Epona

Epona is a lifetime friend and a way into many restricted areas, not only is Epona an awesome mode transportation, but it makes archery way more fun. Plus everyone likes a horse.

Ganondorf

Easily one of the coolest villains ever in a videogame series, and one of the best fighters in Super Smash Bros. The meanest, toughest Ginger ever. People love to hate Ganondorf or Ganon, what ever.

Sheik/Zelda

Princesses in video games, they always get kidnapped and are kind of useless, except for Zelda, because when she’s in trouble as Zelda she poses as the super desert ninja Sheik, awesome.

Re dead

Medieval zombie slaying. Why hasn’t this gotten it’s own game? Left 4 Dead, Dead Island, Resident Evil, crap… How about Dungeons and Zombies, who wouldn’t play that! Kill zombies with swords and bows!

 Lamest
Like Like

Giant tubes that swallow you, these are stupid, in Link to the past they eat your damn shield. I hate these giant pig rectum bastards.

Armos the Bouncy Knight

This was clearly a lazy day in the development process, they’re statues of knights… that… bounce? Screw it, lets get Taco Bell.

Tingle

Of course this creepy old mapmaker with a balloon fetish makes this list. No one like this character, yet he shows up in more than one game. He usually tops the list, but there is one more annoying than this creepy cocaine raddled (look at that nose) elf man.

Navi

So Navi “HEY!” uh, is a annoyi.. “LISTEN TO ME!” …ugh. A fairy th..”HEY!” for the love of god SHUT UP NAVI!!! “LISTEN TO ME!” AGGHHH!!

Now I need a PS3. Sony, you’ve got me.

Moving on…

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (including Special Edition, Collector’s Edition, Signature Edition)

Release Date: 2/07 (PS3, PC, X360)

From IGN: An open-world action RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set in Amalur, a rich and deeply immersive world underpinned by 10,000 years history, created by 22 time New York Times bestselling author, R.A. Salvatore. Immersing players in a rich, living, breathing open-world dripping with magic and rife with danger, underpinned by strong storytelling, Reckoning lets players define their destiny as they engage in intense action combat while exploring the huge, vibrant and varied world of Amalur as envisioned by the visionary creator of Spawn and acclaimed artist, Todd McFarlane.

Designed by open-world RPG legend Ken Rolston, Reckoning offers players unparalleled choice in a world of infinite possibility. Together, the visionaries and development team behind Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are creating a game that aims to forever change the RPG genre.

Well, it has enough editions, eh? This looks like it’s going to be one hell of a game. (Yeah, had to go there.) There is a fair amount of buzz about this game floating around, and with big creative names behind it it has a lot of hype to live up to. Play it on any system you like, but I bet the PC version will get mods a lot faster than any other will.

• M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes
• Genre: First-Person RPG
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Big Huge Games

The Darkness II (including Limited Edition)

Release Date: 2/07 (PS3, PC, X360)

From IGN: The Darkness II takes players down a brutal and personal path as Jackie Estacado, wielder of The Darkness — an ancient and ruthless force of chaos and destruction. Based on the supernatural horror comic book series created by Top Cow Productions, Inc., The Darkness II breaks out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons. The game is layered with the use of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and engulfed in stylistic violence that is visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique that stays true to its comic book origins.

It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Franchetti crime family, used The Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. He’s been unable to shake the memory of Jenny’s death since bottling up his supernatural power, and now The Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for The Darkness to reemerge, and sets Jackie on a journey to hell and worse, as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of The Darkness itself.

The graphics alone make me want to play this, but let’s be brutally honest: It won’t be for a while. This is one of those games that I will look at for months, maybe even a year, before I pick it up because the story does not grab me–but the visuals do and eventually I succumb. It’s a multi-platform release and 2K Games has been backing some pretty solid releases for a while now, so you can trust this will be decent.

• Genre: First-Person Shooter
• Publisher: 2K Games
• Developer: Digital Extremes
• M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content

Fallout: New Vegas (Ultimate Edition)

Release Date: 02/07 (PC, X360, PS3)

It’s Bethesda’s traditional re-release to get all the DLC onto a solid medium. It includes: the original full game, Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners’ Arsenal.

If you haven’t played New Vegas yet this is the time to buy it. It’s a good dea, if you think of how much the original costs plus separate DLC prices. Or you can wait to buy this until the new guide comes out with all the DLC information in it.

• Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
• Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
• MSRP: $39.99 / $49.99
• M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations

Release Date: 02/07 (X360, PS3)

Fighting game. Naruto characters. Online and multiplayer capabilities. Now includes characters not in the previous games, like Haku, a character Naruto mistook as a girl at first. (Honest mistake, he’s pretty. I’m jealous. I like the way he’s drawn.) I almost didn’t want to include this because it’s what… the 30th Naruto game out there? But they’re fun, and people like them. Can’t say I dislike them too much.

• Genre: Fighting
• Publisher: Namco Bandai
• Developer: CyberConnect2
• RP-T+ for Rating Pending, Targeting a Rating of Teen or Above

Inversion

Release Date: 02/07 (PS3, X360)

From IGN: Set in the near future, the tranquil peace enjoyed by mankind shatters with an unforeseen invasion by an unknown enemy called the Lutadore. Armed to the teeth with futuristic gravity-controlling weapons, the Lutadore easily overrun the city’s defenses. Unbeknownst to all, mysterious anomalies have surfaced in conjunction with the invasion. Random regions in the city have entered zero gravity or have suffered vector changes, throwing the world into topsy-turvy chaos. Assuming the role of Davis Russel, a hotheaded 28-year-old cop, or Leo Delgado, Davis’ neighbor, players will embark on a journey through the disorienting war-ravaged, gravity twisted streets of their home town and beyond, to find Davis’ missing child.

Inversion is a third-person co-op shooter that combines hard-hitting, adrenaline-pumping action with a revolutionary gravity manipulation engine. Featuring the Grappler weapon, players will be able to manipulate gravity for their own purposes.

I’m up for any game that let’s me walk on walls and ceilings. I’m also up for any game that reminds me of Bulletstorm (this particular picture does). They are from completely different companies so the similarities probably stop there, but you’ll find out later whether or not I like this.

• Genre: Third-Person Shooter
• Publisher: Namco Bandai
• Developer: Saber Interactive
• Online Play: 16 Versus
• M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Theme

Shank 2

Release Date: 02/07 (PC, PS3. X360)

This is a sequel to a game I’ve never heard of! That’s not anything odd, though. It sounds like fun, since it includes chainsaws AND machetes! And shanks, I suppose (it would be disappointing if it did not). Shank, ex-mob hit man, has to defend those closest to him. Story is probably lacking, but I think this is created just to be violent. It’s 2D, like the original, and a hack and slash (with a little bit of shooting) bonanza.

• Genre: Action
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Klei Entertainment
• Online Play: 2 Co-op
• Local Play: 2 Co-op

Jake and Daxter Collection

Release Date: 02/07 (PS3)

Fully remastered in HD and stereoscopic 3D. Includes Jak and Daxter, Jak II, and Jak 3.

The stories aren’t anything new, but the graphics are updated and any fan of Naughty Dog really should have this in their collection, if you already own a PS3. Really. And if you feel like donating a PS3 to some poor soul (me) then contact that person (me) and that person (me) will of course buy their own copy of the game.

And maybe, just maybe, ND will work on a fourth in the story series if this is wildly successful.

• T for Teen: Comic Mischief, Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
• Genre: Platformer
• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
• Developer/Co-Developer: Naughty Dog Software / Mass Media

Error Code 8

Episode 4

Hosts:
Jesse Miller @penofdoom
Sam Briggs @themanateeman

- Google’s new privacy policy (LINK)
- Google music now allows downloads (LINK)
- Jailbreaking could be illegal again (LINK)
- FBI getting sued for megaupload (LINK)
- New Blackberry Superphone (LINK)
- webOS opensource roadmap (LINK)
- ACTA (LINK)(LINK)

Imagine a world where everyone has super powers.  A world where dogs don prosthetic, metallic suits to become more human, a world with hookers named “Immune Girl” and lawyers that are ACTUAL sharks.  For anyone who has ever read Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Watchmen) it should come as no surprise that Top 10 is set in a semi-surrealistic world.

Book one of Top 10 introduces readers to Precinct 10 in Neopolis, the mad dream city of former Nazi scientists brought to America to build and breed.  The side-effect of which is a metropolis riddled with powered, mad, destructive, monstrous beings.

Try to image the world of Transmetropolitan, with less politics and monkey brain flavored ice cream and just a bit more craziness (yes, I realize what I’m saying).

