Sunday Links for February 19

It has been a crazy week for Wysefyre and I, with both of us running around crazy, then passing out.  Still, the geek world marches on with news.

Julie Taymor is sitting pretty with her ridiculously awesome settlement from Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark producers.  Can someone give me $10k a week?!
(via Nerd Bastards)

In reboot news, a director has been procured to do a new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  My heart is torn between excitement and fear with how Jonathan Liebesman will handle my precious turtles.  Only time will tell.....
(via Collider)

Comic Book Men premiered this week with "meh" and "blah" reviews.  Personally, I was bored during the five minutes I watched but others stuck through the hour and were offended more than bored.  Did anyone out there like this show?
(via Newsarama)

We held a contest this week for a autographed Conan #1 and the winner has been emailed!  Go check your inbox now and see if it was you!

Until next week.....


Like what you just read? Let us know in the comments below and keep up to date by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr!

Sunday Links for July 3

Another fun and exciting week in the Geek Universe...

In DC reboot news, it turns out that some fans are upset about the upcoming changes. Who would've thunk it? Well they are taking the fight public with a protest at San Diego Comic Con. In other related news, Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston points out how pointless this protest is and starts a protest of their protest. In the end, the change is happening no matter what, so we all need to deal with it.

(via Robot 6, Bleeding Cool)

Google+ debuted this week with a little fanfare. Wysefyre managed to get in but can't send out invites yet. For a fun look at birth of a network, check out XKCD and Mashable.

(via XKCD, Mashable)

We are getting closer and closer to the final premiere of the final Harry Potter film....EVER!  *sad face*  To get you in the mood, go check out this Parseltongue translator.  It is kinda creepy, especially if you forget how loud your speakers are...

(via Parseltongue Translator)

MTV Geek found out that there are still plans for a Masters of the Universe movie.  This is more terrifying than the Parseltongue translator.  I fear for my childhood.

(via MTV Geek)

Have a Happy and Fun Independence Day!!!

Like what you just read? Let us know in the comments below and keep up to date by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr!

Sunday Links for June 12

DC finished announcing all 52 new series, with some very suspiciously missing titles.  C'mon guys, don't take away my Terry McGinnis!  

(via Bleeding Cool)

With all of the announcement from DC this week, the biggest shocker was Barbara Gordon returning as Batgirl.  Jill Pantozzi wrote a very personal and touching argument to the switch from Orcale to Batgirl.  Gail Simone immediately sat down with Jill for a in-depth interview that gave away no details but showed how much Simone cares about this character.

(via Newsarama / Newsarama)

Green Lantern opens next weekend but if you want to get in the spirit, look for your closest Green Lantern party.  They are holding secret events in major markets all over the US tomorrow, with a chance to join the Green Lantern Corps.  Just look for the Green Lantern symbol shining in the sky at dusk.  For all of you NYCers, a clue was released for the location, which leads you to Rockefeller Center.  If you go, try to find me!

(via Bleeding Cool)

Marvel was not going to be outdone this week in the news department, so they announced that they were canceling Uncanny X-Men.  I'm a little upset since I just started reading this series but it should be an interesting read.

(via Newsarama)

This week, the BBFC proved that sometimes a little oversight is a good thing.  They decided to ban Human Centipide II from British theaters. If you had desired to see this, don't worry.  I am sure that it will be streaming on Netflix in no time.

(via Den of Geek)

In the ever-growing amount of reboots, the newest one is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  No word yet on whether this will be live-action or animation.

(via Cinema Blend)

Finally, I am excited to see some of the first images from the second season of The Walking Dead.  While they don't include any main characters, it just looks cool. 

(via The Beat)

Have a great week!

Like what you just read? Let us know in the comments below and keep up to date by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr!

DC Universe Reboot: Pros and Cons

The comic world is still flailing helplessly over the news that the entire DC Universe is going to be rebooted and upgraded. 

"We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and felt we really want to inject new life in our characters and line. This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today's audience."  

- Dan Didio, DC Comics co-publisher to USA Today

People are saying all sorts of responses, from the really good and excited to the psychotically angry. Personally, I am torn about this, so I'm going to look at this from all angles and see the Pros and Cons of this little endeavor.

Pros 

- Refreshing these characters that have been 

around forever may make them more 

appealing to the younger crowd. 

