Archives for Books/Comics
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This week we got it all, new Man of Steel trailer, new Star Trek trailer, Star Wars news and more! We also have an extensive list of the most important television shows of all time and Doctor Who, Lost, and 24 are nowhere to be found on it! Scroll on down to download or stream the episode or better yet stream it from the Stitcher Radio app on your mobile device or from the widget on the left of this page. To see the trailers that we are talking about then just look down!
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This week we have a film ball showdown, Niko says cock, JJ Abrams talks trash about Trek, HBO Goes, and much more!
Want the video? Here ya go! We stream on Stitcher Radio also if that’s your thing. Get it in the app or check the sidebar of this very website!
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Written by Brian Clevinger
Drawn by Scott Wegener
Publisher: comiXology
The Story
It’s the future year of 2010 and Dr. Atomic Robo Tesla, PhD is looking to buy an old sugar factory to open a research facility when he is suddenly attacked by a villain from his past. The evil-doer is revealed to be Tyrantula, a crazy ex-girlfriend of Robo’s who has built cybernetic legs and is trying to prove how not crazy she is. The battle ensues and Atomic Robo soon realizes he is outmatched. But that does not mean he is giving up the fight.
I love a comic that doesn’t need a lot of back story to understand. Here we get a full story that is self contained and has a satisfactory resolution. We don’t need to know where Atomic Robo came from or where he is going. Tyrantula tells us everything we need to know with her crazy evil monologues. And Robo fills in with some great one-liners about superheroes and the tropes we have come to associate with them.
8/10
The Art
I like art that has its own look. Too many times in the comic book world art either gets pushed into the background or looks generic and bland. Here Scott Wegener draws very crisp and clean lines that do not make the reader have to guess what is going on in the panel.
Speaking of panels, that brings me to the use of the comiXology app to tell this story. Each panel appears with dialogue as you click through so no more spoiling big reveals or accidentally reading the wrong panels. I really like this approach and can’t wait to see how
9/10
Overall I had a good time reading this book. If you want to read a fun and fast paced book go to comiXology and buy Atomic Robo: Two-Fisted Tales: Along Came a Tyrantula.
8.5/10
The Review
The Story 8/10
The Art 9/10
Overall (Not an Average) 8.5/10
Written by: Rob Christopher
Published by: Huron Street Press
The other day driving back to work from lunch my friend pointed to an empty Hollywood Video and remarked how sad it was that his kids would never know the joy of wandering up and down the aisles of a video store with a couple of friends and picking out a movie or two. As susceptible to nostalgia as I am I couldn’t agree. I don’t have any fond memories of video stores. All I can remember is roaming around and thinking, no, no, seen it, no, no, no, seen it, seen it, no, no. But, come to think of it things haven’t changed much. I find myself doing the same thing today it’s just on Netflix, Vudu, or Amazon Prime. If anything the problem is worse now.
The problem of course is choice, as much as it galls to admit it. How do you choose. Rob Christopher wants to help, so he wrote a book. Queue Tips isn’t a book about movies, or cleaning your ears (you didn’t really think I’m strong enough to resist that setup did you), it’s about choosing movies. Which sounds rather silly at first, but the more I read the more I remembered those long walks in the video store; no, no, seen it, no, no, and decided maybe a book about picking out movies might not be such a silly idea after all.
So what does a book about picking a movie look like? It’s short, nonthreatening, and has a bowl of popcorn on the cover. Inside it’s divided up into twenty four chapters, each chapter a list of movies, or a queue of movies if you will. Christopher’s idea is to impose some organization on the seemingly endless selection of movies out there. He’s not talking about dividing things up as comedies, dramas, action movies, but as splitting movies up into some more interesting categories. Some of the lists or categories are predictable, Ten Movies About Movies, Nine Westerns That Aren’t Westerns, Fabulous Films For Young Adults or Ten Movies So Bad They’re Good. But, even those lists have some interesting choices. For every Ten Movies About Movies though there is a Seven Reasons To Love Nicolas Cage, Flops That Actually Aren’t That Bad, or Man Hearts Sheep, Teen Hearts 1958 Plymouth Fury and Seven Other Unusual Romances.
You don’t have to just take Christopher’s word for it, he’s gotten plenty of help. Half the chapters are written by guest authors, which ensures there is a good bit of diversity in the movies suggested. Bill Ott the editor and publisher of Booklist pens a list of movies that are better than the book, including Blade Runner, To Have and Have Not and Harvey (strangely he left out The Hunt For Red October). Ken Vandermark composer and jazz musician suggests a list of movies like Apocalypse Now and The Good The Bad And The Ugly that make a fantastic use of sound. Jeff Berry named by Imbibe magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century mixes up a list of films that feature drinks with little umbrellas in them. Movies like Donovan’s Reef and Back to the Beach. You might quibble about some of the entries on the lists but they all provide a different, interesting way to categorize movies other than the standard worn out labels. Beyond that it’s fun getting confirmation when you see one of your favorites in a list and reading what someone else thought about it. I started out skeptical of the entire concept behind Queue Tips but wading a couple of chapters in convinced me that Christopher is on to something.
