The 2013 Dallas Comic Con has come and gone and it was an event to be remembered. There were some of the most memorable cosplay moments, like the Dr. Song to the left. If you read the costume list then you also saw the amazing Johnny 5 and the brilliant Dalek. There were a plethora of Starfleet officers, a baby Borg Queen, and many more. It was also packed with celebrity appearances and event panels from top to bottom. I’d like to have seen more exclusives and more availability in the exclusives (it was only 15$ for the Reverse Flash vinyl figure if you pre ordered but they were sold out well before the con and you could only get one third party for 45$, tsk tsk).

Brandon Routhe from Superman, William Shatner, and even Andrew McCarthy were scattered about the floors. I sat in on the Fringe panel and watched John Noble imitate a dance called “having sex with a tall woman”. It was a wild time.

Day one kicked off at 2PM and it was the lightest of the 3 day event. By the time me and the Fam arrived, shortly after the doors opened, there was still parking available in the garage. Byt this point the exclusive Reverse Flash figures were long since sold out and my face was all . I eventually recovered. Then after getting my wrist band from the press booth I made one more at the thought of having to wear a bracelet for three days (they did not issue new bands each day), and it was a little disappointing being on a band system anyways. I’m a firm believer in badges. But enough of the #sadface, it was off to see the wizard from that point on.

The costumes were great each day. The events were lighter on the first day, but I was shocked at the celebrity exposure, and even more shocked to realize that Andrew McCarthy from Pretty In Pink was at a comic convention (my wife couldn’t stop staring and Senior McCarthy was obviously creeped out). This was my first con were Brent Spiner and Levar Burton were in attendance.

I didn’t attend any panels the first day (the biggest event I wanted to see was the Fringe panel, Rachel wanted to see the TNG most of all). I guess technically I dropped in for a brief moment on Tommy the Green Rangers panel for a microsecond. Just long enough to hear him say that he doesn’t watch TV he only likes being on TV. Because that’s what patrons of the arts say, “I don’t support the idea of what I do I just like being noticed for doing it…”.

On the second day, SAturday, the crowd was through the freakin’ roof. wall-to-wall, and the cosplay contest brought out the crazies (by crazies I mean most awesome of people). I dawned my homemade Scarecrow costume and my boys sported blue and green Lantern costumes. And a good time was had by all. The Fringe Panel started at 12 and I got to hear Walter and Astrid banter in real life much like they do on the show. Apparently John Noble doesn’t know how mics work because he frequently looked away and spoke his answers during the Q&A to Jasika Nicole (Astrid) and out of earshot of all in attendance. But he was still obviously quirky and interesting and it was amazing to see the two in person. Especially so soon after wrapping up the series.

After Fringe, we sat in on Brandon Routhe’s lone panel where he talked about punching the highlights out Knives Chow’s hair and how much he liked Superman despite it’s lackluster reviews. It was a little frowny face to see him having to field all the Q’s with no one other than the mediator to absorb some of the crowd attention.

The second day costume contest brought out the impressive Dalek and the Johnny 5. There was a fun “Post Apocalyptic Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Penguin” who actually asked me in Scarecrow to join their group for the contest, which I declined. They won first place in the group contest.

On the third day Rachel sat in on the TNG panel and listened to Brent Spiner, Gates McFaden, and Levar Burton bag on Michael Dorn for his inability to remember his lines and joke about a Gates McFaden/ Will Wheaton cougar love interest on the Big Bang Theory. To the best of my knowledge this was the only panel that filled to capacity on the 4th floor’s Grand Ballroom which can house a freakin’ huge amount of peeps. The costume contest maxed out and then some the day before but TNG was probably ready to collapse the fourth floor all together.

By the end of day 3 it had been a long and tiresome journey from beginning to end. They had some great moments and an amazing gaggle of guests. Sure it could have used more displays and open to the public events. I would have liked to see a local artist painting a mural or sculpting a Picard out of butter somewhere in the center of the exhibition room. But it was still a solid con. I’ll def check it out next year. Until then, may all you geeking be live and all your nerding be wild.

#8: Tuxedo Mask!

What makes this costume great: Every girl who has watched Sailor Moon has fallen in love with Tuxedo Mask. And I have to admit, seeing the character brought to life made me a little weak in the knees.

#7: Cross-gender Avengers

What makes this costume great: Ok,  I did see a lot of Avengers. I even saw several female Lokis, female Thors, and female Captain Americas. However, not only does this group have the full Avengers assembly (from the movie), they also have a cross-gender Black Widow.

#6: Weeping Angel (appearing with Honorable Mentions: Rose Tyler and The Doctor)

What makes this costume great: Not only does she look great, but she had the whole character down. Here she is sneaking up on Rose and The Doctor (who look adorable).

#5: The Observer

What makes this costume great: This man was also constantly in character. I’m not entirely convinced that this was a costume. There may be a war coming…

#4: The Incredible Inflatable Hulk

What makes this costume great: The creativity! Not to mention the commitment and patience it took to walk around a crowded convention in balloons all day.

#3: Pink Bobafett

What makes this costume great: She’s adorable!

#2: Dalek

What makes this costume great: There is a person inside that Dalek! I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t seen them remove the top to give the poor boy inside some Chick-fil-A.

#1: Johnny 5

What makes  this costume great: Just look at it, it’s amazing.

Remember that Simpsons episode where Bart and Lisa go to complain to a famous director/writer about ruining one of their favorite science fiction series? How they complained he had ruined their childhood? Well, that’s about how Whovians have felt this season.

Betrayed, unsatisfied, and disappointed. But like the fan in the clip below, we keep coming back for more. I know I did. While I don’t like the term, I have to admit that I was really close to hate-watching Doctor Who this series.

I had a long conversation today with a friend where we discussed our wonderment that Moffat could get so much so right with Sherlock, and yet make so many missteps with Doctor Who this season, many of which I discuss here.

But after watching tonight’s series 7 finale, “The Name of the Doctor”, I just have one thing to say-

Damn you, Moffat.

Because you did it again. You managed to tie the entire messy series up in a bright red bow. And this is why I keep watching. Because again and again, Moffat paints himself into a corner, he irritates fans, he riles up the fan base, and then he managed to write a story that rocks us all back on our heels.

