Fanboys Anonymous

Sand & Snow is a Game of Thrones podcast covering all the weekly happenings in the world of Westeros and beyond! Hyle Snow is a film major who exclusively enjoys Game of Thrones through the HBO television series. Jade Sand is a science major who has also read all of the books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Together they gather to discuss and review the latest episode while also comparing it with the books, with their own brand of insight and speculation.

Beware! This podcast is dark and full of spoilers! This show covers all the content up to and including the titled episode of Game of Thrones. It also discusses the details of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire up to the current part of the story that the show has reached. However, there will be no spoiling of anything in the future of the TV series or story within the books.

For the first time in awhile, even book readers have been stunned! This week we recap the events of Season 4, Episode 4 titled "Oathkeeper." This week: Daenerys finds a giant flag; Jon Snow is tasked with a problem up north; and Craster's daughters give a gift to the gods.

On episode 6 of the Fanboys Anonymous Group Meeting podcast, the panel has a roundtable discussion about Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Since we were split down the middle with one of us liking it a lot, one of us NOT liking it a lot, and the other thinking it was somewhere in the middle, we discuss and debate the aspects that we felt were pros and cons and also give our thoughts on the future of the Marvel film franchise.

Hosted by Tony Mango, the panel includes Chris Dace and Tom Jackson.

Some topics we address:

• Comparison to Amazing Spider-Man and the Sam Raimi trilogy
• Action sequences
• Storyline and plot pacing
• Breakdown of characters
• Cameos and references
• What can we expect with the future of this franchise, Amazing Spider-Man 3, as well as the Venom and Sinister Six movies?

You can watch the podcast below. Make sure to subscribe!

On March 24, 1984, Scream! hit the shelves of newsstands around the world. Proudly displaying a tagline of "not for the nervous," each issue was brimming with frightening art and macabre tales, enough to whet the ghoulish appetites of any young horror enthusiast.

Scream! was a British weekly comic that ran from March 24, 1984 until June 30, 1984 and was published by IPC Magazines. Scream! was supposedly edited by the fictional Ghastly McNasty. Ghastly's face was concealed by a hood, and a regular feature of the comic involved readers sending in drawings of what they believed he looked like.


Scream! comprised weekly serials including

The Dracula File - the lead strip, about Dracula hunting in 1980s England.
Monster – a serial about a deformed man (Uncle Terry) who grew up locked in an attic.
The Thirteenth Floor - Scream!'s most popular strip, concerning Max, a crazed computer, in charge of an elevator in an apartment building - when someone bad or evil steps inside, Max would take them to The Thirteenth Floor as punishment.

It also included short stories, such as

Fiends and Neighbours - a light-hearted comical strip about a family of monsters living next door to an ordinary couple.
A Ghastly Tale - one-off strips introduced by Ghastly himself.
Library of Death - one-off morality tales.
Tales from the Grave - short stories illustrating the depravity of Victorian era London.

As well as the stories being popular, the artwork was even more so. A regular of Scream! was the double-page cover art and the "Monsters of the Deep" 4-page poster that was never completed due to the series' untimely death.

Fifteen issues were published before the title was cancelled. It is rumored that with IPC not being able to print any comics for several weeks due to an industrial printer's strike, they felt the publication had lost momentum (and comic sales in the UK had declined) so they opted to cut their losses and cancel it, leaving the strip stories within unfinished. Another rumor of its demise was that it was banned due to a backlash of complaints from concerned parents over cover art and content, supposedly claiming that it was pushing graphic violence (mainly horror and fantasy) on younger children.



Scream! Did reemerge 8 weeks later as the amalgamated Eagle and Scream!, with the two most popular strips continuing. There were also five Summer Specials released, mostly consisting of reprints of horror-themed stories from IPC's back catalogue. However, these were nowhere near as ghoulish or macabre as their predecessor.

Issues of Scream! can still be bought on Ebay for a reasonable price, and all 15 issues (as well as more information on this publication) can be viewed at the Back from the Depths website.
But remember, it's "Not for the nervous!"

Which comics had you counting down the days til the next issue and rushing to the store each week to buy?