8/10
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Written by Alex Langley
Art by Nick Langley
Are you a young nerdling or a dissociable geek looking to level up your life? Author Alex Langley is here to help. Langley’s The Geek Handbook is a guide to socializing with fellow geeks and the common world, a road map for developing into a well-rounded adult while maintaining your geeky integrity.
This book goes into making friends, going to school, moving out, cooking, exercising, expressing your fandoms in a work environment, and a number of other general life help points, all in ways that are both tailored to work for geeks, as well as to be entertainingly read by geeks.
What is a “geek” then? Langley defines one as “anyone who has a passion for the things they love,” transcending beyond the usual fandom of popular culture and even includes geeks of food, cars and sports as examples. This puts everyone on a level playing field and shows the usual geek that he’s not so unusual. With that said, Langley knows which kinds of geek will be reading this book. As such, expect the usual references to movies, television, comics, games, and tropes we all love.
If you hate reference humor – the kind where someone mentions something from some show or movie and it’s supposed to be funny on that alone – don’t let that deter you from this book. Langley does a great job mixing his nerdy references with wit and humor where most appropriate, earning the numerous chuckles I gave it in my reading.
Enough geeky fandoms are used throughout the book to please almost any reader, from comic book to video games, anime to tech, and more. They are also well-mixed, keeping most sections from becoming monopolized from a singular fandom. The zombie references seem to get a lot of play though, with multiple discussions about making sure your home in adequately prepared for the impending zombie invasion. But I’m a bit tired of zombies these days.
Being a geek for editing and consistent formatting myself, I noticed a few editorial mishaps that probably could have been fixed with another quick run through before going to press. A repeated paragraph here, an un-bolded title in a series with bolded titles there. These mistakes are few, but they do momentarily interrupt the reading experience.
I was caught off guard though by the inclusion of a “Geek Girls” chapter, which seems like it would be segregating a subset of geek culture in a book that is otherwise progressively trying to bring everyone together. In reading though, it addresses several points which sadly still need to be pointed out to the denser male individuals in geekdom, highlighting the need to treat geeky girls as an equal part of the group.
Overall, the book was an enjoyable read. It has its ups and downs as the humor and advice didn’t always connect with me, but it will with other readers. The first thing I did when I brought this book home for review was read aloud the “Seven Types of Geek Roommates” to my own roommates, where we laughed and pointed out which aspects fit ourselves and argued which didn’t. That’s the fun of the book: reading what relates to you with the humor Langley brings to the table, and then arguing with the parts you disagree with. Just like any good geek.
Not to mention, Langley admitting he likes Ben Reilly always gets brownie points in my book. Yay, Scarlet Spider!
7/10
Written by: Tom DeMichael
Published by: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
So, James Bond is fifty. At least the movies are fifty, the books are sixty or fifty nine if you use the US release date for Casino Royale, not sure why you would but I’m covering all the bases here. Any way you want to count it James Bond is big right now. Which makes the timing perfect for James Bond FAQ a new book from Applause by Tom DeMichael.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirty years, I’m not judging it can be quite cozy under there, let me explain that FAQ part. FAQ is an acronym for frequently asked questions. It developed on mailing lists and message boards in the pre-internet days of computing. A FAQ is basically a list of questions that every newbie eventually would ask and that all of the more experienced users on a board or mailing list were tired of answering over and over. The idea being that someone new should read through the FAQ before asking a question that had already been answered forty two times. And that’s what the James Bond FAQ is. It is the basic level of information you should have at hand before you embark on any serious discussion of the Bond film oeuvre.
The book is broken up into ten chapters. Each dealing with an aspect of the Bond universe. Chapter one gives a very short bio of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, and talks a little about the books that introduced James Bond to the world. From there DeMichael jumps into a description of the men to play Bond and explains the stories behind how each became James Bond. The third chapter introduces the villains and their lieutenants. Here DeMichael provides a through description of the characters and compares the movie depiction with the literary version of the character, if they originated from one of the books. Then he continues with a bit about the actor that played the character. They are all in there. Rosa Klebb, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, Nick Nack, Jaws and even Silva from Skyfall. Yes, the James Bond FAQ is up to date through Skyfall, so be careful if you haven’t seen the latest Bond film yet. The chapters continue with one for all the Bond girls, the Bond gadgets, the Bond buddies and allies, the music from the Bond movies. One with a summary of each of the “official” Bond movies and another for the “unofficial” Bond movies and why there is a distinction between “official” and “unofficial” Bond movies and why it’s necessary to put scare quotes around the words official and unofficial. DeMichael wraps it all up with a chapter about the movers and shakers, producers and directors who brought the Bond movies to the screen.
