Papa Smurf Won't Like This

Saw a girl wearing a shirt with this on it at MegaCon 2011 and about died laughing.

Since someone else posted something Smurf related earlier on tumblr, this reminded me that I needed to post this picture.

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #33

Fifteen minutes; that has got to be some kind of record or something (well for me anyways). That is the length of time I spent in the comic book store tonight. I know, I must be getting sick or something.

Due to inclement weather the place was nearly deserted, and the bins had just been refilled so there was plenty of great comics to choose from and no one to get in my way.

Due to the lack of new releases this week and my lack of interest in DC's Flashpoint I didn't buy anything new, but here is what I walked out with for free...

FREE

Gen13 #14

Gen13 #54

Gen13 #55

Gen13 #56

Gen13 #57

Gen13 #70

Gen13 #71

Syn #1

-GJ

Ooops...

I don't even know why they typed this particular word in the first place, but they did and it's probably going to cost them.

Now this has been corrected in the article itself so if you click the continue reading button you won't see it; it appears to just be the description pulled on the main page (at last check this still hasn't been corrected).

-GJ

Gundam Astray Red Frame Model

It has taken some time but I've finally completed one of my projects (See Will I Ever Catch Up?).

Not only did I actually finish building this Gundam model, but I painted in some of the details, gave it a weathered look, and then added some battle damage (bullet holes and saber slashes).

Front View

Rear View

Close Up: Shield

So there it is, anyone have any questions?

Want to share pictures of yours, then please by all means leave a link in our comments section, we'd love to see them.

-GJ

Halo Reach ODST Jetpack Trooper

I have put off and put off buying the Halo Reach ODST Jetpack Trooper, and then my awesome girlfriend surprises me by buying it for me. How awesome is that!!!

I have tried so hard to behave myself and save my money, but now that I know I have a girlfriend that doesn't mind my action figure addiction and is even willing to help support it, I don't know if I'm going to be able to control myself.

So what is the most awesome thing your girlfriend/boyfriend ever bought you?

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #32

Going to the comic book store angry is not advised, I did that today and wanted to just reach out and smack someone the whole time there.

First there is this older gentleman who is there quite often, and good golly does he stink. I mean seriously shower before you go out dude.

Then there was the kid that kept pushing himself into the boxes near me; be it next to me, under me, or above me he just had to be invading my personal space.

The only conversation going on while there was about the Green Lantern. No I still haven't seen it and interestingly enough the store's comic specialist who loves comic book based movies said he'll be waiting for it to come out on DVD because it just didn't look worth the ticket price.

So in a nutshell that was the trip; and now on to the comic books themselves.

FREE

PAID FOR

-GJ

Florida's Governor An Alien?

Okay so the other day I was talking with a former coworker and she told me about this hand written sign she saw located on a telephone pole that simply read "Rick Scott is an alien."

For those of you that don't know who Rick Scott is well he's the Governor for the state of Florida.

She told me that she actually believes that this sign was correct and that he is an alien. Of course I asked her why and she said for two reasons.

• 1. He just simply looks like an alien.
• 2. He makes weird facial expressions at inappropriate times that just makes him look like he has no control over his face.

Of course I laughed, but then realized I'm a big fan of the Men In Black movies and fully think that space aliens live among us in that capacity, so maybe she is on to something here.

So is the state of Florida being run by an alien, or just some guy that doesn't know how to control his facial expressions? Better yet who else in the government do you feel has been replaced?

-GJ

Marvel vs DC Box Office Battle

Okay so this is really just a battle between Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class, it wouldn't be fair to DC to throw Marvel's Thor into the picture because then frankly it wouldn't be a battle but more like a slaughter.

So now that both DC's Green Lantern and Marvel's X-Men: First Class movies have had their official first week and the gross income's have been announced which one truly did do better?

I have overheard this argument several times already this week and most are standing tall that they grossed about the same so both movies are just as good and that people can stop bad mouthing one or the other for being terrible.

Of course Green Lantern has taken the bigger of the beatings in discussions all over the net for its lack of being a hit, so it's the many DC fans who are quick to jump at the gross income for Green Lantern being up their with X-Men: First Class.

But here's the problem with that...

Green Lantern was released in both 2D AND 3D; X-Men: First Class was only available in 2D.

Now just at my local theater a regular 2D movie is $9.50 while a 3D showing will cost me $13. So if you have all these people buying 3D tickets then of course it'll look like a lot of money has come in, the problem here is that it takes more people at 2D prices to make the same amount, so even if they grossed equivalent to each other more people have still seen X-Men: First Class.

To make this easier on some of you we'll do some quick math with the assumption that both movies made an even million dollars and we'll divide that buy the ticket price to get an approximate number of people.