Indie enthusiasts, I'm so glad to have the opportunity to write about campaigns like this. Anymore, the classic monsters are overdone. Vampires have been a lasting fantasy fiend through the ages, going back to biblical times. Because it's all been done and because overdone doesn't seem to be the stopping point, as fans of the classic monsters, it's our duty to seek out true imaginative works within the realm of our dark and scary fantasies. Ladies and gentlemen, I tip my hat to the campaign whose spell I'm currently under, Blood and Dust: The Life and Undeath of Judd Glenny.


I love a great dark production. In fact, the darker the art, the more it appeals to me. Blood and Dust has it all. Set more than 40 years ago, this story is about a legendary family, one you wouldn't want to live next door to. Although legends, they stay quiet and have for years, trying to live down the stories and the rumors. For the oldest living American vampire, blending in is just about impossible when your kids don't age and one of your young ones is a bit of a beast who has to be chained to the wall.

The campaign promises that everything you thought you knew about vampires was wrong. This comic follows the dark old creature as he lives in the shadows and deals with issues no man or monster should have to. How long can he keep his forever-young children hidden? For how long can their secret go unnoticed, especially as the population grows? Scope the Kickstarter campaign, check out the art and preview the comic. Tell me what you think downstairs. Indie?

This year, Star Wars is full of hope again.

Fan expectations are at a high we haven't seen since the day after opening day of Episode I: the Phantom Menace back in 1999. We have casting announcements for the new trilogy, and May the Fourth is bringing in news by the hour! Our first treat, released by StarWars.com at 12:01am, is a full trailer for the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels.

For context, I'm personally against Episodes 1-3. I saw Episode I at midnight on opening night. I bought tickets days in advance, stood in line for hours, and cheered the cosplayers who staged lightsaber duels before the movie. Having been born in the late '70s (really late, like super late, I'm totally young, you guys), I was absolutely pumped for more Star Wars. The feeling in the pit of my stomach over the proceeding 2 hours still hasn't disappeared. I saw Episode II, then III, and as you can probably tell, I'm a little bitter to this day. I gave the animated series Star Wars: the Clone Wars a try and couldn't do it. It seemed that anything pre-Episode IV is forever tainted in my heart.

So here we are with Rebels. There are familiar-looking ships, closed-quarter action sequences, and no mention of any trade embargo, nor a single scene taking place at a council meeting of any kind. To suggest that I have hope again is tentative but true.

Have a look. It is the future you see.



Always uncertain, the future.

I admit I'm looking forward to this series in a way I haven't enjoyed Star Wars in over a decade. I don't think I'm the only one, as a tide seems to be turning in the fanbase. When George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney, the overall reaction was almost relief. That's a pretty big indicator that any change at this point is welcome.

Does anyone know the feeling I'm talking about? Am I alone putting a pin in my excitement while wearing it proudly at the same time?

Godzilla will smash his (or her?) way into theaters on May 16th, and more images and footage are being released leading up to the big day. How do they make a disaster film of this magnitude?

I like to joke that movies like this all follow a similar format: we get two hours of snippets of a monster but mostly just the destructive aftermath. This shows us the scope of the issue the characters will be dealing with in the final action sequences. The main decision we have to make afterward is whether or not it was worth sitting through the first couple of hours or not. Movies are only rewatchable when the entire film is entertaining.

I trust Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) enough to hold my attention to build some great human moments, but let's face it, I'm going to this movie to see a giant monster tear a city to shreds. I'd better get it. Judging by most of the promotional images for the film, I may end up sitting through two hours of this:







This new Godzilla series may have some competition in the genre with films like Pacific Rim, Super 8, and Cloverfield all considering sequels. The winning trophy will go to whichever series has the best lead characters and the best action sequences. The issue comes with balance. How do you justify a 2-hour fight scene that makes the kids squeal but gives the adults a headache? With these movies all having 2+-hour run times, there are much more opportunities to make this a reality.

