Wow...just...wow...

Yeah...so this happened...but did it really need to?

First we had Skull, now we have Crossbones...

A new villain has been cast (as well as mentioned) in Cap 2:

Crossbones - who first appeared in Captain America #359. I remember this guy as a problem in Cap's relationship with Diamondback - a member of the Serpent Society that was working on reforming...but that's another story.

I'm okay with this news since there needs to be a Red Skull-type character involved before they reveal the Skull's return to the present day.

I just wonder...will Bucky's Winter Soldier will be a hero off the bat, or will he and Crossbones start out as a team of baddies before Cap brings his former buddy back to the side of the angels?

Sandy...you B***H!...

So, Hurricane Sandy stopped by to say hello.

The Good: Never lost power.

The Bad: Totally lost the internet.

So I have no idea what's been going on...outside of work that is...but hopefully I'll be back into the groove Wednesday morning...before work.

Phase One...Sun 11/11/2012

Still thinking and planning for the weekend, and here's what they've got on Sunday that's on my radar...

Tentacle Love(craft) Panel: Squid- and Cthuloid-enthusiast Ben Templesmith joins Green Hand Bookshop owner Michelle Souliere and local Lovecraft-inspired filmmaker Christian Matzke (Nyarlathotep, An Imperfect Solution: A Tale of the Re-Animator) for a roundtable discussion on all things Lovecraft.

I know nothing about Lovecraft...yet, and this seems like a good way to learn.

Tales from the Marvel Bullpen: Former Marvel employees Mort Todd and Rick Parker dish about their time at the big publishing house. What wonderful and horrible tales could they have in store for us?

This is the "must see" for me. Just sounds fun.

Comics to Film to Comics!: Film adaptations of comics, comic adaptations of films, musicals based on movies based on comics! What’s the deal with Hollywood and the Comic Industry? Fred Van Lente (Cowboys and Aliens) and Christian DiBari (The Warriors) weigh in.

A panel about comics and movies and movies about comics? I'm there!

45 - 7...

They played the St. Louis Rams in England yesterday.

I missed the game - I was carving pumpkins with Adorkette.

So the Pats are 5-3 for the season. This puts them in first place in the AFC East (Miami is second with a 4-3 record...they've already had their bye week), and there are four teams right now with more wins: the Houston Texans, the New York Giants, the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons (who are still undefeated).

The Pats have their bye week this coming weekend, and they need the time to get their stuff together for the second half of the season.

They've proven that they can play well, and shown that they can play...not so well, so lets hope they spend their time wisely and beat Buffalo on Sunday, Nov. 11.

I'm going to miss that game too...there's a convention I have to attend.

But if they keep putting up points like this while I'm away, I'll keep doing what I did this morning and catch the highlights.

Phase one...Sat 11/10/2012

There's still no schedule posted for which events are when throughout the weekend, but here's what I'm looking at attending right now for Saturday:

Why Censorship is Bull$#!@: Mort Todd (Vex, Cracked Magazine) and Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian, Punk Rock Jesus) team up and tell you about their experiences with censorship and controversy over their respective works at home and abroad.

This looks interesting because I can't stand censorship. It's one thing to keep "mature audience" product on a separate shelf, in a different place, or behind a counter - which makes sense - and another to edit something like Bomb Queen or Lost Girls from the original content so that it's safe for a 12-year-old to buy. 

For the record, I feel the same way about movies and music. Adorkette likes the musician Pink, and guess what - there's swear words in some of her songs. I'm not going to erase Pink's songs from my daughter's iPod. I'm going to educate her to understand that sometimes musicians...and artists in general...use "bad" words to express themselves. It happens. Listen, don't listen. Like, don't like. The choice is hers.

What the @$*& is up with Valiant?!: Everyone at Coast City has been thrilled to have Valiant back, but none of us knows how this resurgence came about. Archer & Armstrong writer Fred Van Lente and die-hard Valiant fan Joseph Schmalke drop some knowledge on Valiant’s big comeback.