Green Lantern (3D) ... 1 Million / 13 = 76923
X-Men: First Class ... 1 Million / 9.5 = 105263

Now in this example you can see that X-Men: First Class was seen by 28340 making it the movie to have the better opening.

Sorry DC fans but no matter how you do the math Marvel is going to win this one, it's just how it's gonna be.

But money aside, the question now is which one did you like better, X-Men: First Class or Green Lantern?

-GJ

A New View On The Rugrats Cartoon

First for those that don't remember the Rugrats, here's the opening to the cartoon...



(Sorry best video that I could find)

This looks innocent enough right, nothing disturbing about this, just a simple children's cartoon about some babies that have very active imaginations that they use to enhance their adventures.

But yet something as innocent as the Rugrats has been pulled apart leaving us with this...

After reading that your mind is probably spinning (I know mine was the first time I read that). Could this be true? Could it all have been Angelica's imagination? Angelica was the only one ever caught doing wrong, like she was the only one the adults could see at that very moment.

But then we must ask ourselves about the interaction with the children and their parents; could these moments just simply been more of Angelica's imagination, more of her desire to be treated this way from her own parents?

What do you all think? Will you ever view this simple children's cartoon the same again?

-GJ

Up And Coming: Aya Knight (Author)

While taking a trip to Orlando, FL. this weekend the girlfriend and I stopped into Sci-Fi City, where we were given the opportunity to meet Aya Knight the author of "The Chronicles of Kale: A Dragon's Awakening" who happened to be in store signing autographs.

Unlike many I've had the privilege to meet while at a signing Aya Knight was very pleasant, up beat, and actually wanted to be there.

And bonus, the autograph was free! How many of us can say we got an autograph for free?

As for the book "The Chronicles of Kale: A Dragon's Awakening" it's a fantasy novel that would be placed in the Young Adult sections at your local bookstore.

But so is the Twilight and Harry Potter novels, so you might as well pick up this novel and support a up and coming author.

To Learn More About Aya Knight Please Click This Link.

And if you would like the chance to meet her and happen to be in the Central Florida area, she will be attending the Megacon next February.

-GJ

What Every Girl Should Own

Yeah I would make sure my girlfriend owned this.

-GJ

Green Lantern = Star Wars Meets...

Iron Man? The Lord of the Rings? WTF?!?

Okay so I haven't seen the new Green Lantern movie yet, but I find it insulting that with all the terrible reviews they are comparing it with actual blockbuster's that everyone enjoyed.

First I saw a TV ad that had a review of "Think Star Wars Meets Iron Man." (I can't seem to find the trailer online, otherwise there would be a screen shot of this)

Then I found this article on Daily Dischord that states "Think Star Wars Meets Lord Of The Rings."

Really?!? Should they really be insulting films with cult followings like this?

Now it could turn out that I actually like the Green Lantern movie, though we all know how I feel about DC characters. (If you don't know then Click Here)

So what do you guys think, are you happy with these comparisons? And better yet if you've seen Green Lantern what did you think of it?

-GJ

Galactus Pictures Found On Tumblr

Here's a pair of pictures I found on tumblr.com and just had to share them.

-GJ

Why No Love For DC?

So the other day a buddy of mine asked "Why no love for DC? You post a lot of $h!t about Marvel and Dark Horse, so what the F*#& dude." (Yes this is the direct quote.)

To be completely honest here, I admit it, I really don't care for 95% of DC's characters.

If you look at my collection of DC comics, they are either outright Batman issues or issues that guest star the caped crusader. I also have about a fourth of the 52 Countdown series and not much else.

The only other thing with a DC tag that I can say I kinda enjoyed was the TV show "Smallville" which didn't get my interest until season 7.

"But with DC rebooting most of their lines it'll get you to like them better than Marvel right?"

Ummmm...sorry, no.

Great DC is going to reboot, big deal, they're rebooting characters that I don't like, which means I have to put up with them being advertised more than I care for. And besides this reboot may turn out to bite them in the butt, only time will tell though.

I do still have hope for DC though, but that's only because I know Jim Lee is now a Co-Publisher and I enjoy his work.

For the record I don't only like Marvel comics; I also greatly enjoy Dark Horse, Vertigo, Image, and many small Japanese companies (whom seem to produce some of the best stuff).

Of course this is all about personal preference; I like Marvel over DC, my buddy was the opposite, and those that take the time to read this post will have their own opinions, and that's ok.

But for curiosity's sake, which company does produce your favorite comics?

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #31

I know, I know, I'm a little late on getting this posted, sorry.