The four hundred pages of the FAQ are stuffed with information and very little opinion. With one notable exception DeMichael leaves conjecture out of the book. The one subject he can’t resist diving into head first is picking the best Bond. He doesn’t just state the best, he ranks them, which doesn’t really add anything to the book, except guaranteeing to get under the skin of a percentage of the readers, but it’s his book and to be fair I don’t know if I could resist it myself. Once you absorb the details in the James Bond FAQ you will never again confuse Moonraker with Diamonds are Forever and when a buddy tries to prove a point by referencing Joe Don Baker’s performance as Bond baddie Brad Whitaker in Goldeneye you can bust them and their argument back to the place where bad arguments live by pointing out that Joe Don Baker portrayed Bond buddy Jack Wade in both Goldeneyes and Tommorow Never Dies and only showed up in opposition to Bond in Living Daylights. Curiously the one entity the James Bond FAQ is light on is 007 himself. At the end of the book the secret agent is still enigmatic as ever. Which might be rather appropriate or depending on your expectations maybe a little aggravating.
The 6” x 9” paperback is rather striking with big bold printing and iconic images of the six actors to play Bond in the “official” movies on the cover. Inside the print is crisp and easy to read and the text is liberally sprinkled with photos. All of them are in black and white but they look great though attribution for them would have been nice. There is a solid bibliography at the back if you want to delve even further into the world of the James Bond and an index to leverage the knowledge stuffed into this tome. James Bond FAQ is an easy read from front to back but it also makes for a nice diversion if you just need something to burn around ten minutes if you get what I mean. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
9/10
If you haven’t read comic books in a long time you’re missing some of the best storytelling happening in print today. Sure there are still kids books as there should be, but the average comic book reader is an adult these days and modern writers keep that in mind when telling stories. Besides, if you’re a fan of the super hero movies, reading these books will tell you where all of those great characters come from! If you’re an invested current reader then this article is preaching to the choir. It may help both groups of people though to see a complete list of all of the new comics hitting store shelves (many of which are also hitting digital outlets such as Comixology).
So if you’re a current reader why not pick out something from the list below and that you haven’t read? If you’re lapsed or new, here’s your chance to grab a comic and give it a go. Here’s the list:
Marvel Comics
ALL NEW X-MEN #3 2ND PTG IMMONEN VAR NOW – $3.99
ALL NEW X-MEN #4 2ND PTG IMMONEN VAR NOW -$3.99
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #698 3RD PTG RIVERA VAR – $3.99
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #699.1 2ND PTG CASELLI VAR – $2.99
AVENGERS #4 NOW2 – $3.99
AVENGERS #4 KEOWN VAR NOW2 – $9.99
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #15.1 2ND PTG RIVERA VAR – $2.99
DAREDEVIL #21 2ND PTG RIVERA VAR – $2.99
DARK AVENGERS #186 – $2.99
HAWKEYE #7 – $2.99
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #648 NOW – $2.99
MARVEL PREVIEWS FEBRUARY 2013- $1.25 or FREE w/ purchase of Previews
PUNISHER NIGHTMARE #5 (OF 5) – $2.99
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #4 (OF 5) – $2.99
SILVER SURFER BY STAN LEE AND MOEBIUS #1 – $7.99
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2 NOW – $3.99
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2 MCGUINNESS VAR NOW – $24.99
THOR GOD OF THUNDER #3 2ND PTG RIBIC VAR NOW – $3.99
THUNDERBOLTS #1 2ND PTG DILLON VAR NOW – $2.99
THUNDERBOLTS #2 2ND PTG DILLON VAR NOW – $2.99
X-MEN LEGACY #5 – $2.99
X-TREME X-MEN #9 – $2.99
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ORIGIN STORY YR HC 2ND ED – $8.99
CAPTAIN AMERICA DOUBLE SIDED DOG TAG – $15.00
CAPTAIN AMERICA JOINS MIGHTY AVENGERS HC 2ND ED – $8.99
CAPTAIN AMERICA SHIELD CUFFLINKS – $24.00
DARK AVENGERS END IS BEGINNING TP – $19.99
MARVEL SELECT RHINO Action Figure – $24.99
PUNISHER DOUBLE SIDED DOG TAG – $15.00
PUNISHER SKULL CUFFLINKS – $28.00
SPIDER-MAN HEAD CUFFLINKS – $24.00
X-MEN MUTANT MASSACRE TP NEW PTG – $34.99
X-WOMEN TP – $24.99
DC
ALL STAR WESTERN #16 – $2.99
AQUAMAN #16 – $2.99
AQUAMAN #16 VAR ED – $7.99
ARROW #3 – $2.99
BATMAN AND ROBIN ANNUAL #1 – $4.99
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #12 – $3.99
BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 – $2.99
BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 VAR ED – $7.99
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #16 – $2.99
