Posted by
Unknown
- Friday, March 28, 2014
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Kurt Cobain's infamous death, and the late Nirvana frontman is next to receive a comic book tribute, Billboard announced today.
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| Tribute: Kurt Cobain, Blue Water Productions |
Written and illustrated by Jayfri Hashim as part of Blue Water Productions' Tribute series, "Tribute: Kurt Cobain" will cover Cobain's early career and rise to superstardom as well as his battle with the overwhelming fame that caused his mental and emotional suffering.
Darren G. Davis, the Blue Water publisher of Cobain's installment to the Tribute series, told Rolling Stone that, "Not only is this a great way to understand the importance of his contribution to music, but it is a great tool for kids to read about him in a different medium. Our biography comic books are now taught in schools and libraries for students and reluctant readers."
The Tribute series has previously chronicled music icons such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jim Morrison, Whitney Houston, and Keith Richards. Movie stars such as Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean have also been given their own comic tribute. Coming soon are issues about Freddie Mercury and Monty Python, according to Hollywood Reporter.
"Tribute: Kurt Cobain" is set for release on April 2 on the anniversary of Cobain's suicide. Preorders of the printed comic can be found at Comic Flea Market for $3.99 and will be available digitally through iTunes, Kindle, Nook, Google Play, ComiXology, and other e-book retailers.
Nirvana will also be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn alongside Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, and Linda Ronstadt.
Will you be picking up the comic when it comes out next month? Let us know in the comment section below.
Posted by
Unknown
- Thursday, March 27, 2014
Marvel writer Dan Slott has made it clear in various interviews and panels that he's a massive fan of the British television series Doctor Who. Although he's never worked on the show or the various lines of comics, it seems Slott has found an opportunity to use his love of the BBC series in his new series, Silver Surfer. Although the first issue is left with the lofty task of establishing a supporting cast as well as a direction for the wayward ex-herald of Galactus, it manages to keep things fun and ultimately creates a version of the Surfer we certainly haven't seen before.
The issue itself establishes quite a bit of story, though it doesn't progress far into the narrative. We spend half of the issue meeting Dawn Greenwood, a young woman who runs a bed-and-breakfast in Anchor Bay, the place where she grew up and what she calls the greatest place in the world. She opens the issue, wishing upon a star that we find out is actually the Silver Surfer—a bit of serendipity that's certain to come around later. During the rest of her segments, we follow Dawn as she deals with the whiny and kooky demands of tourists while her sister sends pictures of her globe trotting adventures. Just as Dawn begins to hint that she's developing a secret longing to leave Anchor Bay, she's teleported from her room to some sort of cage where we leave her for the issue.
Up in space, Slott quickly introduces us to a benevolent Silver Surfer who doesn't seem to be gaining much fulfillment from his endeavors. After saving a mini universe and losing its citizens in translation while they erect massive structures to their accidental messiah, the Surfer is approached by three cameras which beckon him to serve as champion of The Impericon, a place they reveal that has been kept secret from him over the years in fear he'd lead Galactus to it should he ever resume his heralding duties.
Once there, we're treated to a psychedelic wonderland complete with ski slopes built on massive sun flowers. While the layout and details are fun, the smooth story gives out to a steady flow of exposition here. The Surfer is ultimately tested and found worthy to serve as champion against the evil "Never Queen". However, things become more complex as citizens of The Impericon concede to
kidnapping the person who means the most to all of their champions to assure their assistance against the Never Queen. The powers-that-be then bring forward Dawn—someone, strangely enough, who the Surfer has never met before. (Cue LOST in white bold letters on a black back drop.)
Silver Surfer #1 is a complicated issue. Fans of Doctor Who will see clear homages to the series in just about every aspect of the story. I think it was my familiarity with that program and its unique tone that led me to both understand what Silver Surfer was going for while simultaneously be bored by it. This certainly came from no lack of quality; the characters and their motivations are fun and well established, but the story didn't really progress anything. Issue one mainly served to establish the world we're going to be playing in, which isn't a whole lot of bang for your buck at $3.99 an issue. What it did manage to do, however, was give the Silver Surfer a new direction and plant the seeds for a supporting cast that extends beyond people in giant purple helmets and people who've worked for people in giant purple helmets.
