Neil Gaiman News

It's been a Neil Gaiman kind of day.

I remembered hearing a long time ago about how there was going to be an animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. I found out today it's going to be 3-D stop-motion animation, my favorite kind! Not only that, it's being directed by Henry Selick, the man behind The Nightmare Before Christmas. While researching I found out Selick was born and raised right here in New Jersey and did storyboard fantasy sequences for Return to Oz. I tell ya, the best people come from Jersey.

Anyhow, there are a couple of cool articles on Film In Focus, the new website by Focus Features who is distributing the film. The first one talks about how Coraline is the successor to many classic other-world fantasy books like Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan and even compares it to other famous works much farther back. The second one gives us a history lesson on Gaiman himself and what led him to this point in his career.

If you want to find out more about the film itself check out this article from Aint It Cool News. They got to see a 30-minute preview of Coraline as well as interview Selick. There's also some amazing preview clips and behind-the-scenes features around the internet as well. Here are three at random: one, two, three. The Coraline website is now live but not very active as far as I can tell yet. Either way I'm very excited for February 6, when this amazing fantasy comes to life in theaters.

Some other very exciting Neil Gaiman news came to my attention today. The 20th anniversary of The Sandman is being celebrated November 8th in New York City in the form of a live dramatic reading. The event is being held at the Helen Mills Theater and is presented by and benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund of which Gaiman is an avid supporter. 

Veteran voice actor Tom Wayland and others, including The Group That Shall Not Be Named member Racheline who brought this to my attention, will be reading excerpts from two of the series' stories. Only 100 tickets are available for this unique event so get yours immediately if you're interested. And yes, Neil will be there.

WONDERful Works of Art

Over 50 auction items were up for grabs at this years Wonder Woman Day. It was really hard to pick and choose and even harder to hold back for what I could afford but I went home a happy nerd.

This is an 8x10 painted Wonder Woman tora by Carlos Vega I fell in love with. The colors were so vibrant and I liked the fact that she was wearing jeans.

This WW sketch by Jun Bob Kim was my other auction win. I thought Diana looked particularly beautiful in this one.

I also received this Spider-Man print signed by James Fiorentino who attended the previous day's events.

And here is my very magical, personal illustration of Zatanna by Neil Vokes who was sketching that day. I was told he was going to do something extra special for me. Can you tell what it is? He signed it backwards àla Z's magic speech! How cool is that? 

Thanks again to everyone! 

What a WONDERful event!

The rain clouds lifted and the sun came out just in time for Wonder Woman Day III in Flemington, NJ this past Sunday. I got to put my Zatanna costume to good use for a good cause. Over $4,000 was raised for SAFE in Hunterdon!

The event took place at Comic Fusion and resident Wonder Woman Beth welcomed me with open arms. We really could not have asked for a more gorgeous day. Neil Vokes and Chris Muller sketched away while visitors, including myself, perused the fantastic array of art up for auction. There was a little something for everyone. 

It was really fun just sitting outside with the other costumers. Beth and Spider-Man-Evan were waving to people as they walked and drove by. We started taking pictures almost immediately and even managed to convince this real hero to get in a few with us. A photographer took us aside for a while to take some more posed shots, hopefully he'll send them along so I can share those as well.

Everyone was so nice it was hard to leave! I was able to take home two auction items and another wonderful sketch, which I'll share with you all tomorrow. I also apparently cleaned up on the raffles but I haven't picked those items up yet. You can check out more pictures at Myspace or my Facebook fan page. Thanks to everyone at Comic Fusion, the people from SAFE and all those who attended and donated. I will definitely be seeing you next year!

Harry Potter and Another Amazing Trailer

It's less than a month before the original release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As depressing as that is, we now have a new, madness inducing trailer we can dissect. And it's a whopper.

That was an intense minute and a half right? And this is still only considered a "teaser trailer." You can view it a bit larger on Trailer Addict. I can't decide which I like more, this new one or the equally intense trailer from this summer. This one gives us a small bit of humor that was definitely lacking in the previous trailer and made me think HBP would be the scariest horror movie ever made.

Now, before you ask, yes that is the Burrow burning and no, that wasn't in the book. The recent Harry Potter cover story in Entertainment Weekly explains: 

This is very much a love story set against the backdrop of war,'' says producer David Heyman. In a new scene, approved by Rowling and designed to dramatize Harry's embattled world, an idyllic interlude at the Weasley home is violently interrupted by an attack from the Death Eaters.

