Geek Museum!

Alright, here we go with the promised Geek Museum post. Thanks to everyone who sent me pictures and I hope I didn't miss anyone. You are all spectacularly geeky. I love it.

We'll start off with a couple of out-takes from my own collection. First, here is a truly terrifying rendition of the Simpson family, made out of pistachio shells. I bought them at a market in Greenwich, England a couple of years ago. How could I resist?

Even more confusing is that piece of tree that came with them as a display base.

God that Homer cracks me up.

And here's the cake that Matt had the good and confused people at Dairy Queen make for my birthday last year. He provided the sketch, and their icing artists re-created it...with some pretty screwy eyes on Batman:

I like Superman's gut oozing over his belt.

Let's see what you guys have...

arch_schatten's got Justice League dishes, an obscure little Robin figure, a cool blanket, a Batman alarm clock, and a genuine Bat Phone!

Chris McClaren has an Alan Moore shrine and Cthulhu poker chips:

Bob Fries has a pretty great little homemade wooden Spider-Man from Acapulco:

Elayne Riggs has some awesome art. I love the Alan Davis Hulk wedding portrait! That's a sweet wedding present.

April Steele also has some custom artwork to show off, these pictures are by Joel Priddy and Dean Tripp respectively:

I love that anti-Supergirl character! I'd totally hang out with her.

Eric DeSantis has an impressive Green Lantern collection. I love how they are displayed. I hope Hal Jordan never sees this because it would totally go to his head:

Jon's got a pretty sexy bed...and a big fluffy kitty!!!

And a Tumbler:

Jennifer and Dan have a pretty rocking collection, including some customized Lego figures, a Bat necktie, and sexily-posed movie figures:

And here are all the Lego figures playing in a rock band!!!

Awesome! Also...a Smallville t-shirt:

John Anderson has a large collection of Japenese Kubrick figures from The Story of Moominvalley. I don't know what that is, but these figures are pretty great-looking:

Jon Hex has a mighty army of action figures:

And if that isn't enough to scare burglars away, there's this Alex Ross Batman print:

Another attractive bed:

And look in his freezer!

Judging by the vast amount of frozen dinners, I'm going to guess that Jon Hex doesn't like to cook.

Martin Henley has my dream bathroom:

No shortage of reading material there!

And he has a whole lot of figures in cool little shelving units:

He also has a pretty cute kid:

Matt Morgan's got all sorts of stuff:

I am impressed by the amount of Mini-Mates, and by the heroes vs villains set-up. But where are the Booster Gold and Blue Beetle ones? Those ones are awesome!

Check out the Doom Room:

And the homemade Green Lantern rings:

Heather Fitzpatrick shows her commitment to loving Smallville with this Smallville High letterman jacket:

She also has a life-size Spider-Man:

That thing would scare me every single time I walked in the room if it were in my house.

Matthew Brown keeps all his friends at work, proudly letting his co-workers know that he is a nerd. And a Brett Favre fan:

Maxo also decorates his office. He's got a Monitor with an eraser for a head:

A break-dancing Spider-Man:

A fleet of pirate ships:

Plus some Cowboy Bebop figures and a bust of a Wampa:

Matthew Heslin sent a (tiny) picture of his Alex Robinson sketch...of the Box Office Poison cast as the Giffen-DeMatteis Justice League. That's pretty awesome:

Moriah Sellers has a very impressive (and shiny) crystal collection to rival the Fortress of Solitude:
I love the Smallville Kryptonite octagonal disc. Now THAT is a nerdy item! I want one!

Rachel has an large arsenal of Bat items, including a real live batarang:

It apparently only cost $4. And it's sharp! No girl should be without one. She also has a Batmobile toothbrush:

And a utility belt to keep them in:

Plus...a Mrs Welling t-shirt!

But...I thought I was Mrs Welling!

Tremble before Roy MacKenzie's Gundam collection:

He loves robots of all types:

He also has a whole lot of Batman Lego:

Argh! I want that Batcave set so bad! It seems to have been infiltrated by Marvel villains. And Sandman is punching Luke Cage in the face!

Here's an excellent use of Mini-Mates:

The Mutt has a really old, really awesome ceramic Chewie mug:

He also scored this William Shatner LP:

I'll bet that sounds as good as it looks. Really, really good.

He also dressed like Starbuck at a Jethro Tull concert in 1979. That's not technically an item, but it is very nerdy:
So, I know you are all wondering who wins the contest and the signed copy of Shenanigans. It was not an easy decision, but after much deliberation, I have to go with Paul Hylemon. He painted one whole wall of his house with the Booster Gold symbol. I think this wins not only because it's an entire wall, but because it's Booster Gold. And you know how I love fans of secondary characters.

