Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

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This week’s question: How has a comic creator’s actions/attitude changed your impression of them, for good or ill?

Click HERE ———> THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 11!

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 11 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

This blog is going to have a ton of Star Trek: Into Darkness spoilers, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, CEASE! You have been warned; proceed with caution.

On Sunday, my husband, brother, mom, step-dad and I all went and saw Star Trek: Into Darkness. My parents were in town visiting from D.C. this weekend. Due to rain and the persistence of my husband, he somehow convinced us all to go see this on a rainy afternoon. Also, it helps that the movie theater has beers…giant ass beers.

My parents and brother have no interest in Star Trek, nor do I. I’ve never watched the TV show or seen any of the old movies. I did see the last Star Trek movie – “the prequel” – and I enjoyed it. I don’t remember too much, but I found it humorous and easy to sit through. I don’t even think I had a drink during the movie.  Huh…that’s unusual for me.

The one thing I do remember is new Spock being able to go and visit with old Spock (Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, the OG), though Old Spock couldn’t tell new Spock certain things that could influence how new Spock makes choices or something like that. My brain hurts just thinking about it. I seriously have no idea why and how this happened. First spoiler alert: IT HAPPENS AGAIN IN THIS MOVIE! That shit wrinkles my mind grapes! Why does he keep talking to himself if future Spock can’t help current Spock AND how is he able to talk to future him in the first place?! Oh my hell, I need a drink.

The previews began and I turned to mom to warn her that she would probably hear lots of giggles caused by humor and nerdy delight. The nerdy delight began early. during the previews, my husband’s nerdness (is that a word? It is now, BOOM) crept out. At the end of the Superman preview – seriously, how many damn times can we remake this movie?! (Oh shit, I really hope they have Russell Crowe, who plays Superman’s dad, break out into song a la Les Mis. I. WOULD. DIE.) – my husband turned to me and pointed to his barely existing arm hair. “Look: goose bumps.” I had no comment.

Two minutes into the movie – scratch that – two SECONDS into the movie, Capt. Kirk and Dr. Bones are being chased by native people on some far off planet (obviously…) and my husband already was giggling. Like, full on Ron Swanson giggle.

When the mysterious villain first appears, and the audience is shown that his blood can save wee lil’ sick English lads, my husband smugly said “Babes, he is genetically altered.”

“So what does that mean?” I whispered.

He replied, “I’m not going to explain it, you have to watch.”

I took that to mean “I have no %&#@ing clue and don’t always know EVERYTHING like I pretend to.” Sorry about that tangent there, but sometimes it’s exhausting being married to a real life Charlie Day who believes he is also a member of Mensa.

There was a brief moment of silence from my husband and then I heard a faint “Yes! Awesome!” I turned to see what he could possibly be super-excited about. It was just a scene of the Captains and 1^st mates (1^st chairs? whatever they call them in Star Fleet) and their leader. Well, it turns out the giggling was for the actor that played Admiral Marcus. Apparently, it was Peter Weller, who, I was informed, played Robocop. How did I NOT know that?! Le sigh.

Next, he said they were going to Kronos, to which I replied, “I’m sorry where?” “Where the Klingons live, Babes…” Obviously….

When Kirk and the gang finally capture John Harrison – aka the most English named gent to ever grace the world, Benedict Cumberbatch, my husband, under his breath, said “he’s Khan.” When Cumberbatch finally revealed his real name – Khan, my husband had a fit.

Remember that SNL skit, “I’m 50…I like to kick, stretch and KICK…?” Well, he did all of that in his seat! There was air punching, legs shooting up into the air, clapping… You guys, it was INTENSE. To cap it all off, he turned to me, threw up his middle finger, and whisper-yelled “%*#$ you, Meatloaf! I told you he was Khan.” My brother and I looked at each other and shook our heads in disbelief (my mom would’ve turned at this point too, but she decided to nap. #YOLO). I also checked to see if Meatloaf was secretly hiding in the theater because that %*#$ you was HELLA random.

Anyhow, there were plenty of explosions and passed Junior Mints to keep me occupied (FYI: Junior Mints and Fat Tire do NOT complement each other). Finally, the end was near, or so I thought.

The Enterprise had been damaged very badly and had lost all power. So, Kirk went into this radiation chamber to turn the ship’s power back on, save the crew, and prevent the Enterprise from crashing. You know, because he’s a hero and all that jazz.

Apparently, in the second Star Trek movie – Wrath of Khan, Spock has this task. Role reversal…what a twist!

Following Kirk getting his radiation on and saving the crew, he was in the chamber dying and his BFF Spock came to have a moment with him. My favorite part of the scene was when – through the glass – they throw up matching gang signs (live long and prosper signs) to each other and their hands “touch.” I was very surprised that I didn’t hear sniffles coming from next to me. Instead, my husband released the beast when Spock lets out a “KHANNNNN!” holler. Shit got real! There were giggles and an air-clap-punch combo.

“Huh,” I thought, “what a way to end the movie.” Well played, JJ Abrams, well played. But OH no, it was not over. It pulled a god damn Lord of The Rings III move…just when you think the movie is over it tricks you and ends another three times AT LEAST.

To speed things along here, after some more fights and stuff, Dr. Bones uses Khan’s blood to bring back Kirk. Again, I was informed by my husband that in the previous movie version, Spock does get brought back to life on some planet called Genesis (I think that’s what my husband was telling me, but he was reciting a novel to me during a movie, soooo my listening skills might not have been too on point.) Speaking of Genesis, remember this jam?

In conclusion…FINALLY, my husband really wanted me to point out how he was able to call out what was going to happen before it happened in this movie. In fact, I believe he said “did you notice how I was always one step ahead of the movie?” It’s like he’s the %&#^ing Long Island Medium or some shit.

And scene.

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Star Trek appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 115 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss Marvel’s sly hint at a New Warriors return, Rob Liefeld’s efforts to Kickstart a Brigade revival, and John Byrne’s recent charitable gesture.

Plus, we flip the script and Take A Look, It’s In A Book one day early with our Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness review!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Dream Merchant #1 from Image Comics by Nathan Edmondson and Konstantin Novosadov
• Matt — Dream Thief #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Jai Nitz and Greg Smallwood

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 from Marvel Comics
• Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher #1 from Dark Horse Comics
• Mark Waid’s Green Hornet #2 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Battlestar Galactica #1 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Doomsday Point One #1 from IDW

Matt’s:

• Justice League of America’s Vibe #2 from DC Comics
• Thunderbolts #9 from Marvel Comics
• Moth City #1 from Thrillbent
• Regular Show #1 from KaBoom
• Bloodshot #11 from Valiant Entertainment

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Green Lantern #20 from DC Comics by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, et al.
• Matt — The Bounce #1 from Image Comics by Joe Casey and David Messina

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Godzilla: The Half Century War TPB from IDW by James Stokoe

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

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Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Take A Look Theme — The Reading Rainbow theme song all slow-like, Got Beat Up by Weston, Extra Savoir Faire by They Might Be Giants, Who Are You by The Who, Sleepwalker by Faunts, In the Darkness by Foxygen, Only In My Dreams by Debbie Gibson.

The post THN 115 EXCLAMATION POINT! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Author’s Note: To fully appreciate  this story you must understand all of the important details and key players. Peoples names and the locations in this story have been changed to protect the innocent. Also, I’m relying upon my memory of events from nearly 20 years ago, so God help us all. Enjoy. 

Video games will always be a part of my life.  I have many great memories playing video games by myself, with friends, my wife, my kids, and with other members of my family. I was born in ’73 in Ohio and my childhood was a time when arcade games and video game consoles coexisted in a happy little universe.  It would be interesting to know how many quarters I dropped into arcade games or how many hours of my life were spent in front of a television screen trying to conquer a game on one of my various consoles. I would not give up one quarter or a minute of video game playing time because video games have provided me with an arsenal of interesting tales to share with the faithful followers of the Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

As a kid, I never had a console of my own because my parents thought owning a personal computer was more important that owning an Atari 2600, Intellivision, or a ColecoVision. Looking back, I can see their point of view, but playing Karateka and Montezuma’s Revenge on an Apple IIc was not as fulfilling as playing a game at the arcade or on a console.  I lived near some department stores, convenience stores,  and some drive-thrus that had arcade games, so I would jump on my bike and play some great games like Mat Mania and Rampage. In case you’re wondering what drive-thru’s are, they are buildings where you can pull up in your car and order beer, wine, or pop.  There was one in my hometown that had Super Mario Brothers, but they had the arcade game outside of the building, so you’d have to find some old cardboard boxes to create a sun visor so you could see the screen. That’s video game dedication right there, ladies and gentlemen.

My childhood friends had consoles and I’ll admit that I was nice to certain people as a kid based on their video game collection.  Johnny Steppenwolf was a kid that went to school with me and he had an impressive collection of video game consoles. He was really cool and Johnny also had an impressive collection of rock music and Playboy magazines. I spent many hours at his house when I was in junior high. Maybe I’ll share some of those stories, but I want to share with you a video game moment from my college days.

I attended Southwest Ohio University in New Ravenwood, Ohio as an undergraduate from 1992 until 1996. My freshman and sophomore years were spent at home and commuting became a total drag. Frank Winger was a guy I had known since kindergarten and he also commuted to Southwest Ohio University. One day he asked me if I was interested in getting an apartment close to campus. Frank said rent would be easy on our wallets if we had four people sharing a three bedroom apartment. He told me that we could share the large master bedroom and pay a lower rent than the other two that had their own rooms. I was willing to share a room with Frank, but he told me the other two were people he knew from his computer science courses. I wasn’t rolling with that crowd because I was keeping it liberal arts as a history major.

Frank said that Rodney Cheddar was interested in being our roommate. I didn’t need to think twice about that idea because Rodney was – and still is – one of the nicest people I ever met.  Rodney could have killed me when I pulled a Dukes of Hazzard move with his grandma’s car in the Fifth Third Bank parking lot, but he didn’t. Frank and Rodney were inseparable during their freshman year of college, plus Rodney was a big ol’ teddy bear of a guy who never drank, but was always the life of the party. He called everyone ‘dude’.  I once witnessed Rodney devour the half of a large pizza in under one minute. Rodney at one time attempted to pay our cable bill by mailing his paycheck to the cable company. I was on the receiving end of a WTF?! phone call from the cable company and from Rodney’s mom. Never change, Rodney. Never change.

We needed a fourth for the apartment hunt and the final person was Kurt Ashton. Frank and Rodney knew Kurt from their computer science classes. Kurt was something of a Casanova that drove a ’92 or ’93 Geo Metro convertible and it was a tiny ass tin can of an automobile. Kurt eventually sued the car company that made the Metro because according to Kurt it was the poster child of lemon laws for automobiles. I spent a few days searching for apartments with Frank, Rodney, and Kurt, but Kurt dropped out of the apartment hunt because he found a better roommate option. Rodney’s take on the situation was, “That’s a bummer, dude.”

Frank and Rodney knew a guy named Sebastian Daniels, who was also one of their computer science buddies. I sort of knew Sebastian from hanging out with Frank and thought he’d be a good fourth. Sebastian was cynical and a total smartass. We clicked. Sebastian quickly dropped out of the race after getting an incredible deal on an apartment with some other guys.

Frank, Rodney, and I had found a great three bedroom apartment near Southwest Ohio University. The community was called Plymouth Rock Village and we really wanted a fourth roommate to make the rent affordable for everyone. Frank called me one day and said Rodney knew a guy named Kevin Gilbert and he really wanted to be our fourth roommate. Rodney told me, “Kevin’s really cool, dude.” If Rodney said the guy was cool then the guy was cool.

Frank and I met Kevin briefly when we signed our lease. Kevin was really quiet and didn’t say much, which was fine by me. I was excited to be living on my own with some totally chill roommates.

We moved into our apartment at Plymouth Rock Village during the summer of 1994. Frank and I were the first to move in, Rodney moved in a week or two later, but Kevin was MIA. Kevin eventually moved in and the apartment was complete. Kevin got his room together on a Friday afternoon and then went to sleep. The guy slept for fourteen hours straight. I’m not kidding.  Rodney asked, “Think he’s dead, dude?”. Kevin eventually woke up, trudged down the steps, and planted himself in front of the TV wearing a robe that would make The Dude from The Big Lebowski proud.  He grumbled a few words and then zoned out watching TV.

As the weeks went by, we started to get the full Kevin treatment. The guy would sleep on average for 12 to 18 hours and when he would wake up, he would plant himself in front of the tv, sometimes in his Lebowski robe, for roughly four to six hours and completely zone out to some piece of goofball programming. We had gentleman’s bets on how long Kevin would sleep. The Kevin world record is at 20 hours. Kevin’s routine had me wondering how he paid the rent and utilities. My initial reaction was that his parents paid for everything, but Rodney set me straight. “Kevin made like $2,000 selling his original set of Magic cards, dude.”  At the time I had no idea what Rodney was talking about, and that’s a whole other set of T-D-Dubs tales.

Rodney and I had full access to the world of Kevin because Frank had a girlfriend and he was staying at her house almost every night. Thanks for abandoning us, Frank. Kevin’s long sleeping and lazy roommate routine earned him the nickname ‘Sluggo’, so at this point of the story I will refer to Kevin as Sluggo. Sluggo is Kevin. Remember Sluggo.

How did we go from Kevin to Sluggo? Sluggo would make a gigantic pot of homemade macaroni and cheese on Sunday night and use that as his lunch and dinner for the remainder of the week. He kept the mac and cheese in this big ass pot, which took up an entire shelf in a fridge where space was a luxury.  Making that pot of macaroni was the only bit of physical exertion Sluggo did to benefit our apartment. The guy never washed dishes, took out the trash, cleaned up after himself, or vacuumed up the pile of potato chip crumbs he would leave on the carpet. Nothing. He slept, watched TV, played video games, and left a gigantic mess for Rodney and I to deal with. Today I am a parent with two small kids. Sluggo makes my kids look like a couple of Howard Hughes’.

Rodney and I were the ones that had to take care of Sluggo’s mess. A couple of roommate interventions did not work. We tried the good cop/bad cop approach and nothing worked. Nothing.  Cracks were starting to form in the nice guy foundation that held Rodney together. When Rodney would use “dude” in sentence that involved Sluggo, it would be used in an angry manner. Sluggo had tainted the use of “dude”. Rodney even admitted that he knew Sluggo as a nice guy at school, but had no idea he was a terrible roommate.

One day, Sluggo wanted to talk to me about the dish washing situation for the apartment. I was expecting him to apologize for not helping, but Sluggo handed me a magnet to put on the dishwasher to let him know if the dishes were dirty or clean because he found it irritating opening the dishwasher to dirty dishes because he didn’t have time to wait for someone to turn on the dishwasher. I thought to myself , “You f—ing c—sucker!”

Sluggo’s habits were not the only things that made him a less than endearing as a roommate. Sluggo’s girlfriend, Naomi, would show up at any hour, and let’s just say that when they were intimate, Naomi was what we in the intimacy department like to label ‘a screamer’.  That was not the wakeup call I needed at 5:00 AM.

Every Batman has a Robin, and Sluggo’s Robin was a guy named Cornelius Van Brocklin. Cornelius was a gangly creature with a mullet who would have all night RPG (role playing game) and video game sessions with Sluggo and then he’d crash on our couch and sleep for eight to ten hours. Cornelius had that inquisitive Jeff Goldblum thing going on, which seemed funny at first, but after awhile you just wanted to slap the guy. Rodney informed me that Cornelius was a dual major in physics and in dance. Yeah, you just read that last sentence correctly. Cornelius shared Sluggo’s slobish tendencies and Cornelius will be forever remembered as owning two t-shirts. One was some yellow PRG tournament shirt with a viking looking dude on it while the other was this navy blue t-shirt with a giant glass of beer on it with something along the lines of the following statement printed on it: NO MEANS NO! That shirt was quite possibly one of the most f’ed up anti-sexual assault shirts ever created.

I remember one morning Rodney and I walked downstairs to find the living room and kitchen trashed by Cornelius and Sluggo following an all night video game session. Plates with dried up macaroni were on the floor along with all kinds of crumbs and trash. Sluggo was asleep in his room and Cornelius was on the couch. Rodney was at his breaking point, and all he could say was, “Dude!”, and I knew from the tone that Rodney’s “Dude!” meant, “Let’s get these motherf—ers!”  Rodney grabbed all of the plates and placed them at Sluggo’s bedroom door as a way of giving him the message that we were tired of cleaning up after him, and in hopes that Sluggo would walk out bis bedroom door and trip over them. Cornelius was next on our list. Now Cornelius was a deep sleeper and nothing could wake him up. Blasting a stereo would not budge Cornelius. Believe me, we tried. Rodney and I decided to take a different route. We had a vacuum cleaner that had a base which was large enough to stick on someone’s face. I was able to gently place it on Cornelius’ nose and mouth, so Rodney turned on the vacuum. The vacuum was able to suck up Cornelius’ face which caused him to wake up in a complete panic. That was a special roommate bonding moment with Rodney. I don’t recall Cornelius crashing on the couch that often after the vacuum cleaner incident.

I’ve set you up perfectly with the apartment situation, and now let’s move into a special video game portion of this story.

One day, Rodney purchased an Atari Jaguar. This was the first 64-bit system console, a step up in graphics over the original Sony PlayStation which was a 32-bit system. Sluggo and I were totally impressed with the Jaguar, and one of the games that Rodney had for the console was Alien vs Predator, a first-person shooter that allowed you to play as the alien, predator, or colonial marine. Rodney, Sluggo, and I took turns playing the game and it was a cool roommate bonding experience. It gave me the chance to see Sluggo as a nice guy, so I decided to give him another chance. Sluggo would change. Right?

Sluggo thought it would be a cool idea for us as roommates to beat the game. That sounded like a great idea, and I recall starting a mission as a colonial marine around 10:00 pm one evening while Sluggo was watching me play the game.  I called it quits an hour later.  As a gamer, I like to play an hour and then take a break. It was 11:00 pm, so I decided to call it a night. Sluggo asked if he could play a little bit longer using the game I had just saved. It was cool with me and I went to bed.

When I woke up nine hours later, Sluggo was playing Alien vs Predator. I asked when he woke up to start the mission and Sluggo replied, “I never went to bed. I’ve been playing eight or nine hours straight.” Part of me was impressed with Sluggo’s dedication while the rest of me was annoyed by the fact that Sluggo spent eight hours playing this game non-stop and defeating the purpose of having us roommates work together on a video game. I thought that Sluggo would be worn out from this marathon session, but I believe he lasted at least another hour before calling it quits. Sluggo then enjoyed one of his 14 to 16 hour sleeping sessions. We had one controller for the Atari Jaguar, so I decided to play some Alien vs Predator after Sluggo’s session, and the controller felt warm, sweaty, and slightly sticky. Awesome.

Sluggo continued his marathon sessions of playing Alien vs Predator. The guy would be playing for a minimum of two hours every time he fired up the Atari Jaguar. Those two hour sessions were rare. Conquering Alien vs Predator using all three characters became Sluggo’s goal, and that goal was achieved. Rodney, Cornelius, and I were all there when he made history. Rodney told Sluggo, “That’s awesome, dude.” The statement from Rodney might have sounded like a nice bit of congratulations, but deep down I knew that Rodney meant to say, “Thanks for hogging my Atari Jaguar, bitch.” I thought Sluggo would be finished with the game, but then he decided to win the game using a harder level. God was punishing us. Rodney was a defeated man. The cracks in the Rodney foundation were worse than ever.

For some reason, and I don’t know why, Rodney purchased another game for the Atari Jaguar. It was Iron Solider, another first person shooter where you went on various missions as a 40 foot robot destroying towns and enemy bases. Sluggo had a new game to play for hours upon end. Cornelius had another reason to come over and freeload for hours upon end. Sluggo would defeat the game on one level and then try defeating it again on a harder level. The cycle was never ending.

The Atari Jaguar fun came to an end one weekend. Sluggo had been playing for hours upon end when the console died. I was there with Cornelius when there was this dying noise from the console and a burning smell. The Atari Jaguar went dead and we all surrounded it to see what had happened. Sluggo tried and tried to start the game but nothing happened. Cornelius noticed that the console was very hot and we all knew that it was totally fried. Sluggo shrugged it off as a junky console and went up to his room.  Cornelius and I had to break the news to Rodney when he came home. It was like Cornelius and I were two detectives telling Rodney that a loved one had been killed and he needed to come with us to identify the body.

Rodney examined  the Atari Jaguar and all he could say was “dude”, but it was a “dude” filled with frustration and defeat. Cornelius tried to offer some sort of technical explanation, but all three of us knew that Sluggo killed the Atari Jaguar from hours upon hours of non-stop playing.

It was not long after the Atari Jaguar incident that Rodney told me he was moving out. He said his sister had purchased a home in the area and she offered him to live in her basement almost rent free. Rodney tried to convince me that the nearly free rent was hard to pass up, but I knew that Sluggo’s act of killing his Atari Jaguar was the proverbial straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. This moment in the video game history of Plymouth Rock Apartments was not the last moment involving Sluggo. Rodney’s departure allowed Sebastian Daniels to move in and have his own video game experience with Sluggo. More on that event later.

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TonyDoug Wright (aka The T-D-Dubs) is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community. He is also a proud father of two amazing kids and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Tales of the T-D-Dubs: Sluggo Killed the Atari Jaguar appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Kinski #1 (Monkeybrain)This is a comic about a dog. Except it’s not. Kinski is about being trapped and escaping your life. Its compelling and emotionally
charged. Don’t miss this.
Rating: BUY IT

Dream Thief #1 (Dark Horse)
While this issue has a lot of setup to it, you are left wanting more of this story. Part noir, part mystical revenge tale, there is a lot of story to unpack here. Jump on early and don’t miss out.
Rating: BUY IT

Dream Merchant #1 (Image)
Wow, not only do you get a double sized issue for $3.50 but Dream Merchant #1 was one heck of a story! The art was great and the story is compelling!
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 (Marvel)
If you are like me you are way into Captain Marvel right now. If you aren’t, go back and catch up at least from issue 9 on and then jump into this event. The art left a little to be desired but the coloring made up for it.
Rating: BUY IT

Doomsday #0.1 (IDW)
I am a bit of a sucker for most John Byrne books so this had me interested from the start. End of the world, survivors of a cataclysm, this has a lot of potential.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 5/15/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What obscure comic book property would you like to see make a comeback?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 10 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Sorry for the delay in the blog, but I’m technically challenged and this blog has video of my husband and I (not doing that, you pervs!) that I feel you all will enjoy…or you’ll enjoy us embarrassing ourselves in our most drunken state, at least.

About a week ago, Jimmy Fallon had Big Tuna – aka Jim from The Office, aka John Krasinski – on his Late Night program. Now, I don’t know John personally, or Jimmy for that matter (come on, famous friends – make this happen for me), but they both seem like decent dudes that like to have a pretty, pretty good time. That was confirmed by the game they played after the interview. They had a lip-sync off.

A lip-sync off is basically what it sounds like. Each person gets to pick a handful of songs to lip sync to. Person One goes first, lip-syncing the shit out of their song selection. Person Two counters with their own killer lip-sync performance. Most battles start fairly tame, but by the end hit a James Brown swagger level.

Saturday night, my husband and I found ourselves in a weird position. For the first time in what seems like months, we had NO PLANS! It was kind of amazing. We went shopping, had a drink, went to dinner, had more drinks, went to a birthday party, had lots of FREE drinks, went home, had drinks, and had a lip-sync off.

Oh yes, it happened. It was like that scene in Bring It On where Gabrielle Union’s character tells Kirsten Dunst that, when they meet at Cheerleading Nationals (Which is very real, as is the spirit stick – I should know I was a high school cheerleader. Fun fact, non?), that she needs to bring it.

In this reenactment, I play the role of Gabrielle Union – obviously – and my husband plays Kirsten Dunst.

My husband: I’m trying to make it right (syncing up the computer and music is a hard job apparently).

Me: You wanna make it right? Then when you go to nationals (aka lip-sync), bring it. Don’t slack off because you feel sorry for us (drunk people – all of us drunk people who think our lip-syncing skills are far superior than they probably are). That way, when we (ahem, I) beat you, we’ll (Two-Headed Nerd fans and Girl Meets Nerd readers) know it’s because we’re (ahem, ahem, ME) better.

My husband: I’ll bring it.

AND SCENE!

Two of our early choices in this epic battle are below. As the night went on, many songs were lip-synced, clothing was removed, and props were introduced. It was like Battle Royale up in that joint. Well, probably not Battle Royale. Realistically, it was more like West Side Story.

So, enjoy my husband and I making complete dicks of ourselves for your enjoyment. YOU ARE WELCOME AMERICA!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Baumer Battle – Lip Sync Edition! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

To the ebullient Kacie Baum: I am sorry. I loathe admitting it, but that sly devil with the haircut somewhere between Alec Baldwin in Glenngarry-Glen-Ross and Mike Score from Flock-of-Seagulls, Matt Baum (pictured) … was right. Like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, Baum knows pornography when he sees it. And apparently I wouldn’t know porn if a succubus with blank eyes, bat wings and dozens of phalluses ejaculating from her ‘lagoon of mystery’ beat me about the head and shoulders … or something like that.

I wrote a post for this here Two Headed Nerd web thingy a ways back about my support for a dense, inscrutable and downright weird creator-owned comic, Black Kiss II, by no less than the flaming genius-God, Howard Chaykin. At the time, Black Kiss II was getting banned in the UK and in Canada quicker than you could say Jenna Marie Massoli. My essay was less about Black Kiss II or censorship — I was happy to admit I had no idea what was going on or if it was any good — and more about supporting offbeat and oddball creator-owned work over more milquetoast fare.

Podcast raconteur and fellow THN anarchist, John Littrel, recently talked on the Burnt Weiners podcast about reading several comics long after his enjoyment had ceased. Let’s call this behavior: ‘hate-reading,’ which is slightly different from hate-watching i.e. watching a TV show for the purpose of enjoying the badness, but close enough for my purpose here.

I’m not a hate-watcher, I don’t see the point. There’s too many good comics, TV shows, movies, etc. to have to put up with the sub-sub-subpar. I’m willing to give something more than one or two issues, sure, and I’m loyal to my favorite artists, writers and directors, but only to a point. If something is bad, reprehensibly awful in one way or another, what’s to prove (to whom?) to stay until the bitter end? This reminds me of a ‘Seinfeld’ episode when Elaine writes a fake number on the back of a sandwich punch card in order to put off a guy, ‘denim vest.’ She was one punch away from a free sub (and maybe a captain’s hat) when she mistakenly handed the card off. If a free sandwich AND a captain’s hat were up for grabs every time I read a bad comic, I might be tempted; it better be one ‘hella’ nice captain’s hat.

ANYWAY, I kept buying and reading Black Kiss II. It went from odd to strange to obtuse to whatever is beyond obtuse, ludicrous (?). The sex never lets up and neither does the violence. When a character is killed (and a lot are) it’s always at the precise moment s/he is inserting their sexual organ into some orifice or having something inserted into one (or more) of their own orifices (sexual or otherwise) and, of course, often at the same time. Sometimes, too, you know, to mix it up, what’s being inserted isn’t always a body part, which isn’t weird, on the face of it, except when it’s hinted (not shown) to be more animal than mineral. Yeah.

Black Kiss II didn’t quite reach Salo proportions … then again, I can’t be sure, I’ve never seen Salo, I have some scrap of decency. I read issues #1 – #5 of Black Kiss II and gave #6 a ‘skim it.’ I had seen enough to get what was going on; I think. The sex and the violence were one thing; however, the story was pointless, which brings me back to seer of seers, Matt Baum. See, Baum saw the futility from the jump. He could tell the story was apt to end in a gangbang of confusion — lotta’ arms and hands, elbows and knees, one big sweaty ball of ponderousness going nowhere; masturbatory in every sense of the word.

I saw the same thing, only I was waiting for Chaykin to quit f’ing around and get down to business. He never did, maybe that was the point, dunno. The choice to hate-read is as personal as the choice to pleasure-read, the difference lies in one’s perspective. To borrow from that great balladeer of the American songbook, Kenneth Donald Rogers: ”you gotta’ know when to hold ‘em/ know when to fold ‘em/ know when to walk away/ and when to run.” I stayed at the table too long, it happens to everyone, except, maybe, Matt Baum.

Life’s enough of a crapshoot to put up with sh#tty comics (I believe that’s a ‘Littrel’). So, why is every comic reader I know guilty of this … what (?) … sin? Some Einstein once said: ”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Is that it? Are comic book fans insane deviants, chasing the dragon, thinking (hoping) next issue is going to be better: ‘no worries, Chaykin, Johns, Vaughan (certainly not BKV!, never!) will turn this around, right? right!’ With our mouths pressed up against the great teat of the LCS, how do we know (admit to ourselves) when enough is enough?

I don’t buy into the notion it takes a big man or a small man (with a big mouth) — remember that short-lived THN column (?) I wonder what ever happened to the guy who wrote it (?) — to admit when he is wrong, busted and bested. Admit it. Move on. Mistakes get made, why else do pencils have erasers and all that nonsense. (This time) Matt Baum was right. As for moi, Black Kiss II hasn’t put me off idiosyncratic and personal work; and I’m sure there are more Black Kiss II’s in my future, enough to stage a decent orgy or at least a key party. I love auteurists and since there is no accounting for taste …

My postscript comes from that doyen of comic book nerds, Aaron Meyers, who saw Black Kiss II through to its black-and-white-several-severed-penises-later-end and saw it for what it is. In a tweet, now lost to history, Meyers wrote, ‘all I can say about Black Kiss II was that it was a comic book.” Amen, Meyers, amen. And by the way, did you see Howard Chaykin has a new series coming out in July? He’s only on art this time, Matt Fraction is the writer. The comic is called Satellite Sam. Think it will be any good? It’s got Chaykin, after all.

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Keith Silva works in television, it’s a small space, but, hey, it’s show business! The rest of his time he writes for Comics Bulletin, Read Comic Books and his blog, Interested in Sophisticated Fun?.

The post Get Your Hubris Outta’ My Chutzpah or How Matt Baum Was (Sort of) Right appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Happy Momma’s Day! Welcome to Episode 114 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss NBC passing on the Sixth Gun TV series, Disney’s announcement of the upcoming Big Hero 6 animated feature, and the return of Hard C.O.R.P.S. and the Eternal Warrior to the Valiant Universe.

Plus, we talk about some nuts and bolts of comic and art collecting in our Ask A Nerd segment!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Grimm #1 from Dynamite Entertainment by Jim Kouf, David Greenwalt, Marc Gaffen, Kyle McVey, and Jose Malaga (SHEESH!)
• Matt — Chin Music #1 from Image Comics by Steve Niles and Tony Harris

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Adventures of Superman #2 from DC Comics
• The Private Eye #2 from Panel Syndicate
• Batman & Red Hood #20 from DC Comics
• Archer & Armstrong #0 from Valiant Entertainment
• Justice League of America #3 from DC Comics

Matt’s:

• 12 Reasons to Die #1 from Black Mask Studios
• Superboy #20 from DC Comics
• Suicide Squad #20 from DC Comics
• 2000AD Prog 1831 from Rebellion
• X #1 from Dark Horse Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 from Marvel Comics by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Scott Hepburn
• Matt — Regular Show #1 from BOOM Studios by KC Green and Allison Strejlau

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Pathfinder Vol. 1: Dark Waters Rising TPB from Dynamite Entertainment by Jim Zubkavitch and Andre Huerta

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, I Like Your Mom by The Bouncing Souls, Break Down the Walls by Youth of Today, Question by The Moody Blues, Brunch Again by More or Les, Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight by The Misfits.