I'm rarely happy with the changes they make in the films but at least this one was specifically approved by J.K. Rowling. I am, however, very happy with how the effects are looking this time around. The quick shot we get of Dumbledore and Harry Apparating looks just like I'd imagined it. And woohoo! Quidditch is back! But I knew that already. I'm sure that's just one of many snogs we'll endure between Ron and Lavender too. 

Hey, maybe they'll surprise us and release it in November like they previously planned! I know, I know, wishful thinking...

Microwaves are just too slow.

You'd think so too if you were him.

This is just another shining example of how much Threadless rocks.

We're goin' on vacation baby.

Would you like to go someplace surrounded by water or someplace surrounded by water? It's your pick. Teasers for Lost Season 5 and Bioshock 2 lie ahead. Beware. May cause excitability.

Hopefully this video won't be taken off Youtube before you get a chance to see it because it's AWESOME! But seriously, all the others I found had already been removed so let me know if this one goes the way of the Dodo. I don't want to give anything away on the front page here but discuss in the comments. February 4th here we come!

I don't care for teasers but if this one means you get to play Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams as a grown-up Little Sister then I am so there.

From the archives...

While sorting through old photos on my computer today I found some shots I took at the Montclair Art Museum last year. These pictures were of the geekiest nature and I decided they must be shared with you.

The exhibit was called The Evolution of America's Comic Book Heroes and while it's a relatively small museum they had an amazing selection of comic art. Among other things...

This first room was really cool. Besides the costumed centerpiece, the walls were lined with photos of heroesworking in every day professions. Seeing The Thing as a construction worker, Batman as a cab driver or Catwoman as a nanny was really interesting. Turns out, Dulce Pinzón is the creator of these works which feature Mexican immigrants working in their actual NYC jobs. 

The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper. -Pinzón

You can view all the shots at his site here.

Oh momma! The first issue of Action Comics and the first appearance of Batman in Detective Comics up-close and personal. Of course, all the comics were under glass but it was really amazing to see history. In fact the collection spanned from this 1938 Superman beginning to the death of Captain America in 2007. There was even a life-size statue of Superman looming over me making sure I didn't try and steal anything...

Besides historic comic books there was also a huge display of original black-and-white art and sketches to drool over. This Wonder Woman sketch by Adam Hughes for the cover of Scott Beatty's Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess, made me question the existence of motion sensors.

Last on the tour was this colorful mural depicting DC and Marvel characters by Greg Hildebrandt. Not the kind of thing that would fit in most peoples houses but it turns out a lot of the collection at the museum belongs to Michael Uslan, executive producer of just about every Batman film out there. Of course the Kubert's had a hand in making it a visual feast as well.

So there you have it. My trip to an extremely fun comic exhibit from last year. Things like this might turn up now and then so I'm thinking of making a habit out of this archive thing. We'll see how it goes.

Carnivores rule the DC Universe

I felt so bad for Buddy Baker in Justice League of America #24. The vegetarian Animal Man, who's been having enough problems with his powers lately, inadvertently chowed down on a chicken leg. If Grant Morrison were dead, he'd be rolling in his grave, since he's not (thankfully) I'd imagine he's rolling in his snazzy designer suits. I considered writing something about that incident but I let it slide. However, I could not remain silent when yet another DC vegetarian went down. Down into a bowl of chili.

Ellen shops at the Ren Faire chicken leg store.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #13 focuses mainly on Speedy and Dodger going out on a date but we get a glimpse of Connor's first day back at home after having been kidnapped and experimented on by Doctor Sivana. He's still sort of out of it which is to be expected, he was in a coma for a while. He finally comes out of his room and tells Ollie and Dinah he's hungry. That's a good sign, right?

Ollie never taught Connor to use his napkin. Oh wait, he was an absent father.

Wrong. Unlike Buddy, who it appears is being played with by Anansi, Connor has no memory of ever having been a vegetarian. Or a Buddhist. Or an archer. Or a crime fighter. Hmm, ok, it seems he's got a lot of stuff to work out. Plus we also found out he's got some new healing powers when his foot was impaled by a carving knife. We'll check back in with him later.