What did you think of Silver Surfer #1? Did it toe the line between originality and homage, or do you think it read like a Doctor Who fan fiction? Let us know in the comments section below!
Posted by
Jeff Penner
- Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Want to know what happened in nerd culture over the past few days? WEEK IN GEEK is your quick fix to catch up with the rest of the Fanboys and Fangirls out there.
MOVIES
Indiana Jones could be a serial.
My take: "Who's your favorite Indiana Jones?" is already a pretentious question to ask. Though I love the character, can he go on forever? I'm a fan of name-drops like Bradley Cooper, but Ford made Jones what he is and I don't see that changing.
Terminator 5 time-jumping?
My take: Arnie is working out to play the Terminator again so he can shoot footage taking place during T1, T2, and so on. It sounds like the movie is taking a Back to the Future II approach. I don't get why they can't just start from scratch. Does today's moviegoing audience need to see a 66-year-old Terminator or an 80-year-old Indiana Jones? Overall, I'm fine with reboots if they're done well.
Divergent #1 beats Muppets by almost $40 million.
My take: How easy are audiences to please these days? The Vampire Diaries and True Blood are both being powerhouse TV shows, which shows how little variety it takes to make fans happy. I am a fan of the Muppets and, no, I wasn't blown away by the first film. But to have such a large number of people go to "check something out" in high numbers—rather than support something more deserving—makes the old man in me frustrated. The Lego Movie still being in the top ten makes up for it, though. That was a fun film.
TELEVISION
Michael C. Hall as Daredevil?
My take: Fancast? Rumor? Most likely, but it certainly has people's eyebrows going up and their heads nodding while their vocal chords create and audible "huh…" Not a bad idea, and it would be great if the series chose the "fun" Waid version of DD. It would be nice to see Hall get the opportunity to play a role that's allowed to have some fun every now and again.
Gotham's proactive leakage.
My take: Fox's Gotham seems to come out with new images and plot points every other day. It feels like too much information, especially when it's handed to us rather than "scooped." Do we have a preference on how we get this information? Personally, I'm leaning more and more toward "just surprise me," but that goes against why I write on this site, I suppose!
24 returns on May 5.
My take: A new trailer reveals a similar plot and pace to the original series, which is good. Sutherland seems only to have aged about a day since we saw him last, which is good. This miniseries takes place over 12 hours instead of 24… which makes no sense. But that's fine. After the last few seasons of the show, I'm looking forward to giving them a chance to knock this out of the park.
COMIC BOOKS
"Spider-Verse" teaser poster.
My take: After Spider Island and Superior Spider-Man, are we ready for another Spidey event? I'm not. It's one of the few books I'm still subscribed to, plus I get the trades when they come out. I would be happy to get a good year of standalone stories, especially with Peter finally returning. Can we just enjoy it before things get crazy again?
Caliber Comics to return… so is print dead?
My take: At a time when comics sales are all over the map, do we have room for another company? Caliber started up in 1989 and closed in 2001. Though I see the industry gaining ground on independent writers and stories, I see another contender chiming in now to be too little, too late. That being said, I wish them luck.
TECHNOLOGY
German company creates "Doc Ock" arms.
My take: Back in the '60s, this design may have seemed revolutionary, but there's only so much a giant claw hand can do. However, this is a first try that's bound to be improved upon, so I think this is pretty awesome. I'm sure the intention wasn't to create (or emulate) a supervillain, but it's pretty cool for us to see this in real life and not as a movie prop.
Facebook buys Oculus VR.
My take: I don't get it. Unless Facebook is getting into porn? They say they want to innovate and that they see it as a new communication platform for schoolwork, entertainment, and even health (allowing you to "visit" your doctor from home). I just saw the VR going straight to Sony or Microsoft, and maybe that's Zuckerberg's plan? Cash in? Like he needs the money. I just can't imagine playing Candy Crush in VR, I guess.
Watch out for this segment each and every Wednesday. We'll see you next week!
Did we miss something? What are your thoughts on these topics? Leave us a comment below!