Plus, this wall looks awesome:

I love it because it could almost fool someone into thinking he's just a Dallas Cowboys fan, but it's really something way nerdier (and way better).

So congrats to Paul, and thanks again to everyone else. Because, in a way, you're all winners. And that's one to grow on.

Free Comic Book Day!!!

Oh my. I'm tired. Rumour has it that Strange Adventures gave aways somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 comics today. I believe it. It was a fun day! Lots of people walked out with lots of comics, and I saw some fans carrying out some pretty amazing sketches. The artists were all amazing, most of them drawing for six straight hours! I was a little surprised that Andy Runton swore like a sailor the whole time, but...I'm just kidding. That guy is as nice as you would imagine him to be.

I've got pictures!

An overhead shot of the room:

A shot of Artist Alley:

Local animators throw down some mad skillz for the fans. Kids love Wolverine. And look at that awesome Hulk!

Mike Holmes gets a rare breather between sketches:

Darwyn Cooke lays down a fine-looking Peter Parker:

Andy Runton not only drew for six hours, he smiled for six hours. I'm serious.

This was our security at the door. Pretty intimidating:

Tiina and me are starting to go crazy here. And I am wearing the most powerful weapon in the universe:
And, yes. I do have one eye that is larger than the other. Thanks for noticing. Stop calling me 'Hex.'

Mark Oakley (bandanna) was doing some really amazing drawings of full scenes for fans:

Andy Runton draws Owly as Leonardo the Ninja Turtle:

I get an Owly as The Spirit! Eeeeeee!!!

My brain was so fried by the time I got this sketch, that when he asked me what I wanted I blurted out "Batman as The Spirit." Then I corrected myself. It's like, you practice what you're going to say for an important moment like this one, and then you just screw it up so spectacularly. That's life. Anyway, Batman is my default word whenever I can't think of the right one. ("What would you like on your burger." "Batman...I mean, mustard.").

Dead man walking:

Double Doom! (One by Cooke, one by Holmes):

A Sentinal cartoon by Mike Holmes (hilarious):

Darwyn Cooke reluctantly draws Gambit:

But, come on. That's a nice-looking Gambit. Kinda reminds me of why I had a giant crush on the Cajun X-Man in my teen years. I believe Cooke's exact words while drawing it were "Gambit, how I hate your stupid 90s ass." And that's why we love Darwyn Cooke.

Super Grover and Spider-Man. BFF.

Meanwhile, at the shop itself, things were jumpin':

And back at the church hall....

...Spider Owly!

Robin by Darwyn Cooke (after six hours of drawing! What a trooper!):

Kids love Andy Runton:

Darwyn Cooke loves Free Comic Book Day:

And let's give it up for the man with the plan, the undisputed kingpin of comics in Halifax, Calum Johnston for putting on the event:

He doesn't always look so crazy. But he may be using his x-ray vision in that photo.

One of my favourite things about today was seeing young kids walk away from the artists table with drawings of Saturn Girl and other Legion characters, thanks to the new cartoon. So awesome! The number of kids getting drawings of Venom was less inspiring.

Good job, team! I hope everyone got lots of free comics today.

Oh, and kid who was arguing with me: Wolverine is not, and never will be, cooler than Batman. Don't even start with me.

Review of Hellboy: Darkness Calls, By Johnathan

So normally I don't review comic books that were published in the last ten years. There are a number of reasons for this, including:

a) I don't own a scanner and I like to use pictures in my posts, thus forcing me to stick to comics that have been scanned already and left lying around on the internet for me to download.

b) I don't trust myself not to spoil things. Spoilers are NOT APPROVED.

c) My friend Rachelle does a much better job than I could of talking about the new comics over at Living Between Wednesdays.

Here comes an exception!

Today I picked up Hellboy: Darkness Calls No. 1, the first new comic to feature the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator in a long time, and it was great! Mike Mignola is focusing mostly on writing these days, so it read like a dream. He did do the cover:

as he's been doing over at B.P.R.D., so that looked real pretty. They got this new guy named Duncan Fegredo to do the inside art, which of course had me worried - Hellboy Weird Tales had shown that not everyone could do the Mignola thing really effectively (not that it wasn't a generally great series - I'd love to see Evan Dorkin take another shot at Hellboy & Co.) but thankfully things worked out nicely. Where Guy Davis brings his own style to B.P.R.D., Fegredo hews a little more closely to Mignola's way of drawing Hellboy and his world. That's not to say that he's bitin' Mike's style, more like he looked at a lot of his art before starting to draw. Basically, another really great choice of artist.