Now, I'm not a vegetarian (although I don't eat red meat) but two vegetarian characters eating meat within months of each other does strike me as odd. It's probably just a coincidence but I know several vegetarians/vegans and they get a lot of flack from others about their convictions so I'm here to stand up for the Comic Vegetarians! Stop making them eat meat! While you're at it, try and keep the lesbians in the DCU from having sex with men. Just putting that out there.

Help Wonder Woman this weekend!

Wonder Woman is the epitome of female empowerment. It's no wonder she's got her own day dedicated to helping domestic violence shelters and help lines! The third annual Wonder Woman Day is taking place Sunday October 26, 2008 in Portland, Oregon and (Oct. 25 & 26) Flemington, New Jersey.

Wonder Woman art up for auction by Brad Rader

Wonder Woman Day was created and is continually produced by author Andy Mangels, also the curator of the online Wonder Woman Museum. Excalibur Comics will be hosting the Portland event to benefit Raphael House, Bradley-Angle House and the Portland Women's Crisis Line. In Flemington, Comic Fusion will be hosting the benefit for SAFE in Hunterdon. Adam Hughes, Allison Sohn, Gail Simone, and others will be appearing at the Portland site, while Neil Vokes, James Fiorentino, Rob Kramer, and Chris Muller will be in NJ.

In both states the day will include silent auctions of original Wonder Woman illustrations created and donated specifically for the event plus doorprizes and other drawings for various other comic items all for charity. Fans can take photos with real live superheroes and heroines throughout the day and are encouraged to show up in costume. Wonder Woman Day at Comic Fusion in Flemington is part of their "Super-Hero Weekend" produced by Stacy Korn in conjunction with Mangels. 

Collectively, Wonder Woman Day I and II raised over $42,000 for domestic violence shelters. If you'd like to get your hands on some of the gorgeous art but can't make the events you may put a proxy bid in online here. The bidding ends online midnight (PST) on Saturday October 25th but will continue in-store on Sunday the 26th. 

Last I checked, the Adam Hughes art from Portland was going for $1,505. So, so much for that. I do hope to make it out to the Flemington event though and get my hands on something nerdy while helping a good cause. Just think, WWWWD?

The Preliminary Frontier

If you listen really closely you can actually hear the internet buzzing right now. Why is it doing that? The first official shots from Star Trek have been released. And yes, they are awesome.

Five sites were given one picture a piece and boy are they all happy about it. Ugo.com got this group shot above, MTV won the view of the bridge, Eric Bana goes green again with JoBlo's shot of what the evil Nero looks like, Ain't It Cool News shows us why you never get on Spock's (Sylar's) bad side, IGN has Kirk chilling out and the U.S.S. Kelvin is revealed at TrekMovie.com. Click the links to see their respective high-res images. 

The images are paving the way for the Entertainment Weekly cover story featuring Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine on the cover itself. Poor Quinto above looks like a mannequin he's airbrushed so much but damn he makes a fine looking Spock. Oddly enough, for the first time in my life I'm not finding myself attracted to Karl Urban. That makes me sad.

Everything is looking pretty cool so far. The effects shots look good but not overdone, which I was worried about. The ships still have that older technology feel and the updated costumes look fresh and comfortable. A new trailer for Star Trek, which opens May 8th of next year, is supposed to air before the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace when it's released November 14th. I'm waiting anxiously to see it online soon after, I'm looking forward to seeing some actual action. Now if only I could stop this infernal buzzing...

The Nerdy Bird Adores - Secret Six #2

The Secret Six have been some of my favorite characters in the last few years so I was overjoyed when I found out earlier this year they'd finally be getting their own on-going book. Of course the original line-up has been shuffled a bit since the start and Harley Quinn didn't get to stick around but Gail Simone sure knows how to pick 'em. Two issues in and Bane (the A-list Batman villain she teased at NYCC08) is now part of the group, with the newly created sixth member, Jeanette, yet to be revealed in the book itself. 

Currently, Batman is annoyed (what's new?) at the Six for their current mission to transport Tarantula and how it's affecting Gotham. He's definitely not shy about sharing his feelings with Catman either. And Catman is, well, just like my cat.

Sniff, sniff. Did Catman come to talk or discuss dinner recipes with Batman? You'd think the answer to that would be easy but not so much, he seems REALLY preoccupied with food. 

