Saturday Rant: Comic Books and Goodwill

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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!