With “The Name of the Doctor”, we journey to the fields of Trenzalore, where we know the Doctor must never go. We get to see his grave. Once again we get to see the wonderful Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax, some of my all time favorite reoccurring characters. And we learn what happens if the Doctor had never existed.

I have to tell you, that when I first watched the opening scene before the credits, when Clara says “I was made to save the Doctor” I rolled my eyes and thought, oh great, more Moffat and his God complex. But by the end of the episode I was sold.

River Song was what I latched onto in this episode. This episode takes place after River has died, and been placed in the Library. She exists as a sort of mental hologram throughout the entire episode, and by the end, we realize that part of the reason why she exists is because the Doctor carries her with him, always has, and I admit, I was teary eyed. There’s no way to tell in the Doctor Who universe whether or not characters are ever really gone (I’m still waiting for the reappearance of his daughter, Jenny). I for one would be sad to see River Song go, if she’s truly gone. In part, because I think she’s a phenomenal counter point to the Doctor, but also because getting rid of her feels a bit like unfinished business. As though Moffat seeks to get rid of any remnant of Amy and Rory, and so wrote her off. I hope we’ll see her again. But if not, if this was the last goodbye, it was a fitting one.

With complete simplicity, Madame Vastra conveys what the universe would be like without the Doctor, not just what would happen if he died, but what would happen if he never existed. Whole star systems would die. Strax reverts to the beast he was. Jenny dies. This is not a universe where the Doctor has erased his name and mention, this is truly a universe that would not survive without the Doctor. And it’s a dark place.

The answer to averting this horrible possibility ends up, of course, being the Impossible Girl. Dr. Simian (our boring, seemingly useless baddie from the Christmas episode) appears again, although this time he is the Great Intelligence, inhabiting the very creepy Whisper Men- shells that house him. When Dr. Simian enters the Doctor’s timestream, he is able to rewrite it, creating the dark universe Madame Vastra comments on. But our Impossible Girl realizes that if Dr. Simian can enter the timestream and fracture himself to cover every event in the Doctor’s life, then so can she, thus providing infinite possibilities to save the Doctor at every turn.

And she does. But the Doctor saves her right back. And the episode ends with the Doctor confronting himself within the timestream, the future self who our current Doctor accuses of betraying his name, of NOT acting like the Doctor. One can only assume that it is this Doctor that causes, or fights in, or leads, the bloody war on Trenzalore. He is revealed to be John Hurt, and the end credits introduce him as The Doctor.

So ends series 7.

Moffat stated that this episode would change Doctor Who forever. I’m not so sure about that. Yes, it’s interesting to foreshadow a future incarnation. Yes, everyone loves John Hurt. Yes, it’s intriguing that the Doctor turns dark, darker than we saw him in “A Good Man Goes to War”. But I don’t know if it changes everything. We’ll have to wait and see.

I did have some issues with this episode, as happy as I was to get some answers:

• Moffat still thinks he’s so clever. And, as I’ve written before, this trick he pulls of dragging things out until the end, and then wrapping it all up, gets old. It results in fan fatigue. I know a lot of Whovians who are still disappointed and saddened by Moffat’s tricks this season. He also tends to be very disparaging of these fans, and that’s just not cool. It’d be nice if he showed some respect, and he could easily do it by not assuming fans will stick around for his nonsense indefinitely.
• Dr. Simian is a boring plot device. Just like with the Christmas episode, he is a McGuffin- he’s here so he can model what Clara needs to do, he serves no purpose. There’s no other reason for him. And it’s sloppy storytelling.
• The Whisper Men were ALMOST cool. But they just weren’t around enough. They were rushed, and like Dr. Simian, were a very in-your-face plot device.
• I understand that they were pulling from 50 years of footage, but was there really no better (read, not cheesy and visually yucky) way to integrate Clara into the footage of the other Doctors? I mean, Forrest Gump can be seamlessly shown with JFK but we can’t put Clara into old tv footage?

So, don’t get me wrong, I liked tonight’s finale. And I anxiously await the 50th anniversary. But unfortunately, people like me are what allow Moffat to keep doing this. Because we love Doctor Who, we keep watching (and ranting). Because we don’t want it to go away. We want it to be as great as it can be. And we’ve seen it.   But I fear, that as long as Moffat retains control, we’ll continue to be stuck in this time loop- so so seasons, with some bright spots, but overall uneven, and then one all-too-clever finale that is just a little bit TOO tidy.

But like I said, I’ll keep watching. And hoping that if the Doctor can survive 50 years, and cancellations, and horrible tv movies, he can survive life under Moffat.

Since Star Trek Into Darkness premiered last week in the UK, it’s been really hard to a) avoid spoilers and b) avoid the vitriol that purist fanboys have been spewing all over the Internet.

The biggest complaint I’ve seen over and over again in reviews of the last week is that despite Abrams set a new precedent with the first movie- by resetting the timeline, that opened the avenue for a whole new set of stories he chose in the sequel to revisit old storylines. But here’s what the fanboys are forgetting, resetting the timeline did not place Star Trek in a different universe. These are still the same characters, the same forces are at work, and the same bad guys are just lurking out there in the dark of space.

As a fan, you can either a) accept that some of the same character and incidents are going to occur or b) kvetch about how it’s a rip off. You can’t be a purist who acknowledges Abrams made a right move with resetting the timeline, and then complain with what he does with it.

Acknowledging the fact that this is still the Star Trek universe, and having a story that accepts these facts does not in any way make the story old or tired. Yes,  Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof revisited some old favorites, but they put their own twist on them, in fact, this movie does some fantastic parallels to older stories and characters. There are some great bits tossed in, that only true fans will get, and the story as a whole is deeper if you’re a fan, and know what the other timeline offered.

Chris Pine, as James T. Kirk, is allowed to play the character in a way that I argue would not have been possible in the old timeline. He grows up. That’s not to say that he’s not still fun and funny to watch. But as Admiral Pike tells Kirk, “You think the rules don’t apply to you. There’s greatness in you, but there’s not an ounce of humility. You think that you can’t make mistakes, but there’s going to come a moment when you realize you’re wrong about that, and you’re going to get yourself and everyone under your command killed.” And this has always been my problem with Kirk- he’s not necessarily smart, or brave, but he is lucky. It’s dumb luck more than anything else that sees him through. But the direction of this story, and Pine’s portrayal lets us see what Kirk would be if he learned from his mistakes, if he grew from them. And it’s a wonderful thing to watch.