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Hey, Hey, Hey Dacetacular ones, Chris Dace here to give you a first look into one of summer's Hollywood blockbusters!
In a world where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dominates anything action related, one must decide: will this Hercules film be better than the one we had a couple months ago? The answer is obviously yes, because it has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He has proven time and time again that he is a box office hit and over the last couple of years a pay-per-view buy rate machine. The accurately titled "People's Champ" has revived franchises, won titles, and stolen the hearts of America. Check out below the first look at Hercules starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, out in theaters this summer.
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn) as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course,the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a club with spiky thingies—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Monday, March 24, 2014
It's that time of week again! Yours truly, Chris "The Dace Man" Dace, is back with another review and synopsis of AMC's horror drama The Walking Dead!
With only two episodes left this season and after the shell-shocking episode we had last week, let's see what's in store for us on the episode entitled "Us."
To recap last week, we witnessed the effects of the postapocalyptic zombie world on the young. In one of the toughest decisions Carol has had to make since we met her, she killed Lizzie. Lizzie had murdered her sister Mika, and talking to Lizzie had shown no potential for redemption or comprehension of the world around her. She was fine with murdering the living but would not kill the dead. Mika, on the other hand, had refused to harm any living thing, and her optimism ultimately led to her demise. After a lot of emotional back-and-forth, we also saw Carol reveal that she'd killed Tyrese's girlfriend at the beginning of the season. Tyrese would forgive her in the end, and the two hit the road again (along with baby Judith), heading toward Terminus.
It's been some time now since we've seen Rick, Carl, and Michonne. Beth is still missing, and Daryl has joined a new group after his failed pursuit of her captors. Maggie, Sasha, and Bob are still heading to Terminus, and from the looks of it Glenn and Abraham's groups are heading that way too. Will they all unite this week? Will Daryl find Beth? Hopefully we will get some answers and reunions this week on The Walking Dead.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 4, EPISODE 15: "US"
We kick off this week's episode with Eugene talking Tara's ear off and Glenn walking as fast as hell toward Terminus. We cut to night; Abe sits next to Tara and starts talking to her in an attempt to learn what's keeping her up all the time. I particularly enjoyed the lesbian theory. The scene ends with Tara asking Abe, "What happens when the mission is over?" Then we cut back to day. Glenn comes upon a sign with a message from Maggie telling him to go to Terminus. He pauses and then hauls ass down the track. The others stare in shock as he takes off, and we start this episode off on somewhat of a high note. Cue the intro and our first commercial break!
We come back to Daryl's new group resting in the woods and being startled by a walker. They think at first that Daryl has split but realize he's left his stuff behind. We then cut to Rick's group, heading down the same tracks to Terminus. Michonne and Carl are having a balancing competition, and Rick seems happy that Carl still acts like a kid at times.
Then we're back to Daryl's group. He's hunting, but his targeted rabbit gets picked off by another member of Joe's group. The two argue over the carcass; Joe appears and grabs Daryl's hand before he stabs the other guy. Joe explains the rules of "claim" to Daryl and how it maintains order among the group. I kind of like Joe, but I fear that he's gonna be a problem down the road. We cut back to Glenn's group. Glenn is hell-bent on continuing on, but Abraham tells him it's time to rest. A walker falls from a platform above them, and Abe shoves Tara to save Eugene. Tara gets hurt a bit, and Rosita yells at Glenn that they need to stop. After some arguing, Glenn strikes a deal with Abe: he will give Eugene his riot gear for protection if they can continue moving forward until sundown. Returning to Joe's group, we see Joe and Daryl walking down the tracks and talking about being alone in the world. They go further in depth about "the rules" and how those rules maintain order. Joe asks Daryl if he's leaving and tells him that if he's staying, then he's part of the "Us." The group sets up camp for the night, and we roll into our next commercial break.
