Quicksilver: Top Nine Things You Need to Know

Quicksilver (aka Pietro Maximoff) has been all the talk this past week, with confirmation that the character will be in The Avengers 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, thus causing two studios to fight over him.  With all this Quicksilver love going on, it’s safe to say he is the new big man on campus.  For everyone who isn't completely up to date on this character (I admit my knowledge of Quicksilver is limited), here is a list of his highlights.

Review: The Mighty Titan #1

By Reboot 

Back in August of last year, The Mighty Titan became a successfully funded Kickstarter project.  Created and written by Joe Martino with art by Luca Cicchitti, this is a deeply personal story from Martino using a superhero tale as a backdrop.  This is a review of issue #1 of 5.

[IGH] on Books: The Planet Thieves

Courtesy of Tor Books.

Out this week is The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos.  This is the first book in this new young adult series from Starscape Books.  This is the newest addition to the teenage saves the day theme that has become so popular but is the first to be part of the sci-fi genre in a long time.

Humans are at war with an alien species called the Tremist.  This war story follows a group of young military cadets during their summer session in space aboard the SS Egypt, when they are attacked.  The oldest cadets, led by classic troublemaker Mason, run off to help but this isn't the classic Tremist attack.  They are looking for something specific.  Now, I've given a very basic overview but there is a lot more into this story.  Check out this trailer to really get your heart pumping.

Review: Akaneiro #1

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

On Wednesday, May 22nd, Issue #1 of 3 of Akaneiro will be hitting the comic shops.  This is a joint Dark Horse Comics and Spicy Horse Studios production.  It's written by Justin Aclin with art by Vasilis Lolos with the concept created by American McGee, creator of Alice: Madness Returns!

Before I get into the review, I want to put this book in context.  This is a property based on a game (ARPG specifically) from Spicy Horse.  This game had a Kickstarter the beginning of the year and a week into it they announced this comic as a supplement to the game.  I feel that the context of where the comic originates from is important here.

Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor

Series 7 is in the can. In a series that has been extremely uneven, this was a solid ending. It answered some questions and left a few open, but like the rest of the series; it had its ups and downs.

THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS, SWEETIE.

[IGH] at the Movies: Star Trek Into Darkness

This past Wednesday, five contributors to [IGH] set off on a mission, to boldly go and see the new movie, Star Trek Into Darkness.  Not surprisingly, we all had various opinions of this much-expected film.  So we have brought you a MEGA REVIEW filled with a variety of opinions!  If you have seen the film, share your thoughts in the comments too!

MisterJackal's Review
Much like the previous film, the performances in Star Trek Into Darkness were all great! The relationship between Kirk and Spock was absolutely perfect. Their constant back and forth brings a natural progression to the relationship you were introduced to in the first one. The rest of the crew did a great job sticking with their Captain. But my hat goes off to Benedict Cumberbatch. He did a phenomenal job! OMG, he was good. I was a little skeptical to see what he was going to do in this but he was absolutely spectacular as the villain. He brings a huge menacing presence that absolutely over shadows everyone that is in the scene with him.  Besides it being a full of great performances; it is beautifully shot. At no moment in this film do you feel that you are watching a regular movie that is filled with CGI. There are some scenes that you are engulfed into the environment and you feel like you are on a strange planet.  The story is really well put together and does a great job providing fan service. Even though this film is part of a franchise that has been around for years, people with no knowledge of the previous films can enjoy this. There is one moment in particular that had me in tears. Not only because of the fan service but because of the connection I had with the character.  I absolutely love this film and I can't wait to watch this a third time!

Review: Dream Thief #1

By Reboot

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

Today, Issue #1 of 5 of Dream Thief will be available at your local comic shops.  This book is put out by Dark Horse Comics, written by Jai Nitz with art by Greg Smallwood and a gorgeous cover by the legendary Alex Ross.

From Dark Horse Comics:  After stealing an Aboriginal mask from a museum, John Lincoln realizes that the spirits of the vengeful dead are possessing his body and mind while he sleeps! His old problems have been replaced by bloody hands and the disposal of bodies—and now remembering where he spent last night has never been more important!