I’ve been a die hard Spock fan since I was a wee one, and I would have sworn that no one could replace Leonard Nimoy, but as Sheldon recently said:

Leonard: Sometimes change is good. You were worried about Zachary Quinto being the new Spock, but you ended up liking him.

Sheldon: Leonard, please, every time the topic of change comes up you throw Zachary Quinto in my face. I’m upset the mailman has a new haircut — Zachary Quinto. I’m upset daylight savings time started — Zachary Quinto. I’m upset daylight savings time ended — Zachary Quinto. I’m saying this for the last time. Zachary Quinto was a weird, wonderful, unrepeatable event, so stop using him against me.

Zachary Quinto again shines as Spock. He is again given a chance in the second movie to stand on his own, and Quinto does an amazing job of playing a conflicted Spock. His friendship with Kirk is both amusing to watch, and wonderful. A big reason why this works is the whip fast dialogue scenes between them, and the power of a single look from Quinto. There’s one particular scene that had me tearing up, as much as the scene it pays homage to did originally.

I found Benedict Cumberbatch to be riveting. I think that because I’m already a fan of his, I immediately wanted to empathize with him, and he makes you want to believe him. You buy his side of the story, and I found myself sold on him…right up until the moment when he goes bat-poo crazy. Although I love him in Sherlock, it’s great to see Cumberbatch in something physical. He sells the super humanness of his character, and it’s phenomenal to watch.

Simon Pegg is again over-the-top as Scotty. Karl Urban toned down some of Bones’ personality, but still plays it well and Zoe Saldana as Uhura is again, a wonderful counterpoint to Spock. You see less of the rest of the crew in this film, because the heart of this film is the relationship between Kirk and Spock, but they are still fun to watch.

The movie clocks in at two and a half hours, and it flies. From the first action scene, to the last moment, there is not a single slow scene, misstep, or miscue. As far as I’m concerned, Star Trek Into Darkness knocks it out of the park. I was tempted to walk out, buy another ticket, and sit through it all again right away.

So fanboys, let it go. Enjoy the fact that in an age where good science fiction is disappearing from our screens, and getting canceled left and right, here’s a fan favorite that’s been resurrected from the obscurity it had fallen into to.

Trust me.

When Arrow premiered this year, I wanted to be optimistic, but I had my doubts, which I shared here. But something happened over Arrow’s mid-season break- they fixed the problems that had kept the show from being great.

• Gone were the gratuitous shots of Stephen Amell’s abs (as nice as they are)

• While Laurel’s role is still small (I’m still waiting for Black Canary) the fans were rewarded with an increased role for Felicity, that along with Diggle, served to balance Queen’s character.

• The Huntress arc made only a brief appearance, it was quickly squashed/resolved

• When they stopped having Oliver Queen mope all the time, Amell grew as an actor, and Oliver Queen grew as a character

I have no idea if the creative team paid attention to the criticisms of fans or whether they came to these decisions on their own, but the second half of the season not only corrected the mistakes and missteps of the beginning of the season, but they turned the lead character, and the show, into something we cared about.

They made me love the show.

Many fans commented that last week’s episode “Darkness on the Edge of Town” felt like a season finale- including leaving our title hero in jeopardy. But again, the Arrow creative team raised the bar- last night’s finale was bigger, both in story and scope, than we normally see in a television season finale. The threats were real, everyone was in jeopardy, and the stakes were high. Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, who are credited with the teleplay, did a wonderful job of cramming a lot of story into the episode, without it feeling like a Hail Mary. The potentially interesting, but never quite there, Tommy Merlyn is killed off, but in a way that served to continue the tension between Laurel and Oliver in future seasons. John Barrowman was given some great scenes to scare the crap out of us, but is also killed off, leaving room for a new Big Bad with season 2 (marking a smart move, as fans can quickly tire of a Baddie who overstays their welcome). The wonderful (and underused) Paul Blackthorne, as Detective Lance, was also given some great scenes that opened the way for him to be useful, and interesting, in season 2 instead of just a flat antagonist.They also shuffled the ever increasingly whiny Moira Queen off into the hands of the police, and hopefully her part will be smaller in Season 2.

The loss of Tommy and (hopefully) the exit of Moira serve to address the biggest issue I, and many fans, had with this incarnation of the Green Arrow- Oliver Queen is partially driven because he has no one. He is alone. Because he has been orphaned at a young age, he has been shaped by this into what he becomes. On the show, the creators have had his experiences on the island serve instead as this motivating factor. And in many ways they’ve succeeded, but I think by weeding out these support characters, they come closer to whom Oliver Queen is, while also allowing him sidekicks to retain his humanity. The title, “Sacrifice” is apt- the people closest to Oliver sacrifice themselves for the cause, as the innocent (at least of this) people of the Glades are also sacrificed on the altar of Merlyn’s revenge.

There are still some issues that I hope the creative team resolves in season 2:

• Oliver Queen is THE GREEN ARROW. Please stop calling him “The Hood”.

• Please allow Laurel to become a real character. There have been glimpses of her growth this season, but it seems that for every episode where she’s allowed to hold her own, the next episode features her as some insipid damsel in distress. Bonus points if you actually allow her to be the Black Canary- think of the great scenes could you write if both Oliver and Laurel had to keep their secrets from each other!

• Also, while the second half of the season built up Diggle and Felicity, we want more- allow them to develop, let us see them more on their own, and use them to shore up the entire Arrow team.

• Feel free to kill of Thea. She’s annoying. And useless.
• But feel free to keep Roy. And have him turn out to be Speedy. You can even make him taking that name be a memorial to the dead (and soon forgotten) Thea.

For now, the creative team, and the actors involved should be proud of the work they’ve done in season 1. They took a show that was just okay, and made it something that fans can love, and I for one, will be counting the days until season 2.