The story's also terrific - lots of cryptic statements and references to earlier stories and a sea chantey. Hellboy gets into trouble and there are some cats. And in the letters page: news of upcoming Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Prof. Trevor Bruttenholm. Excitement!

So: that's why I don't write about current comics - I'm boring.

Hellboy and all series featuring him and everyone who works on them (shout out to Dave Stewart on colours!) are JOHN APPROVED.

Free Comic Book Day Previews #2 (With Special Guest)

With Free Comic Book Day only hours away, I am frantically offering my opinions on some of the free comics that I've had a chance to read. I haven't gotten around to reading the free Peanuts comic, but I think it's safe to say that it's awesome.

In the spirit of Free Comic Book Day and its efforts to attract new comic fans, I have a guest reviewer joining me. My boyfriend Matt is a casual comic book reader, and basically tolerates my crazy obsession. I handed him a stack of free comics to get an outsiders perspective.

Me: This right here is the best thing you can possibly pick up on Saturday. It's a showcase of Canadian talent, meaning you get delightful shorts from Darwyn Cooke, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, J. Bone, Steve Rolston, and a whole pile of other awesome people. It's worth it for J. Bone's hilarious story alone. Actually, it's worth it for the two covers alone (one by Cooke, one by O'Malley). Plus...a Kim Pine story!

Matt: Well, right off the bat it's awesome to see the full Scott Pigrim cast in colour. That's a nice treat. The Kim Pine story reminds me of when I had roommates.

Me: Evan Dorkin!

Matt: I usually enjoy these. It's like an extra Simpsons fix, and it's always great to see new Futurama stories. And you find out where Zoidberg lives.

Me: I'm hungry

Matt: We should order a pizza.

Me: Yay!

Me: This is what Free Comic Book Day is all about. A simple, fun story that anyone can enjoy. Plus, the preview of what's coming up in Amazing Spider-Man totally makes me want to read the upcoming issues. Well played, Marvel.

Matt: It was pretty fun. It was goofy. I'm not into costumes. I guess it was kind of a cute scene where all of the villains were betting on him, but when I see a whole page of guys in tights...meh.

Me: I...don't understand the words you are saying.

Me: I thought this was pretty fun. I have been reading Invincible, but I've never read Walking Dead or Brit. Werewolves are the new zombies, in case you didn't know. Brace yourself for werewolf mania.
My favourite thing about this comic is that the protagonist (werewolf) is a family man. That's a break from the norm. This is not a kids-safe comic, though. Don't be fooled by the cartoony artwork. Much like Invincible, there is a decent amount of blood and gore.

Matt: I might read this series. It's a good concept. He's trying to balance his work and family with being a werewolf.

Me: This is exactly why I like kids Marvel comics so much more than regular Marvel comics. Marvel does kids comics really well. Both of these stories (they are separate: an Iron Man comic and a Hulk comic...they don't hang out) are well-written enough to hold an adult reader's attention, and they both have beautiful artwork. Plus, if you've never heard of Iron Man, the comic really sets up the character nicely. I am so on board with both of these series.

Matt: That experimental jet that shoots straight up and comes back down again sounds like a bad idea.

Me: I have no idea why I haven't checked out the Lone Ranger comics yet. Great writing, great artwork, Cassaday covers, and cowboys. That is really all I need. I think I'll buy the hardcover.
Oh, and there's a Battlestar Galactica comic in this one too. Whatever.

Matt: That was short. I liked the use of interior monologue. It's really well done.

Me: Is it alright if I order a plain cheese pizza? I'm too tired to pick toppings.

Matt: I guess so.

Me: If you are a Nexus fan, this is a nice treat. Mike Baron and Steve Rude pick their favourite Nexus moments and collect them with commentary by Baron. Also, there is a preview of the first issue of the new series, starting in July. If you have never read Nexus...this probably won't help you understand the character at all. But you should read Nexus. Go check out the origin issues.

I have decided that Matt isn't ready for this comic yet.

Me: Man, I love this owl. This story has flashback Owly as a little kid! Like he needed to be any more adorable. I got to meet Andy Runton today, briefly. It was exciting. I have to admit...I was confused by the Korgi story. Does the dog have superpowers? It looked really nice, though.

Matt: This is great. Owly is adorable, and he encourages an interest in ornithology and gardening...and now in crafting! And all without words! Brilliant!

Me: Let's give Andy Runton a hug tomorrow.

