The Clown Prince Returns
He’s been MIA since the DCnU relaunched last August. All we’ve seen of him since the relaunch is his skinned face hanging in the Gotham City Police Department. But now he’s coming.
Artist: Greg Capullo
This October, the Joker returns in a story titled “Death of the Family” starting with Batman #13. That’s right. That Batman book written by superstar creative team Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo who are just coming off the success of their “Court of Owls” storyline.
Cheap Date: June 20th
Welcome back to another Cheap Date! If this is your first time to this weekly article, I recommend some nerdy media for you to spend your money on. Great thing about my recommendations is that everything added together will be under $30. A lot for your week worth’s of entertainment.
Games – $15
Quantum Conundrum is a new PC game coming this week from Airtight Games, most notable Kim Swift who previously worked on the original Portal. You definitely get the aloofness of Portal in this game, but instead of portals you now have to deal with different dimensions. Each dimensions have different physics and you have to puzzle out how to unlock the room. Again, this all sounds very familiar if you have played a certain Valve game. Honestly, it looks like they are hammering that fact but I would easily drop $15 for another game just as good as Portal.
Comics – $12
If you are not reading the Saga series by the fantastic team of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, then you are missing out one of the most interesting series to come out and it is early enough to catch up on everything. In Saga #4, we visit the planet Sextillion. This is where I would hypothetically drop the mic and walk off stage, at least for this part.
Another one from Image Comics is Walking Dead #99. The wildly popular zombie series is coming to a milestone with issue #100 already titles Lucille, but before that we need to find out what else happens after a gruesome death from the last issue. My honest assessment is that they might finally “clear out” this cast and start anew with #100, but we still need to wait and see.
Coming from Marvel Comics, Greg Rucka is continuing to reinvigorate Frank Castle in Punisher #12. This issue comes after the fallout of, the Daredevil/Spider-Man/Punisher crossover, The Omega Effect. Now Frank is hunting a former ally. How far will he really go?
While John Constantine may be trouncing around in the regular DC Universe, the more mature version continues his Vertigo series in Hellblazer #292. This one-shot advertises some great tropes as Constantine and his wife watch a werewolf movie only to have memories of sexual urges stirred. Not many books can combine horror and the paranormal like the Hellblazer books can.
TV – FREE!
A brand new season of Futurama begins with an hour-long premiere tonight. One of the most clever and fun shows on air, continues entertaining fans with their second chance at life. Seriously, watch Futurama and support good television.
Cheap Date: June 13th
After a two break since I was on vacation and then a day late since I was having some jet lag issues, we finally get back to Cheap Date. And what a week to come back! We have a full boat today, I really had to pick and choose to cut it down to $30 but hopefully you will enjoy everything I recommend.
Movies – $10
Indie Game: The Movie was just released to the wild for everyone who may have missed the tour of screenings. Once a Kickstarter project, Indie Game: The Movie covers all those jewels of games being developed by people who may not have the backing of a major publisher, especially the phenomenal games Super Meat Boy and Fez. This is a great film for anyone who enjoys video games, but it is also a fantastic documentary on its own. You can get the movie on their website or if you are so inclined you can grab it on iTunes or even Steam.
Books – $9
Darth Vader and Son has actually been out since April, but it has been sold out in most places until this week. Darth Vader and Son is the hilarious look at how Vader would handle actually being the father of Luke. I’m not always a fan of single page punchline comics, but this one is done well and has the benefit of having Darth Vader in it. Let it be known, that I am actually cheating a bit here as the book retails for $15 but you can grab it from Amazon for $9.
Comics – $10
This week was tough when it came to comics. There were quite a few books that I wanted to pick up this week but had to opt into choosing only three because of everything else out this week.
Vertigo puts out this week a book with one of the best writers and one of my favorite artists in American Vampire Lord of Nightmares #1. This miniseries continues Scott Snyder’s wonderful work with his American Vampire books but now accompanied with the art of Dustin Nguyen. We have not seen Nguyen’s dark side since he was working on Detective Comics.
The next two books come from DC Comics and are also two Batman books. In Batman #10, we get a revelation as Batman fights the Court of Owls in the issue right before the conclusion of the story line. Then in Batman and Robin #10, Tomasi and Gleason continue their wonderful run on this new dynamic duo. In this issue we get a reunion of sorts as a mysterious person has called a meeting of all the Robins, past and present.
That will be all for this week, folks. I hope to see you next week on our nerdy Cheap Date.
CYaN Podcast Episode 5: New DC 52 Special
This week we talk about the DCnU. We talk about our must-reads and our favorites of those. We also talk about a few of the 2nd Wave books.
(Right click, and save link as)
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Trailer
As I’ve said time and again, I’m a big fan of DC comics. I am also a big fan of Legos. On top of that I am a fan of video games. So of course, I love the Lego games, especially Lego Batman. Well, here’s the trailer for Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
This looks like the same kind of fun and humor of previous Lego titles, but now we get a full stable of DC heroes to play with as well as a stable of Batman villains with Lex Luthor thrown in the bunch. One thing I’m a little wary of is the addition of voices. So many Lego games have done so well with the silent mini-figs. Minor complaint. I’m looking forward to playing this one.
Cheap Date: May 23rd
This is Cheap Date, where I will tell you my opinion on how to spend under $30 for your week’s geek entertainment.
Another light week, but I was able to salvage it and find you some entertainment. Hopefully you can enjoy this week just the same.