The first short story in the book, “No Way Out,” also follows Rusty’s exit from the gang. Only, this time the story has a very different ending. My personal favorite of the three short stories is “No Game for Children” which tells the story of a meek professor who has to deal with being terrorized by his teenage punk of a neighbor. The final short story, “Stand Still and Die!” is about a cab driver who learns that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help a man who is being beaten to death by a group of teenage thugs.

Ellison’s writing is dark, gritty, extremely violent, and beautifully poetic in a way that you don’t find in writing today. Ellison is truly a master storyteller and his use of metaphor rivals that Percy Bysshe Shelley. As someone who knows nothing about street gangs or New York in the 1950s (other than what I have seen in movies), I found the stories to be absolutely captivating. I also found myself falling in love with the slang used by the teenage heathens in these stories. Inside my head, I will from now on refer to girls as “debs.” I highly recommend that you go out and buy this book. Or, better yet, just click here.

Rating: 5 out of 5 juvenile delinquents

Leave me a comment telling me what you think of Harlan Ellison or talk to me on twitter @ScifiSapphire

Justin Bieber or “The Beeb” as the Celts call him, made an appearance on the Simpsons this weekend. Apparently this sentence is longer than anything “The Beeb” was willing to offer up for his fans but if you’re that big a fan or a Celt you may want to check your dvr files or look to the ol’ long forgotten internets for that brief “appearance”. I haven’t seen it yet but if the Celts are any judge of what is decent in the world than I’m sure we are in for a treat.

If your a Metal fan than you’d be sad to hear that SLAYERS Jeff Hanneman dies this week of what appears to be alcohol related liver scarring. This means like Dime Bag Darryl from Pantera and your hopes for hearing “Walk” played live, your chances for hearing a “Angel of Death” blasted at you drenched in sweat and bouncing against strangers in the hardest pit you’ve ever experienced, those chances too are now extinct. RIP Jeff.

If you hadn’t noticed that Iron Man 3 is the hot ticket right now then you’ve had your head in a hole. While the Great Gatsby has made an impressive show for it’s opening weekend, despite the fact that it is based around a book that showcases awful people existing in an awful state of existence and thinking that there is something special about them. Iron Man in it’s second week still beat Gats into the ground, which proves once again that fictional science always beats aristocrat. That’s what my mom used to say.

On that note, happy Mothers Day to all and to all a goodnight.

Keep your eyes open during the following weeks we have a lot coming up with the Star Trek movie next week, series finales, and I’ll be covering the Dallas Comicon so the world will continue to spin and the geek shall continue to churn. As always if you have any comments leave them at the door or in the comments section below or message me directly @werewolforigin on twitter. A Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

That’s right, as if you didn’t know already, but today is both Star Wars Day and Free Comic Book Day. They only line up once ever 600 years and today will be the only one in your lifetime so enjoy (none of that’s true). The great Maggie Thatcher once said, “May the 4th be with you…” because she was an avid Star Wars fan and she only quoted A New Hope as her only way of communication in later years (also not true), and hence forth today has been known as Star Wars Day. Not to be confused with International Geek Pride Day on May 25th. Sure Cali (not to be confused with the God Khali) said that the 25th shall be known as Star Wars Day, but no one other than Callians seem to be riding that train to no where. We don’t need to combine to geek holidays into one. Today is Star Wars Day!

We stopped at a myriad of venues today. Not to scam all the comics we could (no need, there are four of us). Really, it was just to check out what each place had to offer and partake in a little bit of  it all. These are new comic shops to us since we are new to the DFW area. Sure we’ve already scouted our favorites and we have a pull list at our local shop, but you should always have a back up plan (what if God strikes your shop down with a tornado or locusts? What will you do then?). We had a gay-old-time with our plethora of comic day shops.

We saw Darth Vader, face painter, and street musicians. We even met Peter Mayhew (not to be confused with Peter Dinklage) and the boys entered a costume contest. It wasn’t the perfect Saturday because that involves a lot more sleeping, but it was good. By far the best Free Comic Book Day or Star Wars Day I’ve had.

The lines were long at some. We hit up our local shop Boomerang, Zeus Comics in Dallas, and Titan Comics also in Dallas. The Lewisville shop is in the middle of transitioning to a bigger building so they were packed. But “mi amore” has been picking up all of our comics since the move and this was my first experience with them. I was impressed with their collection of graphic novels, which are honestly my favorite form of reading comics. I feel comics are as valid or more valid a medium of story telling to any other, but the disconnect is with the delay in story sagas told through multiple issues over months or years. Graphic Novels much like the prophet (or 90′s hip hop artist) Vanilla Ice say “…if you gotta problem, YO I’ll solve it”.

 At Zeus Comics in Dallas we met the great Peter Mayhew. I saw Mayhew at Celebration V a few years ago and there was a troop of guys around him preventing any pictures from being taken as he moved through the general area with all of the “less than worthies”. He signed stuff and took pictures at the signing booth along with Mark Hamill, Ray Park, and Carrie Fisher but if memory serves correct it cost a shiny mint coin to have a photo taken. It was an even shinier mint coin to get an autograph (I can’t even imagine how much the guys who had the autographs tattooed in ended up paying). At Zeus though they lines were short and the Mayhew wasn’t cornering every piece of available space. We were able to get right in and snap this nifty shot to the right (the guy in the upper right is making a weird face).

The whole event was fun. Now all I need to do is continue to read, watch, and play Star Wars games, movies, and books for the day to make a lot of since. I’ve already burned through a few of the free comic books handed out. The Steam Punk OZ book put out by Arcana has been the highlight so far. But I’m definitely looking forward to the Avatar book and the Mousegaurd stuff. I grabbed a free Mousegaurd a few years ago and it has been a good series over all but the art alone is worth coming back to. There’s a Guardians of the Galaxy Book with Thanos face breaking through a prism of scenes that looks interesting. I have high hopes for this years pull. No matter which way you slice it, it has been a grand holiday. CAn’t wait until next years.

As always feel free to comment below or contact me directly @werewolforigin via twitter. Other wise, May the 4th be with you.