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #16 VAR ED – $7.99
BEFORE WATCHMEN DOLLAR BILL #1 – $3.99
BEFORE WATCHMEN OZYMANDIAS #5 (OF 6) – $3.99
FLASH #16 – $2.99
FLASH #16 VAR ED – $7.99
FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #16 – $2.99
GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #1 (RISE) – $4.99
HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #6 (OF 6) – $2.99
I VAMPIRE #16 – $2.99
INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US #1 – $3.99
JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #4 (OF 6) – $4.99
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #16 – $2.99
LOT 13 #4 (OF 5) – $2.99
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGIN OF HE MAN #1 – $2.99
RED LANTERNS #16 (RISE) – $2.99
RED LANTERNS #16 VAR ED (RISE) – $7.99
SAVAGE HAWKMAN #16 – $2.99
SUPERMAN #16 – $2.99
SUPERMAN #16 VAR ED – $7.99
SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #9 – $2.99
TALON #4 – $2.99
TEEN TITANS #16 (DOTF) – $2.99
TEEN TITANS #16 VAR ED (DOTF) – $7.99
UNWRITTEN #45 – $2.99
AQUAMAN HC VOL 01 THE TRENCH (N52)- $22.99
BATMAN HC VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS (N52) – $22.99
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT GOLDEN DAWN TP -$14.99
DC COMICS GREEN LANTERN ARTFX STATUE NEW 52 VER – $39.99
DC COMICS SUPERMAN ARTFX STATUE NEW 52 VER – $39.99
JUSTICE LEAGUE HC VOL 02 THE VILLAINS JOURNEY – $24.99
JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 01 ORIGIN (N52) – $16.99
AVATAR Comics
CROSSED BADLANDS #22 – $3.99
Broadsword Comics
TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #78 (MR) – $2.95
BOOM/Ka-Boom COMICS
ADVENTURE TIME #12 – $3.99
DEATHMATCH #2 – $3.99
DarkHorse Comics
ANGEL & FAITH #18 – $2.99
CRIMINAL MACABRE FINAL NIGHT 30 DAYS XOVER #2 – $3.99
DRAGON AGE HC VOL 02 THOSE WHO SPEAK – $14.99
EMILY & THE STRANGERS #1 (OF 3) – $3.99
ORCHID #12 – $2.99
RIPD CITY O/T DAMNED #3 (OF 4)- $3.50
STAR WARS AGENT O/T EMPIRE HARD TARGETS #4 (OF 5) – $2.99
STAR WARS LONG TIME AGO OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 – $24.99
STAR WARS LONG TIME AGO OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 – $24.99
STAR WARS LONG TIME AGO OMNIBUS TP VOL 03 – $24.99
STAR WARS OMNIBUS INFINITIES TP – $24.99
SUNDAY FUNNIES COLLECTED VOL 01 – $30.00
SUNDAY FUNNIES COLLECTED VOL 02 – $30.00
Diamond Comic Distributor
PREVIEWS #293 FEB 2013 – $4.50
Dynamic Forces (Dynamite)
DAMSELS #5 – $3.99
DARK SHADOWS #13 – $3.99
ROBERT JORDAN EYE OF THE WORLD HC VOL 03 – $24.99
ROBERT JORDAN WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #32 – $3.99
SHADOW #9 – $3.99
IDW
DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #1 – $3.99
DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #1 (OF 12) 1/10 – $7.99
MARS ATTACKS ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS (ONE SHOT)$3.99
Image
ACTIVITY #11 – $3.50
DARKNESS #110 – $2.99
HACK SLASH #23 – $3.50
INVINCIBLE #100 CHROMIUM ED – $9.99
INVINCIBLE #100 – $3.99
MACGYVER FUGITIVE GAUNTLET #4 (OF 5)- $3.50
MARA #2 (OF 6)- $2.99
MIND THE GAP #7 – $2.99
NOWHERE MEN #3 – $2.99
SPAWN #227 – $2.99
ONI Press
COURTNEY CRUMRIN ONGOING #9 – $3.99
SIXTH GUN #28 – $3.99
Zenescope Ent.
GFT SLEEPY HOLLOW #4 – $2.99
LEGEND OF ZELDA HYRULE HISTORIA HC – $34.99
LEGEND ZELDA HYRULE HISTORIA HC LTD COLL ED – $69.99
RESURRECTION TP VOL 01 DELUXE ED – $24.99
SW DARTH VADER ARTFX+ STATUE EP VI VER – $49.99
WALKING DEAD T-Shirt ‘RICK’ Med & LG – $24.99
POWER GRID (‘Resource Management’ Board Game)- $44.99
STAR TREK Heroclix ‘Tactis 2’ $4.99/booster (RESTOCK!)
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Written by the Shire Collective (Peter Archer, Scott Francis, and Jeff Gerke)
Trying to cash in on the Hobbit craze from Peter Jackson’s first movie into the franchise last month, Writer’s Digest Books releases The Unofficial Hobbit Handbook. The book’s claim that the lifestyles of hobbits and the adventures of its more famous representatives can teach us humans in this age of modern man about how to live life. The hobbits are simple folk, after all, and we can stand to be reminded to enjoy the “smaller” things in life.
The problem with this book is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. At the beginning and various middle parts, it is very much the life-guide book it professes to be. The book celebrates the hobbits’ cultural love for food and friendship, teaching how to be a good host. It professes how hobbits value their work and responsibility but also take time to enjoy their leisure.
However the book also tries to switch into a reference guide, explaining in layman’s terms the different races, cultures, monsters, and magic of Middle Earth. At times, it even tries to halfway academically explore the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo, comparing them to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey and exploring them as coming-of-age tales.