Games – $15
ArmA II: Combined Operations is on sale from Amazon for $15 until the 28th. It contains Arma II as well as the expansion Operation Arrowhead. While the game itself is mediocre, there had been a mod that is going around that everyone is talking about called Day Z. What is Day Z? Down to its bare bones, it is a zombie shooter. While that is simple enough, the game is so much more than that. Everything in the game is as realistic as possible (granted there is a zombie apocalypse). You need food, you can bleed out and you can not trust anyone for shit. Other players sometimes play the role of bandits, as players can kill each other. Instead of venturing into a zombie infested town, you can scavenge resources from other players. Like other great zombie fiction, the zombies are just dressing. How people interact with each other is the best part of the game. I am beyond fascinated in playing this game.
Be warned though that this is a PC game and it is very intensive, some hardware may not be up to the challenge. If you past that hurdle, the game is a challenge itself as average life time for players runs about four hours.
Comics – $11
For comics, this week I have three books to recommend.
The first one isBatman Incorporated #1from DC Comics. it is written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Burnham. This will be the first time Batman, Inc. will be showcased in the new DC 52. While I have not always been a fan of Morrison’s writing, I cannot deny that his run before the DC relaunch was one of the better books out there. Plus, it is fun learning about all the different “Batmen” from around the world.
Dan Slott’s run onAmazing Spider-Mancontinues in issued #686 from Marvel Comics. The “Ends of the Earth” story line is rising to a climax soon, so you should hop on board now. All you need to know is the Earth is in peril and only Spider-Man can save the day. Not to mention Slott has promised some seismic changes to the Spider-Man universe by issue #700.
Finally, there’s Cobra #13 from IDW. Seriously, if you are even remotely a fan of G.I. Joe as a kid then you should read the three series that IDW puts out and Cobra is by far the best one of the group. The next chapter of the G.I. Joe story line starts here as the Joes are being backed into a corner. Now we get to see who will get their hands truly dirty.
That will do it for this week’s Cheap Date and hopefully you enjoyed yourself.
Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC Trailer
We talked about it for a little bit in last week’s podcast, but here’s the trailer for Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC for Batman: Arkham City. Take a look.
Sets up the story and shows what is going to be happening. It looks like the majority of the game takes place in Arkham City’s Industrial District where Joker set up camp in the main story. The game will be split as you spend time playing as both Batman and Robin. I’m looking forward to see exactly how much more Batman lore we’ll get from this story. Will there also be more hints to future games (Arkham World?). We’ve only got a few weeks to find out.
“Arrow” Trailer
Warner Bros. and the CW has been trying to capitalize on the success of Smallville for a long time. First, there was the pilot for the Aquaman show, Mercy Reef. There was the short-lived Birds of Prey. Recently, rumors and test footage of a Jaime Reyes-led Blue Beetle have been flying around. But now, we have to prepare ourselves for Arrow, based on DC’s Green Arrow. Hit the jump to read the synopsis and see the trailer. Read More…
Cheap Date: May 16th
Every Wednesday, I help you decide how to best spend $30 or less on entertainment for our very nerdy Cheap Date.
You have two choices that you can follow this week. The first choice is to go over the usual $30 budget and grab Diablo III for twice that amount. Most people are choosing Diablo III this week. It is a game that many people have waited over a decade for. Then there is the second choice which will consist of just comics and a game, but you do get more bang for your buck.
Let us assume that you do not have sixty dollars and want to stay within the thirty dollar budget.
Comics – $10
This week, we have three comics that are looking to thrill you recklessly.
Locke & Key Clockworks #6 from IDW by Joe Hill with art by Gabriel Rodriguez continues to impress. This issue ends the fifth Locke & Keymini-series. We finally learn what ultimately happened to the “Keepers of the Keys” when they face off against a former friend. Stephen King should be proud of his son’s fantasy-horror series that keeps this reader wanting more.
Wonder Woman #9from DC Comics shows us Diana’s continued journey into the realm of Hades. When Brian Azzarello said he was turning the rebootedWonder Womanseries into a horror story most of the audiences were confused. But going into the ninth issue, this series keeps getting better and scarier. Also Cliff Chiang’s art has a lot to do with the book’s success.
Hardcore #1 from Image Comics combines the ideas of Image greats Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri. This new series has an interesting science fiction take on assassins. Imagine if assassins could jack in and take over the body of anyone to complete their assignment. Now imagine if one of those assassins is using those methods to take on all the other assassins. Very interesting cyber-punk feel to the story that I am very interested in reading.
Video Games – $20 or 1600 MSP
The XBLA version of Minecraft was released last week. Within a day, it had already broken sales records and continues to do so a week later. Yes; there are cheaper ways to play this game but there is one thing that sets this version apart, Xbox Live. Xbox Live and its friends lists make the game so much easier to work with other people. When you boot the game up, it shows who is playing and allows you to hop right in to that person’s game. That is the reason many people pay the $60 a year for Live and will pay $20 for this game. No other service now does friends lists as well as Xbox Live.
Minecraft also eats away at time. You have to mine and collect materials to build whatever your mind can imagine, all of which takes time. Last night it took me two hours to clear an area and collect the materials to build an infinity pool that will serve my future castle. I do not even want to imagine how much time it will take to build my future castle without help. Oh well, in the meantime I can hop into other people’s games and leave my mark.
Even if you are unsure about playing Minecraft, you can always download the trial version.
Call Yourself A Nerd 