[IGH] At The Movies: Trust Me

Editor's Note: Welcome PoohBear, our newest contributor!  PoohBear is joining reviewing Trust Me, which she and I saw at TriBeCa Film Festival this year.  As a note, Clark Gregg was there and we kinda followed him around after his Q&A.  It wasn't stalking because other people were doing it too.  ~ Wilderowens

By PoohBear

My first thought was "I have to see Trust Me because Agent Coulson, I mean, Clark Gregg, directed, wrote and starred in this." Who wouldn't want to? Next thought, "I've seen him in a couple other things like "…Adventures of Old Christine", in addition to the Marvel franchise, so he'll be pretty good in this."  

Review: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher

Editor's Note: 
Welcome to our new contributor, Reboot!  He will be joining [IGH] as a comic reviewer.



By Reboot

On Wednesday, May 15th, Issue 1 of 2 of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher will be hitting the shelves.  It’s adapted and drawn by Richard Corben and put out by Dark Horse Comics for $3.99.

To start, Richard Corben’s art is beautiful as always and is worth the $3.99 admission if his style speaks to you.  How he captures the people, the trees, the exterior of the house; it’s all stunning and original in its own right.  His use of colors and shadows are mostly spot on and give you a feel for the impending doom ahead.  He also makes good use of the 22 pages he has and creates a story that could stand alone despite only being half of the full story.

Sponsored Post: Cloud Transparency - How Cloud Applications Can Help Employers Uncover Questionable Employee Practices

Cloud Transparency

How Cloud Applications Can Help Employers Uncover

Questionable Employee Practices

Unfortunately, most businesses at some point experience issues with one or more employees.  Perhaps you suspect an employee is flexing their schedule without permission.  Or, maybe you allow employees to work remotely or from home, but feel their work is just not getting completed  Worst case scenarios involve fraud, where an employee steals or attempts to steal something, either tangible like money or intangible such as proprietary information.

As cloud-based technologies become more widely used among businesses, they bring added benefits of new of ways to help uncover unethical employee behavior.  In a totally cloud immersive environment, transparency is both inevitable and useful to business owners and managers. 

First, if you plan to monitor your employees, it is a good practice to have clear written policies.  Within those policies, inform employees how any monitoring may be done.  Once you establish the ground rules and make employees aware their work, online activities, etc. may be monitored at any time, you should be ready to spot check as necessary.

1.         Monitor Work          

            The beauty of the cloud, especially an environment which is completely    cloud immersive, is it offers the ability to see what work is actually being      done. Let’s say an employee who you feel may be slacking or is taking             “extra long” business lunches tells you he is “working” on completing his             assignments.  Don’t believe him?  Log into that employee’s cloud files and           see the exact time and date he uploaded his work and where he or she      really is with the project. 

2.         When the Boss is Away…

            So, just how much work do your employees complete while you are away?           The cloud allows you to log in remotely from anywhere to see what work is       being completed, monitor log-in and status reports, etc.  Makes it much            more difficult for the “mice to play”.

3.         “Working” From Home

            Let’s say you give your employees liberty to work from home under certain circumstances.  Or, maybe an employee has an appointment in the morning and, rather than taking the entire day off, asks if he or she can just work from home rather than returning to work.  It’s fairly easy to see exactly what they are working on, especially if the company uses a platform such as Google Apps for Business. Documents, spreadsheets, etc. are edited and updated in real time, so you can actually see if work is being completed.

4.         Check employee availability

            Some cloud applications allow you to check to see if a particular employee           is logged onto their computer and available.  This is great for larger with       offices which are spread out.

5.         Hmmm….

            Certain cloud applications give you options to monitor employee productivity.  Let’s say you are doing some spot-checking, and you notice a certain employee seems to be working on projects which they weren’t assigned or looking at documents and information which really don’t have any relevance to their job.  This could be a red flag.  Check with your cloud provider and learn ways their applications and platform may be able to help you detect possible employee fraud.

As the cloud continues to evolve, expect additional ways to monitor employees.  However, while you want to make your employees aware that monitoring is a possibility, try not to make them “paranoid” or feel as if you distrust them.  If you are not using any cloud applications to date, Google Apps is a great place to start.  Not only is it easy to integrate and use, but a number of free tools, audit logs and data backup options are also available.  Good luck! 