The issues of book one take place over the first three days of Robyn “Toy Box” Slinger’s life on the Precinct 10 team.  As the “new girl” she’s teamed with Jeff Smax: a blue, invulnerable, shoots-blasts-from-his-chest anti-hero.  He’s gruff, rude and dismissive.  He also has a secret.  Slinger is treated more like a link in the chain than the focal point of the team, but she is a major part of the force and plays a part in each issue.  It’s an interesting way to introduce a new (when they’re all new to the reader) character to a setting and then not force readers to focus on just that one person when all this other cool stuff is going on.

Much like a real police force Precinct 10 is dealing with myriad cases and investigations from homicides to narcotics, psycho-killers to mad scientists with an attack by a 100-foot tall drunk and puking monster thrown in for good measure.

To pick out a specific storyline to feature in this review would be a disservice to the book as a whole, but to pique your interest there are stories including: Ultra Mice and Atom Cats, an E.T. Pornstar going through a mid-life transformation into a vicious monster and a murder investigation (though no real investigation happens or is required) of a Norse God at a local tavern.

Top 10’s main cast of characters consists of five teams of two; Slinger and Smax I’ve mentioned.  Then there’s: King Peacock (devil worshipping good guy) and Synaesthesia (she sees music), Irma Geddon (Russian wearing a kick-ass suit) and Girl One (naked Asian with malleable skin), Dust Devil (cowboy yokel) and Shock-Headed Peter (he’s electric!) and Jack Phantom (phasing powered lesbian) and Peregrine (powerful with wings).

Each character is the focus of one or more portions of book one giving the story depth and intrigue.  Pieces of each member are provided, like Smax hidden qualities, Slinger’s unfortunate home life, Dust Devil’s soft side and the like.

I am intrigued as to where Moore will take these characters in the next collected edition.  What adventures await them?  What disasters?  Check back next week to find out!

If you have suggestions for future Bin Fodder reviews, drop me a line in comments!  Or e-mail me at timblacksmith@8daysageek.com.  Also, see below for this week’s Playlist!

Till next Wednesday…

This is your Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off.

Jonathan Coulton – Artificial Heart, Silversun Pickups – Three Seed, Blink 182 – Lemmings, The Juliana Theory – Liability, A Perfect Circle – Rose, Less Than Jake – This One’s Gonna Leave A Bruise, Fonzerelli – Moonlight Party (original), They Might Be Giants – Speed and Velocity, Interpol – The Scale,  Quicksand – Transparent, Halifax – Sydney, Soundgarden – Blow up the Outside World, Fall Out Boy – My Heart Is The Worst Kind of Weapon (Acoustic), Cave In – Rubber and Glue, The Misfits – Dr. Phibes Rises Again (Amazing Version), Fightstar – Amathyst, Broken Bells – The High Road, Panic at the Disco – Do You Know What I’m Seeing (Acoustic)

Seriously! Watch us!

Dear Tom, what is more insulting?  Sitting on the throne and realizing someone left an empty roll, or seeing that someone left you a single square to justify not replacing the roll?

I’m going to bet that you haven’t been in a situation where you have to wipe and can get just enough tiny shreds of paper off of an empty roll to cover your index finger.  Well, I have.  I’ll take a single square over that any day.

Thanks to my good friend Marla!

Dear Tom Kimes, my girlfriend is naked…. What should I do??

 

Prop your feet up on the Lazy-boy and turn on the boob tube.  You might catch Leno.  Did I mention I was single?

Well that’s all I have time for this week.  Hope you at least chuckled.  I’d love to answer any questions you have.  If you think you have a question you want me to answer, you can send it to me in an email at tomkimes@8daysageek.com.  You can follow me on Twitter, I’m @DarkMenzo.  Feel free to ask questions there too!  Thanks for reading!

Tony may have learned at an early age to deal with emotions in an inadequate way.  Stark, as many of you know, is a womanizing, thrill seeking guy.  These excessive behavior traits certainly indicate an inability to adequately express normal human emotions.  This inadequacy will logically make its way into Stark’s life in regards to stress.  This leads us to the quintessential Iron Man story, and quite possibly one of the best comic book storylines of all time, Demon in a Bottle.  In this tale, we see Stark’s increasing propensity to reach for the bottle when encountering stress.  While representing Stark International during a meeting with an ambassador, the Iron Man armor malfunctions and fires off a repulsor ray, killing the ambassador.  This is the beginning of Tony’s downward spiral.  Stark relinquishes his armor to the authorities so they can investigate the malfunction, and he agrees to step down as leader of The Avengers.

