smiths' name attached to it decide they would rather not see it. On the flip side of that he has nearly two million Twitter fans willing to watch his movie, so why not promote to them, and hope they can turn their friends on to it?

Overall, I really liked the movie. You'll have to watch it yourself and decide what you think, as I am not a film critic. The movie creeped me out, made me laugh and kept me awake. Smith has said the the 2012 release of his film Hit Somebody (based on the Warren Zevon song) will be his last movie. He has also said that Hit Somebody will be yet another genre of movie you haven't seen him do before. I'm very excited to see what he has in store for us in the future.

Red State open nationwide in theaters September 23, 2011.

I'm alive!

2011-09-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

Hey kiddies! I'm not dead. Sorry if I had you worried. I've been taking some much needed time off. Go figure that when you pair sleep deprivation with a screaming child your brain shuts down. I literally have not had a clear thought for weeks. I'm working on some topics for future posts, just bear with me until I lock it down, and get myself into a regular routine again. I've got some reviews coming up, as well as some posts to be forthcoming from The Editor and Evan T. It's almost con season too, so you can bet that will get my brain going again too. I just wanted to let you know I was okay, so for today all I have to offer is the Tumbeast. Please enjoy the Tumbeast.

HIYAH! Fruit Ninja for Kinect!

2011-08-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

So, the editor told me about this super sweet game available in Xbox Arcade the other day. I had no idea that it was also an app! The game is Fruit Ninja, and it's awesome. I guess on the app, you slice fruit with your finger or whatever, but with the Kinect, you slice fruit WITH YOUR WHOLE BODY. I have no idea why karate chopping fruit is so satisfying, but it had me yelling things like "FU strawberry!", loud enough for the neighbors to hear. If you're looking for a super fun, super satisfying $10 game for the Kinect, I HIGHLY recommend Fruit Ninja.

We're on a (Cardboard) Boat!

2011-08-15T09:28:00.000-04:00

So, over the weekend, The Editor and I did one of our favorite annual Summer things: The Cardboard Boat Race in Schyulerville, NY. It's in the middle of nowhere, and you have to get into the Husdon River (but not the gross part), and this was my second year, and I LOVE it. Last year our team got most enthusiastic because although we didn't win, we did have some spirit. We even rescued a couple of capsized kids! First, I'll post the picture from last years race, and then I'll post pics from this years race, where our boat defied physics and managed to take first place in our category, which was On-site Cardboard Boat. We made the entire thing of cardboard and duct tape, and it was amazing.


The 2010 boat. As you can see, it sunk, so we used it as a kickboard.


It was basically a queen sized mattress box, and some duct taped edges. Yup, that's about it!

The Editor (right) hard at work.

Bigby guarding our number and looking menacing

This is what it looks like when the announcer says "35 minutes of build time left!"

Action photo 1

Action photo 2


While everyone else is hard at work, me and Baby Bot were doing this.


Getting ready to launch the SS POS. (I'm in the red trunks, The Editor is on photography)

Right after we passed, and subsequently took out, a 13 year old


On our way back to the shore. Notice the utter lack of competition, they all cowered in fear!

And the SS POS takes first place!

The Cardboard Boat Race is always a great time, so if you live locally (or are willing to travel) we're always looking for more sailors! OR of you would rather build your own boat to race US, you're more than welcome to do that as well. For more info on CBBR, check out the Hudson Crossing CBBR page HERE

For some comic relief, here is the 2010 CBBR video. You can see us sink at 2:40!

Carly Professes her Love for Falling Skies

2011-08-11T07:15:00.000-04:00

I have yet another TV recommendation for all of you! I figure since the Summer shows are starting to wind down, and the Fall shows haven't started yet, maybe you'd like a nice post-apocalyptic thriller while you're waiting for The Walking Dead to come back. The show I'm talking about is Falling Skies.

On the surface, the story of Falling Skies looks a little like The Walking Dead, but I assure you, it's not. Falling Skies is a post-apocalyptic story about aliens. Basically, the aliens come, take out the major cities, then start going after who is next. As they're taking over our world, there are survivors who are creating a resistance. However, the aliens have managed to save our children, and use mind control to use the kids however they'd like. It's the perfect weapon, because no one wants to shoot a kid. The resistance manages to "save" a few of the children, and remove their harnesses (mind control devices), but not without consequence. It seems that some of the children die when the harness is removed, and those who have been wearing the harness longer have been permanently changed.

The resistance comes across others, who are not too keen to join the resistance, but through a matter of happenstance do, but not necessarily willingly. We also watch the build up and melt down of a few of the strong characters, which I found very intriguing. We leave off the end of the season by going to war against the forces that have raped and pillaged our planet.

I'm trying to be relatively vague about what happens, just in case this convinces you to watch it. The story mainly focuses on the Mason family. Tom Mason (Noah Wylie) is a father, whose wife was killed by the aliens. He has three sons. One is 16, and is a fighter in the resistance along side him, one who has been harnessed, and the harness has been removed, and the youngest who is smarter than he gets credit for. Noah Wylie's character was a history professor before the war started, so he is somewhat of a war strategist. Listening to him talk about history gets a little daunting at times, but if you laugh it off (or turn it into a drinking game) it works.

All in all, I found it to be a very fun, very real show. It's full of humanity and the human spirit, and for TNT, the CGI was even pretty good. Dare I say, better than SyFy's. You should check it out, I think you'd like it.

Big Shiny True Blood Review

2011-08-09T09:52:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Since it's become a total bitch for me to try and maintain two writing gigs AND a baby, I've decided that the days I post on BSR, I probably won't post on here. HOWEVER, I will send you the link to BSR, so that you can still enjoy me :-)

Check out my Big Shiny review HERE!

Hot Nerd of the Week: Eve Myles!

2011-08-08T08:26:00.001-04:00

In keeping up with my "Hotties of the UK" segment, I have to put up my girl Eve Myles. Eve plays Gwen cooper in the Dr. Who spin off, Torchwood. She's a total badass, especially in the newest installment of the show, where she plays a badass agent, as well as a badass wife and mom.

This Welsh hottie was born in Wales in 1978. As a kid, she had a huge passion for boxing, but she had to give it up after breaking her knuckles. After high school she attended the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, where she received a BA in acting.

Eve had small roles in shows like Merlin and Dr. Who, but her big break came in 2000 when she was cast as Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging. She stayed with the show all the way until its end in 2009.

In 2006 Eve took on the role that would launch her into nerdom with her role as Gwen Cooper in Torchwood. The fourth series of the show began this Summer on Starz, taking Gwen Cooper and Captain Jack to the US.

Eve's amazing accent, plus her ability to be completely kick ass is the reason I chose her for this week's Hot Nerd!

Hot Nerd of the Week: Karen Gillan

2011-08-01T06:35:00.000-04:00

This one is probably going to get me a response from my fellow Dr. Who lover, Evan T., who is totally in love with Billie Piper. Karen Gillan is the companion of the 11th Doctor of Dr. Who, and quite possibly the hottest ginger on the planet.

Born and raised in Inverness, Scotland, Karen was an only child. She learned how to play the piano at age 7, and developed a huge love of acting as a child. At age 16 she began studying acting at Telford College in Edinburgh. At 18, she moved to London, and her beauty was soon noticed.

In 2007, Karen began modeling, and took on a few small television roles. Her big break came in 2010 when she was cast as the 11th Doctors companion.

Karen has quickly become a Comic-Con favorite, as well as a favorite of Dr. Who fans. She and Matt Smith are also portrayed in a comic book of the same name published by IDW. With her fabulous looks, and witty personality, this girl has no place to go but up, and that is why I chose her as this week's Hot Nerd.

Saturday Awesomeness!

2011-07-30T08:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday! Avengers Assemble is back!!

Movie Trailer of the Day: Red State

2011-07-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

So, Smodcast Productions just released and all new Red Band trailer for Red State that premieres in October. This is Kevin Smith's newest movie, and you'll notice it looks NOTHING like previous films from the director. Check out the trailer and hopefully you'll be as excited about this as I am!

100,000!

2011-07-28T07:51:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Last night we hit 100,000 views on the blog, which I consider a HUGE milestone. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read, and enjoy regularly. I love having an outlet for my nerdiness, and I love being able to (hopefully) bring a smile to your face. Thank you all so much for reading!

Wacky Wednesday: Movies

2011-07-27T07:08:00.000-04:00

So, with SDCC finally behind us, there are a few things nagging at me. Mostly it's just the rumors I hear about more stupid movies that are going to be made. I mean, currently in the pipeline we have Battleship and Candyland which are both movies based on fucking boardgames from when I was 7. This will continue to displease me until they decide to sign on for a "Pretty Pretty Princess" movie as well as a "Mousetrap" or "Jenga" movie. What am I talking about? The "Mousetrap" movie would never work. God knows the shitty game never did.

I feel like Hollywood is taking a "throw shit against the wall and see what sticks" mentality to movies now. I guess my thought is, instead of making 300 awful movies, why not just make a few really good ones? Instead of shitting all over my childhood (The Smurfs movie, anyone?), try coming up with a few original ideas. Oh wait, there are none of those left, and that is exactly why we're bombarded with a billion sequels.

What got me off on this anger march is the fact that there were two things confirmed at SDCC this year that really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not sure why I've become so enraged about them, but I'll let you read the confirmations, then you decide whether I am entitled to be legitimately annoyed.

Jurassic Park 4. Yes, that's right. Steven Spielberg confirmed that there will, in fact, be a JP4. My initial reaction was "Why?" followed by "Wait, they made a Jurassic Park 3?" I guess this kinda falls under the category of "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD". I mean, the mere fact that I told more than one person about this project, and I wasn't the only one in the room to forget about JP3, should say something about the franchise. I mean, I UNDERSTAND why he's doing it. The technology is better, it's been regarded as a relatively successful franchise (at least the first two), and last, but not least, he's Steven f'n Spielberg, so any studio who wanted a big payday would gladly take on the project. I'm not sure why this annoys me so much. It could be that I was up at 6 with a screaming baby, or the mere fact that I feel like it's a total cop-out, but this whole thing irritates me. But that's not the only irritating thing to come from Comic-Con, so let's look at the next thing...

Captain Planet: The Movie. *SCHWING!* That was the sound of a million nerds (and a few non-nerds) getting a big 'ol boner over a movie that will be shitty. Again, let's take all of the great memories of things from my childhood and completely ruin them. As a kid, I LOVED Captain Planet. I was probably one of the biggest fans ever of that show. My sister and I would even pretend we were Planeteers. They were great memories, and that is where I wish for them to remain. Untainted memories form my 8 year old brain. Hey, that rhymed! This is just another project that shouldn't exist. I mean, look at the guy for crying out loud! We're going to make him into a LIVE ACTION movie? I mean, with THAT haircut and THOSE underpants, and the fact that he hangs out with children is going to make him look like a total pedophile.

I guess at the end of the day, I can be irritated about it, but there is nothing I can do about it. There are so few original ideas out there now, that if they can reboot a series, slap another number onto a franchise, or get ideas from beloved books, good on them. It doesn't mean that I have to watch.

Now that I am sufficiently through ranting, I will leave you with the following video, because God knows you've had that ridiculous theme song in your head since you read the words Captain Planet.

Hot Nerd of the Week: Clark Duke!

2011-07-26T08:24:00.000-04:00

This is one of my most favorite people of all time. He's just starting to hit it bigtime now, but I've been following him for a few years now, and he can make me laugh without fail.

Best known as Michael Cera's real-life best friend, Clark Duke was born and raised in Glenwood, Arkansas. After high school, Clark attended Loyola University where, for his thesis, he wrote, directed and produced the web series "Clark and Michael", where he and Michael Cera play fictional versions of themselves.

CLARK AND MICHAEL - Eggs for Breakfast - watch more funny videos

Over the years, Clark has gained recognition in the acting world. In 1992, he was nominated for a Young Actors Award as an "Outstanding Actor Under Ten in a Television Series" for his role in Hearts Afire.

In 2007, Clark scored the recurring role of Dale Kettlewell on the television show Greek.

In 2008, Clark starred in the "Funny or Die" classic Drunk History vol 2. Where he gained much more recognition, especially among comedic actors.

Drunk History vol. 2 - Featuring Jack Black from Jack Black

Also in 2008, Clark co-starred in his first major motion picture, Sex Drive. In 2010, he co-starred in two of my favorite movies, Kick-Ass and Hot Tub Time Machine.

Clark is currently working on the movie A Thousand Words starring Eddie Murphy.

Although there is not a whole lot about Clark's personal life available, he's got a TON of nerd appeal. That, joined with his ability to make me laugh no matter what he;s in is the reason that Clark Duke is this week's Hot Nerd!

Evan T. Reviews Captain America!

2011-07-25T07:43:00.000-04:00

Note from Carly- I honestly had every intention of posting a new Hot Nerd today, but I'm going to push it off until tomorrow, so that we can look at Evan T's review of "Captain America: The First Avenger" while the topic is still relevant. Enjoy!

P.S. To Evan T. - Remember that $5 bet you and The Editor made about Cap vs. Thor? I think you'll be wanting to make sure you have that $5 on hand ;-)

Evan T. at the Movies!

Ok. Kiddies, I saw a little movie called "Captain America: The First Avenger". Twice. It was fantastic. And here is why...

Cap (Aka Chris Evans) Works so Well - I was skeptical, like most, when Mr. Evans was cast. I had seen him in the Fantastic Four movies, Not Another Teen Movie, Cellular, and The Losers (if you haven't seen the last two, do yourself a favor and check them out) and didn't know if he could be my Steve Rogers. He does it and really does it well. Between some of the best special effects I have ever, EVER seen and the performance by Mr. Evans it all adds up to awesome. He did a amazing job and I cannot wait to see him as Cap again. This is the Cap I have waited for.

Holy Cow Does Marvel Know How to Pick Directors - So Joe Johnston was picked to helm this movie. He had previous experience directing October Sky and The Rocketeer ( A grossly undervalued movie) and he knocks it out of the park here. The whole movie, from the beginning in the present to the majority in 1942, everything works to perfection. Mr. Johnston has had "Pulp" hero experience and he uses that to his full advantage in Captain America. It works, so well.

Captain America Does NOT Try to Re-invent the Wheel - So, I watch a lot of cooking shows. They often say executing a complex dish is less complicated than executing a simple dish to perfection. I feel like Captain America did not try anything I haven't seen. Rather, they did a simple story and did it to perfection. From cast ( Listen, Tommy Lee Jones, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Stanley Tucci and Derek Luke are all SUPPORTING ACTORS!!!. These people are stars in their own right and they are the supporting cast people!) to story, effect and pacing, everything is executed to perfection. They know their story has been told before. They just tell it better.

Seriously, go see this movie. Marvel is on some kind of roll with their last few movies and man, I am ready for The Avengers.

**SPOILER**

Ok, so when you sit through the movie, past the credits, you will see a preview for 2012's Avengers movie. Holy Cow Awesome Sauce Fantastico Amazing! Seeing the heroes all together for the first time on a big screen is worth the 11 bucks alone. Seriously, are you not entertained?

Catching Up With Carly

2011-07-24T08:59:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! This week is my unofficial comeback! I finally think I have the kid in enough of a routine (HA!) that I can FINALLY get in some writing... I thought since today is Sunday, and generally a low-traffic day, that I'd catch you up on what's been going on with me the past few weeks. I'll do it bulletin point style :-) I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new "Hot Nerd of the Week", as well as a link to my Big Shiny Robot "True Blood Review". Without further adieu, here has been what I've been up to since July 7th...

* Had a baby on July 8th

* Learned that babies really DO go through about 15 diapers (or more a day), as they are little shit factories

* Have watched the Summer premier of season 2 of "Homes From Hell" and season 1 of "Restoration Home"

* Discovered (much to my dismay) that I am now in the key demographic for people who watch "Good Morning America"

* Started watching "Torchwood" on Starz, and even though I LOVED "Torchwood" on BBC, the Starz version is currently rocking my world

*Almost finished "Deadwood". I only have one episode left to watch and I'm super sad about that, so I'm trying to delay watching it, because I can't come to terms with the fact that it went off the air four years ago...

* Begun watching "The Sopranos", and I feel like, if Italian Americans have a problem with "Jersey Shore", they HAD to have had a problem with "The Sopranos"

* Ordered a shit-load of clothes off the internet so I wouldn't have to go out in the disgusting heat

* Discovered that I have "Mommy-vision" while driving now. This amazing ability allows me to spot shitty drivers from a mile away

* Watched "Arrested Development" for the 10,128th time

Last but not least....

* I FINALLY broke 10,000 gamer points on XBox. I did it while playing "X-Men Arcade"

I know it looks like I've just been watching TV until my eyeballs fall out, but that's only because I have been, When the heat index has been over 100 degrees for the last week, the last thing on my mind is doing anything other than A) going swimming or B) leaving the confines of my central air.

Hope you all have a lovely day, and I'll be back tomorrow! Hopefully, I can even talk Evan T. into a couple of reviews this week :-)

Updates!

2011-07-19T06:27:00.000-04:00

Hey there everyone! Sorry I haven't been more attentive lately, life with the baby bot is a killer, and the second I get a free moment to myself, I'm trying to brush my teeth or throw in a load of laundry... I'll be back regularly as soon as I get myself into some sort of sleep rythm, and am not completely brain dead. I plan on going to see "Captain America" this weekend (don't worry, I'll be having the grandparents watch el bebah, I'm not that asshole who brings their kid to the movies), so we should have a review on that soon. I'll also be getting back to my weekly columns at Big Shiny Robot next week as well, so fear not! I have not abandoned you, I'm just adjusting at the moment :-) Just wanted to let you know what's going on, and I promise I'll be back on a regular schedule soon! xo

Programming Note

2011-07-11T15:11:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry to be scarce for the last few days, but big things have been happening... The Editor and I welcomed the newest member of our family into the world on Friday, so things have been a little hectic.. Evan T. will be covering a few things for me over the next few weeks, and I'll post when I'm able to. Hope you all had a great weekend, and without further adieu, I'd like you to meet Riley!

Saccheraferious Thursday: Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles Edition

2011-07-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

Happy Thursday everyone! I thought for today I would feature everyone's favorite heroes in a half shell. Have a great day, and I'll see y'all back here tomorrow!

Superheroes from Around the World: The United Kingdom!

2011-07-06T08:34:00.002-04:00

Marvel Comic's Captain Britain, A.K.A Brittanic, A.K.A. Brian Braddock is probably the U.K.'s best known superhero. I say that because I'm in the states and I've heard of him. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, Captain Britain made his first appearance in Captain Britain Weekly #1 in October, 1976. Designed to uphold the laws of Britain, Captain Britain was meant to be the U.K. version of Captain America.