But I have a good excuse; I was watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks. After the Bruins 4-0 win (congrats by the way) I decided to take to the streets with my fellow Canuck supporters and riot. Then realized, I live in Florida and would look stupid rioting by myself since none of my neighbors gave a doody about hockey.

Oh and doody is my new word for the week; I was having a conversation with the girlfriend and used it, it tickled me, so I've kept using it.

Anyways...to the comic run.

Well actually it was very very quite this week. I was the only person going through the free comics and only a few gamers were in the back prepping to play Warhammer 40K. Maybe the threat of rain scared people away? Not sure, but it was nice going through the comics and not having to fight someone for space.

So no entertaining conversations to fill you in with my friends, just a list of the free comics I came away with this week. Yea didn't see anything worth purchasing either. I know it was a very disappointing trip.

FREE

-GJ

Making Sense Of The Old Republic

This article is to help people figure out in what order all the Star Wars: The Old Republic releases are to be in.

Honestly it is quite confusing because nothing has been released in chronological order; be it novels, comics, or trailers to the upcoming game.

For those trying to figure out the three trailers for the Old Republic video game being released by BioWare this is the correct chronological order...

• Return
• Hope
• Deceived

Now for the comic books from Dark Horse (we will only be referring to the first 6, not the new series that just started entitled "The Lost Suns"), issues 1,2,3 are of events that actually occur after 4,5,6.

This was made apparent when Dark Horse released the TPB of the series and first released volume 2 and had it contain issues 1-3 and then two months later released volume 1 containing issues 4-6. Why this was done this way, only Dark Horse knows.

Even the novels have been released out of chronological order. Hitting store shelves first was Fatal Alliance (Sean Williams) and then Deceived (Paul Kemp), but according to all timelines the events in Deceived took place prior to Fatal Alliance.

Now if you put it all together you should go comics, game trailers, and then books.

If you are the type of person that can't stand reading things out of order, then we highly recommend that you hold off on anything having to do with the Old Republic until after everything has been released. We would even suggest that you start much further in the timeline and maybe go with some Legacy of the Force novels moving through to Fate of the Jedi.

For those of us that have been enticed with all things Old Republic though, what are your thoughts, have you enjoyed what you've read/seen so far?

-GJ

theFORCEbook.com

OH MY GOSH!!! Die hard Star Wars fans you have a new community and it calls its self theforcebook.com.

If you have a Facebook and are a Star Wars fan, then this is the place to be.

Seriously, check it out, check it out now.

theFORCEbook.com

-GJ

1st Look: Mobile Suit GundamAGE

This will be the next Gundam series from Bandai Entertainment, and from what we see here, hate to say it, but this may be to "kid friendly" for us.

On a positive note the graphics and character design resemble that of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which means they haven't strayed away from what they set to do with the Gundam Franchise.

The negative side though is you can see that this series is very bright and colorful giving it an almost, dare we say, "cartoonish" feel. This is where we see "kid friendly" and lose interest.

But hey these are just first reactions to a 2:22 of footage, when we see more we may feel differently.

But in the meantime what did you think, is this something you're gearing up to see?

-GJ

Super 8 (Movie Review)

Super 8 takes place in 1979 and follows a group of kids who set out to make a short film for the Super 8 film festival. While filming the kids witness a horrific train accident and now believe that whatever the train's cargo was is now the cause of mysterious events happening within their town.



The story was phenomenal, with a very good balance of action, drama, and suspense. The acting was superb, with a great standout performance from Elle Fanning.

Super 8 is not the typical big budget film that is out to impress you with it's visuals, it wasn't made that way, instead it set out to hook you with the story and simple visuals, nothing real flashy.

You will also want to stay and check out the short film that the kids have created while the credits run. It's actually pretty entertaining in itself.

If you heading out to the movies and don't know what to see, then I highly recommend Super 8.

Super 8 has a 112 minute run time and was directed by J.J. Abrams with executive producer Steven Spielberg.

What do you think of Super 8?

-GJ

X-Men First Class (Movie Review)

Okay I hate to admit this, but I actually liked X-Men First Class. I know shocker.

First I was sure I should just skip this movie; I mean Stan Lee didn't make a cameo so that's like gotta be a bad omen or something, right?

Well I sucked it up, saw it, and am glad that I did.

For an everyday movie it was fantastic. A good story, quality characters, and a fairly good amount of action, what more could the every day movie goer want?

Now for those of us that are X-Men fans, or comic book fans just in general, you must first go into this movie thinking of it like a new comic series, forget about the other four X-Men movies, this one has nothing to do with that storyline.

Yes we do get glimpses of a few of the younger versions of those characters, and even a cameo from a fan favorite, but alas this is a separate storyline.