At this point in the story, Stark is already using alcohol as a coping mechanism.  Soon afterward, he berates his faithful friend and butler Jarvis, thus prompting Jarvis to resign.  A rival CEO, Justin Hammer, is revealed as the culprit behind the malfunction in Iron Man’s armor, and is defeated.  Tony Stark soon realizes that Hammer is not the true enemy.  Despite his victory, Stark still continues to drink, digging himself deeper into an abyss of self-loathing and despair.  As he flies out of the window of his office, intoxicated, he happens to come across a train derailment.  The train has derailed, but no fatalities are reported and the chlorine gas aboard one of the cars is still contained.  The authorities seem to have it under control, when Iron Man comes on the scene and attempts to help.  Still intoxicated, Iron Man attempts to pick up the car containing the deadly chlorine gas and but does not take into account the weight.  The bar snaps, sending the car hurdling to the ground, causing a break in the chlorine gas tank.  Upon realizing what he has done, Iron Man flees the scene.  He arrives back at his office disappointed in himself once again and continues drinking.  He is then confronted by a friend and agrees that he has a problem and seeks help.  Afterwards, it is revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. has controlling interest in Stark International, and this sends Tony back into a dark place and we nearly see him lapse, and quite possibly relapse.  However, he regains his composure and puts the bottle down. 

Tony Stark’s initial reaction to losing controlling interest of Stark International not only proves that he has an alcohol dependency issue, but it clearly shows what his trigger for abusing alcohol is.  Stark’s inability to deal with stress is what leads to his abusing alcohol.  But this goes much deeper than the inability to deal with stress.  It is Tony Stark’s inability to deal with human emotion in a normal way that leads to his abnormal and excessive expression of those emotions.

And now the film I wanted to talk about. The Artist was mind blowing. It was awesome. It made so many other films look horrible by even slight comparison. I for once completely agree with the film critics. It was just amazing what they did with film. By far it is one of my all-time favorites. If I bought DVDs, this would be one I would buy. I just cannot praise this film enough. I know Brandon posted a very flattering review and already said many kind words but I just can’t pass up the chance to say some of my own. This is not a movie for everyone but, for those who are so inclined I really recommend it. It really is as close to perfect movie as you can get.

Now on the hand, I will sum my thoughts on The Grey as such. If I went blind I would still rather sit through The Artist again then sit through even a minute of The Grey. The Grey is so over hyped and it does not deserve any of it. There is no character development or even wolf killing. This whole movie should be about all of that. It has none. One wolf is killed and the only guy with any slight backstory is quickly dead. Good job guys. Don’t waste your money on this film. If I could do it all over again I would take my ticket money and burn it. That would be more enjoyable and exciting then this film.

I hate it when a plan doesn't come together

And now something you will really enjoy! The End, see you next week.

Sorry for the temporary graphic.

Questions or Comments? (754) 273-6397 (attn: Off the Rack )

I understand that this movie is not for everyone. It’s primarily a silent film, with few sounds and fewer words, but this movie was utterly amazing. From beginning to end I was drawn in and hypnotized by the clever directing, this movie is up for best picture in the Oscars and it really should win. I don’t have enough good things to say about it.

The relatively unknown cast was sprinkled with a few familiar faces, but the point of the movie was all about acting, and my god did everyone give the performance of their life. No words, only facial reactions and emotions are shown, so the fact that there was this great story about the rise and fall of two different types of actors and a fantastic love story that is unlike any I’ve ever seen was insane.

I suggest everyone go out and watch this film, I know some people are wary of something that seems so gimmicky, but trust me, you will be happy you saw it. I give this movie the highest ranking I can an A+ and the title of my favorite movie of 2012(So far).

The Flash

First Appearance: Flash Comics #1 1963

Coolest speed related moment: He sacrificed himself by running so fast he traveresed realities and saved the entire universe

Sonic The Hedgehog

First Appearance: Sonic The Hedgehog 1991

Coolest speed related moment: I would have to say when an experienced gamer can get through Green Hill Zone in less than 30 seconds

Dash

First Appearance: The Incredibles 2004

Coolest speed related moment: His jungle chase scene was pretty amazing, but he still only got second place in the track meet.
Quicksilver

First Appearance:X Men #4 1964

Coolest speed related moment: Marvel Zombies, and infected Quicksilver creates a perfect army by super speed biting the best heroes.

