Insert Title Here–The Avengers and Free Comics

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

The Avengers

Unless you’ve recently woken from a coma, you’re already well aware that The Avengers will be released this Friday. Written and directed by geek legend Joss Whedon and bringing together seven superheroes from four film franchises, it promises to be a massive undertaking. Early reviews are extremely positive, so this looks like as close to a sure thing as you can get. Go see it.

Free Comic Book Day

Every year, the first Saturday in May is designated “Free Comic Book Day”. All of the major publishers supply local comic shops with special comics written especially for this day, to be given away for free. It’s a great day to go and try out a new series you’ve been putting off checking out, or for the non-fan to have their first taste of the comic world, without the $2.99 price barrier. Get out and support your local shop this Saturday.

Sleep well,

DTE

If You’re Not, You Should Be–Board Games

This series is designed as a way to call attention to things, practices, places, activities, or anything else you might not be aware of that I think are worth checking out. I try to cover as wide a variety of topics as I can.

One of the ways I enjoy passing the time, especially on rainy days, is to play board games. Or at least it is when I can convince someone else to play with me, since this activity seems to be marching towards obscurity. Before I begin, I should point out that I don’t partake in any of the “hardcore” board games, the kind that you have to go to a specialty shop to find and have a rule book as thick as the YellowPages. I’m sure there are plenty I’d enjoy, but I have a hard enough time convincing people to play the simple ones; I wouldn’t have any luck handing them the manual with a “read this in the next two hours and then we can start the 6 hours game.” With that in mind, here are a few of my favourite games.

Quarto

This is a simple game my brother had when we were growing up that I recently stumbled upon in a store. It’s played on a four by four grid with 16 pieces. Each piece has four attributes – colour, height, shape, and fill. Players alternate placing pieces on the grid with the goal of placing four in a row that share one of the four attributes. The twist is the piece a player will place is chosen by their opponent.

Abalone

In this game, each player has 14 marbles that they can move on a hexagonal board. marbles can be moved in lines of two or three and can push an opponents marbles provided the marbles in your line outnumber those of the opponent. The object is to push six of your opponents marbles off of the board.

The aMAZEing Labyrinth

The board is constructed of tiles depicting pathways, randomly placed to create a maze. Each player is given 6 cards with items on them that correspond to items on specific tiles making up the maze. Players take turns sliding the tiles in the maze to attempt to make a path for their piece to reach the item displayed on their current card. Because each player is working at creating a different path, what initially seems like a simple game quickly requires a fair amount of strategy.

Sleep well,

DTE

Insert Title Here–Dandy Warhols

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

The Dandy Warhols – This Machine

The Dandy Warhols’ 8th studio album comes out this Tuesday, the first all new album since 2008. What I most appreciate about this group is the fact that their sound is constantly evolving and changing from album to album, but it still maintains that same core, the essence that make it a Dandy’s song. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what they’ve created this time.

 Mass Effect – Homeworlds #1

Dark Horse’s Mass Effect series’ have always been strong, benefitting from being written by Mac Walters, the lead writers for the games. The latest series, Homeworlds, is a collection of single issue stories focusing on the lives of the crew of the Normandy before the Reapers invasion. If you’ve got any interest in the games, these are worth reading.

Sleep well,

DTE

Insert Title Here–Mission: Impossible and Harry Potter

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

The latest Mission: Impossible film hits Blu-ray this week. Pixar’s Brad Bird made his live action directorial debut with this film, and the result is very strong. Though I don’t agree with many of the critics who feel this is the best of the M:I films (for me that honour still goes to J.J. Abrams’ M:I-III) this is still well worth owning. Great action and an interesting enough plot, as well as some interesting, animation inspired directing.

Harry Potter eBooks

As I am in the tiny minority of people who have not yet read the Harry Potter books, this one will likely not be noteworthy to most people. However, if, like me, you have not yet gotten around to reading this series, today’s launch of the Pottermore website could be just the push you need. Registering for the site gets you access to all kinds of background information on the world of the books, games, a mini social network, and turns the books into an interactive experience, if that’s you thing. What’s primarily of interest to me, though, is that the books are finally available, exclusively at the site, as eBooks. After I missed the initial rush to read the series, a large part of my hesitation was that the physical editions were just so big and I didn’t have room on my shelf, but the eBooks solve that problem. (Note that to buy them from Canada, you’ll have to change the book language from English US to English UK, and that this setting is, confusingly, different from the setting for overall site language).

Sleep well,

DTE

If You’re Not, You Should Be–Podcasts 2

This series is designed as a way to call attention to things, practices, places, activities, or anything else you might not be aware of that I think are worth checking out. I try to cover as wide a variety of topics as I can.

This week is (again) all about podcasts. I listen to over twenty pods on a regular basis, mostly while I’m at work.