A lot of work does go into these films, especially when you're stuck with quality actors reacting to tennis balls on a stick. Here is some behind-the-scenes footage of how the humans fare against the might of Godzilla:


Official synopsis of Godzilla:

In Summer 2014, the world’s most revered monster is reborn as Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the epic action adventure Godzilla. From visionary new director Gareth Edwards (Monsters) comes a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring Godzilla rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenseless. Gareth Edwards directs Godzilla, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Oscar® nominee Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Oscar® winner Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Cosmopolis), and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), with Oscar® nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck., The Bourne Legacy) and Bryan Cranston (Argo, TV’s Breaking Bad).

What are your expectations? Will this be a mindless popcorn flick or a heart-wrenching action thriller?

Saturday, May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) at your local comic shops! FCBD is the comic book specialty market’s annual event where participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops. The event is held the first Saturday in May and is the perfect opportunity to introduce friends and family to the many worlds of wonder available at local comic book shops. From superheroes to slice-of-life to action/adventure and beyond, FCBD has a comic book for everyone!

FCBD will be celebrated at participating comic book specialty shops across the U.S., Canada, and worldwide! 2014 marks the biggest event yet, with 60 free comics available for new and devoted comics fans to discover while they also explore what other treasures their local comic shop has to offer.

On Saturday May 3rd, anyone who visits a participating comic shop will receive at least one or more of the designated FCBD comics for free. The Free Comic Book Day Committee picked a listing of Gold and Silver sponsors whose comic books include titles that are great for kids and adults. This year’s roster contains 60 free comics such as Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, DC’s The New 52: Futures End, Archie, Spongebob, Teen Titans Go!, The Simpsons, Hello Kitty, Transformers, Sonic, and many more for fans to discover! Complete descriptions of all 60 FCBD titles, along with four-to-six page previews, can be found online at www.freecomicbookday.com/comics.

What more incentive do you need? Well, there's plenty! Check out LeVar Burton of Star Trek: TNG fame urging you to make it so:


Comic shops will also host community events such as costume contests, drawings by guest artists, creator signings, raffles, door prizes, photos with costumed characters, and other community-building activities throughout the day. Every comic shop celebrates FCBD in its own unique way, and fans have an opportunity to see their local comic shop’s personality and thriving community of pop-culture enthusiasts on display.

“Free Comic Book Day gives new and devoted comic book, entertainment, and pop-culture fans the opportunity to get great titles for free, while participating in fun and interactive comic shop events,” said FCBD Spokesperson Jason Blanchard. “Comic shops plan their FCBD activities months in advance to give their community the best FCBD experience in order to bring together like-minded fans who love the same stories, TV shows, and movies, while being able to discover new stories that will entertain and enrich their lives.”

For more FBCD news and updates, go to the FCBD website at www.freecomicbookday.com.

For daily FCBD updates, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/freecomicbook and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/freecomicbook. Find a comic shop near you at www.freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator and celebrate Free Comic Book Day on Saturday May 3rd, 2014!

Will you be using this day to introduce any new readers to the great world of comics?

A few days ago, a rumor started going going around about a certain masked bounty hunter from the Star Wars universe. Slashfilm, who found the info by way of MakingStarWars.net, reports that Disney executives met at a breakfast in Disney World to discuss various properties related to Star Wars. One of the topics of discussion was Boba Fett and what a movie featuring the character front-and-center would look like.

Something like this, probably.

The paraphrased quote making the rounds speaks to Disney's apparent difficulty with trying to keep the darker qualities of this villainous character while still placing him as the hero of the film. Basically, Disney is unsure how to make a “good guy” film with a traditional “bad guy.” Boba Fett has long been rumored as one of the characters receiving a spinoff film, and perhaps franchise, within the new Star Wars canon. Everyone, Disney execs included, is apparently excited about the character but the trouble remains: how to frame the film or character?

Slashfilm brings up some solid bad-but-good-guy examples from Disney's own roster, citing Wreck-It Ralph and Jack Sparrow as well as Maleficent. These are all characters who are either considered villains in their own world or who aren't quite good guys, and each film (save Maleficent, whose fate remains to be seen) has proven successful. They point out also that Ralph tries to overcome his bad-guy status and Jack Sparrow is never really an out-and-out villain. Their suggestion to set the film prior to the original Star Wars trilogy, focusing on the origins of Boba Fett after his father's death, might help mitigate some of Disney's worries about the character by tracking the development of the bounty hunter before he really becomes evil.

