News, Glorious News!

Lots of news this week as Kal and Mika clean out the nerd closets. Plus, a look back at the Oscars and reviews of the Agent Carter finale and the debut issue of Spider-Gwen! Face it, listener; you just hit the jackpot!



MORE?!?!?!

The Order? Ham on Rye...1886 style

...or maybe cucumber sandwiches. Because they're oh so fancy in merry ol' Engaland. I know it's spelled wrong.


A touch (I do confess) of editorializing: I think review embargoes are male bovine excrement. If you don't know, most gaming journalism outlets are subject to industry embargoes for their game reviews; that is, they can't publish their review of a game until a date set by the publisher of that game, usually near or after the games release (or "street") date. But "free speech!", you bawl, like an orphan ragamuffin, weakly imploring a ha'penny for a spot of gruel. Here's what publishing companies think you should do with your free speech: introduce it up your jacksie.

(ok, I have to drop this old-timey talk or this will take a fortnight...er, two weeks)

"Out with it, you wanker!"

What's behind this practice? Pre-orders. Plain and simple. "Triple A" titles, that is, games from a major developer that are intended to launch a new IP, to be a "killer app" to move consoles or to just make an obscene amount of money, can have development costs rivaling major motion pictures. Unconfirmed reports put the cost of Bungie's latest release, Destiny, in the neighborhood of $500 million. That doesn't just represent programming man-hours, of course; packaged into that figure are promotional costs, like Doritos and Dew tie-ins, Super Bowl commercials and plastering the game over every surface that is flat and slow-moving. AAA titles are a huge gamble, though the payoff can be just as lucrative; Destiny reportedly made that $500m and change back on launch day. How? The game had already been purchased by millions of players, either as a digital copy or a pre-reserved physical one by the time it hit the street. That $500m number is somewhat disputed in industry circles; it reflects the value of product shipped from Activision (Bungie's parent company) to stores, not necessarily "sell-through" (buyers actually picking up the game), but suffice it to say, there wasn't many games left on the shelf that I could see post-launch.

Pre-orders, that is, having a full retail sell-through (or at least a partial down-payment with a reasonable expectation that the customer will buy on launch day) is key for these AAA titles; no one is going to continue to make games that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop unless your nut is covered before the doors open at Gamestop on launch day, and the way that practice is preserved is review embargoes.

Compare the situation to that of movie reviews: a new film is coming out...let's call it "A Number of Hues of Charcoal". You're undecided on this one; could be good, could be a disaster and an embarrassment to be seen coming out of.

"My weapons are...unconventional..."

So? You read the review which comes out, oh, say Thursday, usually. The movie's bad, you skip it, it bombs and disappears shortly after. Or becomes a gigantic smash that guarantees two more "entries" in the franchise. Argh. Movies get screened by critics usually days or weeks before they are released so people can...find out if they want to see it? Crazy, huh? Not video games. Review copies are distributed to review publications weeks in advance (when the game "goes gold" or is done and physically published) so those outlets can get a chance to play them. After all, a game is going to take longer to complete, or at least get an impression of, than a film. And once the reviewer has formed that impression and written a review...she sits on it until Activision or whoever says it's OK to publish. Here's a scenario: if Roger Ebert reviews, oh I don't know, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and the review is handed to you on a scrap of broadsheet as you stumble, insensate, from the torture chamber Rob Schneider made out of a movie theater... Wouldn't you have liked that information BEFORE you paid your money?

"I see a point incoming!"

OF COURSE YOU DO. And publishers know that, too. They didn't spend half-a-billion dollars on this piece of crap just for some internet turd to give it one star, prompting you to cancel your pre-order and go back to playing the Sims or whatever while they get stuck holding the bag or, more accurately, Gamestop gets stuck with a million unsold units. Embargoes guarantee you never find out that game sucks until you pop it in and push start or read the review on launch day and decide "meh, no thanks". The problem with that second option is that, if you've been following the industry's playbook, you've already pre-ordered the game (and probably paid full price for it) and it's right there in the store...maybe the reviews are wrong...? This is assuming you didn't pick it up at midnight the night before and wake up to an avalanche of bad reviews for your new prized possession.

Say a roguish, heroic outlet, a Kotaku with shades riding a Harley, for instance, decides to damn the Man and get that review out to the people. How do publishers enforce these draconian restrictions of free speech? Simple; like Gob’s plan for Swing City, “We don’t let them in.” Media outlets that violate embargo dates court the displeasure of publishers and are often cut off in the future from receiving press packets, promotional material, screenshots and videos, essentially everything they need to report on upcoming titles and court viewers for their publications. When a user goes to Gamespot.com to find out about the latest Dragon Age game but can't find any previews, media or impressions because the site pissed off EA by early reviewing DA2...bad news.