Many people are going to complain about Iron Man 3. The torrent has already begun on social media. “There’s no plot”, “It’s not a comic book movie”, “They’ve ruined it”. Perhaps some of this hatred or disappointment has to do with the fact that this is the third in the series, and thirds often have a difficult road to hoe in movies. There’s a potential for greatness, but third movies also tend to deal with darker, deeper issues that often turn off a fan base. Based on what has been appearing in my Facebook and Twitter feed, this seems to be the biggest complaint.

And they’re wrong.

One of the great things about superheroes is that they appear, through eighty year runs and constant reboots, to live in stasis. There is often little character growth, and we rarely see a character changed by the events they experience. After all, if a character is a hit, and popular, why would you change that formula? But this stasis is also one of the drawbacks of superheroes. As a fan, we want to see that our favorite characters can be affected by events, changed, in fact, we like to see a little of the human in the superhuman- something we can relate to.

Iron Man 3 is not a comic book movie, in that, the critics are correct. Instead, it is a character movie. That’s not to say that there aren’t amazing effects, great comic book action scenes, or clever nods to the comic itself. There is all that and more. But at its heart, this movie is about Tony Stark and Iron Man. It’s about what happens when a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, genius is faced with something he cannot understand, and therefore, cannot overcome. It’s about where the line blurs between man, and alter ego. Who is the hero? And what happens when what makes you a hero is taken away?

In The Avengers, Captain America accuses Stark of just being the suit, that without the suit he is nothing. And in some ways, he’s correct. Without the suit, without becoming Iron Man, Tony Stark is the very amusing, but not very interesting, man we meet at the beginning of Iron Man in the casino. He’s entertaining to watch, but there’s no substance. This fact is emphasized in The Avengers, when Stark is put up against the other members of the team.

So Iron Man 3 is the perfect continuation of Tony Stark’s story. The audience finds Stark suffering from panic attacks, a physical response to his inability to cope with not knowing or understanding the end events of The Avengers. He seems haunted by his brief time in the worm hole, and unable to find his balance. He compensates by pushing Pepper Potts away, instead spending his time obsessed with creating more, and varied suits. But from the beginning, there is something off with Stark’s creations, as they don’t seem so much an end goal, or product, but as a physical manifestation of how lost he is.

Enter the Mandarin- a global terrorist who is blowing up U.S targets. Now, a common complaint is that S.H.I.E.L.D would have stepped in, and therefore their absence is a plot hole. But again, they would be wrong. S.H.I.E.L.D is designed to deal with the things that are bigger than the day to day, the extraordinary, and unfortunately, in our modern world, a terrorist that targets the United States is not extraordinary, but has become the every day, the ordinary. While I think it’s a sad, but true statement, it’s a lovely piece of storytelling.

It also is a great set up, and use of, War Machine aka Iron Patriot. Cheadle, with a bigger role this time out, reinforces the idea that there are some issues that the United States has to deal with on their own, and don’t involve Iron Man. It’s also a great set up, given governments’ trepidation of the Avengers given at the end of that movie. It was nice to see Cheadle get some more screen time, and appear as his own character instead of just a side note to Iron Man.

Reflecting the different direction of the story, is the different style of this film. Shane Black brings his unique flare to the movie, and it pays off. It would have been very easy for a character driven story to fall flat on delivering the action part of the movie, however, Black doesn’t let that happen. Whether it’s  smaller, personal fight or the epic, climactic battle, Black balances it all with the storytelling.

The only issue I had with Black’s management was the retro closing credits- they seemed more an homage to Black’s career, which includes the Lethal Weapon films and The Last Boy Scout than the Iron Man franchise.

Critics have poo-pooed the portrayal of the Mandarin, but, without spoiling, I thought it was a neat trick. In this new world, where nothing is what we thought it was, and there seems to be little to ground us, the portrayal of the Mandarin is something I buy. And, given the character’s portrayal in the comics, there was no way the movie could have gotten it completely right, so I enjoyed the nod.

So we have Stark, off balance, and on his own. And this is our story- exactly what he does when the chips are down and he is all alone. And what he does is blow us away.

People have complained of the parallels to Stark’s condition and PTSD. That it’s too dark, that Stark wouldn’t be bothered by the events of The Avengers. In short, their complaints have focused on the fact that Stark develops in this movie. He grows, he changes. They’ve complained that this movie makes Stark vulnerable and human, and somehow less Iron Man. I argue instead that it’s ONLY at the end of this movie that Tony Stark truly becomes Iron Man. He’s not just playing a part, or hiding in a suit (Iron Man, or Armani), he’s truly Iron Man.

Other complaints have focused on the thin(ish) plot of Extremis. And I would direct them to look up McGuffin. Is that part of the plot thin? Yes. Does it matter? No. Because with a McGuffin, it doesn’t really matter what gets you there. The point is HOW you get there. This movie is about HOW Tony Stark gets to where he’s going.

Without giving away spoilers- Stark proves to us that he’s smart even without millions of dollars worth of toys. He spends most of the movie without anything other than himself. Are some of his impromptu gadgets cheesy? Yes. Did I still love them? Absolutely. It’s not just his MacGyver attitude either, Robert Downey Jr. plays Stark with a grace and prowess in this movie that we’ve never seen in any of the three other movies- he’s been hidden by the suit. But here, you see action scenes that include Stark being physical, and comparisons are easily made to Downey’s performances in Sherlock Holmes and Chaplin. Audiences may have forgotten what a great physical actor Downey is, but his scenes here are a great reminder.

In the end, Stark no only proves who he is out of the suit, but made me anxious and excited to see where they take the character next, because the field is wide open now. And there’s no stopping Iron Man.

Postscript: And as always, show your support for all the folks who worked on the film by staying through the credits. There’s a neat scene at the end. Reinforcing the whole point of the movie- exactly who is Tony Stark without the suit?

Our trip down memory lane is nearly complete.  Yet, there is one more relic of internet days gone by for us to relish.  It’s an important relic.  An innovative relic.  And yet a relic nonetheless.  For its brief period of time it symbolized the internet as a whole and is partially responsible for one of the most famous internet-themed court cases of all time.  Have my fellow geeks out there figured out what number one will be?  Well let’s not keep anyone waiting any longer.  My number one relic of the internet is…..

