Geekin' Podcast and Blog

  I love Alternative History. I know, what a shocker. A historian saying they enjoy reading Alternative History is like a fat man squeeling "I LOVES TWINKIES!!" For those of you who don't know (and judging from sales figures that's most of the world), Alternative History is a sub-branch of Historical Fantasy. Essentially, an author takes a historic event and changes the result. The author then creates a "what if" tale, showing how history could have unfolded. It's sort of like applying chaos theory to linear time. Or what happens when a bunch of history geeks get together, drink too much, and say "What the hell would have happened if Napoleon had subdued Spain entirely BEFORE invading Russia?" Of course, to make the books more palatable to the general public, Alternative History often reads like John Jakes. Melodramatic storylines, often involving family rivalries or lost love, provide the narrative hook, while the inclusion of "real peopl...

So is that Chewbacca on that cover or the Big Foot that wrestled the Six Million Dollar Man back in the 1970s?? Star Wars #3 continues the nostalgia filled goodness of Marvel’s original Star Wars run. Thomas’ script is solid and sticks close to the film script. Chaykin’s art (except for Chewbacca) is strong. I really enjoyed this issue. The story is picking up speed (Luke and the gang’s arrival on the Death Star and their rescue of Princess Leia), Thomas and Chaykin are finding a rhythm, and the issue was just a lot of fun. I know; not much of a review. But this isn’t Mozart here folks; it’s breezy 70′s comics fun and i’m loving every minute of it… …Unlike the following… My God, why can’t the actual comic be as wonderful as these covers?!?! Those Francesco Francavilla covers are just beautiful!! Alas, the comic is anything but… I really dig Dark Shadows. I discovered the show by way of the 1991 mini-series (which i absolutely adore). Several years later, the original series turned up ...

Just look at that cover! When i was 9 years old and watching my blurry VHS copy of  Star Wars  while sitting about 16 inches away from the television with one hand digging into a bag of Doritos and the other hand tightly curled around a Luke Skywalker action figure, THIS image is what the Cantina scene looked like in my mind. Blasters firing, lightsabers swinging, bloody arms flying. Damn, Jedis are bad-ass! Sure, the actual scene is a bit more tame than this cover, but one should never let facts get in the way of cherished childhood memories. Issue 2 of Marvel’s Star Wars runs from Ben’s rescue of Luke from the Sand People to their departure from Tatooine on the Millenium Falcon. Let’s start with the good: Howard Chaykin’s art. I love Chaykin’s work and didn’t mind that he didn’t quite have a handle on the characters in Issue 1 (particularly Luke, who looked nothing like Mark Hamill). As long as Chaykin is telling the story in a visually entertaining way, i don’t care if he’s working ...