Brian was born and raised in the small town of Maldon, Essex and educated at Fettes College in Edinburg. He was a shy and studious youth, living a relatively quiet life and spending a lot of time with his parents and siblings.

After his parents were killed in a laboratory accident, Brian took a fellowship at Darkmoor nuclear research centre. When the facility is attacked by the technological criminal Joshua Stragg (A.K.A. "The Reaver"), Brian tries to find help by escaping on his motorcycle. Although he crashes his bike in a nearly fatal accident, Merlyn and his daughter, the Omniversal Guardian, Roma appear to the badly injured Brian. They give him the chance to be the superhero Captain Britain. He is offered a choice: the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Considering himself to be no warrior and unsuited for the challenge, he rejects the Sword and chooses the Amulet. This choice transforms Brian Braddock into Captain Britain.

Brian is superhumanly strong, able to lift 90 tons, and possesses enhanced reflexes, stamina and senses. He can also fly up to 770 mph for prolonged periods. He derives his energies from the friction between dimensions, focused in a matrix centered on the U.K., and formerly needed his costume to focus his powers and provide a battery when outside the U.K.; however he may have alleviated this weakness when he briefly severed his mystic connection to the U.K. to empower Kelsey Leigh. As Britannic, he had prophetic visions, tied to memories of experiencing all history while lost in the timeline. He is apparently immune to his sister's psionic powers, though not his elder brother's reality warping abilities.

Since 1978, Captain Britain has been affiliated with a number of different groups. These groups include:
MI-13, the Corps, agents of Merlin, champions of Otherworld's Camelot, Pendragons, and Hellfire Club.

You can find more information, as well as a detailed history of Captain Britain HERE at Marvel.com!

Carly on Comics Reviews Some Video Games!

2011-07-05T08:48:00.001-04:00

Hello hello! Hope y'all had a great weekend full of awesomeness and fireworks! Last week I promised some video games, and this week I'm delivering. We're going to take a peek at the three games I've been playing as of late, and I'll let you know what I think of each!

Lucha Fury- The first game we're going to look at is the side-scrolling awesomeness for Xbox Live Arcade called "Lucha Fury". This is by far one of the best button mashers I've played in a long time. The press release for the game describes the synopsis as the following:

"In the world of Lucha Fury, the lost, ancient recipe for Pollojo, the nectar of the gods, is discovered by a struggling bar owner, who turns it into a highly successful energy drink. The gods, however, are not so happy about humans stealing their drink, and they set out to reclaim what is theirs - destroying humanity in the process. Four masked luchadores, having never accomplished much of anything in the past, suddenly find themselves without Pollojo and are sparked into battle to take down the old gods and return with their precious energy drink, possibly saving the world along the way."

Basically, there are four different luchador wrestlers to choose from, each with their own skill set and you pick the one you like best. For me, the chick was the obvious choice. The graphics are very colorful and vibrant, and the animation reminds me very much of "Borderlands", which I love. The best part about this game is that you can play local multiplayer with up to four people. In my opinion there are not enough games like that, where if you'd like to have three of your closest friends to play a video game you can all be on the same console playing together. Damn kids today with their online friends... Seriously, get a real live friend or two. The game will set you back $10, but it's totally worth it for all of the button-mashing fun you'll have with your friends!

Child of Eden- The jury is still out on this one for me. "Child of Eden" is the follow up game to "Rez", which I've never played, but people seem to love. "Child of Eden" can be used with or without a Kinect, but I feel like the experience is better with a Kinect. The synopsis is as follows:

"Child of Eden thrusts you in the center of a battle to save Project Lumi, a mission to reproduce a human personality inside Eden, the archive of all human memories. As the project nears completion, the archive is invaded by an unknown virus. The player's mission is to purify Eden from the virus to restore hope and peace."
Instead of killing things, you "purify" them, and as you do so, you start to realize (when you're using the Kinect) that it feels like you're conducting the world. Each time you "purify" an enemy, there is a different sound fed back to you, so you're essentially making music. I found the game to be a little bit difficult to get used to, and I wish that it had more save spots, so that if I failed 3/4 of the way through a level I didn't have to go all the way back to the beginning, but other than that, it's certainly an experience unlike any other. I described the game feel as "zen". If you're a big fan of the Kinect, it's certainly a must have.

Heavy Rain- The last game up for review today is "Heavy Rain" for the PS3. I know this one has been out for a while, but I just recently borrowed Evan T's PS3, so give me a break. I love this game. After the first half hour of playing I thought I was going to hate it, then I got submerged deeper into what was going on with the story, and it's pretty f'n amazing. I don't know how to refer to it other than a "choose your own adventure" type story. There are four different characters you're playing as, each at different times, and the story is told based on the decisions you make. It's like playing a movie, if that makes sense. Wikipedia's synopsis of the game is:

"Heavy Rain's story is a dramatic thriller modeled after film noir, featuring four protagonists involved with the mystery of the Origami Killer, a serial killer who uses extended periods of rainfall to drown his victims. Ethan Mars is a father who is trying to save his son from being the next victim, while investigative journalist Madison Paige, FBI profiler Norman Jayden, and private detective Scott Shelby are each trying to track down clues to the Origami Killer's identity."

It's a hauntingly awesome story, and you'll be amazed at how attached you'll get to the characters. If "L.A. Noir" is anything like "Hard Rain", I need to go out and buy a copy STAT.

Happy Independence Weekend!

2011-07-02T09:03:00.000-04:00

Yup, I'm taking a mini-vacay! I'll be back on Tuesday with two video game reviews though, so don't worry! That will give you something to look forward to :-) Hopefully you're all looking at weekends that are just like mine, filled with friends, family, UFC and fireworks (literally, or metaphorically). I leave you now with the best thing I could think to post for Independence Day, and as Evan T. would say 'Merica. Catch you guys Tuesday!

With Love, Carly, Evan T. and The Editor

2011-06-30T08:06:00.002-04:00

Good day everyone! The Editor, Even T. and I sat down last night and were discussing the blog, and what upcoming things we would like to talk about when it dawned on us that we have never really asked YOU, the readers what you'd like us to cover! Silly us... We're working on making the site better, and we'd like to have your help to do that. Please comment and let us know what you'd like to see more (or less) of, and we'll make it work.

We love hearing from you guys, and we'd like to know what we can do to make your experience a little bit better. :-)

Evan T. Reviews Transformers: Dark of the Moon!

2011-06-29T10:19:00.002-04:00

They pushed it up and released it early so you get the early review! Fresh off the midnight release, here's a review.

If you remember from last movie we learned something about the transformers, some government douche doesn't want the Autobots in America, Sams mom says something crraazzyy, Megatron played second banana to a new baddie and Sam yells "Bumblebee" and "Optimus" several times. Now that you are caught up, you're ready for Dark of the Moon. This movie we learn something about the transformers, some government douche doesn't want the Autobots in America, Sams mom says something crraazzyy, Megatron played second banana to a new baddie and Sam yells "Bumblebee" and "Optimus" several times. Even with that this movie is easily a huge advancement over the last.

The story in this movie is SO much easier to follow and makes the bare minimum of sense required for me to like a movie. There was a new writer for this movie because the the writers (Yeah, two people wrote that last flick) of the last two movies thought they might risk getting stale. One movie too late, guys.

Most of the main characters return with a couple of notable exceptions. The Autobot Twins, Mudflap and Skids, are thankfully absent from this film. As the Jar Jar Binks of this franchise I was happy to see them gone. I was not, however, happy to see Megan Fox gone. I'm a big fan of her, um, her "work". Yeah, her "work" Something went down whether you believe that Micheal "Baysplosions" Bay dropped her or it was The Spielberg himself she's gone and now the female costar is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and her lips. They do as well as Megan did. Not a whole lot of acting prowess needed but she is good looking. Good work casting agents!

I didn't read a lot about this movie and went in a little blind. I was happy to see Patrick Dempsey (who easily produces the best acting on screen), John Malkovich, Alan Tudyk and Ken Jeong in the film. A fair amount of comedy finds it's way into the movie but it doesn't feel forced. Transformers: Dark of the Moon also steps up the robot carnage with different colored liquids used as blood flying from laser shots and a full on execution of a robot on screen.

Also of note are "The Wreckers", a trio of Autobots who transform into N.A.S.C.A.R. cars that have guns all over them. There is something spectacularly 'Merican about that and I really loved that. Also braking the tradition of import vehicles being Decepticons is Mirage, a Ferrari 458 Italia, who speaks with an Italian accent. So fantastic. Oh, don't worry, there are still import Decepticons, most notably Soundwave who has become a Mercedes SLS AMG. Hmmm, maybe it's just the German automobiles who are evil? Last movie there was Sideswipe, an Audi R8. At least they are bad ass cars...

All in all it was a good film and if you enjoy the series or want a nice action movie check it out.If nothing else, you will see John Malkovich play fight with a giant robot.

BONUS- A few posts back Carly expressed her thoughts on why she doesn't go to see movies in the theater. I understood but I have that same feeling right about now. I had a fantastically obnoxious couple who sat next to me at the midnight showing of the new Transformers movie. I definitely felt enriched by the whole experience. When I thought, before the movie started, that I would have to deal with these two people all night I was unhappy. Then their two friends came in and sat in the row in front of them. The friends gave great thoughts on the need for popcorn and added a interesting smell to the theater. Like cheese and peanut butter. Their running commentary and insightful quips of "Damn", "Wow" and "That's Shockwave. He's a whole big ass robot" really increased my enjoyment of the movie. But not nearly as much as constantly being touched by the fat girlfriend as she lumbered around in her seat. She only knocked my drink bottle over twice. While I wont go Carlys route I will be more careful of where I sit, for sure.

Comic Book Garage Sale!

2011-06-28T08:54:00.001-04:00

Good morning! I know I promised you a movie review today, but the movie wasn't really that good to begin with... The Editor and I have been doing a little house cleaning over the last few weeks, and we've managed to get enough comic books around for a pretty big comic book garage sale! There are a lot of really awesome titles in the mix, so be sure to check them out if you're interested. Some of the highlights include:

*Akira
*The Amazing Spider-Man #583 (the one featuring Obama)
*Captain America First Series
*Catwoman Third Series
*Cyberfrog
*Dark Tower
*Deadpool
*Fables
*Huntress
*Identity Crisis
*JLA and JLA Classified
*Justice
*Marvel Superhero Squad
*The New Mutants
*Psylocke
*Robin II
*The Walking Dead
*Wolverine

In addition to these titles, there are like, a bajillion more. Come check out our big sale HERE at Atomic Avenue!

True Blood Season 4!

2011-06-27T11:13:00.001-04:00

Good morning everyone! Another Monday, another weekend passed, and me still with child... The new season of True Blood premiered last night,and I have the whole scoop on it! Check it out over at Big Shiny Robot! I'll be back atcha tomorrow with an all new movie review.

Things You Should Be... Friday!

2011-06-24T08:15:00.000-04:00

Things You Should Be Listening to...

The Howard Stern Show- Like a fine wine, The Stern Show just keeps getting better with age. It doesn't even matter whether or not they have a hot celeb interview, they keep it entertaining every day. It's my constant source for news and celeb gossip, and every once in a while Benjy does something very entertaining, like throwing himself down a flight of stairs while dressed as a horse or bringing a little lightheartedness to a press conference (Anthony Wiener anyone?). Stick around after The Stern Show for The Wrap Up Show as well, where you'll get a full recap of everything that happened on The Stern Show that day by the guys who work behind the scenes.

Things You Should Be Watching...

Archer- Now that Summer is here, it's a great time to be watching all of those awesome shows you didn't know about during the regular season. Archer is an animated spy-series TV show that features the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin, Aiysha Tyler, Chris Parnell and like, half the cast of "Arrested Development". It's hilarious.

Sharktopus- Half shark, half octopus, all blood thirsty. This SyFy original movie will blow you away with its horrendous acting and shitty CG. Watch Eric Roberts shed his last ounce of dignity on this "it's so bad it's good" Summer must watch!

Things You Should Be Reading...

The Magneto Testament- One the most amazing Marvel stories I've ever read. If you enjoy a dramatic story, are a history geek like me, and love the X-Men, this is the story for you. Set in Nazi occupied Germany in WWII, the story tells the amazing origin of one of Marvels most beloved antiheroes. After reading this book I thought that there should be a copy of it in every high school history in the country.

Star Wars Role Playing Game Species and Classes Edition- This one is more for myself than you guys, lol. We're balls deep into the "Star Wars" role playing game right now, and being the bad nerd I am, I've never seen "Star Wars".... Now I have to create a back story for my character, and I'm not sure how well that's going to go... She's a Roodian soldier, if anyone wants to help me out with that one ;-)

She looks like this, only a sexy lady version

J.K. Rowling Makes Big (?) Announcement

2011-06-23T07:37:00.001-04:00

The owls have been gathering for about a week now, and J.K. gives us (some) of the information we were looking for... Check out the article I wrote for BSR HERE to see what Pottermore is all about!

Nerding 101: Cycle Counting

2011-06-22T08:34:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! The time of year where the days are getting longer and hotter, and the kids are home from school. Over here in our household, that means only one thing- cycle counting time! I don't know how I did it, but I just managed to make that sound waaaaaay more exciting than it is.

Cycle counting is when you take alllllll of the comic books you own and go through each and every one. Since The Editor and I have our super spiffy database, we start by printing out a summary of all of the comics we own, and then try to make the summary match what is in the boxes.

We generally do the cycle twice a year. It takes close to five hours for us to do completely, but this time will vary depending on how many comics you own. The Editor and I have somewhere around 8-10k, I believe. Cycle counting is a perfect time to pull any comics that you don't want anymore. Some people have a hard time getting rid of comics, but if you have a series you didn't like as much as you thought you would, or some oddball numbered comics just hanging around, it's better to weed out the old to make room for the new. Nobody likes a hoarder.

After you've pulled out the comics that you would like to get rid of, you can put together a list of what you have and put it up for auction on Atomic Avenue to make a little cash, so you can buy MORE comics. ;-)

Cycle counting is also the perfect time to check the conditions of your bags and boards. If the comics are looking a little beaten, perhaps it's time to get some new protection for them. And if you're one of those people who has unprotected comics, you might as well just put them ALL on Atomic Avenue and start to collect digital comics, because Carly is disappointed in you (I'm sure you're soooooo heartbroken about that).

Anyhoo, that about sums it up. As a comic collector, cycle counting just makes life a little easier knowing what you have in stock. If you have any questions, or are totally lost on what I'm talking about, let me know in the comments! :-)

P.S. Since it's new comic book day, if you're interested in what I'm reading or if you'd like to see some of the new titles for the week, click HERE.

Guess Who is on Twitter?

2011-06-21T17:21:00.001-04:00

Answer? ME! After months and months of kicking the idea around, I have finally decided to join the wide world of Twitter. I would like a round of applause for me finally entering a new era of awesomeness. I'm still super new, and really have NO idea what I'm doing on it yet, so be patient. Tips and suggestions of who to follow would be greatly appreciated!

Follow me!

Game of Thrones Season Finale Review

2011-06-21T09:52:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! Since I gave you a little "Red Riding Hood" review yesterday, I thought I'd throw a little "Game of Thrones" love towards Big Shiny Robot today. Below is the link to my article for the season finale review! Caution: Spoilers ahead!

Game of Thrones Season Finale

Movie Review: Red Riding Hood

2011-06-20T20:24:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I finally got around to watching "Red Riding Hood". I wanted to see it in the theaters, but as we all know, it's VERY difficult, if not impossible to get the Carlymonster into an actual theater to see a movie. Also, the reviews came back saying it was TERRIBLE, so I put if off for a while. Low expectations are the key to being pleasantly surprised.

I was surprised by two things when I was done watching this movie; 1) that I ended up liking it as much as I did, and 2) that "Twilight" got a better IMDB rating than this. The acting wasn't great, but I think Amanda Seyfried is an infinitely more talented actress than the cardboard-like Kristen Stewart, whose acting skills range from looking like she's confused, to looking like she's holding in a fart.

"Wait, what?"

Although the acting was less than stellar, I still found the story to be really fun. It was a pretty awesome take on a classic fairy tale. It's basically a supernatural whodoneit with werewolves. Of course there is a pretty girl who is torn between two boys, but I still find that kind of story cute.

Honestly, and I never thought I'd ever say this, the movie could have used more violence. I'm used to watching HBO, where they have no problem showing a horse getting it's head lobbed off, so the ridiculous killing scenes fell a little flat with me. But that's what you get with a PG-13 teen-drama-horror movie. "30 Days of Night" it is not, but I still enjoyed it.

The scenes were very pretty too, which is no surprise since Catherine Hardwicke directed it. Catherine is the person who directed the first "Twilight" movie, and the cinematography was the ONLY thing I liked about that steaming pile.

I wanted to get a boys opinion on the movie, but The Editor was at hockey this evening, and I wouldn't subject him to it anyway. I think if you like vampire and werewolf stories, and you're willing to offer a little forgiveness in the acting department, you'll like this. Especially if you're a girl.

P.S. You can dress her up, and give her all the serious roles in the world, but Amanda Seyfried will always be Karen Smith to me....

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T08:26:00.006-04:00

To all of those dad's, like my super awesome dad, Dave (Hi dad!) and dad's-to-be, like my super awesome better half (Hey! to The Editor) I'd like to say thank you for all you do, and all you've made us. If it weren't for these two kick ass guys in my life I wouldn't have had the courage or confidence to be as awesome as I am today. Heck, I wouldn't even have been able to start this blog. Happy Father's Day from all of us here at Carly on Comics!

Saturday Rant: Comic Books and Goodwill

2011-06-18T10:24:00.003-04:00

Good morning everyone! I felt compelled to write today after reading THIS article on CNN and watching the corresponding video. I nearly had an anxiety attack after learning about this.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for charity. I'm more than happy to help out with a fundraiser, or collecting food, or donating where I can, or participating in different charity walks. Wherever I'm needed, I can totally help out. But as a comic book lover and collector, ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

It's obvious when I'm watching the video that whomever the books once belonged to, they took good care of them, which is even more infuriating to me. I don't think that the donor was the person who owned the books. I'm going to go ahead and say that someone passed away, and the comics were donated because whoever donated them had no idea what they were worth.

