Geekin' Podcast and Blog

I was able to grab the ear of comic book creator and writer Darker Sho, who's comic book Ruin is on it's last couple of weeks of it's Kickstarter funding. Looking over the facebook, twitter, and Kickstarter pages, this comic really grabbed my attention. The artwork is gritty without being muddled and at first reminded of Punk Rock Jesus from Vertigo comics, but cleaner. The concept - a graphic novel about a nomadic survivalist trying to make ends meet in a future dystopia after humans have destroyed the civilization they worked so hard to build, leaving only a vast wasteland of primal human behavior with little hope for repair - is immediately intriguing. Once you delve a little deeper into the plot, it becomes even more so. It’s the year 4602 and our protagonist, Ayden, is scouring the harsh desert badlands with only a map and his three-legged canine companion, Sasha. Ayden is on a mission to rescue his kidnapped sister from the fallen city of Ataraxis, the capital of deba...

I've been reading Witchblade since it began. I guess I was 11-12. My Mom started collecting them and I was enthralled. Until that point I had only read the spandex, cape and mask comics. A non-superhero comic book was a huge turning point in the way I saw comic books and sent my already overwhelming interest in comics skyrocketing. The Darkness came soon after, but Witchblade was were it started. Michael Turner's art is instantly recognizable. A little over the top sometimes, but it fit for the world of Witchblade. Witchblade is one of the longest running female lead comic book in history. Wonder Woman has been around a while, but with lots of starts and stops. While it started off with just a connection between the Witchblade and the Darkness, Top Cow eventually spawned Artifacts, and added 11 other magically inclined items all linked together. Artifacts is story of epic proportions, but always grounded by those first two characters. Witchblade was even made into TV show, whic...

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Francesco Francavilla I say this a lot. And I don't care. I love this book. Are there differences to the characters since Annihilation? Yes. And there should be. These characters should be growing and changing and evolving. If you don't like how they're changing, that's fine. But don't whine that they're not acting like the same people they were 5 years and 3 wars ago. Come on. This book seems to be constantly on the edge of exploding into something big. Lots of secrets, lots of something big just lurking over the horizon, and we as fans have seen this months ago, but it's finally starting to occur to Gamora that she needs to be asking some hard questions. Peter wants to make a plan. But really, it seems more like stalling to me. And I think Gamora gets that too. She flat out asks Peter and Drax how they came back. She flat out asks Peter why he didn't kill Thanos. He asks her the same - she lived with him for years. ...

Written and Drawn by Andy Kubert What an odd read. Of all the ways I expected them to handle this book, this isn't one of them. Now, I haven't read much press about it, so I'm not sure what they're exactly trying to do here. But it's not bringing Damian back to the mainstream DCU. This is a continuity all its own. Andy Kuberts art is astounding; I didn't realize how long it'd been since I read anything by him. His X-Men stuff is what sticks in my head the most when I think of X-Men books from my childhood. The book starts off with Batman and Damian working a crime scene. Dozens of bodies and fish piled into a heap; dead. Batman instructs Damian to search for clues, and Damian, narrating, goes on and on about the stench, and how revolted he is by the rotting smell. Andy really drove that point home without making the art too disgusting. I'm grateful. That's one scene I'd rather not immerse myself in, thanks. As Batman is going over what villains m...

Those who read this blog know that I hate on this book a lot. That being said, I have lots of good things to say about this issue. While Loki CLEARLY agrees with my earlier assessment of him being misused as comic relief, this book sees a serious change in direction for the character and sets him up for Loki: Agent of Asgard. While dealing with a group of "monster unleashed for the pre-verbal fears of humanity", Loki's thumb starts to bleed. He calls Teddy, saying that he's getting a "mother incursion" and asks if he's done something stupid like go to New York.(Frown!) But it's not Teddy that answers, it's Leah. She has Teddy, which means Mother has direct access to our world and she intends to unleash the bad-versions from the dimensions the Young Avengers lead Mother to onto Earth. (What they don't explain, is why is Mother telling them this? I mean, obviously, to lure them to her, she says so on the last page. But. Why? Why not just UNLEAS...

As Weird West Week here on Geekin' has just passed us by, I've been looking forward to this book for a number of days now. And it was well worth the weight. First, I want to talk about the art. Emma Rios does an amazing job at bringing the old-west feel to this comic, while immersing you in a whole new world with vibrant characters and expressions. Rios is one of those artists that I'd love to see a wordless comic book by. I'd love to see her tell a story with just the art. Jordie Bellaire does the color on this, and while I don't give colorists the credit their due, I do want to stop and take notice of this one. The colors Bellaire chooses help set the tone, which is extremely important in an old-west setting. I'm really pleased with it. Kelly Sue DeConnick writes a creepy, but compelling story, leaving you with enough mystery to pull you in and make you want to come back for more. It's a hard balance in a first issue, to give you enough to feel interested ...

(The introduction to this review is long and windy. Feel free to skip down a few paragraphs.) I grew up in Science Fiction, but was raised in Fantasy. Allow me to elaborate. Sci-Fi didn't happen much at home, early on. Mom read X-Men and ElfQuest. But my Uncle owned a comic book shop, Mom worked it, and I spent every spare second and then some in that store. As soon as I was old enough, I started volunteering at the conventions the store put on. It was mostly Science Fiction. It was centered around Star Trek and would "branch out" into Star Wars, BattleStar Galactica, Andromeda, Buck Rodgers, etc etc... So I began watching the tv shows and movies at home because I'd met and known some of the actors. It was always fun to watch people I'd spent time with in real life on my tv. This naturally led me to the books of the same shows and genre. While I loved watched Sci-Fi on the tv and in the movies, I found the books infinitely BORING. The comics, the novels, all seem...

