Preview of an @GameOfThrones piece I’m working on that should go up on @MTVGeek tmw. This may be more of a spoiler for the book than the show, FYI.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 3/5/12-3/11/12
Hey, I haven’t done one of these posts for a month! I suck! Okay, here you go:
The 10 Best Comics of February 2012 - I’m pretty happy with the variety on the list this month! That is all.
10 Replacement Characters That Made Their Comics Even Better - This was a strangely difficult list to research, as there are plenty of legacy characters in comics - but not a lot that didn’t take a different name, or precipitate a renumbering of the title.
The ‘Saga’ Of Brian K. Vaughan: How He Went From Runaway Kids To Epic Fantasy [Advance Review] - I really can’t stress enough how amazing the first issue of SAGA is… It actually can’t be hyped up enough, it’s just that good. Also, I re-read BKV’s first issues for this piece, and Y The Last Man #1, in particular, is amazingly good… He evens shows you how/why Yorick survives, and you don’t even know it yet.
10 Easy Ways To Drive Comic Book Fans Insane - I actually got myself angry while writing this! Also: it was inspired by three separate people on Twitter all complaining about the Spider-Man hyphenation in under an hour. Also: the only comment on this post is amazing.
Death And The Goon: How Comics’ Revolving Door Could Take a Lesson From The Goon #38 - This issue got pushed back a week, but don’t miss it; Eric Powell is doing things in this comic that no one else is, and it’s beautiful to watch.
The Real Princesses of ‘Fairest #1’: A Who’s Who Guide - I now know that three of these are wrong, and I REFUSE to offer a correction. Take that.
10 Things You Should Know about Comics - I’m told this got as many views as a “hotties” post, so take that people who say comics are only for guys, or something.
Paul Cornell Visits ‘Saucer Country’ For Vertigo [Interview] - Another fun book! Add it to your pull-list on Wednesday.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 2/6/12-2/12/12
FRINGE Gives Jasika Nicole a Star-Making Showcase With “Making Angels” [Recap] - Seriously, I’m a little flabbergasted that Jasika Nicole had ONE picture on the press site, with her in the background… For the episode about her. She needs more to do on the show.
Brian Wood On His Conan vs. Pirates Series for Dark Horse [Interview] - If you haven’t read this yet, Wood has some super-smart things to say about the word “emo.”
Kevin Smith And The Cast of AMC’s ‘Comic Book Men’ Hit NYC… And Bring Snooki Along? - Thing you won’t read in this report: I was naseous the entire time, and sitting in the front row, so my main thought while I wrote all of this was, “Don’t throw up on Kevin Smith.”
10 Board Games That Totally Don’t Exist (And How To Play Them) - I want to play Cyvasse so bad it hurts.
‘Adventure Time #1’ From BOOM! May Be A New All-Ages Classic [Review] - I had a goofy smile on my face the whole time I read this book. Do yourself a favor, even if you have no idea what Adventure Time is, and pick it up.
Comic Book Club: Greg Stone - I think this was a particularly fun one! My unbiased opinion.
David Wain Looks Back On Four Seasons Of ‘Wainy Days’ [Interview] - The interview was great, but leading up to it, I was in a phone conference room where David couldn’t hear me, then he called my phone but my wife picked up first. Then I was sitting in an echoey room with barely any cell reception, and 8% left on my battery. So that I got anything out of this is spectacular. Wainy Days is good, you should check it out.
9 SNEAKY THINGS YOU WON’T BELIEVE GUYS DO TO IMPROVE THEIR LOOKS - Go on, just try and believe them. You won’t.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 1/30/12-2/5/12
Fringe’s “Forced Perspective” Feels, Well… Forced [Recap] - I hate not liking an episode of Fringe this late in the game. Luckily, this week’s episode was back to form (mostly).
Sherlock Holmes Scholar Alan Barnes On Why We Go Nutty For Deerstalker Capped Detectives [Interview] - I think, “Do you have Holmes in different area codes?” may be my favorite question I’ve ever asked anyone in an interview.
The 10 Best Inter-Company Comic Book Crossovers - Ever - The best part about doing a list like this is the, “Wait, you totally forgot BLANK!”
The 10 Best Comics of January, 2012 - I just like doing this every month because hopefully, whatever little selling power I/MTV Geek have, it helps a bit. I hope. At least, I pretend it does… I did totally sell a dude on Severed the other day, so win!
Star Wars TV Show Is Called ‘Underworld’… But Is It A Boba Fett Series? - Well, of course it is, Mr. Rhetorical Questions.
What Is ‘Before Watchmen’ About? We’ve Got a Few Ideas… - Nothing gave me more pleasure this week than posting this story, having someone soon after say on Twitter, “When are people going to start posting their ‘here’s what we think Before Watchmen is about’ articles?” and I was legitimately able to tweet back: “I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
Game of Groundhogs - This isn’t something I wrote, but I made a pretty amazing photoshopped groundhog, so I hope you’re all proud of me.