Cheetara

First Appearance: Season 1 of Thundercats 1965

Coolest speed related moment: She makes that cool sound when she super runs.
Speedy Gonzales

First Appearance: Looney Tunes 1955

Coolest speed related moment: Classic run into the mouse hole and get that cat’s hand with the mouse trap, HAHA! Nice.
Road Runner

First Appearance: Looney Tunes 1949

Coolest speed related moment: Roadrunner can make paintings come to life, seriously, Wile E. Coyote is a straight up gangsta, but when he gets hit by a train, from a hole he painted, thats funny stuff.
Deoxys

First Appearance: Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green 2004

Coolest speed related moment: This guy was given out at special events which cause massive soccer mom riots at every Toys R Us in the U.S.A.

So I know that people will disagree, but I went over this with some of the geekiest people I know, and they finally agreed that in last place would be Chetara since she can only go super fast for a short time, then Road Runner who is easily distracted, then Speedy Gonzales who would wear out, then Sonic without the shoes isn’t superfast just fast,  then the young Dash would wear out, followed by Quicksilver, second place would be Deoxys, and first place would be The Flash, this guy can pass through time he’s so fast. The Flash wins.

Did this guy really just compare my movie to a fat boob?

I will give The Grey this, they pulled me in, I wanted to see this so bad I went to a midnight viewing, but then I wish I would of stayed home killing wolves in Skyrim instead of watching Liam Neeson kill ONE! Yes, just ONE damn wolf! I’m not saying I need mindless violence to hold a movie together, but if you are gonna have a weak story that was stretched out of a short story (Ghost Walker by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, a pretty good read) you need something extra, like maybe some character growth. The many plot holes are glaringly obvious if you think about it. What happened to the other boom sticks he said there were six? Why didn’t the one guy speak up when Ottaway began to lead the group if he knew he was suicidal? How dumb are you to go to the low, heavily wooded area next to running water if you were trying to escape living creatures? How did the annoying guy’s leg heal up so quick? What ever happened with the harvested trees? All questions that start to break the movie down.

I made this just for you guys!

The characters were all very two dimensional, Liam Neeson’s Ottaway was the most fleshed out, and he was kind of dumb, as you discover by the end of the film. The other characters were only given small snippets of personality just so you may care about them when they die, an always slow, painful, uncomfortable death. The one character given some character was ex-con Diaz played by Frank Grillo, but by the time he’s established you want him to die. The characters were all acted well, each one seemed very real, spurting random facts about wolves they heard on Dora The Explorer and making horrible survival mistakes. The Grey does fall to the horror movie mistake of loud sounds to scare you a few times, a gimmick that always irritates me.

Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to die we go!

The movie was directed well, some shots were beautiful and the cinematography was amazing. I enjoyed looking at the harsh environment, the fantastic dream sequences, and the action scenes, but pretty doesn’t make a good movie(Ask Avatar). The graphics were okay, you could really tell what was CGI and what was Animatronic, but you get over that pretty quick since the wolves are shown very little.

I bet you were expecting more of this, and less of people walking in the snow.

The thing is, I was entertained, the movie thought it was being very philosophical, but the corny premise kind of squashes that dream, but it was worth a rent. I give the movie a C based on the solid acting, beautiful scenery, and Liam Neeson being a bad ass. The twists were very predictable, but just go into it with an open mind, after all, it’s still a huge tit.

Play something with a female lead or something that has a female heroine prominently featured if a group setting. I’m going to suggest the new American McGee’s Alice game. Or Portal 2 because I’m in Valve mode. To fulfill this assignment I tried playing Kameo, but it’s a little terrible in parts and I gave up… and finished Portal 2 instead.

To the games!

Dead Island: Ryder White (game expansion)

Release Date: 1/31 (PS3), 2/01 (PC, Xbox 360)

Play as Dead Island’s villain, Ryder White, in this expansion. It’s a single-player campaign and based before the main campaign. This dude is crazy and it gives you a look into why the mad mad man was so mad mad in the first place.

• MSRP: $10.0
• M for Mature
• Genre: First-Person Action
• Publisher: Deep Silver
• Developer: Techland (Poland), Dead Island

Final Fantasy V-III 2 (Standard and Collectors)

Release Date: January 31 (PS3, Xbox 360)

It’s Final Fantasy. It’s pretty, it’s long.

From IGN: Cocoon — a utopia in the sky. Its inhabitants believed their world a paradise. Under the Sanctum’s rule, Cocoon had long known peace and prosperity. Mankind was blessed by its protectors, the benevolent fal’Cie, and believed that tranquil days would continue forever. Their tranquillity was shattered with the discovery of one hostile fal’Cie.