Me: I have actually never read and Amelia Rules comics before, despite hearing great things. This was really funny. I want to read all the books. I'm a sucker for really intelligent kids entertainment with an advanced sense of humour. It reminds me of Disney's Recess or Pepper-Ann. Those were great cartoons.

Matt: heehee..."poophead." (Ed.: He also cracked up at the "Definition of Hanging Out" page. Seriously, check out the comic. It's rad).

Me: This was...not my thing. I mean, the genre isn't my thing (pathetic 20-somethings who want to get laid...in black and white!). Also...rock bands rarely translate well to comics...if its earnest.

Matt: It strikes me that the writer has never been in a band, and has a weird idea of what actually happens.

Me: Maybe its like this for some bands. Just not our bands. Except Tiina is always trying to sleep with me. That part is accurate.

Pizza time! Have fun tomorrow everyone! Grab as many as you can!

Free Comic Book Day is Tomorrow!!!

Here's what the store that I'm lucky enough to work for is doing:

Now that's an all-star line-up if I ever saw one. I can't believe I get to meet Owly!!! Er, I mean...Andy Runton! I'll take lots of pictures.

I gotta run to work and move boxes of comics to Saint David's Hall. Later...more previews. For real!

Also...Spider-Man 3 is SO GREAT! I hate Venom in general, but I was comforted by the fact that you can kinda tell that Sam Raimi does too. Spider-Man!

I'm so very tired right now.

This Week's Haul: The Mother Load!

Oh I'm in a good mood. It's a great week for comic fans. Spider-Man 3 opens (I've got my midnight ticket for tonight!), it's Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, and EVERY GOOD COMIC EVER came out this week. Like, seriously, more comics came out this week that I wanted to read than any other week ever. There's no way I'll be able to write about all of them. I'll just say right now that Avengers: The Initiative #2 was really great. I think it's going to be a really fun series. Especially if you like teens with superpowers. And I do. Jonah Hex #19 was also excellent. So was Hellboy. And I haven't gotten to read either of the Hulk comics yet. I probably wouldn't have much to say about them anyway.

Better get started. Several new additions to the line-up this week.

52: Week 52

Nothing makes you realize how quickly a year goes by like a weekly comic series. I can't believe it's over already.

This issue was crazy. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little confused. I'm glad that big dumb Booster Gold was along for the ride. I didn't feel alone when I kept thinking "huh?"

It was a good conclusion. A clever conclusion. And now we have a brand new mysterious "megaverse." I was really happy that Booster and Skeets saved the day. And I loved Rip Hunter saying "this moment is remembered as the beginning of Booster Gold's glory years." Yay! And I get to witness them!

This was so rad:

And Skeets didn't even really die! Magnus made a new one! Everything is awesome!

Of course, what I really loved, is the scene between Booster and Ted Kord. Did anyone else cry all over their comic?

And I guess Ralph Dibny really is very dead. I am sad. But this panel was so very sweet:

He had a good death. I guess I can find comfort in that.

Oh, and Batwoman is still alive. We'll see how I feel about that as time goes on.

Good job, Team 52! It was a fun ride! I look forward to Countdown!

Green Lantern #19

A new addition to the Living Between Wednesdays weekly haul. I finally go caught up on this delightful series. It's totally the Harlequin Romance Novel of comics. Every issue I'm just like "Oooo...who is Hal going to be making out with this time? And what will his hair look like?" As ridiculous as Star Sapphire and her amazing glowing vagina looks, it does kind of work with the story. I mean. No. The costume is horrible and they could have done a lot better designing it, but I can overlook it because the comic is so fun. I love that one of Hal's greatest enemies is an alien sex goddess who wants only to mate with him and spawn. She leaps into the bodies of human females that he's into, in hopes of attracting him, but that's, like totally exhausting because he likes a different woman every day. That is very funny.

And the art has been solid throughout the series. I love Daniel Acuna's work on these last couple of issues. Very pretty. And I love this:

Zing!

I also love that Carol asks Hal to make her a suit with his ring and he makes this little number:

Oh, Hal.

Superman #662

I could look at Pacheco's art all day. It was a really good week for art in a lot of comics. This Busiek/Pacheco run is going to make for some excellent-looking trades. And I think the story will flow really nicely when it's all collected. There are a lot of details to remember, and it's been going on for a long time now, so sometimes I have a hard time keeping track of what's going on. Or maybe it's just because I am staring at the pretty pictures and not paying attention:

Sooo prettty...

Actually, I was paying attention at least a little. This little scene between Superman and a man he met in a vision of the future shown to him by Arion the sorcerer was really good:

I love the little piece of narration there. Very funny. I like Busiek's Superman voice a lot.