There you have it folks!  My top eight relics of internet days past.  I hope you all enjoyed our trek down memory lane.  Were there any items you feel should have made the list?  Were there any on the list you feel should NOT have??  Let me know in the comments section below or drop me a line.  You can follow me on Twitter @SeanMLScott or email me at seanscott@8daysageek.com.  Until next time, Allons-y!!

If you were already a Supernatural fan then this book is maybe a must own. I guess it depends on your commitment. There are several other season Companion Guides, as well as a magazine. The Carver Edlund books from the series portray a huge sub culture following and alludes to the idea of a Sam vs Dean fan base’ similar to Edward vs Jacob in other series. So maybe if you fall into that sub group then this IS a must own. Otherwise, maybe you don’t like the season that much, or maybe if you just like the series and a little extra is… fun. I, personally, already owned John Winchester’s Journal and a Supernatural expanded universe story.

Since the end of season five the series has been dancing around it’s next big thing. I like where they decided to go with the word of God and Kevin Tran toward the end of the season and I like Castiel as the new God, but at this point I had no clue where they’d go next. Castiel may have made a great villain and Misha Collins may be the best actor on the series, but the Apocalypse is over so what next? Well… it seemed a villainous Castiel was the next thing, until it was revealed that God’s little helpers the Leviathan were to be our next bout with evil.

The Levi’s were a rough sell for me. At least at first. It wasn’t until they opened up flapping Canadian heads during every episode that I developed a mild liking. The guide really promotes Dick Roman, and while the back story is definitely interesting,  I suspected that Dick couldn’t be around forever. Leviathan just aren’t quite comparable to the King of Hell. But Dick Roman was acted brilliantly (James Patrick Stuart plays the ever smiling Dick Roman), as is stressed in the guide.

S7 had some good moments and some bad. Misha Colins was absent for a large portion of the season and of course the character portrayed by Jim Beaver’s said his final goodbyes (as if that means anything in a show like this). We had some brilliant cameos as seen to my left here with Charisma Carpenter and James Marsden who probably haven’t been on camera together since Buffy. Felicia Day is introduced and has since become a recurring character. While all of that is fun fun fun until you fatherish figure takes your current automobile away, what I took away from the Companion Guide the most was the behind the scenes tidbits.

In the pages of the guide we learn that S.E. Hinton, author of the Outsiders (the movie was filmed in my home town cameos in the diner scene where Levi Sam and Levi Dean hold the place up. We learn (or suspect… Mark Shepherd is such a card) that Jared Padalecki would randomly pick up the ”King of the Crossroads” and shake him playfully off camera. Maybe that’s why Shepherd calls Padalecki “moose” so much on camera? We learn that the stretchy skin that is the Leviathan bursting out of Castiel was not done with CG, but actually a fake fleshy torso and the black gloved hands of people standing behind him. The extras and fond memories shared by cast and crew really made this book fun. I’ve rewatched some S7 since, and I might not have otherwise. The book made the season better somehow. I’d give it 3.5 Leviathan heads out of 5. Fine holiday fun.

If you’re interested in Sam and Dean and the brilliant people who make the show, and you’d like to learn more about them try going here and pick up a copy of the Season 7 Supernatural Companion Guide.

Every time 8daysageek.com goes to a convention we like to summarize what we thought were the best costumes of the trip.  These costumes are not necessarily the most accurate or the most perfect; they are instead the most creative, innovative, and “hey cool!” inspiring costumes.

Honorable Mention – This is a little kid who can lay down and turn into a truck, what’s not to like.

See the kid transform here!

#8 – Great Costume, very well put together

#7 – Who doesn’t like Bluntman

#6 – This picture is for the baby doctor in the TARDIS Stroller.

#5 – A spot on Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite

#4 – I was hoping I would see a set of these (The Luteces from Bioshock Infinite)

#3 – Just great costumes and I love River’s prop

#2 – While I do have gripes about The Walking Dead this is an amazing Rick

#1 – A handmade TARDIS costume that isn’t a big blue box. Brilliant.

Every year 8daysageek.com tries to make it to one of the biggest pop culture events in Chicago, C2E2, and this year was no different. Between the fan communities, the nomad travelers that make a pilgrimage to Chicago every year, and the local fans and businesses that setup at the convention there is no shortage of fandom and interesting people to meet. Here is a day by day recap of the convention with just a few of my own experiences thrown in.

Day 1 – The Trip

I live in the St. Louis, MO area so my first plan was to take a train to Chicago and not have a car to deal with, however, due to an email mixup (not my fault) I was sent to the wrong station and missed said train. I’m no stranger to road trips so my wife and I decided to drive instead. After arriving at the hotel about 6 hours later we checked in and were on our way. By the way, I stayed at the Courtyard Marriot and I have to say that this is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at. The staff is unbelievably friendly and the room setup is amazing (the bed faces the window so you get a view in the morning).

Once we got to the con everything was pretty normal, I made my way to the press registration and headed inside to the show floor. Friday is the slowest day of the con so I do most of my looking about then; this is also the day to get autographs if you can because even Ron Perlman and Felicia Day’s lines had very few people in them. Here are a few photos from day one:

Day 2 – The Horde

Saturday is the day when everyone moves through the show floor like a half decaying mob of undead on their way to a sleepy town full of food… err, people. This day of the con is busy; no I mean BUSY, and so most of my photos and coverage happen on this day more than any other. The day started with a quick look at the exhibits that weren’t setup the day before and a survey of the costuming land.

As always Saturday is a lot of me saying, “can I get a picture”, “would you mind I I took your photo”, “thanks”, “looks great”, and you probably get the point. It’s easier to recognize the lens on my camera than it is my face because you’ll probably see the lens more.

Day 3 – winding down

Since I do have a 6 hour adventure home I don’t stay as late on Sunday as the other days. Sunday is family day at C2E2 and as such there are a lot of great families dressed up and the kids love getting a picture with their favorite heroes. All of the costumes are great to the kids and people wanting pictures. Thank you to all of the people who stopped for a photo this weekend.

If you saw your picture give us a shout out in the comments. We would love to hear what you thought about the show. You can also shout out on twitter, I’m @penofdoom.

Checkout our Top 8 Costumes and see if you’re on the list.

