By about the sixth issue of G. Willow Wilson’s and M.K. Perker’s Air I thought I had a pretty good handle on just what in the hell was going on. Amelia Earhart showed up in a floating city in the clouds and made everything clear to me. Now I’m in Mexico before the French conquered England and I feel like I’m just starting over again. While I may have lost the path of the story the comic continues to be fresh, crisp and smart. This series is definitely worth your time but this isn’t the time to jump in.
Aspen
The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #2
Marvel
To tell you the truth, I’m just slogging through most of these tragic bits until I can leave the tales of Roland’s adolescence and move on to the parts of the stories where he’s a bad-ass ninja with cowboy boots and a revolver. Much like watching Titanic, we know Gilead will fall, we know Roland will live and his father will likely die. All that happens later though. For now Stephen King fans will have to make do with Roland going to jail. I get the feeling this is just leading up to a mountain of tragedy in the next four issues.
Executive Assistant Iris #1
Aspen
This comic is a steaming plate of bad-ass. While most of the issue is turned over to the task of demonstrating just how epically bad-ass it is, there is a kernel of a story in there. David Wohl seems to have an interesting story going for him but so far it’s obfuscated by a lot of business speak and ass kicking. Eduardo Francisco’s art lives up to the high standards set by Aspen’s other works and John Starr’s colors are visceral and vibrant. This isn’t a must have but you definitely need to take a look because there won’t be very many copies of these laying around.
Hooray! Anna Mercury is back! In this new series one of the constellation worlds has sent something into our world and it’s Anna Mercury’s job to recon this previously unexplored world that inhabits a dimension next to ours. The hottest red head in comics since Mary Jane Watson is in it up to her neck almost as soon as she hits the ground. I’ve got nothing but wonderful things to say about this comic. Buy this comic. Subscribe to it. You’ll thank me.
Berserker #0 Top Cow
Okay Milo Ventimiglia, thanks for the new comic series and all but weren’t you supposed to be working on Rest. Did that series ever finish? I don’t think so. Essentially Berserker is exactly what I thought it would be: a dude going crazy from blood lust killing anyone he meets. The surprise is that I enjoy the setup to what I know is coming. If Top Cow can keep that up, I’ll stick with the series.
I honestly never thought the day would come when we could look forward to playing a Beatles song in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. The rights to the songs are wrapped up tighter than a Gordian Knot and not even iTunes has Beatles songs available for download. However, on September 9th that day will finally be here.
The game will have 45 tracks on the disc when it ships. While that’s slightly more than half of what Rock Band 2 shipped with, this game promises to be a much more immersive experience. The buzz word that’s being tossed around is “experiential.”
Only 10 songs have been announced so far: I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold Your Hand,I Feel Fine,Taxman,Day Tripper, Back In The USSR,I Am The Walrus,Octopus‘s Garden,Here Comes The Sun,and Get Back.
I think we all knew that another Metroid title was inevitable. The series that was started by Gunpei Yokoi back in 1986 only got better and more intricate as it aged. And while it’s nothing new to have an outside developer work on the series I don’t think anyone was ready for the announcement that the legendary Team Ninja from Tecmo would be the collaborators on this project.
Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s dark and darkly humorous superhero story consistently meets or exceeds all of my expectations and #31 in the series – the first of a new storyline – is no exception. Expect plenty of ass kicking and even a bit of tragedy in this issue. Supes get put in their place and The Boys learn that they, too, can be hurt. A new storyline starts here so this is a great place to jump in with the single issues if you’ve only been reading the trades up till now.
Dead Irons #4
While I feel that this series lost its stride somewhere in the second issue, it does a fair job of picking it back up for the conclusion to the series. The story suffered most from not explaining its own mythology. It’s a mish-mash of monster traditions rolled into one comic miniseries with only the barest of explanations. The gritty art style absolutely lends itself to the western motif but is often found wanting when it comes to fine anatomical details like eyes. Having roundly criticized the comic I have to finish by saying that this conclusion was deftly executed and I would absolutely read a follow up series were the team of James Kuhoric and Jason Shawn Alexander to make one.
I know I haven’t been taking good care of Amish Otaku lately and for that I apologize but something of great importance has roused me from my apathy. In a little over two months one of the most epic events to grace this continent will be upon us and I feel it is my responsibility, no, my duty to herald its approach.