The post THN 114: Retarded Wrecking Balls appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

A few months ago, my mom was asked to clear out two properties and discovered a treasure trove of vintage 1980s Star Wars and Transformers action figures. My mom contacted me to see if I wanted to sell those items, and I said yes because this Generation X dude played with those toys back in the day, plus it sounded like a nice money making opportunity. There is still a part of me that refuses to accept that the action figures I played with are now referred to as ‘vintage’. I was under the impression they were loose action figures, which means they are no longer in their original packaging, are in used condition, but are worth some money. To my surprise, I found out that there were a bunch of Star Wars and Transformers action figures still in their original packaging and unused. Goodbye, debt.

My mom shipped a majority of the items to my house, and I immediately showed my wife what I was to sell. She was thrilled to see some of the old school action figures still in their original packaging, but our enjoyment quickly turned to fear because our children – ages five and two – decided to check out the new toys. My kids were ready to rip those bad boys open and have one awesome night of toy ecstasy. My wife and I shut that nonsense down quickly. The toys were placed in an ultra safe location.

I had a majority of Star Wars – Return of the Jedi era – items to sell, so I did some research regarding their value, and was pleasantly surprised. There were six Transformers from the 1984 to 1985 era that were still in the box to sell, but my research did not provide me with any information about their value. I’ll admit that my Transformers research was not as thorough as my Star Wars effort. I blame my Generation X slacker genes.

The next step was selling the action figures, so I decided to take the Ebay route. Sure, I could have put the items on Craigslist, but we all know that site is a magnet for the Jeffrey Dahmer’s of the world to hunt down new victims. Homey don’t play that. There was some dust on my Ebay account, but I got right back into the game and listed some of the Star Wars action figures first. I put two or three up for auction, and the collectors placed their bids on some wonderful Return of the Jedi era Star Wars action figures. The items sold and I made some money.

I quickly learned the lingo the action figure collectors use when buying and selling. In the case of Star Wars action figures, they are encased in a plastic ‘bubble’, and are placed on what is known as ‘the card’. Collectors want to know certain things when you sell a vintage Star Wars action figure that is on the card and in the bubble. What’s the condition of the bubble? Is the bubble clear or has it yellowed? Does the bubble have any scuffing or dents? Does the card have any imperfections like creases or tears or bends or folds? Is there a price tag on the card? Was the tab punched on the card? One needs to know all of this if they are going to play the Star Wars action figure game. A crease, fold, tear or blemish can decrease the value. Some collectors will overlook a blemish that measures 2 cm, but others will see that as a deal breaker.

After a week of selling Star Wars action figures, I had made some fantastic but knowledgeable contacts. If I had that kind of luck with the Star Wars crowd then I felt it was going to be the same experience with the Transformers crowd. Right? It was time to sell some 1980s Transformers that were unused and still in their original boxes.

Two of the six Transformers sold well on Ebay without any problems. I met a contact via one of the auctions and he provided me with some great advice on how to properly list a Transformers action figure that is still in the box. Transformers can be sold with the original box if they are used or unused. Collectors want to know about the condition of the box, especially the flap crease, which is the top tab. If it is unused then they want to know about the condition of the tape on both sides of the box. Also, Transformers in some cases are placed in a bubble and are mounted on a card.

I continued to sell Star Wars and Transformers on Ebay. Everything was cool in the Star Wars universe, but then the floodgates of foolishness opened in Transformers land. I had one Transformers action figure, which was in the box and unopened, up for bid. Initial bids were slow and near the $100 range, but things went crazy overnight and I woke up the next day to see the bids were over the $600 mark. Wow! I was amazed. This was going to be a big pay day. Right?

The bidder had a zero feedback rating and I was slightly suspicious. New people join Ebay all the time, so maybe I was overreacting. Right? The $600 plus bidder won and within five minutes of winning the auction they deleted their account. Help me out, Fred Willard. I emailed my Transformers contact and he told me that was not unusual. Fake bidders join Ebay and bid up auctions to justify selling their Transformers at inflated prices. Most of the fake bidders have a Brooklyn mailing address and use a disconnected number to sign up. He informed me it was best to set my auction requirements to block zero bidders, and I did, but they somehow infiltrated three more Transformers auctions causing trouble. Who are these rogue douche bags ruining my Ebay auctions?

What’s the point of messing up my auction? The three auctions ruined by zero bidders were deleted, so there is no record of those auctions actually happening to justify their actions. Also, I discovered that there are FAKE Transformers being sold on Ebay. One potential bidder grilled me on the authenticity of one of my Transformers that was still in the box. I had no idea that the world of Transformers had a dark underbelly.

After setting my selling requirements to block zero bidders at Ebay for a fourth or fifth time, I set up my final auction. Things were going well until this morning when TWO zero bidding ding dongs infiltrated my last auction. I had their bids cleared, and all is well for now. It has been fun selling these collectible action figures on Ebay despite the fact that the zero bidders of the Transformers universe are the bane of my existence.

Writers note: While completing this article, I had to closely monitor the results of a Transformers auction. The zero bidders stayed away during the final moments and the action figure was won by a legitimate bidder. All is well.

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TonyDoug Wright (aka The T-D-Dubs) is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Tales of the T-D-Dubs: The Zero Bidders of the Transformers Universe appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What classic Avengers would you like to see in Avengers 2?

Click HERE ———> THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 9!

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 9 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Batman #20 (DC)
I didn’t love Batman #19 but this issue really paid off. I should know better than to lose faith in what Snyder is doing with Batman, this was a great issue and something you should pick up.
Rating: BUY IT

Suicide Squad #20 (DC)
Kot & Zircher on this book made me want to pick it up. An intriguing creative team on a book I hope will get little to no editorial interference. Art is great and story is compelling.
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers Assemble #15AU (Marvel)
If you are reading Age of Ultron like I am then you will want to get this issue. If you are reading Captain Marvel then you will want to read this. If you aren’t reading either, still worth checking out.
Rating: BUY IT

Archer & Armstrong #0 (Valiant)
This was a great issue to jump on or just enjoy. Telling the Origin of Armstrong and how the world is how it is today because of it. Don’t miss this.
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers #11 (Marvel)
Wheels within wheels! What a great story. Spying, mystery, A.I.M drinking buddies. Don’t miss this issue.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 5/08/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Lara’s Professional Makeover

I’m saying it now. Tomb Raider is game of the year. I apologize to your precious Bioshock Infinite (I have yet to play it), which I’m sure is amazing and has a very cerebral story. But I can’t imagine the overall gameplay is as exciting and fun as Lara’s latest. Now, if you haven’t heard this is a reboot of Ms. Croft; a prequel as it were. I’ve heard the game compared to the Uncharted series. I can’t confirm that since I’m an Xbox. I’ve also heard it said that it’s not Lara Croft and not a Tomb Raider game. Rubbish, I say. It’s full on Tomb Raider. All the beats are there, they are just presented in a different way. Lets’ break it down shall we.

Lara Croft

When the first designs were presented to the public, the designers made a big deal of the fact that our gal Lara had been sexed down. Gone were the short shorts, revealing evening gowns and sexy diving suits. Lara’s busty, hourglass figure now replaced with a more realistic shape. Although that may be true, Lara is still one tasty biscuit and the game doesn’t skip chances to showcase the fact. Camera angles and cut scenes still portray the girl as one foxy explorer.

One thing needs to be noted though. I’m not sure if the game developers are into abusing women or what, but damn does Lara take a beating. She must have an adamantium skeleton like Wolverine cause no one could survive the shit she goes through. Plus the death scenes are some brutal stuff and the camera does not flinch. It’s a bit over the top at times.

Platforming and Collecting

Maybe the key element of the TR games is here in spades. As you explore the island and its various environments you will jump, climb, swing and crawl through it all. Although the game seems to present them to you in a linear fashion you will find yourself returning to past areas explored, quite possibly, multiple times. In nearly every area there are places you cannot access until you’ve gotten the proper equipment to gain entry. These environments change as the game progresses as well, so that even though you may be returning to an area once explored, it’s changed slightly so the repetitiveness is dulled slightly. One reason to revisit areas is relic hunting. Once again Lara sets her sights upon lost and forgotten relics which she puts under the microscope once found that shed light upon the islands history. I found, unlike other games, that collecting said items was not a chore, but a pleasure.

Tombs

What would the game be without hidden tombs to unearth? Yet, these tombs are not the large complex puzzles of games past. They are much smaller, some might say simpler, tombs. Typically containing some expected platforming and a single puzzle to work out in order to advance through it. I don’t mind this simplicity. Shouldn’t the first tombs Lara explores be simpler?

The Fantastic

TR games have always had some rather crazy elements. Besides exotic wildlife Lara has encountered giant spiders, dinosaurs, krakens, undead and nagas just to name a few. She’s been all around the world exploring lost kingdoms and mythical locales hunting down weapons of the gods and more. This game is no different. Although you are not overloaded with fantastical enemies this time around, a creature of legend is still an inhabitant of the island and yes, expect to do battle.

So yeah, it’s all there. It’s straight up Tomb Raider so shut your mouth. If you’re big on achievements, or trophies if you’re a Playstation, going for them is fun and not overly  challenging (when it comes to single player). It’s made somewhat easier when you locate maps which reveal items and tomb locations but it still takes some work to figure out how to get to them within the environments. The game may start out a bit slow but hot damn once the rollercoster crests the first hill you are in for a thrill ride.

Multiplayer

Now, lets address the multiplayer. It seems like a tacked on accessory nowadays and thats the feeling I get here. There are a handful of modes and they are somewhat interesting but not overly fun. Supposedly all of the DLC the game is getting is also multiplayer. This is a missed opportunity. Other areas of the island could be opened up and more tombs to plunder. But nope, just more maps. If you are into opening up new weapons, abilities and skins as you level in multiplayer than you should dig it. But it pales compared to the single player in this gamer’s opinion.

Rating

If you are looking for a solid adventure game, you can’t go wrong with Tomb Raider. It had been some time since a game infected my every thought and refused to be put down. Now the Ettin that is the Two-Headed Nerd has instructed me to rate games thusly: Buy it, Rent it or Leave it. I give Tomb Raider a solid BUY IT.

A big thanks goes out to Poopbird, AKA Mike Groves, whom I met at C2E2 this year and chatted with me about the game. He too felt the game eclipses the sun that is Bioshock Infinate and graciously gave his permission to use his Tomb Raider artwork for the review. Visit his website and check out his stuff.

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Wooly Toots is just a man. A man like any other. Although there is not a corner of geekdom that has escaped his eye, he doesn’t always like what he sees. He is uncomfortable with the term “love slave.”

The post Twiddling My Thumbsticks: Tomb Raider appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 113 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast! We’re back, Baby!

This week, we discuss the sudden shutdown of Comics Alliance and the rumored presence of Quicksilver & The Scarlet Witch in Avengers 2.

Plus, we talk about all of the wonders we experienced last weekend in our C2E2 2013 Wrap-Up!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Adventures of Superman #1 from DC Comics by Jeff Parker and Chris Samnee
• Matt — Ten Grand #1 from Image Comics by J. Michael Straczynski and Ben Templesmith

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Jupiter’s Legacy #1 from Image Comics
• All-Star Western #19 from DC Comics
• Sesame Street #1 from Ape Entertainment
• The Movement #1 from DC Comics
• Iron Man #258.1 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s:

• Suicide Risk #1 from BOOM Studios
• Shadowman #0 from Valiant Entertainment
• Mister X: Eviction #1 from Dark Horse Comics
• Black Bat #1 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Iron Man #9 from Marvel Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Chin Music #1 from Image Comics by Steve Niles and Tony Harris
• Matt — X #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Duane Swierczynski and Eric Nguyen

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Walt Disney’s Donald Duck Vol. 1 HC: The Old Castle’s Secret from Fantagraphics by Carl Barks

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, A Little Bit Country/A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll by Donnie & Marie, Supernatural Superserious by REM, Coup D’Etat by Refused, The Cloud Room by Pan American, Earl Scheib by Killdozer, Road Trip by Unsane, Warm it Up by Kris Kross, and Off with Their Heads by GHOUL!

The post THN 113: Jake “The Snake” Roberst Vs. The Homophobos appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The Movement #1 (DC)
This was fine. I like the concept, but it doesn’t feel that new or as exciting as I was hoping for. The art shows promise but it all felt flat for me. Worth looking at, up to you to decide to buy or not.
Rating: SKIM IT

Ten Grand #1 (Image)
I love the Templesmith art, and really like the demonic  noir / pulp story this introduces. I think Hellblazer fans especially will want to get this, but worth everyone picking up this first issue.
Rating: BUY IT

The Savage Dragon #187 (Image)
I stopped reading Savage Dragon at issue 25 in the 90s. I read this issue and there has been a lot going on since then! I was a little confused, but it was enough to make me want to go back and start reading from a good catch up point. If you were a fan of this back in the day, you should check it out too.
Rating: SKIM IT

Snapshot #4 (Image)
While the art has remained consistently good on this book, the story has left me feeling let down. I had more expectations for this series than it is paying out.
Rating: :LEAVE IT

Blackacre #6 (Image)
This series has gotten better and better with every issue. I really recommend you be reading it, the story is big, the art is great and its exiting all around!
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 5/01/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Here is an index to THN’s complete coverage of this year’s C2E2!

C2E2 Day One Wrap-Up!

Marvel’s Age of Ultron Panel!

DC Comics’ New 52 Panel!

Marvel’s Superior Spider-Man Panel!

The IDW Panel!

Marvel’s From NOW to Infinity Panel!

The Valiant Entertainment Panel!

C2E2 Day Two Wrap-Up!

Keep your eyes peeled for future additions!

The post C2E2: Complete THN Coverage Index appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

I’m back at the hotel, a questionable mixture of vodka and soda at my side, ready to put a bow on C2E2 Day Two!

As you may have noticed, we spent almost the entire day covering publishers’ panels upstairs in the larger conference rooms. I wish we could have gone to them all, but we are but two men, and a lot of the more interesting panels overlapped with one another on the schedule. So, we narrowed it down to the presentations that seemed like they’d be of the most interest to our readers: Age of Ultron, Superior Spider-Man, and NOW to Infinity from Marvel, The New 52 from DC, Valiant Entertainment, and IDW.

Overall, the panels were a ton of fun, especially Marvel’s. They did a great job of creating an atmosphere of excitement and fun, and brought in an array of creators and editors that were clearly passionate about their work. On the other hand, there was the DC panel which, was full of half-answers and non-announcements. The creators present – Pete Tomasi, Aaron Kuder, Kyle Higgins, and Charles Soule – did their best to seem excited, but the atmosphere in the room was simply dead. Matt had a great time at the Valiant panel; expect a lot of fun stuff coming from that publisher in the coming months.

Of course, the cosplayers were out in full effect. Some good, some bad, but all enthusiastic. See our photo gallery for some of the better costumes to cross our paths.

I cut out a little early to avoid the end-of-show rush leaving the con, but Matt happened upon one Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the Wikia-sponsored bar. He and the newest THN Love Slave “Wooly Toots” shared a shot of tequila with the wrestling legend before calling it a day. Of course, they failed to capture the moment on camera, so their whole story is suspect! Don’t worry about Wooly just yet…you’ll hear plenty from him in the weeks to come.

All in all, C2E2 Day Two was a huge success. We did everything we set out to accomplish, as far as our news coverage. I’m back on the road to Omaha tomorrow morning, so this may be the end of our show coverage this year.  That is, unless Matt can sneak his way back in for the last two Marvel panels before he leaves town. Thank you all for following the site this weekend! We’ll have one final look back at C2E2, and give our reactions to all of the publisher announcements, when we record our big recap show in a few days. In the meantime, enjoy the photo gallery!

The post THN Road Trip: C2E2 Day Two Wrap-Up appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Here’s a transcript of Matt’s highlights from the Valiant panel from this afternoon!

———————-

Robert Venditti and Clayton Henry are here.

They start with Planet Death from the pages of XO Manowar.  Venditti sums up the story.  Says Aric will be growing as a character in the story line, not just punching off heads.  Preview art by Nord looks great as usual.  Images of Aric separated from the armor. “Every issue I tried to change the status quo” Venditti.

New story Arc starts with X-O #15, crossover with the Eternal Warrior.  A crossover that’s been planned since X-O #1.  Next arc, “Something completely different for the character.”  Aric returns to Earth to find it fundamentally changed.  Including a ring of Vine Ship wreckage.

On to Harbinger Wars.  Big applause for Clayton Henry.  “It’s hell to draw this many characters” Henry.  Great preview issues of Bloodshot fighting Psiots.  Bloodshot discovers a whole new set of powers when he encounters Harada.  Part of the Harada protocols.

Harbinger Wars 3 will be the first appearance of the Hard Corps.  They’re going to be a wrecking ball in the Valiant U. “Wherever they go shit gets broken”.

Archer and Armstrong #0, the true story of the epic of Gilgamesh as told by Archer to Armstrong.  Written by Fred Van Lente with art by Clayton Henry.  This will be the first time we see the three immortals adventuring together, Armstrong, Eternal Warrior and Timewalker.

Archer and Armstrong #10 begins the Far Far Away storyline about a portal to another place.

Shadowman #0.  Justin Jordan, art by Roberto De La Torree and Mico Suyan.  The origin of Master Darque.  Described as a “non-superhero” issue.  Whole issue takes place on a plantation.  Atom! Freeman offers a personal money back guarantee for this issue.

All the 0 issues will be jumping on points for new readers.

Quantum and Woody written by James Asmus with art by Tom Fowler.  Described as two complete idiots, adopted brothers, that gain superpowers and decide to be heroes but can’t do anything right.  Includes another talking QR code variant this time featuring Vincent Van Goat.

Harbinger begins a new arc with #12.  A past story featuring Toyo Harada.  Khari Evans handles art on the modern day story that focuses on the new psiots.

Bloodshot #11.  Barry Kitson comes on as series artist.

Harbinger Wars first 8-bit mobile game goes live next Thursday.   Free on May 2nd.  7 hrs of playtime.  Players can buy further levels.

Also Valiant Energy drinks.

Confirmation that the famous Konami Contral cheat code will work.

More 8-bit variants coming soon including Shadowman, Archer and Armstrong.

Next week releasing all the Valiant #1’s for $1. Plus a $9.99 trade that contains all the #1s.

The Valiant FCBD issue has a ton of top secret stuff.  Last page has a five letter word that is very important to the Valiant U.  Unity!

Unity is going to be big in the fall of 2013.

———————

That’s it! Thanks for following our panel C2E2 panel coverage today! Check back later for our Day Two Wrap-Up!

The post C2E2: Valiant Entertainment Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

I’m reporting live from the Marvel NOW panel at C2E2! Keep refreshing that browser for frequent updates!

As with their other panels, the room is packed and the crowd is in good spirits. Unlike the other panels, MTV is here filming. If you see my fat ass on tv, I don’t want to hear about it.

Arune Singh, Tom Brevoort, and Ellie Pyle are here again, along with talent coordinator CB Cebulski, editor Lauren Sankovitch, Uncanny Avengers writer Rick Remender, Iron Man and Young Avengers writer Kieron Gillen, Secret Avengers writer Nick Spencer, editor Jordan White, and writer Charles Soule are on stage.

First (unintentional) announcement: Charles Souse is the new writer of Thunderbolts!

Remender talks Uncanny Avengers and the aforementioned Horsemen of Death (Sentry, Banshee, Daken, and Grim Reaper).

Sankovitch and Spencer are talking Secret Avengers. Spencer calls it a “dream project,” saying he loves the black ops spy stuff and the chance to work with S.H.I.E.L.D.

LOTS of love for Kieron Gillen and Young Avengers. His accent is awesome! Issue #7 begins “a backpacking trip across infinite dimensions.” Whoa.

Some more talk about Avengers AI. They can’t really say anything without spoiling Age of Ultron.

Avengers Arena gets a mention. Issue #14 begins the final story of the first season. Dennis Hopless and Kevin Walker…love it.

Zeb Wells and Paco Medina take over Nova with issue #6.

The bare minimum is said about Neil Gaiman and Angela coming to the Marvel Universe. Guardians of the Galaxy #6 start Gaiman’s co-writing gig.

Thanos Rising is really dark. Moving on.

Nice dig at DC for putting out a reprint on FCBD. Prelude to Infinity begins with Marvel’s FCBD issue. Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver are joining Jim Cheung as artists of the main series.

Nick Spencer is co-writing the Avengers prelude issues with Jonathan Hickman.

Brevoort referred to Hickman’s SHIELD series as “late, lamented.” Sorry, folks.

Brevoort: while the Avengers are busy dealing with the Builders in space, Thanos is looking for something on Earth.

Something about New Avengers…Lots of drama, lots of secrets, lots of conflict. You know the drill.

Thunderbolts ties into Infinity beginning with issue #14, by the new creative team of Charles Soule and Jefte Palo. The reason for this particular team to stick together is that the members are helping each other with problems that they can’t handle themselves.

Q & A Time!

There IS a plan to finally finish Hickman’s SHIELD. Hooray!

Q: plans for Quasar? A: nothing specific, but they’ll get around to him again before too long.

Q: anything specific to look forward to with Thor or Doctor Doom? A: read Thor: God of Thunder, dummy! Look for another announcement at the Next Big Thing panel tomorrow. As for Doom, keep an eye on upcoming issues of New Avengers.

Q: what’s up with Rogue and Scarlet Witch? Remender: they won’t be friends any time soon. Rogue views House of M as the start of a domino chain that led to the death of Professor X.

Q: does the return of the Sentry mean the return of the Void? A: who knows? There seemed to be some confusion about the Void. Apparently a piece of it is in Cyclops’ mind? Not even I remember that!

Q: can someone just jump on with Infinity or do they need to read the entire build up? A: of course, their answer is “yes, but…” just like with anything else.

Dude is upset that Luke Cage’s death in Age of Ultron happened off panel as opposed to everybody else’s. Brevoort agrees to disagree. Am I the only one here that doesn’t think anything in Age of Ultron will matter? They just killed Hank Pym and then announced he was starring in a new title!

Brevoort just declared that Cannonball is the first Southerner to join the Avengers! I’m fact checking that, Buddy!

Q: any chance Cassie Lang will return? A: no, sorry!

Q: does Marvel hate Peter Parker (One More Day, Superior Spidey, etc.)? A: no, DAN SLOTT hates Peter Parker. (Kidding!) Of course they don’t, keep reading, crybaby! (I may be adding a little flavor to these answers…)

Somebody who’s never seen the Internet asked if Phil Coulson was alive or dead in the Marvel cinematic universe. Of course, he is appearing in the upcoming  Agents of SHIELD tv pilot.

This lunatic wants Dexter in the Marvel Universe. Segue into talk of the upcoming mini-series By the original author.

Q: background info on Guardians other than Star Lord for new readers? A: check out the free Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite comics available digitally right now!

Q: any chance of revisiting the story line where Gambit and Sunfire were Horsemen of Apokalypse? A: no for Gambit, “kind of” for Sunfire. There have been so many Horsemen, and most of them are free and clear at this point.

Q: Infinity Gems? A: They blew up, dude! Except for that pesky Time Gem. I wonder…

Final Question! If Thanos is back, will we see Adam Warlock? Brevoort: “no comment?” You’re welcome, Ora McWilliams!!!

That’s it! We’ve done our last panel for today. We be back with a Day Two wrap up with photos later tonight!

The post C2E2: Marvel NOW to Infinity Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Here’s all of the news from from the IDW panel, courtesy of Matt Baum!

—————-

Featuring Phil Hester, Mike Costa, Andy Diggle and Menton3 who resembles the Black Pope of the Satanic Church.

They start with Star Trek.  #21 is After Darkness.  Picks up right after the movie ends.  Much applause.

Orci has been sneaking Easter Eggs into the monthly Trek comic.

On to X-Files (more applause).

Supposedly new X-Files series is creator Chris Carter’s vision of where the series would have gone.

Showing great looking art pages for Wild Blue Yonder.

TMNT City Fall.  Coming soon.  Looks darker.

Kiss Kids because someone demanded it.  EOC does some simple math and says this comic will sell 500,000 copies.

More artist editions coming.  Best of EC. (more applause, some from me).  Jack Davis EC, Xenezoic Tales and Bone and John Byrne FF coming soon too.

Rocketeer/Spirit crossover.  Mark Waid wring w Paul Smith

Doctor Who by Andy Diggle, Image of Clara on screen (sorry if it’s Caire – not a Doc Who nerd).  Diggle been working with Doctor Who historians.  Andy Khun on art.  Diggle “Continuity not as scary as writing spandex books”.  Big reveal in issue #11.  #12 is Diggle’s last issue.  Wants to do old school Trek next.

THUNDER Agents by writer Phil Hester and Artist Andrea Di Vito.  Hester thrilled to be writing this series. “Loved every iteration of the series”.  “Wiping the slate clean and trying to show superheroes unlike any other” When they use their powers it comes out of their hide.  When characters die here, they die.  When I pitched the book I did it the way Bruce Timm pitched Batman animated series.  Take what’s great about the original idea and boil it down for new readers.”

Also putting out new printings of Classic THUNDER Agents.

Wizards and Robots written by Will I Am and art by Mention3.  Also working on “The Memory Collectors”.  writing and art by Menton3.  “Everyone thinks I’m a horror artist but this is going to be more fun.”

Mike Costa takes Hesters place at the Mic (no pun intended).  Talking about Cobra Files.  Just finished writing #7 “The worst Gi Joe arc ever, but not in terms of quality”  New characters both Joe and Cobra.  #7 starts second major arc.  Joe’s are emotionally crushed after a couple of deaths.

Announcements:

Locke & Key Alpha, Ryall “We’re going to be in the Joe Hill business for years to come”.

Cartoon Network partnership

Powerpuff Girls, new and classic material.  Troy Little (Angora Napkin) writing and drawing.  Handling this one like My Little Pony.

Samurai Jack

Ben 10

Rocky and Bullwinkle.  No creators yet

Mr Peabody and Sherman.  January-ish.  Mike Costa wants to write.

Red Star, complete collected editions this Fall.

Mars Attacks Judge Dredd.  Born from the Mars Attacks IDW variants.  John McCray writing.

Zombie War returns, by Kevin Eastmen, old Tundra comic.  Colored and collected for first time.

The Other Dead, Zombie animals.

That’s it! Hope it made sense, because I didn’t edit a single word! See you soon for Valiant and Marvel NOW coverage!

The post C2E2: IDW Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Kill me now…It’s the third panel in a row with no break: Marvel’s Superior Spider-Man! Refresh your browser update request updates!

Arune Singh, Tom Brevoort, and Ellie Pyle are back with Mark Waid, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Ryan Stegman, Chris Samnee, Declan Shalvey, and Nick Spencer. This is a killer panel line-up and the crowd hugely enthusiastic! Sorry, DC!

Arune gave a quick recap of the Superior story so far and is asking Stegman what is was like to be a part of it. Stegman (joking): “all the anger was aimed at Dan Slott, so…”

Ellie Pyle: next week’s issue will be HUGE. More on that later.

July is Superior Spider Month. Spidey will be dealing with “the Shadowland problem.”

Video message from Slott! Spider-Man 2099 is coming in September’s #17 with a killer cover by Olivier Coipel! Slott promises huge repercussions into the future.

Matt Baum is back on the live-tweeting and Humberto Ramos has joined the panel!

Brief mention of Superior Spider-Man Team Up. Ellie Pyle: if you liked Avenging Spider-Man you’ll love this.

Nick Spencer is talking about Superior Foes of Spider-Man. I can’t wait for this book!

Superior Carnage gets a brief mention as well…Not much new there.

Scarlet Spider is still going strong with a new costume by Chris Yost and Carlo Barberi.

Declan Shalvey is talking about Venom. His accent is AMAZING. Eddie Brock is coming back.

Fialkov is talking about Alpha and taking a character everyone hates and making him likable. Sorry, I still kind of hate him.

HUGE applause for Chris Samnee. Samnee calls Waid “the best collaborator I’ve ever had.” I love these dudes.

The biggest difference between these panels and DC’s is that Marvel’s are full of creators that speak passionately about their work while DC’s are full of editors that say essentially nothing.

Ellie Pyle touches briefly on Fearless Defenders. New costume for Valkyrie designed by Mark Brooks. Lots of fur.

A guy dressed as Spidey got invited on stage to read PART of next week’s Superior Spider-Man.

Q & A time!

Q: would Superior Spider-Man work as a movie and could non-comic-readers handle it. A: they COULD, but the best things about comics is that they can do things movies can’t.

Q: will Kaine and Superior Spidey meet? Stegman: “all i’ll say is that I just drew a cover with both of them on it.”

The plot of Doc Ock “collecting” members of the Sinister Six will continue,.

Sick burn by Waid about DC not having a booth at the show. Hilarious!

A follow up to Spider-Men is coming!

Q: any plans for Jester and Screwball in Daredevil? A: Jester for sure.

Q: any “major” villains in Superior Foes? A: you’ll see them.

The guy that read next week’s issue said it made his Spider Sense tingle. GROSS!

Q: Madame Web? A: She’s in a coma. There are future plans, and she knows that Doc Ock is Spidey! Keep reading.

Declan Shalvey just said that Rick Remender has a very punchable face! There’s a word for that: backpfeifengesicht. You’re welcome.

Somebody is questioning the fact that the Avengers didn’t notice that Ock Spidey had different brain patterns.  Waid: they were specifically looking for Skrull brain patterns. Ramos: it’s comics, man.

Q: why reveal that Peter was still “alive” so quickly. Pyle: “we knew people would be upset.” This was Slott’s way of letting people know that Peter’s story wasn’t over. The question is: will he STAY around now that Ock knows he’s there?

Dan Slott has joined the panel via phone!

Q: more Hobgoblin? A: Superior Spidey #14-#16! SKADOOSH!

Slott says that the new costume has new abilities. Ramos is being coy about it. “I’m under contract!”

Q: when will Carlie Cooper come forward with her knowledge about Ock Spidey? Waid: “Do you think that would go well for her?” Pyle and Slott: she’s waiting for solid proof.

Q: what’s up with with the empty hospital bed labeled “Osborn” and the return of the Green Goblin? A: Slott pretends there’s something wrong with his connection.

Waid demands a puppet Dan Slott for the next time he calls into a panel.

Somebody is trying to make a connection between the new costume and Ben Reilly. You’re barking up the wrong tree, dude.

Q: any plans to address the letter Madame Web sent to Kaine pre-coma? A: maybe post-coma.

Q: how about splitting Spidey into two being a la Hulk and Banner? A: keep reading, you never know and they ain’t telling.

Somebody made an insane pitch involving inserting Peter’s spirit into Madame Web’s comatose body. Waid invited him to talk privately with Slott and make a 60-second pitch on the spot!

Q: any more Superior/Daredevil crossovers? Q: YES!

Thats it! Time to ice these hands and get some lunch…See you soon for the next panel!

The post C2E2: Marvel Comics Superior Spider-Man Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

T-minus 25 minutes until DC’s New 2 panel begins! It’s oughtta be something… Keep refreshing that browser for regular updates as I post them!

Here we go! DC VP of Sales Bob Wayne is moderating as always, but no one else is getting introduced. King of DC Fletcher Chu Fong is here, though.

Pete Tomasi is talking about the continuation of Batman & Robin without Robin. The “Batman and…” Arc is modeled after the stages of grief. Heavy stuff… The Batman and Nightwing issue is the acceptance issue.

More Carrie Kelly to come… Will she be the new Robin? Dun dun DUN!

By the way, Matt is live-tweeting his reaction to the panel as it progresses at http://twitter.com/twoheadednerd.

Tomasi is getting ready to end his 12-year association with Green Lantern as both an editor and writer of GLC. Much love from the room.

Superman Unchained is up next. Deftly timed to coincide with Man of Steel. Wayne (joking): “an amazing coincidence.”

Bob Harras: “Scott Snyder and Jim Lee are bringing their A-game.”

Trinity War was mentioned, and nothing of substance was reviewed that you don’t already know. It’s a crossover between Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. Pandora and the Phantom Stranger (and The Question, presumably) are all up in it.