I guess this is just a good ol' Carly style rant. I'm not pissed or anything, because like I said, charity is a good thing, but in my mind, the donation would have been better served had the books gone to a professional auction, and the money was donated rather than the books themselves. Not to sound like a real shit, but I've seen the way things are taken care of at Goodwill and it's not with a whole lot of love and care. I've also known some people who have worked there, and I wouldn't be surprised of some of the books were "misplaced".

The Editor and I were at a Goodwill recently to get some articles of clothing for a party we were attending, and there were three or four boxes of comics on one of the tables. Of course, it was a big jumble of this and that, some with some worth behind it, and some so beat up and shitty that they wouldn't be fit for the quarter box. When we inquired about the price we were told that all comics were $1 regardless of condition, which tells me that they are ill equipped to deal with something like a $42k donation of books. But what do I know?

Again, charity is a good thing, by no means am I saying it's not, I just think that you should put in some effort to see what you're giving away before you do. Especially if that collection was loved by someone who passed. I just think that the collection would have been better off being auctioned off privately, and then have the money donated to a good cause. But that is just the collector in me...

If you want to see what was in the "generously donated lot" you can check out www.goodwillonline.com to bid. The bidding starts at $3.

Saccheraferious Thursday: Star Wars Edition Pt. 2

2011-06-16T08:16:00.003-04:00

Good morning kiddies! Since I have seemingly woke up in my last month of pregnancy with the worlds worst allergies, in addition to already having stayed up late due to the Stanley Cup finals (YAY Boston!), and having the nerds over last night, I'm not feeling super motivated. I'm actually feeling like I got hit by a small bus. Methinks my day will consist of laying on the couch and watching "Arrested Development" for the 12,598th time.

Since Evan T. is on vacation for the next week, and we have no one to run the "Star Wars" RPG game next week, I'm going to pour one out for missing a week of it, and give you some super awesome cakes in it's memory. Apologies if I mislabel some of these. I was attempting to learn some of the "Star Wars" races last night, but it just turned into me making a bunch of the Storm Trooper minis look like they were doing the YMCA...

Yoda.

Wookie.


Vader.

Leia.

Jaba.

Lightsaber!

For not seeing the movies, I'm not too bad at this, eh? I couldn't find a Roodian or a Gamorrean Guard OR a Boba Fett, so these had to do for now... However, all of those give me some spectacular ideas for cakes I can make in the future!

DC Reboot and Digitalization

2011-06-14T14:35:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! I've been feeling inspired lately, so I've been bombarding Swank-mo-tron over at Big Shiny Robot. I wrote an article this morning regarding DC's reboot and digitalization plans, so you should head over there and take a peek!

Click: HERE to read all about it! :-)

BIG NEWS!

2011-06-13T11:09:00.002-04:00

Hello again kiddies! So, regarding that whole "big news" thing I was talking about yesterday.... The wonderful Mr. Swank-mo-tron over at Big Shiny Robot offered me a weekly column. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to post here, it just means that there will be more Carly to love! Big Shiny Robot is a fantastic website that caters to all things nerd, and they've been great to me thus far.

I will be starting up a weekly comics review column for them starting later on this week, and I'll be adding links on here, to that site when I do. I'll also be doing some of the East Coast nerd coverage for them as well, including things like Boston and New York Comic Cons, and hopefully some Wizard Worlds. I will be posting under the name "Wonderbot", and I expect all of you to follow me there as well! :-)

HERE is my Big Shiny introduction.

Carly on Comics Movie Review: Paul

2011-06-13T09:16:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! All of the Carly on Comics members came together last night to watch a viewing of the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost film "Paul", and it was fabulous.

"Paul" is a movie about two British guys (Frost and Pegg) who go on holiday in America. Their first trip is to San Diego Comic Con, and from there, the pair decide to rent a Winnebago and drive cross country, visiting different UFO hotspots on their way. What they didn't expect was an alien encounter of their own.

Paul is an alien whose spaceship crashed on Earth in the 1940's and has been living at Area 51 ever since. He's outlived his usefulness to the government, and now the government wants to harvest his brain for science. Naturally, Paul steals a car, gets into an accident, and meets Frost and Pegg on the road.

The threesome becomes a foursome when Kristen Wiig's (looooove her) God-loving character, Ruth, joins the team via her (accidental) kidnapping.

The foursome is trying to get Paul back to Wyoming so that he can meet up with his people who are there to rescue him, all the while being chased by not only Ruth's father, but the FBI as well.

It's a super cute buddy film with an all-star cast. You've got Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (whom I've professed my love for for quite sometime now), Kristen Wiig (who has quickly become my newest girl crush), Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Jeffrey Tambor, and many more. Also, the voice talents of Seth Rogan as Paul.

If you're a nerd, you will love this movie. There are so many awesome references to things in geek culture, including a particularly awesome music piece that is played when they're in a bar. I was afraid that I'd be too distracted with the CG alien, but it wasn't bad at all. Chances are, if you read this blog, you won't be disappointed. The language can get a little rough at times, but overall, it was a fantastic movie.

Slacker Sunday: NYCC

2011-06-12T09:19:00.001-04:00

It's that time of year again... Time to start thinking about New York Comic Con! I know it's like, four months out, but what could a little planning hurt, right? This year is looking like it's going to be the best one so far, with new artists and panels being added every week.

NYCC is October 13th-18th this year, making it 4 days this year, instead of 3. However, Thursday the 13th is for press/exhibitors/whatever only. Luckily for me, I've applied for my press pass, and methinks I will most likely be getting one. I have some big news about that coming up later in the week, but I don't want to give anything away just yet, so I'll let you deal with that teaser for now. Let me just say that the blog is about to get a whole lot cooler.

The only issue I'm having at this point is what to wear. For a fun-loving, nerdy chick like me, it's cosplay all the way. I definitely have my Ms. Marvel costume from last year, which I intend on rocking like a boss, but that leaves me with two more days that I need to come up with something. I like Black Canary, but I feel like that is played out. I love Cassie Hack, but I'll be three months post kid, so I'm not sure if I'll be wanting to bear my midriff quite yet. The Editor had suggested that we go as Lovebunny and Mr. Hell, but I'm not sure if The Editor will be willing to rock that costume all day... Sorry kiddos, got off in my own world there for a minute...

Speaking of cosplay, if there is anyone out there who knows how to sew, or could give me a hand designing/putting together something, it would be absolutely appreciated. I can come up with an idea easily enough, executing the idea can sometimes be difficult though.

Anyhoo, if you're on the East Coast (or if you can afford to fly out from anywhere else), I highly suggest you make your way down to the Jacob Javits Center October 13-16. A three day pass is only $65 and once you see all the con has to offer, you'll see that it's well worth the money. Heck, if you order tickets soon (they go on sale June 15th), you'll even have time to save up for all of the cool things you'll want to buy there!

We'll be discussing this topic in more detail as we get closer to the big show. Until then, you should be thinking about how to get there! Happy Sunday everybody!

For more info on the con, click HERE

Things You Should Be... Friday!

2011-06-10T08:16:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! It's a lovely not-hotter-than-balls day here in Upstate New York! Woo woo! It's been a while since the last "Things You Should Be...", so here are a few of my favorite things you should be taking advantage of this Summer...

Things You Should Be Listening To...

S.I.R. (SModcast Internet Radio)- From the people who brought you "Tell Em' Steve Dave" and "Plus One", there is now a newfangled way to listen! Kevin Smith (and the rest of the SModcast crew) have launched their own radio station! You can listen through your computer, or through the Stitcher App on your phone. Oh, and don't worry if you miss anything, you can still get it through iTunes as well!

Peter Fox- Stadtaffe- Peter Fox is an amazing musician from Berlin. The album has so many awesome songs on it, and they're best listened to during the summertime. The album is in German, but who cares? It's fantastic! Below is the video for "Alles Neu", which is one of mine, and The Editor's favorite Summer songs. Enjoy!

Things You Should Be Watching...

Sports Show With Norm MacDonald- When it comes down to it, who DOESN'T love Norm MacDonald? This show is amazing. It's inappropriate, sexist, and full of some of the most awkward moments on television, but that is why it is SO worth watching! It's like watching a train wreck, but if you are a fan of Norm's humor, you'll get it :-)

Sports Show with Norm Macdonald

Tuesdays, 10:30/9:30c

Michael Jordan's Hitler Mustache

www.comedycentral.com

Sports Show

Norm Macdonald

#SportsShow

The NHL Hockey Finals- The Boston Bruins vs. The Vancouver Canucks! It's America vs. Canada! I'm completely torn on this one. It would be great to see the Canucks win, since Canada hasn't won Lord Stanley's Cup since 1993, but the Bruins are my second favorite team (after the Red Wings, of course)! The series is now tied 2-2, and the boys are duking it out at 8 PM. Definitely worth the watch.


That's right Canada, Jim, me, and The Editor ALL got to see the cup before you...

Things You Should Be Reading...

Axe Cop- Written by a 5 year old, illustrated by his 29 year old brother. This is a monthly comic put out by Dark Horse, but a lot of the content found in the comic can be found HERE on the Axe Cop website. I dare you NOT to laugh.

The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charrlaine Harris- I know I already hit on this a few weeks ago, but the series is sooooo good! It's the book series that "True Blood" was based on, and the best Summer read you'll ever have. I promise!

Holy Crap! It's another Evan T Review! X-Men: First Class

2011-06-08T08:16:00.002-04:00

So, yeah. No one in my unique and fantastic circle of friends was giving this movie any chance at all of being anything better than Superman IV: The Quest For Peace or Batman and Robin. I mean, aside from me. I took a cautiously optimistic, wait and see approach. Well I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.

First off they had a trailer for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and man, I hadn't really had that movie on my radar but a combination of James Franco and crazy monkey army attack has got me excited. Looks like fun and an interesting take on the franchise. The Planet of the Apes could use it after the movie was Burton-ized and really just turned into a suck souffle. Anyways, here's hoping.

As we all know already this is the story of a young Charles Xavier and a young Erik Lehnsherr meeting each other and making sweet mutant love...wait, no, that's a slashfic. My bad. It is the story of young Professor X and Magneto before they were all Professor X and Magneto. It's actually a very nice "I'm sorry for X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine". For anyone who is thinking I'm all full of it - Rotten Tomatoes score for those movies are 57% and 37% versus 86%.

The idea of using the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop is a really fantastic idea. It never feels like the movie was forced into being in the 60's but just coincidentally happened at the same time. Having characters not always seen in the various iterations of the X-Men throughout their movie and television careers is neat, too. Seeing Havok, a non-fuzzy Beast, Darwin (!) and Banshee not to mention Sebastian Shaw, Riptide and Azazel (had to look him up on Wikipedia) was a ton of fun. I really like Cyclops and always enjoy seeing him but getting the chance to see his brother was actually just as fun.

I was unaware what a January Jones was before this movie. I didn't watch Unknown or American Wedding or Mad Men (yes, yes, I know, I'm on it) but I have to say, I'm a fan. Especially if she runs around in outfits like she does in this flick. This movie even has a mutant power of it's own - Being the most boobtastic of them all. Swinging 60's and all.

The movie also has possibly the best cameo I have seen in a Marvel movie yet. You will know it when you see it....freaking great

(Note from Carly: Below is the cameo that Evan T. is talking about... Don't click if you don't want to see it!)

I saw this with my fam as my nieces choice for their birthday movie. J1 and J2 (13 years old) both really enjoyed the movie. After it was over, they both asked me if "the blue one" (Mystique) was a bad guy now to which I replied yeah (oh, gee, spoiled for anyone who has never read an X-Men book or seen any of the movies). They both seemed kinda bummed. If this movie brought actual emotions like that out of some kids who didn't know or give a diddly squat about X-Men, imagine how much you might like it.

Another Note from Carly: Despite what Evan T. may think, I do actually want to see this movie, because I'm totally gay for X-Men. However, due to my infinite pregnantness, and the fact that I HATE being in a large sea of people, I have to wait a week or two to watch it. If you're confused, please refer to my previous post. :-)

The Editor and Carly Go to the Movies (and Then Realize They've Made a Huge Mistake)

2011-06-04T09:29:00.001-04:00

Hey kiddies! Sorry for being so neglectful with the posting lately. It's Summer, and it's beautiful, and we're having one of those "baby things" in six weeks, so I'm trying to pack in as many projects as I can before D-day. All that means is that I won't be posting as frequently, I will however try and stick to at LEAST an every other day schedule. I think between Evan T. and myself, we can pull that off.

So, there is a reason that Evan T. is my "just released" movie critic, and last night I was reminded why. Evan T. has this unique ability to not mind being anchovied into a movie theater with a bunch of idiots, whereas I just end up losing a little bit of humanity every time I decide to venture outside of my house to see a movie. The Editor and I had a free movie ticket that expired yesterday, and that is about the ONLY reason we went out on a Friday night to see a movie.

The movie we went to see was "Bridesmaids", which was very good. However, the people that a movie like "Bridesmaids" attracts, are the worst. We were surrounded by a bunch of chicks who didn't seem to know that they were in public, because they felt that they needed to A) constantly check their cell phone for the time, and B) explain the onscreen jokes to the other members of their party (eg: "OMG! There are NO lights on her car AT ALL!"). No shit Sherlock. That was the joke.

I hate being sandwiched in next to strangers as well. I believe I have expressed this displeasure in the past. I don't understand why, if I'm paying nearly $11 for a ticket, I have to be subjected to other people's ridiculousness. The guy I was next to wasn't bad last night, but it was amazing trying to watch him and his wife (who showed up just as the show was starting, so she she had to sit diagonally in front of him to make sure they could fill the theater to max capacity) try and communicate. It was like he was trying to land a plane. Outstanding.

Also, going to the movies makes me realize how shitty Hollywood is. It makes me realize that they make shitty movies, and they think that the public is a bunch of morons. I swear to God, two of the movie trailers we saw last night were for the same movie.

The first shitty movie we watched a preview was for a glorious turd called "Bad Teacher" starring Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. If when you read those names, you said "OMG! I LOVE Justin Timberlake and/or Cameron Diaz!!!!", you should really not be on this website, and you should probably think about killing yourself.

Cameron Diaz is looking OLLLLLLLD. I realize that people do that. They age, but I feel like if you're doing it gracefully, you can pull it off. Ol' busted face Diaz is still trying to be a sex symbol, and it's just not working for me. Like, at all. And don't even get me started on Timberlake. I liked him in "The Social Network", but mainly because I feel like he didn't need to act. I sincerely feel that in real life, JT is probably an egotistical, narcissistic, asshole who thinks he's funny, and because he's so successful, everyone around him encourages his douchebaggery. I mean, you have to be a total shithead to be in a long term relationship with Jessica Biel, right?

This movie looks terrible. BUT people will go see it. And that makes me so sad. I made a bet with The Editor that it even makes #1 at the box office the week it comes out. It's coming out between "X-Men: First Class" and "Captain America", so that could very well happen.

The next shitty movie up for grabs is "Larry Crowne", which just basically looks like "Bad Teacher", only with people who used to be huge stars, and now just need a paycheck. I'm talking about Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.

I know what you're thinking. "Carly, didn't I just watch a younger version of that trailer in the trailer above?". Answer: yes. Tom Hanks is the bumbling dork who can't catch a break. Julia Roberts is his hot professor. And guess what guys? THEY FALL IN LOOOOOOVEEEEE! *Barf* Really? Do you REALLY need to see this movie? I mean, how many times in a lifetime do you need to watch the same thing before you realize that Hollywood is just taking your money? *sigh*

BUT WAIT! It gets BETTER! *Sarcasm* The next steaming pile is called "The Change Up" starring Ryan Reynolds as a man whore, and Jason Bateman as a married guy. The two of them go out one night, drink a lot and then Jason Bateman wishes he were Ryan Reynolds and THEY SWITCH PLACES!! OMG! TOATZ ORIGINAL! Ugh, remember when they made this movie the first three times, and it was called "Freaky Friday"? I love Ryan Reynolds, and I have since "Two Guys and a Girl", but he's fast approaching on Anee Hathaway and Natalie Portman territory where it's like "How can I have time to miss you if you never go away?". I'm happy for these people because they're successful, but when they're cast in EVERY movie EVER made, it makes me tire of them rather quickly.

Yes! Finally! Another movie that shits all over marriage and having kids! OMG! It's the WORST! Amiright?! Sleeping around like a manwhore when you're well into your thirties is so cool. The STD's alone are A-MAZ-ING! It's like playing Russian roulette with your dick! There are no redeeming qualities to having a partner and kids. I mean, your life ends when you get married, right? UGH. Movies like this piss me off to no end.

The last movie trailer we was was for a movie called "The Help" (based off of the book by the same name) starring Emma Stone. This is the only movie of the bunch that I'd actually go see. The tagline on IMDB is the following:

"A look at what happens when a southern town's unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship."

It's set in the 1960's in Mississippi, where African-American women were good enough to raise the rich white folks kids, but not good enough to use the same bathroom. Of all of the trailers I saw, this was the only one that made me want to see it. The Editor thinks that Emma Stone is going for the Oscar on this one too, because it's a period piece and she's uglied up in it.

This is fast becoming my longest rant ever, so I'll try and wrap it up. To summarize:

*I will not go to another movie past 3 PM because I refuse to pay $11 to share an armrest with a stranger.

*If you are in a movie, you do NOT need to check your cell phone, so don't be an asshole and do it.

*I do not require a running commentary of the movie, so shut your fucking mouth.

*Any candy that is in a crinkly bag needs to be opened before the movie starts.

*Don't clap and cheer for the movie. They can't hear you. It's a movie.

*Respect the people sitting next to you. Just because you're a teenager (which generally makes you the most obnoxious person in the room) and your parents gave you money to go to the movies and get out of their house for two hours, respect the fact that some people work for a living, and $11 is a lot of money to spend wanting to punch you in the face.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll catch you when I can. xoxo

Hot Nerd of the Week: Simon Pegg!

2011-06-01T08:22:00.001-04:00

This is one of my most favorite British geeks. Not to mention a fabulous writer, actor, director and producer
.

Simon Pegg first entered my world back in 2004 when he played the title role of Shaun in "Shaun of the Dead". He has the ability to make me laugh no matter what, and to me, he is also one of the most attractive (albeit nerdy) guys to come out of the UK.

Simon Pegg was born in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England on Valentines Day. After high school, Pegg went on to university to study drama. While attending the University of Bristol, he was a part of the Drama Society, and also wrote his thesis on "A Marxist overview of 1970's cinema and hegemonic discourses". He also studied English lit and performance arts at Stratton-on-Avon College.

