How I Got Into Comics…Through TV And Trading Cards

Growing up I learned most of my comic book heroes through television.  I know, that seems like sacrilege to some purists, but I didn’t have a proper comic book shop anywhere in my county so it made it hard to get into comic book characters and their worlds any other way.  There was a pharmacy/book store about ten miles away ran by an elderly couple.  I remember there was one of those old wire spinning racks near the register and on occasion it would be filled with a hodgepodge of comic books ranging from a quarter to a dollar.  And the other “comic” vender in that same town ten miles up the road was actually a ball card shop that happened to have a section of current comics.  Now I never went into this last one when I was a kid because my parents weren’t into comics or ball cards and no one I hung out with were into comics either, so I didn’t have the opportunity.  (I only found out what the guy had in his store later on when I started collecting cards, but I’ll get to that in a minute).

But I DID have access to television and I drank up all that the Marvel and DC universes could give to me.  If it weren’t for cartoons like Superfriends and The Amazing Spiderman and Friends, and live action TV shows like Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk, it’s very possible the entire world of comics would’ve passed me by and I would’ve never gotten into them.  And that would have been a travesty because I am connected to comics in nearly every facet of my life and it’s hard for me to imagine my life without them.  I learned basic surface things about DC through the ol’ boob tube, but I learned so much more about not just the first tier heroes, but also the second and third sting characters, and how they all related to the ones I knew, through collectors cards.  So yeah, I FINALLY went to that guy’s ball card shop because somebody I knew went in for sports cards, but I found a new collecting obsession thanks to Fleer Ultra’s 1990’s Marvel trading cards.  Skybox also had a run with some fantastic artwork with the DC Legends Powerchrome cards, but the Marvel card sets were the best thing the 90s ever created, loaded with detailed backgrounds on each and every character in the Marvel world.

The backs of the cards gave well condensed information about where they came from, how they fit into organizations or with other characters, their abilities and even some had stat charts so you could see that character’s strength, intelligence, speed, agility, etc.  The front of the cards however featured some of the best artists on the planet!  Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Jim Lee, and George Perez just to name a handful.  I was fortunate enough to meet George Perez at a convention and I brought a 12 window sleeve of Fleer Ultra Metal cards that he did in the mid-90’s.  I just got one out of the protective sleeve for him to sign, but he asked if he could look at all I had.  He took them all out of the sleeve and looked at each one intently.  He said he remembered doing each piece of art, but had never actually seen them on the cards as a finished product.  He seemed genuinely moved to see how his work was used and smiled the whole time. He signed every one of them and thanked me for bringing them to him to see.  That was an awesome experience for us both that day I think.

My point is, I may or may not have the typical story about how I got into comics so perhaps my perspective is different than others, and I’m going to share my experiences with you and my take on things due to my exposure.  And please let me know if you have had completely different or similar occurrences/thoughts about the venue of comic book storytelling.  How did you get in to comics or superheroes?

CW Elseworlds Crossover Event – Review

Hello, and welcome to the re-boot of Geek Peak!  If you want to check out my opinions and discuss your thoughts on comics, movies, TV shows, Dieselpunk, literature, music, art, and just all storytelling avenues in general, you’ve come to the right place.

Much has happened since my last post, you know, weird life stuff.  But I’ve realized that there is so much I want to share with you and that this is definitely the place to do so.  I hope you get something out of my posts and please feel free to leave a comment and subscribe if something here speaks to you.

Okay so the first thing I want to talk about today are the CW super hero shows.  Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow.  The reason for wanting to cover them now is mostly because of the Elseworlds crossover last week.  Well, Legends was not included in the actual crossover, but there was mention of the crossover in Legends and the way the timeline continuity flowed, it made it feel like they were involved, even if only just a little.  For this post however, I will talk just about Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl.

Now past seasons of these three shows have been hit and miss but still largely engaging.  Some seasons have been mind-blowing and over too quickly, while others have been more boring than usual and have dragged on way too long.

