My Top Ten Reactions to GenCon

I attended GenCon, Indianapolis's Gaming convention. I went specifically for Gale Force Nine's Firefly game but of course, I saw as much as I could. Here are my top ten reactions from GenCon:

1. The Staggering Amount of Games
Omg so many games. Games I have heard of and games I never dreamed of. You can sign up for sessions to learn or compete. I also wandered into game rooms with friends and started playing random games for hours. And I can't forget how I tested games all over the con floor.

2. Welcoming to any Game
I was welcomed to jump in and learn on so many games and I always felt welcomed. In my experience there, everyone from exhibitor to attendee was pleasant and accepting. With so many cons having issues, GenCon was a nice change.

3. Exercise!
My favorite game was Cards Vs. Zombies. Designated zombies were trying to find and "eat" humans, who could attack them with paper darts. It took place in the halls of GenCon and made getting anywhere an adventure. I had to fight some zombies off and dodge a few others but I started GenCon as a human and I ended as one. This was beyond fun.

4. No aching legs or feet
This was the first convention experience where my legs and feet never hurt. I mean, NEVER. It was amazing. It makes sense though. When walking the floor, you walk 5-10 feet, find a game to try and sit down for 20-30 minutes. Then you get up and do it all again.

5. Plenty of Potties
This was the other most amazing thing. I never had to wait for a stall. No lines in the ladies bathroom or (from what I hear) the men's either. The convention center had a large amount of options and there were no large rushes for the bathroom so it always was available. Very, very pleasant.

6. Always something happening
This con was open 24 hours. Tournaments happening at all hours. Yes, the main floor closed but there were still plenty of things to do. Honestly, I'm fairly certain some people just stayed at the convention center the entire time. It was getting ripe in there by the end.

7. Crappy transportation
The biggest downfall of GenCon is the hotel bus schedule. One bus an hour just doesn't cut it. Plus, they have weird gaps in service. This was the only complaint I heard nonstop while I was there. They really, really need to upgrade the quality to keep gamers happy.

8. Lots of Yummies close by
This con was great for food. Everyday, right outside the con was a ever changing food court of food trucks. Almost anything you could think of, ready and available. I pigged out and it was awesome.

9. Non gamer stuff too!
Part of GenCon is a writers symposium with some free events I took part of. A great addition. I saw an artist alley on the floor that wasn't all gamer based. I also loved the fundraising by destroying card sculptures. It was a lot of fun.

10. Never won a tournament.
While I played a bunch of games, and won a few test sessions, I did not win a single tourney I entered. It's all right though. I had a blast, which is all that matters.


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Preview: Pop #1 from Dark Horse Comics

Before I even start talking about Pop from Curt Pires and Jason Copland, just read the description from Dark Horse Comics:

What if the world's pop stars and celebrities were literally products, grown by the world's wealthiest (and most depraved) minds—and one of them escaped?

As unique as it is entertaining, POP is a white-knuckled thrill ride through the marketing-mastered, technologically tethered tragicomedy we call life.

Preview: Sundowners from Dark Horse Comics

I am a big fan of Tim Seeley's so I can't wait to see the newest series from him called Sundowners with artist Jim Terry.  From the Dark Horse Comics Press Release:

Faster than lightning! Stronger than steel! Crazier than an outhouse rat? Enter the Sundowners—sworn to protect humanity from interdimensional invaders! But is the threat real, or is it all in their heads?

From Tim Seeley (Revival, Hack/Slash, The Occultist)!

A dark look at the thin line between heroism and insanity!

X-Men: Days of Future Past Minimates Box Set

Diamond Select Toys has released new photos of the Marvel Minimates "Days of Future Past" box set, and let me tell you, they look goooood. If you're a fan of minimates or DoFP, you're going to want these. 

Press Release:

"At this week's Comic Con International in San Diego, Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum will release their Marvel Minimates box set based on the classic X-Men comic storyline, "Days of Future Past." Published in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142, the story showed a grim future where mutants were second-class citizens that had been largely exterminated by giant Sentinels, and it became one of the touchstones of the X-Men mythos.

The 4-pack of Minimates captures some of the storyline's most important characters – Future Wolverine, Future Kitty Pryde, Mystique and a Future Sentinel. Each stands approximately 2 inches tall with a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories, and we've taken some photos to show off all those parts! Check out the photos in the gallery, then come to booth 2607 on the show floor to pick up a set for $20, or check with your local retailer to see if they can order it in for you!"


More photos after the break

Bluntman & Chronic Minimates Return to SDCC!

Snoochie Boochies! 

Diamond Select Toys has announced the triumphant return of Bluntman and Chronic Minimates, and they're going to be SDCC exclusives! 