This split focus then splits the dedication to each focus, lessening each. More importantly, it loses the audience that gets hooked on a single focus. Personally, I prefer the reference guide portions, explaining in simple language the various creatures in Tolkien’s works and the way magic works. Tolkien’s verbosity does occasionally leave one wanting some simpler explanation. What I don’t want or need is to be explained to that The Hobbit is a tale about growing up or that the One Ring is a parable of power and responsibility. I got that from the stories themselves (and from Spider-Man).
With that said, the life lessons from the book do convey from the lives of hobbits are good ones. Valuing relationships over material gains, and staying open to always making friends, things like these are good to keep in mind. The book even compares these to modern day, equating to hobbits’ nature of making friends to an overflowing list of Facebook friends, or even using five-toed shoes to mimic a hobbit’s barefoot lifestyle.
The question is: does anyone need this supplemental book to teach these lessons, or don’t they get them anyway from the actual books or their film adaptations? I’ve got to go with the latter, and while the book has some occasional good zingers, the writing isn’t entertaining enough to rehash what I’d rather re-experience from rereading The Hobbit, which is only slightly longer and much more fun.
4/10
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Written by: Timothy Zahn
Published by: Random House Digital, Inc.
So your in hock to one of the galaxy’s most notorious gangster and the fortune you just earned rescuing a princess and helping a farm boy blow up a planet busting space station has just been ripped off by pirates and the only job on the table is completely out of your wheelhouse and while it packs a hell of a payoff it sounds as impossible as it sounds dangerous. What do you do? If your Han Solo you call a few friends.
The Book:
The Death Star has been destroyed and Han Solo has received his award but before he can pay off Jabba the smuggler is ripped off by pirates. So instead of trying to hook back up with the rebellion he’s hustling any kind of work he can find on the backwater world Wukkar when an furtive man half covered in synthetic flesh approaches Han and Chewie with an odd proposition, he’s not turned away out of hand like he would be in better times. Eanjer, that’s the man half covered in synthetic flesh’s name, has been robbed. Not only robbed but his family has been murdered and he’s been grievously injured, hence the yards of synthetic flesh. Eanjer wants his 160 million credits back and he’s willing to share it equally with whoever can help him get it back. I’m not sure what the $US to Star Wars credit exchange rate is but that should be plenty to pay off Jabba even if it gets split several different ways.
And it’s going to be split several different ways because master smugglers they may be Han and Chewie are not thieves. Not that they are above that sort of thing under the right circumstances, it’s just not their area of expertise. That’s not that big of an impediment because they have friends. Well maybe they’re not all friends, but they get along well enough to work together. Han is adamant though that there is one acquaintance that will not be involved. It seems there is a little bad blood over a card game and a certain ship between Han and the one man who would be the perfect front man for the job, I’m trying not to spoil anything but if you’ve looked at the cover of the book you know who I’m talking about. The team Han and Chewie bring together has to be top notch, because the target isn’t just some local gangster but the local representative of the galaxy wide criminal organization Black Sun. And it wouldn’t be much of a Star Wars story if there wasn’t some Imperials sniffing around the periphery.
Many of the typical Star Wars tropes are missing, there are no space battles, no Jedi, although a diminutive light saber does make an appearance, but somehow Zahn manages to infuse the story with the proper Star Warsyness. Han is Han, Chewie is Chewie, and Lando is Lando, yeah I know I didn’t mention him by name earlier but I give up, he’s on the cover. There is a nice mixture of new characters and characters from the expanded universe as well. If your a fan of the expanded universe there are some nice little nuggets thrown in for you, but you don’t have to have read any of the expanded universe books to appreciate the story, though it might be a little confusing if you haven’t at least watched Star Wars. Zahn crafts a layered caper walking the line between giving you too much information and withholding so much information every solution comes across as dues ex machina. Like any good caper tale there are some twists that are satisfying and entertaining without being incredulous. It’s not perfect, the novel seems to lose a little steam in the middle and some of the complications come across as filler. These are minor quibbles though. Scoundrels is the most fun I’ve has in the Star Wars universe in a long long time.
I love the cover, the sight of Han, Chewie and Lando standing in front of a line up style backdrop with noirish lighting perfectly captures the tone of the book. The Kindle formatted ebook comes with a handy time-line that places the expanded universe books in relation to each other and the movies. While its not really necessary for this story, which nestles neatly between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back if your interested in diving into the expanded universe it’s great tool to consult before you start buying books. If you are interested in reading more expanded universe stuff the Kindle ebook has another bonus for you. There are previews for ten expanded universe novels at the back of the book. If your still sitting on the fence at this point Zahn wrote a novella featuring Lando working another caper immediately prior to the events in Scoundrels called Winner Lose All which will introduce you to the idea of a caper story in the Star Wars universe for a smaller investment of time and money. Of course I recommend you just go ahead and pick them both up.