Some, like Supergirl have had very weird runs where part of the season if fantastic, then something weird happens that has no baring on the story but they somehow felt the need to force it to and it just winds up pissing fans off.  Most of the “weird” seems to be characters or side plots that do not help progress the story at all and actually convolute the point of whatever story question they are attempting to answer, leaving viewers either confused, or just frustrated.  However, the main characters in this show are quite fun and have very interesting and multifaceted backstories.  That has not always been the case, and it seems that every hard-core viewer has at least one character that is the end all, be all  and can do no wrong, as well as one they would like to shoot off into the sun to burn for all eternity.  However, this season introduces new characters who are fantastically fleshed out already, and refreshingly relevant, and the writing has been solid.

The Flash seemed oddly slow last season even though there were new characters added and the villain seemed to be unstoppable, yet not as threatening as previous villains.  Maybe it’s because even though the Thinker got his powers like pretty much every other meta, he seemed more realistic or plain than an interdimentional super villain with an air of otherworldliness.  Somehow outthinking our heroes just didn’t feel as comic-booky, even though the Thinker was absolutely a comic book villain for the Flash.  However this season, has been so fun with timey-whimy speedster family interaction and the timeline in a constant state of delicate flux.  That being said, the villain here had some potential, but the line delivery the actor chooses is distracting at best, laughable and unthreatening at worst.

Arrow for me these past seasons has either been very edge-of-your-seat engaging, or I can have a nap through at least 60% of it and still be waiting for the point.  And some have lived in that grey area in between.  But this season so far has been all the former.  The Longbow Hunters storyline is tight, every episode progresses the story by answering questions and throwing up new questions, which keeps the momentum exciting and satisfying.  Speaking of satisfying, the choreography and stunts in the fight scenes this season have been jaw-dropping!  These shows all have fantastic stunt people, and some of the actors have even been known to do their own on occasion, but Arrow is in the lead with outstanding fight scene direction and camera coordination for multiple action sequences that have left me feeling exhilarated.

Diyah Pera/©2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights reserved

The Crossover Event 2018:

Let me first just say that last season’s crossover was fantastic all the way through, and have been getting better and better each year.  So I was very excited for this year, especially with the previews of Batwoman/Kate Kane, as well as images of Barry Allen in the Arrow costume and Oliver Queen in the Flash suit.  The first 2 out of the 3 episodes of the crossover were, in my opinion, fun and exciting!  Ok, the first one really was – it took place on The Flash.  It was a great setup for what was to come and let me just add that Stephen Amell acted so much like Grant Gustin’s portrayal of Barry Allen, especially in the opening scene with Iris.  His mannerisms, his nervous stutter, everything as on point and he pulled it off brilliantly.

Episode 2 was in the Arrow slot and wasn’t AS enthralling as the first, but still really good.  I thought Ruby Rose did a great job of pulling off Kate Kane and Batwoman respectively, and honestly, I did not have faith that she could.  I’ve read a lot of Batwoman and Detective Comics this year and I felt like she would probably not do the character justice, but I was wrong and I am glad.  But the thing I was left with in that episode was a feeling that the show-runners had put too many plates in the air and did not have enough time in the one episode left to satisfactorily bring them all down and wrap it up nicely.

The final episode of the crossover happened to be on Supergirl and was probably the worst episode that show has had all season.  SuperMAN seemed to be the hero on Supergirl’s show, and again, Supergirl didn’t have the strength/power to resolve the big problems that were plaguing the team.  Even the mortal bad guy in the crossover, a wiry, sleazy looking man, had more resolve than our Kryptonian female hero.  She spent most of the episode locked in a cell and when she got out, she couldn’t even hold a book, it took too much out of here.  Albeit, it was a cosmic book, but still, WTF?  The the scrawny scientist and Superman were the only ones who could possibly handle the book’s power and were the only two present who could figure out how to work it.  So basically, Supergirl could’ve just gotten all the male heroes (and villain) some coffee and would’ve been just about as helpful…on her own damn show.  Wow.  Well, she and the Flash sped around the world in opposite directions to slow down time so that Superman could set things right with the book, but that still didn’t do anything to help the problem here.  See, each show in the crossovers are supposed to move the main story along while also making the hero of whosever show it is shine a little brighter than the rest of the guest heroes for their particular show.  The third act definitely did not live up to that standard and as a matter of fact, did the opposite and made Supergirl the least relevant character in her own show.