"Look, up in the sky, it's Bluntman and Chronic! The comic-book heroes created by director Kevin Smith are living the high life, with a variety of products coming out from Diamond Select Toys based on their appearances in "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back." Now, they're getting a Comic-Con-exclusive 2-pack of Minimates mini-figures, only available through Toys "R" Us, and it's based on their comic book appearances!

With new facial expressions and paint schemes that reflect the costumes worn in their now-classic comic book mini-series, Bluntman and Chronic each stand 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of interchangeable parts. The two-pack comes packaged on a blister card, and will be available through the Entertainment Earth booth, #2343, at a price of $10. This set is guaranteed to move fast, so be sure to stop by early!"

I guess I'm going to have to find some friends to pick me up a pack or two. 

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Exclusive Marvel Select Savage Hulk Figure Now at Marvelshop.com

Diamond Select Toys has just announced a new exclusive. Check out their press release.

"Since he was first introduced in 1962, the Incredible Hulk's fame has grown by leaps and bounds. From the 
pages of his Marvel comic book, to the live-action TV series that made him a household name, to his defining role in Marvel's The Avengers, the Hulk has grown from misunderstood monster to Hollywood hero. And now Diamond Select Toys has teamed up with marvelshop.com to grant fans early access to an exclusive Hulk action figure!

Starting on June 23rd, marvelshop.com will be the only place to order the Marvel Select Savage Hulk action figure, featuring an exclusive sculpt of the gamma-irradiated Avenger. The Savage Hulk figure wears a tattered outfit that harkens back to his origins, when nuclear scientist Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in an atomic blast and first transformed from a man into a monster.

More photos after the break

Firefly Withdrawal

As I finished the final issue of the current Serenity comic series, Leaves on the Wind #6, I felt a tear well up in my eye. This was not for the tear jerking moments of the issue, although there were plenty. This was because, yet again, this was over. Once again, the crew of Firefly was not getting a new story to read or another fight to survive. It was an ending, pure and simple.

Over the years, geeks have taken to the scrappy crew of Firefly, riding their emotional ups and down. Still, every roller coaster ride is short-lived; from 13 episodes to a movie to a few comic mini-series and one-shots, all spread out over a decade. Most of the gaps in content are due to the creator himself, Joss Whedon, who has been busy with other projects. Still, the love from fans has kept this crew front and center in the geek world, even with nothing new on the horizon in most years.

Review: Women of Legend Trading Cards

Since it is Women in Comics month, I wanted to take a moment to look at the Women of Legend Trading cards. Cryptozoic was kind enough to provide us with some packs at toy fair back in February.

Each card features a prominent female character from the DC universe. Some characters are represented more than once because they are on their own card as well as a team card. One card that I got in my packs that made me really happy was Lois Lane. She was described by her personal achievements, and not her relationship with Superman. I thought it was very empowering to highlight that.

One feature I really liked was that every card had original artwork. For the most part, the art was very well done, while being true to the well known style of the character. In some packs, you can even find original art. I actually found a Saturn Girl painted sketch card! My only complaint was it was nearly impossible to find out who the artist was on any of the cards. They have a list of the artists on the website, but they really don't distinguish who worked on what.  Hopefully, if they do a second series, they will have a spot on the card to highlight the creator.

Like every set, Women of Legend has special, hard to find cards. This one comes with the aforementioned sketch cards.  They also have Totally Fabricated cards, which comes with a "piece" of cape or even some of the invisible plane!  There is also two special sets put together by writer Gail Simone (foil cards) and artist Katie Cook (sticker cards).

When it comes right down to it, this is a great trading card set to collect. This is a great set for any DC fan, but especially for the younger set who are still discovering all of the amazing characters of the DC Universe.


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[IGH] at the Movies: Godzilla

By BatHobbit

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS! 

DO NOT READ UNTIL AFTER VIEWING THE MOVIE. THEN COME BACK TO DISCUSS.

You know what was a great Godzilla movie?

Pacific Rim.

You know what wasn't a great Godzilla movie?

Godzilla.

No, I'm not referring to the 1998 film, though that one was pretty awful. I'm talking about the 2014 film that all the ads portray as a "serious take" on the King of Monsters.

If you've seen the trailers and the television ads, you've gotten a sense that the new Godzilla movie is a disaster film, with the titular beast as the force of nature sending the human character scattering to recover. Footage of decimated cities and ravaged tropical landscapes is intercut with Bryan Cranston shouting that it's not a natural disaster and that the public is being lied to. It looks like a pretty gripping epic, but it's not the movie that you'll see if you head to the theater.

First Glimpse of Batman: Assault on Arkham

Who doesn't rave about the Batman: Arkham games?!  Now we can enjoy that world even more with the announcement of Warner Bros. Animations new's release, Batman: Assault on Arkham!  As per Warner Bros. press release:

Gotham is in great danger when the government assembles a 

group of villains — code named the Suicide Squad — and forces 

them to break into Arkham Asylum to retrieve top secret 

information stolen by the Riddler.  Things take a turn for the 

worse when one of the Squad members (Harley Quinn) frees the 

Joker, who is intent on blowing up Arkham Asylum and 

Gotham City.  Batman must use his super hero wits and strength

 to thwart the wicked plans of the Joker and the Suicide Squad. 