The moment that fal’Cie from Pulse – the feared and detested lowerworld – awoke from its slumber, peace on Cocoon came to an end. Fal’Cie curse humans, turning them into magic-wielding servants. They become l’Cie – chosen of the fal’Cie. Those branded with the mark of a l’Cie carry the burden of either fulfilling their Focus or facing a fate harsher than death itself. A prayer for redemption.

A wish to protect the world. A promise to challenge destiny. After thirteen days of fates intertwined, the battle begins…

Set several years after Lightning and the others saved Cocoon, some survivors have decided to start over by rebuilding on Gran Pulse. Lightning, however, is nowhere to be found and thought dead by many, but Serah believes otherwise. When her town is suddenly overrun by monsters, a mysterious man named Noel appears to save her. Together, the two set off to find Lightning…

I’ll be honest, I haven’t played a Final Fantasy game since 9, so… I am not the best judge of the content of newer FF games. I can say, though, they are gorgeous and this is no exception. Loving the soundtrack I’ve sampled so far.

It’s rare that a book can be preachy, intuitive and somewhat blithe toward the act of suicide yet still be enjoyable and insightful.  British writer Nabiel Kanan brings together an inherent sense of self in the pages of this collection, Exit: Under the Sun.

This story, though released later than the mini-series I reviewed last week, was written years earlier.  It takes places in two sets of time, running rather parallel throughout the story: eighteen months in the past and present time.  Present time overruns parts of the other mini-series, creating an extra wrinkle in the story that exists between Karl and Louise, who are still heavily featured in this series despite not being the main attraction.

The two new characters Kanan introduces here are Cig (who makes brief appearances in Traitors) and Roger Boothe.

Time is exceedingly fluid throughout this story.  At times bleeding from panel to panel, in Kanan’s hyper-detailed style.  This can present challenges if you choose, as I did on occasion, to put the book down mid-chapter and not return to it for several hours or a day.  I highly recommend letting the chapter breaks be natural stopping points.

As we are introduced to Roger, eighteen months in the past, he is about to catch a train to London to catch a flight to America.  We eventually find out that his plans go off less like a hitch and more like a gunshot to the leg: not necessarily fatal, but damn nasty and leaves you with a limp.

Cig is brought into the mix as he converses with Karl about their A Levels at the end of Sixth form (yes, that’s British terminology which I have some understanding of thanks to a couple of English friends).  A visit from an “old friend” sparks the conversation between Cig and Karl about Roger Boothe.

This is where the story really gets going.

A lot of side-stories weave their way throughout the story, a trick Kanan seems to play on the reader.  Not a mean trick, mind you, but one to distract you from some of the main participants so what when they do come back into view you were genuinely wondering what had been happening to them.  And that’s the trick, he makes you care about the characters without having to shove it in your face.  Too often books, television, movies will introduce a character, try to make you care about him/her just to create the drama of their death and have it be meaningful.

The best example of this I can produce here is a friend of Karl’s, not mentioned or shown until the page he lives and dies in, and several pages later when Louise is forced to shatter Karl’s reality by confronting him with the truth of his friend’s suicide, you as the reader care.  You don’t care about the kid that died, that would be silly – as a character you’d only just been introduced to and were given virtually no back story on – but to see the subtle actions and facial expressions Karl makes is gut-wrenching.

Having read this story several times over the years I always walk away from it having learned or interpreted something different after each read.  This time I came out thinking something rather radical: Cig is Roger Boothe.  They are the same person.  I think an argument can be made for this, but I will not make that here.  Any of you that go out and purchase this incredibly worthwhile read, I would be interested to get your thoughts, either in comments or you can always e-mail me directly: timblacksmith@8daysageek.com.

Overall Exit: Under the Sun gets an A+ from this reviewer.  The art is phenomenal, the writing is high-end and the development of both the story and the characters within is extraordinary.  Though hard to find this trade paperback is well worth the investment.

If you have suggestions for future Bin Fodder reviews, drop me a line in comments!  Also, see below for this week’s Playlist!

Till next Wednesday…

This is your Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off.