I have a slightly different suggestion for Disney, and they won't like it: they need to get up off their family-friendly high horse and recognize the characters they bought for who they are. I understand Disney has a reputation to consider, and they've done a decent job so far of keeping the Marvel movies (the closest comparison) relatively family-friendly—despite, say, the enormous body count of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, if you have a fan-favorite character who you're pretty sure could also make your company a decent chunk of change if given a movie, you're going to have to kowtow to that character's traits a little unless you totally alter the character and thus miss the point. I'm not suggesting Disney should just go and make an R-rated Boba Fett film—although how awesome would that be?—and they never will. That's not their business. They do, however, need to think outside the Mouse House box. Just because a character is villainous, or has villainous traits, doesn't mean he can't have some redeeming characteristics or be impossible to root for. This is basically the same reason George Lucas changed Han Solo shooting Greedo first in A New Hope.

A veeeerrrrry popular decision.

My two cents: there are shades of gray, Disney, and I'm not referring to the erotica. A character doesn't have to be traditionally “good” or “bad.” Boba Fett is a bounty hunter. He hunts or kills people for money. So, he's a businessman. Perhaps at the time of the original trilogy, the Empire was just offering the most amount of money for the work. Over his long career, Fett could have taken other jobs that are more traditionally moral than his disintegration escapades referenced by Darth Vader. Let's find out if he's a hunter with a code of honor. What about the kind-of feud he has with Han Solo? There's a story right there, between two scoundrels. Hell, Disney could kill two birds with one blaster and make a Han Solo/Boba Fett film. The point is, a character can be fun to watch and root for even if he is traditionally a villain. It's all in the story. If you see him as a villain, you'll treat him as such and no more. If you see him as a man with choices, then you have a character, and then you have a film. 

Thoughts? Can Disney produce a satisfactory Boba Fett film? If not, should they even try? Is another character more deserving of a spinoff? Talk about the scum and villainy of the Disney universe in the comments below.

 Hey, hey, hey Dacetacluar nation! Dace Man here with the premiere episode of The Dace Man Plays!! Going forward, yours truly will play a game here and there for about 10 minutes because, frankly, anything longer and you all would lose interest. Hear my commentary as I take on some of the classics and some of the new-age stuff I don't quite understand!

In the premiere edition of The Dace Man Plays, I take on my favorite game of all time: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back! How excited are you? As excited as I am, I hope! Since I like to give you folks bits and pieces of your favorite games I only tackled level Turtle Woods 1 in our first edition. So check it out below and, as always, #BringBackCrash

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 your buddy Aku Aku—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!



Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sand & Snow: A Game of Thrones Podcast | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime

There has been yet another addition to the cast of the all new Fantastic Four movie in the form of Tim Blake Nelson, who will be playing villain Harvey Elder, also known by his alias "Mole Man," who is described as a bizarre-looking scientist who lives under the earth and absolutely detests humanity.

Nelson has had many roles in various big films over the years, including starring in Marvel's very own 2008 movie adaptation of The Incredible Hulk as Dr. Samuel Sterns, so he's certainly no stranger to playing a comic-book scientist.

However, his role in the reboot will be a rather small one, although The Hollywood Reporter recently noted: "Elder's appearance does set up the character to be the villain in future installments of the franchise."

How Mole Man appears in the comic books.

The Fantastic Four reboot is set for release in June 2015.

Do you think Tim Blake Nelson will play the role of "Mole Man" well? Let us know!

With Peter Parker returning to The Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott is taking the opportunity to update Spidey's famous origin. This is most likely a tie-in to the upcoming "Original Sin" storylines, which look to retcon much of the Marvel Universe as we know it.