This goes back to my original love of Valiant, and I'm curious to see what's happening now.

Celebrity Draw-Off: Becky Cloonan (Demo, Wolves, Conan), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Fell, Choker), and Christian DiBari (The Warriors, Pale Horse) face off and put their drawing and improvisation skills to the test. Bill Corbett (Voice of MST3K’s Crow T Robot) MCs and you, the audience, shout suggestions of themes or scenarios. The artists then have 10 minutes to draw their best representation of your suggestions. You decide whose work best embodies the chosen theme!

This sounds like a lot of fun. I first met Becky Cloonan at a convention in Westbrook, ME years ago. I even got her to sign a copy of Demo #2. Think I'll bring it with me and ask her to sign it again.

Costume Contest: Think you’ve got what it takes to win this year’s costume contest? Our celebrity panel will be the judges of that! Bill Corbett, Ben Templesmith, Penny Dreadful XIII (Penny Dreadful’s Shilling Shockers) and Becky Cloonan will watch you strut your stuff and award prizes to the top three contestants.

Costume contests are always fun. Doesn't matter what genre either. I love the dedication and admire the craftsmanship that go into these things. Not to mention the courage to actually wear the things.

James Bond...and Walmart?

So, James Bond has a new movie coming out, so they re-released the Blu-rays.

I am looking to upgrade my Octopussy DVD to Blu-ray, and Walmart's offering a single-disc copy for under $10.00...

...but for some reason, this feels a little off to me.

Why would Walmart have exclusive releases of each of the Bond films on Blu-ray?

Shouldn't they be available to all retailers?

I just don't want to pay the $10 and take it home only to find out that "new and improved" Blu-ray releases are coming out next month.

As for the Bond box-sets, and Blu-ray box sets in general, I don't like them.

They usually throw in films no one wants Crystal Skull , or use include versions no one wants Return of the Jedi .

The one exception to this is the Lord of the Rings sets.

We bought the extended DVD set and love it. As I make the rounds in the stores, I see they're including everything in the Blu-ray version...which is awesome...but at close to $100, we'll have to wait until the price goes down.

It's official...I'm going!

I paid for my weekend pass yesterday, and am really looking forward to going.

There's a bunch of events happening over the weekend, but they haven't posted a schedule yet, so I can't plan my weekend yet.

I also have to get the required "need to find" list started.

Lots to do...so little time...

Conan...revisited...

I'm gonna need help with this:

Universal Pictures, which has world rights to Conan, has green-lit The Legend of Conan, which brings Schwarzenegger back to the role that made him famous.

Not only that, Legend will "skip over" Conan the Destroyer as well as...

...the 2011 relaunch.

I get that Arnold wants back in the Hollywood game, and if he can't go back to the Terminator well, Conan makes sense - Conan is a human being, and human beings get old. I get that.


I saw the 2011 film, and I liked it. Jason Momoa had a hell of a job filling a role almost impossible to fill, but he did the role justice. I feel bad for him to be bumped out of a potential franchise. As for Legend, I think the film should be renamed...

...'Nuff said.

WTF? Fridays...10/26/2012

There's now talks that the Jean Grey cameo in The Wolverine is a hoax...

'Course, there's also talks that the film takes place within existing X-Men movie continuity after The last Stand...

I honestly don't care right now when or where it takes place, as long as it's better than Origins.

Ming-Na Wen...known for Disney's Mulan and appearances on ER...has been confirmed as a member of Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. series.

The characters she's played have ranged from really cool to really annoying. Let's hope for the former.

News came out that Matthew Vaughn has opted out  from directing X-Men: Days of Future Past film.

Word is, Bryan Singer will take over.

This is awesome...

...but lets hope DC has learned their lesson and leave Bryan alone!






AND THIS WEEK'S WTFN? AWARD GOES TO...