All-in-all, this year’s crossover started off great, and ended on its face.  It’s too bad because there was great potential there.  The denouement setup the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, for next fall.  What does that mean?

*****WARNING SPOILERS*****

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER INTO THIS POST

 

 

Well, I can tell you that in that storyline in the comic book world, The Flash and Supergirl die.  Soooo is this the last full season for these two shows?  Are the writers going to use some basic plot points from the Crisis on Infinite Earths’ storyline and create a new and different journey/ending for our heroes?  Is Crisis going to be a short mini-series or even next year’s crossover event, or is it going to be a new series on it’s own in an effort to phase out Supergirl and Flash gradually by incorporating them into the new show?

I don’t have the answers yet, but what I can tell you is that this year’s crossover started out filling me with excitement and high hopes.  But it left me feeling let down with a bad taste in my mouth.  It was tight then unraveled terribly at the end.  That being said, aside from the crossover event, this season of all four shows has really good and I’m actually missing my Sunday through Tuesday hero watchfests already!  Each episode in each show has been consistently progressing the stories forward, engaging, fun, exciting, and most importantly – satisfying.

I could and probably will go into much more detail about each of these shows with specifics and points to make with lots of examples, but I didn’t want this first re-boot post to be too long (I know, too late).  Please feel free to put in your two cents and let me know what you thought about the CW Crossover Event of 2018, or the aforementioned shows in general in the comments below.  Thank you for reading!

Happy Geek Pride Day!

Hey, Hi, Hello, and nuqneH.  That last one (for those who don’t know) is a Klingon’s only greeting; and it means “What do you want?”  Today is a very special day for all things awesome, and I didn’t think it would be right to have a blog titled GEEK PEAK and not do a blog post.  So what is today?  Why it’s Geek Pride Day, of course!

May 25th has donned that worthy title for reasons like:

1. The release date of  Episode IV: A New Hope, the very first Star Wars movie, released  in 1977.  A great timeline of events from the conception to the birth of this epic saga and beyond, can be found here.
2. Tribute to author Douglas Adams, also known as Towel Day
3. Glorious 25 May day in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. A day where honor was given and tributes of lilac and hard-boiled eggs were bestowed on the fallen.  On this note, when Terry announced that he had Alzheimers, May 25th became a day for lovers of his work to wear lilac, in order to raise awareness about the disease.

Now, all that being said, the 35th anniversary of Star Wars is my absolute favorite thing about today!  Without The Force, where would be be?  Here is a link to the original trailer:

George Lucas changed our lives forever, and still continues to expand on the world he created.  So, I just want to take this time to say “Thank you!”

As happy as I am about celebrating the roots of the geekiness that made this a day to be celebrate, I think that it is also important to give props to the king and queen geek leaders of today.

Of course I’m talking about Felicia Day and Wil Weaton.  Individually, they are fan-frakkin-tastic, but together, they are mind-blowing!  You can follow their adventures through geekdom on the premium Youtube channel Geek & Sundry.  This channel is produced and developed by the queen herself, and both she and Wil produce original content for, and appear in, some of the shows.  They aren’t the only ones to thank for this glorious channel of course.  Joining Felicia Day on the list of executive producers is Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant.  The channel also stars the talents of Veronica Belmont, the Cast of The Guild, Paul & Storm, and also has a channel reserved to debut the first Dark Horse Motion Comics.  Speaking of The Guild, I’m sure by now you have all seen the Do You Wanna Date My Avatar video.  Well here is a new video, again starring the cast of the Guild and directed by Jed Weadon, called “I’m the One That’s Cool”

Well, that’s about it for the Geek Day post.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel here.  And May the Force be with you.