J. Scott Campbell exclusive covers for issue 1.1

The book relaunches after Otto Octavious spent a year as a self-proclaimed Superior Spider-Man, confusing his fellow heroes, making a few enemies, and nearly destroying New York City in the process. Peter will have plenty of cleaning up to do, especially with his friends and family. These issues will have to wait, however, as longtime writer Dan Slott takes us back in time with "Learning to Crawl." This retcon of Spidey's famous origin may include some tweaks that lead into this summer's "Original Sin" crossover event, where we learn Peter wasn't the only one granted spider powers by that radioactive spider. It's not clear whether this new character, Silk, will either be friend or foe, but she will be fully explored this summer. Most likely, we're going to be getting another antihero who struggles with her abilities but struggles even more to always do the right thing (after getting a dose of Peter's infectious moral code).

Also notable will be the return of Peter's first love, Gwen Stacy. In flashbacks, everyone who was dead is alive again, and we may learn some new things about her that might endear her to us even more. If Slott is smart, he will officially remove any connection to her and Norman Osborn having a sexual affair (which I believe is still canon unless someone can correct me). It's no coincidence this story is happening at the same time The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is hitting theaters. New readers looking for Gwen will get her and will also feel like they've arrived at a perfect "jumping-on point" for the spider-books.

I'm mostly looking forward to Peter having to deal with Doc Ock's actions while he ran things. Doc Ock all but ruined his relationship with Mary Jane (constantly referring to her as "woman") and completely ignored Aunt May. Aside from all the relationship drama, Ock spent all of Peter's hard-earned money on spider-tech and "Parker Industries," a company he started, ignored, and then allowed to be blown up.

Issue #1 is already on shelves with a huge array of alternate cover options. Here is the official write-up for #1.1:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.1
DAN SLOTT (W) • RAMÓN PERÉZ (A)
COVER by Alex Ross
Sketch variant by Alex Ross
Variant by John Romita Jr.
YEAR ONE: LEARNING TO CRAWL!
• He sought revenge…and found responsibility. From that night on, a new life began.
• Join Peter Parker as he takes his first steps towards finding his way in the world as Spider-Man.
• The chapter you never knew about the story you know by heart.
• Dan Slott (SPIDER-MAN/HUMAN TORCH) and Ramón Peréz (the Eisner winning TALE OF SAND & WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN) bring you a new & reverent spin on the first 60 days of Spider-Man.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Did you follow Superior Spider-Man? Are you back on the Peter Parker bandwagon or have you had enough spider-adventures for now?

Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith has received an upgrade and will move from facing to exterminating daleks to terminating terminators in the Terminator reboot due out next summer.

Smith will play a role not originally featured in the original Terminator film, although a Paramount press release hints he'll play someone close to John Connor who will be played by Jason Clarke. The casting pairs Smith with another fan favorite star, Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame, as well as the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This will mark the second cult classic revival Smith has starred in following his tenure as Patrick Bateman in the on stage adaptation of American Psycho, although that franchise hasn't had the slew of flops the Terminator brand has recently suffered. What do you think of Smith's casting? Could the former charismatic Doctor be bound for a large scale villainous role? Let us know in the comments section below.

Hey, hey, hey Dacetacular nation! I know it has been an awfully long time, but your Dacetacular leader is once again here in the Dace-sphere! Now, back in mid-April I had the awesome opportunity to man a table with fellow Fanboy Ryan and lead geek Tony Mango at the South Jersey Geek Fest. While there we came across a lot of independent game developers with some pretty kickass games.

Speaking of kicking, that brings me to my main point today: a Kickstarter! One of the games we came across was Mark of the Old Ones - A Metroidvanian Adventure. This game is currently being developed by Hit the Sticks LLC and is inspired by the likes of Metroid and The Legend of Zelda franchises as well as by the mythos of HP Lovecraft. The game explores a world with fantastic animation and difficulty levels that will tease the brain and keep you coming back for more. Check out the teaser trailer below released by HTS.

If you want to get in on this cool adventure and help support the creators in their efforts to make it, you can always check out their Kickstarter by clicking the Kickstarter logo below. We at The Dace Man Show made mention of it on our last episode, and they are in their final week of pushing! I personally went for the IMMORTALIZED DEVOTEE LEVEL, because who the hell wouldn't want their likeness in a game? If things like Candy Crush and 2048 can take off on our phones, this game is leagues ahead.