Geez Catman, if you were that hungry maybe YOU should have gone to Taco Whiz before you decided to track Batman on top of a rooftop in Gotham. But no, you didn't, so instead you act like a Mr. Cranky Pants to the King of Cranky Pants and of course a fight results. Somewhere between the time when Catman was an overweight loser who wasn't even worth killing by other villains and that really bloody run-in with some poachers we've seen in flashes, he's somehow able to go toe-to-toe with Batman now. I'm sure we'll be discovering lots of new things about him during the series but I have a hard time buying that one.

The food comments started feeling a little heavy-handed after a while but it was for a very good reason. That extraordinary line by Batman. Does it make the Dark Knight look a little silly? Sure, but a guys gotta eat. I'm just excited Batman loves burritos. And no, that's not blood on his mouth. Ok, maybe it is, but I'm pretending it's not.

Had Gail not included that stunning look into Batman's eating habits this line from Bane earlier in the issue would have won my giggling contest. 

It's hard to outdo Ragdoll (my absolute favorite team member) but Bane did with two words. "He vomits." So simple, yet so eloquent. I sense many more enjoyable moments to come from this group. Let's just hope Catman never gets arrested with an ounce of catnip on him because that, would be silly.

Nerdy News

No one is ever safe in comics. Turns out, no one's safe in comic book movie adaptations either. Terrence Howard has been replaced as Jim Rhodes in the next Iron Man film by Don Cheadle.

The Hollywood Reported posted the news early this morning. It's coming as a shock to the public who seemed to enjoy Howard's take on the character and looked forward to him taking a turn in the War Machine suit. Apparently Marvel originally wanted Cheadle for the role but decided to take the character in another direction instead. There's no comment from Marvel at this time but THR says sources close to the deal site monetary disagreements with Howard as part of the decision.

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The casting of two comic book characters from DC are creating a buzz as well. Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin are rumored to be attached to the Green Lantern and Jonah Hex films respectively.

Countless Hollywood actors have been rumored to be playing Hal Jordan in film starting rehearsals as early as next year. Most prominently, up until now, the name I'd heard used the most was David Boreanaz but Latino Review is reporting "exclusively" that their sources say the studio wants Gosling. There's been little to no details about the plot of such movie yet but Gosling seems a little to boyish for the role in my opinion. Boreanaz? Maybe too manly. It's a safe bet I won't be satisfied with whomever they choose. 

On the other hand, some shoes were just meant to fit.

Once again, just a rumor (although it's a strong one) but Josh Brolin is said to be taking on the role of the scarred gun-slinger Jonah Hex. Hollywood Elsewhere takes the credit for this one although they still aren't 100% sure. "Brolin's rep is not only denying this but claiming Brolin is 'not attached,' but a voice is telling me to consider the word of a friend who tells me the deal was locked down last night," they reported.

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Last but definitely not least, 2009 New York Comic Con tickets are now on sale! Show Manager Lance Fensterman has announced a few changes this year for Trade Pro registration, among other things, on the NYCC official blog so make sure to read everything before you buy. It's also a good idea to buy early. This show is getting bigger every year and you don't want to risk it selling out. Of course I'll be there!

At the opera tonight...

Presenting: Repo! The Genetic Opera

What do you get when you mix the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Minority Report and Paris Hilton? Something you've never imagined in your wildest dreams for sure. Repo! The Genetic Opera is the new fantasy/horror/sci-fi/musical from Lionsgate and I, for one, am intrigued. In the future, organ failure has become an epidemic. You can get a new lung, kydney, eye, etc. but you better be able to be pay for it lest the Repo Man comes to take it back. Without anesthesia.

The film opens in limited release November 7, 2008 but you can catch a sneak preview of the songs today only. The soundtrack is now streaming online on the official site. It features the vocal stylings of all the films stars including the amazing Sarah Brightman. And yes, Paris Hilton. The jury is still out on that one. But what you should really be excited for is the Repo Man himself, Anthony Stewart Head. Yes, you've heard Giles sing before but never like this. Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects) and Paul Sorvino also join the eclectic cast. 