"Sites that break review embargo dates are worse than Anders! uh...spoiler?"

The crazy thing is, this would NEVER be tolerated in any other form of media. Remember, a while ago, when George Clooney blasted the paparazzi and gossip rags for contributing to Princess Di's death (I *said* a while ago) and said that he wouldn't be doing any interviews or promotion with ET or Hard Copy? The next event he attended, the red carpet...the flashbulbs winking...the second Clooney steps out of his car, every paparazzo puts his camera down and says "keep walkin', pal". Fourth estate solidarity. But, still, media outlets allow themselves to be squeezed so publishers can foist their products (well-made or not) on uninformed customers.

"You said 'a *touch* of editorializing'..."

All right, all right, fine, I'm biased. The specific reason I'm bringing this up (and the reason the muttonchop count around here has gone up by 900%) is that this issue has been in the news recently and centers around Sony's The Order: 1886. Oh, Sony...

The Order, a PS4 exclusive game, is a third-person shooter (eh) set in a steampunk (hmm) Victorian England (yes...) where you fight werewolves (ok then!) and is, by all accounts, the best-looking game ever to grace the system. We call that a "killer app" in the industry and (being published by Sony proper) is definitely part of a strategy to sell sell sell some PS4s. Like Uncharted before it, expect to see The Order bundled with a lot of PS4s (or PS4 Slims) come this Christmas. Here's the problem, though: a YouTube user called PlayMeThrough, who is definitely not getting a Christmas card from Sony this year, posted a full play-through of the game that clocked in at just over five hours (half of which were unskippable, unplayable cut-scenes), days before the game's release. No one's sure where he or she got their copy of the game, whether it was a review copy or a leak, but it changed the public's perception of the upcoming title from "Playstation Jesus come to set the sinners free" to "$60 werewolf movie that's 5 times as expensive as the last Hobbit film (but only half as long ZING)". Kotaku has a nice write-up of the situation here.

I'm not here to have a dollars-to-gameplay minutes debate; I'm sticking to the issue of gagging journos, mainly but, being generous, 3 hours of gameplay doesn't seem to be worth that. And that's where the internet cacophony comes in and, more specifically, the developers' attempt to try and salvage the situation (and the upcoming launch)

Forbes (of all places) did my work for me on this one so I'll give you a link to a good summation by them of the backlash over the game (here), but the developers argument boils down to: "length isn't important". Call of Duty, they argue, has a campaign length in the single digits, so why the hate for our concise, beautiful game? The solid (in my opinion) counter-argument is that once you finish the single-player portion of CoD, you have access to a literally infinite amount of re-playability in online matches. Against 12-year-old homophobic racists, sure, but that's value. Not to mention unlockables, DLC, tropies, etc. The Order boasts no online mode, no New Game+ mode, no real character or skills improvement and not DLC outside of exclusive weapons available to users who pre-ordered the game. Hmm, tell me more of this "pre-order" you mentioned...

"Are you kidding? I just told you like...a minute ago."

For my part, this is all a big turnoff. Full disclosure: I pre-ordered the game and when I read about its length and other issues, I immediately marched down to my local Gamestop and told them I'd like to cancel my pre-order...then they told me I didn't have a pre-order for the game. Heh, oops...I pre-order a lot of stuff, ok? I'm guilty, too, but then I have to be. Gamestop (with the backing of the industry) pushes pre-orders to create scarcity and ensure publishers are making that nut (with a minimum of overstocking) on each release. Oh, they have this supply chain thing on *lock*. What happened to just releasing something and letting the public decide if it's a hot item? Oh yeah, people stabbing each other for Cabbage Patch Kids. The reality is, there's rarely any real scarcity for new games; if you pre-order something you're pretty much guaranteed a copy on launch day, unless it's going to sell *way* past what is projected. But, Gamestop only ordering enough copies to meet pre-orders enforces that scarcity and ensures that any casual buyer who comes in off the street or any gamer who doesn't want to put $60 plus tax down on an untested property are going to be fishing at a Best Buy to get the new hot release. How, oh how, can this vicious circle ever be broken?

Later, kids.