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 an Immortalized Devotee—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!



Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sand & Snow: A Game of Thrones Podcast | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime

Fox is slowly releasing more footage of X-Men: Days of Future Past, and some of the new footage features Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) kicking butt in a boardroom.

Fox has also released a neat little bit of fun in the form of a time-traveling Internet browser. If you visit this site here, and you're using Google Chrome, you'll get a Facebook extension that will transport you to an alternate timeline. It's a cross-promotion with Norton Anti-Virus, so clearly a gimmick, but I'm appreciating these more unique marketing angles we get nowadays.

Fox also recently announced that some of the mutants they have could make the leap to the small screen successfully. Look for more announcements on that in the next year as they choose who gets the greenlight (I'm expecting low-level heroes like Jubilee over the expensive-screen-time Colussus).

Here is the new footage, also featuring Peter Dinklage:


Sooo many superheroes this summer. Where do you place this movie on your must-see list?

Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Directed by Marc Webb. Written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, James Vanderbilt. Starring Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy), Jamie Foxx (Max Dillon / Electro), Dane DeHaan (Harry Osborn / Green Goblin), Felicity Jones (Felicia), Colm Feore (Donald Menken), Paul Giamatti (Aleksei Systevich), and Sally Field (Aunt May).

Following the events of The Amazing Spider-Man, itself a reboot of the franchise that not only made an absurd amount of money from viewers but also made fans cover their eyes to avoid the absurdity of the third film. After Spider-Man 3, things were irreparably damaged and a fresh start was necessary.

While I felt Marc Webb's first attempt had quite a bit of flaws in it—mostly due to pacing issues—I was immediately of the mindset that he was trying to cram everything into the first film to make room for the second. The followup, instead, would be the real one to see. Is that the case? Did this pan out, or did it fall short like the first one did?

It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the film's hits and misses.


As always, let's start with the bad news first.


1. NORMAN OSBORN'S DEATH

Maybe he isn't actually dead, maybe he isn't. If he is, then I think that was a big mistake to do. If he isn't, then I think this was pretty pointless. I like Chris Cooper's Norman Osborn, so I wanted to see more of it.

2. RHINO

While I'm an advocate that the mechanical suit makes INFINITELY more sense than the skin polymer or just making Rhino another human, I think the actual design came off way too clunky. You mean to tell me that Oscorp built so many things that are extremely efficient and yet they thought this monstrosity was a good idea? Someone needed to go back to the drawing board on that one.

3. FELICIA HARDY

If you've followed my previous opinions on comic book movies, you should know by now that I love cameos and using characters from the comics in roles. However, here is an exception to the rule. This was in no way Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat. Instead of doing anything remotely like her character, she was just a pointless secretary, overall. I see no value in that. They should have gone with someone else that doesn't waste such a more complex character. Perhaps this spot could have been filled with Lily Hollister instead.

4. DR. ASHLEY KAFKA

This is kind of minor, but it bugged me. Why wasn't Ashley Kafka a woman, instead of reminding me of Dr. Kaufman from Tomorrow Never Dies? The character is a woman in the comics and if the whole reasoning was to try to keep women from being killed or villainous in the movie (note: the three primary women are May, Gwen and Felicia, all pretty good people), then that's a shame.


1. ACTION

This was easily the best action out of the Spider-Man franchise so far, in my opinion. Something that was always missing from the Tobey Maguire era was that sense that Peter was mobile and flexible, which they captured here magnificently. Each set piece has something different to offer and delivers.

2. SPECIAL EFFECTS

In particular, Electro's effects were pretty flawless overall. This is just another reminder of how far cinema has come in such a short time frame. We used to have painted backgrounds and minimal sets that were doing their best to give us even basic scenery. Now, we can have a living god of a human made out of pure electricity fighting a masked vigilante through a power grid and it looks believable and unbelievable at the same time.