The music is all original and was recorded by a veritable who's who in the rock industry. Performances include Joan Jett, Richard Patrick (Filter), Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Clown (Slipknot), Ray Luzier (Army of Anyone), Brian Young (David Lee Roth's band), Sonny Moore (From First to Last), Richard Fortus (Guns & Roses), David J (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets), Daniel Ash (Love & Rockets), Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne), Tommy Clefetus (Rob Zombie's band), Melora Creager (Rasputina). Singer/songwriter Poe also lends her voice to the soundtrack.

Go check it out for a few minutes and see what you think. There's also a forum where you can chat with other listeners live. Don't forget to come back here at the end of the month for a review of the film itself.  No opera glasses needed.

Honesty is the best policy. As far as I can tell.

DharmaWantsYou.com has closed it's testing doors and the results are in: I'm a good girl. Or so my progress report tells me.

Upon clicking on the seventh and final test of the Octagon Global Recruitment site I was greeted with a video message from Hans Van Eeghen. "I am sure many of you were expecting to undertake the seventh and final test in the Volunteer Recruitment Program," he said, " Well, I take great pleasure in revealing that you have already completed this most challenging exam." Oh crap, I thought, I failed. That is until he said the name of the final test: The Integrity, Honor and Honesty Assessment. Ahhh, my suspicions were right.

There were only two categories to be place in for the final test, Black Swan and White Swan. I'm not sure yet what the classifications from the previous tests mean but Black Swan means you cheated at least once and White Swan means you're a goody-goody. Throughout the game the "Black Swan" was an individual that fed recruits insider information, including how to cheat. Fans assumed this was similar to the Persephone character from the original Lost Experience. However, in his video message, Van Eeghen confesses that he is the Black Swan. "It is not in my nature to behave in this way but in this situation it was necessary," he said.

Quoting philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, Van Eeghan leaves us with one last bit of advice, "Patience is bitter but it's fruit is sweet." Evaluation of all the raw data is now being analyzed by the Volunteer Recruit Evaluation Panel (i.e. poor, starving ABC interns) and will be available December 15 (the day after my birthday!). I look forward to learning what job I'll be given in the Dharma Initiative. Let's just hope it's not Work Man.

R.I.P. 1,2,3...

Following the new controversial trend of revealing major plot points to major media before a book hits the shelves, DC once again gave the NY Daily News the exclusive. Superman's dad, Jonathan Kent is dead. Again.

The action happens, appropriately enough, in Action Comics #870. While Superman is busy fighting Brainiac and restoring the recently bottled Metropolis and the Bottled City of Kandor, his father has a fatal heart attack. Sound familiar? It should. Versions of Jonathan "Pa" Kent have succumbed to the same affliction before. Newsarama has compiled a nice list of those and other hardships that have fallen on Superman's Pa in the past.

The real shock to fans was not Jonathan Kent's death, most read the signs and knew it was coming, but that DC used the Daily News as an outlet to "spoil" the event. This has many fans fuming mad. Read the comments on the Comic Book Resources and Newsarama articles and see for yourself. It's clear DC is trying to gain new readers by exposing them to comics in the mainstream media but is it at the expense of die-hard fans?

I find it hard to take a side here. I'm a big avoider of spoilers and I've become awfully adept at it over the years. Unfortunately not everyone can do that nor can they live their lives wary of spoilers at every turn. That being said, if this tactic can get more people into their local comic shops and boost the industry as a whole, that's a good thing. 

You and I both know nothing that happens in comics is heralded as the "right move" by everyone who reads them. I'd imagine it would signal the coming Apocalypse if that day ever came. What makes me chuckle the most is the fact that the fans who seem to be making the biggest deal out of the spoiler are the one's who said they already knew it was coming, just not when, and/or the one's who don't think the death of Jonathan Kent is that big of a deal anyway. All I know is now that a parent has been taken from Superman and given to Wonder Woman, it seems almost a given that a resurrection is in store for one of Batman's fore-bearers. Ya think?

It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across the floor!

Add to that, leaving a hodgepodge of colors trailing behind you that would put a Rainbow Brite to shame, Ladies and Gentlemen this is not your father's gelatinous sphere, this is de Blob!

"Hello!"