We return to Glenn's group, who have come upon a tunnel. They debate going through or around the tunnel and ultimately decide to part ways. Eugene tells Tara she's hot, and Tara responds with "I like girls." That was an awesome moment. Glenn and Tara head into the tunnel, and Glen tells Tara he understands what she's going through. She explains everything she saw the day the Governor attacked the prison. Unfortunately I think our time with Tara might be coming to a close. Back with Daryl and Joe's little faction, we see them scoping the warehouse and preparing to hunker down for the night. They all start "claiming" the available junk cars and other potential sleeping areas, cutting Daryl off at each turn. We then return to the tunnel, where Glenn and Tara have come across a collapsed section. A number of "live" walkers are trapped under the fallen debris (it looks like a level out of a 1990s video game). Tara notes that the collapse had to have happened that day because the dead walkers' blood is still wet. The two scale the rubble only to find a horde of walkers on the other side. We see their panicked looks and moaning walkers coming their way and then naturally cut to a commercial. Like I said earlier, I don't think Tara will make it to season 5.
Returning to the tunnel full of zombies, Glenn is happy none of the walkers is Maggie. Tara insists they turn around, and we cut to Abe and his group scoping out some cars. They find a van and clear it of the walkers. As we progress through this season I'm totally digging the arrogance of Eugene and the way he talks, and on top of that he has a pretty sweet mullet going. Back in the tunnels, Glenn has figured out a way to distract the walkers with his flashlight and sneak out, but Tara falls and becomes trapped under the rocks. Cut to yet another commercial!
When we return we're traveling down the road with Eugene, Abe, and Rosita. Abe's asleep, and Eugene has tricked Rosita into driving to the location where he believes Glenn and Tara will emerge from the tunnel. They argue and awaken Abe, who argues some more, but then Eugene becomes distracted and begins yelling. Cut back to Daryl's group; the guy from the morning's hunt fight accuses Daryl of stealing his half of the rabbit. Joe had already seen him plant the rabbit on Daryl but had chosen to let him play out his scheme before having the boys teach him a lesson. On to the tunnel, Glenn is still trying to get Tara out of the jam and she keeps telling him to leave and save himself. Glenn begins to take a noble stand, shooting all the walkers he can hit, when suddenly a car shows up and saves their asses. Eugene and crew found Maggie and crew, and they have saved Glenn and Tara, and now we have our first reunion! The little girl inside me is screaming with joy! Commercial time.
After the sunshine and lollipops reunion, the group starts to hunker down in the tunnel. Tara and Maggie meet for the first time, and Glenn covers for Tara about her actions at the prison after seeing the horror and guilt on her face. Eugene says their new path should be to go to Terminus, pick up supplies, and adjust a course from there. Abe's loyalty to Eugene is spot-on from the comics and is going to set up for an awesome season 5. The group decides to head to Terminus. We cut back to Daryl and his new group and see him again walking with Joe. Daryl sees the map to Terminus, and we learn that Joe's group was the one in the house with Rick and is now tracking him. We end this week's episode with Glenn's new supergroup arriving at Terminus, which at first appears empty and abandoned. They approach a woman named Mary, and we are set to head into the finale next week! If I'm a betting man, we've just met one of the Hunters.
That's it! See ya next week, walkers! As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until then, for the few, the proud, and of course the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and, in this case, a plate—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Posted by
Unknown
- Sunday, March 23, 2014
Episode 68 of the I Got Gameplay radio show is now live! Join Michael Burhan, Xander Skullion, the Console Snob Scott Bailey, Travis Goss, Sara Mortimer, and Scott Wilson as the group discuss RPGs that deserve sequels, from the obvious choices to some downright insane pieces.
You can check out the episode by clicking on the following links:
Libsyn: http://smarkoutmoment.libsyn.com/rss
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/igotgameplay/id570120518
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nerdgenious/igotgameplay?amp;refid=stpr
You can subscribe to the podcast's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/IGotGameplay
You can join the discussion by going to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/igotgameplay.
Join the IGG army in style by purchasing an I Got Gameplay t-shirt from our store. To order yours, just click on the appropriate link below! (UK and EU) http://nerdgenious.spreadshirt.co.uk/i-got-gameplay-retro-t-A25715613/customize/color/348 (US) http://nerdgenioususa.spreadshirt.com/
The t-shirt comes in eight different colors and six different sizes, including Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and 3XL. Shirts are £16.50 UK and $19.90 US. Grab yours today!