3. GREEN GOBLIN

This is probably going to split people, but I liked a lot about this interpretation of Harry Osborn. While it kind of irks me that he seemed almost entirely unlikable and not as much of a good friend that Peter is losing, I think his character was really charming in a lot of ways (speaking from a writer's perspective). Making his deformity the reason for the goblin appearance makes a lot of sense and I'm really glad that the glider and bombs were kept in place, rather than being discarded for the fireball throwing Hulk creature like in Ultimate Spider-Man. Sure, those tools weren't really set up as well as they were in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, but I'm okay with it overall. Not everything needs to be explained in vast detail.

4. MUSIC

Hans Zimmer's trumpets and horns for the main, joyous Spider-Man theme is still ringing in my head as I'm writing this up. Do do doooo...doo...do do dooooo.....I love it.

5. HUMOR

Funny jokes, yet again. That was missing from the older films. The laughs from J. Jonah Jameson in particular were favorites of mine.

6. PETER CARES ABOUT AUNT MAY

One of the issues I had with the first movie was that there wasn't enough room to develop a bond between Peter and Aunt May. Sure, I liked the reference at the end with the eggs, but like most people in that film, Peter merely meets them once or has maybe one scene with them and you're supposed to care. Here, since the groundwork was already put down in the first movie, we were able to see Peter and May interact with each other like a normal son and surrogate mother around those ages would.

7. COMIC BOOK FEEL

This is my biggest plus. My main thought throughout this film, repeatedly, was that it felt like I was witnessing a comic book come to life. No, that does not mean that it had stupid panels popping up on the screen like Ang Lee's Hulk or that it was campy and silly and didn't take itself serious like Batman and Robin. Instead, this felt like a film equivalent to an issue of the Ultimate Spider-Man series. Spider-Man joked like he should, enjoyed himself while being in the midst of fantastic action sequences, and the pacing was all there similar to what a seven issue story arc would be.


Very much so. This was better than The Amazing Spider-Man and so far, the truest representation of the Ultimate-inspired franchise so far. It was fun throughout the entire thing and as a big Spider-Man fan for essentially my entire life, it has me excited to see the next installment and satisfied with what was given to me for this one.

The second official trailer for the hotly anticipated, Michael Bay–produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot dropped last night. While much of the trailer is comprised of footage we've already seen (namely, the entire first half), the big reveal is our first real glimpse at all four of our favorite pizza-eating reptiles who are named after famous Renaissance artists.

The new designs for Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo are briefly shown before each fade to black, with the most screen time awarded to Mikey. As a lifelong Turtles fan, I've got to admit that so far I'm liking what I'm seeing. The costume design for the heroes isn't uniform like in previous iterations of the characters—think back to the Jim Henson live-action costumes we all know and love—but instead attempts to reflect their individual personalities. The most notable are skateboarding bro Michelangelo, with his dudetacular shell necklace and bead bracelets, and Donatello, the Turtle who's tragically famous for "doing machines," with his nerdy taped-up tortoise shell (wink!) glasses and whatever new technological wonder he's dreamed up strapped to his back.





The motion capture suits used for the CGI turtles in this go-around are working well enough against the real-life background that I'm able to suspend my disbelief, at least for this minute-and-a-half long trailer. Only time will tell if the final renderings are fluid and believable or clunky and cartoonish, as in Bay's Transformers films. Speaking of Transformers, while I was not pleased with Megan Fox's casting, I do like the costume decisions that have been made, particularly the yellow leather jacket. Fans of the original 1980s cartoon will appreciate the homage to April O'Neil's classic yellow jumpsuit (Seriously though, what was that all about?).

Remember these guys?

Just as in the first one, this second trailer hints that April's father and the Shredder are somehow involved in the creation of the Ninja Turtles. We have known for a while that some fresh tweaking of the original story was going to be done, much to the contention of fans worldwide. All in all, I'd say my interest is definitely piqued. While I'm generally not a fan of Michael Bay's work, I haven't seen anything yet that has made me give up hope in this film. Let's face it; we fans would come out in droves to see anything with the TMNT in it, and Hollywood knows that. Here's hoping they don't disappoint.

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular Nation! Check out episode 45 of The Dace Man Show with hosts Dace, Gibby, Frank Ward, and Nikki Mills!

Join the Dace Man and crew this week as they break down the following:

::SPORTS NEWS::

• Current NHL playoff results
• Current MLB standings
• Current NBA playoff results
• Plus much, much more!!