Only once per year can an event of this magnitude be contained in any one place. Only when the ice of winter has sunk its teeth into the northern hemisphere can the awesome amounts of energy that bring life to this event be condensed into one location. Verily, the epic righteousness that is MAGFest would leave a crater in the earth the size of Alaska were it to be held for more than three consecutive days in a year… and yet even that limit will be pushed solely to bring more awesome into your life.
You may doubt me but you cannot doubt the awesomeness of at least 13 bands and over 72 hours of non-stop video game/music action.
Still not convinced, then I suggest you watch this video that will help convince you.
Can anyone name a Studebaker model other than the Avanti? I could not until my crash course in the gorgeous works of one of American’s storied but rarely seen automobile makes.
Luckily, after around 40 years, the international Studebaker club decided to have their meet once again in Lancaster, PA this week and I got a history lesson on the brand that was originally founded by German immigrant coal miners who started building ass-kicking wagons for the Union Army way back during the Civil War.
With the digital camera in hand, I found some new automobile favorites and this car, a 1951 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe, which was Commisoner Gordon’s (Pat Hingle’s) ride in the rave-inspired Batman Forever. I saw the Gotham City decals on the doors and had to snap some pics. My friend noticed the modern light bar on the roof and I just wrote it off as a one-off custom by a Batman fan. It turns out it was a real movie car. Who knew Batman Forever, the one that introduced Bat-Nipples into the modern lexicon, had even this offbeat sweet ride going for it?
For the gearheads, it is likely powered by a 246 cube L-6 that churns out around 100bhp with rear drive and a column shift stick. No one was around the car to ask questions, so I am just going by specs I found for the 1950 Starlight Coupe.
Also of note, Batman’s first Batmobiles were Studey based!
Hey everybody! Anyone try on Air Force 1’s? They are super comfy, like wearing a velour cigar robe for your feet! With the Velcro strap on the mid and high models and “Air Sole” in all, they have every bit of that old-school panache from the days when Casio watches were high-tech and 190hp was incredible power from a V8. They have been produced in thousands of colors since being introduced way back in 1982 and are one of the most popular lines of all time, having been the basis for likely thousands of customs and models by boutique designers, including these DC-themed ones brought to you by Limited Soles!
Today I have for you their entire line up which consists of: Batman, Joker and Superman models! They all feature full-grain leather uppers with Batman’s getting additional exclusive suede panels. They also sport embossing, Batman’s with his face and logo, Superman’s with an actually legible issue of the Daily Planet and Metropolis cityscape and the Joker’s with his face and the classic “HAHAHAHA” from the comic books.
One set of kicks is limited to 1938 pairs, one to 1940 pairs and the other to 1939 pairs. Can you guess as to which pair is being released in which quantity? With the price at $110, they are not on the extreme side of a low-volume, high quality pair of collectible footwear. Click here for more information.
If anyone needs to satisfy their jonesing for Transformers anything, consider these creatively designed kicks produced by Nike. While these were released last year to coincide with the live-craption movie, Transfans may want to pick up a pair to hold themselves out until the sequel, titled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen like an F-grade butt-rock band, bows next summer, which will probably bring forth a new slew of Trans-kicks, hence the specific title of this post.
If anyone has ever tried on a pair of Air Max sneakers, they know that the walking-on-marshmallow like comfort puts most every other shoe on the trailer, especially Chuck Taylor products, which look cool. I like the look and I really, do but after having worn them consistently since 1991, super-cushioned Nikes have me spoiled. Especially considering that Chucks are no longer made in Springfield, Massachusetts and are sweatshop made by Nike in China, there is no reason to use the elitist pro-American stance that you once used to deny yourself the truth.
Of course, with the way these are colored, they are likely going to take up space next to your Takara Masterpiece Edition Starscream in your closet instead of on your feet.
These 3M reflective covered badboys are loaded with technical graph-paper striping and are readily available here, here, and here. Click the links for some great pictures as well!
Also of note, Revenge of the Fallen has had scenes filmed in Bethlehem, PA, which happens to be the town I was born in. The AO fanbase, which is numerically reminiscent of the NKOTB fan club circa 1991, will remember how much I hated Transformers. I have decided to not take it personally.