- Great way for new readers to jump into the DCU.  Definitely simpler than Marvel's Point One in a lot of ways.

- With less baggage, these characters can do all sorts of new and fun things.

- Character reboots happen all of the time, the only reason we are noticing now is because it is happening all at once.

- With the new stories as canon, the older DC books will raise in value. Now's the time to cash in!

Cons

- Great way to alienate current and loyal readers.

- These characters can't be changed too much anyway - everyone knows their origins!

- I read Batman Beyond, which is a fairly new series. Why dump something that just started? It doesn't even exist in current time DCU?!  Not to mention, what is my encouragement to keep reading if it is all changing in a few months?  

- One of the ways comic readers start is because a current comic reader shares a book that they enjoy. With everyone starting fresh, who is going to provide guidance and encouragement?

I'm sure that there are more reasons for or against the reboot, but in the end, it doesn't matter. This is happening no matter what any of us think. Only time will tell if this will be a good move by DC.

Wonder Woman: First Look

The first picture of Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman has been released and is already causing a lot of debate. Take it in, think about it and then read my thoughts below...

© 2011 NBC/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Justin Lubin

For the most part, I like it. I think the designers worked hard to blend the iconic look of Wonder Woman with the newer, updated one that's been in the comics, while trying to add a little something for just the show. My biggest issues are that the boots are the wrong color and it's very shiny, but I guess I can live with that. 

There are many interesting discussions about the outfit going on across the web, and one of the comments I came across talked about how it was too "Halloween costume trashy." I love this comment because my original thought was that it would make a decent Halloween costume, but my next thought was "At least it's not as trashy as some of the other super heroine costumes out there." If I was going to go as Wonder Woman, I'd be more inclined to wear this than the other types out there.

I've seen other comments from other articles discussing not just the look of the outfit, but also the actress wearing it. Adrianne Palicki is a wonderful actress. I have enjoyed a lot of her work, but I tend to agree that part of why the outfit is coming across a little "porn star/trashy/Halloween-y/etc." is because she is not statuesque enough to really own it. She is slighter than what one would expect of an Amazon. So it comes down to the physicality and how one carries themselves. If you put a woman like Lucy Lawless or Gina Torres in this, they would own it on an entirely different level. In this photo, I am not seeing the Amazonian power I equate with Wonder Woman. 

What I would love in the next photo released is to see a less forced and uncomfortable picture that allows us to see exactly what the creative team saw in Ms. Palicki that made them say she was the right person to play Wonder Woman.

To learn more about the various fashion changes Wonder Woman has gone through over the years, check out this great article by Alan Kistler, who writes the "Agent of S.T.Y.L.E" column for Newsarama.

What are your thoughts of Wonder Woman's new look? Comment below

Like what you just read? Let us know in the comments below and keep up to date by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr!

Opinion: What to Do When the Buffy Reboot Comes Out

Ever since it was announced that Warner Bros. was going to go ahead with their cockamamie plan for a Buffy reboot, the Whedonverse fans have been in an uproar. I am among them, and I have been trying to figure out what the best way to deal with this is. Many fans say to boycott the movie. That was my initial reaction, but as I gave it more thought and read more comments across the internet, an idea started to form.

We, as fans, have to decide if we are Whedon fans, Buffy fans, or both. The Whedon fans are those loyal to all things Whedon, while the Buffy fans care more about her than the man who brought her to life. If one is a Whedon fan then it makes sense to boycott the movie. It is absolutely ridiculous to make a movie without its creator, but it has been done before. A perfect example is the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Wes Craven created him, but he does not own Freddy Krueger, and this led to a lot of problems with most of the sequels. In fact, the sequels that are considered the best of the bunch are the ones Wes worked on, Dream Warriors and A New Nightmare. This is what we are trying to avoid with Buffy. We don't want a new movie that is going to suck so hard Warner Bros. starts clamoring for Joss to come and make a better Buffy movie to wipe away the taint of the second movie. While we would like a Joss made movie, I don't think he would do it. Joss has been screwed over so many times by the industry, I have a hard time believing he'd make a Buffy movie. Maybe in a decade or two, long after the comics have ceased to exist, the fans are going rabid, and an embarrassingly large amount of money is thrown his way.