Kyle Higgins is talking about Nightwing’s move to Chicago, which gets a lot of applause from the crowd, as you can imagine. Lots coming up about what happens to “masks” in Chicago. I like the cut of this Higgins guy’s jib. Writing the character is “an honor and a privilege.”

New Vibe writer Sterling Gates is talking about the book. Vibe is a young kid learning on the job, thrown into a world way over his head. Batman appears in issue #4.

Bob Harras and Bobbie Chase are here, having OMG SO MUCH FUN, I’m sure. (That’s a callback, kids.)

Harras is urging folks to check out Palmiotti and Gray’s Batwing, now starring Lucius Fox’s son Luke.

All-Star Western is next. Looks like Jonah Hex is headed to the present day for a fish-out-of-water adventure. I’d bet Booster Gold is involved.

New Swamp Thing writer Charles Soule is speaking about the title. Constantine will be appearing soon. Soule will be doing mostly two or three issue stories, in direct contradiction to the Rotworld philosophy. Sounds good!

Soule is also taking over Red Lanterns, which will now star Guy Gardner! What the what?!

Geoff Johns’ final issue of Green Lantern will be the 88-page issue #20. It will be the culmination of everything Johns has been doing during his years-long run. Doug Mahnke is outdoing himself on this one, apparently.

Wayne just asked Aaron Kuder about Green Lantern New Guardians despite the fact that he is no longer drawing it. That is not a joke. Tomasi: “Tony Bedard would say that it’s great and you should buy it.” Ouch.

Matt’s ditching me for the IDW panel. So long, sucker!

Q&A Time!

Starro the Conqueror of Bleeding Cool fame is trying to get the panel to talk about Villain’s Month, specifically an as yet unannounced Crime Syndicate book. The panel is pretending they don’t know what he’s talking about.

Q: any Renee Montoya. Also, any plans to bring Batwoman closer to the other Bat-books? A: yes to both!

Q: any plans for the Outsider from Flashpoint? A: no comment, I guess.

Q: plans for Nightwing to team up with Bat-family post Chicago move? A: of course.

Q: plans for Superman characters like Steel or the Eradicator? A: sure.

Q: will Johns ever reveal the Green Lantern oath? A: read GL #20, maybe?

The panel keep jokingly responding to every question they don’t know the answer to with “Wonder Woman #25.”

Falling behind…sorry!

Q: plans for the new Aqualad? A: they’ve talked about it but no firm plans.

Tomasi: you have to have moments of brightness or else the dramatic moments are meaningless.

Q: plans for Nightwing to return to the Justice League. A: Higgins says that’s a question for Geoff Johns (conveniently not present).

Q: Cyborg solo title? A: the panel tried to gauge audience interest and the audience was not prepared to respond. Sorry, Vic!

Q: is Nightwing a Sox fan or a Cubs fan? Higgins: “as long as I’m writing, he’ll NEVER go to a Cubs game.”

A fan is giving DC props for their diversity (racial, gender, sexual, etc.).

A: anything coming to the New 52 other than more Batman, Green Lantern, superhero, etc.? A: keep watching.

Q: plans for The Question or more Batman Beyond? A: Kyle Higgins is the new writer of Batman Beyond Unlimited with Sean Murphy covers! As for The Question, Trinity War is the place.

Q: plans to expand the Teen Titans with Static, Blue Beetle, etc? A: Don’t expect Static, but keep watching otherwise.

Q: with the new Batman and the Wonder Woman-esque characters coming up in Earth 2, any plans for a new Superman? A: keep watching….which I honestly think means they don’t really know at this point.

Q: are cover gimmicks a scheme to help brick and mortar stores in the face of digital. A: Don’t be an idiot. (I may be projecting.)

There’s a young lady that’s REALLY upset that someone didn’t get their head cut off during “Death of the Family.” Tomasi: fracturing the family was always the point, not character death.

Thats it! See you soon for the Superior Spidey panel!

The post C2E2: DC Comics New 52 Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Joe is front row enter at Marvel’s Age of Ultron panel at C2E2! Keep refreshing your browser for updates as fast as I can type them!

Thirty minutes until the panel begins… The slowly is slowly filling up behind me!

Marvel Director of Communications Arune Singh and Editor Extraordinaire Tom Brevoort have arrived with a young lady I don’t immediately recognize.

Ryan “Agent M” Penagos is here, along with several well-known comics journalists whose names you would probably recognize. I suddenly feel completely inferior.

Age of Ultron artist Brandon Peterson has joined the group.

Time to start!

The mystery lady is editor Ellie Pyle. There you go!

Rick Remender is here.

Brevoort is recapping the story thus far…

Remender talking about his tie-in: Uncanny Avengers #8AU. Adam Kubert will draw the issue and it will tie in to the current Apocalypse Twins story.

Brevoort talking about the very limited number of tie-ins, due to the very quickly shipping main series.

Tom says they like to say the “AU” like “OW,” as in ” Uncanny Avengers #8 OW!” Like James Brown would yell it, not like when you stub your toe.

Ellie Pyle said a few words about the Fearless Defenders tie-in, and octal led one lucky fan up to read the issue early!

The creative team on AoU #8 is BANANAS. Bendis, Hitch, Marquez, Guice, Pacheco, Maleev, Peterson, and Quesada!

Peterson is speaking about the fun he’s having on the book. Brevoort “has some thoughts” about Peterson’s next project. Mysterious!

Arune: “How did you manage that huge creative team?” Brevoort: “It kind of looks like a car crash.” But seriously, each artist is doing specific sequences in the issue that will make sense.

Time to talk about Angerla. Who has “appeared in some other comics that we won’t talk about.” Angela appears for the first time in AoU #10, before moving to Guardians of the Galaxy #5. Neil Gaiman will co-write the entire story, not just that issue.

Very few words about Age of Ultron #10AI by Mark Waid and Andre Araujo. Or if you prefer “AoU #10 AIIIEEE!” Hank Pym will go through a very transformative experience “considering that he’s DEAD!” It leads to the new Avengers AI ongoing series.

Age of  Ultron #10 UC?! They can’t say ANYTHING about it, not even the creative team. This is what that HUNGER teaser was referring to months recent Marvel solicits.

Time for a funny video parody of the “original ending” to AoU…

Agent M got to work out with Jake the Snake Roberts in the gym this morning!

Q&A time! “We’ll even answer your DC questions!”

Q: why the slow build up in early issues? A: throwing readers in in mid-story let’s the readers feel the confusion and disorientation the characters are feeling. The character stuff plays to Bendis’ strengths.

A lot of the folks in the audience are “not tin a rush” for Peter Parker to come back. ZOINKS!

Q: was Bendis’ Moon Knight a prelude to AoU? A: YES!

Q: will we see a flashback to Ultron’s actual attack on Earth. A: not really.

Some Hank Pym love… Brevoort is really messing with the guy. All of Pym’s greatest stories never happened because he was killed in the past. Brevoort: “Age of Ultron #10AI is the book for you.”

Somebody questioning Remender about the logistics of Wolverine killing Daken vis a vis healing factors. That’s hardcore. This kid seems pretty bummed about it. Remender and Brevoort: without real stakes the stories are meaningless. Nuff Said, True Believer!

Another Daken fan…SHEESH!

Q: what comic/character helped mold you into the creator you are today (paraphrase).

Remender: the issue of Secret Wars where Hulk holds up a mountain.

Peterson: Dark Knight Returns. At the Marvel panel? For shame, Sir!

Brevoort: Stan Lee “the best Marvel character there is.”

Ellie Pyle: Rogue and/or Jean Grey.

Arune: Superman. “I won’t see more because we’re in a Marvel panel.”

Q: why kill off Taskmaster the way you did in AoU? The fan thought his story was going somewhere. Brevoort (joking): “turns out it wasn’t.”

Q: why have Wolverine kill Hank Pym? A: he’s the obvious choice. Wolverine is the Marvel Universe’s “ultimate pragmatist. If you line up all the characters and ask ‘who’s going back in time to kill Hank Pym.’ Well…”

Somebody wants Wonder Man back in the leisure suit. Remender: “for you? Done.”

Q: where are the rest of the Avengers robotic allies during AoU (Machine Man, Jacosta, etc.)? Also, what happened to the Ultron from back in the day that had an epiphany and loved humanity? A: “his Commodore 64 Keats crashing…” There wasn’t a specific choice not to use the robotic characters, but the small cast implies that most of the other heroes are lost/dead. Plus, humans against machines fits better thematically.

Q: something about “Phase 3″ of the movies, specifically Ultron, considering how the films are influencing the comics (big Thanos push, Guardians of the Galaxy return, etc.). Brevoort: “that’s a question for Marvel Studios but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get around to Ultron.”

Q: with Doom’s time machine being used, how does the “Doom Lock” from Peter David’s X-Factor come into play (meaning that Doom’s time machine doesn’t splinter alternate realities)? A: this is definitely the main Marvel U. No alternate timelines at work.

Side note: Peter David is recovering nicely. He recorded a video for tomorrow’s X-Men panel.

I’m falling behind, but I’m pretty sure Brevoort just said that Age of Ultron and Infinity are separate. One doesnlea have a cliffhanger leading to the other.

Sentry fans rejoice! The character will be back as a “Horseman if Death” alongside Grim Reaper, Daken, and Banshee in Uncanny Avengers.

Brevoort just used the word “synergy” in reference to Marvel’s stories influencing other products (ie: the video games, a Fantomex action figure, etc.)

That’s it! I’m already exhausted… See you soon for the next panel!

The post C2E2: Marvel’s Age of Ultron Panel appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The shoes are finally off and I’ve taken my last steps of the night…Time to look back and reflect on the day’s events!

The THN Crew arrived at the convention fashionably late and decided to spend the first day taking in the sights. There were a lot of people in great costumes roaming the aisles (and some that weren’t so great). Everybody seemed to be having a great time and was generally pretty cool about respecting each others’ space.

The curious case of the Death of Matt Baum continued. You can watch the drama unfold by following the #deathofmattbaum hash tag on Twitter.

We took a few minutes to interview Geoff Darrow about the return of Shaolin Cowboy, then spent the remainder of the day chatting with folks like Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Olivier Coipel (X-Men), David Peterson (Mouse Guard), Greg Land (Iron Man), Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), and Keiron Gillen (Young Avengers).

It’s interesting to note that, while publishers of all sizes had booths on the show floor – Marvel to Archaia to Dark Horse and everyone in between, DC was conspicuously absent. We know that DC is here – they’re doing several panels and have some sort of virtual tour bus rolling around, but they have no booth on the floor. It’s strange, but what ISN’T strange at DC these days?

Overall, Day One at C2E2 was a huge success! Tomorrow will be spent live blogging the major news panels of the day, starting with Marvel’s Age of Ultron panel at 11am CST, so stay tuned to the site for regular updates!

The post THN Road Trip: C2E2 Day One Wrap Up! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Jupiters Legacy #1 (Image)
Millar books are 50/50 for me. But Quitely’s art is always great. I like the premise of this book, the art is great. Totally worth picking up!
Rating: BUY IT

Amalas Blade #1 (Dark Horse)
I read the 0 issue of this a little while ago and liked the premise. The art has a manga / anime feel while retaining its own style and the story is layered and exciting. Im looking forward to more of this series.
Rating: BUY IT

The End Times of Bram & Ben #4 (Image)
I was pleasantly surprised with this entire mini series from start to finish. There are laugh out loud moments in every issue, it was a ton of fun to read!
Rating: BUY IT

Morning Glories #26 (Image)
It’s one dollar! This starts “season 2” and you should jump on now. Once you do I think you will want to get the trades and read the story from the start.
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers #10 (Marvel)
Hickman is writing the most ambitious super hero book in the last twenty years. This is a big story, with big implications and I love it. Give him the time to tell the story he is making and you will love it too!
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 4/24/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: In honor of the character’s 75th birthday, what is your all-time favorite Superman story?

Click HERE ———> THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 8!

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 8 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Over the weekend it was my birthday, my 33^rd to be exact. Earlier in the month my husband asked me if I wanted to do anything special for it. Since it wasn’t a big one (21, 25, 30, 35, 40, etc.) I said no, just to go out with dinner or something, nothing huge since it was on a Sunday.

Turns out I ended up actually having some plans.

On Saturday night my husband and I went to dinner at my most favorite place in Omaha, Rivera’s, with another couple. It was as usual, crazy delicious.

Afterwards, my besties decided to throw me a Cab and Canvas party at one of their casa’s. A cab and canvas party includes painting and drinking wine, fyi (I made the flower painting. My mom always thought I should’ve been an art teacher. If I didn’t know better I’d think she was high all the time). Apparently it’s the new thing to do, we are so trendy. Also at this party my husband drank half a bottle of Mezcal (which my husband has repeated scolded me “It’s not the same thing as tequila!”) and drank the scorpion in the bottom of said bottle.

[VIDEO: Matt Baum drinks a Scorpion.]

So, you know, good times right there. My husband got totally wasted in his quest to become the god damn scorpion king, that I had to leave my party to drive his drunk ass home. Not only did I have to leave MY PARTY, ahem, he made me stop at Burger King and order him a 10 piece chicken nuggets snack (someone needed second dinner or as Taco Bell calls it “fourth meal”) on the way home as well.

The next morning, Sunday, was my actual birthday and I was going to be hella-mad if my husband was sick on MY BIRTHDAY. This might seem selfish to you all, but I mean all I ask is that one weekend, ONE WEEKEND, he drive me through the Burger King drive through so I can get those %&#^ing nuggets. Anyway, I had to get a long run in that morning because my half marathon training is ruining my life, and at this time my husband kept asking me when I’d be back. I assumed it was so he could go out and buy my some birthday cupcakes or something birthday esq. It was not. He was hungry and wanted lunch. When I returned eight torturous miles later he was just on the couch playing Tiger Woods Golf on the Xbox. There were no cupcakes. I repeat, NO CUPCAKES! After I made note of these no cupcakes he said, he’d be sure to take me to Jones Bros. Cupcakes later and he’d get me some. Remember that, it’s important.

After a late brunch, we ended up at a bar with some friends for some afternoon birthday day drinks. On our way home to make my birthday dinner, my husband took me to get cupcakes. He pulled up in front of Jones Bros. and had me jump out of the car to go get cupcakes. I HAD TO BUY MYSELF BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES. No words, I have no words. The only other time recently I can remember not having any words was when that fool Justin Bieber wrote that he hoped that Anne Frank (yes, THAT Anne Frank) would’ve been a Belieber. I hate people.

Well Kacie, those are minor things, he probably got you a super stellar gift so that makes up for it. Well Girl Meets Nerd readers, he says he got me a stellar gift, in fact I’m allegedly receiving a new pair of boots. When? Who knows. They apparently were out of stock. Lovely. At least he tried, right?

Oh, but wait. This reminds me of a gift of birthday’s past, when my husband bought me a ^%*$ing tree.

Yes, a tree. Now I’m all for saving the earth, I recycle, ride my bike, turn lights off, but I don’t recall ever asking for a god damn tree as a present. I came home this birthday afternoon, years ago (I still worked at the YMCA) and in my front yard was a tree. I asked my husband why we had a new tree in our yard. My husband was so proud and said, “It’s for you. It’s your birthday gift!” I stood there shocked. Then finally replied, “You got me a tree for my birthday? A tree?”

“It symbolizes our love,” he innocently responded.

“You got me a love tree?!!!! I wanted high heels!” (I know I seem ungrateful, but I was young, every girl wants high heels in their 20′s. Give me a break!).

I love my husband very much, but he is not a very good at birthday’s. In fact, I think it runs in the Baum genes. Case in point, my father-in-law sent me a text message wishing me a happy birthday five days before my actual birthday. While I’m at it, my husband also thought I was turning 35 this year (rude, I don’t look a day over 27) and up until two years ago couldn’t tell you my actual birthday. You guys, no words, again, I have no words…sigh…

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Birthday appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 112 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the Disney announcement of a new Star Wars film every year, the latest Guardians of the Galaxy and Amazing Spider-Man film news, and our feelings about the new full-length Man of Steel trailer.

Plus, the Comic Pushers are back to get some poor sap hooked on our favorite gateway drug!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Nightwing #19 from DC Comics by Kyle Higgins and Brett Booth
• Matt — Danger Girl Trinity #1 from IDW by Andy Hartnell, John Royle, Harvey Tolibao, and Stephen Molnar

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1 from Dark Horse
• Miniature Jesus #1 from Image Comics
• Danger Club #5 from Image Comics
• Iron Man #8 from Marvel Comics
• Cable & X-Force #7 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s:

• Jirni #1 from Aspen
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 from DC Comics
• Victorian Secret Agents: Owls of the Ironwork Isles #1 from Antarctic Press
• TMNT Micro Series Villains: Krang #1 from IDW
• Savage Wolverine #4 from Marvel Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Jupiter’s Legacy #1 from Image Comics by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
• Matt — Helheim #2 from Oni Press by Cullen Bunn and Joelle Jones

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• X-Men: Longshot TPB from Marvel Comics by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Comic Pushers Theme – Pusher Man by Curtis Mayfield, Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth, Finale and End Title March from the Superman Soundtrack by John Williams, Make Me Smile by Chicago, The Number Song by DJ Shadow, You’re the Best by Joe “Bean” Esposito, Because I Got High by Afroman.

The post THN 112: Pass the Dutchie appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Check out this preview of Amala’s Blade #1 courtesy of Dark Horse! The first issue of the new series by Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas hits stands this Wednesday, so let your shop owner know that you need a copy ASAP!

The post Preview: Amala’s Blade #1 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Wolverine and the X-Men #27AU (Marvel)
Another Age of Ultron tie in which normally would be a turn off for me but these have been great. This is no exception, AOU or not, get this!
Rating: BUY IT

Mara #4 (Image)
The first 2 issues of Mara had me luke warm. The third caught my attention. This fourth has me beyond hooked.
Rating: BUY IT

Danger Club #5 (Image)
Even though the release schedule for this book has been spotty this is one of the best Super-hero books currently being made. Get the first trade with this issue and enjoy the carnage!
Rating: BUY IT

Black Beetle #3 (Dark Horse)
I do love this pulp noir. This issue continues the compelling and dark story. Keep it up!
Rating: BUY IT

Miniature Jesus #1 (Image)
Ted McKeever is an insane prophet or possibly the devil himself. I don’t know if this is for everyone but its sure for me! At least check it out.
Rating: SKIM IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 4/17/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What is your favorite “mature readers” comic series of all time?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 7 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 111 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the implications of a time-traveling Booster Gold appearing in All-Star Western, DC’s upcoming Villain Month in September, and the Saga #12 controversy.

Plus, Ask A Nerd is back to answer a question about shifting super-team lineups!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #1 from IDW by Mike Costa and Antonio Fuso
• Matt — Batgirl #19 from DC Comics by Gail Simone and Daniel Sampere

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Mega Man #24 from Archie Comics
• Ultron #1AU from Marvel Comics
• Batman Lil Gotham #1 from DC Comics
• Avenging Spider-Man #19 from Marvel Comics
• Invincible Universe #1 from Image Comics

Matt’s:

• Colonized #1 from IDW
• Sex #2 from Image Comics
• Batman #19 from DC Comics
• Fearless Defenders #3 from Marvel Comics
• Sledgehammer ’44 #2 from Dark Horse Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1 from Dark Horse by Tim Seidell and Stephen Thompson
• Matt — Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Grey #2 from Image Comics by Frank J. Barberi and Chris Mooneyham

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Marshall Law Deluxe Hardcover from DC Comics by Pat Mills and Kevin O’Neil

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Past Time Players, Gay Bar by Electric Six, Winnebago by Phoenix, Everything Sux by The Descendants, Sister Marie by Sagittarius, Sampans by Lalo Schifrin, Haai by Panbers, El Bimbo by Fausto Papetti.

The post THN 111: Deep Cover Transgendered Psychos appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

X #0 (Dark Horse)
Another bundle of the Dark Horse Presents stories. I liked this, but it feels one note and there isn’t a hook that makes me want more. Nothing bad about this, but nothing that stands out either.
Rating: SKIM IT

Invincible Universe #1 (Image)
A continuation of the Guarding the Globe series. I love this universe that Kirkman has built and this is no exception. If you are a fan of Invincible you should be reading this too.
Rating: BUY IT

Colonized  #1 (IDW)
If you have been dying for another zombie book, with aliens then this is for you. Personally I’m burnt out. It’s fine, but nothing special.
Rating: LEAVE IT

Hawkeye #9 (Marvel)
This went from funny to intense to serious. Seriously if you aren’t reading it you aren’t good at comic books. Buy it, Bro.
Rating: BUY IT

Ultron #1 (Marvel)
If you are a sucker for end of the world, killer robot stories like I am then you will get this! If you aren’t into AOU then you won’t. I personally can’t have a clear head about this series, I love in in spite of its flaws. More please!
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 4/10/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: Who is your favorite B-List (or lower) super-villain of all time?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 6 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

There’s been a new development in the Legend Comics & Coffee/Make-A-Wish Nebraska Fundraiser!

As some of you may know, occasional guest-host Dave DeMarco is a fan of the show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Well, he’s agreed, IF we demolish last year’s total and raise over $25,000 for Make-A-Wish, to get the Legend Comics & Coffee Pony tattooed on his body! This pony was designed especially for Legend by local artist Emily Krier!

That’s right, Bronies and Pegasisters…things just got REAL! So we need everyone to open their hearts and their wallets and give til it hurts! And spread the word — we have just over three weeks to go!

The post Bronies Assemble! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

I feel this always happens when I write a two part blog. Part two gets shafted and utter nonsense takes its place. This time though the nonsense is important so listen up and get ready for some science, bitches.

I don’t often talk about my job, because I don’t like to mix business and my blog, but today I’m going to. This is partly to make you understand why you are getting this blog entry and why you are NOT getting a new Girl Meets Nerd next week (go ahead and cry, I understand).

On April 12-14, 2013, Nebraskans will explore the wonders of science through the inaugural Nebraska Science Festival, which will feature science-and technology-related activities across the Omaha area, all with the goal of making science accessible, interactive, relevant and fun for kids and adults alike (thank you internet for that description).

America’s favorite stand-up scientist Bill Nye will headline the inaugural festival on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. during a free presentation at the Joslyn Museum’s Witherspoon Hall (alas, tickets to this main event are sold out suckas).

Festival programs and activities will take place throughout that weekend in the Omaha area with the majority of events being free to the public. Among the highlights:

• A free Public Expo on April 13 at The Durham Museum will feature an array of interactive, hands-on science-related booths and presentations.
• Dancing Scientist Jeffrey Vinokur will combine science and dance into a high-energy performance on April 12 & 13 at The Durham Museum.
• CAPOW, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s chemistry and physics show, will entertain children on April 12 & 13 at The Durham Museum.
• Additional sites including (deep breath, here we go…) The French Bulldog, Lauritzen Gardens, Film Streams at The Ruth Sokolof Theater, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, Fontenelle Forest, The Strategic Air & Space Museum, City Sprouts, Hot Shops Art Center, Metropolitan Community College, UNMC College of Dentistry, and Joslyn Art Museum will provide science-related activities during the Festival weekend.

For a complete list of the 25 plus booths at the Science Expo, descriptions of what each site is offering AND to print of festival tickets (even free events require a ticket) go to www.nescifest.com.

NE SciFest has been my life for the last year and more recently the last three months of my life. I live and breath this even when I’m not at work. We have a great team that has worked really hard to put this on for everyone in the community. There are events for all ages and science lovers, from kids to seniors to art lovers to nature lovers there is lit-er-a-lly something for everyone.

SIDE: There’s a good chance I might win my bracket (the Crapbag one from a few blogs ago) for the fourth year in a row. I’m already super stressed with this festival, this game is not helping at all. God dammit sports! END SIDE.

Anyhow, this has been a special public service-esq blog. Basically, if you live in Omaha and don’t attend the inaugural Nebraska Science Festival, the only thing in your tumbler is going to be regret.

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Festival de Science appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 110 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the passing of industry legends George Gladir and Carmino Infantino, the latest Marvel Studios casting news, and the upcoming Superior Foes of Spider-Man series by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber.

Plus, we take a look at The State of Marvel NOW six months in!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we talk about the latest Question of the Week with all of YOUR responses!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Batwing #19 from DC Comics by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Eduardo Pansica
• Matt — Thanos Rising #1 from Marvel Comics by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Detective Comics #900 from DC Comics
• Swamp Thing #19 from DC Comics
• Earth Two #11 from DC Comics
• Action Comics #19 from DC Comics
• The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 from Dark Horse

Matt’s:

• Miss Fury #1 from Dynamite
• Harbinger Wars #1 from Valiant
• Polarity #1 from BOOM Studios
• Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible #1 from Dark Horse
• Mice Templar Vol. IV Legend #1 from Image Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Action Comics #19 from DC Comics by Andy Diggle and Tony Daniel
• Matt — Thanos Rising #1 from Marvel Comics by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Mind MGMT Vol. 1 HC from Dark Horse Comics by Matt Kindt

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Radiation Sickness by Nuclear Assault, Dr. Dooom’s in the Room by Dr. Dooom, Ice Cube Korea Wants a Word with You by Skankin’ Pickle, The West Wing Theme by Bear McCreary as performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

The post THN 110: Two Thumbs Up appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

THE NEW FRONTIER #2

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Year Published: 1990

Creative Team: John Sabljic and Michael Cherkas

Gems in the Bin is a column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, I am reviewing The New Frontier #2  from Dark Horse Comics.

The cover for The New Frontier caught my attention while perusing the $.25 bin, so I opened the comic, flipped through some pages, and was impressed by the black and white noir style of artist Michael Cherkis. I took a look at the back cover of this comic and read the synopsis which talked about the fate of a movie star by the name of Rubi Fields. She died in mysteriously in 1963, and her fans were still debating what really happened to her some 25 years later. The story sounded interesting enough so I put down a quarter.

Writer John Sabljic’s story follows a reporter by the name of Ace who is covering a Rubi Fields tribute event in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The world is still grieving the loss of Rubi Fields, but there is a large cult of Rubi look-alikes that keep her legacy alive. This event is mobbed by fans and the press. Ace meets a woman who claims to be the real Rubi Fields, and she becomes linked to long-shot presidential candidate Ivor Wynne.

The New Frontier is a blend of noir and post-modern literature. It is a satire of how celebrities are worshiped, and how they play a role in shaping political opinion. Sabljic’s story is engaging, but The New Frontier is not for people looking for non-stop action and women with super-powers dressed in less-than-revealing outfits.

Sabljic’s story is complimented by the black and white artwork of Michael Cherkas. His panels are an excellent blend of noir and and sci-fi. Cherkas also does the lettering himself which seems to be a lost art these days.

Overall The New Frontier is an interesting read for those looking for a bit of satire. Another quarter well spent at my local comic book shop. The TD-Dubs has spoken.

RATING: BUY IT!

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TonyDoug Wright (aka The TD-Dubs) is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post GEMS IN THE BIN: THE NEW FRONTIER #2 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Snow Angel #1 (Dark Horse)
I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t know what I really read after I was done with this. Quirky stories, maybe aimed at all ages? I liked it but I don’t know what it was really about other than 2 fun stories for anyone. I can’t say it is something everyone will enjoy though.
Rating: SKIM IT

Godzilla: The Half Century War #5 (IDW)
This series has been incredible. Not just because it’s the most interesting and visually stunning Godzilla story I’ve ever read, but because it was one of the best miniseries I’ve read in the last year. If you missed out on this pick up the trade, it’s awesome!
Rating: BUY IT

Abe Sapien #1 (Dark Horse)
I’ve been out of the BPRD-Verse for a while but wanted to pick this up and check it out. Great art, ok first issue that gets you caught up with what’s happening. I want to read more.
Rating: BUY IT

Skybreaker #1 (Monkeybrain)
Compelling new western comic. A revenge tale, nothing particular new or a big twist but enough to make me want to read more, especially at a .99 price point.
Rating: SKIM IT

Thanos Rising  #1 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron is pretty much a sure thing these days. This is no exception. While I dont know if I was asking for a Thanos origin story, this is very interesting and the art is great.
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 04/03/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What obscure licensed property would you like to see make a comeback in comic form?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 5 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Bioshock Infinite entered my house this past weekend and I’d planned on doing a video blog for this week’s Girl Meets Nerd similar to what Conan O’Brien does on his show when he reviews video games as he is a non-video gamer.

Alas, my husband and his lack of iMovie knowledge (surprising, right?) and this production known as Easter got in my way. Oh and also, GAME OF THRONES WAS ON! The only icy stare to rival mine would be that of Cersei Lannister, fact.

As a back-up he suggested I do a two part summer movie preview. Part one would be three or so movies I was looking forward to seeing this summer and why I wanted to see them. Part two would be three movies he was excited to see and why. I kind of shrugged this suggestion off and said, “I don’t even know what movies are coming out this summer. Huh, anything good? I don’t think I want to see anything, I just don’t know.”

Silence. Which, if you know my husband, is a rare thing to get! He just sat in the devil, aka my car (my license plate ends in 666), and said, “I’m sorry, did you say nothing is coming out this summer?”

I just did my normal ‘meh‘ shrug and said, “Yeah, no clue. Is something big coming out?”

With a screech only Charlie Day can hit vocally, he proceeded, “Babes! What comes out?! Oh only Star Trek, the new Superman, IRON MAN!”

“Oh,” I said, “huh, did I know that?”

“Babes! You were the one that posted a new Iron Man trailer to my facebook page!” yelled my husband (upon doing some facebook research it does appear I did place an Iron Man trailer on his facebook page…so BEST WIFE EVER?!).

Spoiler Alert: when you come back for part two can you guess which three movies he is going to want me to review for him? Sigh…there is no mystery in my life anymore.

Until then, you are stuck with three movies I want to see. Which, this is super pathetic, I had to google “summer 2013 movies” to even find what was coming out and even then I was not impressed. Though my husband is a slave driver and still made me do this blog with my picks so here they are in no random order.

1. The Bling Ring

   Synopsis: Based on a true story (already in), this group of young peeps in L.A. that are obsessed with fame rob celebrities (let’s use this term lightly because they robbed Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan)when they are not home. It’s directed by Sofia Coppola and stars HERMOINE GRANGER aka Emma Watson. Let’s see, I like L.A., celebrities, bling, Harry Potter so obviously I’M ALL IN.

2. The Hangover Part 400937366253.0 oops, Part 3

   Synopsis: Off of the top of my head, I would say the wolf pack somehow ends up in a crazy party town and once again loses their friend, Ed Helms loses an arm, Zach Galifianakis finds and carries a baby troll with him the whole movie, Bradley Cooper looks really good dirty and and in the end Mike Tyson makes a cameo. Am I close? (to the internet to find out!) According to le internet, “In part 3 of the movie series, there’s no wedding or bachelor party. Yet, the Wolf-pack find themselves entangled in a web of commotion and chaos when they decide to go on a road trip and run into many of the same characters that we saw in the first two movies including Mr. Chow.” Oh Mr. Chow, the funny super racist always naked Asian villain. How could I forget about Senor Chang, oops, I mean Mr. Chow. I feel I have to see this as I loved the first one, suffered through the second, this one has to be better, right? RIGHT?

3. The Great Gatsby

   If you haven’t read the book then too bad, look up the synopsis yo’ self and SHAME ON YOU. This movie has been made before and we had to watch it in 11^th grade English (you guys, we watched so many movies in my high school, it really does explain a lot about so many of me and my friends) it starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow as Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan and it was a total BORE. I have two words why I will see this new version: Moulin Rouge!. It is by the same director as that movie, which is such a fantastic movie, that I will almost try anything Baz Luhrmann puts in front of me. Exception to this rule that piece of shit called Australia, not even Jean Valjean could make me see it. Have you seen the preview for this remake? The colors, the style, Carey Mulligan as Daisy! This thing has me super pumped that I know it will only end in heartbreak.