Bunny Stark...who mad an appearance in the Iron Man 3 trailer that came out this week.


Apparently it's become so popular, it has it's own twitter account!

You know what sucks?...

...Having a sick kid.

Adorkette's not feeling well and is home for the day.

Hopefully, she'll rest up and be ready for Halloween next week.

A quick word about Slivers...

So Mrs. Adorkification has a new focus on the game...and it's Slivers. They come in all colors, and have effects that affect all other Slivers in play.

She likes them because "they're cute"...

I don't see it.

But when she's at the table looking over her cards and planning strategies...

That's Cute!

Comic Book Men

Another show Adorkette and I started watching is Comic Book Men which is also on Netflix.

This show, along with Freaks and Geeks, hits close to home - I worked part-time at a comic shop in Boston while in college.

It was a lot of fun, even though I worked for store credit instead of cash. I miss working there almost every day, and if I had my way I'd either be working there or someplace like it to this day.

Freaks and Geeks

Mrs. Adorkification and Adorkette have been watching this show recently on Netflix.

They sat me down to watch the pilot, and some of it was funny, but honestly this series hits a little too close to home for me...as I landed squarely on the "Geek" side of the fence.

By the time I was a junior, I embraced who I was and broke my social wall. This allowed me to, you know, have dates at dances and stuff.

But I never lost my inner geek - collecting comics, watching sci-fi and the like - which I guess is what shifted my status from Geek to Dork.

And here I am today.

I was amazed at how many current stars appeared here. I thought James Franco's first role was in the James Dean TV-movie called...James Dean.

Anyway, my favorite part of the pilot came at the end at the dance. Styx's song "Come Sail Away" played, and every time I hear that song, I think of this...

So of course I made Adorkette hear it.

...and finally this.

So, here's the trailer...finally...but two things I have to mention:

* Nice to see the Paramount logo again. Maybe Disney's keeping just the Avengers films to itself?
and
*This trailer came out of Marvel UK, which is important, because it shows the release date of April 26, 2013. This means the UK get to see it a week before us. Why? I don't know.

Now the details...

The opening shots of Iron Man on the ground on the snow. My guess is that's after the final battle of the film...after he kicks Mandarin's ass.

We then see Tony walking through the press. That's probably the beginning of the film, when they recap what happened in The Avengers...as if anyone didn't know what happened there.

Then we see Tony playing with the new "Extremis" armor. Rather than coming from within his body, I think they're going to have it respond to his thoughts through some sort of telekinetic link. This would explain why the armor grabs Pepper while Tony's asleep - it's reacting to his nightmare.

If that's Mandarin at 0:47, where are the rings?

As for the brunette at 0:48, I'll go for broke and say that's Madame Masque.

At 0:51, there's a man on the ground. Looks more like Ivan Vanko than Mandarin. It could be someone who stole Arc Reactor tech, since it looks like there's one glowing on his chest. Could this be Mandarin's origin?

The surgery scene. My guess is that's where they implant the tech he developed that links his thoughts to the armor - instead of wearing the gear we see when he's talking to Pepper.

The Iron Man armor does open the plane at 0:53, so maybe Mandarin does gain control of it. But then why save the woman? Maybe the woman is Pepper, which would explain her crying as a prisoner in the next clip.

0:59 The rings. They look awesome...but do they work?

Then the armor faces Tony. This could be Mandarin controlled, but my money is the nightmare Tony's having when the armor reassembles itself from the floor of his bedroom and grabs Pepper. On second thought, the armor grabs Pepper first, which wakes up Tony, and then he disassembles it before trying to get some sleep.

03 Mandarin again? Most likely, but still no rings...and since when does Mandarin use a gun?

1:11 NOT THE HOUSE!!! Awww...MAN!!! And what the hell is with that giant bunny by the stairs?

My only thought as Iron Man is dragged into the ocean...Where's Pepper?