Review of The Wedding of River Song – (Yes, even though it aired 7 months ago)

I know, I know, it’s been a while.  I’ve written two screenplays, got a book published and am graduating this semester so, I’ve been a little busy.  But I feel like I have so much to share with you!  So, I want you to know that I have not abandoned you, I have plenty of geek things to talk about.  And I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long.

Ok, first of all what the hell is Moffat doing to my Doctor Who?  I was very excited when I had heard that he would be taking over for Davies.  I mean come on, he’s the man responsible for River Song, and the episodes he wrote under Davies were fantastic!

• The Empty Child
• The Doctor Dances
• The Girl In the Fireplace
• Silence In the Library
• Forest of the Dead
• Blink

…just to name a few.  All amazing episodes, yeah?  I got the sense that he understood the underline principles of the show, and helped make it even greater than it was before!  And yet, with the last season’s finale, I hung my head in disappointment and then I got a little angry.

******WARNING: SPOILERS!!******

SERIOUSLY, THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE ↓

OK, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED…

Moffat had jumped the shark on a few things that I let go, in anticipation for the ending, the episode that would answer not one, but 2 seasons of raised questions!  But The Wedding of River Song was the most insulting crap I’ve ever watched on this show!  It took  a while for it to sink in.  I mean the episode had cool stuff in it, as always, but I didn’t know how offended I really was until later.  Does Moffat think we are stupid??

In the episode, the world (including our characters at the time of Silencio Lake, Utah) is in an alternative timeline universe where all of history is happening at the same time, 5:02 to be exact,  (because he didn’t die when he was supposed to, thanks to River).  Then we find out that its okay, she can shoot him at the lake, because he won’t really be dead.  He reveals to River that his body is really a fake body, with the tiny shrunken real Doctor driving it.  Basically, he’s hiding.  So, they get married (still not sure why, as far as plot drive, but I like that they are married), kiss, and time goes back right, leaving us at the moment of his death on Lake Silencio.  River shoots him, he “dies” and they burn his body.  The fake Doctor body got “dead” and then his tiny little self crawled out of the dead body, off a burning boat in the middle of a lake, then he somehow got back to his normal size again.

Ok, I’ll let a lot of that slide, but who the hell was the Doctor supposed to be tricking??  Seriously?  I can see that working if he was trying to pull a fast one on the Silence, or all the creatures of the Universe.  But Time itself?  The reason the alternate world was created where history was all happening at once, was because the Doctor’s Death was a fixed point in time and it didn’t happen.  River changed a fixed point in time and made that happen, because Time has rules of engagement, and when Time Lords (or Children if Time) don’t play by the rules of Time, everything goes wonky, with serious consequences.  So, Moffat, do you really think that because the Doctor hid inside of a frakkin android that this could actually fool Time itself?  Really?  If River’s refusal to kill him caused Time to collapse in on itself, surely his own plan to cheat death should have caused another collapse.  And how did the fake Teselecta body gain the ability to start the regeneration process, where all the time vortex stuff bursts out of every appendage?  And the River from the beach was most certainly NOT the same River that wound up in the 5:02 alternative timeline.  She hadn’t become the River we know by the time she’s stuffed into the suit and sent to kill the Doctor, not even close.

It doesn’t make sense.  When the rules of your story world are created, no matter what they are, you HAVE to stick to them!  Why didn’t you make it so that the Doctor that dies is the doppelganger?  You know, the Doctor duplicate that actually shares his DNA and could actually be considered the death of the Doctor by Time.  You wouldn’t be trying to fool Time then, it would just be accepted by Time as a fact, a fixed point in time where the Doctor dies.  Did everyone expect that?  Yes.  Would that have been a suprise twist ending?  No, but I’d rather see it coming then for you to give me something that doesn’t even fit within the world you are writing.

Moffat,  you have such brilliant moments of awesome, and then you somehow drop the ball, leaving us confused and hanging without wrapping it all up.  It’s wonderful to bring up new story questions throughout a series, we want that!  But when you put up the plates to spin, you must bring them down by the end of the story (i.e. the season finale).  Otherwise, your audience feels cheated.  You know this, so stop doing it.  We’re still wondering what/who blew up the TARDIS last year??  Bring down the plates!