Simon began as a stand-up artist, then moved onto bigger projects. Thefirst notable project he worked on was a television series called Spaced, which he created and co-wrote and Jessica Stevenson. Pegg's best friend, Nick Frost was brought in to co-star in the series. Edgar Wright (who went on to direct "Scott Pilgirm vs. The World") was also director on the show.

In 2004, Pegg and Edgar Wright co-wrote the horror-romance story "Shaun of the Dead", which also starred Nick Frost. The release of this film launched all three of their careers even higher.

Since "Shaun of the Dead", Pegg has managed to make a huge name for himself, in Britain, as well as the states. Some of Pegg's other credits include, Band of Brothers, Dr. Who, I'm Alan Partridge, Mission Impossible III, Hot fuzz (again with Nick Frost), and Run Fat Boy Run.

In 2009, Pegg co-starred in the J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie, playing the role of Scotty. This was a role that would prove he could certainly cut-it in Hollywood. He will be reprising this role in the next movie, due out in June of 2012.

Another fun fact: In the comic book series "The Boys" his likeness was used as the character of Wee Hughie without Simon's permission. However, instead of going all "lawsuit" on the creators, Pegg has instead become a HUGE fan of the series, and even wrote the intro for the first trade. How awesome is that?!

A self proclaimed, "life long nerd" Pegg is one of the most awesome people in the film world right now. His likeability, paired with his kindness and dorkiness is the reason I chose Simon Pegg as this weeks Hot Nerd.

The Southern Vampire Mysteries and why I Love Them

2011-05-31T08:19:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great holiday weekend! I know I did. Sorry for the lack of posting, but I had a ton to do this weekend, including; bridal showers, car washing, thank you note writing, lawn mowing, UFC watching... You know, important stuff...

Last week, I purchased the newest book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, "Dead Reckoning". The rest of you may know this series as "The Sookie Stackhouse books" AKA the books the TV show TrueBlood are based on. The series is by far the best series I've ever read, and I highly recommend it to anyone out there who is looking for a fun Summer read.

I began reading the series before TrueBlood was picked up as a show. I've always liked vampire stories, and this one doesn't disappoint. The thing I like about HBO doing the show, is that the show and the book series are different enough to throw off people who read the books. The story lines are similar, but characters and events are changed, so that if you've read the series, you won't know all of the outcomes.

I love the series because it's unlike a lot of other supernatural book series out there. The books main character, Sookie, could not be more different than her angsty, teenage counterpart, Bella Swan of "Twilight". Sookie is a waitress, who has had her own hardships in life, and is not about to let a man, or a vampire tell her what to do. You don't see Sookie begging to become a vampire, or only limiting herself to one guy. She's a self-sufficient, no bullshit kind of gal, and I love that about her.

Also, unlike it's teenage counterparts of "Twilight" and "The Vampire Diaries", you don't get that totally creeped out feeling when you're reading it. Like "um, this vampire is 150 years old, and openly hitting on a 17 year old....". Sookie is 25 when the series begins, and although the vampire who are trying to court her are quite a bit older, the creep factor is much lower, especially since she's out of high school and can legally vote.

The author of the series, Charlaine Harris, is an amazing writer with an amazing sense of humor. There are so many different types of "supes" in the world that she has created (which I won't get into, because I don't want to spoil anything for people watching the show). At one point while reading thee books, I almost though to myself "Oh shit, Charlaine, you've jumped the shark on this one", but she manages to pull it back in, and make it all make sense.

There are currently eleven books in the series (with at LEAST two more to go), and I highly suggest them to anyone who is looking for something to take on vacation, or just read at the office this Summer. I managed to get through the most recent book in less than three days, because it's just that hard to put down. Oh, and if you haven't gotten on the TrueBlood TV show wagon, it's a MUST.

And we should all thank him for it.

2011-05-28T15:59:00.001-04:00

Carly's Thoughts on "Deadwood"

2011-05-27T08:34:00.001-04:00

Good morning everyone! Hope you slept better than I did. It was miserably hot here in Upstate New York last night, and even after my middle-of-the-night escapades in the yard turning on the central air, it was still miserably hot. I don't understand why in NY we go from extreme cold to extreme hot, with no real in between. I would have gladly taken a few days of mid 60's and sunny. But enough about the weather...

The Editor and I began watching "Deadwood" a last week. At first I was somewhat unexcited to watch the show. I mean, I love watching The Editor play "Red Dead Redemption" and I love Westerns for the most part, but I suppose it was my fear of the unknown that kept me away from "Deadwood" for so long.

It's fantastic. It's an awesome story about life in the old west. Deadwood is a lawless territory that is not part of any country, and the citizens want to keep it that way. They make their own law, and see to their own punishments. Mostly all the women are prostitutes, but still try to find a way to make the best out of the lives they're given.

Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane have been featured prominently in season one so far, and that makes the story even more awesome. The character of Calamity Jane *might* be one of my most favorite characters in a television series ever. She's a rough and tumble, no bullshit, foul mouthed woman, who doesn't take crap from anyone. She offers a good heart, and fantastic comic relief.

The show offers a lot of historical relevance, and gives the viewer a glimpse into what it was like to live in the old west. The good (gold prospecting) and the bad (smallpox). Of course, many of the names have been altered, and some historical facts have been as well, but it still makes for some DAMN good TV.

Oh, and you know who is in the show? Um, EVERYONE. Yeah, you'll enjoy picking out all of the actors you know in the show just as much as you'll enjoy the show itself! It truly is s star studded cast. If you've ever watched "True Blood", "Sons of Anarchy", "Dexter" or watched the movie Winters Bone, chances are, you'll know a LOT of the actors.

If you're a fan of westerns, and you don't mind profanity, I put "Deadwood" high on the list for good Summer watching.

Hot Nerd of the Week: Bruce Campbell!

2011-05-26T08:39:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for missing a post yesterday! I was running all day, and then Nerd Night happened, so I apologize. Anyhoo, on with the show!

This week's Hot Nerd is someone I hold close to my heart because he's from my home state. The super-awesome, hand-shaped state of Michigan.

*GASP!* Is that... Brisco Couty Jr.?!

Born in 1958 to a a homemaker and an amateur actor/billboard inspector, Bruce spent his early years making Super 8 movies with close friend (And now HUGE director) Sam Raimi. The two went to high school, and their love of writing, directing, acting and producing lead them both to extremely successful film careers as adults.

The first large movie Bruce and Sam worked on was Evil Dead. They created this movie on an extermely small budget, and after a glowing review from author Steven King, the movie began to grow in popularity, even becoming the number one movie in Great Britain at one point.


"You ain't got but two things going for ya right now. Jack and shit. And Jack just left town."

The Evil Dead franchise sparked two sequels: Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, both of which are widely regarded as "cult classics" and are also credited for creating the "horror-comedy" genre of movies.

As Raimi's success grew, so did Bruce's. Bruce was in a number of other Raimi-directed movies such as Darkman, The Quick and the Dead and most notably all three of the most recent Spider-Man movies.

Army of Darkness comic book

In addition to working on projects with Sam, Bruce also carved a niche for himself in Hollywood, making cameo roles in movies such as Congo, Fargo, McHales Navy, Escape from L.A., Sky High, as well as many more. He has also lent his voice talent to movies such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Bruce has also done a TON of television work. He was the title role in the Fox Saturday morning show The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.. Bruce also worked on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Xena: Warrior Princess, The X-Files, Charmed, and most recent (and notably) Bruce has had the lead role in Burn Notice.

Quite possibly the best book you'll ever read.

Bruce Campbell has done a lot in his lifetime. From acting, to writing and producing, it seems like he's done it all. If you ever get the chance to read one of his books, I highly suggest you do. Unlike a lot of "Hollywood types", Bruce knows just how lucky he is, and how far hard work can take you. He also seems like a very funny and kind person, and he is known for being great to his fans. His work ethic, paired with his ability to make me laugh is why I've named B list actor Bruce Campbell this weeks Hot Nerd.

Macho Man Randy Savage: In Memorium.

2011-05-24T07:31:00.002-04:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! By now, I'm sure everyone knows about the tragic loss of one of the wrestling worlds greatest characters last week. I'm not joking when I say that he was one of my favorite wrestlers ever. I was never big into WWE or anything like that, I just liked the character of Macho Man. He was scary and sweet to me, both a the same time. Also, he has been my favorite character in "WWE All-Stars" as of recently, and when I have the windows open while playing, the neighbors can often hear me shouting "OOOOOOOoooooohhhhh YYYYEEEEeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!" at the top of my lungs while playing.

Randall Mario Poffo (AKA Randy Savage) was born November 15th 1952. A second generation wrestler (his father being Angelo Poffo), Randy took to wrestling like a fish to water. However, prior to his wrestling career, he played minor league baseball for four seasons. He began wrestling as a way to keep in shape in the baseball off season, and eventually decided to quit baseball, and wrestle full-time. During his career the Macho Man held twenty championship titles, and is a ten time world champion. The WWE also named Savage the greatest champion of all time and credited him for bringing "a higher level of credibility to the title through his amazing in-ring performances."

Randy Savage has accomplished so much in his lifetime. In addition to wrestling, he also co-starred in movies like "Spider-Man" and "Ready to Rumble" as well as lending his voice talent to a number of animated television shows and movies. And don't forget about the classic "Snap into a Slim Jim!". Oh, and there was that rap album he put out in 2003, but we don't talk about that...

The Macho Man was a great guy with a fantastic personality, and he will be greatly missed.

Editors Note: Shortly after I wrote this post, I came across THIS totally interesting story in Sports Illustrated.com about Macho Man's time with baseball. It was a fascinating read to me.

Jason Statham is the Shit.

2011-05-23T08:06:00.001-04:00

Jason Statham is amazing. The way Evan T. feels about Vin Diesel is the way I feel about Jason Statham. I just watched "The Mechanic" and it was amazing. From co-star Ben Foster to the really cheesy CG blood, the movie was awesome. It was Jason Statham being Jason Statham.

The best part about "The Mechanic" is the mind fuck that J.S.' character gives to one of his boss' lackeys by making the guy think that J.S. put his daughters hand in the garbage disposal. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Also, when J.S. throws a guy out of a bus window, and the guy proceeds to get hit by a car is pretty amazing too. I'm pretty sure that I've gone far too long without virtually maiming something with a melee weapon, and that is why I found so much pleasure in these scenes. I'm usually not such a sick individual, I've just had a reeeeeally long weekend.

Did you know that Jason Statham was on the 1992 Olympic diving team for Great Britain? How about that he used to be a black market salesman? No? How about the fact that he was a male model? Yeah, that's right. Everything about Jason Statham is awesome. He is also British, which makes him infinitely more awesome than you (unless, of course, you're British).

Thank you.

Evan T.'s Long Overdue Review of FAST FIVE!

2011-05-20T08:02:00.001-04:00

Okay, so originally I was not going to write a review for this movie as it didn't really fit into the CarlyOnComics mold. However, after being asked by She who will not be named (Carly) I sit here trying to find the words to express how amazing this movie is. As a preface to this, I should note I am a fan through and through and though normally that might get the better of me, you should still check out the review.

Do you remember how Christmas used to feel? When you were young and everything was just magical? Take that, multiply it by your first beer and multiply that by infinity. That is how FAST FIVE felt. As a long time fan of the franchise I had been excited to see what they would do for the newest installment. When I heard that it would be going in a different direction I had some trepidations, obviously.. Would they be destroying the franchise I had grown to love? Answer is NO, they just made it better.

Right now Marvel is doing a bunch of .1 issues as jumping on points for people who might not have been regular readers of a particular series. Well think of this movie as FAST FIVE.1 because you don't need any sort of previous knowledge of the films to have a great time at these flicks. Are there little Easter eggs for the fans? Yeah, you know it. But if you have never seen a Fast and Furious movie you can still see this movie and enjoy the holy heck out of it.

FAST FIVE is about Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) deciding that the life of on the run criminal will no longer do and they should end their running by pulling off a heist of a Brazilian drug lord and taking that money to start new lives. They wont be going alone, though, as they make the calls to former Fast and Furious costars to help them commit the crime. Standing in their way is Luke Hobbs (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) a federal agent tasked with the capture of the fugitives.

As a fan of "Popcorn movies" this movie really just does everything you want it to do for the get go. It's funny and never stops entertaining. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a movie with Fast in the title doesn't have any slow spots. A couple of actions scenes, a great race through the city of Rio with a safe attached doing things I haven't ever thought about in a movie before and one of the best ending/wrap up scenes I have witnessed in recent memory. Danza Kuduro!

Even beyond my fanboy silliness this movie stands tall as a fun action movie fully deserving of your hard earned money. My favorite quote about this movie, and forgive me because i cannot remember where I saw it, is "Fast Five out-Bad Boys II Bad Boys II" That pretty much says it all.

CEA + RPG = WTF?

2011-05-19T08:13:00.001-04:00

Okay, so. Last night we began playing the "Star Wars" role playing game after taking, like, a two month hiatus. After returning to the game, I think I may have been the only person enjoying the hiatus. I don't know what is wrong with me when it comes to RPG's. I've tried D&D, Abberrant, and the "Star Wars" game, and I just don't think I was cut out for the world of role playing games.

It's certainly not a lack of imagination. I think it may be lack of attention span. For some reason I have the ability to imagine what my character looks like, imagine what the area (or ship) looks like, and imagine what my adventuring team looks like, I just can't find that place inside of me that BECOMES that character. Often times I'll be found in my own little world, with a sketch pad and some sharpies creating my vision of the world, meanwhile, my actual gaming character has no idea what is going on, and remains the mute of the group.

The only time I ever open my mouth is when I want to get in a scuffle. I'm truly beginning to believe that there are two types of gamers; those who kick-ass at RPG's, and those who kick-ass at first person shooter type stuff. I'm of the latter group. I like things to go fast, and hard, and intense. RPG games are a lot of discussion, without a lot of actual ass kicking, so I tend to lose interest.

It just makes me kinda sad because I see everyone else having such a great time, and I wish I could do that too. Meanwhile, I'm in the corner doodling, and secretly hoping we'll start up another game of "Give Me the Brain".

I will continue to play because I love my friends. They have been super great about accepting my shortfalls when it comes to RPG's, and they usually take it pretty easy on me. I may not love the game we're playing right now, but my Wednesday night nerds are the best people in the world, and I wouldn't trade my Wednesdays for anything. :-)

Gallery of Carly's RPG Artwork

I have decided to share a couple of pieces of artwork from my RPG gallery with all of you. I hope you enjoy!

DODA. My "Star Wars" character

Mer-lady. Doodled this one up out of nowhere.

Programming note: The parental units are coming into town this evening, which means I'm going to be maintaining somewhat of a radio silence until Sunday. Evan T. promised me some articles last night, so hopefully, it'll be enough content to get us through the next 2-3 days. I'll be talking to y'all on Monday!

Hot Nerd of the Week: Kate Beckinsale!

2011-05-18T07:25:00.001-04:00

I know it's a day late, but I felt the need to post about Smallville ASAP. Onto a much hotter topic today...

I've been waiting for this one for a while. She is just about the hottest nerd I could possibly think of. Kate Beckinsale.

I began my love affair with her back in 2003 with the release of "Underworld". It was the one of the earliest vampire/werewolf movies made, and much much better than that "Twilight" crap. I thought she was beautiful when I saw "Pearl Harbor" and "Serendipity", but she went from "beautiful" to "bad-assed" when she played the role of Seline in "Underworld".

Born and raised in London, her parents knew there was something spectacular about her. When she was six, she took an IQ test which revealed that she not only had an IQ of 152, but also the reading ability of that of an eleven year old.

While in high school Kate won the W.H. Smith young writes competition, for three short stories, and three poems she wrote. After high school Kate enrolled at Oxford University and French and Russian literature. She thought that knowing more than one language would help broaden her range of acting roles.

After participating in a wide range of stage shows, Kate finally hit the big screen in 1993 with the adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing". Since then, she has been in a large number of high grossing movies, as well as achieving the title of "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire in 2009.

This hot mom may not be a comic book nerd, but she sure is smart. And beautiful. There really is not enough praise I can give her, and that's why I made Kate Beckinsale this week's Hot Nerd.

Carly's Thoughts on the End of Smallville

2011-05-17T08:12:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I just finished up the "Smallville" finale. I've been reading a ton of reviews of the final episode all over the internet, and for the most part, the finale was seemingly widely regarded as garbage. I disagree by taking the stance of "Well, what were you expecting?".

I've been a "Smallville" watcher for years now. I've seen every episode. The finale wasn't disappointing to me, because thanks to all the previous years of watching, I had set my expectations set pretty low. I'm a comic book nerd, and as a comic book nerd I felt it was my duty to watch "Smallville". I would even go so far as to say that "Smallville" helped shape my nerdiness, as I was all but a sophomore in high school when it premiered. There were a few ups to the show, and definitely some downs as well, but why trash the finale if you've been watching it all along?

Over the years there are a bunch of things I liked. I like the fact that Lynda Carter (the original Wonder Woman) played Chloe's mom. I like the fact that Helen Slater (the original Supergirl) played Laura El (Superman's mom), and the fact that Terry Hatcher, who played Lois Lane in "The New Adventures of Superman", was cast as Lois' mom in "Smallville". There were appearances by Dean Cain and Christopher Reeves, which I though was also an awesome tip of the hat to Superman. I also like that we got to see a variety of characters from the DC universe. We saw The Flash, Aquaman and Mera, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl, Black Canary, Hawkman (and the other members of the JSA), Darkseid, Zod, and the obvious Lex Luthor, Green Arrow, as well as countles others. The show allowed me to pay attention, but at the same time not. I have enjoyed the show, but I'm not quite sure how much I'll miss it.

The bad things about "Smallville" to me include things like Lana Lang (whom I felt to be the most irritating character of all time), lack of acting ability, the fact that Superman is called "The Blur", and the fact that after 10 years of waiting, we have to wait until the last 5 minutes of the series to watch Superman suit up and actually fly. The CG on that suit was sooooo bad. I have no idea what they were thinking.

The series finale was like any other episode of "Smallville". It didn't peak nor lose my interest. It was just kind of bland, like most every other episode. I mean, if you put all of the truly awesome episodes of "Smallville" together, you'd barely have a whole season, so there are some huge amounts of filler episodes in there.

I don't want to give anything away in the finale, so I'm leaving this all pretty vague. Basically, if you're like me, the bar is already set pretty low, so chances are, you won't be terribly disappointed, but you won't be elated either. The series had a great run, and a good ending, and I wasn't left wanting more, so all and all it was a pretty good ride.

What a Nice Day for a Documentary...