There you have it Girl Meets Nerd fans, my top three movies I want to see this summer. Stay tuned to next week to see part two aka what comic book based movies my husband wants to see. And by see, I mean cry and scream like a little girl when she see’s Justin Bieber shirtless.

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Summer Movie Preview Part 1 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 109 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the upcoming Batman ’66 title by Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case, Marvel NOW Wave 2, and the cruel, CRUEL Rom tease from IDW E-i-C Chris Ryall.

Plus, it’s time for another THN Top Five, where we count down our top five favorite comic relief characters in honor of April Fools’ Day!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — East of West #1 from Image Comics by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta

• Matt — Guardians of the Galaxy #1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Steve McNiven

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Uncanny Avengers #5 from Marvel Comics
• Red Team #2 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Mark Waid’s Green Hornet #1 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Mister X: Hard Candy One-Shot from Dark Horse
• Fantastic Four #5AU from Marvel Comics

Matt’s:

• Honey Badger Vs. the World #1 from Antarctic Press
• B.P.R.D. Vampire #1 from Dark Horse
• Superior Spider-Man #6AU from Marvel Comics
• Journey Into Mystery #650 from Marvel Comics
• Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #1 from Dark Horse

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Action Comics #19 from DC Comics by Andy Diggle and Tony Daniel
• Matt — Thanos Rising #1 from Marvel Comics by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Punk Rock Jesus TPB from DC/Vertigo by Sean Murphy

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, The Final Countdown by Europe, Wild Wild West by Kool Moe Dee, Baseball Altamont by Yo La Tengo, Theme from Star Trek by Nichelle Nichols.

The post THN 109: For the Love of Green Ladies appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

East of West #1 (Image)
Hickman. Western. Post apocalypse. Another must read series from Hickman, there is a lot going on in this first issue, don’t miss out and get on board now!
Rating: BUY IT

5 Weapons #2 (Image)
After enjoying the first issue but not being sure if this had staying power I can say this is a series I will read to the end. It’s quirky, entertaining and totally worth reading!
Rating: BUY IT

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel)
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Its fine. A lot of setup, a lot of telling not showing. Bendis sure likes to talk. I think it will get better, the art, when its allowed to, shines in the action secquences. Check it out.
Rating: SKIM IT

Planetoid #5 (Image)
The final issue of this Sci-Fi Epic! I really enjoyed this book and this series, the amount of work and talent that went into it makes it wonderful.
Rating: BUY IT

Morning Glories #25 (Image)
Morning Glories is the Lost of comic books. It keeps me hooked even though most of the time we have no idea what’s happening. This was no exception, an action packed crazy issue. If you’ve never read it, pick it up and see what the insanity is all about!
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 03/27/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What superhero would you like to see switch universes?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 4 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

I don’t like to talk about this, but my husband made me write a blog on it. This goes against everything I stand for. What is this horrible do-not-say-it-by-name thing? Why, it’s my bracket for the NCAA tournament.

My bracket is like Fight Club. The first rule of my bracket is “don’t talk about my bracket.” The second rule of my bracket is “don’t %&#$ing talk about my bracket.”

You see, I’m somewhat of an NCAA tournament savant if you will. Four years ago, I asked my husband if I could join the bracket pool that he and his two brothers are in. Since they let me in, they also let two other friends in. One girl versus five guys. Oh, and our group name? Crapbags. They of course jumped at that chance; to them it was an easy $10.

But before I get to the Crapbags, let me take you back to a quieter time, back when I worked the front desk of the Southwest YMCA while still a wee lad (ladette??) in college. My Tuesday night posse of Russ, Scott and Big D (it doesn’t mean what you think it does, perverts) decided they were going to have a bracket contest, naturally I wanted in. They were nice enough and obliged. That year, my virgin bracket, I picked Duke to win it all. I still to this day remember the reaction of the three male co-workers I was playing against. They laughed, told me I was wrong and that Duke was of course my only choice because it was probably one of the only teams I knew. Well, not only did I correctly predict Duke, but I also had their opponent correct as well. The three of them were out of the contest before the final four even began. Haters (and technically LOSERS).

Now, we shall flash forward to the Crapbag era, circling back around ya’ll. SIDE: OH.MY.GOD. Andy Dick’s jazz dance to Gaga’s “Bad Romance” just made my life. Yes, I like Dancing with the Stars. So what? Jealous? END SIDE. Ahem, Crapbags, yes…seriously, sorry, you all have no idea how distracted I am now with Derek and Kellie’s dance. FOCUS! Okay, Crapbag, soooo four years ago, like I said above, I joined their pool (not a swimming pool, drank…) and needless to say it was pretty identical to the YMCA sitch. Once again, I picked Duke and once again, was ridiculed. Granted it had been like six years since my one and only bracket pool and win, but I was confident, brushed off their asshat remarks, and stood my ground. Then it happened: DUKE WON and those Crapbags were all in shock. The best part about all this was that those losers didn’t pay me my winnings.

The next year, a few more people joined the pool. I believe we had seven people that year. I could be wrong, I’m terrible at math aka counting. That year I went rogue and picked Connecticut as my winners. Repeat the ridicule of Duke, but replace with Connecticut and in addition a lot of, “This is the year we win. Sorry Kace, no way they will win,” blah blah blah blah. Once again I proved the Crapbags wrong and once again those dick’s didn’t pay me my well earned money. I should’ve started charging them interest since it was two years no pay, but again, I’m terrible with math aka percentages.

Year three, are you sensing a pattern yet, the bracket pool grew even more with the addition of some other wives (honestly it was nice to have some other vagina’s around) and some more Crapbags. I think we were now up to 12 or so. Once again, the email went out that the bracket was open and this is the year that I would be going down because some other wife would have dumb luck like I apparently have had the last two years. I remember sitting with my brother-in-law at dinner a week before the tournament began and him asking me who my team was. I said, I hadn’t picked yet, but I’m pretty sure I’d be going with Kentucky. He just laughed and was like, no way, it’s Kansas’s year (or some other team, who knows, don’t care). I decided to stick with my gut and was the only one that chose Kentucky to win it all. Throughout the tournament I was last or middle of the road until the final four, then I bolted up to fourth place, then the final two came along and it was me versus one other dude. Kentucky versus Kansas, well we all know how that ended. Kentucky for the win! I finally collected back pay and everything. It was a first!

That brings us to this year. To put it nicely, I’m so %&#ing screwed, there’s no way in hell I’m going to win and I will tell you why. First, I’ve already won three years in a row. I wanted to bow out gracefully, but my husband made me play because “everyone wants to beat you.” Second, I made my bracket picks the other night, and while my husband sat at the computer doing research on who the educated pick would be (which, he does this every year and every year comes in dead last – you think he’d learn), he tricked me into telling him some of my picks. DOES HE NOT KNOW THE RULES OF MY BRACKET PICKS?! (in this moment, I had consumed a lot of wine, and apparently forgot them as well, don’t judge). Third, HE PICKED THE EXACT SAME FINAL FOUR AND WINNER AS ME. Oh, hell no. Let’s not lie, the other two were glitches but that, oh man, that is what has done me in. When I confronted him late at night about this he admitted, “If I can’t win then I’m taking you down with me (evil laugh)!”

In conclusion, God this was way longer than I intended it to be, sorry, I currently sit in 12th place out of 14. One guess who is in 14^th place? (my husband). So there is no way I’m going to win at all. For the first time in years I will be an official Crapbag and it’s all Matt Baum’s fault. Ugh, as if!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: March Madness appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 108 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the rumored return of Quantum & Woody, the latest creative train wreck at DC, and return of Neil Gaiman’s Angela at Marvel Comics.

Plus, we review Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Nemo: Heart of Ice in Take a Look, It’s in a Book!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — The Private Eye #1 from Panel Syndicate by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin

• Matt — Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray #1 from Image Comics by Frank J. Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Action Comics #18 from DC Comics
• Constantine #1 from DC Comics
• X-O Manowar #11 from Valiant
• Star Wars Legacy: Prisoner of the Floating World #1 from Dark Horse
• Captain Marvel #11 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s:

• G.I. Joe Special Missions #1 from IDW
• All-Crime #1 from Art of Fiction
• X-Termination #1 from Marvel Comics
• Poison Elves #1 from Ape Entertainment
• Wild Rover One-Shot from Dark Horse

Picks for next week:

• Joe — East of West #1 from Image Comics by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta
• Matt — Guardians of the Galaxy #1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Steve McNiven

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Star Trek TNG: Hive TPB from IDW by Brannon Braga and Joe Corroney

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Take A Look Theme — The Reading Rainbow theme song (sort of), Layla by Derek & The Dominoes, Private Eyes by The Bird and the Bee, Space Jam by The Gym All-Stars, C by Yoshihiro Hanno, Gentlemen by Afghan Wigs, Quality Control by Jurassic 5.

The post THN 108: Holy S-Word! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The Private Eye #01 (?)
How wonderful to have a comic written by Brian K. Vaughn with stunning at by Marcos Martin available for a “pay what you want price”! Check it out HERE! Even for free, it was great, I want to read more! I paid $4.
Rating: BUY IT

Mind MGMT #9 (Dark Horse)
You haven’t been reading this comic? Well now is the time. This is an OK jumping on point, after you read this issue you’ll be scrambling to get the trade and read it all!
Rating: BUY IT

Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray #1 (Image)
This was hilarious. I shouldn’t have loved this as much as I did. Silly jokes, basic premise. Funny funny funny. Totally worth getting.
Rating: BUY IT

Michael Avon Oeming’s Wild Rover #1 (One-Shot) (Dark Horse)
This is a raw, emotional one shot issue about addiction. The art is amazing (of course) and the story was really great. Dark and intense, Oemin really shines in this. The backup story is good, I swear I read it before somewhere before though, maybe Dark Horse Presents. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Definitely Dark Horse Presents)
Rating: BUY IT

Constantine #1 (DC)
With all the internet backlash over the canceling of Hellblazer I was tainted to not like this New 52 relaunch. The art is solid and the story grabbed me. I want to read more of this to my happy shock and amazement.
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 03/20/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What is your favorite “Year One” story or reimagining of an iconic origin story?

The post THN All-New Answer of the Week Episode 3 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

There are some people who just love animal movies *cough, Denver Dalley, cough* and then there are those that don’t. And by “those” I really just mean me.

As my husband has so lovingly pointed out before, I have a cold black heart. That blackness really comes out with certain cartoons and pretty much any movie that features an animal, real or animated. I will give him that I’m not a full on lover of animated films, but I feel my reasoning to not liking animal movies is totally justified. SIDE: Are you all watching Justified this season? If not, you are all fools. It’s the best #$&@ing show on TV right now. END ASIDE.

The reason I don’t like animal movies is because 90% of the god damn time the animal dies. Animal deaths are way harder to deal with in movies than when a person dies, in my opinion at least. I mean, even if the animal is the biggest jerk like Scar in The Lion King (which, seriously, am I the only one who thought the Broadway version of this is WAY OVERRATED? Just me, cool. I like being a hater), it is still way harsh Tai than say when *SPOILER ALERT* Jack dies In Titanic.

Another reason I don’t like animal movies is that all animals remind me of my pugs. Which, in case you have forgotten, are the CUTEST PUGS IN DUNDEE. The Peter Jackson version of King Kong is a perfect example. When, spoiler alert (dear god, is it seriously still a spoiler if this shit was released like 100 years ago? Damn peeps!), King Kong is being attacked and he is kind of just sitting there at the end after being shot down and shit, the face he makes…gah, that is a Beeps Baum face. I was in tears! My husband, leaned over to me and was all snarky, “Ha, looks like King Kong made you cry.” OH HELL NO. I immediately turned to him and said, “No Beeps Baum makes me cry. They are killing my pug!”

Speaking of pugs…you know who else can’t handle animal movies? Beeps. Not sure if he is a hater like me, but certain things make that dog go crazy. He enjoys watching TV and movies as long as what he is watching does not entail: dogs, cats, horses, Guy Fieri, water (waves, splashes) and talking birds.

Last night is a prime example of Beeps and I protesting my husband and Mabel Baum and their animal movie watching. My husband and I have a few episodes of The Walking Dead to watch before we are finally all caught up, and during probably one of the better episodes of this season (any episodes without Andrea are always solid, god, she is the WORST), I looked over and my husband was falling asleep. IT WAS NOT EVEN 10 o’clock, weak baby Baumer right there for you. Anyway, I kept calling him out on being asleep and he kept denying it. We played that game for probably 15 minutes or so, because we are both 12 years old. Finally he got so mad, he decided that instead of watching more episodes of the Daryl Dixon Experience (I would watch that shit every damn day) he decided to grow a vagina and watch a movie. Not just any movie, he narrowed it down to the following: Beasts of the Southern Wild, staring BEASTS (and chickens) or Life of Pi, staring a CGI Tiger on a boat in the OCEAN.

In protest I went into the bedroom to read my book club book (Defending Jacob, so far, so good…). While in there I could still hear everything that was happening out in our living room while my husband was watching Beasts of the Southern Wild because he had that shit turned up to 11. Ridiculous. So I turned up, some Iron Chef America in the bedroom to a new level of awfulness to counter back. After way too long of out-volume-ing each other, he finally backed off and we could both protest in our separate spaces without busting ear drums.

Not more than five minutes later my husband stomped into the bedroom holding a crying Beeps. Apparently for the first half hour of the movie Beeps had jumped down and bark-cried at the TV. My husband couldn’t take it any longer, so Beeps joined me in bed for some reading and Iron Chef. He gladly accepted this.

So there we were Beeps and I – the animal haters – in one room with our cold black hearts while my husband and Mabel watched an animal movie together. Our family is super divided over this issue. What I’m most bothered by is that the little Mabel pug didn’t revolt and follow me into the bedroom. I feel betrayed, but then I remember she’s kind of an idiot and a dog so, you know…whatever.

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Animal Movies appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 107 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the implications of the collapse of digital comics provider Jmanga, the return of J. Michael Straczynski’s Joe’s Comics imprint, and The Year Zero epic coming soon to the pages of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman.

Plus, the Comic Pushers are back get a poor slob named Tim hooked on the stuff!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Batman & Robin #18 from DC Comics by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Mick Gray

• Matt — Sledgehammer 44 #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Jason Latour

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Buddy Cops One Shot from Dark Horse Comics
• Wolverine #1 from Marvel Comics
• Fearless Defenders #2 from Marvel Comics
• Age of Ultron #2 from Marvel Comics
• Aliens Vs. Parker #1 from BOOM Studios

Matt’s:

• Batgirl #18 from DC Comics
• Ultimate Comics Wolverine #1 from Marvel Comics
• Batman #18 from DC Comics
• Grimm Fairy Tales St. Patrick’s Day Special from Zenescope
• Spawn #229 from Image Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Action Comics #18 from DC Comics by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, and Brad Walker
• Matt — X-Tinction #1 from Marvel Comics by David Lapham and David Lopez

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Maximum Minimum Age Hardcover from Image Comics by Bob Fingerman (with honorable mention to Brian Wood’s The Massive Vol. 1 from Dark Horse)

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Comic Pushers Theme — Pusher Man by Curtis Mayfield, Year Zero by Los Chicos, Balls to the Wall by Accept, Sledgehammer by BTO, Bombs Away by The Police, Songs of the Whale Part One by Tangerine Dream, President Chimp Toe by Fila Brazillia, Funny Vibe by Living Colour.

The post THN 107: Damon Wayans RIP appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54
Publisher: DC Comics
Year Published: 1993
Creative Team: Dan Raspler and Mike Mignola

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, I am reviewing Batman:  Legends of the Dark Knight #54 from DC Comics.

Look what daddy found last week. I walked right up to the $.25 bin and this was looking right at me. This is an awesome find because we have a Batman title featuring artwork by Mike Mignola. I’m a HUGE Batman fan and a fan of Mignola’s work.

The writer for this issue was Dan Raspler. I’ll be honest and admit I know nothing about Dan Raspler, but a trip down the information superhighway provided me with a brief bio that credits Raspler as the creator of Young Heroes in Love.

The title of this issue is ‘Sanctum’ and it is an interesting tale where Batman faces a leader of a supernatural blood loving cult. Batman chases down a madman in a cemetery and the madman ends up dead when he falls on to a pointy iron fence. The blood of the madman causes Batman to enter another world under the control of a leader of a blood loving cult.

Batman comes face to face with the cult leader and this is where the story begins to drag. Raspler decides to pull a James Bond villain and has the cult leader tell Batman in great detail his life story and plans for taking the blood of Batman to restore his powers. Batman comes close to being a sacrifice, but The Dark Knight gets it together and defeats his foe at the end of the comic book. Shocking. I know.

Overall, this was a good comic. Mike Mignola’s work was incredible from start to finish. The story by Dan Raspler dragged on in spots but there was plenty of action at the beginning and end of the comic book to keep me interested.  I wish I could find more gems like Batman:  Legends of the Dark Knight #54.

The TD-Dubs has spoken.

RATING: BUY IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community. Follow him on Twitter (@TonyDougWright). He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Gems in the Bin: Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #54 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Sledgehammer 44 #01 (Dark Horse)
This sucked me in. Iron Man in WWII? Or Maybe Atomic Robo minus the humor? Not a ton to go on in this first issue, cool art, intriguing premise.
Rating: BUY IT

Age of Ultron #2 (Marvel)
We are getting into lots of talking heads panels in this issue, not a ton of action. Some stunning art though, and we’re getting (I think) some more of whats going on in this event? Either way I didn’t love it but it does make me want to read more.
Rating: SKIM IT

Buddy Cops #1 (Dark Horse)
This was hilarious. I shouldn’t have loved this as much as I did. Silly jokes, basic premise. Funny funny funny. Totally worth getting.
Rating: BUY IT

Wolverine #1 (Marvel)
I think if you are dying for a Wolverine standalone book you will be excited to have this series going. Personally I get enough Wolverine in pretty much every book out there so I’m not. This didn’t make me want more, but it’s good for the fans.
Rating: SKIM IT

Manhattan Projects #10 (Image)
If you haven’t been reading MP you are a fool. Regardless, pick this issue up, it can be read stand alone. Fill-in artist Ryan Browne does an amazing job.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 03/13/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What is your favorite superhero story/comic outside of Marvel/DC? BONUS QUESTION: What are the best and worst superhero analogues?

The post The All-New Answer of the Week Episode 2 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

When Joe Patrick was at his lowest point, abandoned by his friend, life partner, and co-host Matt Baum for rock and roll super-stardom, three men stood strong and lifted him from the mire. Those men were John Littrel – co-host of the Burnt Weiners podcast, Aaron Meyers – King of Ask A Nerd and writer of Proactive Continuity, and Keith “The Voice” Silva – Vermont broadcasting legend and have-er of sophisticated fun; Love Slaves all.

Little did anyone suspect that Baum would come crawling back from the smoldering wreckage of his musical career. With little-to-no regard for the feelings of those that stood by him in his darkest hour, Joe Patrick cast John, Aaron, and Keith back into the Love Slave pit from whence they came, welcoming his betrayer back with open arms.

Now, having experienced the sweet taste of podcasting excellence, however briefly, the THN Love Slaves have organized themselves into a force to be reckoned with. Surely, what follows will lead to the eventual collapse of the THN Media Empire and brutal revenge on the drummer that wronged them.

BE AFRAID! The Legion of the Not Matt Baums is born!!!

CLICK HERE –> The Legion of the Not Matt Baums Episode One!

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When John Littrel (@burntweiners on The Twitter) isn’t too busy reciting the Necronomicon to a classroom of 1st graders in hopes of appeasing the dark lord, he’s blabbing on mindlessly about comics on the Burnt Weiners Comic Book Podcast. He makes a hobby out of knowing next to nothing about comics, but loving them all the same. We strongly discourage you from checking out Burntweiners.com. They can’t even spell “wieners” correctly.

Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

Keith Silva writes for Comics Bulletin. There is also this @keithpmsilva and this Interested in Sophisticated Fun?. A Googling will reveal he has a ‘real job’ in local Vermont television which keeps him in comics, but not nearly enough.

The post Slave Revolt: The Legion of the Not Matt Baums appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Well, what happened to my husband and me in New York last month is no longer staying in New York.

After the European vacation and tour ended, my husband and I had three and half delightful days to spend in New York City. We arrived at our hotel in Chinatown around 8:30 pm, freshened up since we had been on a plane all day, and started our venture for a late dinner.

After a lovely walk around the East Village, dinner, and drinks, we ventured back to the hotel. It was now around midnight. We were exhausted from traveling. One of my husband’s band mates was also staying at our hotel, and while we were out, he had decided to stay at the hotel bar and have a few drinks. When we returned and saw him at the bar, we decided to run up to our room, drop off our coats, and come down for a final night cap.

I finished my sake, and told the boys that I was done and would be going to bed. I went back upstairs to the 9th floor, changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and got in bed. For some reason, I always sleep on the right side of the bed at home. For unknown reasons, I crawled into the left side that night (a fun fact there for you about how I sleep). Oh damn! Another fun fact: I only pull the corner of the sheets down on the side I sleep in and wiggle in underneath them. The left side of the bed remains intact (end of fun facts, you’re welcome).

Around 12:45am, my husband came creeping in from the hotel bar. He took off his pants (sexy, non?) and got into bed. I was watching TV and he was typing a blog on his laptop when he said to me, “are the sheets wet?” I just didn’t answer, that was a dumb ass question. So he repeated, “seriously, I think the sheets are wet.”

I grunted (sexy, non?), turned over and said, “I turned the heat down super low, they’re probably just cold.” Apparently, that answer was unacceptable.

He said to me “really? You don’t feel that the sheets are wet? Feel over here.”

In taking a cue from Fat Amy (horizontal running…anyone?!), I did a horizontal foot/leg reach over and started patting my foot on his side of the bed.

“Huh, that does feel kind of wet,” I said as I slowly began to sit up.

THIS IS WHEN SHIT GOT REAL.

My husband slowly lifted the sheets just enough that I caught a whiff. In that one second everything changed. I started yelling. “That smell! Oh, God!” At the exact same time, in slow-motion, my husband threw both of his hands up in the air. I swear to %&*#ing God: he levitated. As a lion roar left his mouth, his body shot up from the bed and he somehow Jedi mind tricked the shower into starting. Before I scurried out of bed, he was in the shower cursing the world.

“THAT’S PEE!” he screamed. “I was just in @#$%ing pee. This is not okay. No, God, no, &^%$ing get down there and tell them this shit is not okay. Oh god…” (This went on through his whole shower by the way. What a drama queen!). I put on my Steve Madden boots (specifics added here for all you that need a comfy cute traveling shoe, highly recommended by moi), and threw my coat over my pink butterfly pajamas – yes, pink and butterflies (judge away haters) – and trolled down to the front desk. I explained the situation and was immediately given keys to a new room.

Once we were in the new room, my husband called down to the desk and explained the whole situation again, but with way more emotion, since he was the one that was lounging in urine.

Turns out, the people in the room before us? Well, one of them peed the bed. Housekeeping changed the sheets, but didn’t realize the mattress was still wet and ripe and threw clean sheets on top of it. The manager, Omar, was very nice, and upgraded us to a fancy new room with an amazing view and wrap around balcony, discounted our stay, and hooked us up with a bunch of fancy snacks. I love snacks, except for chocolate covered raisins. Next time, Omar, how about some chocolate covered strawberries? Just saying…PISS-IN-THE-BED.

My husband was pretty traumatized over this event. I mean, he should be. He was like a steak…just sitting there in a marinated pocket of piss (or this…BAZINGA).  I, on the other hand, thought it was hysterical. It made for a great story for the rest of the trip when we met up with friends and family.

The one thing I realized after recounting this story is that I might not have washed off the foot that I used to caress the urine pool. Oh god, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit…

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: NYC appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 106 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the upcoming zombie apocalypse coming to Archie Comics, Carrie Fisher’s return as Leia in Star Wars Episode VII, and the long-awaited return of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City.

Plus, Ask A Nerd is back to clarify the godlike status of the Mighty Thor!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Age of Ultron #1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Bryan Hitch

• Matt — Sex #1 from Image Comics by Joe Casey and Piotor Kowalski

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Lost Vegas #1 from Image Comics
• Superman Family Adventures #10 from DC Comics
• Colder #5 from Dark Horse Comics
• Earth Two #10 from DC Comics
• A + X #5 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s:

• Transformers Spotlight: Bumblebee from IDW
• NFL Rush Zone #1 from Action Lab
• Swamp Thing #18 from DC Comics
• 2000A.D. Prog 1822 from Rebellion
• Ame-Comi Girls #1 from DC Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Wolverine #1 from Marvel Comics by Paul Cornell and Alan Davis
• Matt — Sledgehammer 44 #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Jason Latour

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life As a Weapon TPB from Marvel Comics by Matt Fraction and David Aja

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, Astro by the White Stripes, Kill the Director by The Wombats, Hard Times by Cro-Mags, Rampage by Kavinsky, Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun by Jan Hammer, Prophecy by Vengeance.

The post THN 106: The Sex Talk appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Sex #1 (Image)
This was way different than I thought it would be. Stunning art, incredible use of color. Its Batman w/o the all ages restriction, I think.
Rating: BUY IT

Age Of Ultron #1 (Marvel)
Every time I think I’m going to pass on an Ultron event…THEY DRAG ME BACK IN. End of the world, killer robots. The heroes defeated. Yep. I’m in. This was great.
Rating: BUY IT

Helheim #1 (Oni)
This was a fantastic first issue. There are some rushed or odd art panels in the book but nothing that detracts significantly from it, and there are some absolutely stunning panels that make up for it. Awesome intro issue that makes it a very compelling story I want to read more of.
Rating: BUY IT

Lost Vegas #1 (Image)
I didn’t love the art and coloring in this book overall, but I’m a sucker for grifters and space ships. I want to read more of this, hopefully the story unfolds and gives us a bigger premise than we got from this first issue.
Rating: SKIM IT

Artful Daggers #1 (Monkeybrain)
I love the premise of this story, and you get a full issue for .99. I think the art suffers a bit from poor coloring but for the price point and the premise setup this is something you should check out.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 03/06/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week…now featuring YOUR audio and written answers!

If you want to participate in the Answer of the Week, leave your response to our weekly Question on Facebook or Twitter, OR call in an audio message via Skype (username: twoheadednerd)!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What is your favorite all-ages comic of all time?

The post The All-New, All-Different Answer of the Week Episode One! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

“Why you only nursing only two or three shots?” Well Kendrick Lamar, the reason some would say could be found on this week’s Two-Headed Nerd Comicast.

Let me back-up.

Every now-and-the my husband let’s me grace his podcast with my own segment, Kacie’s Krazy Korner (ugh, so racist). I say “now-and-then” meaning; I just did it now and then one other time last year. It’s a few and far between thing.

The last time, he gave me the task of reviewing Batman from the DC re-launch (or was it Catwoman? It may have been that…or Batgirl…who remembers?). I don’t remember much but I remember thinking Commissioner Gordon was a jerk as he was cheating on his pregnant wife. Seriously, that’s it.

On Thursday of last week, while I was at work, I got a call from my husband who was bored in the Chicago airport. He made it seem like he had something uber important to tell me, alas, no. He called to tell me my segment would be on this week’s THN. I was tasked with relaying a brief history of Ultron. The catch? I had to do it drunk; it would by my version of Funny or Die’s drunk history. I WAS ALL IN.

Friday night, I went out after work for drinks with co-workers, and then met up with my husband and friends at a beer tasting down at the Upstream Brewing Company, followed by dinner. Needless to say, I was wasted. My husband and I came home where we drank another beer or two while watching the The Mindy Project. He reminded me that I needed to record the history of Ultron during this viewing. So I began to “study,” but distraction set in, repeatedly. He yelled at me “WOMAN! Write down some notes!” So I wrote some notes.

“What have you learned so far?” he asked, I replied I have learned that I really like this TV show and that Ultron was an Avenger (that is of course incorrect), distraction once again (my pugs do super cute things) and finally with my notes written and The Mindy Project over I was ready to record.

Apparently my segment was to only be about three minutes, hence a BRIEF drunk history. Three minutes into my segment I had already touched on Batman, Superman and Jean Valjean. This was the point between my husband’s giggles and Beeps Baum licking my feet (pug life ya’ll), that he came to realize that this drunk history was going to be around 20 minutes.

I’m not going to spoil it for you on here what all I talked about. If you’ve ever watched any of the drunk histories online you’ll get it. My voice is all over the place, spitting out ridiculousness left and right. There’s major subject jumping at its finest is on display as well. I didn’t pass out or vomit, so I feel I’m above average in that area.

I highly recommend you listen to this week’s THN of course, but if you want to hear my full version of the drunk “brief” history of Ultron, you can click here. Enjoy!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: The Drunk History of Ultron appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 105 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast, with a “surprise twist” co-host!

This week, Dave DeMarco, THN Love Slave and co-owner of Legend Comics & Coffee in Omaha, NE, joins Joe in the Ziggurat (or DOES he?!) to discuss IDW’s plans to bring Monkeybrain Comics to print, the casting of Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel, and the long-awaited return of Mike Kunkel’s Herobear and the Kid.

Plus, Kacie’s Krazy Korner is back to bring you the (drunken) history of Ultron!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Steve McNiven

• Dave (?!) — Uncanny Skullkickers #1 from Image Comics by Jim Zub and Edwin Huang

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Batman Incorporated #8 from DC Comics
• Five Weapons #1 from Image Comics
• Avenging Spider-Man #18 from Marvel Comics
• Uncanny X-Men #2 from Marvel Comics
• Uncanny Avengers #4 from Marvel Comics

Dave’s 5 (I guess…?):

• Amala’s Blade #0 from Dark Horse Comics
• Rocketeer Hollywood Horror #1 from IDW
• Vampirella New Blood One Shot from Dynamite Entertainment
• Savage Hawkman #17 from DC Comics
• Uncanny X-Force #2 from Marvel Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Age of Ultron #1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Bryan Hitch
• Dave? I don’t even know… — Lost Vegas #1 from Image Comics by Jim McCann and Janet Lee

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Sleeper Omnibus HC from DC Comics by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, O.G. Original Gangster by Ice-T, Reunited by Peaches and Herb, Kid Gloves by Rush, Ain’t That a Kick in the Head by Dean Martin, The Flying Wedge (Drag Race) by Link Wray, Suita Liturgica II: Theresiae a Jesu Infante by Petr Eben et al, Crazy in Love by Beyonce and Jay-Z.

The post THN 105: The Uncanny Space Jason appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Atari Force #10
Publisher: DC Comics
Year Published: 1984
Creative Team: Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, and Jose Garcia Lopez.

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, I am reviewing Atari Force #10 from DC Comics.

Comic books based corporate trademark characters walk a Spinal Tap fine line of stupid and clever. G.I. Joe and ROM the Spaceknight are great examples of clever, so I had high hopes when pulled Atari Force #10 from the bin a few weeks ago.  ROM was referenced solely for the purpose of this post winning praise from Aaron Meyers.

Atari Force was a DC comic book series launched in 1982 as a shameless advertising piece, but it turned into a regular comic book series in 1984 when Gerry Conway and Jose Garcia Lopez took over the title.

I have no recollection of this comic from my 1980s days of comic book reading. The issue I pulled was titled ‘Home is the Hero’, and it chronicled the return of bad-boy hero Blackjak. Jose Garcia Lopez’s cover caught my eye as Blacjak is surrounded by a bunch of gun wielding aliens.

Atari Force #10 was a fun read and I enjoyed the artwork and story pacing.  It was a blend of G.I. Joe and Star Wars with a lovely touch of cheesy 80s sex appeal.

The TD-Dubs has spoken.