Jonathan Coulton – Nobody Loves You Like Me, Jukebox the Ghost – Hold It In, Panic at the Disco – London Beckoned Songs About Money Witten by Machines, Panic at the Disco – The Ballad of Mona Lisa, Jonathan Coulton – Tom Cruise Crazy, People on Vacation – Rainy Day, I Fight Dragons – The Geeks will Inherit the Earth, Jukebox the Ghost – Under my Skin, Rubyhorse – Fell on Bad Days, Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams, No Use for a Name – Pride, 36 Crazy Fists – An Agreement Called Forever, Erik Vee – Far Away, Solea – Make it Last, Stabbing Westward – Television, Rise Against – Broken English, The Get Up Kids – The One You Want, Old 97’s – Broadway

I’ve been doing Top 8 lists for 30 years and debating them with my best geek friend since I was 10 (Friend, you know who you are). These list are nothing new to the seasoned geek. I have created “Top 8 Superheroes”, “Top 8 Teams”, “Top 8 Books” and even “Top 8 Female Heroes We Wish Were Real People” and plenty of other lists that are probably inappropriate for this column.

What is this list? It’s a list of books I like or my girls like or some future superhero has recommended. If you go to your local comic shop and ask about these books, they will gladly lead you to the shelf space and help you find them. Once you read through them you will hopefully find yourself engaged enough to go back next week and explore that shelf space some more. There is something for everyone and these books are books that will get you started.  So please enjoy my aptly named Top 8 list of Lil Geek Starter Books.

8. Power Pack 

Did your kid like Incredibles? Like Incredibles, Power Pack is the story of family, 4 siblings, 2 brothers and 2 sisters who are given incredible powers by an alien and asked to use those powers to help save the world. But you don’t need to know any background to have a great time with these books. Marvel has been releasing new adventures of the Power family and they are a blast. Team-ups with Wolverine and the Hulk and Captain America all the while being kids and doing what any group of siblings do, argue, love each other and protect the Earth from alien invasion.

7. Tiny Titans

Pure silly superhero fun and I’m not sure “superhero” is even the right word here. If anyone remembers the Peanut’s Gang, this is the superhero, comic book version of that. Just like Charlie Brown and Lucy, the Tiny Titans never actually see any adults they just play games and get in disagreements with super villains, while all the time, looking adorable in their costumes. The characters are actual DC comic characters but in this book they are all in pre-school or a playground or just being silly. It is a lot of fun and very fun to look at.

6. Super Dinosaur

SUPER DINOSAUR! Do I really need to explain this one? 

5. Takio

The easy explanation is that this book is about two sisters who gain super powers, decide to put on costumes and then go kick some ass. But it’s so much more, it’s about friendship and responsibility and growing up. One of my favorite things about this book is that the main characters are girls. Kids want to find characters to identify with and girls need more girl lead characters. Thanks Takio.

4. The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man

What little kid doesn’t love a superhero with a pet dog? This is not a comic book, but you may still be able to find it in your local comic book store. Awesome Man does exactly what you would expect from a cool superhero, but he has a dog and an astonishing secret. It’s more of a children’s bedtime story than a comic book, but I love it and I think your kid might too.

3. Wolverine and the X-Men

If you have seen any X-Men movies you might wonder why I would add a book that is about a man who stabs people. This book is not about Wolverine. In the Marvel Universe Wolverine is currently headmaster of the Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters. This book is every Harry Potter fan’s cool comic book retreat. The school is located on top of a living island who also happens to be a student and the halls are filled with aliens, mutants and Middle school crushes. The best part is that the students and some of the staff are on twitter and fully interactive. Such a blast you will find it hard not to read along.

All you have to do is sign on to Twitter and be sure to follow @JeanGreySchool , @JGSHeadmistress , @DeathlokL17 , @GenesisHero , @KidGladiator1 , @QQuire , @idie_okonkwo , @_Broodling_ , @SANTORULES  and @_Anole_ . You can also keep track by tracking and using the #WXM  hashtag.

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/story/17933/attend_class_at_the_jean_grey_school#ixzz1kLme0lUy

2. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man

Comics can often be accused of being too complicated. Well this is your opportunity to jump in on the ground floor as a new legend is born. First I want to assure you Peter Parker is doing just fine and still web-slinging in comic books. Marvel Comics has a line of comics called Ultimate Comics and they are re-telling or re-imagining of classic ideas and Spider-Man is the gem of that line. There are 10 years of stories here depicting Peter Parker as a younger character, but more recently a even younger character has taken on the webs. Miles Morales is 13 years old and just like Peter Parker, he has been bitten by a radioactive spider and that’s where the similarities end.  Any lil geek nearing the age of Middle school will be fascinated by the adventure of this super young Spider-Man and his best friend as they try to figure out how Miles can fill the shoes of the world’s greatest superhero.

