My Time at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

This year, I vowed to spend more time delving into independent comics. So, I jumped on the opportunity to go to the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival (BCGF). Filled with (almost) every indie publisher under the sun, it's a great opportunity to try some new comics that aren't always accessible. And with a $0 admission fee, I definitely had a few bucks in my pocket to do just that. This festival wraps up the year in a fun comics bow, plus gives people a chance to get some prezzie shopping done. Here are a few of my favorite things from BCGF....

Walking Dead Season 2 Midseason Finale

I am suffering from nerd rage. I kept hoping it would go away but it hasn’t. I know shows that are adapted from other source material tend to be different. I'm okay with that. I expect it. BUT when a creator says he's going to stick to the basic framework of the source material, I expect them to keep their word. That's right. folks. I’m raging about the midseason finale of The Walking Dead.

If you haven’t watched the finale or read the comics...


STOP NOW!!! Spoilers a-plenty!

Random Gift Idea: The Secret Life of Toys

Hitting the wall for gift ideas?  Stuck with shopper's block?  Well, we are here to help with some random gift ideas for every boy and girl.  Every once and while, we will post one item that will probably fit one person on your list.  Plus, we will personally approve all of the gifts we suggest!  These are [IGH approved], so have no fear!

Credited to Marcos Minuchin and The Secret Life of Toys

While wandering around Union Square's Holiday fair, I found a gem in The Secret Life of Toys.  The artist Marcos Minuchin creates a behind-the scenes look at toys, and he just makes me laugh.  It is very Robot Chicken-esque in its style and humor.  You can get these awesome works as a metal, canvas or high quality print for your wall.  Albeit pricey for certain styles, these also make a great and unique gift for your geeky art friend.

Credited to Marcos Minuchin and The Secret Life of Toys

My particular favorite, and the one I bought myself, is the Lego version of Magritte The Son of Man.  It just gets me and my love of Legos.  If that one isn't your speed, check out my second favorite I'm Your Father.  Make sure you check out all of the fun works, and you will definitely cross a name off your gift buying list.

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Sunday Links for Dec. 4th

Do you think that your rights are violated at cons? Well, here is a list of rules and right that fans and the pros are entitled to from Peter David.
(via Comics Alliance)

If you are dying to see the first 6 minutes of The Dark Knight Rises, get planning. The studio has released the list of IMAX theaters that will get the clip.  It really depends though; do you want to help the Mission Impossible box office numbers....
(via Cinema Blend)

Still not sure how feel about the concept but they have locked down Andy Kubert as the artist for the Watchmen prequel.
(via Robot 6)

For everyone dying to make it to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, its about to get easier. They are planning to build a Harry Potter theme park in California as well as abroad.
(via Reuters)

Until next week....


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Random Gift Idea: Lost At The Con

Hitting the wall for gift ideas?  Stuck with shopper's block?  Well, we are here to help with some random gift ideas for every boy and girl.  Every once and while, we will post one item that will probably fit one person on your list.  Plus, we will personally approve all of the gifts we suggest!  These are [IGH approved], so have no fear!


Here is a random gift idea for everyone that wants to support an author directly!  Check out Bryan Young's new bookstore, where you can get autographed copies of his amazing work.  

In that shop is the [IGH approved] Lost At The Con, which is a must read about the real world of cons.  Wysefyre reviewed it as "funny and smart and thought provoking" and "the perfect book for geeks and non-geeks alike." So pick this up and cross one more name off your shopping list. At $18.99 (includes domestic shipping), it is a great autographed gift for the con goer in your life.

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Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Turns 1!

I never thought this would happen but Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is celebrating its anniversary... sort of. It's been one year since STOD opened on Broadway, but that was version 1.0. Version 2.0 premiered June 4th. Either way, congrats on making it this far.


I was fairly vocal about how flawed STOD was in its original incarnation, and I'm yet to see 2.0, but after sitting in on the STOD panel at NYCC, and reading many, MANY reviews from people I trust, I'm happy for the Spidey team. They took what had originally been a disaster and apparently fixed it. This kind of situation is so rare on Broadway, it's kind of amazing.