2011-05-16T07:53:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! It's quite the rainy start to the week here in the Northeast, but hopefully that will taper off by the end of the week. I hope you all had a great weekend! I went and got my new car (yay!) on Saturday, and chillaxed yesterday. Anyhoo, I ran across the following video over the weekend, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE documentary dork. This is a mini-documentary on the Salton Sea in California. I was not even aware that this place existed until yesterday.

The film is an amazing story, with post-apocalyptic images, and fantastic cinematography. I hope you enjoy :-)

Comic Review: Morning Glories!

2011-05-15T09:12:00.001-04:00

There will be some spoilers in this post, so be warned!

Morning Glories is the hot comic book title right now. Of any other new or new(ish) book out there, I feel like this one has received the most praise. After the Boston Con, The Editor and I decided to pick up the first trade to see what all of the hype was about, and let me tell you, it's certainly worth the read!

Morning Glory Academy is a prestigious prep school that is hiding a lot of dark secrets. The story focuses on six new recruits. These recruits begin to realize right away that there is something not quite right about the school. When they call home their parents don't remember who they are, and one girls parents are murdered to teach her a lesson.

As the story goes on things begin to get even more sinister. One of the new recruits gets kidnapped after trying to drown herself, and the others have to go on a mission to save her from the school. If that isn't enough, it seems that there is a supernatural entity that is attacking students as well.

As the story progresses you find that some of the upper classmen (including the new girls' RA) who aren't quite right in the head, and that all of the kids attending the school have the same birthday. There is a lot going on in this story, but all of it keeps you on your toes, and gets you excited about the next issue. I don't want to give anything more away, so I'll stop there before I do.

It's a great thriller, and if you're into the whole "independent comics" thing like I am, you'll appreciate the originality of the series. It brings you in and keeps you guessing the same way that "The Unwritten" does. And with a end to the series planned (author Nick Spencer has 100 issues planned, with a definite ending), it's suer to keep you on your toes until the very end.

Technical Difficulties...

2011-05-13T16:59:00.001-04:00

Okay, so Blogger has been down for the past two days. I had posted yesterday, and apparently Blogger decided to delete that as well... *SIIIIGH* Please forgive me for the lack of posts this week, and next week. This week it's Bloggers fault, next week (Friday-Sunday) the parental units are coming to visit, so I probably won't be posting a lot. The Editor and I are going to pick up my new car in Rochester tomorrow, so if I can fit in a post, I totally will. Maybe I can even talk Evan T. into writing a "Fast 5" review :-) Until I blog you again, please enjoy Nanerpuss.

Superheroes from Around the World: Canada!

2011-05-11T08:20:00.001-04:00

Continuing our series of superheroes around the world, Canada is next in line! I find this most fitting, especially considering that it's hockey playoff time! Lets get crackin'!

When I think of Canadian superheroes, the first (and most obvious) one to pop into my head is Wolverine. However, I find that one too easy, so we're going to go with Guardian, the leader of Canada's superhero group Alpha Flight.

Guardian first appeared in the February 1978 issue of Uncanny X-Men #109. He was created by Marvel to expand the Marvel Universe, and Guardian was specially made to be the Canadian equivalent of Captain America.

Born in London, Ontario, Guardian (civilian name James MacDonald Hudson) was a leading petrochemical engineer and scientist for the Am-Can Corporation, who was working on developing a powered exoskelleton suit.

When he learns that his work will be used for American military purposes, Hudson raids his workplace, steals the prototype suit and destroys the plans. He leaves the suit to be recovered and fully expects to be sued and arrested for his actions.

Hudson's girlfriend, Heather MacNeil, uses political connections in the Canadian government to persuade Am-Can to waive the charges against him. As a result, Department H is formed, a secret branch of the Canadian Department of National Defence, and Hudson is named as head of operations. Hudson forms Alpha Flight as a superhero team for the Canadian government and develops his exoskeleton into a battle suit.

Formerly, Guardian used a skintight technological "battle-suit" composed of steel mesh and serves as an exoskeleton, which allowed him to fly, fire energy blasts and has a personal force field for defense. The suit design stems from a geological/oil-exploration exo-suit designed by Hudson during his early career. The original suit was clunky, over-large and awkward, though it did have an energy beam "weapon" system, ostensibly used for drilling/tunneling. The skin-tight suit is considered to be a later, possibly 2nd or 3rd generation, evolution of the original design. The battle-suit is cybernetically controlled and contains a high resolution navigation system. The battle-suit permits flight by directing beams of force towards the ground, propelling the wearer forward at up to Mach 1.

When he returned from space, the technology of the suit that formerly existed as a separate part of him was incorporated into his body. The alien Qwrlln converted James Hudson into a cyborg incorporating much of his battle-suit; some of his mechanical parts were visible on the surface of his body. As a result, his powers were greatly enhanced. Hudson's cyborg brain was half-organic (portions of his original brain) and half-mechanical. Hudson could control his mechanical systems by mental command, though he was vulnerable to being controlled by the Qwrlln through the mechanical portion of his brain. With great effort the human portion of his brain could override this control.

Guardian is a pretty bad-assed character, and as the Canadian equilivent of Captain America, he does a pretty great job keeping Canada safe.

P.S. I took most of the Guardian info off of Wikipedia, so don't be surprised if you go to the Wiki page and most of it is basically verbatim. It's Wednesday. I'm tired.

Hot Nerd of the Week: Kevin Smith!

2011-05-10T08:23:00.001-04:00

We've had his wife, and one of his childhood friends hold the title of Hot Nerd, but never Kev himself! In honor of him launching SIR (SModcast Internet Radio) this week, I give you the big man himself, Kevin Smith.

Kev has been a nerd his whole life. He was a huge "Star Wars" fan as a kid, and often retells stories of playing with At-at's and making up "Star Wars" story lines while playing with friends. He has collected comics from an early age, and whenever he disobeyed his mother, she would threaten to knock all of his comics off the shelf if he didn't straighten up. His love of comic books would lead him to open a comic book store (Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash) later in life.

Success first came for Kevin in 1994 with the release of "Clerks". This critically acclaimed indie film won a number of awards including awards from the Cannes and Sundance film festivals. Smith followed up the success of "Clerks" with "Mallrats", "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma".

The new millennium boosted Kevin even higher with the 2001 release of "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back". Kevin followed that up with "Clerks II" in 2006, and "Zach and Miri Make a Porno" in 2008. He is currently working on the self written, self directed movie "Red State" which follows a couple of young men who go out looking for sex, and end up finding a very dark version of the Westboro Baptist Church. "Red State" is set to be released in October of 2011.

Kevin likes to keep busy, so whenever there was downtime from directing, he had a number of other projects going on. Projects including; writing comics (such as The Green Arrow, Batman: Cacophony, Batman: The Widening Gyre, Green Hornet, etc), as well as writing introductions for the Preacher and Hitman trade paperbacks. He has also released two books; "Silent Bob Speaks" and "My Boring-Ass Life".

In February 2007, Kevin and his longtime friend and producer, Scott Mosier, began recording weekly conversations between the two of them. These recordings would lead to a podcast which they refer to as SModcast. In 2010 Kevin decided to expand SModcast by allowing several of his friends to make their own podcasts and market all of them under the SModcast name. The brand got so big that this week Kevin will be launching SIR radio, a live version of the podcasts.

Anyone who has enjoyed a Kevin Smith movie, or listened to one of his interviews knows how great a guy he is. He's super hard working, and holds his wife, friends and family in the highest regard. His self-depreciating humor, and super dorky tendencies are the reason I chose Kevin Smith as Hot Nerd of the Week!

Free Comic Book Day Wrap Up!

2011-05-09T08:54:00.004-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday, I was out celebrating Sunday by buying a brand new grill, so I can FINALLY have my "Trailer Park Boys" themed cheeseburger picnic, and I was celebrating Mothers Day by going out to dinner with The Editors dad and step-mom, as well as getting my ass kicked by a 7 month old fetus.

Saturday marked the third free comic book day that I attended, and as usual, it was a total blast. The Editor and I hit three different comic shops, and each one was doing their own unique thing. Our first stop was Zombie Planet.

Zombie Planet is primarily a gaming store. You need Munchkin? They've got it. Warhammer? Check! Lunch Money? You betcha! In the past couple of years they've expanded to offer comics as well. Generally speaking, they're one of the best places in the area to find variant issues of your favorite books, they just don't have much in the way of back issues. They are also one of only two places in the area that carry my beloved Ame-Comis.

Anyhoo, as soon as we pulled up to Zombie Planet, there was a line. That was automatically cool, because it's not very often that you see a line outside of a comic book store. It made my heart feel three times bigger. Outside of the store they had a storm trooper and some sort of other Star Wars guy (yup, I'm the only nerd left on the planet who hasn't actually seen the saga...) who were posing with everyone who came in. It was pretty awesome to see kids light up over that :-) Zombie Planet had the best selection of free comics, pins and Hero Clix, so I was happy that we hit them first. They even had a bunch of War Machine Hero Clix left over from last year that they were giving out. Pretty awesome.

After that, it was time to make our annual pilgrimage to Earthworld. Earthworld has a great selection of comics, back issues, and action figures. However, they also refer to themselves as "the Sopranos of comic books", which is slightly off putting. I like going there on a day when it's super busy and there is an event going on, but as a chick, going in there alone can be a little... awkward. Not awkward like "oh, check out the hot chick", awkward like "WTF are you doing in my comic book store?". But I digress...

The Editor was able to find some great variants there at a great price, and they were also holding a canned food drive for the local food banks, so they can't be that bad ;-) The Silver Sentinal (one of Albany's best known superheroes) was there, collecting for the less fortunate, and it was great to see him, since he's now off facebook, and I don't get to chat with him as much. Speaking of which, where the hell did Kick-Ass of Albany go? I miss that kid!

Earthworld also had some sweet assed deals on Blackest Night action figures. All of them were $9, which to me was a total steal, so I got two. I got non-zombie Star Sapphire and zombie Hawk Girl. They are awesome.

After Earthworld it was on to our final stop. Aquilonia. I love me some Aquilonia. They had pizza and cupcakes (every pregnant chicks best friend), and tons of sales. I love Aquilonia because the guys that work there are great. They're always super friendly, they let me advertise in their store, and they're always up for a nerdy conversation.

We ended up getting back issues of tons of stuff (all at half price), and a bunch of new comics (at 20% off) and even a couple of trades (at 35% to 50% off). I also ended up getting a Hawkman Blacket Night action figure from them, because what good is a Hawkgirl without a Hawkman?

My buddy, Jeff Burns (writer/director/producer extraordinaire) was there as well, promoting his web series "Super Knocked Up". We'll be doing an interview with Jeff sometime soon to help pimp his webseries, so make sure you're on the look out for that!

Anyway, it was a pretty successful FCBD, and if you haven't experienced it before, I highly suggest you check it out next year. It's a great tool to promote new (and old) comics, and a fantastic way to get your kids interested in reading.

Artist Spotlight: Jackie Santaigo!

2011-05-07T15:26:00.001-04:00

Jackie is an artist that I have admired for quite some time. I first met Jackie at the Albany Comic Con nearly two years ago. While I was looking for some new artwork to put in the Nerdatorium (AKA spare bedroom/where all of the comic books and action figures reside), I came across Jackie's table. Her art style was so amazing that I HAD to purchase a couple of her prints that second. My first prints were one of Catwoman and one of girl Robin.

At the next Albany Con there she was again! I needed to get more of her work, so this time I ended up with a Ms. Marvel and a Supergirl. Jackie's style is very cutsy anime-stylized, but at the same time super sexy. She has a way of taking characters that I love, and making them look absolutely amazing. It really really makes me wish that I had any sort of artistic talent.

While initially drawn to illustration by manga artists such as Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess) and CLAMP (Chobits, xxxHolic, etc.), over the years she has expanded her style, inspired by artists which range from the aforementioned Japanese creators to Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn), Adam Hughes, and traditional artists like Alphonse Mucha. She has a style that is uniquely her own, and is completely beautiful.

As previously stated, I have purchased quite a few prints from her, and just recently I commissioned her to make a piece just for me. Her prices are extremely reasonable, and she is able to draw on just about anything. As soon as Jr. is born, you bet I'll be commissioning her to do up a sweet pair of shoes for me! :-)

She's got a lot of cred behind her name. Some of her clients include Brian Pulido, Creator of Lady Death (Tales Told, LLC), Nick Tapalansky & Alex Eckman-Lawn, Creators of AWAKENING (Archaia Entertainment), David Rodriguez & Dave Reynolds, Creators of SHADOWGIRLS (Th3rd World Studios), 5finity and Bad Axe Studios.

Below you will find a bunch of links to Jackie's web pages. Please check them out. Like her on facebook. Heck, buy a print or two! You'll be glad you did!

Jackie can be found:

HERE - at her facebook page

HERE - at her Deviant Art page

and

HERE - at her personal website

Feel free to e-mail her with any questions or comments on her artwork. She is extremely awesome, easy to work with, and will take the time to thoroughly answer your questions :-)

Evan T. Reviews THOR!

2011-05-06T17:04:00.001-04:00

Hey All. The E-Man here fresh of a midnight showing of Thor. I am bursting with excitement over the movie and am ready to impart upon you a review!

Thor starts off much as the Marvel series started off. Thor, son of Odin, goes of to the land of the Frost Giants against the wishes of his father. The long time enemies of the Asgardians are attacked by Thor and his allies Sif, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral. Also along is Thor's brother Loki. After discovering Thor's disobedience, Odin strips him of his power and banishes him to Midgard (aka Earth) to learn humility. From there the movie is a tale of redemption for Thor. Usually I do a pro/con list but in truth, I have NO CONS of legitimacy for this movie. I will post my one con and all the pros this movie has going for it.

PROS:

*Chris Hemsworth is going to be the next Sam Worthington - As soon as Mr. Hemsworth steps onto the scene you just WANT to watch this guy. He really has "it". As I was watching it I was thinking back to Terminator: Salvation. That movie doesn't have a lot going for it but Sam Worthington really works the shit out of his role in that move. I cannot imagine that Chris Hemsworth wont be getting a ton of work after this movie and I am totally prepared to watch what he does next. As for him in this movie there is no point where you don't believe this man is the god of thunder.

*Green Lantern Trailer in 3D - Ok, so while not a part of the movie proper the new GL trailer is attached to this flick. And it is looking so so sooooo much better than the first trailers. I might actually be getting excited for that movie.

*Freaking Hawkeye! - Ok, so that was a bit of a spoiler. The scene works a little something like this. Agent Coulson gets on the radio. "We need a man with a gun up there to take this guy (Thor) out." Switch scene to a armory with guns all hanging up. An arm comes into view, passing by a rifle and an assault rifle. The arm grabs a bow and off the agent goes. This one scene had me so geeked out I was not sure if my nerd boner would ever go back down. They refer to the agent as Clint, the name of Hawkeye. Avengers, we are full steam ahead!

This movie has everything - Looking for a little comic relief? Yup, this movie has that and it never gets in the way of the rest of the story. Want some action/adventure? How abotu battling frost giants and SHIELD agents? Cause this movie has that. Looking for a little geek recognition? Oh yeah, you are going to see some easter eggs in this flick (The Eye of Aggamoto, Cosmic Cube, Dr. Donald Blake, etc). This movie really has it going on

Everyone in this movie is good, man - As I have said Thor is amazing. But the rest of the cast is fantastic as well. I'm not sure if it's Kenneth Branagh as the director really pulling the performance out of the cast or maybe they just really assembled an amazing group of actors but there is no week performance to point out. Odin, Loki, Sif and Hiemdall really stand out as great supporting roles.

CONS:

*No Balder - I am a fan of Balder the brave and was just a smidgen disappointed to not see him. I can understand if they had to choose between Balder and the Warriors Three then it was a good choice. Guess I'll just have to wait for Thor 2: Electric Bugaloo.

All in all this movie is a fantastic kickoff to the super hero movie season. It hits on all cylinders. I suggest you see it, see it in 3D, see it in IMAX, just get out there and see this flick!

P.S. - I am in love with Sif. You know, I'm just sayin.

Evan T. Speaks!

2011-05-05T17:11:00.002-04:00

So, I had the good pleasure of attending the Boston Comic Con (along with The Editor and the Carly One). I enjoyed the heck out of it and it really was a good show. They do a lot of things right and a couple things wrong as they do at every con. I also got to see the con from the eyes of a worker as I was working at my friends booth.

As a con goer Boston seems a little small. As much as I hate to admit it Boston is a major city in the country. This con seems just a little bit bigger than the one they run in Albany. Next to NYCC it's teeny. For a con on the east coast within driving distance of some major cities (Philly and NYC). The con also seems like it might need a few con exclusives. Just saying. Also there seemed to be no advertising in the convention center alerting you that a comic convention was, in fact, going on. It seems like it wouldn't be a bad way of getting some more foot traffic into the con.

I think that the small size of the con lead to one of the things I really liked - a family atmosphere. It was great to see so many kids dressed up at the con. Moms, Dads and children all dressed up was something, I tell ya. Just really super fun stuff and I would love to see that stay at the con.

All of that is from the eyes of the convention goer. There are a few things that you don't get to see, however, unless you are actually working the con. Quick shout out to my boy Andy at Downtown Comics who lets me work his both when he does a con. He is an all around cool cat and if you are ever looking for something geeky give him a look up on ebay (downtowncollector) and send him an email of what you want, he'll take care of you.

When you are at a con and you see weirdo guy with glasses talking to himself, you can totally avoid him. Not so when you work a booth. It is easily the most difficult part of working the booth. Watch "Clerks" and pay attention to the part where they talk about stupid questions they get asked. It's real, people. There are a lot of anti social jack offs in the geek circles and they all come out to the con. Woo hoo. Quick tip, if you are at a con booth, don't feel the need to yell, handle merch like it's got the plague, tell people "This way too expensive" or offer them two dollars for something much, much more expensive. They (the weirdos) have that covered.

I love the con and I love working it. I liked tracking down variants (between 2 and 5 bucks!!) and getting some awesome Marvel universe figs. This con has some awesome cosplay going down as well. My favorite was dressed as the female speedy and vintage silk spectre. She was mockingbird last year. Other awesome costumes included Catwoman, Deadpool and the very nice lady in the booth across from us who dressed as Wonder Woman. Apparently she added something to the costume...Sassy pants!

Boston Con is a perfect con to cut your teeth on before something bigger like NYCC or SDCC. I would wholeheartedly suggest it to everyone. It is a blast and I cannot wait to go again next year. Maybe dressed up as a Space Woman villain? I can only hope...