This sounds great!  The film will be released on August 12, 2014 on BluRay, DVD and Digital Download.  If you can't wait, watch the trailer below.

[IGH] at the Movies: Son of Batman

Out this week is DC Animation's Son Of Batman.  You can check out a clip and here is the official description:

Batman learns he has a son, Damian – and to further complicate matters, the mother is Talia al Ghul, daughter of one of his most dreaded enemies, Ra’s Al Ghul. When the odds quickly turn against Batman and Damian, Batman must become both father and mentor to the aggressive, agile new Robin. Together they form an uneasy alliance to try and thwart the criminal enterprise of Deathstroke and his army of ninja man-bats before there are international consequences.  

Check below the break to see a sorta spoilery review!

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy May the 4th be with You!!!! Break out your stormtrooper gear and your lightsabers to show the world how much you love Star Wars!!!

In case you want or need a refresher on the original trilogy, check out this awesome Lego recap!

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Happy Easter from [IGH]!

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes all who celebrate 
a very Happy Easter!!

If you don't observe Easter, we wish you a wonderful Spring!

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Review: Unmasked Vol. 1

We've all read superhero stories, and we all know the basics of how they go.  But what really makes up a superhero?  Is it just saying it or is there a specific moral code that needs to be there?  Unmasked Vol 1 delves into this question, looking at what makes a superhero.

Unmasked was created and written by Michael Sarrao, with art by John Broglia and published through Kickstarter.

First Glimpse of Son of Batman

No question about it, Warner Bros. animation has been putting out some ah-may-zing DC films lately.  Next up is Son of Batman, which introduces Damian Wayne to his crime-fighting father and a life without the league of assassins.

Check out this clip!

It's Tolkien Reading Day!

This is an annual event dedicated to reading Tolkien's works.  Fans and The Tolkien Society developed it in 2003 but to be honest, this is the first I've heard of it.  Fun side note: they chose this day because it also marks the Fall of Sauron.

He likes reading too!

This is a great time to encourage new readers to explore Middle Earth. Take a moment to sit down and read a bit of The Hobbit to get ready for the final film or sit down and give The Silmarillion another shot.  You might get it finished before next year.

To get in the mood, listen to the man himself read to you!

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It's PI DAY!!!!

Not the baked kind, but math! March 14rh, aka 3.14, is the beginning of PI.  So make sure you celebrate our favorite mathematical constant with a pastry of some sort.  ;)

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We went to Toy Fair and all you got is this Awesome Giveaway!

That's right!  It's giveaway time!  We scoured the con floor at Toy Fair 2014, grabbing what we could to share with you, our loyal readers.  So here we go!  We will have three lucky winners this time around!

First up, we have TWO Boxes O'Toys!  These include a mishmash of fun things we grabbed from the floor.  Some of the things in one of these two boxes can be seen here!  Big high five to ThinkGeek for sharing a bunch of stuff from their booth!  Now, look at all of that!  Ooooooh!

This was the giveaway I realized I had a picture chair.
This makes me awesome in some fashion.

Some of you might be wondering, what about when you said THREE winners but you only mentioned TWO prizes?  Yeah about that.  During our wandering through the con floor, looking for small but awesome giveaway items, our friends at A Crowded Coop said uh-uh.  They weren't gonna give us a small thing, they wanted to fill a bag of awesome stuff for one lucky person!  That's right, one of you gets to win the A Crowded Coop Bag of Awesome!  A huge, big thanks to A Crowded Coop for being so awesome!  Go check them out right now.  Seriously.  And also look at the picture below to check out what's in the bag!

Thanks A Crowded Coop!!!

So now you've got to enter.  RIGHT NOW!!!  Contest ends at midnight on March 6th so get moving!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Toy Fair '14: Loot Crate Review

While at Toy Fair last week, we got a chance to meet and greet with the guys behind Loot Crate.  In case you don't know about Loot Crate, they are a monthly loot service.  Each month, you get a themed crate (box) of goodies, all perfectly suited for any geek.  These crates have ranged in theme, from animation to zombies to gaming.

With the help of The Fight Nerd over at Nerdvolution, we took the opportunity to film our unboxing in the Javitz Center cafeteria!  Enjoy the lovely scenery as we take a peek into the January Loot Crate.

As you can tell, we really loved that crate. It held something for each of us. So, now that we've peeked your interest, go check out Loot Crate!


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Happy Valentine's Day from [IGH]

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes all who celebrate a very Happy Valentine's Day!!

If you don't observe Valentine's, we wish you a wonderful Discount Candy Day tomorrow. ;)

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