Developed for the Wii by Blue Tongue for THQ, de Blob is a platform/adventure game that will have you bouncing off the walls. Literally. The happy little town of Chroma City has had all it's color syphoned away by the evil I.N.K.T. Corporation leaving it's citizens to a sad, grey scale existence. As Blob, it's your job to return the city to it's former glory and defeat the evil Comrade Black and his minions, the Inkies (minions actually quite adorable).

Check out the trailer for de Blob!

So, just how does one go about restoring color to an entire city? Simple. Any way you want. Blob starts out as a blank slate just like Chroma City but all that color must be stored somewhere, right? Sure enough, Comrade Black has little mechanized creatures roaming the city filled with reds, yellows and blues. Once you fill Blob up with color by slamming down on them with your Wii Remote, anything you touch turns that color. Paint the town red if you want! Or yellow or blue. But don't stop there. Just like the good ol' pre-school days, if you mix multiple colors you can create your own palate: Orange, green, purple and of course, brown.

A mini-version for the iPhone, developed by Universomo, was released last month but de Blob's origins go back a lot farther than that. The picture above, you see, features a very different looking Blob. Originally created by eight students studying Game Design & Development at the Utrecht School of the Arts and one Game & Media Technology student from the University of Utrecht, "The Blob" was meant to serve as a model for what the actual city of Utrecht in the Netherlands would look like in 15 years time after being completely rebuilt. THQ took notice of the project and acquired the rights to the game and the rest is history. The city of Utrecht has since adopted de Blob as their mascot. Not bad for a lump of rotund goo huh?

Being rotund does have it's advantages. Though the game starts out simple enough, "Paint this row of buildings yellow", "Squash those Inkies," it quickly escalates in difficulty and being round sure does help with the getaways. Inkies acquire speedy hovercrafts and giant turrets which, in turn require you to possess more color to destroy. If you don't have enough, look out, one quick squirt of black ink and you'll find yourself racing for the nearest water supply. 

Your color supply drains quickly when inked, if it reaches zero you'll lose a life. Difficulty is all relative in de Blob however. While it increases over time it's never so hard that an adult would find themselves stuck. It's clear this game is directed at the younger crowd but coloring is fun for everyone and since this is for the Wii, you know it will make a great party game.

Click this to see what you'll find yourself doing with your Wii Remote.

De Blob isn't all fun and games unfortunately. As you collect more color (up to 100 units) you grow in size, similar to the Katamari games, which de Blob has often been compared to. Sadly your increased width also makes you slower (just like in Katamari) and therefore easier prey for Inkies. 

This game is nowhere near Katamari's quirkiness although it's Color Revolutionaries come close. While you have free range to color as you wish most of the time, these four NPC's are around to dole out missions. Blob never utters a word during the game and you can almost say that for the Revolutionaries. Almost. They speak in garbled sentences that require caption bubbles. You could be led to believe the voices were computer generated but no, actual voice actors were used. The missions are timed and if you fail the first time around your progress is saved but new one's pop up at an alarming rate. Add to that an over-all time limit and you find yourself skipping handfuls just to get to the next part of town in time. 

It all comes down to what you look for in a video game. If you have kids, de Blob is definitely a great game choice for them. The colors and characters will keep them entertained for hours. Plus, they can make as big of a mess as they want, it's only on the TV.  Gamers who enjoy a casual, low-intensity game now-and-then will be entertained by it as well. It's also simple enough to play so no one feels left out if you pop it in during a party. If you don't own a Wii your only other choice is to wait until 2009. That's when THQ developer Helixe brings out it's de Blob release for the Nintendo DS.

Don't let Comrade Black and the Inkies win! Get coloring with de Blob! It's much more fun than terrorizing Steve McQueen and a small town in Pennsylvania with your amoeba-like qualities anyway.

Discourse With Doornails

Not so much with the good last week. Bad weeks happen to everyone, right? I guess it was just my turn. Not many things can get me out of a funk like finding a package addressed to me on my doorstep. Great timing Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Conversations with Dead People" board. I think I'll call you CDP for short, is that cool?

I pre-ordered this months ago when I first found out about it along with the now-cancelled Buffy Tarot deck. I have a tendency to forget about things I pre-order so it was a delightful surprise today. I was hoping the board itself would be better quality than your run-of-the-mill Parker Brothers Ouija board but it's not. The planchette is much thicker and sturdier though which is a relief. Plus it came with this neat comic-equivalent of directions illustrated by Paul Lee.