And another thing, I’m American.  I’m very glad you did a couple of episodes in America, that was great.  I’ve also seen that you are doing more shooting in America for the 7th series.  But please, whatever you do, do NOT try to Americanize Doctor Who!  I’m rather upset already that Matt Smith’s Doctor hasn’t even been to London yet (unless you count that alternative timeline London).  What’s up with that?  I miss London.  I’ve never been there in real life, so I have, in the past, used Doctor Who’s travels to London as a vicarious visitation.  So, I’m ready to go back there, please.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually find Moffat’s positive endings refreshing over Davies’ guilt-ridden-emo-wallowing season finales.  And that, my friends, is one of the many things that brings me back each season.  Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor, River Song is a mysterious and intriguing addition, and I love that Moffat’s seasons always end on a happy, uplifting, and anticipatory note.  Sounds like I’m seriously contradicting myself doesn’t it?  Watch it, then you’ll know why I’m so torn.  What it comes down to is this:  Moffat, I love what you’re doing!   But you gotta pull your crap together or you’re gonna lose it.

Much like River Song said about the Doctor in A Good Man Goes to War:  “He’ll rise higher than ever before, and then fall so low.”  Don’t fall low, Steven Moffat, keep rising higher!  Be the Awesome!

We’re Killing Hitler Tomorrow, Bring Your Screwdriver

Guess what?  (No, not chicken butt).

IT’S BACK!!!

Doctor Who returns with it’s mid-season premiere of Series 6 part 2, and I am SUPER excited!  The title of the return-from-hiatus episode is “Let’s Kill Hitler.”  Doesn’t that sound fun?

If you want to see a sneak peek of this episode, via BBC America, you can find it here:

(don’t worry, there’s no real spoilers)

Exclusive Sneak Peek

Have you forgotten the major plot points of the mid-season finale?  No need to fear!  BBC America was thoughtful enough to remind you in a little over 2 minutes with this little video:

Mid-Season Finale Recap (minus the major spoiler about who River Song actually is)

If you missed the entire season then…well, I can’t help you.  How could you have missed it?  Don’t have cable or satellite?  That’s no excuse, they put this season out on DVD and BluRay in well enough time for you to get caught up for tomorrow’s relaunch.  As a matter of fact, you have time to go get them this evening and watch them before 9/8C tomorrow.  What are you waiting for?

So, grab a box of Jammie Dodgers, put on your best bow tie, and join me in watching the premiere of the Doctor Who Series 6 part 2 on BBC America, at 9/8C!

P.S. Leave your fez at home.

Using Your Cell Phone In a Movie Theater is a Great Way to Get Your Head Bashed In

I don’t know about you, but when I pay for a movie theater experience I do not feel the need to be “wired in” to the rest of the world. That’s why I go to the theater instead of just watching a movie at my house.

I am giddy when the lights go down, the curtain goes up, and the previews begin. That lets me know that I am going to be able to escape for approximately 1.5-2 hours into someone and somewhere that is not me, and is not here. The theater is purposely set up in a way that we, as an audience, can escape into the screen.

So when I am ripped away from that screen and that experience because some jackass can’t wait for 2 hours to check their FaceBook status, yes, I get irate! There are people that have gotten their faces bashed in over such things. Not by me (yet), but I have certainly been angry enough to do it.

That little blue screen on your cell phone is not as dim and unobtrusive as you think it is. And the worse part is, the jerk who is texting or updating their status knows that it is as frowned upon as talking during the movie, but they CHOOSE to do it anyway. What, you can’t possibly wait to tell your friends (who are probably sitting beside you) that you are watching this movie?

My biggest fear about all of this however, is that they don’t know. That mega cell phone users and all around “plugged in” society that we live in, has lost all understanding of common courtesy and respect for other people.