P.S. Here's some stuff I couldn't fit into the article:

The Order is, by all rights, a *gorgeous* game. The devs even silenced criticism, pre-release: when they took a hit for "dumbing-down" the graphics after releasing in-game footage, they pointed out that it was the streaming service that was degrading the quality of their media and even showed off improved character models (check it out here). Admirable, though maybe less time could be spent on shininess and more time sunk into making the game longer or not ripping off your own boss fight for the final level (yeah)

Divine Intervention

Image via

I finally joined the cool kids and read the first 7 issues of The Wicked + The Divine. One word: phenomenal. (If you aren't already reading it--start right now. Why are you still reading this?! Read this comic!!) Ahem... The comic follows "The Pantheon"--twelve human teenagers who become gods with super human abilities. These gods are pop stars and have many adoring fans. With their new found powers and fame, what could possibly go wrong for these teen idols? Once you become a god, you only have two years to live. "The Recurrence" cycle happens every ninety years. 

Kieron Gillen writes a well paced and captivating story. The protagonist and audience surrogate, Laura, is a typical teenager who just happens to befriend her favorite pop idols. At the heart of the story, there is an unsolved mystery surrounding the members of the Pantheon. Laura will stop at nothing to unravel the Gordian Knot of lies and deceit. I love Jaime McKelvie's art--fresh, vibrant, and very stylized. It invokes the feel of a vivid, engrossing pop/rock music video.

The characters are well developed and diverse. I love how the Pantheon is made up of gods native to myths from all over the world. Yes, they are gods, but they are also teenagers. Rebellious free spirits who act invisible, but have a shorter leash then they think. Even gods have their limits. A lot of the gods invoke real life musical idols. Baal reminds me of Kanye West. Cocky, confident, charming, and talented. Inanna is definitely modeled after Prince. Hair coiffed, vibrant ruffled outfits, and his word bubbles are even in purple. One of my favorite characters is Lucifer--Luci for short. She is a bad ass anti hero. Trust me--you will love her.

Issue number 8 hits stands today, February 25th, and I cannot wait to read it. Run out to your local comic book shop today and pick up TW+TD!! You won't regret it. Have you read The Wicked + The Divine? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Image via Issue 8 Cover

                                                 

X-Files, now tinier!

Ooooooooh, hello!



Check out Miniature X-Files Office on Instagram 

You will believe that a man can be arrested by security

*breathing into paper bag*

Agent Scully is going to be at WizardWorld Minneapolis

I...yi yi. Yeah.

Via Wizard

Sorry, Charlie...

First Photo of Jason Momoa as Aquaman from "Batman V Superman" Released

I honestly can't tell if I'm supposed to be excited, disappointed, sleepy or what anymore with the constant stream of leaks but speaking of 'stream", here's Jason Momoa as Aquaman



Took a couple of levels in "badass", it would appear. It's rumored that Aquaman will appear in Dawn of Justice so who even knows how long this thing is gonna be now...

Via CBR

Vacation!

It's anybody's guess this week as we play hooky and let it all hang out...and review Gone Girl, the Wicked and the Divine and other current comic releases and take it to NBC for their uncoolness. Party foul!



Here's your ticket to Paradise

Morning News Muffin Basket

But it's been pretty picked over. All that's left is bran and like a walnut...something?

Neill Blomkamp is supposedly directing a new Alien film. Question, Neill: why so many 'L's? And a follow up: you know androids aren't robots, right?

Via CBR

There's always casting news in these dark times of ours (Rumer Willis to play Jane McClane in Die Hard reboot set in an Ulta beauty store; welcome to the Avon Party, pal!) and today is no different. Morena Baccarin, she of the smoky eyes and confusing name, is set to play the love interest in the Ryan Reynolds Deadpool film. Level with me; he's not even gonna be tumor-faced, is he? You don't cast Ryan Reynolds and not give ladies the punem, eh? No character name for Monica yet, but love interest might mean Copycat or Syren or Shiklah? Eh, look 'em up, noob.

Via Variety

Whoops, told you there's always more. Kodi Smit-McPhee, who is either the kid from The Road or the house elf for Ravenclaw, has been cast as young Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse. This is before he turns into Jake Gyllenhall, I'm assuming. There's also some concept art that's been leaked online, though when the director does it, it's less leak and more "OH WHOOPS LOOK WHAT I DROPPED I HOPE NO ONE SEES THIS WHAT DO YOU MEAN LOWER MY VOICE".

Via Screen Rant

Aaaaand because in an apocalypse, *someone* has to get apocalypted (ed. NOT a word), Daniel Cudmore will no longer be playing Colossus when the character appears in Deadpool in 2016. He played the character (I guess; not a lot of screen time) in X2 and X-Men: the Brett Rather one. So long, guy whose name I forgot already!