And finally, seeing Tony dragging stuff through the snow at 1:48 reminds me of his walk through the desert in Iron Man.

Let me add that there's no way in hell Tony's armor gets destroyed. I can see them sinking to the bottom of the ocean...along with the house...but destroyed? Nuh uh...no way...

Plus, having the armor go missing rather than destroyed sets up Armor Wars for the next trilogy.

So there we are. We all know Pepper won't stay with Tony forever, she winds up with Happy in the comics, but there is no way she's getting killed off. She's what Tony goes to China, or wherever Mandarin lives, for the final battle.

I bet cash money that Guy Pierce's character has connections to A.I.M., but that brings up another thing -

Where are the cameos? We see Rhodey, who we assume is wearing the Patriot armor, but there's no Nick Fury and no Bruce Banner - who leaves with Tony at the end of The Avengers.

I want MODOK...
I want A.I.M. soldiers...
I want Space Armor...Undersea Armor...Stealth Armor...
I want Fing Fang F**king Foom...

I want another trailer...

I want it to be May already...

I want to go to England, and have it be April already...

More please.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

...and then there's this...

I admit that I don't know a lot about Mandarin...other than he's from China, has some sort of "connection" to Fing Fang Foom, and has ten rings.

But I knew he has a history with Iron Man, and was very excited to learn that he's in IM3, and is being played by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Yesterday, they released the first official look at Kingley's Mandarin:

Honestly, this doesn't say "Chinese Villain" to me...but I think the films are intent on making him more Middle-Eastern, and that vibe I get.

And now that I see this, I wonder if they're going to actually feature the ten tings - meaning show off their powers - or if they're just going to be ornamental.

Don't forget, we know that A.I.M will appear as well, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer back again too.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

...and then this came out...

This is the first official poster for IM3.

At first glance, it looks like the first official picture released for the film...

...a lot.

But, upon closer examination, I realized something - see Tony's hands? They're being repeated by the hands of every other armor in the poster. That means he's testing the new tech that we know will allow him to control the other armors.

Now whether he'll be controlling these armors, or newer and simpler ones (which I think would work better), remains to be seen.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

So this came out...

Seventeen seconds of goodness, but I'm going to wait for the full minute-and-a-half or so before I dissect and analyze every second of it.

Tuesday's looking to be a good day.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Jean Grey to appear in Wolverine Sequel?

I read recently that Famke Janssen is rumored to have flown to Sydney to film a scene for The Wolverine...

I'm going to consider it true, but I also think that the scene she'd appear in will be something of a dream/alternate reality because of this pic -

That's the logo for the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, so it kinda makes sense that Jean Grey shows up.

I'm curious where Millar will go with this...

A word about Valiant Comics...

I was raised on DC comics before I even knew it - thanks to Superman: The Movie, Super Friends, Lynda Carter in Wonder Woman and reruns of the Adam West Batman series.

By the time I was old enough to walk to the local library and the nearby store (back before "convenience stores') and spend my own money, I was hooked on Marvel - thanks to Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, Amazing Spider-Man, and at the time The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Between the two companies, I was full. I didn't care about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Archie, or any of the Disney comics.

Then in college, I heard about this other company. Brand new, created by Jim Shooter. I took a chance and bought a copy of X-O Manowar #1.

Holy S#!t...

I was sucked in. Got everything I could. Harbinger, Shadowman, Solar: Man of the Atom, Eternal Warrior, Archer and Armstrong. Problem was, everybody knew about Valiant, and these issues were becoming harder and harder to find.

Then the bubble burst, and Acclaim took over. The books sucked. Everything changed.

Now Valiant is back, and the buzz is positive. Which is fantastic not only for the company, but for the medium.

But I just can't afford - in terms of money and space - to start collecting new series...of any company...anymore.

So I'll just call this a reboot a la Crisis on Infinite Earths and cheer from the sidelines...

...but when Hollywood needs some new ideas for properties, I'd buy a ticket to see a Valiant-related film.