Resonance is about the Earth’s poles shifting. The book follows a geologist, a biologist, and two medical doctors who are brought together because they have all noticed that something strange is happening. People are contracting and dying from a strange illness and frogs in certain spots have six legs. The complaint I have given time and time again about Scudiere’s books is her absolute lack of character development. This book is no different. Instead of being able to infer character traits, you are repeatedly told each character’s traits. The character Dr. Brookwood, for example, is extremely intelligent. Did I learn this by her constant display of intelligence? No. I learned it from her colleague, Dr. Abellard saying it every fourth page.  

This book starts out alright. I was curious to see what was going to happen once the poles shifted. However, another problem of Scudiere’s I have come to notice is that even when she comes up with a good idea for a story, she doesn’t tell the story well. This book really starts to fall apart over halfway through. One thing is happening to some people and a different thing is happening to the rest of the people. They can’t figure out what could be causing the two different outcomes. Gender? Ethnicity? Geographical location? No correlation exists with any of those characteristics. Then, Dr. Brookwood (the really intelligent one) gives the dumbest theory possible. And instead of the other doctors telling her to get outta town, they say, “By George, I think she’s got it!” Or something to that effect. The ending to this book drags out about 100 pages too long. I was so bored with it that I was hard-pressed to retain anything I was reading. But, it doesn’t even matter because it turns out that they don’t even need to know why there are two outcomes. Nothing becomes of it. I think maybe Scudiere is paid by the word? The only thing I liked about the end of this book is that unlike Scudiere’s other books, this one does not end like a fairy tale with all forgiven and forgotten and everyone living happily ever after.

As with the rest of Scudiere’s books, I would not recommend this one, but if you feel so compelled to purchase it you can do so here.

You can also check out my reviews of Scudiere’s other books: Phoenix, God’s Eye, and Vengeance

Rating: 2 out of 5 mutated frogs

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a book burning to get to.

If you disagree with my review leave me a comment or yell at me on twitter @ScifiSapphire

In a rare event Pokémon enthusiast, Terry, captures the impossible with his antics (he must have used a Master Ball). With Prom season approaching a student in an Ash Catcher costume from the series Pokémon shows his courage and presents a Pokeball to a girl and asks her to prom in front of half the school. I might have left the poem out, and maybe the costume at home… honestly I might expect attempting actually capture her with a real Pokeball to have worked better. But what do I know, she seems to have said YES.

Saturn, the sexiest of our solar systems planets, was in the best position for viewing last night and early this morning. If you were lucky enough to catch it kudos, it has been six years since it was so clear and present in our night’s sky. The rings were tilted toward the earth hiding any shadows they would have otherwise cast and it was in perfect position between the Earth and the Sun approx. 9:30 last night and into the wee morning hours. The Transit of Venus was just a few months back and we had an eclipse just weeks before, so if you’re a celestial junkie I’d keep my ear to the ground, my eyes to the sky, and left foot red because apparently the Milky Way is a hot spot of activity this year.

In a small touch of real news (tied in through comics) Gov. Rick Perry has expressed his disapproval of a recent comic released by Sacramento Bee artist’ Jack Ohman. The cartoon depicts The Gov. (my new Gov. I might add as recent addition to the Texas population) boasting that Texas is “…Booming” followed by an explosion which ties in to the recent fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, TX. The plant hadn’t been inspected since 2006 and lax zoning laws in Texas allow for many residential areas to be built near businesses that would otherwise be prohibited for safety reasons. Gov. Perry expressed his opinion of the comics poor taste, while Ohman states that it’s his “…job to create provocative work”.

Next month is the kick off for a lot of things. I know I’m excited about covering the Dallas Comic Con the weekend of the 17th (which is the same weekend we get to see Benedict Cumberbatch do his best Ricardo Montalban impersonation, personally I hope he decides to go a more Fantasy Island approach and less Star Trek). But Renaissance Fairs are popping up like dandelions. The Scarborough Fair is just 45 minutes from the DFW area which has me conflicted because I’ve gone to the Castle of Muskogee every year for ten years now. I would definitely say “… nothing’s fine I’m torn” to quote the immortal Natalie Imbruglia. Either way, don’t miss out on the closest event near you. Be it C2E2, a Con, or a Ren Fair. The time is now.

Well, it’s been fun. As always feel free to comment below. Suggest any geeky news happening near you, or contact me directly via twitter @werewolforigin. Also don’t miss Hemlock Grove on Netflix for all you horror fans. It’s decent. One of the oddest werewolf transitions I’ve seen. And catch the Pilots released on Amazon Prime last week and vote for the best online so maybe we can help control some of the crap that encompasses our world. That’s all. The End.

Here we are at number one!  Do you have any idea what it is going to be?  It was a tough decision not to give the number one slot to the previous entry.  Batman and Robin is one of the worst films ever made.  However, you may run acoss a person here and there who enjoyed the horribleness of it; maybe ironically so, maybe not.  But they are out there.  You will be hard pressed…and I’m convinced there are NONE….who would claim to have enjoyed the number one movie on this list.  So let’s get to it.  The number one worst superhero film is…..

There you have it folks; my list of the worst eight superhero films!  Were there any you think I left out?  Were there any you feel didn’t deserve to be on the list?   If so, I question your judgment of cinema, but I’d still like to hear your opinion!  Hit up the comments section below or you can email me at seanscott@8daysageek.com or follow me on Twitter @SeanMLScott.  Until next time, Allons-y!!

It’s been a mild mannered week as well. Second half of the season is already well on the way. Mad Men broke back onto the scene and though the show is still great IDK if it’s the Emmy fave it once was.  Iron Man 3 is the most anticipated movie on the horizon but Summer blockbusters aren’t in full swing yet. As we wade through the doldrums of this transitional period we just have to make do with what is left of the TV season and the lackluster Spring movie drops. The Evil Dead remake is only a few days away but even it isn’t out of the oven yet and ready for review.

With the rumors of Jay Leno making yet another soon to be departure from the Tonight Show Seth Meyer looks to be a shoe-in. This after the 2010 debacle which created a big hullabaloo around Team Coco (Conan O’Brien supporters against Jay’s return to the tonight show after only a few months of passing the reigns). Jay has announced yet again though that he plans to vacate the sought after time slot and title and while Jimmy Fallon had seemed one of the heavy contenders not so long ago, Meyers has recently burst forth as the front runner which is bad news for SNL. Jason Sadakis who was planning to leave SNL after this season may have reason to stay if Meyer takes the coveted spot.