Via IGN

The CON(tv) is On

On March 3rd, Wizard World, in connection with Cinedigm, is launching a service called CONtv. The multi-platform digital service will feature genre films and TV (80's cartoons, cult films, anime, horror) as well as original shows (reality shows and game shows) plus content from Wizard conventions (panels, events, interviews and more). 

The service is available for $6.99/month or as a free, ad-supported service. It's available on a variety of platforms, including Roku, iOS, Android, XBox, Samsung Smart TV and more.

This seems like a really great idea to me. I love procrastinating instead of writing and it can be a real pain trying to track down on YouTube that specific episode of Voltron where Sven's living in a cave and he's like "Eye am a VILD MAN!". You know what I mean. Now, those days are over. Also, there's always some panel way on the other side of the con you want to go to but you're in line for something else or jeez, Kevin Conroy is just talking your ear off, what a little chatterbox he is. Now, you just pop on to COVtv and you can see Michael Rooker violate several county ordinances, just like you were there!

Curious? Understandable. You can check it out here. Honestly, I'm just glad Farscape will be back on TV somewhere...

UPDATE: Mika's comments on CONtv follow

I first heard about CONtv when I attended Wizard World’s Comic Con in Madison, WI a few weeks ago. In the Comic Con newspaper handout, that all fans were given for free at check-in, there was a page add for CONtv. The add encouraged con goers to sign up now to get one month free. A streaming network devoted to comic con fans and available through most digital platforms (Playstation, XBox, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android, Windows, etc.), CONtv costs $6.99/month. So this is a digital streaming service (like Netflix or Amazon Prime) specializing in fandom TV and film? OK, you have my attention.

To clarify, CONtv more like Hulu (i.e. ad-supported content) with a paid option similar to Hulu Plus (i.e. no ads). The paid option also comes with additional advantages which according to comicbook.com are, “[...] content exclusives, audience rewards, social viewing experiences, and Wizard World ticketing bundles.”

So what will the content of CONtv be? As of now, we are looking at a lot of nostalgic cartoon shows, horror and martial art films which include: “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”, “Voltron”, “She-Ra: Princess of Power”, Evil Dead, Puppet Master, Fists of Fury, and Street Fighter Alpha. The content list also includes cult classics (Godzilla, Death Race 2000), Sci-Fi TV shows (BBC’s “Being Human”, “Farscape”, and “Highlander”), and anime (“Ghost in the Shell”, “Digimon”, and “Yu-Gi-Oh”).

OK. Now, I am not an expert and this is purely my opinion, but I feel like a lot of this “fandom geared content” is already readily available on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Also, the press release mentions the Highlander TV show--what about the films? (Or at least the first film)? Also, besides Ghost in the Shell, the anime content is looking pretty sad. Yes, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh are popular, but mainly with young children or fans who were first introduced to them as young children. I highly doubt that you are going to convert any adult into an anime fan with either of these series. And if we are going to appeal to young fans for anime, where is Pokemon?

Also, there is not a lot of new content being listed in what’s available on CONtv. Where are the new anime or Sci-Fi shows? I am a huge Farscape fan, but the last episode aired in 2003--12 years ago. This is not exactly the cutting edge of fandom. Fans do love their cult classics, but I really hope that CONtv soon realizes that they also need to provide newer content if they want to be considered as a viable digital TV platform. Going back to Farscape as an example, the entire series is already available through Netflix (a streaming service that I already have) and I own the entire series on DVD. Why would I pay for CONtv when I already have a lot of the content that they will provide?

CONtv will also have some original content. (Thank goodness). There are currently three original series that CONtv is producing: Fight of the Living Dead, Last Fan Standing (a game show hosted by fan favorite Bruce Campbell), and My Morphing Life (a reality show following the original Green Power Ranger, Jason David Frank). Flight of the Living Dead is a mock reality TV series. It stars a lot of YouTube personalities as they are left in abandoned jail and forced to fight for their lives in a faux zombie apocalypse.

 

Extra! Extra! Extra shows going into storage

Well, it's happened but it's a good thing. Just as obesity was seen as a side-effect of wealth and success in earlier times (like last weekend at your mom's house *self high-five*), we are getting too big for our digital britches. Hosting on the internet costs money dollars, so in order to keep the budget balanced we're moving some of the older shows into storage. This means they will start to drop off your feed if you're subscribed in iTunes or RSS. We'll probably start will archiving all the shows from 2014.