Heck, I'd even see a Ninjak movie.

S.H.I.E.L.D. gets another interested party...

Back during last summer, Angie Harmon (from Law and Order and elsewhere) was on Conan O'Brian's show and word came out that she was extremely interested in playing She-Hulk.

I love it when actors say they want to be in comics-related projects

Now, another actor has expressed interest in Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. series...which by the way has no start date yet.

Imagine my surprise when I found out who it was...

Excuse me for a sec...

Let's talk about Thor 2...

Here's the synopsis...

Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.  In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

I'm going to need do some research because I'm not well versed in Thor's history in the comics.

As for the film, we know that Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster and the rest of the characters seen in Thor return - except Fandral will now be played by Zachary Levi.

As for new characters, there's Tyr and Kurse (which are news to me) and of course Malekith.

My guess is that we'll learn more about the cast in the coming months. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Balder, Karnilla and Hela show up.

But we know we'll need a teaser to to end this film. Wouldn't it be cool to see something happen that would require Thor to return to Midgard? A threat that could endanger Jane and have the potential to...I don't know...team-up with other villainous ilk? Maybe someone born on Midgard that wind up altered by some not-so-nice Asgardians...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

WAIT A MINUTE...HOLD EVERYTHING!!!

I just had a thought:

* We don't know when S.H.I.E.L.D. will air...

* We know Coulson will be in the show...

* We know that Loki killed Coulson...

* We know Thor witnessed Coulson's death...

* Valhalla is a place where Asgardian warriors go when they die...

* Thor's going to be all over Asgard in Thor 2...

Could it be? Is it possible?

Could Thor...over the course of the movie...find Coulson in Hela's realm...and bring him back?

Nah...even Whedon isn't that tricksy... 

Iron Man 3 Update...

Okay - so here's the official synopsis...

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

We can guess that Tony's journey will take him to China, where he'll face Mandarin and the Ten Rings.

It's also likely that he'll build the Extremis version of the armor there.

It's the destruction of his "personal world" that baffles me. We know Pepper, Happy and Rhodey don't die, because Rhodey's War Machine, and Tony"protect[s] those closest to him". So either his home is destroyed, which would include his Hall of Armor so that's out, or he loses Stark Industries.

I prefer to think the latter, since in the comics Tony lost SI to Stane during a drinking binge and wound up building Stark Enterprises from the ground up.

One of the best things about Tony Stark is...to quote Stane from Iron Man..."he's always working." Meaning he's got several versions of the armor in development most of the time - which we saw in the scene with Tony and Pepper in IM2 after the Senate hearing.

So here's where I'm going - since this takes place after Avengers, we're going to see, among other things, another version of the suit...

 Most likely in digital pieces on a screen rather than in physical form on a table, but still...STOKED!

We'll learn a bit more this Tuesday...when the first trailer comes out.

I might dissect the hell out of it...

Maybe...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

What makes conventions fun?

Going back to my earlier post, I thought about the few conventions I've attended and came to a realization...

...conventions are a lot like Disney World.

Hear me out. At theme parks like DW, there's a lot going on on any given day - events, shows, rides, games, things to buy, and the occasional appearance of a character walking down the street. When you go, you get a schedule of what's happening where and you plan your day accordingly.

At cons, there's what...events, shows, promotions, games, things to buy, things to try, and the occasional appearance of a character walking down the aisle. When you go, you get a schedule of what's happening where (unless you plan ahead from info online) and you plan your day accordingly.

 A little something for everyone.

For me, it's shopping for stuff to fill holes in my collection, finding the occasional bargain, meeting some creators, and seeing who'll show up as what and how they made their outfits.

But I also like to see what new stuff is coming out, new creators, making new friends, and just spending a weekend hanging around with my...what are they called now?..."peeps".

So...I'm very much looking forward to the biggest event to reach nearest to me...