If you’ve ever heard the Dane Cook “Kool-Aid-Man” bit, then you you know it’s hilarious to think of the giant pitcher of fruit beverage bursting through various homes shouting “Oh Yeah!”. The Kraft Food Corporation is changing the image of the smiling 2000 lb pitcher to a CG clothes wearing multi flavored beverage guy. I don’t know how I feel about it, but then again I guess I’m not the judge. Capt. Crunch switched from commercials about the “Soggies” when I was just a wee lad growing up in the Shire and I can’t say it was a bad idea. Sure I wish I still had those Soggy Minatures I got as prizes from the box from back when they gave prizes in the box, but it’s only for nostalgia purposes. Soggies are really a stupid idea for a commercial and wouldn’t entice me “make it happen” with the “CAp’N”. So good on ya Kraft Foods. You sell that product.

I Dl’d Labrynth Legends from Playstation Plus and it seems fun. Clara has been tolerable as the Doctor’s Companion lately, she’s not annoying at least… yet. Game Of Thrones is excellent and looks to only get better. The Joker recently sewed his face back on in Batman Comics. But until Ren Fairs kick in or I make it out the Dallas Comic Con it’s been a luke warm week. Next week we’ll at least have some movie news as the Summer season starts to roll in. But until then, see you next week. Same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

ComiXology and Marvel are pleased to announce the return of Marvel #1, a unique opportunity for fans to experience all of their favorite Marvel Super Heroes, and some new ones, by accessing over 700 #1 issues for free. These free comics can be read on the comiXology platform – available across iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, and Windows 8 at comiXology.com – and the Marvel Comics app (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch & Android devices) and online in the Marvel Digital Comics Shop, both powered by comiXology.

If you want a free comic (and you know you do!) go here before 11:59 pm on April 9th and sign up.

The characters are likable despite their lack of development or real personality. Through the whole book I couldn’t peg what kind of person Jason is. The book describes him as an “alpha” and points out on multiple occasions that he only dates dumb women with big boobs, but that is not the personality portrayed in the book. He seems very serious and quiet. I had difficulty understanding some of his actions in the book and I think that’s due to feeling like I don’t actually know him.

Scudiere did seem to do a lot of research as to how firehouses run. Granted, I know nothing of firehouses, but she says in the acknowledgements that she researched it and she definitely writes about it with great attention to detail. If you happen to be a firefighter, this book could be very interesting to you. You could compare the Southfield firehouse to your own firehouse. And if you are a firefighter, please let me know how realistic this book is. If you’re not a firefighter, I would recommend that you pass on this book. This book is alright. However, if you’re going to take the time to read a 397 page book, there are better ones.

You can get this book in audio form by going to audible.com. Or better yet, you can get a FREE audio book of your choosing by going here.

Now for my rating: I give Phoenix 2 1/2 brave firefighters out of 5

Feel free to leave me a comment telling me how you feel about the book or talk to me on twitter @ScifiSapphire

I know this is something like the third book I’ve reviewed involving the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, so I promise it is the last for a while.  With that said, I recently read Encounters of Sherlock Holmes, a compilation of short stories written by various authors putting their own spin on the classic hero.  Edited by George Mann and with an introduction written by him as well, this book is a great addition to any Sherlock Holmes collection.  Here is a brief synopsis of the book from the publisher’s website…

A brand-new collection of Sherlock Holmes stories from a variety of exciting voices in modern horror and steampunk, including James Lovegrove, Paul Magrs and Mark Hodder. Edited by respected anthologist George Mann, and including a story by Mann himself.

If you are anything like me, I know what you are thinking already!  The only word that stood out in that synopsis was steampunk, and the mere mention of the word made you wanna trip some earth-tone clad guy wearing goggles and scream, “where’s your dirigible now, buddy!?”  However, if you read my review of the steampunk stinker that was the Aylesford Skull some weeks ago, you’ll remember that I am fully on your side in this debate.  Although, I pointed out in that article that the genre that has come to be known as steampunk, in my opinion, was created long before the term was coined.  Authors such as Verne, Wells, Lovecraft, and of course Conan Doyle created a style of sculpting their fictional worlds that modern authors have expanded upon and given a name to.  With that in mind, who better to expand upon the world of Sherlock Holmes than the authors writing in the genre today that is the closest match for the style of writing those greats undertook so many years ago.  I would also like to point out that almost every author in this compilation has at one time or another written stories for the Doctor Who series.  That is like being entrusted with voicing TWO of England’s most beloved fictional characters of all time, Sherlock and the Doctor.

Being a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I thoroughly enjoyed almost every story in the collection.  There was one or two that I wasn’t the biggest fan of.  Doyle expressly made Sherlock a disbeliever in the supernatural.  Holmes was quick to debunk and criticize anyone convinced of such goings on.  Yet, many times nowadays authors rely on the supernatural as a crutch to deliver a good mystery for the detective to solve.   While not poorly written, or boring in any way, I personally find it to be lazy storytelling and expect a good complex mystery for the intrepid detective to solve, not an encounter with Frankenstein’s monster.  There were plenty of well thought out mysteries in this collection as well as guest appearances in the stories by the likes of H.G. Wells and even Mann’s own fictional investigators, Newbury and Hobbes.  It is evident that the authors of these stories are well versed in their Holmesian lore and do a fantastic job of continuing the adventures of Sherlock and his partner Watson.  I was particularly amused by the story written by David Barnett entitled Women’s Work.  He puts an amusing spin on the Sherlock Holmes mythos by having the duo’s ever-present landlady Mrs. Hudson being the actual driving force behind the solution to his mystery while Holmes languishes in a cocaine-induced stupor.  I highly recommend this collection to anyone who’s a fan of Doyle’s work or even just a fan of mysteries in general.  It is a fun read and the short-story format means that if you’re not particularly enjoying one of the narratives, in a few pages you’ll have a brand new mystery to hopefully enjoy.

Encounters of Sherlock Holmes was courtesy of Titan Books and can be purchased here.