Before Watchmen, There Were 8 Other Unlikely Prequels…That Were Actually Good - Finding out about some of these blew my mind a little - it’s always fun to research something when you only have half the info at your fingertips, and find some other cool niche stuff you’ve never heard of.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 1/23/12-1/29/12
First, and probably most importantly, I’m selling a bunch of graphic novels and trades on Amazon, so if you’re interested in that stuff, check ‘er out. This is not because I hate comics (as one Twitter friend worried), but because I just need more space in my apartment. So help me out there. Okay, on to the links:
Hellboy, The Massive, and Beasts of Burden Headline ‘Dark Horse Presents #8’ [Advance Review] - Here’s a look at the next issue of Dark Horse Presents, and seriously, the Beasts of Burden story is a classic - perhaps my favorite one Dorkin and Thompson have done so far.
‘The Walking Dead’ Goes Bad and ‘Bulletproof Coffin’ Goes Crazy [Image Comics Reviews] - …In which I get back on board the Walking Dead train.
It’s Easy To See Why ‘Daredevil By Mark Waid’ Is The Best Hardcover Around - I can’t say enough good things about this book. If you don’t pick it up, and complain about how “comics aren’t good anymore,” or “always written for the trade,” or any argument in the negative, really, you’re wrong. Pick it up.
Comic Book Club with Danny Fingeroth and Sam Ball - If you want to know info about the Howard The Duck comic book movie adaptation, this is the podcast for you.
Sex & Violence In Comics: How Much Is Too Much? An MTV Geek Roundtable Discussion - Even if the topic has been done to death, I’m really pleased I got to chat about this with Charles and Valerie, and they make some terrific points.
Meet The Sixteen Year Old Girl Whose Comic Out-Sold ‘Watchmen’ [Interview] - Without getting into too many details, snagging this interview may have been the closest I’ve come to being a journalist.
Fringe Explores Molecular Gastronomy With “Enemy of My Enemy” [Recap] - I always start out recapping Fringe with every intention to make it short and sweet. That never happens.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 1/16/12-1/22/12
Fun fact! I guess I didn’t actually have that many posts up this week. Wrote a bunch, but they’ll probably all go up next (this?) week, so whatevs, dudes. Hang ten. I did start teaching sketch comedy writing at Pace University Thursday, though, and will be doing that all semester, so what have YOU done with your life. Yeah. That’s right.
The 10 Best Geek TV Scores - Ever - Despite not being very knowledgeable about the techniques of music (I stopped playing piano in High School, you guys), I still geek out about scores and soundtracks… So I was pretty happy to do this one.
‘The Nerdist’ Welcomes Alison Brie, But Thomas Dolby Steals The Show [Recap] - Thomas Dolby retweeted this, which pretty much made my week.
What’s New With Doctor Who: New Companion, Leverage Crossover, and TARDIS Purse - Westphall reference! If you know what that is, you get a cookie.
Comic Book Club with Greg Pak - I didn’t write this, but it is my podcast on The Nerdist, and hey, no one is reading this collection of links anyway.
My Favorite Posts (That I Wrote): 1/9/12-1/15/12
First off, even though I’ve mentioned it a million times on Twitter and Facebook and never in person because I only communicate through the computer, the big news this week was that Comic Book Club is now an official part of The Nerdist Network!
We’ve been doing the show over five years now, and we’ve worked for various people, and developed the show many, many different ways; but working with Chris Hardwick and company is, seriously, the best fit we’ve ever had. They’re an awesome bunch of talented folks, with a fantastic array of podcasts in various nerdy subjects, and I can’t thank them enough for including us.
Anyway, enough about me, here’s some links to posts I wrote this week:
‘Fringe’ Goes “Back To Where You’ve Never Been” With An All-New Episode [Recap] - I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t think any show inspires me to write way longer than I should for a recap than Fringe. This week, I spent about thirty-six paragraphs analyzing one tossed-off two-word phrase, so enjoy!
DC’s Newer 52 Is Hopefully Just The Beginning Of Even Bigger Changes [Op-Ed] - I was pretty sleepy when I wrote this, so I think it’s probably three different op-eds jammed together without any full exploration… But I do believe strongly about the “seasons” approach to comics publishing I mention here. I think it could work (despite feeling the opposite about TV, confusingly).
‘The Rook’ Is ‘Downton Abbey’ With Superpowers [Book Review] - It’s either fortuitous, or short-sighted of me that I always reference the last thing I’ve watched in something I’m reviewing. Anyway, good, fun, probably under the radar book you should pick up.
Walt Simonson and Brian Bendis Team For Upcoming ‘Avengers’ Arc - Hearing Walt Simonson’s voice come out of the phone made my brain melt a little. My questions boiled down to, “You like Thor. Thor good. You draw Thor?”
Person of Interest’s Michael Emerson and Jonathan Nolan Go To Breakfast + EXCLUSIVE POI Picture - Fun fact! This happened in October, I pretended it happened the other day when I wrote this. Either way, if you want to read a story of me being terrified, here you go.