Thanks to the success of the show, the producers can make plans to recoup the investment and turn a profit. A recent New York Times article spoke with the producers of the show and a few of the ideas thrown around were adding new scenes and a new musical number each year and expanding their radio campaigns in all across the US. There are no plans to take the show overseas, but it is an eventual possibility. I don't know if I like these ideas, but I admire their willingness to be creative, and I think I've finally come on board the STOD train. I'm sincerely rooting for them. 



If you haven't seen it yet, give it shot. One of the people who told me he loved the show was Amazing Spider-Man writer, Dan Slott. I ran into him at the STOD panel, and he couldn't stop talking about how much he loved it. I believe he's seen it 4 times already. If you're going to take anyone's advice on seeing the show, take his.




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Dark Horse Comics Wants to Kill You!

I'm really not kidding about that.  With the premiere of The Strain comic coming up, they are giving one fan the chance to get killed by a vampire in an upcoming issue.  How do you get the chance to get killed?  By writing the best survival plan of course!

A face only a mother can love....

I am actually a huge fan of The Strain Trilogy.  This series is flat out terrifying in how it begins, especially since it takes place in New York City.  At one point, I was reading a part of the story that took place in Penn Station and sitting in Penn Station.  It just made my imagination go into insane overdrive, and I began looking for vampires around every corner.  Despite my own crazy, it was a fantastic, engrossing set of books.  To be honest, after reading these books, I am not sure what a good survival plan would be!  This is such a dangerous world that Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan created.  


So now do you have a death wish?  Here are the official rules:

1. Post a comment of at least 200 words on the Dark Horse Blog by 11:59p.m. PT on Sunday Dec. 4th, 2011 and describe how you plan to survive the coming plague.

2. Come back next week as we post the top 5 Survival Tales, once per day through Dec. 9th. 

3. Starting Dec. 9th. come back to the blog and vote for the best Survival Plan through Dec. 13th. 

They will announce the winner the same day The Strain #1 hits stores, December 14th!

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The Star Battles!

There is an epic geek battle happening right now on the interwebs.  It is a classic battle of fandoms that spans generations.  It is Star Trek vs. Star Wars!  That's right, we are still in the struggle of two classic scifi influences.  This is not an old argument; it has become so mainstream there was even a movie with a running joke dedicated to it!

Trekkers really aren't that bad 

I rarely meet someone who hates one versus the other.  In the long run, I think most geeks are like me in that we enjoy both franchises for various reasons.  I don't even consider them in the same field since SW is definitely more fantasy than ST.  Additionally, ST takes place in our future where SW takes place in someone else's past.  In the end, they are only compared because they both have "Star" in the title and have greatly influenced pop culture.
    
Still, this battle has taken a backseat over the past few years, especially since everyone put aside their differences to hate on Twilight.  So how did this all start up again?  You can blame Bill Shatner for that one.  He posted a short video talking about how Star Trek was so much better than Star Wars....

Sunday Links for Nov. 27th

This week, we said a big thanks to each other, then went rampaging through stores.


We just want to say thanks for all of you awesome people that read [IGH]. We also have a list of some of our top geeky shopping deals!
(via [insertgeekhere]) 


The new HTC Facebook phone is nicknamed Buffy 'cause it's gonna slay all the other phones. I don't want it for the FB options but if they keep the name, then it might be fun.
(via Mashable)


DC gets another chance at the small screen with a Booster Gold series. Hopefully this guy has a better chance than our favorite Amazonian.
(via The Mary Sue)


I need your help....to stop NBC from making a huge mistake. They have benched my favorite comedy, Community. Please join me in signing this petition to save this work of genius!
(via Geeks Are Sexy) 


Until next week....


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Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Turkey Day!!! I hope that you stuff your face full of turkey and pie. Mmmmm pie..... In this season of thanks, we want to thank you so much for reading.  We are so happy to be bringing our wacky opinions and experiences to you.