Rant of the Week...

2011-05-04T17:01:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! I was going to throw up our next installment of "Super Heroes from Other Countries", but then the following articles found their way into my life. THIS followed by THIS were posted on Facebook today. Please give them a quick read, and then find your way back here.

As a true fan, these articles really, really bummed me out. Adam Hughes is one of my most favorite artists ever, and J. Scott Campbell is one of The Editors favorites. I just don't understand for the life of me why someone would take advantage of an artists goodwill the way that this scumbag did. I can tell you, he wasn't the only one doing it though.

Remember the article that I wrote Monday about the Boston Con wrap up, and the guy with STACKS of the same comic books for J. Scott Campbell to sign? That guy is right up there with sketch guy. Hell, for all I know, it could be the same person.

It's completely disrespectful to the artist, and the fans who came out to see the artist to behave in this manner. The worst part is that this person (and I'm SURE he's not the first), blatantly LIED to Hughes and Campbell about their love of the work they do.

Later in the week, I'll be posting more info on the campaign that my friend Andy, of Downtown Comics, will be doing in the Fall. That ties in with these articles, because essentially, we will be accepting donations of artwork, comics, action figures, etc. all to raise money for a WONDERFUL cause. Now how are we supposed to approach people about donating to our cause without them being completely skeptical of what we're doing?

When you read the above articles, especially the one written by Adam's partner, you can tell that not doing commissions is not something that Adam really wants to give up, and he knows he's letting his fans down, but at the end of the day, can you blame him? I mean, if everyone could just try a little bit harder to adhere to the golden rule, the world really would be a better place, and shitheads like this wouldn't exist.

Hot Nerd of the Week: Brea Grant!

2011-05-03T16:53:00.001-04:00

Brea Grant is hot. Ever since I first saw her on "Heroes", I was in love. Then, come to find out, she is a total nerd too. I'm not gay, but if I were, she'd totally be my girl.

As far as a bio goes, there isn't really a whole lot about her. She was born in October of 1981, and began appearing on television shows in 2008, with her appearance on "Friday Night Lights". She is best known as Daphne Millbrook (AKA The Speedster) in "Heroes". She is currently wrapping up a few indie flicks, as well as a SyFy movie titled ""Ice Road Terror", which will premiere in June.

She was in school, about ready to graduate and teach history, when she decided to begin taking acting classes. She loved it so much, she never looked back.

In 2010, Brea made her foray into the comic book world by writing We Will Bury You with her brother, Zane Grant. The wonderful *swooon* Mr. Ben Templesmith did the cover artwork for the first issue. The comic is described as follows:

1927: The first talkie ended the silent film era, the first man completed a solo transatlantic flight, and… a zombie virus decimated the human race. Two unlikely heroines use their unorthodox skills to survive as a zombie infection spreads through the streets of New York and beyond. Brea Grant and Zane Grant promise the worst breakup ever and an epic beginning to this historical horror miniseries.

In addition to We Will Bury You, Brea is also currently writing the comic book series Suicide Girls with notorious IDW horror writer Steve Niles. I have yet to pick up any of the work she's done, but if she's in good with Steve Niles AND Ben Templesmith, I'm going to have to pick it up soon.

Brea has a great sense of humor as well. Her blog is a lot like mine and I like that. Instead of limiting herself to just one thing to write about, she writes about a ton of different stuff. THIS may be one of the greatest rants I have ever read in my life.

In her blog, Brea expresses her love of going to cons and her love for her fans, and that's why I'm making her this weeks Hot Nerd.

Boston Con Wrap Up!

2011-05-02T17:13:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! Oh how I have missed you... We had a great time at the Boston Comic Con! I'm going to break it down just as I did with the Albany Con about some likes and dislikes. Evan T. will be chiming in at some point as well, as he was there working the entire weekend, and The Editor and I were only present on Saturday.

The Boston Con honestly, was smaller than I thought it was going to be. However, it seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. That being said there were a lot of great stores there representing (Newbury Comics, Harrisons, Midtown, etc), as well as a lot of independent dealers offloading their stashes. The Editor and I made out VERY well in the comic book department. We found a lot of filler stuff at great prices, as well as a bunch of variant covers at phenomenal prices. When it was all said and done (and the comics were put into the database), the price that the comics were valued at was three times as much as we paid for the books, so we were pretty happy.

I was amazed that we stuck to comics only. I'm such an action figure nerd that I was fully expecting to drop a hefty wad on what I call "accessories". Besides the comics, I got two prints. One of the Hulk, that was adorable, and going to be hung in the Danger Room (AKA nursery), and one super amazing Ms. Marvel print.

For being a smaller con than NYC, the Boston con still had a TON of amazing artists featured. I got my variant cover of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" signed by J. Scott Campbell, who I give HUGE props to, because he was signing ALL day. I also got my issue of "Sea Bear and Grizzly Shark" signed by Ryan Ottly (who is super awesome), but the crown jewel in my day was getting an issue of "Catwoman" signed by the amazing Adam Hughes. I've been a HUGE fan of Adam's work for quite some time now, and I missed my opportunity to meet him at NYCC, so it was completely amazing to finally get the chance to meet him.

There were a ton of great costumes there as well. My favorite moment of the day was when a guy dressed up like Deadpool went in for a photo op with a four year old dressed like Wolverine. Deadpool guy pulled out his (fake) guns, and as soon as little Wolvie saw the guns, he automatically stuck out his fingers like he was making a number "3", and started growling and trying to knock the guns out of Deadpools hands. It may have been the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Ever.

My only complaint was something that I'm sure happens a lot, but I have been lucky enough to not encounter it until this past weekend. While The Editor and I were standing in like waiting to meet J. Scott Campbell, the line was seemingly going nowhere. I asked The Editor why, and he pointed out the fact that several people in line had stacks of literally DOZENS of copies of comics for the artist to sign. I'm sorry, but that is TOTAL bullshit.

I can completely understand if you're a huge fan, and want to geek out to your favorite artist. I've been there. I've done that. However, when you make it blatantly obvious, by having numerous copies of the same issue, that you are nothing more than some douchebag who is going post the comic on e-bay, you should be reprimanded. Artists are too nice to say anything, so I'm going to. The following is a short letter that all dickheads like that should remember:

Dear Asshat,

I understand that you want to use someones fame to make yourself a quick buck or two, however, there are some of us here that are true fans. That being said, if you could limit your items to ten per person, the rest of us would not want to bust your stupid face in. Most of us would just like to geek out on an extremely talented person, and have that signature in their personal collection, and I promise it will only take one minute TOPS for us to do so. We're trying to respect you, so please try and respect us.

Thanks,

The True Fans

P.S. After having the artist sign 100 items for you, don't try and shake their hand. It only makes you look like an even bigger tool.

So there you go! I'll be back on in the next day or two to discuss a cause that friend of Carly on Comics and proprietor of Downtown comics, Andy LeClair, will be organizing very soon. It's a fantastic cause that is very close to my heart, so I'm hoping to rally a few of you readers to give me a hand helping him out. More on that later in the week!

Boston Comic Con Weekend!

2011-04-29T17:06:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Today's post is going to be just like the pre-Albany con post. I'm going to tell you a little bit about what's going on at the Boston Con this weekend, and then when I get back, I'll give you all of the highlights!

Since we'll be gone for the majority of the weekend, there will probably be no posts until Monday. At that point, I'm sure you'll be getting a post from me, and from Evan T. as well. Double dose! Anyhoo, on with the show!

Boston Comic Con Highlights and Excitement:

Artists I'm looking forward to include:

* J. Scott Campbell (Gen 13, Amazing Spiderman, Danger Girl, True Blood)
* Adam Hughes (Catwoman, DC Comics Presents, Power Girl, Wonder Woman)
* Tim Sale (JSA All Stars, Batman: Dark Victory, Batman: The Long Halloween)
* J. G. Jones (Wanted)
* Ryan Ottley (Invincible, Sea Bear and Grizzly Shark)

There are TONS of other artists who will be there as well, these are just the few that I am most excited about.

In addition to artists alley, there will also be a TON of vendors there. There aren't a ton of comics that The Editor and I are looking for, but we'll be digging for sure!

Once again, I'll be sporting my "Super Knocked Up" tee shirt to help with the promotion of the web-series, so if you see me, say HI, and I'll have a prize for you!

I'm kinda bummed out because I cosplayed the hell out of NYCC, and they're totally having Robin meet up, and I can't participate, because I'm the size of a small country at the moment. I'm really looking forward to NYCC, so I can rock Ms. Marvel once again. I love dressing up :-)

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and if you're in the Boston area, make sure you pop in and say HI!

The Con will be held at the Hynes Convention Center, and you can click HERE for more info!

Theatrical Thursday: Jersey Shore Edition

2011-04-28T16:59:00.001-04:00

When the videos for today's post came into my inbox, I could NOT stop laughing. For those of you who know my disdain for "Jersey Shore", you'll understand why I love these videos so much. Enjoy!

Superheroes from Around the World: Germany!

2011-04-27T17:01:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! I thought I'd take a couple of Wednesdays and do some independent research on superheroes from other countries. After the USA, Carly on Comics has the most views from people in Germany (Guten Tag German readers!), so I thought I'd throw some love to them first.

This project proved to be a more difficult task than I had originally thought. Not because there wasn't a lot of information on German super heroes, its because apparently, not a lot of German superheros exist. There were a few though, so I'll start with the one who is seemingly the most popular.

Franz Mittelstaedt AKA Blitzkrieger first appeared in "Marvel Super-Hero Contest of Champions #1" (1989). He was part of the larger German Superhero group Schutz-Heiliggruppe.

The following is all of the information I could find in Blitzkrieger via the Marvel.com Wiki page:

Not much has been revealed regarding the early history of Franz Mittelstaedt, save that he was struck by electrical energy from a faulty generator which granted him superhuman powers. With these powers, he called himself Blitzkreig and began a career as a costumed crime fighter. At one point, he was transported alongside various other international heroes by the alien Grandmaster in order to participate in a so-called Contest of Champions, but he returned at the end of the encounter. Later, he was seen among those who helped the spaceknight Rom against the alien Dire Wraiths.

At some point, Mittelstaedt joined a group of German superheroes, the Schutz-Heiliggruppe, and he was among their number when the team was sent to remand the Nazi criminal Red Skull to Germany to stand trial for war crimes, although the Skull later escaped.

Later still, Mittelstaedt was on assignment in South America where he was accosted by the villain Zeitgeist, also known as Everyman, who killed Mittelstaedt. Mittelstaedt is survived by his wife and son.

If there is anyone out there that can point me in another direction as far as a German superhero goes, I would muchly appreciate it. I went with Blitzkrieger because Google gave me the most results for him, but I'm sure that there are more out there that I don't know about, but would love to! I hope y'all at least learned a little today, and I can't wait to do this again next week!

Hot Nerd of the Week: Jennifer Schwalback Smith!

2011-04-26T16:59:00.001-04:00

Okay, The Editor told me that this one was kind of a reach. However, that being said, I am in LOVE with Jennifer right now, so I vetoed The Editor.

Jen is the wife of director Kevin Smith. Most notably, you'd know her as Missy from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back". She is the one who is not Shannon Elizabeth, and not Ali Larter. Jen has been in several of Kevin's movies including "Zach and Miri Make a Porno", "Clerks 2" and "Jersey Girl". She was also featured in an episode of the Canadian teen drama "DiGrassi". She will be starring in the Kevin Smith directed horror movie "Red State" as Esther this Fall.

In her pre-View Askewniverse days Jen was a successful journalist with USA today. She attended the University of Florida for two years before moving to LA to finish up her degree in Political Science. Jennifer is a self-proclaimed feminist, and she's constantly fighting for equality for the ladies.

In 1999, Kevin and Jen welcomed their daughter, Harley Quinn Smith into the world. I mean, how can you name your daughter "Harley Quinn" and not win some geek cred there?!

Jen has always stood by her husband, and been the rock for him. Most recently the couple began podcasting together. They started "Plus One", part of the SModcast Network, around Christmastime, and it is AMAZING. Jen is a huge science and news nerd, and her most quotable phrase from the show (which I have on a tee shirt that I proudly display) is "The fishies have no eyes!", which is in reference to a group of fish that mysteriously washed up on the shore with their eyes missing.

Jen is a science and tech dork (often proclaiming her love for Twitter co-founder Jack Dorissey), and she's an awesome wife and mom. Those are the reasons I made her Hot Nerd this week :-)

Summer Movie Meltdown

2011-04-25T17:02:00.001-04:00

So The Editor, Evan T., myself and a couple of other nerds got into a heated discussion last Nerd Night regarding the upcoming Summer superhero movies. The question posed was "Which movie will do awesome, and which one(s) will flop?". I really need to invest in some sort of audio recorder, because the conversation was so dorky and got so much nerd rage going, that I feel I need to share it with the world. Anyhoo, here were our findings...

The movies that were worthy of making this list were; X-Men: first Class, Thor, Captain America and Green Lantern. The boys all picked their pony and the findings were very interesting.

The movies ended up basically in two categories, top of the list and bottom of the list. We were all in agreement that Thor and Cap would be in the top 2, and X-Men and Green Lantern would be in the bottom two. My personal thoughts top grossing to least grossing are as follows: Captain America, Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE fan of Ryan Reynolds, and also a HUGE fan of DC, but lets face it, besides the Dark Knight franchise, DC isn't exactly making the best superhero movies. I mean, I LOVED Watchmen, but I can totally understand why people didn't. It was marketed as something it wasn't, and it was too smart for a lot of moviegoers. The story should have been told on screen 20 years ago when it had more relevance. Also, just watching the Green Lantern trailer makes me cringe a little. I think that the hokey factor is through the roof, and anyone who isn't familiar with the source material is going to be sitting there going "Why the 'ef did I just pay $10 to see a talking squirrel, and a bunch of dudes who can be killed by the color yellow?".

Again, DC misses the mark. They have every opportunity to make some kick ass stuff, but they don't listen to their audience. For the 1,000,000th time I ask, "Why no Wonder Woman movie?". Dudes would TOTALLY go out to watch a hot chick in tight clothes kicking ass, and girls would watch because, hell, it's friggen' Wonder Woman! I mean, lets look at the new upcoming Superman movie for a second. Once again, from what I understand, we will be told Clark Kent's origin story. Ew. I mean, really? Can't we just do it Superman:Earth One style and just address it in flashbacks? Or maybe take a cue from the newest Hulk movie, and do the origin in the opening credits? Until DC starts listening to its fans, they're not going to be able to beat Marvel at the box office. Plain and simple.

Next up on the chopping block is X-Men: First Class. I'm a HUGE X-Men fan, but *YAAAAAAAWN*. I really don't care. I mean, literally I could. Not. Give. A. Shit. I like my X-Men, I like their stories, I don't really give a rats ass about their origin. I think it being set in the 60's is a bad move because the plot is going to be lost on a lot of their core audience. You think that a 10 to 18 year old is going to understand the historical ramifications of what is going on in that time period? Try and ask a 14 year old who Celine Dion is, and they'll look at you like "Who the 'ef is that?". It's nice that they feel that we need a whole movie explaining Eric and Xavior's history, but I think the vast majority of people just want to see the X-Men kicking ass and taking names. Also, as pretty as she is, I've watched "Mad Men" and I'm reeeeeeally wondering in January Jones has the acting chops to pull off Emma Frost. I just hope we don't turn this into another "X-Men 3"...

Which brings me to Thor. Hmmmmm.... Evan T. seems to think that this will be the movie to win big at the box office. I disagree because at the end of the day, who really gives a shit about Thor? I mean that in the nicest way possible. I have NEVER been tempted to pick up a Thor comic. Not ever. I like Norse gods and fantasy and medieval, mythical settings, I just am not in the least bit excited to see this. I think it will do well at the box office because Thor is an Avenger and when they make the Avengers movie, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing him again, so we'll want to learn what we can about him and how it ties to the franchise. I think kids will like this movie because it seems like fun. There's a hammer and a god of thunder, and all sorts of cool fantasy type backgrounds, so I think it allows your imagination to run away with you a little more since it is not necessarily completely grounded in reality. One last little sidenote about the casting in this one: I honestly used to LOVE Natalie Portman, but she has now reached Zoe Saldana territory for me. I'm soooo tired of seeing her in every movie I watch. I'm hoping that she pops this kid out and disappears for a while, so I can miss her and begin to mend my love for her again.

Last but not least, there is Captain America. Love him or hate him, Cap has always been an A-lister in the Marvel world. His story is fantastic, albeit a little "Austin-Powers"ish, but at the end of the day Cap is a mans man. He is one of the leaders of the Avengers, and he has old timey values, just like one of the most beloved DC figureheads, Superman. He believes in truth, justice and the American way. I think the combination of story, likable actors, and the fact that he has the word "America" in his title, will make this the blockbuster. Also, if you watch the trailer, you see Steve Rogers as a weak, dorky looking guy who wants to fight for his country, and gets rejected because he's too small. He volunteers for the super soldier project and becomes a powerhouse! It's the classic "ugly duckling to swan" scenario, and who doesn't want to see that? Of all of the trailers I watched, this one was the only one that gave me goosebumps. Also, three words "Tommy Lee Jones".

I'll have to ask my authority on comic book movies what he thinks about all of these movies to really be able to see where the cards will most likely fall. My authority is my 9 year old nerd buddy, Clark, who lives across the street and he's awesome.Anyhoo, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I'm sorry for dumping a huge post on you this early in the week, but I've been storing all of these thoughts since last Wednesday, so I had a lot to say. Have a super week, and I'll blog ya back here tomorrow!

Happy Zombie Jesus Weekend!

2011-04-23T20:16:00.001-04:00

Hey y'all! I'm feeling a bit on the mend at the moment (and actually making a fruit tart for Easter tomorrow!), so I figured I'd drop a little something for the weekend.

Every year the Washington Post holds a Peeps diorama contest which is lovingly called "The Peeps Show". It's one of those things I look forward to every year. Here are some samples!

To check out all of the entries from this year, as well as years past, you can find them HERE at the Washington Post's website!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Programming Note

2011-04-23T09:28:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I've been really really REALLY under the weather for the past couple of day, so I apologize for not posting. Hopefully I'll be back online and ready to deliver you some dorkiness tomorrow. Hope you all have a great holiday!

Remembering Sarah Jane

2011-04-21T17:07:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! There was some super sad news in the Dr. Who world earlier in the week, so I just thought I'd take today's post to write a little something about the beautiful Elisabeth Sladen.