RATING: BUY IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community, and at The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Gems in the Bin: Atari Force #10 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Batman Inc. #8 (DC)
Um…speechless. This whole series has been so crazy. Every panel is this is a master work of art. This is a story of importance.
Rating: BUY IT

High Crimes #2 (Monkeybrain Inc.)
This is awesome. The first issue had my curiosity, with issue 2 this has my attention. There is a big story here that will be great to read as it unfolds.
Rating: BUY IT

Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 (Marvel)
Bendis has me nervous for his books these days. Luckily Marvel cosmic books are my kryptonite (mixed metaphor) so I wanted to read this. Oh man, im so excited for some good Guardians stories, this has me pumped for issue 1 a lot.
Rating: BUY IT

5 Weapons #1 (Image)
I had low expectations for this book when I heard about it. It exceeded them by far! I really liked this first issue; it’s silly, interesting and intriguing. I want to read more and so should you!
Rating: BUY IT

The Massive #9 (Dark Horse)
I think I may have said every month it’s come out that this was the best issue of The Massive yet. This month is no exception. This book gets better and better. One of my favorite books out right now.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 02/27/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go – DOWNTON!

See what I did there with that old school Petula Clark song, Downtown? Clever, I know. Welcome back Girl Meets Nerd readers! Today’s blog has a connection to where I have been these past few weeks, so sit tight because we will get to that in a bit. First, I need to take you back. All the way back to early 2012 (I think it could be late 2011. Who really knows? Obviously not moi).

It was a Saturday night, (okay, it had to be 2012 if it was a Saturday and I was home, because I was training for my half marathon and had long runs on Sundays. But I digress…) and my husband was at work slinging back drinks at an unnamed restaurant in west Omaha that serves margaritas to a lot of white people; that is really all you need to know about that place.  As I stayed home with the most adorable pugs in Dundee (Beeps and Mabel Baum, obviously), I decided to see what was on the good old instant watch section of Netflix. That’s where I found it. Downton Abbey, Season One. I remembered it got a lot of Emmy love that fall, so I thought what the hell, might as well give it a try.

So I began…and seven hours later, Downton Abbey was over, and I was all in. Like, this is some Once Upon A Time all in bullshit. ALL IN!

The next day, when I told my husband what I had done on my uber-eventful Saturday night, he looked at me with this quizzical look.

“You watched what?” he said.

“Downton Abbey. It’s a British soap opera set in the 1900’s,” I replied.

“Really? You liked that?” he said again, with a statement of disbelief.

“Yes. I like period things, why do I always have to remind you that I liked Pride & Prejudice?” I barked back. “Plus, I think you should watch it. I’m serious. It’s really good. Also, Patton Oswalt is obsessed with it and you like him.”

For the next week, Downton Abbey was all I would talk about to my husband. Finally, he queued it up. Within a week, he had fallen in love with Carson, Bates, and Matthew Crawley just like the rest of the world (or at least me).

When season two started, we made sure to record and watch it every Sunday night. I started to struggle a bit with some of the stories in season two, but my husband’s love seemed to grow even more.

Last month, when season three started, my husband nearly had a heart attack because he thought we weren’t set up to record it. Luckily, I’m on top of shit like this and had it ready to go. When we sat down to eat dinner, he kept expressing his excitement that Downton Abbey was back. He wanted to watch it immediately. For some reason, the more he gets excited for this show, the less interested I become. Someone should do a study about why this happens. I volunteer myself and my husband in the name of science.

When the season opener – which was TWO HOURS LONG (That is way too long for anything.  Yes, I may have a slight case of ADD) – ended, he turned to me and exclaimed, “Babes, I think Downton Abbey might be my favorite show.”

HE. IS. SERIOUS.

I have no words. I mean, it’s a good show, but let’s not lie: season two and three kind of went to crap. It is still very much enjoyable, but the glory that is season one has never been achieved since. It almost peaked too early (speaking of peaking too early, I love me some Jennifer Lawrence, I hope she continues to make good movies and didn’t peak with this Oscar win).

I’m sure by now you are ready for me to wrap it up… Well too bad. I’ve been gone all month, so this one has some girth to it (that’s what she said). Let’s get back to what I mentioned in the beginning, where I have been.

My husband was heading over to Europe to go on tour with his band, and I was going to tag along as a real life Penny Lane (minus the sleeping with the guitarist and ODing on pills).  The night before we left – Super Bowl Sunday to be exact, we queued up Downton Abbey on our DVR. And then it happened. For whatever reason, the episode recorded but all we saw was a black screen. Nothing would play. We checked some other recordings from the past week and it was all the same. In frustration, my husband deleted the episode, thinking it was lost.

The next day, Monday, we were set to leave to Dublin at 2:18pm. While waiting for his mom to take us to the airport, his band mate Landon called and said the flight had been bumped up to 1:23 pm and was boarding now (it was 1:00 pm when he called us). We cancelled our ride, jumped in the devil (that is the name of my car – my license plate has 666 on it, sooo…), and sped to the airport.

After that, a whole gaggle of nonsense transpired that is comical but is for another time and place. So, while waiting for our new flight at 3:30 pm, my husband grabbed some beers and sat at the airport bar to try and figure out what happened with our flight.  (Side note: I’m pretty sure I started a revolution via twitter that day. I felt like Enjolras in Les Miserables.) Taking a break from the revolution I had started, I saw my husband looking super frustrated. I assumed it was due to the flight issues we were having, but oh no it was not. I finally asked what was wrong.

My husband: “Well, due to the flight issues, Downton Abbey didn’t finish downloading. Great.”

I had no response. We were going on an international flight… THEY HAVE MOVIES FOR US TO WATCH. Nope, he was determined to get us some Downton Abbey. He tried to download it again on his tour bus over in Dublin. Fail. Tried to download it again in a day room in Manchester. Again, fail. Finally, at our hotel at Heathrow Airport, he tried once again. FAIL.

The only thing more devastating to happen to him than this was probably (SPOILER ALERT) when Lady Sybil died.

When we got to New York, I think he finally got all the episodes downloaded. So now he could begin his two week East coast tour watching his favorite lady show.  For someone who went to such great lengths to download his favorite show, you would think we would have at least watched them while out on the road. Alas, no we did not. In fact, it appears he has fallen in love with Enlightened over the past few weeks. Enlightened is becoming his mistress. Downton Abbey is not going to like that.  They might just kill off another main character in protest. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Downton appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 104 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast, now with 100% more Keith Silva!

This week, Keith Silva, THN Love Slave and author of the blog Interested in Sophisticated Fun?, joins Joe in the Ziggurat to discuss the newly announced creative teams taking over the Green Lantern titles at DC, two new upcoming projects in Bill Willingham’s Fables universe, and the upcoming, FREE “massive open online course” Gender Through Comic Books being offered by Ball State University.

Plus, we review Warren Ellis’ Global Frequency trade paperback in our Take A Look It’s In A Book segment!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Nova #1 from Marvel Comics by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness

• Keith — Captain Marvel #10 from Marvel Comics by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Filipe Andrade

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Alpha: Big Time #1 from Marvel Comics
• Justice League of America #1 from DC Comics
• Justice League of America’s Vibe #1 from DC Comics
• Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun #1 from Oni Press
• G.I. Joe #1 from IDW

Keith’s 5:

• Conan the Barbarian #13 from Dark Horse Comics
• Black Beetle: No Way Out #2 from Dark Horse Comics
• Baltimore: The Widow and The Tank One-shot from Dark Horse Comics
• It Girl and the Atomics #7 from Image Comics
• Kill Shakespeare: Tide of Blood #1 from IDW

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 from Marvel Comics by B.M. Bendis and Steve McNiven
• John — The Massive #9 from Dark Horse Comics by Brian Wood and Garry Brown

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Nemo: Heart of Ice Hardcover from Top Shelf by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Frankenstein by Edgar Winter (Answer of the Week), as well as many other fine songs that are copyrighted to their respective artists, record labels, etc, but I can’t list because I don’t know how to work Spotify properly (please don’t sue us).

The post THN 104: L’Freeze appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Keith Silva and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: In honor of the recent return of Kill Shakespeare, what are your favorite comic characters from the world of literature?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week Episode 18

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 18 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Conan #13 (Dark Horse)
For the first time in my life I’m completely hooked on a Conan book. Month after month Brian Wood keeps me coming back for more. Conan is a deep and rich character, more than just a brutal fighter.
Rating: BUY IT

Mind MGMT #8 (Dark Horse)
It’s that time of the month again. Tin-Foil hat Wednesday. This is in my top 10 books right now. It’s wonderful and insane and awesome.
Rating: BUY IT

Revival #7 (Image)
There is enough in every issue of Revival so far to keep me hooked. I want the story to progress faster but at the same time I’m enjoying what I’m getting too. Good issue, I liked it a lot.
Rating: BUY IT

Happy #4 (Image)
I wanted to like this series more than I did. It was pretty predictable and not that interesting. The art was great, it ends pretty much how you think it will end. Oh well.
Rating: SKIM IT

Hellraiser: The Dark Watch #1 (Boom!)
This has…potential? Im not a big horror fan in general, but this had some interesting elements. It didn’t feel like a complete jumping on point, but more of a new story arc. Still, you can figure out mostly whats going on, it was…interesting.
Rating: SKIM IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 02/20/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 103 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast, now with 100% less Matt Baum!

This week, John Littrel, THN Love Slave and co-host of the Burnt Weiners comic podcast, joins Joe in the Ziggurat to discuss the current DC Comics/Orson Scott Card controversy, the end of Geoff Johns’ nine-year run on Green Lantern, and the upcoming graphic novel series March by civil rights legend John Lewis.

Plus, the Comic Pushers are back to help a poor tweaker named Velva hooked on the good stuff!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Mylo Xyloto #1 from Bongo Comics by Mark Osborne, Coldplay, and Alejandro Fuentes

• John — Garth Ennis’ Battlefields #4 from Dynamite Entertainment by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Batman #17 from DC Comics
• Powers: Bureau #1 from Marvel/Icon
• Secret Avengers #1 from Marvel Comics
• Uncanny X-Men #1 from Marvel Comics
• Katana #1 from DC Comics

John’s 5:

• Manhattan Projects #9 from Image Comics
• Elephantmen #46 from Image Comics
• Fury Max #9 from Marvel Comics
• Crawling Sky #2 from Antarctic Press
• To Hell You Ride #3 from Dark Horse Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Nova #1 from Marvel Comics by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness
• John — Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun #1 from Oni Press by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Resident Alien Vol. 1 TPB from Dark Horse Comics by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, as well as many other fine songs that are copyrighted to their respective artists, record labels, etc, but I can’t list because I don’t know how to work Spotify properly (please don’t sue us).

The post THN 103: Abandonment Issues appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where John Littrel and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What are your favorite autobiographical comics?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week Episode 17

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 17 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Peter Panzerfaust #9 (Image)
There is a reason people are talking about this book. It’s great! Much more than just a Peter Pan parable this comic is intense and compelling every issue!
Rating: BUY IT

The Walking Dead: The Governor Special (Image)
If you came to The Walking Dead because of the TV show and haven’t read the comics…what is wrong with you? This comic might be for you though, one new comic and some reprints. Nice to have, but worth the money? Probably not.
Rating: SKIM IT

Manhattan Projects #9 (Image)
This book is pure insanity of the best kind. I think this might be my favorite issue yet. Read this and you will love every page.
Rating: BUY IT

Uncanny X-Men #1 (Marvel)
I’ve only been keeping up with the current x-verse a bit but I knew enough going in what this book was about. Maybe I’m burnt out on Bendis but nothing really made me care anymore about whats happening with the X-Men with this book.
Rating: SKIM IT

Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel)
This has…potential? I didn’t love or hate the art, it was fine, the story was fine, all around a fine issue. Nothing here that was above and beyond to make me take notice.
Rating: SKIM IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 02/13/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Nerd TV Presents:  Arrow the Watchening or Grampa Dave is in his Rocking Chair Again

Hello?  Who’s there?  Oh, it’s you!  I didn’t notice you for a minute there, just lost in my rememberins.  I do tend to wander off into my own little world in this here rockin’ chair.  What was I remembering you ask?  Well, I was rememberin’ a time when comic book characters were colorful and the villains they fought were even more colorful!  Now, I’m not talking about actual color, mind you, I’m talking about flavor.  A character’s got to have a sort of flare to capture the hearts and minds of the people who read the funny books.  Nowadays modern TV shows and Movies, they HATE flare, it scares ‘em.  So they do their level best to deflarify beloved characters, makin’ ‘em flat, lifeless, and generally worthless.  It’s been a few weeks since I’ve sat down to watch that Arrow show, but like always, I’m watchin’ it for the first time, come, watch it with me, I see that tonight’s episode is called Vertigo.  Suspicious, Vertigo is the name of the drug that Thea took that made her crash her birthday car…which means, undoubtedly, that the man who manufactures or distributes the drug will be called, The Count.  Not Count Vertigo, because that would be actual flavor.  Nope, he’ll just be The Count because somehow that is better.  He will not have a weird vertigo-inducing device; he’ll just dose people on his drug (I saw that much in the preview from the last episode).  But I digress.  Let’s get to watching, shall we?

In the time it took Arrow to jump from one fire escape to another, the running guy ran 2/3’s down a very VERY long alley.   Shades of the Six Million Dollar Man…why is it when he’s supposed to be moving fast he’s actually moving really slowly.  Ah, so this gentleman is a Vertigo salesman.  Consider: Oliver has his ear to the ground on ALL crime in Star(ling) City.  For crying out loud, he went after a slum lord who saved $10 an apartment by installing faulty smoke detectors.  And only now has he heard of Vertigo?  Only after his sister gets arrested for being on the schtuff?  Dollars to doughnuts, The Count (oh yeah, I was right) isn’t in Oliver’s book of names, so this is a personal vendetta but it also goes to show, if your problems to not in some way directly relate to Oliver or his book, too bad, hire the A-Team…if you can find them.  “They call him The Count, that’s all I know.”  Why?  Because he loves to count?  Ah AH ehh.

The Count has blood on his hands?  Why?  All vertigo seems to do is make you unable to drive, just don’t drive while your on it and you should be fine.  You know who has a lot of blood on their hands, Oliver?  I’m not going to name names, but he comes from bOLIVia, loves black OLIVEs, gets his wands from OLIVandERs…it’s you, okay?

Oliver is giving Thea tips for getting out of trouble.  Step One: be a billionaire.  That’s it.  Maybe Step Two could be don’t dress like my grandmother at a church luncheon.

Thea are you a druggy?  Thea are you going into rehab?  Thea, is it true your family calls you Speedy for some inexplicable reason?

So, the judge ain’t havin’ it and throws out Thea’s plea agreement which means she will go to trial for being a bad driver.  “Like it or not,” he says, “You are the poster child for the menace sweeping our city.”

Now the mom is complaining that the judge is out to make an ‘example’ of Thea, “Why does it have to be her?”  She laments.  Well, and here me out on this one, it has to be her because SHE DID IT YOU WORTHLESS HUMAN BEING.  She drove around hopped up on a synthetic drug and crashed her car.   Oh, but don’t worry, Oliver is going to catch ‘The Count’ and make HIM the example for the city.  Except, we already know drug dealers are caught and punished, better if the spoiled daughter of a billionaire was jailed for 6 months to prove a point.  Try not to kill any innocent janitors on your way to saving your sister, Oliver.

Island time:  Oliver is in a cage.  His mentor stares at him through the bars.  Sad Oliver is Sad.

McKenna Hall, her name sounds like a dorm room.  Immediately they establish her character to be someone from Oliver’s wild past, who got them kicked out of a club because there was not sign saying you HAD to keep your clothes on.  Ha ha, it’s called the social contract, sweetie, you will be a terrible police officer.  Open the file, show a picture of The Count from Sesame Street, and I will never say another bad word about this show.

I would have felt a little better if The Count looked and sounded like Dieter from Spockets.  Instead, he’s doing a bad impression of The Scarecrow from Chris Nolan’s Batman movies.  Shoot The Count, shoot THE, ah damn it.

I swear to god, I spent like 20 seconds after Arrow started waiting to see a General Mills International Coffee logo, or Folgers or something.  It wasn’t until Tommy showed up that I realized I wasn’t watching a coffee commercial.  The best part of waking up is apparently not having to snuggle with Tommy Merlyn.  “Taking a hard line against criminals is a platform for the judges re-election.”  As opposed to what?  Letting all criminals go free?  What are you doing to me show?

The angry raisin makes a good point.  No one is to blame for Sarah’s death except for the person who had the boat sabotaged!  But you two don’t know that, so quit blaming Oliver and Sarah for what you believe to be an accident.

My intererestssts.  What?  This is just a picture of a television puppet.  HA, your stupid test won’t work, Oliver has no morals…of course, he probably used some island mojo taught to him by…ah HA island flash back, here we go.  Death Stroke fight club.  What, now he has to dispose of the body?  Sheesh, Russians, get it together.  Ugh, The Count, just stop it.

Thea, several of the words you used, do not have ‘s’s in them.  And most of the ones that do, just have one.  I think it would be funny if Oliver just kept making up more and more stuff that his dad ‘said’ on the boat before dying: ‘Thea, dad said specifically, don’t wear that outfit to the club.’  ‘Thea, dad said you’re looking a little fat and should hit the gym.”

DO YOU KNOW WHY THEY CALL HIM THE COUNT!!!  Oh dag, Oliver got dosed with double pure vertigo, yet still has time to live, get back to headquarters (the Arrow Cave) and for Diggle to make his magic wake-em up potion.

Only if you PROMISE not to kill me.  Oliver, you had 17 simultaneous heart attacks, how do you feel?  Like I’m getting over a hangover .  Look, I bought drugs to prove drugs are bad, how am I the bad guy here?  Try to remember your father for who we want you to remember him as and not remember him for who he actually was.  God, this family is awful.

It’s in liquid form which means it contains water?  WHAT?  Let me help you understand some basic science, water is a liquid, not all liquids are water.  Room temperature mercury, liquid nitrogen, pure alcohol, etc.

Nerdypenny knows how to do a spectrum analysis?  She works in IT, the best she should be able to do is get your windows back from blue screen of death and set up your wireless printer.

Oh man, Arrow without his arrows, now what will they call the show?  Apparently, stairs are his new Kryptonite, he’s like a rugged ED-209.  Wait, he can’t shoot his arrows properly but he can still throw knives or darts or whatever.   Oh, Arturo, prince of irony, dosed by your own drug that no less than 1, 2…56 hobos died for.

Every time with the Speedy, I die a little inside.

Classic Oliver, if he doesn’t kill you, it’s way worse.  The Count, now called Shakes the Clown, is dragged away to await his fate.

Nerdypenny, he will kill you if you reveal that you know his secret identity.  Thank god, you’re safe, for now.

Next time, on Arrow, an episode called Betrayal.  That is every second of this show, people are being betrayed, then finding out they were unbetrayed, or rebetrayed.  Thanks for telling me absolutely nothing.

————————
David DeMarco is Joe Patrick’s boss at Legend Comics & Coffee.  He is able to write this column because Joe Patrick does all the hard work at the shop, while Dave drinks coffee and goofs around.  This is an arrangement that is acceptable to Dave.

The post nerdTV: Grampa Dave appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 102 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast, the first episode of a bold, new, Baum-less era!

This week, Aaron Meyers, THN Love Slave and King of Ask A Nerd joins Joe in the Ziggurat to discuss the next, NEXT Marvel event Infinity, the casting of Chris Pratt as Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Lucasfilm’s announcement of character-centric solo films set in the Star Wars universe.

Plus, we Ask A Nerd is back with a question straight from the heart of the King himself!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Green Arrow #17 from DC Comics by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino

• Matt — Snapshot #1 from Image Comics by Andy Diggle and Jock

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Mr. Toast #4 from DKE Inc
• Fearless Defenders #1 from Marvel Comics
• Winter Soldier #15 from Marvel Comics
• Red Team #1 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Dia de los Muertos #1 from Image Comics

Matt’s 5:

• Son of Merlin #1 from Image Comics/Top Cow
• Fairy Quest #1 from BOOM Entertainment
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #3 from IDW
• Harbinger #0 from Valiant Entertainment
• Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity #4 from Image Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Batman #17 from DC Comics by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
• Matt — Manhattan Projects #9 from Image Comics by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Batman: Night of the Owls HC from DC Comics by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, et al.

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, as well as many other fine songs that are copyrighted to their respective artists, record labels, etc, but I can’t list because I don’t know how to work Spotify properly (please don’t sue us).

The post THN 102: The Baumstein Betrayal appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Happy Saturday, my beautiful babies! As promised, here is the complete, unedited, uninformed, unbearable, live Q&A from the THN 2nd Birthday Spectacular! Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Click HERE for the goods!

The post THN Extra: 2nd Birthday Live Q&A! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Hello fellow NerdTV nerds!  If you’re like me, you were in the hospital over the last week with a nigh fatal case of Arrow: The Watchening.  It’s true.  Apparently, small particles of Arrow can build up in the blood stream and can cause dry mouth, restless leg syndrome, purple diarrhea (I know, you’d think green), and insomnia.  The only cure is to read Mike Grell’s The Longbow Hunters and purge the harmful Arrow particles from the blood and replace them with brown Arrow particles (again, not Green, weird.).  Anyway, my blood is clean and my mind is fresh, time to flush that down the toilet by watching yet another episode of ARROW…

The most unprofessional armored car drivers in history.  So unprofessional they’re dead; driven from the car by a masked man (or woman) wielding a grenade launcher.  Clearly this masked criminal is meant to be this show’s interpretation of the classic DC Villain: The Ultra-Humanite.

Speedy is dropping hints that she wants a car.  Oliver got one for his 18th birthday!  Yes, but Oliver was a womanizer, you are a drunk, a 17 year old drunk.  Yada yada yada, the Mom is acting erratic, but that’s all explained away by the fact that her husband (no, not Oliver’s dad, the other one…*looks around and whispers* the black one) has disappeared.  Then some nonsense on the TV about how the police aren’t talking about the armored car robberies but Look! They have the most recent one on tape, then they show a grainy version of what we just watched, uh, thanks for the recap, I guess.

One handed push-em-ups, strong Oliver is strong.  The Arrow Cave!  Woo hoo!  Wait, the guys who robbed the armored car use advanced Marine tactics, which means they aren’t the Ultra Humanite, they can only be…the Shaggy Man!  All kidding aside, the ostensible leader of the armored car robbers is a soldier who saved Diggle’s life AND who happens to be in Oliver’s book of revenge.  Do I smell conflict?

Island Oliver, ho ho ho, now he has a machine gun.  He’s dressed like an island guard and sneaking all around…why is everyone wearing ski-masks at lunch?  It can’t be that cold, I can’t see anyone’s breath.  Is it a plot device so that Oliver can remain in disguise?  Maybeeeeee.

Tommy is having it out with his father; it bothers me that his evil dad is Captain Jack Harkness.  I know John Barrowman has to eat, but still.

Don’t be fooled, those ‘knock-out’ darts are filled with black widow venom.  Diggle!  What are you doing?  Injecting an ounce of suspense into the show?  For shame.

That computer monitor blew up with WAY too much fire and smoke.  Perhaps Oliver should murder the manufacturer.

Diggle and Oliver are having it out.  He can’t accept that his former commanding officer is corrupt and now, he’s going to prove it damnit.

Back to the island: Oliver’s not going to fall for your sneaky submarine riddle, bad guy, everyone knows you don’t transport troops via submarines, you use skull shaped hover fortresses.

Whenever Speedy talks, it sounds like she says everything with an extra ‘s’.  “I shought you said we were schpending the sday togeser.”

STOP EATING AT ‘BELLY BURGER’.  It is annoying.  And the specialty of the house at Belly Burger isn’t a burger?  What.  The.  Hell.

Oh, Thea, you stupid, stupid, drunk.  Your mom isn’t hooking up with Tommy’s dad; she’s planning to murder a business rival.  I understand your confusion.  Both acts are extremely messy.

Oliver just comes right out and confronts the mom.  No hemming, or hawing, slinking around.  I think the last metaphor you should use when describing Oliver’s dad is ‘Walking on water.’  Get it?  Cause the boat sank!  Ha ha!  Mrs. Queen, your mole twitches when you lie.

Oops, guess Oliver’s disguise didn’t get the job done.

Ugh, this Arrow/Nerdypenny thing again.  I thought were we done with that.  Though, I’d rather see Oliver end up with her than Laurel.

John Barrowman has an invisible moustache that he is forever twirling.

Arrow did some cool acrobatics, shot a gas mask off a dudes face, and used a garbage can lid to deflect a tear gas grenade that not 30 minutes ago punched a hole through an armored truck’s windshield.  Call me crazy, but if than is a rocket-propelled grenade, it probably would propel itself straight through that garbage can lid and bury deep in Oliver’s sternum.  If you don’t think so, then ask yourself this question, would you rather be behind bulletproof glass or a bent up old garbage can lid off the sidewalk.

Thea’s birthday part is a lightstick rave AND she got her convertible.  If this is a normal Oliver Queen party, at some point he’ll stop the music and start giving a speech.  Uh oh, every time Thea sees Moira and Mr. Merlin, he’s touching her butt or something.  This sends Thea off to do some drugs, god help me if she really does become Arrow’s Schidekicks.

OOOH, Diggle was wrong!  I feel this is vaguely racist also that it only reinforces Oliver’s madness that every name in his book is pure evil.  How else do you explain him killing a guy who sold defective smoke detectors but the explosive computer monitor manufacturer goes unpunished.

Okay, so maybe the Blackhawk security force isn’t The Ultra-Humanite or The Shaggy Man, the guy says they’re conquerors, so I guess Vandal Savage?

Let’s give the guy who’s trying to stop us a grenade launcher, I’m sure nothing bad will come of this.  HEY!  HE SHOT A GRENADE AT US!  WHAT THE HELL?!  Shot through the heart, and Arrow’s to blame, Diggle you give sidekicks, a bad name.   Oh man, Thea crashed the car, they’re going to have to amputate her arm and give her a cybernetic one.

Scho, Scthea’s sin sthe Shospital.  Schgo saway, she schays.

OMG!  Tommy’s dad has a ‘Merlin’ costume!

The rest of the episode features the usual wrap up nonsense.  I was wrong, no I was wrong.  Trust is important.  My time on the island etc. etc.

The twists just keep on twisting, they’ve twisted so much they’ve gone back to straight.  Oliver’s helper on the island, he’s working with the bad guys!  WHAT?

Next week: drug dealers are bad.

————————
David DeMarco is Joe Patrick’s boss at Legend Comics & Coffee.  He is able to write this column because Joe Patrick does all the hard work at the shop, while Dave drinks coffee and goofs around.  This is an arrangement that is acceptable to Dave.

The post nerdTV: A Fatal Case of the Watchening appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 101 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the glacial forward momentum of Marvel’s Miraclemarvelman revival, the optioning of Matt Kindt’s Mind MGMT by 20th Century Fox, and DC’s literal attempt to make us ask “What the F$&*?!”

Plus, we present the highlights from our THN 2nd Birthday Spectacular live Q&A, including the ill-fated Skype experiment!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Invincible #100 from Image Comics by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley

• Matt — Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time from IDW by Scott Tipton, David Tipton, and Simon Fraser

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Batman & Robin Annual #1 from DC Comics
• Batman the Dark Knight #16 from DC Comics
• Superior Spider-Man #2 from Marvel Comics
• Mara #2 from Image Comics
• Floating Bunny Head #1 by Jonathan Sims — Click HERE for more details about FBH!

Matt’s 5:

• Hawkeye #7 from Marvel Comics
• Masters of the Universe: The Origin of He-Man #1 from DC Comics
• Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 from DC Comics
• Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill #1 from DC Comics
• Emily and the Strangers #1 from Dark Horse Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Snapshot #1 from Image Comics by Andy Diggle and Jock
• Matt — Green Arrow #17 from DC Comics by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Debris TPB from Image Comics by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Reilly Rossmo

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Superbowl Shuffle by Superbowl Superstar, What the F$&# by Boss Hog, Arcade Blues by Neon Indian, Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode, Worldwide March by Sam Spence, Very Friendly by Throbbing Gristle, Birthday Dethday by Dethklok, Ape Uprising by Slough Feg.

The post THN 101: Miraclemarvelman appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Invincible #100 (Image)
I have to say, there was a lot more promised from this issue than it delivered. Still, awesome art, interesting story and storyline changes, Invincible continues to be the best super-hero book out.
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers #4 (Marvel)
I wish the art would never change on this book but I knew it would have to. Kubert is a great artist though and this book looks great. Hickman is a master; this Avengers book might turn out to be even better than Fantastic Four? Seems impossible but…
Rating: BUY IT

High Crimes #1 (Monkeybrain)
This is a lot of comic for .99. Really good art, interesting and compelling story setup and character moments. For the price you would be crazy not to pick it up!
Rating: BUY IT

The Activity #11 (Image)
I have been enjoying this book for a while now. It never blows me away…till now. What an incredible issue, this book has really come into its own. If you don’t read this you are missing out!
Rating: BUY IT

Hawkeye #7 (Marvel)
This books royalties that Matt Fraction makes all go to Sandy relief, besides being another great issue, it’s for a good cause too. If you haven’t been reading this, start here and see why you should have been all along!
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity. He is also the undisputed King of Ask A Nerd.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 01/30/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

You’ve heard of its Legend…now the truth can be told! The Two-Headed Nerd Second Birthday Spectacular is upon us and you’re ALL invited! The festivities begin at 9:00pm Central on Saturday February 2nd at Legend Comics & Coffee in Omaha, NE!

But what does a party of this magnitude entail, you ask? BEHOLD!

• Mingle to the sounds of DJ Matt Bowen!
• Marvel at the super-hero caricature skills of local artist Tim Mayer!
• Masticate the copious amounts of food and drink!
• Manipulate your hosts during the THN Live Q & A!
• And Many More M-words!

Not local? Not a problem? You can interact with the THN Birthday Bash in real time through the magic of the Internets! We’ll be accepting questions and comments via our Twitter feed and our all-new, all-interactive Skype account! Just look for the username “twoheadednerd” when placing your call.

INTERESTED IN CALLING IN? The Q & A will begin at 10:00pm Central, so plan accordingly!

If you’re so inclined, donations will be accepted for the Send Joe and Matt to C2E2 fund! Your donation will support the quality programming THN will record during their trip to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, the Midwest’s biggest and best celebration of comics! Interviews! Bizarre show intros! Breaking news from live panels! And more! This will be THN’s first-ever convention appearance and Matt and Joe are sure to make fools of themselves in short order.

Be sure to RSVP at the party’s Facebook Event Page to let us know you’re coming to celebrate with us…It’s going to be a blast!

Hope to see you all there!

*Appearance by 1970s Stan Lee Not Guaranteed

The post YOU’RE INVITED: The THN 2nd Birthday Spectacular! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: There’s no getting around it — Hollywood is going to alter our beloved comic properties in some way after they get their filthy paws on them. Give us your vote for best and worst examples of these changes.

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week Episode 16

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 16 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode ONE-HUNDO of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast! IT’S OUR BURFDAY, Y’ALL!!!

This week, we discuss the confirmation of JJ Abrams as the director of Star Wars Episode VII, Rob Liefeld’s Hollywood aspirations (check it out HERE), and the rumored gender swap from Jimmy to Jenny Olsen in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

Plus, we Take A Look (It’s in a Book) at the Scene of the Crime hardcover from Image Comics by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and Sean Phillips.

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Young Avengers #1 from Marvel Comics by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
  (Click HERE for the McKelvie/Norton art process article that Joe was talking about!)