Never fear, however, as they will still be available through a shared folder online, which I will post a permanent link to on our site. That way, you'll always be able to browse our archive of shows and see how wrong we were about whatever we were on about lo so many months ago.

Here's the link for posterity:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1f3FmGUmMCfflFOdTYyNTJFYzRDOXE5eS13ektIZVp2LXhwLWNWNHFQZENVWHREOGt5SFk&usp=sharing

Keep the geek fires burning!

Canaries and Companions and Batman, oh my!

 

Well, as if Arrow's Katie Cassidy, Firefly and Gotham's Morena Baccarin, Hercules's Kevin Sorbo,
Luke Perry & Kristy Swanson from Buffy and the Eighth Doctor himself, Sylvester McCoy weren't enough, it's been announced that Mr. Vengeance/The Night/he's been the voice of Batman since before you knew what a Batman was Kevin freakin' Conroy is going to be at Minneapolis Wizard World this May. Also appearing are awesome artists like Neal Adams, Salvador Larroca, Angel Medina and Tom Richmond.

This is a big deal. I...I might need to be restrained in a Silence of the Lambs straightjacket-on-a-dolly type thing, I'll be so excited.

Is that Hannibal Lector over there?

Tickets are available still for both the show itself AND for photo ops with the stars. Check out:

http://www.wizardworld.com/home-minneapolis.html

See you there!

PhDrugs!

We get bulletproof in this show about pharmaceuticals that make your brain go, that is, smart drugs. Plus, some reviews about works on the same theme and, of course, the news. Matriculate into JET University today!





Hey, it's Part 1!

Oh, Part 2...you're here...*cough*...

Flash in the Pan?

Kal and Mika are back post-con and hit the ground running with a news show. Also, Mika puts Sex Criminals on trial and Kal passes judgment on a show that isn't living up to its potential. You have the right to enjoy this show!



My name is Kaliban and this is the show link

We're naughty

OK, OK, what did you expect from us? We did two shows this week already.

So, our Friday show is gonna be more like a Saturday afternoon show. I'm not happy about it because, as a podcast listener myself, I understand the importance of a steady schedule. But this time, we may have bit off a little more than we can chew.

So! Keep an ear out this weekend for our "issue" show about so-called smart drugs, like the ones that turned Bradley Cooper into a raccoon.

Talk at you then...

Post Madison WizardWorld Con Wrap-Up

So, we did it. It happened. It was fun.

Just as a quick side-note, I love that town Madison. I think they need a few more comic shops, but it's clean, friendly and there are more than a few places to get something awesome to eat. Let me recommend the Essen Haus: if you're not German, you will be before you leave.

But, yeah; the con. Wizard seems to have this down pat by now; the site has a very similar layout to one I attended in Minneapolis last year. It was a bit cramped, though, a problem the Minneapolis show didn't share. That could either have been a factor of a slightly smaller space or possibly more vendors (I remember the Minneapolis show being a little light on merch booths).

The assemblage of guests and famous peoples was really impressive for a regional con; Shatner and Campbell were two highlights and Billy Dee Williams? You truly belong with us here in the snow. Doubtless this had something to do with enticing people to come out, but hopefully next year it won't just be Tommy the Green Ranger and the can of beans from Wet Hot.

And did the people ever come out. The place was packed. To my semi-trained eye, it seemed the bulk of the crowd was families and particularly ones who were probably at a con for the first time. So, Wizard made a good move putting a show in-between the Twin Cities and Chicago; it just shows that people are hungry for this and will come to hang out in their area. Cons are for everyone now and not just for your weird uncle who can afford airfare to San Diego.

Final thoughts would be that I'd like to see more and longer panels next year (30 min is too short a time to be lectured about responsibility by Admiral Adama), I'd congratulate Wizard on the organization of the show (sure, some people grumbled about the lines but I've seen WAY worse at other shows), maybe more artists and a bigger artists alley next year (that's usually where i drop all my money) and I'd like personally like to push the Zombie Zone into a volcano.

See you next year!

First New Bond 'Spectre' Images

Confirmation! Bond will use a gun in this one.

Watch the First Behind-the-Scenes Footage of the New James Bond Movie  http://gizmodo.com/watch-the-first-behind-the-scenes-footage-of-the-new-ja-1685361287

In other news...

I'll see you in hell, Blogger Android app. You've never worked right. May the Bird of Paradise fly up your nose.