::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY:: 

• Time to get down and weird with Gib and, might I add, Bay

::FRANK'S CORNER::

• What will Frank da Tank have in store this week?

::CELEB NEWS::

• Bob Hoskins passed away
• Celeb birthdays from April 24th to April 30th 
• Miley back on her feet
• George Clooney got engaged this week
• Paul Simon caught up in a domestic dispute

Plus the High Five: Top 5 People Who Shouldn't Twerk and The Douche Bag of The Week! All that and more, only on The Dace Man Show!

Listen live to The Dace Man Show every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on Mega Powers Radio.

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Not only does this May mark the 30th Anniversary since the creation of Marvel's symbiotes, but it also marks another special, albeit bittersweet occasion. Ten years ago the first superhero MMORPG, City of Heroes, went live with an innovative character creation system and a bold direction. It rivaled its closest (and, surprisingly, younger) competition, World of Warcraft, and paved the way for both Champions Online and DC Universe Online, both of which still survive to this day.

The game's player community boomed with each new update as the worlds of Paragon City, the Rogue Isles (featured in City of Villains), and Praetoria (an in-between dimension in City of Heroes: Going Rogue) evolved and expanded. It even introduced the very first in-game player-created content system, Mission Architect, to the world of MMO games, which allowed players to create their very own missions and story arcs with premade or custom enemy and ally factions to publish and play with their friends and community.


Unfortunately, the golden age of City of Heroes came to an abrupt and sad end in 2012 when the game's publisher, NCsoft, shut down its servers permanently with little to no explanation as to why. Millions of players—myself included, a veteran since at least 2005—were suddenly displaced from their favorite superhero MMO. Many attempted to fill the void with its aforementioned descendants, but nothing can truly replace Paragon City and its heroes and villains. The City of Heroes player community, however, remained steadfast and took refuge on social websites such as the popular Titan Network.


The game's legacy lives on in its community and in two equally special efforts to relive the golden days. Missing Worlds Media's City of Titans and Plan Z Studios' Heroes and Villains are two player-run video game development projects currently in the preproduction stages of creating City of Heroes' spiritual successors. Once a joint operation under the Plan Z banner, a group of displaced players with little to no experience in developing video games banded together shortly after City of Heroes' demise with a dream of recreating our lost world. Plan Z suffered from a schism of ideas early on, creating the splinter team, Missing Worlds Media, and both have progressed with their projects since.

Last year, Missing Worlds Media was the first of the two studios to both organize a Kickstarter campaign for its project and successfully complete the campaign by accruing a whopping 211% of its initial goal of $320k. The outstanding amount of funds was then used to buy the necessary tools to put some serious elbow grease into the game they promised their backers—even receiving a generous upgrade to an Unreal Engine 4 license from Epic Games itself. Missing Worlds Media reports that it will complete its preproduction phase soon and has revealed a few screenshots and videos of its work with Unreal 4.


On the other side of the map, Plan Z has silently carried on with the production of Heroes and Villains, although it has yet to employ crowd funding as its sister studio has. Nevertheless, it proceeds to astound by regularly updating its community following with development progress on the game's integral systems and even wowed us with rendered screenshots of the character creator screen, zone concept art, and several in-game renderings of the Hanging Gardens of the Antiverse—which bear a striking and fond resemblance to the Shadow Shard of City of Heroes—in celebration of the belated game's tenth anniversary.


Although both projects are at different stages of production, City of Heroes will surely have two amazing, spectacular, astonishing spiritual successors not too far down the road, from which the glory days can once again be revisited in a new and exciting light. Missing Worlds Media and Plan Z aren't planning to fill City of Heroes' big shoes; they only boast two games that will take their inspiration far beyond what City of Heroes could have been and farther than what any other superhero MMO will ever reach.

Were you one of the many displaced heroes, villains, or rogues from the City of Heroes shutdown? Have you been following and supporting City of Titans and Heroes and Villains? How will you celebrate this bittersweet tenth anniversary? Share your memories and experiences in the comments section below.

"We can be heroes
Just for one day…" –David Bowie