I hope that this is not true. I hope that I am not the only person out there who takes great enjoyment in unplugging from the world, eating some popcorn, and just enjoying something for a couple of hours. When I go to the movie theater, I don’t want to think about any responsibilities, or interruptions, or bills to pay, or errands to run. I want, and have the right, to take those 2 hours, to just relax and enjoy some time for me.

So the next time you want to go to the movie theater, pay $8-12 just so you can text your friends and play FarmVille, please just stay home and turn on NetFlix. And let the rest of us have just 2 hours to relax and enjoy the movie that we paid to watch, without interruption.

Thank you.

The Brilliantest of Brilliant Days

Today is, in fact, the briliiantest of brilliant days. It is the day all geeks in my vein of geekdom have been waiting for since X-Mas!!

Tonight is the Doctor Who – Season 6 premiere on the BBC America! The premiere episode starts at 9/8C, and is preceded by the Doctor Who Rewind beginning at 8/7C, for those who need a quick catching up.

For those lucky enough to be at home today, with satellite or cable access, BBC America is having an all day Doctor Who marathon! Oh, and if you happened to miss the Christmas Special episode “Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol” fear not. It will play tonight at 7/6C, then it will replay immediately following the premiere episode at 10/9C.

The season 6 premiere is titled “The Impossible Astronaut” and is set in the American west!

So, put on your bow ties, grab your stetsons, go mix some Sonic Screwdrivers, and kick back for the premiere of the brilliantest of all brilliant things in time and space!

Chocolate for Zombie Jesus Day

Just in time for Zombie Jesus Day!

According to Uncyclopedia: after dying, Jesus was raised from the dead and once more walked among the living. This, of course, would only be possible if he were a zombie.~

So this year, why not celebrate Zombie Jesus Day, with a Flesh Eating Chocolate Easter Bunny?

Chocolate Zombie Bunny can be ordered from our friends at Think Geek for $14.99.

Doctor Who, When, & Where?

So, you missed the press tour signing at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan with the Doctor Who cast last Friday?

Me too.

If I had a TARDIS, I could get to New York in time.

I’m very glad they came ’round to America to promote the 6th season of Doctor Who. But, being in Oklahoma, NY is still too far away for me to travel during the semester.

But if you live in or around New York, today is another day, folks! BBC America is hosting a free early screening of the 2 part season premiere tonight at 7pm EST at the Village East Cinema in Manhattan.

Any fanboy or fangirl lucky enough to get in (it’s first come first serve BTW), will be invited to stay after the presentations for a Q&A session with the main cast.

The scheduled broadcast premiere for Doctor Who will be April 23, 2010 at 9pm EST. Like I said before, it is a 2 part premiere, however, you will only get part one if you watch it on television on April 23rd, like me. So, if you want to see both parts at once, you will just have to mosey on over to the Village East Cinema this evening.

The title of season 6, episode 1 is “The Impossible Astronaut.” If you have never watched the series, you have a little time to catch up. Start with the relaunch seasons from 2005 on up. There are anywhere from 12-14 episodes per season, so it can be done, but don’t slack! Have a marathon, invite your friends, and have fun.

Videogame Deathmatch

G4 is in the middle of the Videogame Deathmatch. This is the best idea, ever!

The idea is that fans get online and vote for their favorite gaming franchise. This means, any game that has one or more sequels, or prequels to it.

They started out with 32 of the top gaming franchises of all time. Fans voted and winners moved on up the brackets. Currently, they are taking votes for round three.

Round 3 consists of 4 battles:

Assassin’s Creed vs. Fallout
Grand Theft Auto vs. Legend of Zelda
Mass Effect vs. Resident Evil
StarCraft vs. Warcraft

I am already flabbergasted by which franchises have been beaten by others. For instance, in round 2, Assassin’s Creed was up against Call of Duty. Now, I have played and enjoy both franchises, but I really thought this was a no-brainer when it comes down to the popularity of the two. And yet, even after 7 highly successful games put out for Call of Duty, versus Assassin’s Creed’s 2, Assassin’s Creed came out the winner.

The lesson here boys and girls, is get your asses out there and vote! Voting really does make a difference!