Nerd Culture Podcast

After months of teasers we are ready to announce our latest project – Film Flams!

One day I was telling Bo from ECN Radio about my desire to do my own film commentary tracks, like Mystery Science Theatre but actually funny. And to my joy he admitted an identical desire!

So Film Flams was born!

Bo and I record our highly valued musings as we watch the film and record it so that you can then play it back as you then watch the film in the comfort of your own home.

It’s like having us on the couch with you! (we promise not to steal all the popcorn :))

So join us at www.filmflams.com and enjoy the show. And if you have a film you’d like us to cover let us know, via email (filmflams <at> outlook.com) or Twitter (@FilmFlams) and we’ll add it to the list!

Episode #54 features:

Popcorn Junkie: Man of Steel

Round Table: Superman

And an awesome Giveaway! You can win a Superman trade paperback pack containing both All Star Superman & Red Son. All you need to do to be in the draw to win is tell us your favourite Superman story so get your entries in now!

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Superman Blu-ray box set

Man of Steel Soundtrack

For my review this week I am looking at A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle.

This is a different comic then the normal, Marvel, DC or Image title.This is a collection of short and sharp stories which have a newspaper comic strip feel to it but never fear this is no Fred Basset rubbish (I don’t know anyone who finds Fred Basset funny, if you are a fan I would like to hear from you).

A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting contains a number of different stories revolving around a dad and his son and daughter. The comic is divided into a number of stories based on a few different parenting themes. My personal favourite is called The Easter Bunny which involves the father telling the son about the Easter Bunny with the story ending with the father laughing out loud at how ridiculous the idea of an Easter Bunny is.

I read the majority of the book while waiting in an appointment room and I had some genuine laugh out loud moments.

I really love the angle that Guy Delisle has gone with in this book. He has taken what is a very serious topic (parenting) and put a hilarious spin on what not to do. While not a parent myself I imagine that dads and mums would really enjoy reading this.

The art style is very simple but effective. Some of the facial expressions of the dad are brilliant.

I give A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting 4/5 Lukes – One of the most enjoyable new reads I have had in a long while. I highly recommend checking this title out.

I would love to hear your feedback. Please comment below or you can contact me via Twitter @bennykane1983.

My next review is going to be a mystery review. On my next trip to All Star Comics I will ask one of the guys to pick a title for me that I have not read and I will review it for you fine folks.

Enjoy your comic reading!

Benny

Half-Life was introduced to the masses in 1998 and was a game that revolutionized the shoot ’em up genre forever.  Yes, I know that Wolfenstein 3-D was supposed to do that, but sorry folks, Half-Life wins.

The Half-Life series consists of:

• Half-Life  (1998)
• Half-Life: Opposing Force  (1999)
• Half-Life: Blue Shift  (2001)
• Half-Life 2  (2004)
• Half-Life 2: Episode One  (2006)
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two  (2007)

And in all of these, there’s the infamous Barnacle! Before you start running for well lit area, hear me out. I recently sat down with a barnacle, Snacksalot, to get some insight on their reputation and why the eat like they do.

Me: Welcome to the interview. Why were you willing to hang around for this interview?
Snacksalot: To tell the truth! (burps out a human skull)

(more…)

For my review this week I am looking at some of the titles I picked up for Free Comic Book Day.  Before I start a quick shout out to the legends at All Star Comics. I missed actual Free Comic Book Day but those lads were nice enough to give me some titles after the fact.

The two titles I will be giving a quick fire review of are Mass Effect by Dark Horse Comics and Finding Gossamyr by Th3rd World Studios.

Mass Effect

For those out there who are not familiar with gaming, Mass Effect is a science fiction, action role playing game spanning three games. I have to admit that at this stage that I have not played Mass Effect. I bought the trilogy for my X-Box 360 and am waiting for some time off to give it some attention.

This short story comic written by Mac Walters and Jeremy Barlow follows an attempt by Jeff, a crippled pilot, to show that he is worthy of more than the equivalent of a taxi driver. Being a freebie the story is not that expansive but from my perspective it has achieved what it has intended, I now want to play the game (hurry up holidays!) and would like to read some more.

The artwork by Garry Brown was quite good. The Turian representative looks particularly cool.

For these reviews I will change my rating system. Does this comic make me want to look into the Mass Effect universe more?  The answer to that is a big Yes.

Finding Gossamyr

The second title I am reviewing is Finding Gossamyr. I do not usually start a review by talking about the art in a comic but this title is going to be the exception. The illustrator of this comic is Sarah Ellerton and I have to say it looks absolutely beautiful. I absolutely adore the art style used. It feels very Disney inspired.

The comic is written by David A Rodriguez and the story is a fantasy tale involving magic, weird and wonderful creatures and theorem solving. The story on the first read was a little tricky to follow but became clearer on a second reading.

The Volume 1 Hardcover for this book is coming out in July and I will be definitely purchasing this title.

Hope you enjoyed my quick fire looks at these two titles. Would like to hear what you thought about these two comics and any other comics you read for Free Comic Book Day. Please comment below or you can contact me via Twitter @bennykane1983.

For my next review I will be looking at A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle.

Enjoy your comic reading!

Benny