• Matt — Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 from IDW by Mike Johnson and David Messina

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• JSA The Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #2 from DC Comics
• Hell Yeah #6 from Image Comics
• Deadpool Killustrated #1 from Marvel Comics
• Avengers #3 from Marvel Comics
• Bedlam #3 from Image Comics

Matt’s 5:

• Mind MGMT #7 from Dark Horse Comics
• Uncanny X-Force #1 from Marvel Comics
• The Answer #1 from Dark Horse Comics
• Uncanny Avengers #3 from Marvel Comics
• X-O Manowar #9 from Valiant Entertainment

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Hawkeye #7 from Marvel Comics by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber
• Matt — Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #1 from IDW by David Tipton and Simon Fraser

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia from Dark Horse Comics

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Take A Look Theme — The Reading Rainbow Theme Song Super-Slow Style, It’s Your Birthday by R. Kelly, Superman by REM, The Veil of Isis by The Sword, Leaving Drydock by Jerry Goldsmith, Rambo: First Blood Part 2: Escape from Torture by Jerry Goldsmith, Tibetan Singing Bowls by Deep Sleep, Tarzan Boy by Baltimora, Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions, Another Year This Time by The Golden Gate Quartet.

The post THN 100: The Meatus of the Matter appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

MIKE DANGER #2 (1995)
Publisher: Tekno Comix
Writer: Max Allan Collins
Pencils: Eduardo Barreto

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, I am reviewing Mike Danger #2 from Tekno Comix.

I’m a fan of hardboiled and crime noir tales.  Blast of Silence is a fantastic low budget black and white film with great dialogue.  The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain or The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler are required readings for hardboiled fans.  It is a fantastic genre.

Discovering Mike Danger #2 in the $.25 bin was cool because it was based on a character by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins.  I had high hopes for the comic book, and I was not totally impressed. Once again, I have lost another quarter to the bin.

The story begins in 1952. Mike Danger is a detective who discovers that certain members of the Third Reich were kept in ‘hiber chambers’ in a secret laboratory, so they could be opened in the future and take over the world.  The plan is foiled by Danger, but the laboratory catches on fire and Danger must find protection in an empty ‘hiber chamber’.  Danger didn’t realize that he’d be put to sleep for ages when he entered a ‘hiber chamber’.

The ‘hiber chamber’ is discovered 100 years later. Danger is awakened in 2052, some thirty years following a major nuclear war. A group of government agents need him as an investigator because there are apparently no investigators in the future.  Maybe they all died in the nuclear war.

Mike Danger #2 ends with a murder cliffhanger and I have no interest to see what happens next because this story did not earn my full attention. As a character, Mike Danger is a one-dimensional bore and his supporting cast lacks a standout.  The murder cliffhanger didn’t work for me because the person who gets killed used an old revolver instead of some high tech weapon. Am I to believe that there are hired killers in 2052 who still swear by the revolver?

While the story was dull, the artwork was good. The panels by Eduardo Barreto flowed well and Steve Leiahola, the inker, did a very nice job of putting some noir shading to give the reader a nice noir feel.

This wasn’t a gem, but I’ve got another comic book for next week, so let’s hope for something good.

RATING: SKIM IT

———————————
TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community, and at The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Gems in the Bin: Mike Danger #2 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Answer #1 (Dark Horse)
A fairly straight forward first issue. Reminds me a bit of Archer & Armstrong for some reason. Nice art, ok story. Enough to make me want to read at least 3 or 4 issues.
Rating: SKIM IT

Uncanny X-Force #1 (Marvel)
I’m starting to think this Sam Humphries guy can write a comic book! I didn’t think I’d really care to see what happens in a new arc of X-Force but now I want to. Great art, interesting first issue.
Rating: BUY IT

Young Avengers #1 (Marvel)
This isn’t really my book, I don’t connect with these characters a lot, but regardless of all that, this book is done so well you can’t help but enjoy it. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it in the long term, but I’m in for at least the first arc.
Rating: BUY IT

Bedlam #3 (Image)
In typical Nick Spencer fashion this book is a slow burn that keeps tugging me along. The art felt a little rushed in this issue but still really good, the story is unfolding and is more and more interesting with every issue
Rating: BUY IT

Ming MGMT #7 (Dark Horse)
This series is simply great. The art is incredible. There is so much to this story it’s impossible to say why you need to read it other than you do. If you haven’t been reading it start here, new arc, catches you up.
Rating: BUY IT

———————————————————————
Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity. He is also the undisputed King of Ask A Nerd.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 01/23/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

NerdTV Presents: Arrow The Watchening

The holidays are over and we begin last week’s episode with a bang, nay, a fwoosh, as a fireman inside a burning building is doused with a flammable chemical by a mysterious killer dressed like a fireman.  As far as scenes go, it’s pretty gruesome…almost as gruesome as the acting in the following scene when a character actor I’m pretty certain was in Biloxi Blues reports to Joanna—Laurel’s friend and co-worker–that her brother was killed last night.  Not since Darth Vader drunkenly stumbled from the operating table lamenting the death of Queen Amidala has the word ‘Nooooo’ been used to such deleterious affect.

Apparently, Joanna finds her brother’s death suspicious.  The report shows an ignition temperature of 500 degrees, twice as hot as the fire that destroyed the building, consumed the brother.  How could he die in a fire twice as hot as the one he was fighting?  I don’t know.  Better question: how could a fire that consumes an entire warehouse only burn at 250 degrees?  Even if that’s 250 degrees Celsius that only equals 482 degrees Fahrenheit and the average HOUSE fire burns at 1100 degrees.  Man, this show, I should work as a stupid consultant.

Oliver’s step-dad has gone missing.  The Step-Dad who knew too much, I suppose.  Moira isn’t taking it well, but don’t worry, Oliver knows just what will make her feel better: swinging by Big Belly Burger for some garbage and buying a bunch of Blue Ray movies starring people he’s never heard of.  Zack Gal-y-fine-ak-is?  Haw Haw Haw!  It’s funny because who would think that a man with such an obviously Greek name could become an actor!   I don’t know why, but Oliver’s attempt to make his mom happy with an offer of ‘Belly Burger’ pissed me off.  It’s like the show is trying super hard to make him relatable but it just falls flat.  When Tony Stark wants Burger King after being trapped in the terrorist’s cave, that is charming and awesome and makes me want Burger King.  When Oliver says, “Hey, I got Belly Burger” I think, “What, Burger King not good enough for you, you have to go to stupid fake restaurant?  Why not hit the Peach Pit for a chocolate malted?  Or Edna’s Edibles for a cupcake and glass of shut the hell up juice.”  Man, I am starving.

Laurel is asking Arrow for help investigating Joanna’s brother’s death, he’s all butthurt that she thinks he’s a remorseless killer.  “I heard you tell your Dad” he says.  I think Oliver needs help, he’s clearly confused as to what his role is as Star(ling) City’s protector, which is, of course, to murder everyone except the person named in his father’s book.  That person he sends to jail or steals 40 million dollars from their bank account.

Throw another shrimp on the Barbie, while Oliver is busy doing his parkour, another fireman is dropped into a conflagration by the mysterious masked Fireman.  Hey, Oliver, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but you are the master of a certain ranged weapon with which you could use to incapacitate an assailant from many yards away, probably without even killing him.  Ooh, island flashback.

But wait! This is no ordinary masked Fireman, it’s FIREFLY, a genuine bad guy and Batman villain.  Dollars to donuts he’s a disgruntled fireman hurt in the line of duty, wah wah.  Still, all props given to Arrow for including Deathstroke AND another villain in this episode.   Flashback to what is probably Oliver’s first kill on the island.  Honestly, I would love a nice chunk of episodes that take place exclusively on the island away from Oliver’s mother and the mole on her lip that gets bigger with each episode.

Garfield Lynns!  It is the pre-crisis Firefly.

There’s a killer on the loose killing firemen, let’s gather a whole bunch of them in one place densely packed with people and giant banners covered with Firemen silhouettes…here comes Firefly…and there we go: right on all counts.  I swear I write this as I go which should tell you something about the quality of writing in this show.

“I’m not afraid to die.”  “No, you’re afraid to live.”  BLEEEECHHHHHHHHH!

Okay, but why would Firefly kill other firemen, I get why he wanted to kill the chief, but why just regular firemen?  Anyone have any ideas?  Don’t say because he’s crazy, that’s not an answer, this was focused mayhem, crazy had nothing to do with it.

Thus endeth the episode.  Did we learn much?  No.  Was there adventure and excitement?  Sure.  Will I do this again next week?  Sigh…Yes.

King of the Nerds!

There’s an interesting mix of people on this new ‘reality’ show hosted by Lewis and Booger from Revenge of the Nerds.  I’m pleased that half the nerds are neuroscientists, geophysicists, mathematicians, etc. while the other half operate in the world I’m most familiar with: comics, gaming, and the rest.  I am annoyed, however, at the fact that no fewer than three of the nerd girls are wearing fuzzy panda style hats.

The first elimination round: nerd team captains are chosen and must build teams one by one, the catch: two teams, 11 nerds.  One person will be the odd one out, just like Dodgeball back in grade school.  I have to admit, I felt really bad for Alana the nerd unpicked, but then, THEN, a twist!  Because being picked last is the nerdiest thing that a nerd can experience, Alana is given ALL THE POWER.  WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AFTER THE COMMERCIAL?

Because Alana wasn’t picked, she is safe from banishment AND gets to pick which nerd team is safe (she picked Orange).  Virgin…sorry…Virgil, who has some form of asperger’s syndrome, is upset because the world doesn’t work exactly the way he expects it to.

So, here is a helpful guide to the Nerds on King of the Nerds.  Feel free to reference at any time during the course of the show.

Genevieve:  If Liz Lemon and a Chipmunk had a baby

Brandon:  Mark Ruffalo’s goofy little brother

Alana:  Human Misery

Celeste:  Girl Gamer without pink hair

Hendrik:  Norman Bates’ Grandson

Danielle:  Girl Gamer with pink hair

Jon:  Danielle trapped in a man’s body

Moogega:  Um…yeah.  She has my vote for winner

Joshua:  Completely unmemorable, if you find yourself asking, “Who’s that guy again?”  The answer is Joshua.

Virgil:  Beep boop, humanity is imperfect, I must destroy imperfection.

Ivan:  Sideburns Clancy Brown

The Throne of Games, cute.  Jon and Hendrik have been picked in the first Nerd Off!  A chess game, yep, simple, except for the cat girl stripper that moves the pieces and the centurion to slice the pieces in half when they’ve been captured.  Hendrik, listening to Alana’s bad advice, is the first eliminated.  Sleep well, noble Hendrik, perhaps open a small motel on the outskirts of town.  Don’t forget to drill a peep hole in the shower.

————————
David DeMarco is Joe Patrick’s boss at Legend Comics & Coffee.  He is able to write this column because Joe Patrick does all the hard work at the shop, while Dave drinks coffee and goofs around.  This is an arrangement that is acceptable to Dave.

The post nerdTV: The Returnening of the Watchening appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

My husband is always on his phone, ALWAYS. It is the most annoying – and sometimes also the rudest – thing ever. We will be out to dinner and he gets a text about his fantasy football team.  Emergency stuff right? He instantly will respond to it. If someone sends him a text stream of pug pictures (this is a fact, this does happen), he will answer and respond…WHILE IN A MOVIE! But when his lovely wife sends him text messages, they go unanswered for minutes, hours, days, sometimes FOREVER.

I present a few examples below.

Jan. 11, 2:10 pm:

Me:  “Oh.My.God. I think my uterus is starting a revolution inside me. I might be dying.”

ME: “Yep, this is what death feels like”

Me: “So long my love”

My husband: NO RESPONSE

What if I were really dying?! He would have let me die. How would he feel if he came home and I was dead and the pugs had to eat me because they were starving? (I would obviously taste delicious as I survive on a diet of red wine and Frosted Flakes).

Jan. 16 6:21 pm:

Me: “Don’t be alarmed if you find blood in the bathroom. I’m fine.”

My husband at 6:44 p.m. finally responded: “What happened.”

What happened?! Not, “oh my god, are you okay?”, “do I need to call for help?” or “are you alive?” Nothing!  He responds more to pictures of random internet pugs, but his bleeding wife, all I get is a short, cold two word response.

The best part of all this is while my dying, bloody texts were being sent and stored on his iphone5, other texts to him were being answered at an alarming rate.
So he had to be punished, obviously. As a punishment I made him attend “Deathtrap” at the Omaha Community Playhouse with me this past weekend. He’s not a huge theater fan, so you would think as a punishment that he wouldn’t repeat his mistake. Oh no, see below to Saturday’s text message. (Side note: If any of you want discounted tickets to this play, contact the Playhouse group sales department by calling Lora at 402-553-4890, ext. 147 or email lkaup@omahaplayhouse.com. All they need to do is mention the buzz team discount and tell Lora that I, Kacie, referred you. End side note).

Jan. 20, 1:02 am:

Me: “I’m ruined. I need to go home.”

Me: “I need to go home”

My husband: NO RESPONSE

I had to physically grab my husband by the arm as he walked by me to get his attention and repeat said texts to him. His response, “Why didn’t you let me know you wanted to go home.” OH HELL TO THE NO! I did, fool, I did.

Now, I am not saying that I answer EVERY text message that is sent to me. Like I recently received one from a friend reminding me it was R. Kelly’s birthday, I feel that one doesn’t warrant a response. Though if a friend or I dunno, MY HUSBAND, sent me some texts about their man parts starting a revolution, random blood spillage or their state of ruined-ness (I’m pretty sure I just made that word up) then I would at least read the text and if nothing else respond to let them know I received it. For my husband and the rest of you non-responders my feelings on this issue can best be summed up in the words of Stephanie Tanner from the great show, Full House…HOW RUDE!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: Texting 101 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 99 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss the latest round of Marvel NOW announcements, the continuing drama at DC, and the announcement of the new Regular Show comic from BOOM Studios.

Plus, the Comic Pushers are back to force some naive kid into a bad comic habit!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Todd the Ugliest Kid on Earth #1 from Image Comics by Ken Kristensen and M.K. Perker

• Matt — The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 from Dark Horse by Francesco Francavilla

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Threshold #1 from DC Comics
• X-Factor #250 from Marvel Comics
• Avenging Spider-Man #16 from Marvel Comics
• The High Ways #1 from IDW
• Doctor Who: The Impossible Crossing #1 by Alexander Beedie and Sara Dunkerton — Check out the whole issue for free HERE!!!

Matt’s 5:

• Daredevil #22 from Marvel Comics
• Crawling Sky #1 from Antarctic Press
• Insurgent #1 from DC Comics
• Savage Wolverine #1 from Marvel Comics
• Bionic Man Vs. Bionic Woman #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Star Trek Countdown to Darkness #1 from IDW by Mike Johnson and David Messina
• Matt — Uncanny X-Force #1 from Marvel Comics by Sam Humphries and Ron Garney

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Books of Magic Deluxe Edition Hardcover from Vertigo by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Comic Pushers Theme — Pusher Man by Curtis Mayfield, GI Joe Gets Angry with Humankind by SNFU, Ugly by Fishbone, Hockey Monkey by James Kochalka, Let’s Get Drugs by Zeke, Shaman’s Song: The Journey Begins/Ends by Professor Trance, Baby’s Got Sauce by G. Love and Special Sauce.

The post THN 99: So Potent It’ll Get You Pregnant! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What are the best (and worst) cartoon-to-comic-book adaptations?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week Episode 15

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 15 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Robocop #15
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Year Published: 1991

Writer: Simon Furman
Pencils: Lee Sullivan

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, I am reviewing Robocop #15 from Marvel Comics.

I was driving around downtown Dayton, Ohio during the late 1990s with the Danimal. Dan plus animal equals “Danimal”. Now you know and knowing is half the battle.  Danimal was the “god of rock”, and if you had the chance to party with Danimal back in the day then you are a better person. Danimal and I were going to a Guided By Voices show and he asked me, “Hey, have you ever seen Robocop 3? It’s awesome”.

When I pulled Robocop #15 from the comic book bin, I thought of Danimal and his love for Robocop 3.  I was excited to check out what the good people at Marvel put together back in the day for Robocop fans like Danimal.

Robocop plus the 1990s comic book industry equals garbage. Robocop #15 was awful. The script by Simon Furman was dull and cliched. The panels by Lee Sullivan were dreadful. You let me down again, 1990s comic books. Why do you torture me with banality?

You want to know what happens in this comic, wiseguy? The fit hits the shan and Robocop saves the day. Shocker.

I’m angry I lost a quarter to this awful comic book. I have not seen Danimal in years, and I wonder if he still loves Robocop 3. Never change, Danimal. never change.

RATING: LEAVE IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics community, and at The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Gems in the Bin: RoboCop #15 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The Black Beatle #1 (Dark Horse)
Pulp / Noir comics aren’t in my top types of stories I like to read, but when they are done well you cant help but enjoy them. With amazing art and a compelling story this first issue is a big win. Don’t pass this up!
Rating: BUY IT

Savage Wolverine #1 (Marvel)
I’m a sucker for the Savage Land and the art is really good in this issue. The dialogue can be a little rough at times, but overall I liked this.
Rating: BUY IT

Conan #12 (Dark Horse)
No exception to the great run that Brian Wood has been doing with Conan. This is a good book consistently month after month. If you haven’t been reading it, pick this up and continue along.
Rating: BUY IT

Threshold #1 (DC)
First off, the art in this issue is great, it kept me reading all the way though. The story however kept me thinking “hunger games cash in” the whole time. I couldn’t shake it. Not for me.
Rating: SKIM IT

Todd The Ugliest Kid On Earth  #1 (Image)
This is strange. The art is really good, the writing, maybe great? Maybe terrible? I really don’t know yet. I’m interested to see at least the next issue, in which case I say you flip through it yourself and decide.
Rating: SKIM IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity. He is also the undisputed King of Ask A Nerd.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 01/16/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What fan-favorite, iconic, or critically-acclaimed series have you had a tough time getting into?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week Episode 14

The post THN Answer of the Week Episode 14 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Award season might just be my favorite time of year. From January until the end of February there is an endless amount of red carpets, speeches, jokes and trophies to be given away. Even my husband loves award season, minus The Grammy’s, because almost everyone has a Grammy now a days and they let a woman beater perform three times last year and not one person called him out for it. Shame on you Grammy’s! So besides The Grammy’s being the Theon Greyjoy (from Game of Thrones) of the award season, we’re in.  And, as you might have heard, last night was The Golden Globes. This is the award show where everyone gets wasted on Champagne (which apparently if you don’t eat – like most Hollywood starlets – is quiet easy to do).

My husband informed me that instead of being home to watch Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest embarrass themselves on the red carpet for two hours, followed by the award show, we had to go to his niece’s 5th birthday dinner. To deal with this blow I had a plan. It involved getting tanked on sake and then relying on my twitter team to provide me’ twit-pics’ and updates on the red carpet. I would post their twitter handles aka names, but I don’t know whether or not they would want that, so just know it is made up of a group of around five of us ladies and to begin each live tweeting session, one of us issues a “roll call.” The roll call is when the tweeting officially starts by having us all check in. Without them on Sunday I would’ve been lost. Well done ladies, well done.

TWO HOURS LATER we finally arrived home and began watching the Golden Globes (the DVR is probably one of the greatest inventions ever, right!?). During the course of the telecast we drank more and both my husband and I were throwing out some tweets and then it happened.

Me: “Yay! Hugh Jackman won! You know he is gay, right?”

My husband: “What? He has a wife and kids.”

Me: “They have an arrangement and they adopted kids.”

My husband: “Is this confirmed or are you just citing your bullshit gossip blogs?”

Me: “Bullshit gossip blogs.”

After this exchange, he immediately went to twitter and posted “according to my wife Hugh Jackman is gay.” Within minutes I was getting a twitter smack-down: “in your face,” “he is not gay,” “you are wrong, where’s your proof,” etc… Seriously you guys, this must be what Kristen Stewart felt like when she cheated on her sparkly unicorn Robert Pattinson and the Twilight nation revolted against her.

In response, I was cool and collected and took the two fairly legit articles of proof (editor’s note* not actual “proof” of anything. *wife’s note –I’m not Jessica Fletcher or anything but I think my “proof” holds up) to this claim that I had and posted it to the twitter haters (one and two). They still responded throwing more shade my way and busting me out for citing gossip. Finally after another go round with me saying “look I am just stating what I heard and don’t actually give two f*&@s if Wolverine likes dudes or not, I still love him” the twitter troll ceased. He now follows me.

Moving on from the whole Hugh Jackman incident, and my god, it was a THING, I then proceeded to tell my husband about how Ben Affleck hooked up with Blake Lively during the making of The Town (SIDE: The Town was the shit! That scene where Jeremy Renner is walking around the car shooting at Jon Hamm…CHILLS!).  Thankfully this time he didn’t jump on twitter to announce that bomb to the world. I can only take so much mean-girling from the twitter-verse. He did however laugh and exclaim in his best Charlie Kelly voice, “You were a journalism major! You should know better than to believe this stuff. Also, I don’t believe it.”

Of course he wouldn’t believe it.

If it is not coming out of one of the BOOOORING talking heads at NPR then according to him it’s not the truth (editor’s note* I use several different news sources and check my facts, also a member of two different skeptic groups. *wife’s note – what you wrote was so boring I think I just fell asleep). And to that I say to him, “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: The 2013 Golden Globes appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 98 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast — The Underpants Episode!

This week, we discuss what appears to be the definitive decision over Superman’s ownership, this week’s surprising Y the Last Man movie news, and the upcoming conclusion of Tim Seeley’s long-running Hack/Slash series.

Plus, we answer one lucky listenerd’s burning question in this month’s Ask A Nerd segment!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Star Wars #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda

• Matt — Sweet Tooth #40 from DC/Vertigo Comics by Jeff Lemire

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Non-Humans #2 from Image Comics
• The End Times of Bram and Ben #1 from Image Comics
• Green Lantern New Guardians Annual #1 from DC Comics
• Thor: God of Thunder #4 from Marvel Comics
• Superior Spider-Man #1 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s 5:

• Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #1 from Dynamite Entertainment
• Repossessed #1 from Image Comics
• Shadowman #3 from Valiant Entertainment
• TMNT Secret History of the Foot Clan #1 from IDW
• Wolverine and the X-Men #23 from Marvel Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Todd the Ugliest Kid on Earth #1 from Image Comics by Ken Kristensen and M.K. Perker
• Matt — Savage Wolverine #1 from Marvel Comics by Frank Cho

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• One Trick Rip-Off Deep Cuts Hardcover from Image Comics by Paul Pope

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, Theme from Beverly Hills 90210, Raise Your Voice by Bad Co. Project, Sweet Tooth by His Shrines/King Khan, Ride the Lightning by Metallica, Sun Drugs by Stars of the Lid, The Other Woman by Loretta Lynn.

The post THN 98: Undapants appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Star Wars #1 (Dark Horse)
Full Disclosure: I historically have an aversion to star wars comics. No reason, I love the movies (the original 3) but I never could get into the comics. This is a great first issue if you are a fan of the movies, it will be fun to fill in some history between Empire & Jedi but I don’t know if it will hold my interest in the long run. If you are a Star Wars fan you will want to get this, if not then…
Rating: SKIM IT

Superior Spider-Man #1 (Marvel)
I had some serious doubts if I would be interested in Spider-Man still after #700 but this was great! Lots of unknowns, drama and internal strife. Stegman’s art is great.
Rating: BUY IT

Think Tank Military Dossier #1 (Image)
I have been enjoying Think Tank the main series, this book serves as an info sheet for the characters of the book, all the terminology and factors at work. Really cool info if this cost a dollar or was a digital download, at 3.99 though…
Rating: SKIP IT

Guarding the Globe #5 (Image)
I find myself looking forward to this book more and more every month. It’s gone from being a companion book to Invincible to a great series on its own. Don’t miss out!
Rating: BUY IT

Fury MAX #8 (Marvel)
This whole series has been incredible. So raw, intense, brutal. This was no exception.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 01/09/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

SERIOUSLY…SPOILERS!

So, Spider-Man is Doctor Octopus.

Or Doctor Octopus is now Spider-Man.

However you want to frame it, Otto Octavius – I like to call Doc Ock like he’s an old pal – is now in the body of Peter Parker. He’s now web-slingin’ and spider-sensing and, apparently, trying not to do things such as kill the Black Cat or overrun New York with Octobots.

He has urges he must control.

To help him (and his writers, I guess) to that end, we’ve come up with a list of things Doc Ock should try to avoid doing now that he’s, ya know, switched from supervillain to superhero.

Marrying Aunt May: Bad idea. He now looks and sounds like Peter Parker, but he should remember that he should also behave like him. Trying to marry Doc Ock’s old flame may be easier as a younger man, but it still looks like a guy trying to get with his old (seriously, very old) aunt. That is some kind of mega-creepy.

As some of the astute Spider-fans in the audience may recall, Dr. Octavius once tried to marry Aunt May in secret in Amazing Spider-Man #131. (It didn’t even seem to be a kidnapping situation. I think Aunt May was into it. So weird. Gerry Conway, who co-created the Punisher and killed Gwen Stacy, wrote this issue, which I would not call a career highlight.)

Reform the Sinister Six: Octopus originally formed the Sinister Six with the express intent of defeating Spider-Man. (Does anyone else think villians that are out to get a superhero are much, much sillier than villains out for personal gain?). Anyway, this may seem obvious, but forming a villainous group to defeat onself is a bit backwards.

Wear Sunglasses: It was a standard Doc Ock fashion accessory, but they’d just look silly with Spidey’s tights.

Stab the Black Cat: Last time he did that, Spider-Man beat him nearly to death and he became afraid of spiders. If he went after Black Cat again, it might trigger his arachnophobia and then we’d have a really strange, unreadable issue of Spider-Man on our hands.

Get Chubby: For all but part of his existence, Doc Ock has been a portly fellow. (Marvel’s wiki page lists him as 5’9″ and 245 lbs.) If he packs on some pounds again, it’s going to be hard to swing around the city, much less do battle in the acrobatic style Spidey’s accustomed to.

Create Psychotic Plans: Be it Octobots, bioengineering an evil Spider-Woman or attempting to create an army through special prosthetic limbs, Octavius has some plans that go solidly in the “wacko supervillains” category. Heroes have a simpler job: Save the day. Determination, timing and skill are more likely to help him in his new line of work. Building a set of spider-like prosthetics will probably not help (though I bet some writer will try that).

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By night, Kevin Coffey fights crime as a masked vigilante. By day, he’s the music critic for the Omaha World-Herald, a comic book guy, interviewer of famous people and husband. His interests include Dungeons & Dragons, pancakes, the Muppets and making snide comments during movies (his wife has asked that he stop, but he refuses). Read his observations on music and flapjacks on Twitter (@owhmusicguy), music reviews and previews at Omaha.com, and bloggy stuff at his blog, Rock Candy.

The post Helpful Hints for the Superior Spider-Man appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

This week I sat down for an interview with artist/inker/writer and all-around-nice-guy Jeremy Haun. Currently Haun is penciling The Darkness for Image/Top Cow but that just isn’t enough to keep him busy it seems. Haun and several collaborators, including writer/artist Phil Hester and writer B. Clay Moore have formed a writing team (I like to call it a gang) and launched a very successful Kickstarter campaign for their new anthology graphic novel Bad Karma.

Bad Karma is a 200-page anthology with several stories that are loosely connected but also stand alone. Below you’ll find the complete un-edited (I think there was one naughty word) interview.

To listen to the interview, click HERE —-> THN Interview with Jeremy Haun

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Matt Baum is the co-host and producer of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast. He is short and has a big mouth.

The post Small Man, Big Mouth: Bad Karma Interview with Jeremy Haun appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Happy New Year Two-Headed-Nerd-loyalist and Girl-Meets-Nerd-friends! I hope you each had a great holiday season. Next year I think I want to throw Kwanza in my celebration mix. You know, for funsies.

Did you all make any New Year’s resolutions? Mine are going to be fantastic, mainly because I didn’t make any. In the spirit of resolutions I’ve decided to list the 13 things I’m most excited about for 2013 (not in any particular order). Giddy up and enjoy!

1.  Mega Trip 2013: Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, London, New York and D.C…holla at your girl! I mean is this a trip or what? Be jealous, you all should. On the other end I will probably not be able to take another long vacation for at least a year, so there is the flip side for the haters.

2.  Lincoln Half Marathon: Last year I ran my first half marathon and I loved it. I was even super excited to hear that my husband happened to get a picture of me at the exact moment when I crossed the finish line in Memorial Stadium. What a swell guy! Only, he took a picture and cheered loudly for some random brunette girl that was not me and it only took him about 15 minutes to realize this. This year he is tasked with taking a picture of his actual wife.

3.  Nebraska Science Festival: or NE SciFest (that’s what all the cool kids call it). If you don’t know about NE SciFest, shame on you nerds! It’s a three day festival of science in Omaha that will be held in April, featuring a FREE keynote evening event with Bill Nye the Science Guy. Did I mention that my job is to plan the festival? Well now that you know this project is near and dear to my heart you all should plan on attending and if you do science of any kind (do science?? the hell?) then sign up to have a booth at the expo portion. www.nescifest.com

4.  Memphis and The Lion King: I love musicals, even the bad ones (except Cats and Company, those two are the WORST). My husband did not get me anything for Christmas this year (Editor’s Note* FALSE! *Wife’s note – buying me a polar fitness watch on the plane traveling to our Christmas vacation hardly counts). I will continue to hold this over him for months, as a wife it is my duty. So to make up for it I made him get tickets to Memphis and said he had to attend. He wasn’t sold on the idea at first but when I told him the keyboard player from Bon Jovi wrote the music, he seemed to be more open to the experience (Editor’s Note* Also false *Wife’s note – debatable). I might just have to start telling him Bon Jovi is involved in a lot more things, I might be onto something here (Editor’s Note* I honestly don’t know where this is coming from? *Wife’s note – LIES!). My husband is off the hook for The Lion King, I’ll be attending with Casey and Michelle, my two theater-going-friends. Which, some of you may already know this, but the last time the three of us went to a performance at the Orpheum Theater I was vomited on. A kid up on the balcony projectile vomited OVER THE BALCONY onto my shoulder and chair. I, of course, was wearing a white t-shirt. Thankfully it was during the last song before intermission in Mamma Mia, but still, it was extremely traumatizing and I’m pretty sure my friend apologized to those around us for the language coming out of my mouth (I mean a few “f%&ks” are totally warranted in a situation such as that).

5.  My pugs:  They are the cutest! I love them and their hate for my husband (they don’t really hate him, strongly dislike maybe…). That is all.

6.  Awards Season: My husband and I love movies and TV. We watch a lot of great shows (I also watch a lot of great crap) and we try to go to a movie at least once a week, depending on what’s out. I also enjoy the fashion at all the award shows, I mean some of those dresses are breath-taking! Some though, are hideous. If I were a celebrity and had someone I was paying to style my ass, you bet I will look like a mother-f**king boss. There are far too many hot messes that need to re-evaluate their style staff. Fact. Finally, my twitter is quiet active for these celebrations (Golden Globes, Grammy’s, Oscars) so if you want some amazing drunk thoughts/recaps/musings, then you should follow me.

7.  Summer Sunday Funday at the pool: 2012 was the year of the pool for my husband and I. Every weekend in the summer we were at a pool in Bellevue or Omaha with some of our friends. Sundays though were a little special because my husband and I would first eat at Tacos el Peligro (DANGER TACO, YOU GUYS!!) then meet up at the local pool for an afternoon of marinating in the sun and water, hoping the danger tacos wouldn’t ruin our lives. Also, I tan super easily; I think I might be secretly Latina (is that racist?).

8. Wearing my sequin pants: Do I even need to explain?

9. Planning a 2 year celebration for The Two Headed Nerd Comicast: Last year after a year of podcasting, my friend and loyal Two Headed Nerd listener Jim Heavey helped plan a one year celebration for the dudes. Jim even made a signature cocktail for the event, it had vinegar in it and after one or two it became crazy delicious. At the party we presented the nerds with a signed copy of their write up in USA Today with a nice little note from Whitney, who runs the Pop Candy blog at USA Today. Then they did a little question and answer thing, and had the whole crowd record a cuss fueled introduction for the show. I can’t wait to start planning the next party, it is going to be EPIC (seriously, like I would turn down the chance to NOT have a party)!