With all of the shopping craziness that awaits us tomorrow, here are some of the geeky sales that are on their way. Thankfully, they are almost all online, so you can avoid a lot of crowds. 


Thanksgiving Day - Nov. 24 


Mental Floss, the magazine with every answer, is offering 20% off almost everything in the store when you use coupon code "EASYMATH" at checkout. Plus, get a free tote bag when you spend $50 or more! This ends at midnight on Thanksgiving, which means you better hurry! 


Black Friday - Nov. 25 


RedBubble has a great coupon code out that is good through Black Friday. Use code "giftbuy11" for 10% off any shirt.  They have so many shirts so you better start looking now! 


Cyber Monday - Nov. 28th 


Starting at midnight on Cyber Monday, Dark Horse Digital is offering the first 500 people through the checkout 50% off their entire order! Order minimum is $20 and you can redeem this 50% with the coupon code "dhcyber".


Her Universe is debuting a huge amount of awesome this Monday! This includes new thermal hoodie design with original art by Star Wars artist, Cat Staggs. There will also be new items from Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13 and Eureka for every female fan. For the first 500 orders placed on heruniverse.com, shoppers will receive a Holiday Yoda pin along with a signed card from Eckstein, herself.  If you spend at least $40, you also get free shipping! 


Luxury Lane Soap has released a ton of discount codes, so now is the time to stock up on your Tardis soap!  Here is the code rundown.  Code: FREESHIP gets ya Free shipping on any order within the United States!  Code: TWENTY gets ya 20% off your entire order!  Code: MEGA gets ya $50.00 off any order over $200.00!  Code: ORGANIC gets ya $2.50 off any Organic Artisan Soap!  These start Friday and last through Cyber Monday, so get moving!

Now through the end of Cyber Monday, Midtown Comics has a huge amount of deals going on. For all of us online, we can save up to 50% off, including 40% off graphic novels and 25% off comics (new releases not included). For all of us New Yorkers, we can get 25% off everything in-store on Black Friday! 


Go forth and shop! Hopefully, your typing fingers will burn off all those pie calories!


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Mike Dawson and Troop 142 at Midtown Comics Book Club

You will get this poster
once you read the book.

Our November book club featured Troop 142 and its creator, Mike Dawson. As always, Midtown Comics' Thor Parker was our fabulous moderator. It was such a fun night with lots of laughs.

This post is SPOILER-FILLED so if you are allergic to spoilers,

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

In case you haven't read Troop 142, here is the lowdown. This tale follows Boy Scout Troop 142 on their week-long summer camp. The boys work hard, earn badges, do drugs, torture each other, and grow bacteria in spam. So basically, being regular teenage boys. But before you start thinking this is just a kids' tale, this story addresses sexuality, drugs, self-esteem and institutional mentality.


I truly enjoyed this story.  As a lifelong, proud Girl Scout, this brought back my own fond memories of summer camp.  While we weren't as gross as the boys, we still had similar experiences.  I also appreciated the honest look at Boy Scouts.  The organization has had a lot of problems in the past, especially surrounding religion and homosexuality.   However, this story also touched upon the positives of the organization - the important skills and traits developed.  I have always credited scouting for teaching me responsibility, morality, woodworking and honor, among other traits.  For any scout or non-scout that reads this book, I hope that you feel the good as well as the bad.

There were a few boy scouts in the audience, so the discussion felt less question & answer and more conversational. It was a nice change and had a relaxing feel.  Here are some of the highlights:

The Muppets Review

“It's time to play the music."

The Muppets are here, and they’ve arrived in style!

I love the Muppets. My childhood is filled with Muppet-y good memories. The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies, and the movies – I watched them all, repeatedly. I always wanted to reenact the scene with Miss Piggy and Joan Rivers in the department store in Muppets Take Manhattan. It just looked like sooooo much fun!