Ms. Sladen was bet known for her role as Sarah Jane on Dr. Who from 1973-1976. She has been a recurring character with each doctor in subsequent years. She is probably the best known Who companion, and in 2007 she received her own show on the BBC called The Sarah Jane Adventures. Robot dog K-9, and David Tennant were both special guests on the show.

In her life outside of Dr. Who, she had a wonderful marriage with fellow actor Brian Miller. The two have been married since 1968. Elisabeth and Brian have a daughter together named Sadie, who appears alongside he mother in the Dr. Who documentary "Thirty Years in the TARDIS".

After a short battle with cancer, the 63 year old actress succumbed to her illness on April 19th, leaving Dr. Who fans with a void where their beloved Sarah Jane used to be. The new series of Dr. Who will be premiering this Saturday, and a spokesperson for the show has said that they have something very suitable planned to pay tribute to this fantastic Dr. Who icon.

Wednesday Review: Game of Thrones

2011-04-20T17:30:00.001-04:00

Last night I watched the new HBO craze "Game of Thrones" twice, once by myself and once with The Editor. We both agree that it was a good show, but we also both agreed that it wasn't necessarily deserving of a 9.5 rating on IMDB.

The cinematography was absolutely amazing. It was filmed mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and it was completely beautiful to look at. HBO gave a big budget for the show, and it totally paid off. They also have some totally great people in the cast including Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), Lena Heady (of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles fame), Peter Dinklage (most well known to me as Miles Finch in Elf) and Mark Addy whom you may recognize from the TV show Still Standing or the movie A Knights Tale.


The show features Sean Bean as Eddard Stark

The story (so far) features three families. The Stark family of the North, The royal family and The Targaryen Family, a once noble family who was dethroned by the now royal family. I had to watch the show twice just to figure out who was related and how. The story starts out with some mythological elements in the beginning featuring a gang of supernaturals who murder people in the woods. Later in the story they discuss dragons eggs, and awakening the dragon, so I'm assuming we'll go back into that stuff later on.


Scary mythical woods!

The show was a little bit "Thor" and a little bit "Rome" to me. The family in the North was seemingly very viking-ish, whereas the family across the Narrow Sea is very Rome-esque. The show features lots of gruesome moments, as well as some suuuuuper uncomfortable incesty moments that will make you cringe. Oh, and there are boobs galore. Of course there is. It wouldn't be on HBO if there wasn't.

Pretty girls and horses!

All and all, I really liked the show. I'm totally into Medieval fantasy type shows. I am, however, very surprised that it got the critical acclaim that it did. I feel like if this show had been on BBC America, and not on HBO, I would be getting made fun of for liking it, but because it's on HBO, it's okay to watch. I don't want to dive too far into the plot because I don't want to ruin things for those of you who haven't seen it.

Peter Dinklage!

At very least, I would give the show a try. I feel like the story is going to get very interesting very quickly, and I can't wait to see where it goes! In the meantime, the show was based on the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin, so if you want major spoilers, go pick up these books.

Hot Nerd of the Week: Katee Sackhoff!

2011-04-19T17:04:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I didn't think of her sooner... Katee was born and raised in Oregon, and like most of our Hot Nerds she was heavily into theater during high school. After high school, she decided to movie to California and try out her acting chops.

Starting her career in 1998, Sackhoff was in a number of different failed TV shows and made for TV movies. Her first film role came in 2002, with the movie "Halloween: Resurrection". After "Halloween" Katee did some voice work for "Halo 3", and took parts in the TV shows "Bionic Woman", and "Nip/Tuck". It wasn't until 2004 that Katee got the role that she is best known for, the role of Starbuck in "Battlestar Gallactica".

Since BSG ended in 2009, Katee hes kept herself busy with playing the part of Dana Walsh in "24" as well as doing voice work for both "Superhero Squad" (she plays She Hulk!) and "Robot Chicken". She also had a pretty amazing and memorable guest role playing herself on "The Big Bang Theory".

From what I understand Katee is one of the most profoundly awesome celebrities out there. She is a staple at most large comic-cons, and she is incredibly approachable. The only warning about her is that you don't want to take her on in a nerd challenge, because she's full of nerd knowledge and could easily beat you.

If you get a chance, you should check out her website. She has a pretty kick ass blog on there, which she updates pretty regularly http://kateesackhoff.com/

Monday Randomness: Penguins!

2011-04-18T17:04:00.001-04:00

I love penguins. They're my favorite! My brain is so tired I am unable to function, so here a a few vids of penguins being their adorable selves!

Slacker Sunday: Albany Comic Con Wrap Up

2011-04-17T16:55:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Hopefully you're all having a wonderful, sunny weekend, just like I am. I'm in a great mood because I just got back from Albany Comic Con, and as you all well know, comic cons can cure whatever ails you, so I'm in a fantastic mood!

Some of the Highlights

Jamal Igle- This guy has worked on a TON of comic books, including Iron Man, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. I got to meet him today, and he signed issue #53 of the current Supergirl series for me, which he not only penciled, but also did the cover art. He is a super nice guy. More info on Jamal can be found HERE.

Jeff Burns- Jeff is a local filmmaker, who is currently working on the webseries "Super Knocked Up". I've been corresponding with him for sometime via Facebook, but finally met him face to face for the first time today. I'm so glad that I'm helping out with this project because Jeff is one of the most sincerely nice guys I've ever met. He gave me a tee shirt, so I got to rock out in my new SKU tee. I'll be rocking it again in Boston in 2 weeks! For more info on "Super Knocked Up", click HERE or just look it up on Facebook!

Cos Players- For some reason, these guys were out in full force today. I love checking out people in costume, because you can see how much effort (or lack of effort) they've put into their work. I bought a Hello Kitty watch from the Upstate NY Cos Player group, and they were certainly dressed to the nines!

COMICS!- I mean, really? What's the use of going to a con if you're not going to buy books? Amiright? The sellers had plenty this go around, including plenty of variants, cheap "filler" books and trades.

The Albany Con is seemingly busting at the seams these days. I remember The Editor and I checking it out for the first time three years ago, and the place was a flipping ghost town. Dare I say that come October, they may need to start looking for a new venue, because the Holiday Inn is just about at capacity.

My only gripe about the con is that I still couldn't find my ungettable get. I've been scouring cons for the past two years trying to find a Wonder Woman Barbie doll, and I can't seem to find one ANYWHERE. I need her so that I can complete the trifecta and have Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman all standing proudly on display in the Nerdatorium. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky in Boston...

Friday: I Don't Get It...

2011-04-15T17:08:00.001-04:00

Okay, so there's this shitty song by that Rebecca Black chic. I'm sure you all know of it. In celebration of it being Friday, I give you Rebecca Black's "Friday" as interpreted by a bad lip reader.

Saccheriferious Thursday: Rainbow Bright Edition!

2011-04-14T17:06:00.001-04:00

In light of the nostalgia I brought to the table last week with "Care Bear Cakes" I thought I'd continue the trend with Rainbow Bright cakes this week! Everyone loves her, how could you not? It's been lovely weather over here in Upstate New York the past week, so I figured this would be a nice way to celebrate that as well. Enjoy!

P.S. Make sure you real ALL the way though today! There is a little bonus at the end ;-)

And Last but not least, I thought I would include a clip from what is probably my most favorite clip of Joel McHale from The Soup ever...

Wacky Wednesday: Mickey Mouse Edition!

2011-04-13T17:00:00.001-04:00

This video speaks for itself... Enjoy!

Hot nerd of the Week: Kristen Bell!

2011-04-12T17:07:00.001-04:00

When you say the name "Kristen Bell", the word "geek" does not automatically pop into your head, however, this girl has TONS of geek cred, and she's known as one of the fanboys favorites.

This cute blonde is originally from Michigan. Growing up she was heavily involved in theater, and after high school she attended the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. One of her first auditions was for the role of Chloe Sullivan in Smallville, a role which ultimately went to Allison Mack.

In 2004, she auditioned for the lead role in Veronica Mars, which became her most notable role up until that point. Her role in Veronica Mars put her on the geek-lovers radar.

Since the conclusion of Veronica Mars, Bell has gone on to do a number of projects in film and television, including playing Elle on the TV show Heroes. Some of her more comedic roles include "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and a cameo in "Get Him to the Greek".

Though she admits not getting into comics until 2004, she is now an avid comic book fan, citing Ed Brubaker as one of her favorite authors. She has said that she is completely flattered that the fan boys like her, and she considers it an honor. This chick can talk comics, is down to earth and she is a staple at most Comic Cons, and that's why I chose her for this weeks Hot Nerd!

Manic Monday: George Takei Edition!

2011-04-11T17:05:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for the short posts lately. I've been dealing with a severely sick dog for the last few days, and honestly, that has been my first priority. You may have seen this video, but since George Takei is one of my most favorite people on the planet, I feel that I need to share his Spiderman: Turn off the Dark audition! Hopefully Doom Dog will be feeling on the up and up tomorrow, and I can give you a little more. Enjoy!

Slacker Sunday: Awesome Edition!

2011-04-10T14:53:00.001-04:00

This is more like a rant. It's completely not awesome, it's just what I wrote to get you here. :-/ All that needs to be said, can be found in this article HERE.

Happy belated April Fools, y'all!

Albany Comic Con and Why You Should Go

2011-04-08T17:35:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! As previously mentioned a few weeks ago, Con season is almost in full swing! Next Sunday (April 17th) is the Albany Comic Con. This con is local to me, which is why I'm writing about it today. I've been going to the Albany Cons for the past 3 years, and in that three years, the attendance has grown by leaps and bounds!

All of the local shops are there (Earthworld, Aquilonia, Electric City) as well as some private sellers who are there to offload their stash. There are people selling collectibles, tons of comics (both new and vintage) and a variety of different people in cos play. There is even a Star Wars cos play group that attends most of the local cons, so there will be lots of Storm Troopers and even a full size moving R2D2!

There will also be a pretty nice artist alley featuring many artists of both comics past and present. Of that group, I'm most excited to see Joe St. Pierre, who has done a TON of work on X-Men, and Jamal Igle, who has done a lot of work on the new Supergirl series. Usually two of my favorites, Nick and Jackie Taplansky (Nick of one of my favorite zombie stories ever, "Awakening" fame, and his wonderful, amazing, illustrator wife, Jackie) are there, but unfortunately they won't be back up to the Albany Con until the Fall con. Definitely two people you need to check out when they're in the area!

In addition to all of this other fun stuff going on, my friend Jeff Burns will also be there, promoting his new web series "Super knocked Up". It's a fantastic story about what happens when a superhero and a super villian share a one night stand that leads to an "Oops!". Since I'm too preggo to cos-play, I'll be sporting one of the fabulous "Super Knocked Up" tee shirts to help Jeff promote. If you come say "HI!" to me, there might be a sweet button or pen for you :-)

Oh, did I mention we're going to have a few real life super heroes there as well? Local superheroes Kick Ass of Albany, and the Silver Sentinel will definitely be there, so be sure to stop by and say hello to these two great guys who help keep our city safe!

Albany Comic con goes on April 17th at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road from 10 AM to 4 PM, so pack up the family and come on over! It's only $5 admission!

For more info on Albany Comic Con click HERE

For more information about the web series "Super Knocked Up" click HERE

Saccheraferious Thursday: Care Bears Edition!

2011-04-07T17:07:00.001-04:00

Since for some reason, I'm feeling EXTRA girly today, here is a dose of some adorable bears. Enjoy!

A Word about Hate from Uncle Evan.

2011-04-06T17:05:00.001-04:00

Ok kiddies. Come gather round ol' uncle Evan T and let him speak at you for a few about all this nerd on nerd hate going around nowadays.

I game. In a gaming store. Yeah, I do that stuff. Now to some nerds I am some sort of sub-level nerd. A lesser nerd. Guess what guys? To everyone else, we are just nerds, dweebs and geeks. It's like white people. No one cares if your Italian, British or German, you are just caucasian. To everyone who isn't a nerd there is no difference between Comic Nerds, Video Gamers, Yu-Gi-O Players and RPG Geeks. We are all the same. And we are never going to get are stuff together untill we stop hating on each other. DO I think I am better that the kids plaing Magic: The Gathering? Nope. Better that the comic collector who collects the Grimm Fairy Tales with cartoon boobies? Naw. Because we are all geeks together. I really don't feel like one type is better than the other. I know a lot of folks disagree with me but maybe next time you walk by these guy you wont turn up a nose or look from atop your soap box. Cause if you are reading this, guess what? You are a geek. A nerd. A gamer. Come together folks!

Hot Nerd of the Week: Alison Rosen!

2011-04-05T17:06:00.001-04:00

Any of you who are fans of the ACE Broadcasting Network know who this hottie is. She is the new news girl over at The Adam Carolla Show. I began my love affair with her about two months ago.

This hilarious journalist started her career at just 18 years old. Since then she has written for People, Rolling Stone, OC Weekly, The LA Times, Maxim and Vogue, just to name a few. She has also appeared on a number of television shows including "A&E Biography", "Chelsea Lately", and a number of news shows. Did I also mention that she used to be the guitarist in a punk band? Yup, she's done that too.

Her most current endeavors include presenting the news on "The Adam Carolla Show", and hosting her own show, "Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend" on Ustream. She has written a number of fantastic articles and interviews which you can see at her website HERE.

She is a great team player, allowing the ACE guys to set up a "March Madness" bracket to win a date with her. 16 men are competing to win a date with her, and she is an absolutely great sport about it, even when she describes some of the contenders as "rapey". On the "Adam Carolla Show" she also announced her plans to write two self books, one written from the prospective of a drug addict, before she ever gets addictive to drugs (a book which is still untitled), and also a pregnancy book called "What I Would Expect if I Were Expecting". Her reason for writing the books now, instead of when she develops a drug habit, or gets pregnant, is that she has free time now, so she might as well write it as long as she does. She has presented excerpts from both books on the show, and they are WONDERFUL.

Her good looks, and fabulous comedic timing are the reason I chose Alison Rosen for Hot Nerd of the Week!

My Gamer Score is Bigger Than Yours

2011-04-04T17:03:00.000-04:00

SO on Friday, I was asked the question "What are you and The Editor doing this weekend?" by my mother. My response was "Oh, I dunno, probably play some video games or something...". This was followed by a "And watch some basketball, right?". Oh mother.... You're so funny....

Truth is, I knew what I was doing the whole time. After over a year of playing, I was going to FINALLY make Borderlands my bitch. The Editor and I began our love affair with the game while living in an area where we were mostly secluded form our friends. There were several nights where we were up until 3 or 4 in the morning, because we refused to give up. It really is the most addicting game ever.

We bought all of the DLC for the game, and it was AWESOME. We rocked every single achievement in this game. Some of the tasks were a little monotonous, like in the Clap Trap Revolution DLC where you are just replaying the same thing to try and collect X number of pieces, or in Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot where you start a game, and it LITERALLY takes you 6 hours to complete one of three levels. Forget your friends on the days you decide to play Moxxi, because they'll just be a distraction.

As of Friday, all we had left were two levels in Moxxi's Underdome. We were up until 3 Friday night, and finished the first level. Saturday we wised up a little, and started earlier and had everything completed by midnight. The victory was a little bittersweet. On the one hand, there were moments where I wanted to throw the controller though the TV, and there were moments I wanted to quit and NEVER play a Borderlands again, but I knew, like and old friend moving away, that I'd miss it when it was gone.

Luckily, last week, The Editor and I were wise and picked up a new game to take the sting out of things. We bought "WWE All-Stars". At first when The Editor sparked an interest in this game, I'll admit, I raised and eyebrow and shot him and "Really?", but once we started playing, I was yelling "OOOooooohhhhh YEEEEAAaaaaahhhhh!!!" just like The Macho Man Randy Savage. It's a pretty fun game, although, even on easy mode, you'll occasionally get your ass kicked by the CPU. If you're a button masher like Miss Cara and myself though, you'll find hours of enjoyment in the game.

I don't even know what my inspiration was to write this today, but I hope that it helps steer you toward a new game :-)

Slacker Sunday: Some of my Favorite Websites Edition Part 2!

2011-04-03T16:19:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to some of the websites I look at every day. Here are a few more!

Dlisted- Dlisted is the best place in the world for celebrity gossip. Better than TMZ, better than Perez Hilton, and funnier than both put together. Michael K. is my gossip god.

STFU Parents- Everybody who has facebook knows at least one or two people who are notorious for making posts about their kids ALL the time. This is a site dedicated to the most ridiculous of these posts. As a parent-to-be it's pretty amazing.

Passive Aggressive Notes- The most amazing passively aggressive notes you'll ever bear witness to.

Fail Blog- The most awesome fails you'll ever see.

The Oatmeal- You will laugh. Very very hard. Bonus points for being offended!

Maddox- The Best Page in the Universe.

WTF Rant of the Week: Snooki

2011-04-01T17:18:00.001-04:00

Okay, so earlier in the week, I found THIS blog post. I was skeptical at first, but when I actually sat down and read it, it made a lot of sense. JWoww actually does have a pretty good outlook on life, and at her core seems to be a pretty good person. I watched "The Jersey Shore" for the first season, and it got old pretty quick to me, but JWoww was definitely the least abrasive of the group. She is pretty, and she's likable, unlike a certain troll on the show.

It's a tie between Snooki and The Situation for me as to who is the most irritating person on the show. The Situation is a total moron, who I feel gets a lot more credit than he deserves. I'm always listening to The Editor and Evan T. talk about how his idiocy is just an act, and he's actually way smarter than we all think. Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on that one. Sure, he likes to stir the pot, I have guy friends who do that too. Sure, he likes to watch chicks fight, but usually boys like to watch that too, in anticipation that an article of clothing may get torn off. But at his core, I truly believe that the gel in his hair, and the chemicals in the spray tan have caused some mild retardation.

Did anyone happen to watch the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump? It was unreal. The Editor and Evan T. were very uncomfortable and even felt bad for The Situation when he failed to deliver any sort of comedy, and was booed off stage. It was at that moment that I realized that true celebrities saw what I saw, a douchebag reality star who wanted to pretend he was famous by making fun of famous people who are always going to A) be more talented and B) have more money than him. I couldn't have been happier that he was finally being put in his place.

But I digress... This article is about the troll. In all of the time that the boys have been watching "The Jersey Shore", I have never heard a single intelligent thought come out of her mouth. Listening to her speak is like being awoken by the sound of a fire truck's siren at 3 AM when I'm sleeping, and looking at her is like watching a drunk hippo trying to hump another drunk hippo. At first it's funny to look at because you're trying to figure out what's going on, then the red rocket comes out and you realize what you're looking at, and you're like "Eeeeewwwwwww.....".

