CYaN Podcast Episode 25: Team Bus Throwers
Sorry about this one coming a day late, blame my schedule. Either way welcome to brand new episode of the Call Yourself A Nerd Podcast. On this week’s episode; Danny and Ricky go on about some of the NYCC news, Cartoon Network’s weird handling of DC Nation, movie trains and lots of talk about zombies due to The Walking Dead. Hope you have fun with this one.
Cheap Date: July 18th
Caught you breath after SDCC? Good, now we can get back into the flow of things and go out on another Cheap Date. Here I will give suggestions on what you should spend your hard-earned money on nerdy entertainment, all for under thirty dollars!
Hit the jump for everything you would want to spend your money on.
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Marvel NOW! Presents Uncanny Avengers
Last week we heard about a slew of launches and creative shuffles coming from Marvel under the banner Marvel NOW. Today, Marvel released the cover of the first issue to Uncanny Avengers on Entertainment Weekly’s site.
Uncanny Avengers will be penned by Rick Remender with art by John Cassaday. The creative team certainly looks interesting (I am a big fan of Remender but worried Cassaday will get his work in on time). With a title like Uncanny Avengers, we think it would be a mash-up of Avengers and X-Men. The cover shows the team with Thor, Havok, Scarlet Witch, Rogue, Captain America and of course Wolverine. Definitely an interesting mash-up of a team, half Avengers with half X-Men. There will be interactions that we would not normally see.
Hopefully next week’s reveals during San Diego Comic Con will be just as interesting.
Why Gwen Instead of Mary Jane in the Amazing Spider-Man?
Non-comic book fans may be asking themselves, “Why is Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man, the first movie of the reboot, coming out tomorrow?” Or hell why is Gwen Stacy a better choice than Mary Jane in this darker movie franchise?
The simple answer is that while Uncle Ben proved to be the inspiration of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy is the one mistake that he can never live down nor draw inspiration from. It is the one failing grade Spider-Man has received in his career that stays with him to this day.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Gwen Stacy is Peter Parker’s first true love. Yes, he has dated around and many fans would argue that Mary Jane is Peter’s only true love. Gwen is Peter’s college romance, the one that normal people may say that “got away.” The thing is that Peter is not normal. His version of “got away” is a series of heroic downfalls that ultimately end with a single sound effect.
In the comic book universe; Peter will eventually go on to marry Mary Jane Watson, live a life of balancing between Spider-Man and the husband of a supermodel. That seems like a pretty good life to me. Yes, it is a challenge with some strife that comes from being a hero but he is married to a model!
On the other hand, we have Gwen. Her father was a police chief that would be killed by falling rubble during a battle. A death Gwen blames Spider-Man. Gwen’s relationship with Peter is off and on as well. Then there is the fateful storyline The Night Gwen Stacy Died. Pretty much a big spoiler there. The Green Goblin, knowing the identity of Spider-Man, decides to torment the Webslinger. He kidnaps Gwen and tosses her off a bridge. Spider-Man tries to save her by shooting a webline to catch the damsel. Unforeseen, the sudden stop from the web attaching to Gwen’s leg causes her to snap her neck and die.
I really do not know if they are going this route for the movie, but if they are going for a darker tone then Gwen Stacy is the love interest they need. The struggles Peter has being Spider-Man and loving Gwen is one that can be played much more difficult than Peter trying to hide his dual identity from Mary Jane. Not to mention, if they kill Gwen then they have all the angst and torment that Spider-Man still carries around to this day in the comics.
Unfortunately for the character, Spider-Man is at his best when dealing with a death. He carries the burden for every death. First Uncle Ben, then Gwen (not to mention a few others). These deaths add up. Thank god for his proportionate spider-strength. And that is why Amazing Spider-Man needs Gwen Stacy instead of Mary Jane Watson.
CYaN Podcast Episode 10: Jynx
Now at double digits, the CYaN podcast has reached episode 10! In this week’s episode Danny and Ricky talk about a lot of new movie trailers, Project Glass stunts, Source Filmmaker, and some Comic Con rumors which also include a prediction by Danny that left Ricky almost speechless. Is Danny right with his prediction at the end of the show?
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CYaN Podcast Episode 8: Egg On Your Face
Sorry for the late episode this week. Without further ado…
In a very uncomfortable episode, Ricky explores a gadget unknown to either of us. We talk about the past few weeks of movie releases (warning: spoilers), Walking Dead news for various medias, game trailers, and other random topics. Hope you do not get any egg on your face.
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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: 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.
Ka-Pow 101: Avengers’ Next Villian
Avengers is almost a week old. While I can write a glowing review on the awesome move that is the Avengers, but instead I want to explain to the audience about a guest appearance in the movie. Before I move on, anyone that has yet to watch this amazing movie should know that there will be spoilers.
WARNING SPOILERS FOR END CREDITS OF AVENGERS!!
Call Yourself A Nerd 