Oh thank God

I have been looking everywhere for this. You know when you have, like, 1157 tabs open and you just can't find that...one...article? You don't have that many tabs? Just me? Ok then.

Anyway, read this it's good

Wonder Women: How Female Characters and Creators Are Battling to Make Comics Better

More Spider-Man/Sony/Marvel news

A little more news this Wednesday morn on the Sony/Marvel Spider-Man deal. It appears to be a solely creative arrangement, where Spidey is available to appear in Marvel films, but Marvel will receive no profit from a Sony Spider-Man movie. Some speculate that this could be the first steps in an attempt to fully repatriate Spidey or possibly the first move in a gambit (no no, pay attention) by Disney to *gasp* buy Sony. Why buy the web when you can get the fluid for free?

Speaking of Webb (were we?), he's out. Avi Arad will get paid but is essentially out. Garfield's obviously out and instead of the Spider-Man movies being really expensive dates for him and Emma Stone, Marvel is reportedly seeking a "much younger" actor for Spider-Man than the 31 year old Garfield. Are we looking at a Miles Morales situation here? Keep your everythings crossed. How old is Donald Glover again?

And finally, improbably, Sony insists that Sinister Six, the Venom movie AND the "female centric Spider-Man spin off" pipe dream movie are all still in development, with no input from Marvel. Sony: do the female movie first. If you're really trying to "catch the pulse" or whatever tortured metaphor you're using these days, get ahead of this thing. People want this, you can look like heroes if you pretend to care and we'll all be winners.

You know who the real winner is? Dan Slott. That guy's just lucky to be working.

Via CBR

It's a Ghibli World After All!

Ever wondered what a "Ghibli World" would look like? Well TAKUMI, who is an artist and fellow Miyazaki enthusiast, has created a map of what this might look like. Take a gander at this beauty:

    

In the words of Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there." Seriously, I wish that this was already a reality. I know that the Studio Ghibli Museum already is a reality (which is awesome) but I would seriously geek out if this theme park existed. TAKE MY MONEY!! I would take a ton of pictures with Totoro, hang out in Howl's Moving Castle with Calcifer, have lunch with No-Face...the possibilities are endless!! Ohhh!! Catbus Monorail!!! *dies of happiness*

How about you fellow Miyazaki fans? Do you wish that there was a Miyazaki/Ghibli theme park?What would you like to see included in the park? What would you do first? 

Via The Creators Project

Spider-Man Now a Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

You will believe that a man can shoot white goo.

In a surprising turn of events, Sony and Marvel have inked a deal to bring Spider-Man into the larger Marvel cinematic universe. Sony will retain distribution rights and full creative approval over the character, who will appear in a new film in 2017 and will likely show up in future Marvel properties.

I'd like to say I can't believe I missed this one, but I'm gobsmacked. The best twists are the ones that are right in front of you the whole time. Spider-Man returning to the MCU was always just a matter of time and money, but the swerve where Amy Pascal "steps down" to head a side studio, for all the world looking like she's retiring in disgrace, only to have the "project" be to oversee the Sony/Marvel joint production of Spider-Man...that's a twist! Who's writing this? Triple H? All we need is X-Pac jumping up and down behind Feige and Pascal, crotch-chopping wildly.

In our defense, I'd say that it's hard sometimes to see the obvious when you're up to your neck in it. To us, up close, it's just a bunch of dots but to someone standing far away, "Hey, it's Abe Lincoln!" We should have seen this coming.

Much more on this, hopefully, as it develops. And, in my professional capacity as a journalist...SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!

Via Marvel

Oh yeah, that cool Batman painting we talked about on the podcast...

Pics below. If anyone has an idea on who the artist is, let us know.

Madison WizardCon Pictures!

Presented in no particular order

Here's the new banner art for our site which I've got to actually get up soon ok nevermind more pics incoming

Ok, then

Admiral Adama himself putting on a tolerance clinic

Shatner himself negotiating with the truth (he told a few tall tales)

A GREAT Ms. Marvel costume

Bat-Radia sold separately

You just throwing on an afghan might not be a costume, guy *shrug*

A view of the show floor

A shot of the gaming area; there were card games and RPG demos all day

The maligned Zombie-Zone Airsoft range which sounded like a Saturday night in Fallujah

A look into Artists' Alley

Batmobile '66!

I was lucky to see Jim Krueger and get him to sign my Paradise X #1

This is just a 12' Arlequino statue at a local bar. Don't worry; you'll see it again on Judgment Day

These aren't con related; they're just from Sesame Street