Mrs. Adorkification and I went to the rave last year...and found we're too old for raves. But there seems to be something gong on at Coast City Comics - right across the street from the rave. This means I'll most likely be dancing to the music while at the store...much to the embarrassment of Mrs. Adorkification.

WTF? Fridays...10/19/2012

Apparently, there was a comic convention in New York last weekend.

As usual, I go to Comicvine to get my fix on all the stuff I missed.

I caught the daily wrap-ups from the regular commentators on the site - G-Man and Babs - but the site had a little bit more to share this time...

Rob Benedict - who I remember from an episode of Burn Notice, and Rich Speight Jr. - who I remember from...well nothing, went to the floor throughout the convention and talked to people and looked at stuff.

I guess these guys have been on Supernatural...

...a show I haven't seen one minute of.

They're really funny (especially when random fans walk up to them and get their pictures taken with these guys), and I hope they do more of these.

WARNING - The first clip takes some getting used to. There's a lot of camera movement, out of focus shots, and random babbling throughout, but by the third clip I was on the floor laughing so hard.

WARNING #2 - While mostly SFW, the fourth and fifth clips from Day One, which is all I've seen so far, feature some 'R'-rated humor. Consider yourself warned.

AND THE WINNER OF THE WTFN? AWARD GOES TO...

...the woman at 8:43 on the fifth clip from Day One. She's dressed as the conductor from "Conjunction Junction" on Schoolhouse Rocks. It has absolutely nothing to do with the booth she's working at, but she owns that costume.

Who's this Goon guy?

I have no idea who The Goon is, except that he's a Dark Horse Comics character that's become popular enough for people to take a crack at making a movie about him...

I hope they can do this, because the work they've done so far looks great.

And now a pic from the Wolverine sequel you DON'T wanna see...

..............

My hope is that the other guy is playing Silver Samurai...

..............

No - that still doesn't make sense...

Another day...another tidbit about the MMU...

As excited as I am about Ant-Man, I have to stay focused on Iron Man 3, which comes out first...May 3, 2012 to be exact.

We know it's based on the Extremis story, and a new storyboard image showing the armor has been released...

It takes some getting used to, but I'm warming up to it.

Now, the other bit of news is that IM3 will be converted to 3D in post.

I believe Avengers was done the same way (along with Thor and Cap) and I don't like it.

I saw both Thor and  Avengers in 3-D with Adorkette, and while the effect was okay, I prefer my 3D films to have been made with 3D in mind.

I know the public's relationship with 3D is love/hate, and I don't love it, I'd hate to see the greatest superhero movie franchise(s) in history be cheapened by fads.

See - if Marvel really wanted to get into 3D, they should make a film using this guy...

But as always...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

My videogame experience...

I'm not big on home video games.

When I was a kid I wanted to live in the arcade and thought Tron was the best movie ever, but between Atari, Colecovision, Nintendo, Donkey Kong, Pokemon and the rest, I lost interest.

In fact, I bought my first system...an original Playstation...when I was working at Toys R' Us . It was used, and cost me $20. The one game I bought for it?

Now, I admit that I played the hell out of it and still do occasionally...on my most recent purchase: a PS2.

With this machine, I'm the proud owner of two games...

and...

MUA is a fantastic game, but I bought it first - so X-Men Legends II was kind of a let down since it came out first: the graphics weren't as good and the play of the game was too similar.

Why am I mentioning this? Because even though I still haven't seen Arrow, I saw this...

Looks like I need to save some money...

Ant-Man has a release date...I'll repeat...

...ANT-MAN HAS A RELEASE DATE!!!

November 6, 2015 will go in the books as the day Hell officially freezes over.

In Marvel Studios I Trust...

So many blogs, so little time...

According to this and other legitimate sites, it appears that Couslon will indeed be in the new S.H.I.E.L.D. series.

I'll let the folks at Topless Robot speak for the entire nerd/dork community...

...and now I'll add my two cents...