The All-New Atom #11

I also picked up the All-New Atom trade this week because this series rules. Gail Simone has created a fantastic nerdy, funny hero who effectively eases my pain as I mourn the absence of Ray Palmer. In this issue we get to see him being funny:

...and dreamy:

And next: the hunt for Ray Palmer begins! I think it speaks volumes about how good this series is that I am kind of thinking "Maybe he could stay missing...just a little longer?" I don't want Ryan Choi to be the new Kyle Rayner.

Detective Comics #832

Fill-in! Ok, I've made a decision about Andy Clarke's artwork, which I was on the fence about previously. It's really good. This issue looked fantastic. It was well-written too. And it was a Terrible Trio story, which is rare and an interesting choice.

Look at these pages!

Lovely! Even the alternating blue and green borders are very aesthetically pleasing. Here's another stunner:

A+. I also liked Bruce Wayne's fierce sideburns:

Not bad at all!

The Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1

Oh man, speaking of excellent artwork, this comic was really beautiful. Not just the art, either. It was just a really nice book about a really nice love story. I read it right after Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane, which was perfect. It's a nice re-telling of the history of their relationship that ties into current continuity. I can't stress enough that it was really good. And you know how I feel about Spider-Man these days.

Of course, he isn't usually so dreamy:

There are some really great-looking flash back scenes like this one:

So nice!

And, like I said, the writing was fantastic. Very witty and fun and heartfelt. I really loved this scene:

Man, annuals are great.

Runaways #26

All caught up on this one too! Yay! I'm very glad because this issue was totally awesome. Whedon really is rocking this thing in the way that he rocks everything (and I didn't even watch Buffy).

Ok, seriously. Is anything funnier than The Punisher getting punched in the stomach by a super-strong little girl?

The answer is no. Except maybe the aftermath:

I love the Punisher War Journal commentary running thoughout the scene. Especially when he says "Punisher War Journal: Hhhhhhh..." after getting punched. Comedy gold, people.

Molly is funny:

And Chase is funny:

Very funny:

This series rules.

Scalped #5

This was my favourite issue of Scalped yet. Really great. I loved getting some of the back story, and learning about Agent Nitz's plans for Dash. Plus, it was crazy raunchy as usual, and just really, really good.

Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil #3

Oh man. I can't believe there's only one issue left of this series. Twelve more! Please! A hundred more! It's perfect!

Monsters!

Adorable Captain Marvel and plucky Mary Marvel!

Sexy groping!

God that's really funny. And maybe a little creepy.

I also really liked this scene with the helicopters because it totally looks like the helicopters themselves are talking:

Helicopter body language!

Man, so good.

Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane #18

I can't stand how cute Firestar and Spider-Man are. In this issue she decides to take their relationship to the next level, which, in superhero terms, means to take the mask off:

Awww. She lives in Jersey.

Spidey's not so into how fast things are moving:

How can anyone not love this series? It's not possible I tell you!

Midnighter #7

The thing about Midnighter is that he is gay, and has a husband, but the Authority comics have always kind of downplayed it. In a positive way. It's never been gratuitous. The character happens to be gay, but that's not all he is. I respect that, and I think it's great. But I also respect opening a comic with this page:

Oh, Brian K Vaughan. You come on to write one issue and you just...rule...so much. I said there were a million good comics this week, and there were, but this might actually be my pick of the week. And not just because of that first page. The detail to pay attention to there is actually in the top left corner. The End. This entire comic, as a way of playing with Midnighter's ability to calculate every possibly outcome of any situation in advance, is told completely backwards. You can read it either way and it's still a great issue. But by reading it front to back (which is actually back to front), you get all sorts of clever jokes. It's really a lot of fun. Page five we see a badguy say "Holy God! Did you see what he just did to Boyson?" and on page six...we see what Midnighter did to Boyson. Holy God.

Page 14 we have a woman begging Midnighter for her life. On page 19 she confidently says to Midnighter "I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to defiling your corpse."

Midnighter rules. And so does Brian K Vaughan.

Astonishing X-Men #21

Oh man! This comic came out this week too??!! What a time to be alive!

More Whedon rocking the house. Being hilarious.

Cyclops made a funny!

I loved all of the conversations between Scott and Emma in the fighter plane. I love Colossus trying to deal with being a messiah. I love Beast's bickering with Agent Braind:

Speaking of "Oh my," how about that sexy scene between Kitty and Colossus? Hot stuff! I love those two.

Phew! Done! Enjoy Spidey 3 everyone! I'll try to get some more Free Comic Book previews up tomorrow. It's been a very busy week.