This makes a nice addition to my ever expanding pile of nerd memorabilia. My boyfriend has his Hellboy Talking Board, now I have my CDP. That says a lot about us now that I think about it. It's a shame it didn't come a day earlier though, I had a game night with my gals last night and this would have been a blast to try out with them. I'd imagine there would have been a lot of intoxicated "dead people" speaking to us for some reason...

Is that an Atari belt buckle or are you just happy to see me?

I'm all for geek chic. Wear it proud, wear it loud and often. I'd probably be more interested in a guy at a bar if he was wearing something promoting his geekdom (as long as it's genuine and not to be ironic) but the last thing I want while at a bar is to be poked in the back. By anything.

NESBuckle has created a line from authentic video game controllers. Here's the night-out nightmare from above, the Atari Buckle, which, it hurts me to say, is sold out. Shucks. In their words:

The Atari controller is something that should never have been turned into a belt buckle. For this reason, we had to make it. Wear it for instant nostalgia and to be the hit at your next party or crowded subway.

"Hit" is exactly what you'll be on the subway or if you happen to frequent the bar I'm currently visiting. If you're really into it you can go for something with a little less overtone like the classic Nintendo Buckle, the Genesis Buckle or the Super NES Buckle. Or, for you really fashion forward fellas, why not try the NES Advantage Buckle (below)? Or if you're risky, not to mention strong enough, the *gasp* Nintendo Entertainment System Buckle?

Naturally I would have shown the giant gaming system buckle since it would have been more shocking but they only had a "simulated" picture of it. What sold me on this shot was the shirt the guy's wearing. It's a vintage MDA fundraising run t-shirt! What are the odds? Also, who knew it was so "cool" to wear one. Those puppies have been piling up all over the house for years! Looks like somebody's got a date with Ebay.

If you're someone who's into buckles they've also got a small line of superhero items as well. I'm not really a fan of belt buckles in general, especially large, obtuse ones, but I get what they're going for. I just wish they were a little less cheeky about it. I guess that's there thing. Actually, it almost feels a little like blasphemy to see real controllers turned into fashion. I'm hoping they were old one's that didn't work any more but still, I'd rather see them framed and hung as art than hung...above someone's crotch.

The Grayson Gang

Sing this in your head like the Brady Bunch theme song...

Here's the story of a man named Batman, who was bringing up a very troubled boy. His parents had been killed, just like Batman's, the younger one in tights.

Here's the story, of a man named Batman, who was busy with issues of his own. They were two men, living in a Batcave, but that didn't make good television.

Ok so that last bit didn't exactly fit. Give me a break! The rest was hard enough. So, what has me going on such a ridiculous rant? Variety reported yesterday that the CW Network is setting up a series based on Robin's pre-Batman days called, The Graysons. And no, this is not a joke.

The CW (formerly the WB) previously brought us Birds of Prey and Smallville. Seems they're rather hit-or-miss with our favorite superheroes, though Smallville executive producers Kelly Sounders and Brian Peterson are onboard for this fresh new take on an old favorite. Also tagging along this time around is...wait for it...McG. I know a lot of people have strong opinions about him.

Similar to Smallville, "'The Graysons' will follow the world of Dick "DJ" Grayson before he takes on the iconic Robin identity and aligns himself with Batman." It's being described as a potential replacement should the show end it's run this season or a companion piece if it doesn't. Obviously they don't care at all about accurate story-telling since, we all know, there is no Robin without Batman. 

It's bad enough Clark Kent is denied the ability to have a secret identity in the world of Smallville, making him rather useless when he finally becomes Superman, now we're supposed to believe Dick had a reason to solve crime before his parents were murdered? Don't think so. To their credit, they've tried to make it sound interesting, "In the one-hour 'Graysons,' which will be set in modern times, young DJ will face challenges involving first loves, young rivals and his family as he grows up." Hey, I did say "tried." 

Variety writes, "Souders and Peterson have come up with an original take on the character." No, they've come up with a BORING take on the character, you know, before all the interesting stuff happens to him. So will fans be want to watch a watered-down, sugar-coated version of our Dick ala The Brady Bunch or Leave it to Beaver? Something tells me neither Greg nor "the Beav" ever grew up to bang a hot, fiery chick from outer-space and they sure as hell would have been killed by the Joker by now.