Gina Smith writes freelance articles for magazines, online outlets and publications. Smith covers the latest topics in the business, golf, tourism, technology and entertainment industries.

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Express Yourself Wordlessly for Dialogue Free Comics Day!

May 17th is the 4th annual Dialogue Free Comics Day, a day dedicated to expressing a story through the art of comics.  Noel Curry, the founder of DFCD, started this day because he sometimes forgets that comics "is primarily a visual artform."  With a day dedicated to storytelling without words, we can see how much can be shared through art.  It sounds difficult but it's not as hard as you might think, since each year webcomics flock to take part.

Kinda wondering if this is Noel Curry's Self Portrait?

If you have artistic talents, why not try submitting your own?   Wysefyre and I both took part (here and here) in 2011; after seeing our comics you will understand why we haven't since.  Even so, this is one of my favorite comic events of the year.  I enjoy the great art storytelling, plus checking out new webcomics!  I encourage all of you to take part by checking out the past and current submissions on the site.  I'm sure you will enjoy it too!  


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Sponsored Post: 1080p vs. 720p: Comparing HDTV Video Display Formats

If you’re in the market for a new flat-screen TV, the video display format is most likely one of your main considerations. The two major formats -- 1080p and 720p share many similarities, but there are subtle differences you should understand before deciding what kind of TV to buy. Check out the information below to get a better understanding of these two formats before you make a purchase.

What’s the difference?

The main element 1080p and 780p share is that they’re both progressive display formats. This is what the “p” stands for in their names. Progressive display means that all the pixels are working together to create each frame of video. Interlaced technology, on the other hand, uses even and odd horizontal rows of pixels to create every other frame.

1080p: A 1080p HDTV is 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. This means there are 1,920 pixels displayed horizontally and 1,080 displayed vertically, resulting in 1,080 lines on the screen displayed progressively.

720p: Along the same lines, a 720p HDTV is 1,280 by 720 pixels, with 1,280 pixels displayed vertically and 720 displayed horizontally.

The main difference is the number of pixels that go into producing the image. The greater the number of pixels, the greater the image quality. With 720p, about one million pixels make up the image, while with 1080p, approximately two million pixels make up the image. This means that the image detail coming from a 1080p HDTV is far greater than a 720p, making it the most detailed high-definition image currently available to consumers.

The case for 720p

It may seem like a no-brainer to go with 1080p based on its superior image quality, but it’s important to note that the majority of TV programming is not broadcast in 1080p. This means that if you purchase a 1080p HDTV, the image won’t necessarily be displayed at that quality, but instead scaled to 1080p with the resolution kept at the 720p level. So, if most of what you’re watching will be displayed in 720p, why not just buy a 720p HDTV?

The case for 1080p

Apart from the obvious advantage of superior image quality, 1080p reigns supreme when it comes to Blu-ray and video game quality. Unlike television broadcasts, Blu-ray discs and most video games are formatted in 1080p. So, if most of your TV time is spent watching movies or gaming, a 1080p HDTV might be the right choice for you.

The verdict

When choosing between these two formats, it all comes down to your viewing habits, preferences and price range. If you’ll mainly be watching broadcast television on a screen less than 40 inches, a 720p HDTV is a great choice. But, if you want larger screen viewing for Blu-ray DVDs or gaming and have some extra money to spend, 1080p will be worth the price for the advanced quality.

Post is sponsored by h.h. gregg.

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KNOW THE TRUTH! DON'T CELEBRATE MAY THE FOURTH!

We all get excited about May the Fourth aka Star Wars Day, celebrating the lighter side of the force. However, there is a darker side to this popular holiday. Here is an "instructional" video about the truth of May the Fourth. Once you see it, you will totally understand the insidious nature of this seemingly cheery holiday.

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Iron Man 3 Celebration Giveaway!

Iron Man 3 is out today!!!  Huzzah Huzzah!  With all that excitement in mind, we are giving away a Iron Man 3 prize pack to one lucky reader.

You get a fabulous Iron Man 3 t-shirt (courtesy of Marvel) and a Silver Surfer Bottle Opener (courtesy of Diamond Select Toys).  Why a bottle opener not at all related to IM3?  Two reasons.  One, Tony Stark likes to drink, so obviously bottle opener.  Two, I have too much stuff in my giveaway box.  Also, stop complaining.