10. Once Upon A Time: Still obsessed, and all caught up. Captain Hook is slowly becoming my favorite (yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds and technically this show could fall into the crap I watch on TV category).

11. Turning 33: I’M OLD! I’m pretty sure when I turned 26 my husband declared he was going to turn me in for a younger model, just like car. Romantic, right? Apparently he changed his mind, and I’m still around, which is probably for the best since HE IS SUPER OLD. I also really like that I’m turning 33 in 2013, it just has a nice ring to it and there is probably some weird mystic star aligning goodness that is to come my way (probably not, but whatever, I like to think there is some meaning behind it besides, you know, science and math).

12. New bathroom: Our bathroom has pink and blue tiles on the floor and wall. It truly is a site. This is finally the year when the pink and blue goes, and a nice white bathroom with white and black floor tiles, a pedestal sink and some wanes-coting finally arrives. Also, who are the dumb-asses that built a house with a WOOD WINDOW in the shower?! Be gone old molded wood window, hello new plastic window that will actually open. I’ve never been so excited for a window or a bathroom then I am right now.

13. Reading more: The lovely ladies at my work have started a book club for 2013. (SIDE: So I was going to link ‘lovely ladies’ to a video of the cast of Les Miserables singing it. Then I realized that song is about prostitutes sung by prostitutes, and the ladies I work with are not prostitutes – not that there is anything wrong with that, well no, there is something wrong with that, but I digress. I’ll just link to that song here since it is now on repeat in my head. END ASIDE). I love to read and do a good job of pounding out a few books a year but by having a book club I’ll be required to read stuff I might not normally pick up, and that is exciting to me. Also, maybe I can recommend World War Z, as it is going on like four years of me trying to finish reading it.  Maybe now I actually will.

There you have it, the 13 things in 2013 I’m excited about. Now just a disclaimer, there are probably like 1000 other things I will be super stoked about that happen this year (one of them being an NHL season), but as long as the above 13 pan out, the rest will be icing on the cake. Speaking of cake, I made hot chocolate cupcakes tonight, fun fact for you dear readers.

Happy New Year!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: 13 for 13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 97 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!

This week, we discuss potential creative shake-ups at DC (what else is new?), the possibility of Joseph Gordon-Levitt being cast in Guardians of the Galaxy, and rumors of a Matt Kindt Spider-Man project at Marvel.

Plus, we go Inside the Comic Studio to chat with Jeremy Haun about his latest project, the Kickstarter-funded anthology Bad Karma! Click here for more details about Bad Karma and to show your support!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we answer the latest Question of the Week!

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Inside the Comic Studio Theme — Conversation by Gary Numan, Raiders by Taco Leg, Dramastically Different by the Beastie Boys, I Think I’m Evil by Black Moth Super Rainbow, Space & Time by R.M.C., Race: In by Battles, Corvus Mysterium by Lustmord.

The post THN 97: Kickstart THIS! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: Name a quirky indie creator, the mainstream super-hero you’d like to see them tackle, and why?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week 1/6/13

The post THN Answer of the Week 1/6/13 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Greetings friends, or should I say frenemies. You don’t know me and that’s good, it means you will be unable to spit on me should we pass in the street. Welcome to my own little slice of the Two-Headed Nerd Empire. Though, let’s think of it less as a slice and more of the weird little curio shop that gives you the jibblies every time you walk past and peer into the poorly lit interior through the unnaturally greasy windows, wondering how this place remains in business and suspecting that there is some unnatural power at work.

Enough self indulgent exposition, let’s get to the heart of why I am here. I talk about movies, so much so that I make a podcast about it. Maybe you’re radical and you’ve heard it once, or perhaps you should quit being an idiot and tune into the truth about life. Suffice to say, whether you believe it or not, I am a critic, and as such it is the holy charge entrusted to me by Apollo to tell you about movies. I will not tell you how to feel, but I am uniquely qualified to quantify your opinion and tell you where you fall on the grey slide rule of rightness and dumbness.

So sit down and shut up and let me talk for a minute. Today’s lesson is on the Cult Hit John Dies At The End. You may be asking yourself “Self, how does this trumped up jackanape know this is a cult film if it just came out? Does it not take time to establish a cult following?” Speaking as an aspiring leader of such, yes. Yes it does. Though this movie has all the hallmarks of a cult hit sewn into the lining of its underpants. Firstly it is adapted from an horror comedy novel of great notoriety (on the internet) written by Jason Pargin. Secondly the adaptation was written by Don Coscarelli, if you don’t know who that is you may be like me: terrible with names but good with faces and boobs. So let me relate that information in a different way. Perhaps as a list: Phantasm, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep. If you don’t know what I am talking about now, take a moment to continue shutting up and slap yourself once or twice.

Now that we have laid the stage you should already be excited to see this movie. John Dies At The End follows two friends the aforementioned John Cheeseman, of the previously mentioned impending mortal peril, and David Wong. Through a serious of coincidences, or the divine will of the universe, John and Dave become exposed to a mysterious substance that is probably drugs and may also be sentient, that they call “the Soy Sauce”. The story unfolds through the classic method of one of the tales participants relating it to a skeptical reporter. I love this movie. It is easily my favorite film of the year and most likely to attain a spot on my Top 17 Films Of All Time list. All at once, it is a Slacker Comedy, Supernatural Detective, Sci-Fi Supernatural Horror, occasionally touching on one of those weird philosophically navel gazing films that I normally dislike unless I am chemically inclined to philosophical navel gazing. Speaking of chemical inclinations, both John and Dave manage to stumble through the movie with the amiable grace of the pleasantly buzzed, accepting the bizarre nature of their adventures with only the cursory amount of resistance.

The practical effects employed through most all of the movie lend to the general campiness of it and immediately serve as a connection to the Cult Films of bygone years. It creates the feeling of having seen this movie before and liking it even though you haven’t. The pacing is brisk and the running time of 99 minutes helps keep this tied up neatly as it could have easily spiraled down and number of tangents mentioned throughout and collapsed under its own weight. A dozen years ago this would have been the kind of movie that was passed around on a beat up VHS that you gathered everyone you knew to sit down and watch in your basement. Now, thanks to technology, you can watch it through your favorite On Demand video service and I will be forever alone.

This soap box is higher than my couch…I am getting dizzy and my leg is cramping, so let’s wrap this up in a fun bundle, as this may or may not have been the most ham handed and shameless ego stroking the internet has seen in the past five minutes. Right now your burning question is probably “Why?” and the answer is simply “Because, God damn you.” This movie is full to bursting with all of the things that make for a great movie to watch by yourself or while you hang out with your friends. If you are a fan of the cult film you will easily be a fan of this and the fact that it is just so damn quotable means you will have a few new catch phrases with which to pepper all your social interactions.

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Matthew Lockwood, Esquire is one of the venerable co-hosts of Movieha: Omaha’s Movie Podcast and one of the writers/co-creators of the unbearably delightful webcomic Good Plus. Hasn’t he done enough?

The post Musings from the Gods: John Dies at the End appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Morbius the Living Vampire #1 (Marvel)
This is a solid first issue that sets up Morbius as the street level hero of a town that cant do any worse. Good writing by Keatinge, decent art. I liked it, didn’t love it.
Rating: SKIM IT

New Avengers #1 (Marvel)
Hickman hasn’t let me down with a comic in the last couple of years. This was no exception. Something big is brewing in this book, not sure how it fits into continuity, not sure if I care.
Rating: BUY IT

Adventure Time Fionna & Cake #1 (Kaboom!)
I do love the sweetness of these characters and the art is great in the main story and backup story. That being said, this is very focused on appealing to young girls, and not everyone. I would say look it over but for most people this is going to be a leave it.
Rating: SKIM IT

Invincible #99 (Image)
I can’t wait for issue 100! This is probably the best pure super-hero book out, if you aren’t reading it you are missing out!
Rating: BUY IT

Hellboy In Hell #2 (Dark Horse)
So I think his Mignolla guy has a real future in comics. Pure Hellboy story, cant wait to see where this ride goes. Love it so far, so…
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 01/02/13 – By Aaron Meyers: King of Ask A Nerd appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The THN Love Slaves are back and we have decided it would be best to end the year with a ‘Best Of’ list for the good kids who follow the THN site. We spent five frantic minutes discussing what topics would be covered in our year-end article, and we’ve decided on five categories: Best Ongoing Series, Best Graphic Novel, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Find. Your Love Slaves are TonyDoug Wright (aka The TD Dubs), Aaron Meyers (King of  ‘Ask A Nerd’), and Keith Silva (aka The honorary Jew).

Let’s get to business and state our cases.

1. BEST ONGOING SERIES

TonyDoug Wright: As much as I’ve loved Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil, I’m going to take a different route and go into the world of webcomics. I’m a webcomics creator, so I’m gonna be loyal to my homies. Supermassive Black Hole A* is still one of the best webcomics out there, and creator Ben Chamberlain has developed a very cool sci-fi tale that features some beautiful black and white panels. Perhaps Joe and Matt could review some webcomics in 2013. *Hint*

Aaron Meyers: This is SO hard to make a choice of, there are a ton of incredible comics out this year. Having to choose I make my pick Manhattan Projects by Nick Pitarra and Jonathan Hickman & Jordie Bellaire. Of all the books this year that I loved, and there are a lot, this one is at the top of my must read list when it comes out. The story is pure sci fi madness. Pitarra’s art, Bellaire’s colors, Hickman’s layered writing, everything about this book is A+++.  

Keith Silva: Month-to-month no series delivers more in ’expect the unexpected’ than Prophet. Each issue is equal parts ’WTF,’ hard sci-fi and gorgeous gobbledygook delivered an easy to digest ‘Conan in Space’ wrapper. Brandon Graham is a creator’s creator. He tells the stories he wants to tell in the way he wants to tell them. The other creators that Graham gets for his ‘great space coaster’ like Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple and Giannis Milogiannis are less like hired hands and more like co-conspirators. Ten years from now — hell, maybe even five – the next hot shot writers and artists are all going to cite Prophet as the comic that most influenced them and made them want to make comics. Lucky Bastards.

2. BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL

TDW: Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City is my selection. Jerusalem is the most recent addition to Delisle’s tales as a fish out of water who goes from country to country with his wife who works for Doctors Without Borders. Fans of Pyongyang, Shenzhen, and The Burma Chronicles will enjoy this graphic novel as Delisle and his family adapt to life in a city of conflict and beauty. What I like about Delisle’s Jerusalem is that he’s not writing an ABC Afterschool Special, but is blunt and opinionated in his writing. The issues between Israelis and Palestinians are complicated at times, and Delise does not hold back on his criticisms of Israel and organized religion in general.

AM: For me this was a clear and easy choice. The Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire was so enthralling, powerful and well done that it was at the top of my list for graphic novels this year. Admittedly as a father I have some bias with this story but Lemire is such a master story teller with such a unique art style, I loved everything about this book.

KS: Ron Wimberly’s Prince of Cats cuts and cuts deep. It’s a mix tape of Shakespeare, samurai movies, ’80′s youth culture and the thin line between honor and blind macho stupidity. Wimberly ”lays his scene in Brooklyn Babel” where two warring families, star-crossed lovers etcetera etcetera; except Wimberly’s not interested in the umpteenth re-whatevering of Romeo and Juliet, think of these Elizabethan cues as samples, a sax lick here, a snare drum there. This is Tybalt’s story, the titular Prince of Cats, who returns to the ‘hood to take revenge and rush headlong into senseless violence. Wimberly’s cartooning has ‘flava,’ he draws sexy people, ‘real’ sexy people. His action scenes are dynamic and the character moments straight-up devastate. Blood spatters and box cutters to the eye aside, it’s when Wimberly takes a beat to linger over a pair of kicks or a ride on the Wonder Wheel that this story becomes more than the sum of its parts. Do yourself a favor, spend some time with Prince of Cats. Yeah, verily.

3. BEST WRITER

TDW: My vote is for Jeff Lemire. The Underwater Welder was another great graphic novel read for me this year. Lemire is one of the best writers out there today, and The Underwater Welder was as enjoyable as Lemire’s The Nobody. If you enjoy weird stories set in small towns then Lemire is your guy.

AM: There are a lot of amazing writers to choose from this year, and I agree with all your picks as well, but in the end I have to pick Jonathan Hickman as my writer of the year. Between his wrap up on FF/Fantastic Four, Manhattan Projects. And now Avengers series there isn’t a Hickman story I won’t read. The detail of his scripting and the intensity of his stories never leave me feeling lacking.

KS: I’m going to split my vote between Brian Wood, Matt Kindt and David Hine. All three of these writers should be recognized for their creator-owned work in 2012. Brian Wood is fast becoming both the James ‘hardest workin’ man in show business’ Brown and Rodney ‘I can’t get no respect’ Dangerfiled of comic book writers. His work is always intelligent and emotional and not enough good things need to happen for him in 2013. MIND MGMT is a tour-de-force of smarts and savvy. I think of Matt Kindt as a comic book auetuer as much as a writer and artist. His work is singular, but approachable with a hand-made quality that shows how much love and care he has for his art. David Hine takes risks. No comic book is ballsier than Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred. Hine’s ideas are never pat, his dialogue is never lazy and no writer is more willing to experiment and ’play’ with what the medium can do than David Hine.

4. Best Artist:

TDW: I’m going to give this award to my friend, Anand ‘Kav’ Kaviraj. I’ve been blessed to work with Kav on various projects and this year we completed a graphic novel titled Dr. Death vs The Zombie. Kav has also worked on some really cool independent comic books like Rapid City #2, The Amazing Mister X, and Tales From The Void. Kav’s style blends the underground comics look with classic 50′s scifi and noir. This splash page he did for The Amazing Mister X blew me away and his design for the cover was equally impressive. Kav’s about to make it big, kids, so you heard it first from the TD Dubs.

AM: Another category that you don’t want to have to make a choice with. The talent the industry has right now I think has never been better, so what it comes down to is what spoke to me the most. This is a mix of the subject matter the artist produced and the art itself. So much goes into a book, from color, pencils, inks, finishes, lettering, it’s hard to separate an artist from the final product. That being the case, my choice is Brian Churilla for best artist of the year for his work on his creator owned project The Secret History of D.B Cooper. Since he did all the work on the series you can read a complete vision of the work. The art is stellar with a unique style that really shows the best of what comics can be.

KS: For me, this is like choosing your favorite child. I follow artists more than I follow writers. Weird, I know, right? If held at (metaphorical) gun point — or asked the same question by another website — I answer Becky Cloonan. For the sake of argument (and to be a bit more egalitarian), I read Sean Murphy’s Punk Rock Jesus for the story, but this is Sean Murphy (after all) and as an artist he has no equal. Whatever the artist’s equivalent of ‘an actor reading the phonebook’ is, Murphy could draw that and I’d be the first in line to see it. Like Cloonan, Murphy knows how to sling ink in ways that makes a reader feel something. An all-around fearless and incomparable creator, Sean Murphy draws and writes the comics I want to read.

5. Best Find:

TDW: This category is for the coolest people, websites, comic books, etc that were discovered by the THN Love Slaves this year. My pick is Darrin O’Toole. This writer from Ireland is on fire and is another person you need to keep an eye on in 2013. He is producing some great comic books, so check him out. I’d also like to give a shout-out to Matthew Bogart, a very talented writer and artist who has just launched his latest webcomic, Oh, It’s The End of the World.

AM: This will sound like an incredibly huge cop-out for this category but in the end my biggest find this year has been my comic’s community. Twitter has helped me connect with people who love comics, who then connect me to podcasts made by people who love comics, and bloggers who love comics, who tell me about creators who love comics, and make comics I love. Without this community I wouldn’t know much of anything about comics. I discover new and amazing work each day because of the people I know now.   

KS: I began writing about comic books in February 2012. The last ten months have been an absolute blast as I have rediscovered a medium and an artform I love. From podcasts like Two-Headed Nerd, Panel Culture and Burnt Weiners to blogs like thirteen minutes and Too Dangerous for a Girl and, of course, my comrades in arms over at ComicsBulletin, I’m overwhelmed to find people who want to think, write and talk about comics as much as me. And if I ever reach that Zihuatanejo that is Legend Comics & Coffee, I hope Matt and Joe are there to talk comics, argue and (maybe) comp. me some creator-owned books.

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics and comic book community, and is the owner of The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

Keith Silva writes for Comics Bulletin. There is also this @keithpmsilva and this Interested in Sophisticated Fun?. A googling will reveal he has a ‘real job’ in local Vermont television which keeps him in comics, but not nearly enough.

The post SLAVE REVOLT: OUR 2012 LIST IS A HOT MESS appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 96 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast, the Second Annual Golden Beppo Awards!

This week, we forgo our usual format for this special, year-end discussion of the best the comic industry had to offer in 2012. So dust off your best tux and/or evening gown, get gussied up, and join us for the festivities!

BE AWARE, however, that we will NOT be holding back on SPOILERS for this celebration of comic book excellence.

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com, where we’ll be reviewing new books for the week of Wednesday, December 19th!

** URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE NERDS AT THN: We have been having some technical issues with the show NOT showing up in iTunes. We’re working on it, and appreciate your patience while we deal with the problem. If you can’t find our past episodes in iTunes, you can download them directly from our website by right-clicking the “download” link on each episode’s post and choosing “save link as.” **

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Theme from Battlestar Galactica by Maynard Ferguson, Gonna Fly Now ALSO by Maynard Ferguson, I Need Friends by Don Lennon, Danny Boy by Johnny Cash, The Hero by Queen, Welcome Back by Rumer, What You Need by The Fall, Brothers Gonna Work it Out by Public Enemy, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith, Couple Days Off by Huey Lewis and The News, Flying Theme from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by John Williams.

The post THN 96: The Second Annual Golden Beppo Awards appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I NORMALLY give our answers to the THN Question of the Week! This week, however, we’re giving you our reviews of the few noteworthy comics that came out on Wednesday, December 26th 2012. We’re in full Spoiler Mode here, kids, so be prepared!

Here’s the list:

• Deathmatch #1 (BOOM Studios)
• Mara #1 (Image Comics)
• Justice League #15 (DC Comics)
• Aquaman #15 (DC Comics)
• Amazing Spider-Man #700 (Marvel Comics)
• Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 (Marvel Comics)

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week 12/30/12

The post THN Answer of the Week 12-30-12 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

THE DEADLY DUO #1 (Image Comics 1994)
Writer: Erik Larsen
Pencils: Andy Smith
Inker: Randy Elliott
Letterer: Chris Eliopopulos

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? I’ve decided to share a comic from the $.25 bin review I did for Erasing Clouds. This week I present to you The Deadly Duo #1.

Published in 1994, The Deadly Duo #1 was released two years after the founding of Image Comics. Writer Erik Larsen, one of the partner owners for Image Comics, has had a very successful career with Image and Marvel. Larsen is best known for his work with on Amazing Spider-Man and The Savage Dragon.

Kill Cat is an older but tough-as-nails super hero who fights crime in Detroit. Having the typical tormented bad-attitudes of Batman and Wolverine, Larsen’s Kill Cat comes across as a hero that does not need a sidekick to defeat the super villains who run wild in the city. Enter Mark Osborn, a super hero from the future who makes his way to Detroit to fight crime. Enamored with the past, Osborn attempts to become part of society and ends up battling Cement Man, one of Kill Cat’s foes. While Osborn battles Cement Man, Kill Cat arrives on the scene to assist the newcomer. From there, a partnership is created between the two super heroes.

The Deadly Duo #1 is a humorous look at the world of super hero duos. Larsen portrays Kill Cat as a narcissistic hero who takes his crime fighting job very seriously while Mark Osborn is a sarcastic adventurer who relies upon 70s lingo to communicate with everyone. Comparable to The Tick, The Deadly Duo is a fun parody of the super hero universe where things can get a little too dark and somber.

The TD Dubs has spoken.

RATING: BUY IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics and comic book community, and is the owner of The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post GEMS IN THE BIN: THE DEADLY DUO #1 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 95 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!!! This is going to be a rough one, folks…

This week, we discuss the “return” of DC’s Captain Carrot, the passing of the editorial torch at Vertigo, and rumors of the end of Dark Horse’s long run with Star Wars.

Plus, we Take A Look, It’s In A Book at the first TWO volumes of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com!

** URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE NERDS AT THN: We have been having some technical issues with the show NOT showing up in iTunes. We’re working on it, and appreciate your patience while we deal with the problem. If you can’t find our past episodes in iTunes, you can download them directly from our website by right-clicking the “download” link on each episode’s post and choosing “save link as.” **

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — JSA the Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #1 from DC Comics by B. Clay Moore and Tony Harris

• Matt — Dee-Jango Unchained #1 from DC/Vertigo by Quentin Tarantino and RM Guera

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Nightwing #15 from DC Comics
• Saga #8 from Image Comics
• Hellblazer #298 from Vertigo
• FF #2 from Marvel Comics
• Avengers Arena #2 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s 5:

• Uncanny X-Force #35 from Marvel Comics
• Executive Assistant Iris Vol. 3 #1 from Aspen
• Joe Palooka #1 from IDW
• Wonder Woman #15 from DC Comics
• Green Lantern New Guardians #15 from DC Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Justice League #15 from DC Comics by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
• Matt — Amazing Spider-Man #700 from Marvel Comics by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• SKIP WEEK! We didn’t pick NOTHIN’!

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Take A Look Theme — The Reading Rainbow Theme Song, Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ by Journey, Hardest Geometry Problem in the World by Mark Mothersbaugh, Skulls by Misfits meet The Nutley Brass, Top Gun Anthem by Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens, Misfit Toys by Muta, Three Blind Mice by The Beach Boys

The post THN 95: Les Anderson appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week!

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: With the release of Django Unchained #1 from Vertigo, what other film directors would you like to see adapt their own work for comics and which artists should they be paired with?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week 12/23/12

The post THN Answer of the Week 12-23-12 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Micronauts (The New Voyages) #11 (1985)
Published by: Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Art: Kelley Jones

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? This week, my selection is The Micronauts (The New Voyages) #11.

Aaron Meyers is totally jazzed about this review because he is a Micronauts super-fan.  I like to use the word “jazzed” because I feel it is an under-used word. Make an effort to use “jazzed” in a sentence this week.

When I pulled this comic from the bin, I knew I had a winner. How could you go wrong with The Micronauts? It has been ages since I have read one of their titles, plus I was surprised that they had a New Voyages title. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle. That little G.I. Joe reference was intentional because both The Micronauts and G.I. Joe were popular toy products that were turned into fantastic comic books. I’ll give the edge to the Larry Hama era of G.I. Joe, but I was very impressed with The Micronauts (The New Voyages) #11.

The team of Commander Rann, Acroyear, Marionette, Solitaire, Bug, and Huntarr have traveled the galaxy to track down a distress signal only to find themselves blocked by the impenetrable spacewall. Enemies converge on our heroes, so they must prepare for battle. The power of the spacewall keeps our heroes safe, and they discover a massive spaceship has attached itself to the spacewall.

The Micronauts (The New Voyages) #11 was a fun read. The story was well-paced and there was plenty of action and suspense.  There is a portion of the story that seems to be a total rip-off of Alien, and it is partly visible on the cover. Acroyear, Huntarr, and Bug board the giant ship attached to the spacewall, they discover the body of an alien inside the ship, and it is seated on a chair just like that giant alien from Alien. I’m willing to look past that rip-off and say that this was a great selection from the bin. If you are a sci-fi fan then you’ll really dig The Micronauts.

The TD Dubs has spoken.

RATING: BUY IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics and comic book community, and is the owner of The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post GEMS IN THE BIN: THE MICRONAUTS (THE NEW VOYAGES) #11 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Number 13 #1 (Dark Horse)
This is a quirky, beautiful Sci-Fi book that has something far more sinister lurking down the road in further issues. I really enjoyed it.
Rating: BUY IT

Captain America #2 (Marvel)
This isn’t any Cap book I’ve ever seen. Holy hell this was awesome. I love Romita’s art too. It works perfectly for this book and its setting.
Rating: BUY IT

Saga #8 (Image)
And the hits keep on rolling. More plot building, more entertainment. This issue sets up a lot for the next. The pressure valve is primed, time to release it all next issue.
Rating: BUY IT

Avengers #2 (Marvel)
Yeah this is the Avengers book I want to read. Set aside the incredible art for this book, the story is what a big team book like Avengers should be. Big threats, big ideas, big heroes. Beautiful.
Rating: BUY IT

JSA Liberty Files – The Whistling Skull #1 (DC)
So I haven’t ever read any of these before, I assume this is some follow up to previous books? Regardless I had no idea what was happening and didn’t really care as I read it. Maybe this makes more sense as it goes on but for now…
Rating: LEAVE IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 12-19-12 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

One Ring to Rule Them All

Today’s Girl Meets Nerd was supposed to be a full-on hate report of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which I saw this weekend. In a strange turn of events, today’s blog will still be about The Hobbit, but not a full-on hate rant because, god dammit, I kind of liked it (ugh, I hate myself). Not to worry though, there are still a few things I want to discuss. So let’s proceed shall we?

First off, I don’t know how I never noticed this after wasting nine plus hours of my life with The Lord of The Rings movies, but man, Hobbits get high all the $&%^ing time. Those fools are constantly smoking the good stuff out of nice long pipes. Gandalf also gets just as high as those Hobbits. In fact, I would say he is more high than not in The Hobbit.

Speaking of Gandalf, apparently his name is Gandalf the Grey and NOT Gandalf the Great. I thought it was Gandalf the Great (nickname, The Grey). After the movie ended and we were in the car, I turned to my husband and asked, “why do they call him Gandalf the Great? He isn’t that great at all. He never does wizard like shit?” That is when my husband informed me that it was “Grey” not “Great,” and that great wizards know when to use magic and not abuse it. Whatever. I am just saying I know of two great wizards I want on my side in any sort of battle or quest: Harry Potter and Snape (sorry, Ron Weasley, you didn’t make the cut but we can still be best friends). Those dudes help peeps out in a jam. All Gandalf did – at the very last minute mind you – is summon some giant birds to take them all to safety. Kacie is not impressed.

A new character to me was the Brown Wizard that was introduced in this movie (Radagast. Oh snap! I totally remembered his name and didn’t even need to look it up. Ten points to Gryffindor!), who lives in the forest and is the wizard of the animals or something. Spoiler Alert: he plays a big part in the discovery of the darkness that is trying to take over the kingdom. This guy eats a lot of magic mushrooms. So much in fact, I don’t think he realizes the two birds that live in a nest under his hat have shit all down one side of his face. That stuff has been there for so long it is crusted on him. He also gets around via a sled pulled by rabbits.

Side note: Cate Blanchett reprised her role of elf queen, and Dear God, she is beautiful. I could watch her walk around in clothes all day; clothes were made for that woman. End side note.

My husband’s reaction to the movie was pretty much what you would expect. Lots of giggles, excited sighs, crying, and arm punches at me when something “awesome” happened. I think my right arm is one large bruise there was so much arm punching from awesomeness. My favorite reaction was my husband crying. He cried not once, but twice. The first cry came not even 10 minutes into the movie when Bilbo is writing his book and he writes/says the first line from The Hobbit book. The second time the water works were on full display was when the dwarf king (Thorin) tells Bilbo he was wrong for thinking Bilbo was not worthy of such an unexpected journey (me paraphrasing). I heard the sniffles and saw the hands wipe away the tears. I turned to my husband as he was quietly saying “man, that got me” and whispered, “Dear God, when did you grow a vagina?” I don’t even cry at movies. The only movies I have cried during were Steel Magnolias, Step Mom and that stupid Benjamin Buttons shit.

During the movie, my husband liked to point out that The Hobbit dwarves are what real dwarves should look like (say what?!). He continued, “not like those dwarves on your dumb Once Upon a Time show, where the dwarves aren’t really dwarves at all. Dwarves shouldn’t be the same size as other people.” Bitch, please. The dwarves on Once Upon A Time are smaller people, it just so happens that Snow White (or the actress playing her, I should note) is like 5-feet tall, so it appears as if the dwarves are larger than they really are.

My husband also really enjoyed when the mountains turned into rock ‘em sock ‘em robots. There was a lot of squealing with delight during that scene, which, while visually cool, didn’t add much to the story in my opinion.

I almost forgot to mention how excited he was for the musical numbers in the movie. Oh yes, musical fans, I was delighted that within the first hour there were two musical numbers. I had high hopes this would continue throughout the movie, but it did not. Personally, there were a few scenes here and there that could have used some Broadway jazz.

Anyway, like I said, I actually quite enjoyed the movie, despite my plan of going into it with a full-on hate attitude. I can’t stand The Lord of the Rings movies at all, but for some reason I found The Hobbit to be fun and interesting. I liked all the characters as well. No offense, Elijah Wood, but I just really dig Martin Freeman soooo much more. He needs to be way more famous. Since I said I enjoyed the movie, my husband is now making me watch the first LOTR movie. Sigh. Yep, it is still the worst and, seriously, Gandalf is always #&%^ing high…

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: The Hobbit appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

WRITER: BILL WILLINGHAM
PENCILLER: LAN MEDINA
INKERS: STEVE LEIALOHA & CRAIG HAMILTON
DC COMICS/VERTIGO $9.99

(**NOTE: This is a review of the previous edition of this volume. There is now a new edition available with a new cover, extra material, and a $12.99 cover price.**)

Prince Charming saved Snow White with a kiss. The Big, Bad Wolf terrorized the Three Little Pigs. Pinocchio was granted his wish to become a real boy. Beauty saw through the Beast’s monstrous exterior to find the noble heart within. These characters and their stories are familiar to all of us. We’ve heard them hundreds of times in dozens of different forms. But what if our favorite fairy tale characters were living among us? What if there was far more to the stories than what we’ve been told? This is the premise of Fables, the long-running comic book series published by Vertigo/DC Comics.

“Once upon a time, in a fictional land called New York City.” With this clever opening line, writer Bill Willingham begins to set the scene for his tale. The first volume in the ongoing Fables saga, titled “Legends In Exile,” introduces the reader to the book’s cast and shows just how different these characters are from the versions we remember.

Hundreds of years ago, sometime after the events of the tales we know, an unknown adversary rampaged through the kingdoms of the Fable homelands. One by one, the Fables, a nickname adopted by the main characters, were driven from their homes and forced to flee to the Mundane world, our world. To ensure their continued survival, the remaining Fables banded together to form a community. Land was purchased in what would eventually become New York City, and Fabletown was born.

In this new environment, these familiar characters are thrust into unfamiliar roles. Old King Cole presides over Fabletown as its Mayor, but everyone knows that Snow White, Cole’s deputy, is really running the show. Snow is a no-nonsense leader, dealing with each day’s trials with efficiency and professionalism. Boy Blue is her right-hand man. The Big, Bad Wolf, now called “Bigby,” has reformed, and, after being pardoned for his past crimes, serves Fabletown’s sheriff. Fables that can’t pass for human and can’t afford magical disguises (talking animals, giants, trolls, and the like) are forced to live on The Farm, an vast stretch of land in upstate New York. This restriction doesn’t stop one of the Three Little Pigs from sneaking to the city to crash on Bigby’s couch, however.

As Willingham sets the scene and introduces the cast, the plot of “Legends In Exile” takes shape. Rose Red, Snow White’s lesser-known sister, is missing. Her apartment appears as though a massacre has taken place within. The ominous words “No More Happily Ever After” are found scrawled in blood upon the living room walls. Jack Horner, Rose’s deadbeat boyfriend is the prime suspect, but Bigby’s instincts lead him to believe that all is not as it seems.