We are all going to be monitoring the progress of the reboot. We will be critical of casting decisions, who the crew is, and most importantly, the story and how it's written, but ultimately, I think the movie will have to be seen. I do not believe it will be a good movie, but I have to wonder what if Whit Anderson pulls off a miracle and writes an amazing movie? What if she genuinely pays homage to Joss? As a Buffy fan, I think it would be terrible not to experience the movie if it is great, but if the movie is bad, there is no way I am putting down hard earned money for something that is pooping all over a 'verse I love. So, what to do?

I propose we send in designated viewers. We convince one or two of our friends to see the movie and then report back to us. If they deem the movie worthy, we go in droves to support it. If it's unworthy, we get to not only issue a GINORMOUS "I told you so" to anyone and everyone who will listen, including the execs who green-lit the project, but we will be able to explain exactly what was wrong with it, other than Joss' absence.

Warner Bros. does not understand just how intelligent and driven Whedon fans are. They think if it says "Buffy," we will put down money to see it, no matter what the quality is. Once again, they underestimate us. We are the fans who created such a demand for Firefly that it was released on DVD, we got Dollhouse a second season, and we are the ones who brought Serenity to the big screen. There would be no Buffy, Angel, Dr. Horrible, Firefly, or any of the various spin off comics without us. We have made the Whedonverse a lucrative one because we are fiercely loyal, but we will not settle for crap.

So please, don't out right boycott the movie if you are a Buffy fan, but do NOT give a lot of money to the movie until it has proven its worth. Show Warner Bros. they cannot take us and Joss Whedon for granted.

This is part of our ongoing "Buffy Movie" coverage. You can read our first post here.
To see what others are saying about this, check out Action Flick Chick's Reboot Reactions roundup here.

Assemble the troops, we have a demon to fight.

Courtesy of Active Dollhouse

When will movie execs learn not to mess with our favorite characters? While I understand that rebooting a story is cheaper than creating a new one, when it is done poorly, it just brings the whole saga down. Which is why I died a little this afternoon.

Today we learned that Warner Bros. will be rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Joss Whedon at the helm. More than a few things about this infuriate me, so here they are:

1 - This news is maddening since they say in the press release that:


"There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen."


As a member of this "active fan base", I just want to say this is not what I want. This is not what my fellow Buffy fans want. We want our slayer to be continued by her creator, Joss Whedon. This is the same person that is continuing the Buffy character right now in comics. Did they miss that?

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

2 - Speaking of Joss, what is this statement?


"Warner Bros. Pictures optioned the rights from creators Fran and Kaz Kuzui"


Am I missing something or didn't Joss Whedon create Buffy? They are producers. I will credit them with helping give BtVS a chance to be seen but they didn't create it. They paid for it. I paid for this computer but that doesn't mean that I can say I built it and Dell can go to hell.


3 - BtVS (the show) only ended in 2003. With most remakes happening decades after the end, why rush this? If you really care about the character's development, take the time to work on it. According to the LA Times, this could be out late 2011 or 2012. To work on having it out in 2012, the same time as Joss Whedon's Avengers, seems to be rushed. I wonder why?

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

4 - To have this written by a complete newcomer also worries me. Whit Anderson has done nothing that I can find. Taking on rebooting a fairly recent story as a first project sounds like a daunting and overwhelming task. Most actors, writers and directors are often scared to reimagine beloved characters, lest bringing the wrath of the fans. As fans, we achieved Serenity from a TV show, Firefly, that was canceled almost immediately. We convinced Fox to give Dollhouse a chance to tell its story. When we have shown our passion for these characters, the industry has taken notice. I wish that Whit Anderson feels that fear and respect for us, for Joss and for this character. We all deserve it.

"Now, we can do this the hard way or... well, actually, there's just the hard way. "

Yes, I can admit, perhaps I am jumping the gun and getting a little too excited about this, but I grew up with Buffy, Xander and Willow. They were a year ahead of me in school. They dealt with things I feared before I did: the Prom, Graduation, College Roommates.... Right now, I feel like my fandom is being tarnished and I don't like it. We need to let Warner Bros. know that this is not what we want and they will have to do it without us and our $$.

Source: For those interested, here is a link to the full release on The Wrap.



*Update* Joss has spoken. As with every other time the industry has screwed him over, he has responded with humor, intelligence, and most importantly, class. For that, Joss, we love you all the more.