Hey, Geeks and Geekettes! It's Mid-Week-Mini-Christmas, also known as Comic Book Wednesday, and that means COMIC REVIEWS!!! This week we'll be focusing on my two favorites, Guardians of the Galaxy and Red Hood and The Outlaws, the latter of which comes back after a month away while DC did their Villains Month; we'll talk about that some. Now then! ON TO THE REVIEWS!! Guardians of the Galaxy is probably my favorite comic out right now, for a number of reasons. Love or hate Bendis, he's on a mission; to give a comic that ties into Infinity, but also prepares new and old readers alike for the upcoming movie based on this title. Are the characters exactly like the movie? No, yet neither are they exactly like we've seen before. This title also introduces Angela, formerly of Image comics, and her return to the comic book page. I love her dynamic with the team and the possibilities she presents if she stays in the title, and as future story arc ads suggest, she does. This ...

Hey Geeks and Geekettes! Welcome to the last day of Weird West Week! (cue the sad "awwwww"s) Today we'll be covering video games, music, and awesome groups all Weird West themed! Let's git 'er duuuuuuuun! (Sorry, I got caught up in the moment. Larry The Cable guy, please don't sue me.) Borderlands Borderlands 2 Platform: PS3/XBox/PC I'm lumping these two together, but I highly suggest you play both; though they're entirely playable as separate games. If BraveStarr and Mad Max had a love child, that love child had a comic book based on him, and then the comic book came to life and started using steroids, it would be Borderlands. This is an amazing, over-the-top, crazy-fun FPS. NOT CHILD APPROPRIATE. Lots of blood. Lots of gore. Lots of vulgar humor and sexual innuendos. Both games are must-haves. The first one introduces you to the world of Pandora, where you play a Vault Hunter, looking for the mythic Vault supposedly full of treasure. Then Borderlands...

Welcome Geeks and Geekettes to another day of Weird West Week! The style of the Weird Western lends itself well to many different outlets. We've already discussed tv, cartoons, movies, books, comic books... but to really amerce yourself in the world of the Weird Western, you have to experience it yourself. And the best way to do that is through RPGs. RolePlaying Games. If you don't know or have never been involved in a RPG, I suggest looking into the history of games like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and Pathfinder. While those games are in a medieval setting, they're wonderful introductory into the world of RolePlaying Games, and arguably have the most resources available to first-timers and beginners. Below are a list of RPGs set in the world of the Weird West. Check 'em out, play through 'em, and if you have any favorites that aren't listed here, PLEASE leave a comment and let us know what Weird Western RPG YOU love most. http://www.wildwestexodus.com/ Wild...

Serenity Serenity is the "sequel" to the tv show Firefly. Directed by show creator Joss Whedon (his first feature film, as he went on to direct The Avengers) the movie is set a few months into the future from where the show leaves off. Some crew members have moved off the ship to permanent locations, but other than that it's business as usual aboard Serenity; Firefly-class small cargo spaceship. Captain Malcolm Reynolds leads the crew on jobs both legal, and less so. The movie gives us a nice ending to the story; closure for those of us so attached to our TV show that ended far too soon. Even still, the movie stands alone and it a great addition to any sci-fi and weird west collection. Highly recommended, one of my all-time favorite movies. High Plans Invaders High Plains Invaders casts the former Spike of "Buffy" and "Angel" as Sam Danville, a guilt-ridden outlaw who arrives in a small Old West town to b...

Welcome back, Geeks and Geekettes! It's WEIRD WEST WEEK at the Geekin' blog! Today on Weird West Week we'll be focusing on Weird Western themed TV Shows, including a few cartoons. (Cartoons! Yesssss!) BraveStarr This tv show ranks up there with ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Visionnaires, and other great classic 80s cartoons. Set in the distant future on a planet called New Texas... Well, I'll let the BraveStarr theme song speak for itself. With his partner, Thirty-Thirty - a "techno horse", last of the Equestroids and armed with his gun "Sara-Jane", BraveStarr kept New Texas safe from the outlaw Tex-Hex and his gang. As with most 80s cartoons, BraveStarr could get a little hokey at times, but they always ended with a message of morality, much like He-Man did. This cartoon had a huge impact on me as a small child, and I'm happy to share it with my children today. Galaxy Rangers Here's the ext...

It's Comic Book Wednesday, Geeks and Geekettes! Thanks for checking us out, be sure to leave and comment and let us know how awesome we are. Because we can't ever get enough of that! Now on the to review! Memory Collector's #1 Art and Story: Menton3 The artwork struck me first. Not just the latex covered women. But the striking looks and haunting gazes. That's what made me open the cover. From then, the art just sucks you in. Reminiscent of Neil Giaman's Sandman comics, this book would be very fitting and at home with some of Vertigo's other titles, which is why I find it a bit surprising to see this come from IDW. Darker than what I normally see come out of their camp, this book is captivating. Menton3 does the art and the story. This is the first I've seen from him. The story follows a small band of hunters. What are they hunting? Memory Collectors. Monsters that feed off the emotions of memories - real or fabricated. They've cut themselves off from th...