8/10
Remember the cult comic book series set in a post apocalyptic world following a spicy young girl who finds herself in constant predicaments where she must kick much ass? Well the creator or the original Tank Girl Alan Martin has partnered with new artist Warwick Johnson Cadwell to bring our precocious heroine back to the pages of comics.
Solid State Tank Girl is a four issue story featuring Tank Girl doing epic battle with an Anti-Tank Girl! The limited series hits store shelves on May 15th courtesy of Titan Comics! The story goes like this:
Tank Girl, Jet Girl, Booga and Barney are back and on a mission to save their favourite little radio store. Things are going according to plan, too, but somewhere along the line Booga manages to electronically summon the gang’s evil counterparts, fronted by the darkest bitch on the planet – ANTI-TANK GIRL! The fight is to the death, as each gang member draws on their deepest, most screwed-up powers to eliminate their own personal nemesis. Things are about to get very dark, very bloody… and very stupid!
The new series will be on store shelves on on digital devices via Comixology!
Comixology is the company behind Marvel and DC‘s digital/mobile comicbook reading applications. The company has its own branded version of the application through which it sells both DC and Marvel comics along with offerings from many different independent publishers. If you are a user of any of these applications either on iPhone, iPad, Android, PC’s, and other devices if you buy an item from Marvel or DC your item is also accessible via the Comixology app. Also, if you take a Marvel or DC book from the Comixology app it will also be accessible via that company’s version of the comic book reader as well. So the point is all of these companies have devised a great way for you to always have access to your digital comics regardless of which version of the application you choose to use.
Now through the Christmas Comixology is gifting a free comic each day. They’ve already given away a Marvel book and a DC book so everyone is getting in the gifting mood! All you have to do is head on over to the Comixology website and grab the book every day. It will be added to your account and you cn download it to whatever device you read comics on! Go get today’s book here:
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It’s the holiday season so it’s the perfect time for us to gift one lucky winner with The Science Fiction Universe…..and Beyond! Sure it’s a perfect gift for you to give to your favorite sci-fi geek friend but it’s also a great one to gift yourself! Syfy will be airing a new special titled Syfy 20th Anniversary Special December 10th at 9/8c and to celebrate the network is giving a copy of this book to share with you! Check out the synopsis from Amazon:
Travel where no man has gone before with this decade-by-decade progression of science-fiction classics. From the classic, low-budget space exploration Flash Gordon tales of the Saturday matinee serials, to the slick CGI-realized world of The Matrix, science-fiction films have long been pushing the boundaries of the visually and dramatically fantastic—turning the known world on its head, playing with the laws of physics, and all the while holding their audience spellbound. The Science Fiction Universe . . . and Beyond offers a breadth of knowledge, insight, and passion to a century of close encounters, black holes, time travel, distant planets, impossible quests, nuclear war, futuristic technology, inexplicable forces, spaceships, extraordinary monsters, and subterranean societies.
Arranged chronologically, showing the progression of sci-fi over the decades, and delving into interesting back stories and trivia, this volume includes a variety of classic films and television shows, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Twilight Zone (1959–1964), Doctor Who (1963–1989), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Star Wars, Episode IV—A New Hope (1977), Alien (1979), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007), Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), and many others.
Check out this clip from the upcoming Syfy special:
To win a copy of this great book hit Submit below and tell us what your favorite holiday sci-fi film is! Don’t forget to provide your name and mailing address too!
Submit!
Written by: Mick Cochrane
Published by: Random House
The young adult reader book selections are increasingly tackling issues that as adults we assume are already handled. That assumption can sometimes lead to outcomes that shock us and in turn have us reevaluating our thinking.
In Fitz we have the story of a boy who from a young age imagined a father that was secretly watching him, loving him but for his own selfish reasons doing it from a distance. Fitz’s fantasy was so strong that he would often wake up and go look out his bedroom window to be disappointed when he didn’t see a car with a man looking up at his room.
The story opens with Fitz standing in an alley in one of the fancier neighborhoods in his town. He had planned it very carefully after more than a month of following a man he had never met but knew was his father. The fact that it was less than five miles from where he lived with his mother only added another layer of anger and hurt to his already troubled mind.
Fitz is a typical 15-year-old boy. He comes with a messy room, an electric guitar, a notebook full of song lyrics and dreams of one day doing something great. But for now, this time and place, his only dream is to get answers. Unlike a typical 15-year old boy, he bought a Smith & Wesson .38 Special and he had it with him today. It was time to spend time with his father and if he didn’t make the first move after 15 years, Fitz was going to make it for him.
At the start of the story I felt Fitz’s pain and frustration. The author effectively developed the character with all I needed to actually hate the father. That is until Fitz actually takes action and abducts his father at gunpoint. Prior to this there is nothing in the book to tell me about this man that would play as important a part in the book as Fitz. Fitz takes his dad hostage and here Curtis Powel (his father) becomes a person not just dream from a young boys mind.
The story that unfolds gives the reader a glimpse into the repercussions of adult actions on a child. Cochrane does an excellent job of weaving the story of Curtis and Fitz’s mom. It’s from this story that we start to see how differences in class are so ingrained that they affect us even though we as adults know better. If I’m being vague here I’m sorry. Telling you more of this part of the story would be tantamount to spoiling what will be a journey of discovery for Fitz, Curtis and you the reader.