First Class gives a very good back story to each character, and provides an opportunity to see Charles Xavier / Professor X and Erik Lehnserr / Magneto as friends and partners working towards a common cause.

An awesome cast was also selected to bring our favorite characters to life. James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Lehnserr) and Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw) are fantastic at bringing their characters to life.

First Class contains a good amount of action, and is well paced. Meaning situations don't feel forced or rushed just to get everything in in the run time allotted.



Any true fan will appreciate the time and effort put into this movie. So if you have yet to see X-Men First Class I thoroughly recommend that you do.

For those that have seen X-Men First Class, what did you think?

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #30

So what did we learn this week while at the comic book store? Well apparently we should be watching Batman: The Brave and The Bold because everyone else is.

Seriously, Batman: The Brave and The Bold was the discussion the entire time in the store (which was about 45 minutes).



So now while I scour the internet to find Batman: The Brave and The Bold online you can look over what we came away with on our trip to the comic book store.

FREE

PAID FOR

-GJ

This Will Send Any Enemy Fleeing...

Okay so if you don't run in fear, you will probably die laughing, either way this is some scary stuff right here.

-GJ

Mortal Kombat Defenders of The Realm

The year was 1996...



Though only running for 13 episodes, Mortal Kombat - Defenders of the Realm featured a couple of common household names...

Ron Perlman - Kurtis Stryker

Luke Perry - Sub-Zero

Bet you didn't know this.

-GJ

Twisted Metal: Official Revenge Trailer

Twisted Metal has gotten just a tiny bit of an upgrade...



Whatcha think?

-GJ

Resistance 3 - E3 2011 Trailer

Of course if there's gonna be another Gears of War there has to be another Resistance...



-GJ

Mass Effect 3 E3 2011 Fall of Earth Trailer

Mass Effect has become one of the best Sci-Fi games out there. If you haven't played Mass Effect 1 or 2 you still have time before 3 makes it debut (slated for 3/6/2012).



-GJ

Assassin's Creed: Revelations - E3 2011 Trailer

Who doesn't love the Assassin's Creed games, anyone?



-GJ

Overstrike - Official Reveal Trailer E3 2011

Got to admit this one could go either way for me, though from the trailer, I could see getting into this one. I mean seriously who doesn't want a weapon that creates a shield and has the ability to then repel the bullets back at the shooter?

-GJ

Halo 4 - E3 2011: Official Teaser Trailer

It's just a teaser trailer, but come on you know you want this.



-GJ

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Return Cinematic Trailer

Check out the new trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic "Return"



So what do you think, will you be picking up a copy of The Old Republic? Anyone else wish that this wasn't just a video game but a series of full length feature films?

-GJ

Star Wars - FOTJ - Conviction (Book Review)

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Conviction by Aaron Allston is book seven (7) of nine (9) in the series set approximately forty (40) years after Return of the Jedi.

Not to give away to much of the story, we'll just give you a brief overview here...

Luke Skywalker along with his son Ben and a Sith apprentice named Vestara, have tracked the creature known as Abeloth to a planet named Nam Chorios, where they intend to destroy the creature once and for all.

Knowing a Sith's true nature Luke allows Vestara to "secretly" contact the Sith to come to their aid in the destruction of Abeloth. Unknown to Vestara though, Luke Skywalker has already made arrangement for aid in the form of the Jedi.

While this is happening on Nam Chorios, Han and Leia Solo have been dispatched to the planet Klatooine to help with convincing the planet's government to reform from their slave trades and to enter the Galactic Alliance. Of course nothing can be easy so before all is said and done, there is involvement by the Hapan's and a Sith plot to disrupt proceedings.

The book's title of course is Conviction, and there are a couple of those made; The first is actually made upon Galactic Chief of State Natasi Daala, who is forcefully removed from office because of the criminal way she has been running the Galactic Alliance.  The second to former Jedi Tahiri Veila who has been on trial for the murder of Admiral Pellaeon that was committed during the final hours of Darth Caedus' reign of terror.

Conviction is full of action, espionage, Jedi, Sith, lovers of the past, and even Boba Fett.

A must read for any Star Wars fan.

Of course if you haven't read the other Fate of the Jedi books I'd recommend you start at book one (1) of course; actually for that matter make you have read the Legacy of the Force series, also nine (9) books, and the novel "Millennium Falcon" prior to starting the Fate of the Jedi series.

-GJ

Random Picture #1

The following image was found via Tumblr.com.

Be honest, you know this made you smile.

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #29

Could it be Wednesday already? Why yes, yes it is.

This weeks trip was pretty much uneventful, so we'll just jump right into what we came away with...

FREE


PAID FOR













-GJ