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.

Sunday Links for November 6

It's November! Just another reminder to check your clocks for the right time.... But for me, November is the start of the holiday shopping season. My friends hate me but I do get all of the best deals! Other than my shopping addiction, here are some of the week's highlights:

In case you were having trouble with your holiday shopping, Diamond Comics has got you covered with Angry Birds Books.....Yeah, I said that.
(via Robot 6)

My childhood me got exciting news this week with the announcement of a Carmen Sandiego movie. Both Wysefyre and I are huge fans, so it's been a giddy week. This also serves as a warning to JLo that she cannot mess this up!
(via The Mary Sue)

Marvel joins the rest of the comics world with going same day and date digital. Feels like another nail in the local comic shop coffin but makes sense for Marvel.
(via iFanboy)

The White House came out and officially denied any contact with extraterrestrials. I totally believe them. I mean, any government agency that might deal with aliens is probably removed from White House completely for plausible deniability.
(via i09)

Finally, make sure that you enter our Con In A Bag contest! You could win bags full of geeky goodness!

Until next week.....

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Video Friday! 11/4/11

Hi everybody! I've been looking for some videos to take our minds off the shorter days and dipping temperatures. Here are a few that I found.





via Dorkly

See all the CollegeHumor Original Videos here.

via CollegeHumor





via Topless Robot




Finally, the History of Rap continues!





Have a great weekend!

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NYCC '11: Tales From the Amazing Spider-Man Panel

I’d like to share with you a story. It’s a tale of not heeding one’s own advice, leading to both embarrassment and something wonderful. This is a tale from the Amazing Spider-Man panel.

Originally I had not planned on going to the panel because Getsuyobi was going to be there, and he is our go-to guy for all things Spider-Man. However, when I found out the Mark Hamill Spotlight was going to take place immediately afterwards, I knew I had to grab a seat. Don’t get me wrong, as I've said in the past, I love Spider-Man; he’s my second favorite in the Marvel U (sorry, X-Men will always come first), but we were trying to cover as much as possible and had a man in the room already.


Anyway, Getsuyobi got great seats near the front, so we got to see all the action as the massive group of panelists came out. They included Dan Slott, Stephen Wacker, Ellie Pyle, Thomas Brennan, Ryan Stegman, and Paolo Rivera and it was moderated by Arune Singh, who is one of the best moderators around. The panel got underway and the fun began.


During the panel, Dan Slott and Stephen Wacker, in particular, had a lot of fun with the audience. It was like being at a comedy club where the comedian starts conversing and heckling the audience. They were quite interactive and allowed the audience call out questions and comments. Midway through is when it happened. They announced Avenging Spider-Man #1 written by Zeb Wells and the return of one of my absolute favorite artists, Joe Madureira. I can’t say how much Madureira’s work has affected me. He’s one of the reasons my love of comics was so firmly cemented, so needless to say, when this was announced, I might have lost my head a little.


Other articles about the panel have made mention of what happened next but no one went into detail, so straight from the horse’s mouth, here’s what happened. Stephen Wacker pulled out the first printed copy of Avenging Spider-Man #1 and was mocking us with it. Now, remember I said I might have lost my head, because while we were being teased with the comic, I called out, asking Wacker what he was doing after the panel. His reply was, “So, I can mock you later?” To which I responded, “I don’t know, can I mug you later?” I meant only for the comic and in the nicest of ways, but yes, I said that. There was a strong reaction from everyone, and then Wacker asked if I was a Madureira fan and a Spider-Man fan, and when I replied yes, he invited me up on the stage to read the comic. I got to sit between him and Ryan Stegman and read Avenging Spider-Man #1.

NYCC '11: Interview with Dark Horse Editor Scott Allie

The Whedonverse is very precious to me. It kept me sane as a teenager, and Buffy: Season 8 was my gateway drug into comics. So when the chance to talk to Whedonverse editor Scott Allie, I lost my cool and went total fangirl. Luckily, I got myself together before I met him at NY Comic Con.


I was desperate to talk with him about Buffy, so I immediately asked about what challenges he wants to see Buffy take on in Season 9. He responded that she needs to figure out what the next stage of her life will be. As he puts it, "Her life was on this trajectory that was kinda up, up, up, up and now all that's behind her. She just has to be a girl living a life in San Francisco, and it's like the epic scope of that part of her life is behind her, and she just has to figure out how to move forward."


Then I asked him about the pressures of dealing with such dedicated fans. As he puts it, there are many differences between each fan groups. Even the Whedon subgroups are radically different. Then he gave me a great quote....