In the pages of “Legends In Exile,” Willingham delivers an interesting murder mystery in the midst of what is an already fascinating tale. The story of the Fables’ journey to the world of the “Mundys,” the examination of these time-worn characters in this unique situation, this would have made the book compelling enough to recommend. Instead, Willingham builds his take on the cast within the frame of an irresistible “whodunit.”

As the mystery progresses, Willingham offers hints that these characters’ stories may not be as familiar as we think. Prince Charming, the handsome nobleman that rescued Snow White, is revealed to be the same Prince that played a part in the lives of other famous damsels in distress; Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. In the world of Fables, the consummate hero is recast as a sleazy womanizer with a string of disgruntled exes. Snow White’s famous adventure with the Seven Dwarves is best forgotten. “NEVER mention the dwarves,” warns Boy Blue as Beauty and Beast are quickly ejected from Snow’s office .

Though the principal cast of the mystery plot is relatively small, Fables is filled with dozens of background characters both familiar and less so. The Frog Prince, lovingly called “Flycatcher,” serves as a janitor. Cinderella takes fencing lessons from Bluebeard. The witch that tempted Hansel and Gretel appears as an elderly woman that passes the time by knitting in her rocking chair.

Willingham’s scripts are beautifully rendered by the art of Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, and Craig Hamilton. Each character’s design is unique, yet instantly recognizable. Snow White’s jet-black hair and good looks remind us of the images burned into our memories by Walt Disney. Bigby Wolf, though he appears human, retains his hairy, animalistic nature. Prince Charming is almost impossibly handsome. And Old King Cole indeed looks like a “merry old soul.”

This volume of Fables, the first of many, is affordably priced at $9.99, a less expensive price point than other graphic novels of comparable length. It reprints the first five issues of the monthly series in a convenient format. In addition to the main story, this volume features an eight page prose story written, and illustrated by Willingham himself, called “A Wolf In the Fold.” This short story presents the tale of Bigby’s first meeting with Snow White, and his decision to leave behind his predatory ways. At 128 pages of story and art for less than ten dollars, “Legends In Exile” provides an excellent value.

No, Fables isn’t for everyone. Though it may appear so at first glance, with its colorful cast of fairy tale characters, this book is most definitely not for children. It features mature themes (Pinocchio’s decidedly adult concerns about being stuck as a child, for example), harsh language, and some violence, which make it the equivalent of an R-rated movie. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to any grownup interested in a new spin on the tales of their youth.

Fables: Legends In Exile offers an excellent mystery yarn, complete with a twist ending, and introduces a vast world that promises so much more. With a compelling plot, well-developed characters, and low introductory price point, the first volume of Fables is a book that every adult, comic book fan or not, should add to their library.

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Joe Patrick is one of the hosts of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast and Editor-in-Chief of http://twoheadednerd.com. If he could have built a career out of correcting Matt Baum’s mistakes, he would have left you all behind years ago.

The post Book Report: Fables Vol. 1 Legends in Exile appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome back to the Answer of the Week audio blog, where Matt and I give our answers to the THN Question of the Week! Since we gave our answers to this week’s Question on the show, we thought we’d treat you to this delightful remnant from the Drunk Show.

Clicking the link should allow you to play the Answer of the Week in your browser. If you want to download it for later, simply right click on the link and select “save link as…”

This week’s question: What is your favorite independent comic of all time?

CLICK HERE –> THN Answer of the Week 12/16/12

The post THN Answer of the Week 12/16/12 appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to Episode 94 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!!!

This week, we discuss the firing of Gail Simone, Scott Snyder’s upcoming departure from Swamp Thing, and our first impressions of the first full Man of Steel trailer!

Plus, the Comic Pushers are back to turn a sweet, new comic reader into a full-blown junkie!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com!

** URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE NERDS AT THN: We have been having some technical issues with the show NOT showing up in iTunes. We’re working on it, and appreciate your patience while we deal with the problem. If you can’t find our past episodes in iTunes, you can download them directly from our website by right-clicking the “download” link on each episode’s post and choosing “save link as.” **

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — Avengers Arena #1 from Marvel Comics by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker

• Matt — Cable & X-Force #1 from Marvel Comics by Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larroca

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• Sherlock Holmes: The Liverpool Demon #1 from Dy-no-MITE!
• Scarlet Spider #12 from Marvel Comics
• Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 from Marvel Comics
• Green Lantern Corps #15 from DC Comics
• Ultimate Comics X-Men #20 from Marvel Comics

Matt’s 5:

• The Crow: Skinning Wolves #1 from IDW
• Caligula: The Heart of Rome #1 from Avatar
• The Hollows #1 from IDW
• Archer and Armstrong #5 from Valiant
• To Hell You Ride #1 from Dark Horse Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — JSA the Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #1 from DC Comics by B. Clay Moore and Tony Harris
• Matt — Django Unchained #1 from DC Comics by Quentin Tarantino and R.M. Guera

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Star Trek the Newspaper Strips Vol. 1 HC by Ron Harris

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Comic Pushers Theme — Pusher Man by Curtis Mayfield, Pool Party by The Aquabats!, Deal with It by Vitamin X, The Big Money by Rush, The Planet Krypton from the Superman: The Movie Soundtrack, Cats; Mice by Big Business, Psychedelic Mice by Weekends.

The post THN 94: Now With 100% More Channing Tatum appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

The Hollows #1 (IDW)
I’m a really big fan of Sam Keith’s art, this wasn’t his best work. Additionally the script is difficult and relies on exposition a lot. Still, the premise is interesting, I want to read more before I decide to stick with this or not.
Rating: SKIM IT

The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 (Marvel)
This really should have been titled Morbius .1, but regardless this was a well written issue that sets up his history and the upcoming title. I enjoyed the art and the script a lot.
Rating: BUY IT

To Hell You Ride #1 (Dark Horse)
Interesting story about Native American legend, spiritual signs and…something? The art was good, but the color choices are washed out and left me feeling lacking. There is a lot of narrative, but not a lot of character work.
Rating: SKIM IT

Batman #15 (DC)
Yeah, this is freak stuff! If you have been reading Batman, you won’t be disappointed, if you haven’t, go back and get the last issue and the first trade, it’s a great run of comics.
Rating: BUY IT

Sherlock Holmes: The Lover Pool Demon #1 (Dynamite)
First let me say the cover art by Francavilla is great! This is a pretty good Holmes story, I liked it more than I expected to. If you aren’t a big Sherlock Holmes fan this won’t do anything to change that, if you are it’s a nice story to get into for more Holmes material.
Rating: SKIM IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 12/12/12 – By Aaron Meyers: King of Ask A Nerd appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Comics’ Greatest World: The Machine
(Dark Horse Comics – 1993)
Writers: Mike Richardson and Chris Warner
Art: Lee Weeks and Ted Naifeh
Letters: Clem Robins

Gems in the Bin is a weekly column where I select a comic book from the $.25 bin at Fanfare Sports and Entertainment in Kalamazoo, Michigan for review. Will I strike gold or will I pay too much for an awful comic that should have been shredded? I’ve decided to share a comic from the $.25 bin review I did for Erasing Clouds. This week I present to you the 1993 publication Comics’ Greatest World: The Machine.

When I picked this title out of the bin, I was immediately reeled in by Mike Mignola’s cover featuring the ominous character, The Machine, standing strong over a pile of rubble. A spin-off of the Barb Wire series, The Machine follows the life of one Avram Roman (a.k.a. The Machine) a tortured soul trapped in a mechanical existence. He is a resident of the crime ridden metropolis of Steel Harbor and ally to femme fatale, Barb Wire.

In this issue, our hero is witness to various gang battles between Barb Wire and the local goons. Ignition, a small but evil gangster, has attempted to take out the blonde bombshell, Barb Wire, but fails. From there, Barb Wire chases Ignition to his lair where he does battle with a group of urban thugs known as The Prime Movers.

The Machine was action packed, although the writing and art were more lackluster than blockbuster. Mike Richardson and Chris Warner had an interesting character with The Machine but it seems they tried to do too much in one issue. It is difficult to get into a title when the main character is featured for less than half of the comic book and numerous secondary characters are introduced.

RATING: SKIM IT!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics and comic book community, and is the owner of The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

The post Gems in the Bin: Comics’ Greatest World: The Machine appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Every year in December my friends and I hold a holiday cookie party at my house. What started a few years ago as an impulse Saturday afternoon of making some cookies and having some wine, has grown into one of the most wonderful times of the year!

The rules are simple for CookieFest. I provide my house and all the ingredients for two cookies, usually a sugar cookie or gingerbread are included in this mix. Everyone else is required to bring a few bottles of wine. Needless to say, CookieFest is really an excuse to drink wine ALL DAY and decorate innocent sugar cookies super-inappropriately. And we danced, and we cried and we laughed and had a really, really, really good time.

This year there was a challenge introduced by The Two-Headed Nerd into CookieFest.  Joe’s wife Michelle and I were each tasked with blindly decorating a cookie based on a comic book character our husbands assigned us. We were to just guess by the name what that person looked like. Then after we decorated it, we were to then look up said character and decorate another cookie with the knowledge of what they actually look like. Challenge accepted!

First the good: we completed the challenge. Now the bad: we had pounded so much grape by the time we were issued the challenge, let’s just say I’m sure 5 year olds could have done a better job than we did.

I was assigned Disco Nightwing (editor’s note* The challenge was 1980’s Nightwing as drawn by George Perez, (wife’s note* I like that you just think I would know this) while Michelle was assigned Dazzler (who for some reason I kept referring to as Vagazzler or Vagina).

I had heard of Nightwing before so I knew it was a dude, and that he had brownish hair. Then throw in “Disco” and I immediately thought wings, jazz hands, glitter, Studio 54, leisure suits, mask…aka a gay man in the late 70’s going to da club.

Michelle’s character also invoked glitter immediately into her mind, based on name alone.

Well, we both apparently were not close in our decorating. Actually, I was way off, not sure about Michelle since I still don’t know who or what her character is named.  I can’t remember what his or her name is, and I refuse to google ‘Vagina’ or “Vagazzler’ for reasons of being banned from the internet at work.

Click to Enlarge

So here is a photo of our versions of Disco Nightwing and Dazzler:

My Disco Nightwing as you can see has a lot of glitter and wings. He also has nice silver afro, it’s a wig obviously, and I was inspired by Ziggy Stardust for this look. That is what the eye mask is for too, part costume/part disguise. Also I went with a blue and yellow color palate because that just screamed Disco and Nightwing to me (yeah, I have no idea what that means either, just go with it).

Michelle’s character, well it looks like she made a woman or a very attractive man in a dress. I think that is a blue and red dress over some white pants (tights?). I do like that her character is sporting some silver glitter flats; I own a pair of those in real life (twinsies). She added some props, what looks to be a lightning bolt and a shield (maybe?).  Her interpretation of this character also has Thor hair. Thor has really beautiful hair. I am kind of jealous…

Click to Enlarge

Anyway, now onto what we did once we found out what our characters look like. Side note; there was an 80% chance this didn’t happen, and only by searching my photos this morning did I see that we actually did complete this task. End, side note.

Michelle’s character apparently has a rat tail!? What in hell is that long yellow one sided piece of hair? I still have no idea if her character has a penis or not (thanks to google, it does not, it has massive breasts). It seems they wear a one piece white spandex with silver on it. Pretty much all that jazz that Michelle included is not really in the character. I personally like her colorful version much more.

I at least got the colors of my character correct. Yellow and blue! But that is about it, no wings, no silver afro, NO FUN!

If you want to hear us talk about this in our wine wasted state, listen to the latest episode of The Two-Headed Nerd Comicast.

Quick note: I will be out of town visiting my family doing shit families do this time of year, so next week will be my last blog of 2012. Happy holidays y’all!

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Kacie Baum is a professional partier, mother of two pugs, and the wife of Matt Baum. She tolerates the constant presence of the Two-Headed Nerd in her home each week. She did not write this bio. Pre-THN entries of Girl Meets Nerd can be found here.

The post Girl Meets Nerd: CookieFest 2012! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Mazel Tov! Welcome to Episode 93 of the Two-Headed Nerd Comicast!!!

This week, we discuss Karen Berger’s departure from DC/Vertigo and, in a THN Exclusive, the return of Poison Elves from Ape Entertainment! Then, in a special segment, we interview Ape CEO David Hedgecock about the new book!

Plus, we school Matt Baum’s baby brother with our list of Jewish heroes and villains in our Ask A Nerd segment!

Hey! Don’t forget to check out our all-new, web exclusive feature, Answer of the Week, available ONLY at TwoHeadedNerd.com!

** URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE NERDS AT THN: We have been having some technical issues with the show NOT showing up in iTunes. We’re working on it, and appreciate your patience while we deal with the problem. If you can’t find our past episodes in iTunes, you can download them directly from our website by right-clicking the “download” link on each episode’s post and choosing “save link as.” **

This week’s reviews:

• Joe — The Legend of Luther Strode #1 from Image Comics by Justin Jordan, Tradd Moore, and Felipe Sobreiro

• Matt — Hellboy in Hell #1 from Dark Horse Comics by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart

Ludicrous Speed Round:

Joe’s 5:

• House of Fun One-Shot from Dark Horse
• Detective Comics #15 from DC Comics
• Human Bomb #1 from DC Comics
• Invincible #98 from Image Comics
• Wake the F@*% Up from Zenescope

Matt’s 5:

• The Red Ten #1 from Comix Tribe
• Star Wars Purge: The Tyrant’s Fist #1 from Dark Horse
• Blackacre #1 from Image Comics
• Thunderbolts #1 from Marvel Comics
• I Love Trouble #1 from Image Comics

Picks for next week:

• Joe — Avengers Arena #1 from Marvel Comics by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker
• Matt — Cable & X-Force #1 from Marvel Comics by Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larocca

Trade/Graphic Novel of the Week:

• Star Trek the Newspaper Strips Vol. 1 HC by Ron Harris

Tune in to TwoHeadedNerd.com! You can subscribe to ALL of THN’s updates, including the weekly episodes and all of the written content from the THN Love Slaves, by entering your e-mail address into the subscription form on the right side of the page. Have no fear: your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or spammed.

If you like what you heard, please consider donating to The Two-Headed Nerd. We’re glad to spend some cash to keep the show running, but we need YOUR help if we’re going grow THN to its full potential. Every cent you feel led to give is deeply appreciated and NO amount is too small. Donating is simple — just click the DONATE button on the THN homepage to use our secure, Paypal-powered system.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes! Simply search for “Two Headed Nerd” in the iTunes store or click here! While you’re there, help THNCC get noticed by leaving a star rating and/or writing a review. We need your help to spread the word!

Our theme music is A Better Tomorrow by Dan the Automator. Other music found in this week’s episode was provided by the following sources: Big News Theme — Here is the News by ELO, Ludicrous Speed Round Theme — Fury of the Storm by Dragonforce featuring Dark Helmet, Ask A Nerd Theme — They’re So Incredible from the Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack, Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler, Poison by Bell Biv Devoe, Chanukah, Oh Chanukah by Jay Levy, Straight to Hell by The Clash, Beer Bong by NOFX, Hava Nagila by Dick Dale, Hava Nagila AGAIN by The Challengers, The Chanukah Song by Neil Diamond.

The post THN 93: The Hanukkah Drunk Show! appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Drew Hayes isn’t necessarily a household name among comic fans, but he was one of the most prolific independent creators the 90s. Hayes counted legendary indie creators Terry Moore, Jeff Smith, and a young Brian Michael Bendis among his contemporaries. Over the course of 13 years and over 100 issues and tie-ins, Hayes wrote and illustrated a series called Poison Elves, which was primarily published by Sirius Entertainment. Ongoing health problems prevented Hayes from working on the series, which last saw print in 2004, and the artist passed away March 21st, 2007. Now, one day shy of the sixth anniversary of Hayes’ death, Poison Elves is making a comeback courtesy of Ape Entertainment.

Lusiphur Malaché pinup by Montos

Taking place in a world called Amrahly’nn, the original Poison Elves followed an elf named Lusiphur Malaché and his adventures in a land where magic and technology met as one. The new ongoing series will be written by Sirius Entertainment founder Robb Horan, with art by Osvaldo “Montos” Montpeller. Like the original, the new Poison Elves will be in beautiful black and white, with covers by independent comics legends like Terry Moore and Darick Robertson. The series promises to be perfectly accessible to new fans, while providing something for long-time fans to enjoy as well.

As part of this THN Exclusive, we sat down with Ape CEO David Hedgecock to talk more in depth about the series. You can hear that interview later today in THN Episode 93.  Poison Elves #1 from Ape Entertainment drops on March 20th, 2013. Until then, feast your eyes on this gallery of preview art!

EDIT: Here is the full-length interview with David Hedgecock! Click Here –> THN Interviews Ape Entertainment CEO David Hedgecock!

The post THN EXCLUSIVE: Poison Elves Returns in 2013 from Ape Entertainment appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Welcome to the first edition of SLAVE REVOLT at The Two Headed Nerd (THN). The love slaves at this outfit have decided to band together and take control. Fear us, Matt Baum! Beg for mercy, Joe Patrick! It’s time to thank the slaves for their hard work. Click here for some slave appreciation.

Who are the love slaves at The THN in charge of Slave Revolt? First, we have the amazingly talented and incredibly good looking TonyDoug Wright who is the author of Gems in the Bin. Next is the teenage heartthrob, Aaron Meyers, known in these parts as The King of the Ask A Nerd segment and the author of the Ludicrous Speed Reviews. Rounding out the trio is the THN bad-boy, Keith Silva.

Every other week, the love slaves at The Two Headed Nerd will discuss an issue regarding the world comics or something else nerd related. Our first question to be discussed is as follows: Who is the most over-exposed character and who is the most under-exposed character in the world of comics?

Let’s start with the over-exposed character. Take it away, slaves!

TONY DOUG WRIGHT:  My choice is Wolverine. I know this is an obvious selection, but I’m waiting for Marvel to announce that he’ll be joining The Fantastic Four, will serve as the new Captain America, and will be the new Daredevil following the ‘death’ of Matt Murdoch. Calm down, fanboys,  Marvel is not going to kill Matt Murdoch because I was just joking. Or Am I? It has become tiresome following the various X-Men titles, plus the New Avengers has added plenty of fuel to this Wolverine fire. Why do we need the guy with claws and a bad attitude to be in every frickin’ comic book? Don’t say that he’s not because he’s everywhere in the Marvel universe and I was amazed that he didn’t show up in the New 52 from DC Comics.

KEITH SILVA: Arrrggh! TD Dubs you sly dog, you, you stole mine! I am shooting admantium daggers at you — snikt snikt! In fact, I could do without all of them, all mutants. I want a regular turn back the clock mutant massacre. Kill ‘em all I say, let the Cheif Examiner sort ‘em out (that was for you JP!). O.K., TDW if you’re Wolverine, I’m Batman. As a ‘brand,’ Batman is more diluted than a Miller 64. I don’t want Batman to ‘go away.’ I want DC to pare back the bat titles and give visionary creators a Bat-chance with the caped crusader. Light the Bat-signal for a Paul Pope-type to write and draw Batman. Imagine, a Brandon Graham Batman or even better, Fiona Staples, Ming Doyle or Becky Cloonan.

AARON MEYERS: Guys sorry, those are both easy answers. But if you look in your soft, weak human hearts you’ll agree that Superman over exposed you’d have thought DC put him in the heart of the Sun a few too many hours. Hey I know! Let’s make him younger and a blogger and give him boots! Yuk. Then let’s still put him in 5 different books and since he’s invincible and can’t really be hurt, let’s do the same thing over and over again. Boring. Superman is so key to the DC marketing machine and yet such an under defined and over exposed character I fear he may never be interesting again. But that’s a rant maybe for another day…

Let’s move on to the under-exposed character. State your cases, slaves!

TDW: I was debating between The Sandman and Moon Knight, and The Sandman won. I’ve always been a fan of The Sandman, and I’m talking about the Justice Society of America version with the gas mask and gas gun. Vertigo had a good run with this character in the 1990s with The Sandman Mystery Theatre, although the Sandman is that comic is loosely based on the DC character.

KPS: Nothing against the man — except for you know the whole women are evil thing — but I can’t wait for Dave Sim to die and to have Cerebus go into the public domain. New Cerebus stories would be like being comped at the French Bulldog in Omaha, Nebraska. Cerebus was never about Cerebus, it was about Sim and it’s too bad because the Earth-pig is AWESOME! And as Sim showed the Earth-pig is malleable and he stinks when his fur gets wet.

AMM: All good suggestions, and I think I could post a phonebook-sized list of creator owned properties that everyone should read, but sticking with the “Big Two” super heroes, for me I’d love to see more well done comics about The Micronauts. Before you scoff at this, it’s been a while since we’ve seen anything done with them and there is a lot a great creative team could do with their characters. Crazier things have been done before. Bring them back!

What do you think of our choices, faithful readers? If you agree or disagree then join the conversation by posting a comment below!

SLAVE REVOLT RULES!

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TonyDoug Wright is the owner and head writer at Champion City Comics, a webcomics and comic book community, and is the owner of The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll, a weekday rock music blog. He is also a proud father and is married to the coolest and most beautiful girl on the planet.

Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

Keith Silva writes for Comics Bulletin. There is this @keithpmsilva and this Interested in Sophisticated Fun?  Having read ”The Starman Pitch,” he NOW!  has an omnibus or two to buy.

The post Slave Revolt: Over and Under appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Avengers #1 (Marvel)
I’m kinda speechless. I expected a good issue from Hickman, but this…wow. Just wow. Perfect first issue. It gave me chills. The art is stunning.
Rating: BUY IT

Hellboy in Hell #1 (Dark Horse)
I’m years behind in my Hellboy universe reading, but I picked this up hoping to have it as a good jumping on point. There is a nice summary of what happened to get us here and the issue doesn’t leave you wondering what is going on. Incredible art as always and a chilling first issue left me wanting more.
Rating: BUY IT

Thunderbolts #1 (Marvel)
I didn’t love the art in this book, it’s not bad, just not a style I enjoy that much. Good fist issue putting the team together, but for me it’s not a team or a premise I care that much about. I think a lot of big Marvel fans will like this issue, but as a lapsed reader it didn’t do enough to draw me in for a second issue.
Rating: SKIM IT

Blackacre #1 (Image)
I love post societal books and this one doesn’t fail to deliver. Solid art work, good first issue script. I’m very interested to see where this story goes.
Rating: BUY IT

 Amazing Spider-Man #699 (Marvel)
Still enjoying this story arc, Slott brings lapsed readers in with enough exposition to get you caught up but not overdoing it. Art change is a little jarring but finding out the how it was done and the how it will be undone is satisfying.
Rating: BUY IT

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Aaron Meyers is a full time nerd for both money and pleasure. When he’s not knee deep in networking cable or trapped in a server rack, he can be found on Twitter at @aaronmeyers or posting his musings about the world of comics at his blog Proactive Continuity.

The post Ludicrous Speed Reviews 12/05/12 – By Aaron Meyers: King of Ask A Nerd appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

I believe in comics.

(Trust me) when forces conspire, take Lady Macbeth’s advice: ”… screw your courage to the sticking place, And we’ll not fail.”

Wait! Wait! It’s my only Shakespeare reference, scout’s honor. There was a ‘screw’ in there that must have gotten your attention. I promise; I’m going to talk about Justin Jordan and Jim Zub in a minute.

First, I want to mention the legions of imaginary (?) sex partners Matt Baum claims to have had. A couple of episodes ago, Baum began saying how he is not racist, that he has had sex with multiple partners of whatever race or ethnicity he and Patrick were trying not to offend. My memory may be spotty, but I think he was talking about the Bhutanese when he said something about how important it is to champion the ‘stuff you like’ — be it movies, music, comics, sexual partners — and to write about it, talk about it, have sex with it, whatever. The point is: ”Just Do It.”

I wanted to write something ‘seasonal’ this month for THN — you know, end-of-the-year-summation-sort-of-stuff — instead of another one of my screeds about the creator-owned comics no one is buying. I’ve been writing about comics for all of ten months. It started with a blog moved on to Comics Bulletin and I’ve done a bit here and there for thirteen minutes before I started slaving away for THN. So, yeah, I love to write and I love to write about comics. Trust, I’m not looking for an ‘attaboy.’ I am thankful for the people I’ve gotten to know in the last ten months and hat-tips to those collaborators who took a chance on me. This is navel-gazing on my part, but I have a point and an ‘action step.’ First, roll call!

I’m thankful for the succinctness of Aaron Meyers and Tony Doug Wright. Everything John Littrel of Burnt Weiners writes is like a haiku … with genitalia. The TV stuff with Dave Demarco is appointment reading as is Kevin Coffey and Christopher McLucas. I’m still waiting for Joe Patrick to declare of his love for George Lucas and I think we can all agree there is not enough of ‘Small Man Big Mouth.’ Last and never least, with her wit and verve (and double XX chromosomes) Kacie Baum classes up the joint.

I work in television production. So, when I listen to THN each week (ditto Panel Culture and Burnt Weiners) I think about the show’s production. I think about Matt writing jokes and raps for Joe or the crazy intros on each episode of Burnt Weiners and how Panel Culture always sounds so effortless like a Toronto sunset. All the stuff nobody sees. All of it takes time, time for which no one is paid. So, why do it? Obsession? Re-directed latent homosexuality? Ennui?

The conspiring forces I named 470 or so words ago? Well, it came from writers, writers writing about self-love, kidding, writing, writing, it was about writing. On his blog, Attack of the Library Gorilla, Justin Jordan posted ‘Heinlein’s Rules for Writing.’ A day or so later my Comics Bulletin brother-from-another-mother, Daniel Elkin, posted an article about the daily routines of famous writers. The fate trifecta occurred when I found ‘Keroauc’s Rules for Spontaneous Prose‘ which my old friend Seth Martin had sent me years ago. Are you sensing a theme here?

Finally (oh, thank God, right?) I read Jim Zub’s blog post about the reality of mainstream creator-owned comics. Zub makes clear (with a very nice color-coordinated pie chart) there ain’t a lot of cash in the creator-owned comic’s racket. He calls Skullkickers, ”the most expensive hobby I’ve ever had” and concludes with six bullet points, one of which is: ”Tell your friends about books and help build support.” This is where we come in.

I know every publisher has a marketing department. The thing is, there are less of them and more of us. They need us. Comics need us. Nothing sells like word of mouth. Where this idealistic fantasy falls apart is that we may be talking to the wrong people.

What we write or talk about equates to spitting into the wind. Present Patricks excluded, if LCS tastemakers order fewer and fewer copies of The Massive or Multiple Warheads or (baby Jesus forbid!) Saga, the (sad) reality is those titles will go away. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and Brian Wood, Brandon Graham and even Brian K. Vaughan wear milk bone underwear.

Marvel and DC are going to be O.K. Sure, mainstream titles get cancelled too, but they have a deep bench (and deeper pockets) and there’s always another middling superhero or eighth iteration of Cap, Wolverine or Bats to pick up the slack. Follow creators, you say, fine, Jeff Lemire, Scott Snyder and Mark Waid all write their own creator-owned titles. ‘Nuff said, almost.

Sometimes, I feel like that accused murderer and great man of letters, Andy Dufresne. There’s that scene when Andy asks the warden about funds for the library, Dufresne says, ”Still, I’d like to try. I’ll send a letter a week. They can’t ignore me forever.” Norton, the warden, says, ”They sure can, but you write your letters if it makes you happy. I’ll even mail ‘em for you, how’s that?”

I’m writing my posts. Joe and Matt are podcasting, week in and week out. I’m convinced this is the balm (Baum?): it’s us. If we continue to write and talk, read and respond to what comics are friends are writing, talking and (most important) pre-ordering, maybe those LCS gatekeepers will order more of our creator-owned favorites and our friend’s favorites. That’s the dream. Thanks to everyone and keep up your good and important work.

Here’s the take-home message: write, podcast, tweet, talk and dance. I came in with Shakespeare, I go out with Mamet: ”Go and do likewise. Go and do likewise.”

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Keith Silva writes for Comics Bulletin. There is this @keithpmsilva and this Interested in Sophisticated Fun?  Having read ”The Starman Pitch,” he NOW!  has an omnibus or two to buy.

The post Be the Baum, Do the Patrick appeared first on The Two-Headed Nerd Comic Book Podcast.

Tony Romo, the current quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, broke Troy Aikman’s career franchise record for all time touchdown passes last night. All I have to say about that is…OVERRATED!

Let me take you back to another time, 32 years ago, April 21, 1980 to be exact. Picture this; in Kansas City, a beautiful baby girl aka ME (seriously, I was an adorable baby. Some babies suffer from Benjamin Button syndrome, not I) was being born into this world, while over in San Diego, an overrated baby stumbled out of his mother’s womb; a baby named Tony Romo. It was fate that these two babies, born on the same day, miles apart would be bound forever as arch nemeses. Why not soul mates? Well, because Romo would betray our birth bond by ending up as the quarterback to the Dallas Cowboys. I grew up right outside of Washington D.C., so naturally I was raised as a Redskin fan, and to this day still am. So to put it in nerdy terms, Harry Potter = Me, Voldemort = Tony Romo.

Why my Romo hatred you ask? He is, in fact, a super-overrated quarterback. A fact my husband denies. He is a Romo-apologist (*editor’s note; I am not a Cowboys fan, *wife’s note: if you were, DIVORCE!), along with apparently the rest of the sports world. Sure, he broke a passing record last night, but where are all the playoff victories and the all-important SUPER BOWL title? What’s that? It doesn’t exist? He hasn’t won any? Must be because Romo chokes every year! My husband will tell you that it doesn’t take a Super Bowl victory to make one a great quarterback (editor’s note; See Dan Marino’s career for example, *wife’s note: ahem, see below for why Marino is an exception to the rule). I would argue when you are getting almost biblical praise, then yes, you DO need a god damned ring.

Here are just a few examples of the nonsense that spews weekly from my husband’s mouth about my arch nemesis:

-“Are you listening to what Cris Collinsworth is saying about Romo? It’s the exact same thing I have been saying. He is NOT overrated.” (me: “No, why would I listen to such fairy tales? Unless it’s Once Upon A Time, because that is the shit.”)

-“It’s not his fault. He has a terrible team.” (me: “Or is his team good and he’s a terrible quarterback. I mean he is no QB 1 – CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE…foreva!”)

-“Wow! That was a great throw. Romo can pass, he is a great passer.” (me: “I could make that pass. He is passing to a guy who is wide open and like two feet away. So what I am saying is that I am as good as Romo, which is true, I would make a very overrated quarterback if I was throwing to Dez Bryant too.”)

-“Well Dan Marino doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring, is he overrated?” (me: “He is was in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, so he doesn’t need a ring!”)

-“He dumped Jessica Simpson, how do you not like him for doing that?!” (me: “Well he had to date her to dump her, soooooo….”)

-“Are you seriously sitting on the couch with a Harry Potter wand yelling spells at Tony Romo?” (me: “Only when they play the Redskins. I wish wizards were real.”)

-“Oh babes, look at that Dallas won. Who’s overrated now?” (me: “Your face is overrated. Ohhhh burn!“)

Ugh, my husband is certainly not a Ron Weasley to my Harry Potter (my mind instantly went dirty after writing that, I have the humor of a 12-year-old boy), because Ron would NEVER taunt Harry like this. He knew Voldemort was the WORST, and helped Harry do everything possible; he even lost a brother in Harry’s quest to destroy his arch nemesis.

My husband on the other hand keeps sending virtual hand jobs to Romo (editor’s note; What?, *wife’s note: you know exactly what that means), despite the fact that I keep telling him one of us is eventually going to have to destroy the other. He seems to be rooting for Romo, probably because he knows I am freakishly strong and would not hesitate to shank a bitch and he’s too scared to fight me. But still, he’s acting like Draco Malfoy, which is unacceptable, but fitting, since it turns out Draco in the end was overrated, just like someone else I know…