I will tell you that I was fully invested in the story. From the outright rebellious start, on Fitz’s part to his fathers’ confusion at first and later acceptance and realization of what his son was looking for. The book expertly crosses over from teen angst to adult remorse. It explores the child parent relationship and gives the reader with preconceived ideas a good slap in the face that is enlightening and welcome.
The ending of the book is not so much a shock as it is a revelation and the author does a good job of letting the reader reach conclusions along the way. It’s not perfect, there are some parts that lag but at the end these parts of the story fit into the overall journey. I’m not entirely convinced this should be a book for teens. I would recommend the parent read it first and when your child reads it you will be prepared for the discussion that will surely follow.
8/10
Yes it’s that time again, a chill in the air, chestnuts and all of that. Yep, time to get gifts! Oh, and give a few too! So once again the writers here at CineGeek have picked a bevy of unique geek oriented items that we would love to unwrap under the tree. There’s no rhyme or reason to the prices for the items, they’re just cool things that we’d yes, like to give as well as receive. We’ll be releasing a new list each day for the next three days leading up to turkey day planning and black Friday shopping. So no need to make a list and check it twice, we’ve done the work for you. In fact, most of these items can be bought right from this here website so you don’t even have to leave your house! Without further ado, here is Stephen’s list. Continue below to look at Mike and Niko’s list from yesterday as well.
Editor Stephen Lackey’s Top Five Holiday Gifts
The Microsoft Surface
Sure, the apps are still coming but out of the box this is the first tablet device that can be a true contender in the ring for Apple’s iPad. The tiled interface is super slick and customizable, the fact that you can put a usable copy of Microsoft Office on the tablet and together with the highly innovative keyboard touch covers the device is not only solid for entertainment but a certain amount of productivity not possible on other tablets is totally possible here. You can control your XBOX 360 with the device and much more.
Diamond Select Toys Bottle Openers
Diamond Select Toys has brought us a couple of truly unique bottle openers that are sure to put a smile on any geek’s face. They had previously sent us The Silver Surfer bottle opener which was nicely detailed and surprisingly heavy. It looked a little like Han Solo caught in carbonite from a distance but it’s truly just the ex-herald of Galactus taking a break and lying down on his surfboard. It’s a stellar conversation piece and with its build quality it’ll be opening bottles for many years to come. Diamond also sent us a killer Death Star shaped bottle opener with some nice strong magnets on the back to allow you to stick it to your fridge when it’s not being used. Again there’s great detail in the design and it’s sturdy and well made. Star Wars fans simple have to have this magnetic bottle opener!
Mimoco Mimobots
Most geeks, heck most people have need of usb jump drives at one time or another. They’ve gotten so large now that not only documents can be moved from PC to PC with them but multimedia too. People as a rule love to impart themselves and their personality onto everything they have so why not do so with their usb jump drives? Mimobots are highly stylish little usb drives that are most commonly 8, 16, or 32 gigabytes in size and are designed after icons of pop culture. There are Transformers, various Star Wars characters, and plenty of super heroes. Perhaps some of the most fun ones though are he offbeat ones, most notably the two versions of Einstein. One version is a pretty typical rendition of the brainiac and the second one features an open brain! These little guys are tons of fun and the pricemakes them perfect for a small but thoughtful gift or a stocking stuffer!
Firefly: The Complete Series Blu-Ray
Firefly The Complete Series has finally come to blu-ray and it’s a must own for any true geek or just a fan of good science fiction. Yes the show did get abruptly cancelled but if you get this and the feature film Serenity the story will be finished out, if a little rushed. The bonus features here are also a must for the hardcore fan of the show because through them you get a sense of just what the show meant to the people that created it.
Portal 2 Sentry Turret Flashlight
Puzzle games seem to be all the rage these days and the Portal games broke the mold in that genre of gaming. They offer up truly creative gameplay and a super quirky sense of humor. If you or someone you know is a fan of these games then this little gadget is a must have. It’s a bright LED flashlight replica of one of the turrets from the game. It speaks random lines from the game and even comes in replica packaging from the game. The price also makes it an awesome stocking stuffer!
Mike’s List
Target Alarm Clock
http://www.amazon.com/Gun-Target-Recordable-Alarm-Clock/dp/B004PHQBSE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_misc_2
Who hasn’t fantasied about unloading on the alarm clock in the morning. Well now you can without having to worry about the neighbors calling the cops. Just be careful in which drawer you put the alarm clocks “gun”. Mornings are bad enough with out having to explain nine millimeter holes in your neighbors walls to the police at six o’clock in the morning. On the weekends you can sleep in and switch the clock to game mode to blast away at the pop up target until you feel like crawling out of bed.