Hollywood Babble-On

This has quickly become one of my favourite pods. Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Red State) and Ralph Garman (KROC LA’s Kevin and Bean Show) deliver weekly news and commentary on all things related to the entertainment industry. Among the many recurring segments are “Shit that Should Not Be” (examining outrageous errors in films), “Geek News”, “Movies That Will Suck” (both exactly what they sound like), and, of course “How Big Is Liam Neeson’s Cock?” (go here to try to understand that one). It’s a great mix of humour and both general and obscure entertainment news.

Tell ‘Em, Steve Dave!

This one is a lot more difficult to describe. There’s really no central theme or recurring thought line. Really, it’s just a group of five guys who’ve been friends for years, most of them since they were kids. There’s Walt, the comicbook store manager, (Brian) Q, the fireman, Mike, the comicbook store employee, Ming, the web designer, and Bryan, who, well, I’m not really sure what it is he does.  Each week they get together and discuss whatever they feel like – news, politics, comics, movies, the flea market down the street, absolutely anything. After reading about the awards it had won, including being named one of iTunes Best of 2010, I decided to check it out. I was not initially a fan, its rough, patchy nature and unique rhythm were too different from what I was used to and I found it off-putting, but I stuck with it for a few episodes and soon grew to love it. This is also the podcast that spawned the AMC show Comic Book Men, so if you enjoyed that, you’ll likely enjoy this too.

Sleep well,

DTE

Insert Title Here–Cabin In The Woods and Dollhouse

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

Cabin In The Woods

Cabin in the Woods

The story of bringing Cabin in the Woods to the big screen is long and arduous. Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, and directed by Goddard, the horror screenplay was highly sought-after and quickly bought up by MGM. The film was shot and given a release date in 2010. MGM then decided to convert the film to 3D to attempt to make a little more at the box office, delaying it until 2011. Before the process was completed, however, MGM went bankrupt. This put the fate of the film in question. Now Lionsgate has purchased the release rights and is sending it to theatres this Friday. Though I’m not normally a horror fan, this film promises to turn the genre conventions on their head and that, combined with my love of the writers, is enough for me to check this one out. It’s currently sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it looks like the critics agree.

Dollhouse vol. 1 – Epitaphs

Set in the universe of the short lived Dollhouse TV series from Joss Whedon, this comic tells the story of the events between Epitaph 1 and Epitaph 2. Written by series writers Andrew Chambliss, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, and executive produced by Joss, it is definitely worth owning for any fan of the show.

Sleep well,

DTE

If You’re Not, You Should Be–Current Comics

This series is designed as a way to call attention to things, practices, places, activities, or anything else you might not be aware of that I think are worth checking out. I try to cover as wide a variety of topics as I can.
I’ve talked about collections of past comics, but this week I want to highlight some of the best of currently running comics. I’ve intentionally avoided any of the major “brand name” titles, instead focusing on some of the smaller, and usually more deserving, titles.

Saga


Brian K. Vaughn, writer of some of the greatest comics of recent memory, like Runaways, Y: The Last Man, and Ex Machina, this new series is shaping up to be his greatest. Set in an alternate universe, it combines the familiar tropes of both science fiction and fantasy into one fascinating whole. Only the first double-length issue has been released, so this is a great time to jump on board.

Morning Glories


Frequently referenced by comic writers as the best currently ongoing series, Morning Glories focuses on a group of students at an elite prep school. Very early on, however, the strange starts, with students disappearing and being put in life threatening situations, hints that they were all choosen for the school for some specific, nefarious purpose. As the series progresses, the conspiracy only deepens, but the characters here are what truly makes it stand out.

Fables


Bill WIllingham’s Fables is well known within the comics community, having won multiple Eisner awards, but it’s not a name most people qould recognize. It tells the story of all the characters of myth and fable living in present day New York, having had to flee their own universe to escape a mysterious “adversary”. The series combines political maneuvering, relationship drama, action, and humour flawlessly and is always worth reading.

Sleep well,

DTE

Insert Title Here–Comic-Con and Swamp Thing

Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.

Comic-Con Episode 4: A Fan’s Hope

Entering limited release this week in the new documentary from Morgan Spurlock. Focusing on the stories of four individuals, it looks to examine geek culture, who’s drawn to it, how it functions, and how it relates to society as a whole. Judging by the trailer, and with producers like geek royalty Joss Whedon and Stan Lee, this looks like a respectful take on the subject matter, hopefully avoiding the all-too-common media trap of subtly mocking the very group it intends to focus on.

Saga of the Swamp Thing

Being re-released in hardcover this Wednesday (though the link takes you to a previous edition) is the first volume of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run for DC Comics. Moore’s work on the title had a huge impact on the industry in the 1980s, helping to redefine what could be accomplished in a comic. He transformed a simple horror book into larger mythology capable of examining the big questions of life and society. This first volume is the perfect place to start if you’ve never read the series.

Sleep well,

DTE