Editor's Note: Saw Iron Man 3 and in the first (maybe) ten minutes, you see a character wearing this exact shirt.  If you don't believe me, go see the freaking movie.  

You can't buy this awesome shirt in stores.  Ok, maybe eBay.

So enter now!  You may win and have a chance to rock this awesome shirt while you pop open bottles for your friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wanna build an Autobot?

Hasbro, Inc. announced their plans for the TRANSFORMERS 30th Anniversary this year.  (Side note: A little sad I'm older than Transformers, even if its only a few months.)  They are having fans vote on a new TRANSFORMER to join the current lineup.  The winning Autobot or Decepticon will be revealed at this year's San Diego Comic Con.  You have until May 5th to enter your choices!

The Questions from Hasbro's TRANSFORMERS vote

Yes, this is a ploy to increase sales but still, I love these fan based activities.  This gives all of us fans, old and new, to be a small part of creation.  Their questions aren't bad either, which helps a lot.  I've kinda lost touch with TRANSFORMERS from my childhood, so I am excited to take part in this.  I will also do my best to be on hand for the unveiling at SDCC.  So go vote now and share your picks with us in the comments!

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Random Thoughts: Justice League - Where Do Superman's Powers Come From?

I recently discovered that Justice League was playing on Netflix. This made me extremely happy. It's the "In the Blackest Night" episode where Green Lantern is on trial on Ajuris 5. The JL goes to rescue him, and Superman is kicking alien butt, which is always fun, but then I thought, "How does he have his powers on that planet?"

Superman is a comic that I would love to follow, but there is just too much to catch up on. I pick up some of the stories in the trades, but mostly, I get my Superman fix from the movies, TV shows, and occasionally Wiki. I was always under the impression that Superman's powers came from the yellow sun. Has that changed? If so, when and what's the new version?

Random Thought: Glee - Does No One Know How To Close a Door?

I was watching the Guilty Pleasures episode of Glee last night, and I noticed something odd (it's Glee, there are a lot of odd things to notice) - the doors to the choir room are always open. Always. How is that acceptable in a school? Why do we need to see students walking outside the door? Is it to remind us that they are at a school? I would think the choir room would be enough for that. And where the heck is Sue Sylvester yelling at them to keep their infernal racket down? 



To be fair, for this performance they were coming from outside, but look at other performances. The doors are always open. I can suspend belief for many things but I find this one a little hard to swallow.

Are you ready for Free Comic Book Day?

That's right, we are about 5 weeks out from one of the bestest days of the year, Free Comic Book Day!  Every first Saturday of May, comic stores all over the country give out free comics to awaiting geeks, in hopes to encourage reading (and spending money) of comics.  Now, if you are a not a comic reader, you should check out Free Comic Book Day at your local comic shop.  If you are a comic reader, still check it out but bring a friend who doesn't read comics.  Spread the comic love!

If I can't convince you, let Thomas Jane convince you.  He knows all about the nutrition value of comics.



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Rob Thomas proves his awesome with a Veronica Mars movie!

Rob Thomas is a fighter.  So much of a fighter that a few years after the cancellation of Veronica Mars, Thomas and show star Kristen Bell (plus half the cast) have teamed up to raise money.

As a Browncoat, I can totally get behind this attempt to make a movie based on a short-lived (albeit longer than some...) cancelled TV show.  Plus, Veronica Mars was a freaking awesome show, and I miss it.

Check out the video for the hilariousness that ensues!



Really, this video alone is enough to make me want to give them money.  Even so, in the time it took for me to scribble out these few lines, they made almost $100K, which includes my $35 bucks.  Update: They have surpassed $1M in four hours!!!  Check it out and give them monies!

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Spring Cleaning and Random Questions!

As spring approaches, I've been doing some cleaning.  Yeah, I'm going all traditional with the spring cleaning around my apartment. Don't die of shock.  Since this is extremely boring, my mind has been wandering with some random questions that I just can't answer.  So I shout them out to the great void, in hopes that some unknown force can answer them, or more likely, we can all argue about them.