For the month of July, we were keeping track of who commented here on the blog, and at the podcast. The votes are in, and due to a three-way tie for fifth place, only four of you will be getting cookies. (There is only so much of me to go around, and it can't all go to baking Star Wars cookies.)

Yes, that's right. It should be no surprise who our top four commenters are, as they are also the four most frequent emailers and voicemail-leavers. BUT FIRST! You must click through for cookie-related frippery.

Continue reading "Cookies for Comments - The Winners!" »

So, apparently, as some sort of stunt at SDCC this year, Hot Wheels was selling empty boxes of Invisible Jet for $5 apiece. It's a cute gag and I can understand why people lined up for it. But now those folks are selling them on eBay at ridiculous prices only nerds could dream up. $5 for a gag, okay maybe. $25? Yeah, pass.

There is, however, someone selling the Invisible Jet plus a Wonder Woman iPhone case for $40. And it's a nice iPhone case. Unfortunately, I don't have an iPhone.

Anyway, after the jump, Laura put together some of our favorite quotes that came out of Comic-Con. We don't often remember to quote the panels we actually go to, so it's nice that someone else out there with a press pass takes notes.

Continue reading "San Diego Comic Con Final Round-Up" »

The biggest news that everyone already knew to come out of San Diego Comic Con was that Joss Whedon would be directing The Avengers, and Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner are joining the cast as Bruce Banner and Hawkeye respectively. (Also in completely unsurprising news, Nathan Fillion will not be playing Ant-Man, and nerds can't tell when people are joking.) Still, it must have been a pretty exciting moment to see the cast assembled on stage at the end of the Marvel Film Panel, especially with Robert Downey, Jr. completely channeling Tony Stark live and in person. And it is nice to have things official, if only because Whedon can finally comment on his plans for the movie, which he does, and I like what he has to say.

As a huge Whedon fan, I'm naturally excited that he will be helming a movie that I was already pretty excited about, but it's what he says about the film that really encourages me, particularly in this io9 interview. The part I liked the best:

Are you tempted to pin [play with] the Civil War with Captain American and Iron Man against each other?

You know Civil War comes from what's great about the dynamic between them. And so does The Avengers, they definitely are at odds. But it's not a Civil War thing because it existed before that, at least in my mind. They are two very different definitions of a person. One is a self-made man, a modern man, a rockstar. The other is a World War 2 grunt, just trying to do his part. They couldn't have more different views of the world. That will just end up in fun. It ended up in Civil War in the comics, in my movie it will be witty banter.

Witty banter is so much better than ham-fisted and trite political commentary.

Continue reading "Getting Excited About Avengers Non-News" »

As you can see, you done good.

If you're just tuning in, Geektress had a fundraiser this weekend to send comic books and assorted sundries to four female soldiers stationed in Iraq. Thanks to the kind contributions of our readers and my co-workers, I was able to put all this together. In total for this shipment, we had:

• Two identical boxes containing: Shampoo / Conditioners, Body wash, Tampons, Deodorant, Pulsar Toothbrushes, ponytail holders, Lysol antiseptic wipes
• A food box containing: Waffle Crisp cereal (requested by the whole unit), FiberOne cereal, Fruit & Nut snack bars, Cereal bars, Blueberry snack bars, Clif bars
• A wish list box containing: One mega ball ice cream maker, 20 pounds of rock salt, vanilla/chocolate ice cream mix, a 25-song gift card to Karaoke MP3 Downloads, letters, cards, and emails
• A box containing 12 pounds of comic books - including Morrison's entire Batman & Robin run to-date
• Ten cases of Girl Scout Cookies. (The non-melty in the desert kind.)**

In total we raised over $250 and there are still more comics on the way from people contributing back issues out of their personal stash (thanks, John Wiswell and Janelle Siegel!) As a result, we're taking all the surplus and putting it in a shipment to 30 Marines in Afghanistan who requested "toothpaste, socks, and lots of comic books." If you're interested in sending comics or supplies for that drive, email Laura@geektress.com.

This was so much fun and wouldn't have been possible without lots of support from you. Especially awesome was the help of PackRat Comics* and Bimmer Tools, for helping find missing back issues and covering the expense of shipping. Also we can't thank Lynnda at The Ohio Girl Scout Council enough for the cookies, and FilmDrunk & Gamma Squad for helping spread the word so quickly.

*(PackRat Comics also sends a monthly care package overseas, so if you're ever in Columbus, Ohio, make sure to check them out because they are awesome.)

** As it turns out, the Girl Scout Cookies are going to be expensive to ship. If you haven't contributed yet and are interested in sending Cookies to Soldiers, donate here. (I may also get more cookies for some soldiers in Afghanistan.)

Continue reading "Comics Care Package: THE PACKENING" »

Geektyrant.com, whom I read in my head as "Geekty Rant", has possible insider news about the new Superman movie.

According to their "inside the lot" sources, Christopher Nolan's brother, Jonathan, is the dude who is actually hired to direct the film:

This would be Jonathan Nolan's first directing gig. At the time I didn't think the WB would give a first time director the $150 - $200 million dollar budgeted movie. But if his big brother is there to guide him, and teach him the ways of the force then maybe the studio would let him do it. After all, they're all about keeping Christopher Nolan happy.

As you may remember, the last rumor was that Chris Columbus was directing the Man of Steel reboot, which of course filled everyone over the age of 15 with a certain amount of dread. I mean, sure, if you want a Superman movie with pacing that stops dead in its tracks for twenty minutes to explain exactly who this Superman fella is with details from every Superman comic book ever written, because your mildly informed audience will not be able to infer such things from plot, than sure, hire Chris Columbus. We all know how difficult is is to translate the written word on to the silver screen in the most literal way possible. It takes a certain lack of finesse.

In other news, Alfonso Cuarón's Wonder Woman movie... is still not a real thing. Haha, you just peed your pants a little, didn't you? I know I did. Christ on a cracker, why don't I run Hollywood.

More Superman news after the jump.

Continue reading "MORE SUPERMAN NEWS???? QUESTION MARK?" »