1. The Oz Books

I can’t oversell these. The Marvel OZ books are unbelievable. You and you kid will just page through just to look at the pictures and you should because they are beautiful. The great thing about the OZ books is that they tell the original book versions of the stories of OZ. It will be so much fun for you as a parent to read through these with your child and recognize where the classic movie diverged from the actual books. And after you have read the Wonderful Wizard of OZ . . . . . there are more. More beautifully drawn stories based on the Land of Oz and Dorothy. This book is not about superheroes but lately it’s been my favorite.

So there you have it. Your homework is to go visit your nearest comic book shop (Click here to find the shop nearest you) and have fun looking through the racks of awesomeness. As you find yourself overwhelmed by the number of books, ask someone to help you find anything on this list. I promise you they will make some other recommendations. Pick up something you think your kid will like and give it to your kid when you get home and suddenly you will become as cool as the characters in the books because instead of the usual boring stuff you bring home, you brought home Comic Books.

Until next time remember, Sidekicks Rule.

Dear Tom, when taking Tylenol, how does it know where the pain is?

 

Each pill functions much like a heat seeking missile. The medicine is actually comprised of nano seek-and-destroy robots. Imagine what havoc they wrecked before they patented the locking targeting system.  The expiration date exists because the targeting system malfunctions after so long, and if you’re not careful you are just as likely to cure the pain as you are to become a mindless nano zombie creature run by the nano bots that have taken over your body.

Oh yeah, original artwork baby.

Dear Tom, is it true that STD’s are like Pokemon?  Once you catch one, you gotta catch em’ all?

 

Actually, STD’s are more like a Share Size Skittles bag.  All your friends are going to get at least one from you!

I'm not good enough to photoshop STD on the package, so just imagine it!

Well kids, I’m hoping that you take this knowledge and use it to further your life goals.  If you can’t manage that, tell someone else and hopefully get a laugh out of them.  I’d love to answer any questions you have.  If you think you have a question you want me to answer, you can send it to me in an email at tomkimes@8daysageek.com.  You can follow me on Twitter, I’m @DarkMenzo.  Feel free to ask questions there too!  Thanks for stopping by!

Okay, so how about that first impression? So far, so good. I like the insights and looks into the preproduction that surrounded the original trilogy. Quite a bit of it we already knew and some it is no where near what you could call new. But, where this set shines is the fact that you get it all in one place.

Now hopefully next week I should be farther along and we can have another update. Yeah I know, don’t hold your breath.

Android

Groove Ip, $4.99

There are all kinds of “internet calling” apps such as Skype, Gtalk, Tango, and others yet Groove Ip is what I would call the most useful and easy to use.  Groove Ip uses your Google Voice account, which you can get for free, to make calls using your device’s data connection and not your minutes.  Also, by using a data connection only, Groove Ip makes it possible for devices without a cellular radio (tablets) to make full calls from your Google Voice number.  After you’ve downloaded Groove Ip, simply sign in using your Google Voice credentials and you’re ready to make some free calls.  Screenshots below.

iOS

Stunt Biker, $0.99

In a previous App-ahoics I reviewed a game called Line Runner and from the same developer I bring you Stunt Biker.  Simple yet addictive, Stunt Biker is a side scrolling stunt game.  Tilt your device left and right to lean forward and backward, touch the left side of the screen to brake and the right to speed up, that’s the controls (simple right).  With over 20 tracks, 16 downloadable tracks, and multiplayer modes, Stunt Biker will keep you interested well past its 99 cent price tag.

Archer is back! After the exciting three part story that opened season 3 in September, the show premiered a new episode on Thursday, January 19th, on FX. We’re back to stand-alone episodes with some continuity from the “Heart of Archness” story arch, which guest starred Patrick Warburton, David Cross, and modern day pirates.

This episode features none other than Archer’s hero, Burt Reynolds! (And Burt Reynolds voiced himself.) Much to Archer’s dismay, he’s dating his mother… and other stuff. Archer also has a Cuban hit squad after him.

In true Sterling Archer fashion, he over reacts and does something stupid, but! In an un-Archer like twist, Sterling is not the one that directly puts his friends in danger during this episode and sort of helps them.

As a huge fan of Archer, I have high expectations of pretty much every episode that airs. I wasn’t the biggest fan of  the beginning of season 3, it was a little too schizophrenic for me. One of the main problems I have with this show is some of the more convoluted stories.

That being said, I loved this episode. They utilized Burt Reynolds extremely well and Archer almost matured a little bit from the advice his childhood (and adulthood) hero gave him. It was more or less a classic Archer episode, simple and to the point with outlandish dialogue and stunts.

[Banner Image Source: FX | Archer]