Sugru Hacking Putty
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e976/
When did they change the way Play Doh smells? I bought some a couple of months ago just to breath in the redolent aroma and transport myself back to happier, simpler days. Well that didn’t work because somehow they have sucked the nostalgia right out of it. So I’m sitting around just playing with the stuff and all kinds of ideas pop into my head of things you could do with the stuff if you could get it to harden with a reasonable amount of strength. You can’t, but that’s what Sugru is for. It’s designed to be formed by hand into what ever shape shape you need. As it cures over twenty four hours it will stick to other bits of Sugru and nearly anything else. Let your imagination run wild. It’s like an epoxy that won’t rip your skin off if you try to shape it by hand.
High Amp USB chargers
http://www.amazon.com/USAMS-Compact-High-Output-Charger/dp/B007BJCV6E/ref=pd_sim_cps_6
and http://www.amazon.com/RND-Power-Solutions-Premium-Smartphones/dp/B004WX48J0/ref=pd_sim_e_4
I love USB, besides being a reasonably fast and extremely simple interface for pushing data from one device to another. It declutters our lives. Instead of having a different format charger for every different device most gadgets get their juice now from a simple USB cable. But as handy as the ubiquitous USB port and cable are everything has it’s limits.There is only so much power you can suck out of a computer’s USB port and this new generation tablets and big screen, multi-core phones are reaching the limit. I can leave my Nexus 7 plugged into the laptop at work all day at and depending on the charge it started with it may not be topped off when I leave the office. Making matters worse most wall wart and cigarette lighter USB power sources are pretty weak to boot. So hunt up some two amp wall wart and accessory plug USB chargers like these to keep your favorite gadgets fully charged and ready to go.
ION iCade Arcade Cabinet for iPad
http://www.amazon.com/ION-iCade-Arcade-Cabinet-iPad/dp/B004YC4NH6/ref=pd_sim_MI_8
I don’t really want an iPad. I’m not really into retro gaming. But I want this Cabinet. Look at the joystick! Look at the buttons! I know I would get tired of it in a few hours and then it would just sit around and collect dust but that’s okay because I would always know it was there and it was mine. You get one free game from Atari’s Greatest Hits from Apple’s app store there are a bunch of classic Atari arcade games available and all of the old Atari 2600 games are out there for purchase. Some third party game developers are building in support for it now as well so your not stuck with just an Atari experience.
Bond 50: The Complete 22 Film Collection [Blu-ray] (2012)
http://www.amazon.com/Bond-50-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B006U1J5ZY/ref=tmm_blu_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1353383148&sr=1-1
Bond is back baby! Having just seen Skyfall I am really wanting to go back and sink into the Bond mythos and this is just the ticket. All of the Bond films are here* expect for Skyfall but they have left an open slot for when it comes out on Blu Ray because they know your going to want to pick it up as well. This also marks the first time nine of the twenty two have been issued on Blu Ray. That’s twenty two movies and one hundred and thirty hours of special features. So if you start watching these right after you unwrap gifts on Christmas morning you would finish on New Years Eve with enough time to take a disco nap before heading out to ring in the new year.
*Yes I know Never Say Never and the original Casino Royale are not part of the box set, those were not produced by the same company that produced all of the others and are not considered part of the official Bond cannon.
TV-B-Gone Universal TV Power Remote Control Keychain
http://www.amazon.com/TV-B-Gone-Universal-Remote-Control-Keychain/dp/B0006GD9CE/ref=pd_sim_e_3
I have a problem, actually I have a lot of problems so anytime I come across a gadget that solves one of those problems I’m interested. I suffer from Tvitus. At least that’s what I call it. If there is a TV on I can’t keep my eyes from wandering to it. It doesn’t matter how inane or annoying the program that’s playing it takes all of my concentration to not just stare and drool at the TV. It does not matter who I am with or the conversation that is going on my eyes will inevitably veer off to the glowing screen no matter if it’s football, COPS, Oprah, the news or a million other things I do not care anything about. This little gadget won’t cure me but it will allow me to manage my condition by turning the damn things off. It’s got all of the Off codes for TV remotes programed into it and it’s designed to cycle through them as fast as it can. So just point this little gadget at the offending machine and let it do it’s thing. Of course “with great power comes great responsibility” a wise man once said, so if your lucky enough to find one of these in your stocking don’t abuse your new found gift and remember getting caught messing with the TV in some surroundings might be a danger to your health in itself.
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This week we get an early look at what the new Uncanny X-Men will look like with the cover of issue #1. We also have previews for most of Syfy’s weekly lineup, most notably Haven, but if you’re into reality there Ghost Hunters, Total Blackout, and much more!
Uncanny X-Men #1 Marvel NOW!
New image from Texas Chainsaw 3D
Total Blackout: Glazed and Confused
Airs Tuesdays 10/9c
Viral Video Showdown: Modern Family
Airs Tuesdays 10:30/9:30c
Ghost Hunters: Paranormal Pioneers Sneak Peek
Airs Wednesdays 9/8c
Deals from the Darkside: The Axe Head
Airs Wednesdays 10/9c
Haven: How was Colorado?
Airs Fridays 9/10c
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Special Edition coming to Blu-Ray Check out the box art and a cool infographic!