A lot of Batman fans these days may not be familiar with the story of his ever-faithful side-kick Robin what with his omission from these past two films. Actually, Robin barely gets any screen time these days. And in addition to this, most casual fans of Bob Kane’s classic creation have no idea that his side-kick’s shoes have been filled by more than one person.
To fill this woeful gap in your knowledge I present to you a true gem of the internet age: a drunks guide to Robin.
I wish I could take credit for this but I only found it and am passing it on to you. I especially like the voice over work.
None other than Keaton Batmobile number five is up for sale on Ebay! The price is currently up at over $110,000 with the reserve not met and around 20 hours to go, this is wee bit on the expensive side. On the other hand, there were only four more of these Impala based and Chevy 350 powered icons ever made with the added bragging rights of being a genuine movie car! If this 20 foot monster is even street legal, could you imagine showing up to a cruise night in it? You’ll get even more attention than the similarly valued Mopar wing cars, lame Italian exotics, basically anything short of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile or the Wonder Woman Invisible Plane! Of course, if I had that kind of dough to spend on a car, I’d have several different ones, but right now, I’d have a 1970 El Camino SS, 1967 Pontiac GTO ragtop, a 2008 Harley Davidson Night Rod and a Subaru Outback sedan with an STI motor in it, with the latter being my all-weather daily driver. But that is just me and if you’d ask me tomorrow or in ten minutes from now, my answers would probably change. Anyway, feast on what you cannot afford.
Guess what cheeseballs, it is Summer Olympic time! I was too cool to watch them in 2000 and in 2004 but after watching a little bit of the Beijing games, I am hooked again! I spend my nights with the Olympic broadcast on the left side of the screen, The Wire on the right side of the screen (I am re-watching my favorite series from beginning to end) and my GRE vocab book on my lap! Shelling out for the 24” Imac has its pluses sometimes. I even have space at the bottom of my screen to look up worthless Olympic facts.
If you find yourself too cool to watch the Summer Olympics, you may also find yourself too cool to be a fan of Superman, and there are probably many of you based on the chilled reception that Superman Returns received at the box office in 2006. Nonetheless, Supes needs a healthy injection of badass mojo especially since Bats has made a bunch of new fans this summer.
Would Superman blowing out the Olympic torch be cool enough for you misanthropes? I’ll leave that for you to decide, but here is the hilarious scene from Superman III where Superman(Christopher Reeve), who has been turned evil by some mis-formulated Kryptonite, flies to what is presumably the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, blows out the Olympic Torch and flies away. Classic!
My stalking habits of Jason M. Burns and Joe Eisma continue with this review of Serpo out of Devils Due Publishing. What can I say, these guys seem to have single handedly sucked me in using their tractor beam from their mother ship. Serpo is a sci-fi story that is based on the “true” events following the alien space ship crash in Roswell, New Mexico.
The Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea team of writer Jason M. Burns and artist Joe Eisma have re-united on a project spearheaded by the TV producer Vin Di Bona. The interesting thing about this story is that is based on the true events that played out of the UFO that supposedly crashed back in late 1940’s. The events that transpired are documented in extensive detail on the website www.serpo.org. Assuming this story did indeed happen, reading the graphic novel plays out more like a documentary than a sci-fi thriller. Read the rest of this entry »
For all you Street Fighter die-hards out there wondering where your favorite character has disappeared to in Street Fighter IV have no fear! Capcom has just announced a new secret character in their arcade build of the game and it’s none other than Akuma.
There’s no word on if Akuma is already in the Japanese arcade hardware or if he will be region-specific to North America. Also left unstated was whether or not Akuma would be in the console versions of the game and whether he would be a playable character. Read the rest of this entry »
A new chapter in in the interactive history of the Civil War has been announced by Activision Publishing. The press release describes Civil War: Secret Missions as “a completely new episode inThe History Channel’s Civil War franchise, the game will allow players to assume the role of Union and Confederate soldiers fighting behind enemy lines in legendary battles.”
The first game was generally received as lackluster when released due to non-dynamic environments and clipping issues as well as a lack of any coherent narrative or campaign mode. Another point of contention that should have been addressed was the bumbling enemy AI. But the new game promises to add a deeper tactical element to the franchise.
There is a rich history to the Civil War, especially in terms of covert military tactics,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “American warfare in the 1860’s was brutal yet surprisingly sophisticated, so it was essential for us to capture this duality.