This all has a point to it, and here it is. Rutgers University hired Snooki to come and speak at their school. The kick in the ass? They paid her $32,000 to do it. $32,000. Let that sink in for a minute. Okay, lets say that you have a kid. You live in the state of New Jersey where Rutgers is located. Your kid is a freshmen. You and your significant other have been saving to send this kid to college since the time it was born. You've sacrificed. You've skipped vacations, and you decided to get the used car instead of the new car, all so that little nameless can go to a good school and get a good job someday. How THRILLED are you that not only do they hire a person who tells your kid "Study hard, but party harder!", but they also pay her as much as a FUCKING YEAR OF TUITION?! I mean, sure, you hire Maya Angelou, or some sort of Nobel-peace prize winning author, but SNOOKI?! For the LOVE OF GOD, you hire someone who is well on her way to dying from liver disease, an STD, or skin cancer by the time she's 40? I mean, seriously?

From what I understand, it was a student fund that put all of this together. To that I say, shame on you. It's so impossibly sad to me that the upcoming generation of people see her as a role model. It's sad that the upcoming generation looks up to ANY of them as role models. As well meaning as JWoww is, the words "role model" are not the first words I can think of when I think of her. The Editor and I are expecting a baby girl who is due in July, and honestly, the sheer lack of role models of today's society scares the shit out of me. We need more Biz Stones, Jack Dorseys and Chris Weltys and way less Snooki's and Teen Moms and Bachelors. I understand the need for entertainment, but since when did we decide that in our society, any behavior goes, and the worst behavior you have the bigger your star rises (Lindsey Lohan, I'm looking at you)? It's all just very sad to me.

HERE is the link to the biggest bullshit I've ever heard

Saccheraferious Thursday: Star Trek!

2011-03-31T17:18:00.001-04:00

Alright you you Trekkie dorks out there, dust off your communicator, and glue on those Spock ears because this one's for you!

Nostalgia with Evan T: Time to Take the Physical Challenge!

2011-03-30T17:02:00.001-04:00

Do you remember the golden age of Nickelodeon? When you were a kid catching up on the slime station while running in and out of your house playing. Yeah, that was good stuff. And I thought to myself I thought "Evan, maybe it would be cool to talk about some of those shows" So here I go.

Double Dare - Yeah, you remember it. The game show where two teams would battle in both trivia and the infamous physical challenge for a chance to make it to the Double Dare obstacle course. Now for the life of me I couldn't understand why you would ever answer the questions during the trivia portion of the show. Dare, double dare, take the physical challenge! All hosted by Marc Summers before he produced everything on the Food network.

Oh and what spectacular challenges they were. Where else, as a child, would you learn the skill involved in shooting four pies into your partners pants or soaking a cookie shaped sponge in a "milk like substance" and wringing it out into a bucket on your partners head all within thirty seconds? Nowhere, that's where! Then, if you won all that it was on to the obstacle course.

Devilishly designed, the obstacle course was an eight obstacle combination of doom and dispair. You would have to run through all these obstacles with your partner (and in later incarnations your family which I can only assume led to divorces and family splits) and after each station had a flag you needed to grab. Some favorites in the course where the one ton human hamster wheel where you would have to run in....well, a really big hamster wheel, lighting up numbers and lowering an arm with the coveted flag and The Tank which was.....a really big tank filled with packing peanuts or ball pit balls or whatever I think they could steal from the garbage of the local Chuck E Cheese.

Yeah, Double Dare really blazed the trail for all the other game shows to follow.

Legends of the Hidden Temple - Red Jaguars, Blue Barracudas, Green Monkeys, Orange Iguanas, Purple Parrots and Silver Snakes. No, it's not the worst bowl of Lucky Charms ever, it's my favorite old school kids game show. Showing the reoccurring theme of education and physical activity, LotHT kept me entertained every week. I mean, between a temple of craziness and a talking Olmec head how could you go wrong?

The show always started of with the Moat which the teams had to traverse weather it was via inflatable raft or rope bridge. This process weeded out two teams. Then on to the Steps of Knowledge! Olmec, the giant talking head, would tell you some story about some weird ass object of historical importance like "Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress," "The Levitating Dog Leash of Nostradamus" or "The Adonis DNA of Charlie Sheen". Ok, so the last one was bunk, but the other two are real. Then you had to answer questions about the story. Again, two teams were removed.Then on to the Temple Games. A series of physical activities would ensue. Then the final team standing had proved themselves worthy of entering the hidden temple.

So now after all that you can go into the temple to try and find the artifact Olmec had told you about. Seems easy? NO! You had to go through the rooms but every room had a challenge. In the shrine of the silver monkey you had to re assemble the titular statue. Another room was the haunted forest room where you had to jam your hand into creepy trees looking for the switch to open the door of the room. All this and temple guards.

In the previous parts of the show you could win pendants of life. These were used to bribe the temple guards to leave you alone. The freakin temple guards would bust in on you in any room like they were the police, scare the crap out of you and if you didn't have a pendant of life drag you ass away to what I can only assume was a blacked out van.

Again this show really holds up for me having watched it recently.

GUTS - A few years ago me and some friends were hungover like champs and looking to do as little as possible. We all sat there and watched GUTS for three hours and would have watched it for twenty hours. What a fun show. Later on someone (Not me this time) did some Facebook stalking of one of the winners we watched. I'm not proud of that person but it happened, whatev.

GUTS, oddly hosted by Mike O'Malley, was almost like a children's version of American Gladiators. Three contestants would compete in a series of events, most utilizing the fantastic bungee harnesses Nick must have bought wholesale, in a mad dash to earn points. These points would determine the winner. But after all the regular events there was the monstrous mountain, the Aggro Crag.

The Aggro Crag was the grand finale to the game of GUTS. Each player had a identical side of the mountain to rush up, hitting actuators on the way up. The Crag would drop fake rocks on you, blast crazy confetti loads at you and force you to climb climb climb. The first to the top won and the winner of the whole shebang won what might be the greatest prize ever. A piece of the Aggro Crag.

Now if you have never looked on Ebay for a glowing piece of the radical rock, don't bother. I do on a regular basis and would be more than happy to miss a mortgage payment to own one of those things. There wasn't a kid I knew then or a late twenty something I know now who didn't want that thing. To hoist it high above your head and proclaim yourself champion.

Yeah, TV back then was awesome. Now I'm old and wondering what the hell a Fredburger is or why Charlie wants to go to candy mountain. SSSSIIIIIGGGGHHHH

Hot Nerd of the Week: Milo Ventimiglia!

2011-03-29T17:02:00.001-04:00

Hello again everyone! We're back with a brand new edition of HNotW! This week I have chosen Mr. Milo Ventimiglia!

Milo is best known for playing the role of Peter Petrelli on NBC's doomed superhero show "Heroes". Throughout all of the ridiculousness of the four season run, Milo remained the one thing I actually liked about the show. Through the success of "Heroes" Milo developed his own production company, and is currently working on a number of projects.

His production company received a script, which they in turn, collaborated with the writer, and turned into a comic book called "Rest". The comic was picked up by Devil's Due Publishing in 2008. Milo's foray into the comic book world has made him as staple at most major (and some surprisingly minor) Comic Cons.

This guy seems to have it all going on right now. Besides his love of acting, he is also producing, writing, and directing a number of nerdy projects. "Ultraome" is his current project, which is a web-series that which will debate the comparative merits of science fiction characters. In the first episode Milo discusses the Lord of the Rings superiority over Star Wars.

Milo is also a contributor to a number of charities and organizations such as the USO, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Heroes Against Autism.

His "go getter" attitude, paired with his love of comic cons, and his sexy smile are all reasons I've chosen Milo Ventimiglia as Hot Nerd of the Week!

Evan T. Goes to the Movies! Battle: Los Angeles

2011-03-28T17:04:00.001-04:00

Movie season is kicking it up into high gear and the movies are coming quick out the gate. I'm going to give a little review of Battle: Los Angeles. If you will remember the summer movie rundown I did a little while back and this was one I was getting excited about. Standard movie reviewing will apply.

Action From the Word Go - Battle: Los Angeles (I'm going to abbreviate that to B:LA) does not make you wait long to get into the action. Much like the movie B:LA was being compared to before it's release, Black Hawk Down, B:LA gives you a quick, quick background and goes right to the Marines vs aliens fighting. it runs with that for the rest of the film so if you are an action junkie all you have to do is get through the first 12 minutes and you are going to be on the ride for the rest of the time. The fights are shot gritty, like a war movie. If this is the face of the new alien invasion flick I can't wait to see what else comes.

Everyone Plays Their Part Well - There is not any new ground being broken here, story wise. I will debate anyone, however, on the fact that all the cookie cutter roles are played well by the actors in those roles. Gritty seargant? Check. Green new lieutenant? Check. Tough as nails female? Check. Kid in a war who needs protecting? Check. All your favorites are there. The actors and actresses in the rolse really just make it all work for your viewing pleasure. No award winning stuff but noting that is bad bad bad.

America....F#&K Yeah! - This movie is a total 'Merica movie. I really dig that. I've been waiting a while for a military movie that is like something from the 80's where it was America rules, suck it! I might be in a total minority here but I totally loved that part so much, it was really really fun for me.

All told I loved this flick and I would see it again in a second. It's a great popcorn flick and if you go into it knowing that you will not be dissapointed, I guarentee it. Man, you are gonna have fun watching the movie, for sure. Aliens suck, go U.S.A!

Sucker Punch Sunday!

2011-03-27T17:31:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for the mini-break I took yesterday! We had a down router, and I was unable to get you your daily dose of Carly. Thanks to The Editor's amazing electronic and mechanical prowess, we're back and running on all cylinders. I promised you a review, so here we go!

What can I say about Sucker Punch? I'm reading reviews online to try and help myself make a little more sense of it, but I feel like it's getting worse reviews than what it should. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't THAT bad! Let's break it down a little further...

The Good Stuff

Visually, it was stunning. All of Zach Snyders movies are. I knew going into this that the story wasn't great, but I knew I'd be entertained, and I certainly was. The fantasy worlds were absolutely fantastic, and in the words of Evan T., I felt like I was watching a live action anime. The girls were all gorgeous as well, so that just added to the prettiness of the rest of the movie.

I know that people are shitting all over the story as well, and honestly, the more I started thinking about it, the more I liked it. The story is about a girl, Baby Doll, whose mother dies, and leaves everything she has to Baby Doll and her sister. This infuriates her step-father who thought it would all go to him. Step dad gets drunk, goes to hurt Baby Doll, and instead decides to go after her younger sister. The step-father kills the sister, and pins it on Baby, which leads to her going to a mental hospital.

In the mental hospital is where the story begins to get a litte confusing. There are two different dream worlds going on. Baby creates the dream worlds to escape the real-world and the abuse she and the other girls are facing at the hands of the employees of the institution. Baby comes up with a plan to try and help herself and some of the girls escape.

Through a series of "adventures" the girls try and acquire everything needed to leave the facility. In the end, only one girl makes it out, and it is her responsibility to then "live for the rest of the girls".

It sounds pretty good on paper, right? Now lets look at

The Bad Stuff

The movie didn't know what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a drama? An expose of mental institutions in the 1960's? A sweet action flick? It was all of those things, and that was a problem. It made the story incredibly hard to understand. It's almost as if Snyder had all of these ideas for what he wanted in a movie, and just decided to mash them all together. It tended to take you out of the story at times. It wanted to be a little Girl Interrupted, while also wanting to be a little bit Inception, and that is where things fell flat to me.

The Ugly Stuff

The girls were absolutely beautiful, however, some of them had a rough time with the acting. For the most part, I liked Emily Browning as Baby Doll. She was like a less-irritating version of Paris Hilton to me. She has a super sweet girl voice what could get a little grating at times, but generally I liked her. Abby Cornish (Sweet Pea), Jamie Chung (Amber) and Jenna Malone (Rocket) all did an awesome job. Vanessa Hudgens (Blondie) though? Yikes. She had the look down, that's for sure. She played a dirty-hot girl amazingly. However, I'm not sure of it's due to her Disney upbringing, but the girl can't act. There was more than one scene in the movie where it was her turn to take the spotlight and shine, and she was SO bad that it literally took you out of the movie for a minute. She is a gorgeous girl, but she should stick to bubble-gummy Disney stuff until she's ready to take on something a little more serious.

All in all, I would give it a nice solid B-. I wouldn't spend $10 to go see it in the theater, but it'll be worth the watch on Blu Ray. That way, if you like it, you'll enjoy the visuals on your HDTV, and if you hate it, you won't be pissed that you spent $10. I will continue to go see Zach Snyders movies because if nothing else, they're entertaining and nice to look at. Some film critics are saying things like "THIS is the guy the studios trust to make the next Superman movie?!" To that I say, it can't be any worse than the last one, and even if the story falls flat, there will still be lots of cool things to look at.

Programming Note

2011-03-26T15:14:00.002-04:00

Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, there will be no blog post for today. We'll be back online tomorrow with a review of the movie "Suckerpunch" though! Have a great Saturday!

The Curious Case of the Pink XBox Controller...

2011-03-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

So, The Editor and I were talking yesterday, and apparently, Microsoft is discounting their wireless controllers. The Editor managed to find them online through Walmart for $30 a piece, which is a total steal. Since our controllers are about 3.5 years old, and have probably 8,000 hours on them, we decided to order up some new ones. One problem: they only offer the controller in black.

While searching online I managed to find black, white and some sort of chrome color. I'm very particular about my controller, since it's become an extension of myself, and I absolutely TREASURE my pink controller. It seems that Microsoft no longer makes the pink or blue controller, and that makes me very sad.


My preeeeeecious....

Once again, I'm feeling like it's a boys world. You can go to Best Buy or Toys R Us or Walmart on any given day and see black, white, dragon painted, and Halo controllers, but what about something for the ladies? Not to make it sound like us girls COULDN'T use the black, white or Halo ones, it's just nice, as a gamer girl, to be be able to have something made specifically for us. Sure, I know I'm a sucker for marketing, but I'm a girl, and I like pink! I also like the fact that when we have people over, the boys aren't putting their grubby fingers all over MY controller.

Speaking of marketing, The Editor thinks that the reason they no longer make pink controllers is because they didn't sell well. I'd like to call bullshit on that one. Sure, they may not have sold well, but it's not because they weren't in demand, it's because most of us didn't know it existed. The pink controller was something that was special ordered through Amazon, and I can honestly say, I've NEVER seen one in a store. Every girl who has seen my controller is envious, and expresses that they would have bought one, had they known about it. Sony is doing the same thing. They offer a cotton candy pink controller for the Playstation, and to this day, the only place Cara M. and I have been able to find it is at Past Time Legends, a used video game store in Albany.


Even prettier pink than it's Microsoft counterpart...

The Editor and I did come to a solution with my pink controller problem however. We're going to pry off the pink case, and switch the guts out with the new controller. It would be nice if I could get an updated pink controller, and not have to pry the guts out of my old one, but until marketing departments realize that girls like to play video games too, I'll just have to deal. Problem solved.

Saccharferous Thursday: Indiana Jones Edition!

2011-03-24T16:56:00.001-04:00

In honor of my new obsession with Lego Indiana Jones non-stop, here are some Indiana Jones cakes! Enjoy!

Wacky Wednesday: Wonder Woman Edition!

2011-03-23T17:07:00.001-04:00

Here comes another rant! Lets start with this article. How many times have I expressed my disgust with Marvel and DC's portrayal of women? I think about 3,000. As you all probably know, NBC has gone to pilot with a new Wonder Woman TV series by David E. Kelly. Here's the picture of the new costume.

Adrianne Palicki looks like a total asshole. Let's overlook the fact that she appears to be holding in the worlds largest fart, and focus on the WTF? pants. Yeah, lets give her pants so tight she'll have to wear Camelflage to "hide" a few things, but what the hell happens if she has to run fast? Either she's going to melt her pants, or she's going to fall because her legs get stuck together! And forget sneaking up on someone... *squeak, squeak, squeak*

I like that Davis E. Kelly says that they're going to portray Diana as "a real complex woman and not just a superhero." Grrrrrrreat. So, we're going to have to deal with "Melrose Place" Wonder Woman? I don't especially care about her feuds with other people, or her many man-loves and trying to balance her work with her super human-ness. I just want a kick ass lady who is confident, and down to earth.

In the new series, she is a CEO of some sort of pharmaceutical company. Why? What's wrong with her being in the military? Or even a boutique owner like the Mod 70's version? Oh, I know, because that would be too releatable for a real woman to understand. You know us women can't think straight, with our hormones and periods getting in the way all the time. Also, the main villain is another female CEO of a rival pharmaceutical company. Wow. That is original. Way to shoot for the moon jackasses at NBC, no wonder your television ratings suck.

I guess I shouldn't be too upset though, because NBC has a track record of making shitty superhero shows. Whether they kill it after one season (like "The Cape"), or drag it's dying carcass around for four seasons (like "Heroes") it will eventually be put out of its misery. If NBC wants a story that real people will like, try asking real people what they would like to see. Don't just throw shit against the wall and see what sticks, because by doing that, you're doing everyone a diservice.

For a *cough cough* FASCINATING interview with Warner Brothers on this show click here. After you read it, take a moment to let it sink in and realize how unintelligent television executives think we are (OMG! Srsly guys! Katy Perry will be on an episode! We HAVE to watch!!). After that just remember, with any luck, it will be canceled after one season (if it makes it that far).

Hot Nerd of the Week: Walter Flanagan!

2011-03-22T17:03:00.001-04:00

Okay, some of you may know him, some of you may not. You may have heard of his dog. This guy is better known as "Fan Boy" from the View Askew movies. Born in New Jersey in 1967, Walt Flanagan has been a long-time friend of Kevin Smith and was the person who first turned Kevin Smith on to comic books.

In addition to being in Kevin's movies, Walter has done artwork for a number of comic books. The list includes Karney and War of the Undead, written by fellow podcaster and friend Bryan Johnson, and Batman: The Widening Gyre and Batman: Cacophony written by Kevin Smith.

In 2010, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson and Brian Quinn began doing a weekly podcast. The podcast is called Tell Em' Steve Dave, and is recorded at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey. Walter has been managing "the stash" since it opened.

There are so many things to be said about Walt Flanagan, but the majority of the best stories can be found on early episodes of "SModcast", and "Tell Em' Steve Dave" each week.

Walt's amazing sense of humor, and love of all things comic books (including that silly "Spiderman" musical) is why I chose him for Hot Nerd of the Week!