When I first heard about this movie, I was really worried. I remember Space Jam, and what it did for Looney Tunes (not much). I didn’t want that to happen to my beloved characters. I started to feel a little bit better when I heard how much of a “Muppet enthusiast” Jason Segel was, but still weary. So, when I got the opportunity to go to an advanced screening of The Muppets this past weekend, I couldn’t turn it down. If it was great then I got early viewing bragging rights and if it sucked, I got a free movie.

I am happy to report it did NOT suck. In fact, it left me wanting more!

Mild Spoilers Ahead!!!

Our Con In A Bag Winners!

We searched far and wide through the interwebs to randomly pick our three winners of an aching shoulder!
  

Congrats Lucas, Marsha, and Tony!  

You just won an aching shoulder, back and feet and of course, lots of cool stuff!!!!  I hope that you all enjoy the wonders that these bags hold.  


Just a quick thank you again to all of our awesome sponsors!  Please check out these sites because they hold a lot of amazing things, especially with the holidays coming up!

Hellvis

I Am A Stuffed Animal

MEGA BLOKS

Red Bubble

The Misadventures of Electrolyte and the Justice Purveyors

If you sadly didn't win, please don't despair.  We are constantly working to get more exciting and fun things to give away, so stay tuned!

  

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NYCC '11: Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan talk about Conan

With all the awesome contained at NYCC, this one was at the top. I got to speak with the brand new Conan team mere hours after they were announced. That's right, I got to chat with Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan. Thanks again to the team at Dark Horse for giving me this chance!


With such a great team taking over this classic book, how did they both get involved in this project? Dark Horse approached Wood first, because they were looking to change up the series' feeling. He actually thought that Cloonan wouldn't be available to join the book, but her name kept coming up as the perfect fit. Eventually, she came on board.


These two have been working together for a long time. Wood and Cloonan clicked right away, from their very first project in 2001. Since then, their relationship hasn't changed one bit. As Wood put it, they have a lot of trust with each other.  Side note: They actually finished each others sentence at one point during this answer. Definitely a top-notch team.

Sunday Links for Nov. 20th

I was traveling this week for the day job, but happily back in NY!  LA was fun though, including this awesome view of Fox Studios from my hotel room!  Even with me on the go, the geek news keeps coming....

Too bad I couldn't get down there....

Best reason to live in NYC?  Getting to see Newsies come to Broadway!  I can guarantee that Wysefyre and I will be camping out for tickets!
(via Entertainment Weekly)


This week, we lost quite a few Marvel comic series. With more losses potentially on the way, here are some tips to prepare yourself.
(via Robot 6)


With just 10 days left in Nov., I hope that everyone is doing well with their NaNoWriMo novels. Here is a list of 11 NaNo novels that made it to print.
(via Mental Floss)

As we get closer to the holiday shopping season, it gets harder and harder to pick out gifts. Here is a great reading list for the women on your list that are new to comics.
(via MTV Geek)


Until next week, sans the jet lag......





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The Hunger Games Official Trailer

I tend to avoid trailers these days because I don't like getting my hopes up about movies that look good in the trailer then ultimately disappoint, but when I found out The Hunger Games trailer dropped yesterday, I couldn't resist. I love the trilogy, and was leery of the movie adaptation (look at Twilight), but this trailer has me cautiously excited. If the movie is anything like this, it's going to be amazing.





via youtube


"Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place for the latest match."


Is it weird that I always pictured Haymitch as a cross between Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft? Anyone else have that thought or is it just me? 


What do you think? Great movie or bitter disappointment? 

Sunday Links for November 13

First it was Occupy Wall Street, then a bunch of other cities and towns got involved.  Now we have Occupy Comics. This was bound to happen, and looks like it might be an interesting read.
(via Robot 6)


Julie Taymor is back in the news this week, but not for a new show.  She is suing the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark for unpaid royalties.  How they did not see this coming after she got the boot, I don't know.
(via The Beat)


We welcomed a new contributor this week, Teacup!  Make sure you check out her first post about Mark Hamill!
(via [insertgeekhere])


I read a lot of reviews and I find most helpful but this one was just a really enjoyable read.  It is for the movie Abduction, which I have no desire to see, but this is just super funny.  At least, it was for me.
(via All Things Fangirl)




Until next week.....




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NYCC '11: Mark Hamill Spotlight

As I mentioned in my Amazing Spider-Man post, I sat in on that so I would have a guaranteed seat at the Mark Hamill Spotlight. While I was there I got to chat with several people including the person who has just become [insertgeekhere]'s newest contributor, Teacup!

Crosslinked with Fannish Potpourri 

When I first met Mark Hamill, he stood about four inches tall, lived on a desert planet with two suns, and spoke in a high pitched voice some people might call whiny. I was nine years old and my best friend had brought over the entire original Star Wars trilogy for a day long marathon to introduce me to the series. By the time the credits rolled on Return of the Jedi, I was hooked.

Olly Moss redesigned posters for the original Star Wars series. Aren't they gorgeous?

The Star Wars trilogy, as one of the most popular sci-fi creations of the past fifty years, is a gateway series into science fiction and geekery for many young people. I attribute those three films as my first steps on the way to becoming the geek I am today, as well as the series responsible for my first celebrity crush. Mark Hamill was not unattractive during the time the movies were filmed, even with the minor surgery he received between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back to correct damage done in a car crash. While the crush has since faded (except in a nostalgic way), my appreciation for Mark as an actor has not. So when the fine folks at NYCC announced the man himself would be attending New York Comic Con as a guest this year, I was overjoyed.

One handsome man

NYCC 11: Quick Chat with Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs

While at NYCC, I was able to continue doing interviews with amazing people.  Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for letting me loose on the unsuspecting team of Angel & Faith, Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs.


This was a new comics team to the Buffyverse so I was curious how they got on board.  Isaacs actually landed this role though her work on DMZ, with Brian Wood. She was asked to audition by Sierra Hahn, and I am so glad she did!


Gage had a much more interesting road to Angel & Faith. Joss saw some of his work during the Buffyverse writers summit to plan out S9. He liked it so much, Scott Allie approached Gage at C2E2....in the bathroom. (My only regret is not knowing this before I interviewed Allie.) All jokes aside (and many sprang to mind, all very inappropriate), it is how we got this team in place.


The big question in every existing series is if the new writer/artist is a fan.  Gage had always loved Joss' work on Astonishing X-Men but wasn't a Buffy fan before his infamous bathroom visit. He actually had to watch all 12 seasons of Buffy and Angel to get up to date. On his list next is Firefly and Dollhouse but not for a while. "I'm afraid if I watch them, I will want to write for them and not concentrate on Angel." said Gage.


Isaacs had already taken her first steps into the Whedonverse through Firefly and Dollhouse. She had always avoided Buffy though because she had hated high school. Her fiancee encouraged her to watch and she loved it. As she put it "It was exactly as I thought of high school; it was hell."

If you continue, you run the risk of SPOILERS.  
If you are allergic to spoilers,

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

NYCC 11: My quick spin on Con Speed Dating

As you may remember, I wrote about the opportunity of Speed Dating at NYCC. Well, I decided to give it a shot myself and see who I might meet.


It was a crazy scene to walk into but mostly because there were lines for multiple events in the same spot. As a woman, I was immediately registered and asked to wait with the other women. Rule 1 of Con Speed Dating: Too many boys, not enough girls. Guys, that means you should pre-register if you want a shot. Girls, you can just show up and get in. Everyone is assigned a number (I was 13), and heads in to meet their prospective geeks.


I would like to commend Lighting Fast Speed Dating on how they treated everyone there. Ryan, the head of LFSD, was very kind and understanding while being entertaining. In my group, three lesbians came to take part and rather than turn them away for lack of numbers, Ryan set them up in a small speed dating session. For all the women, he also made sure that if we felt the guys were being inappropriate, we could let him know with a secret sign. All of these things made me feel just a little more comfortable.