Nerd HQ tickets are now on sale!

For those of you that didn’t get tickets to SDCC ’12 this year, have no fear – NERD HQ is back! Tickets are on sale now and I believe the site is freezing due to all the high traffic.

Dark Horse Announces Full SDCC Booth Schedule

Aaaah! SDCC is right around the corner! You’ve got your panel line up planned, but what about your the exhibit hall? Amidst all the chaos, your favorite exhibitors also have some great events, giveaways, and creator signings scheduled at their booths. Dark Horse announced their booth schedule today and they’ve got some pretty exciting stuff lined up, including signings with The Goon creator, Eric Powell, Angel and Faith writer, Christos Gage, Felicia Day, and . . . . . Joss Whedon!!!

Here’s the full Dark Horse line up. They’re booth number #2615.

Joss Whedon and the cast of Firefly to Reunite at SDCC!

Browncoats unite, the rumors are true! Just confirmed today, SDCC will be having a panel celebrating the 10th anniversary of the short-lived, but beloved cult TV show, Firefly! The best part? Both Joss Whedon AND Nathan Fillion, will be panelists on what is sure to be a packed house.

Hosted by SCIENCE, the panel will take place on Friday, July 13 at 12:30 PM in Ballroom 20. In addition to Whedon and Fillion, the panel will include writer Tim Minear, and cast members, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher, Michael Faerman, and “the rest of the crew of Serenity.” The panel will also include never-before-sceen footage and “numerous buzz worthy surprises.”

For more info and their full SDCC line up, check out the SCIENCE site.

Deep thoughts on the Avengers…

 

Congratulations to the Avengers for setting back-to-back weekend records! I have to admit this is really, really cool. Growing up, there were two types of nerd, DC Comic and Marvel Fans (or Star Trek vs. Star Wars). I was a Marvel fan (with the exception of Batman, who is universally loved.) The old Marvel G.I. Joes written by Larry Hama were the first comic books I ever got into and it wasn’t before long that it spiraled into X-Men, Wolverine and other random assortment of Marvel properties.

Not only that, I loved watching the Marvel themed TV shows. I loved the old 1960’s Spiderman cartoon with the hit song, “spiderman, spiderman, does whatever a spider can…”, the old Incredible Hulk TV show with Lou Ferrigno, and of course, Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, with Iceman and Firestar. Spiderman and his Amazing Friends was one of the more popular 80’s cartoons and for its time featured good animation and decent plots.  We used to play like we were these characters all of the time.

But there was one Marvel property I wanted desperately to like, but just couldn’t do it because they were well, just too cheesy (even by my 80’s elementary school standards) and that would be the Avengers.  You can’t deny their place and history in the comic book world, but by the time I was a kid they were pretty second rate. I wanted to like them, I wanted them to be good, but they just weren’t.  That is, until now.

It really started with the Ultimate series, where Marvel reworked them into a tougher, grittier and more realistic series of characters. Then the movies starting coming out, and the characters became popular again.

There has never been a movie like the Avengers. They have been building up to this movie with a series of FIVE other movies for years now.  The stakes for Marvel, Disney, and director Joss Whedon were huge and many questions were raised as to whether or not they could pull it off, and they did, with amazing results.

Think of it this way, Iron Man 1 & 2, Thor, Captain America, and The Incredible Hulk were all on some level, decent movies that did well. Sure Iron Man 2 wasn’t nearly as good as the first one,  and Hulk wasn’t as good as Captain America, but for all intents and purposes, all of those movies were decent, if not great, on one level of another. If you are a movie production company, say DC, wouldn’t you take those results any day? Look at Superman, Catwoman and the Green Lantern.  (Dark Knight is all they have had.)

“Spider-stan, Spider-stan…”

It’s great to see these old, classic characters be given a chance to shine.  Did you ever think the Avengers would outsell X-Men comics?  As a Joss Whedon fan I am thrilled to see him finally cement his place as one of the new talented directors. More importantly, as a Stan Lee fan I am thrilled to see the Avengers do so well.

I have to think the ole’ Generalismo has got to have a grin on his face. These last few years have seen the smash success of his greatest creations, from Spiderman, to the X-Men and now the Avengers.  I hate to say it, but he is getting up there in age, and we don’t know how much longer he will be with us.

I have to think that as a writer and creator these films and comics will go down as a lasting tribute to his legacy. That when his time does finally come, he can rest in peace knowing he will always be remembered. Not just by comic fans and nerds, but by the greater population of movie going America, and the millions he inspired.  And of course, by a young, red headed kid with whom it all started by staying up late at night and reading G.I. Joes. Here’s to you Stan, Excelsior! And we salute you.

Avengers Pre-show and The Cabin in the woods review

In Joss We Trust . . .

The less you know about The Cabin in the Woods, the better.  The movie has been promoted as a horror film about 5 young adults taking off for a weekend trip to the titular cabin and that’s really all you need to know walking in.  The familiar premise might make you roll your eyes, but despite the lack of Autobots, Cabin, is more than meets the eye.

The film begins by introducing a parallel story involving a pair of lab-

like employees Siitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whidford) swapping wife complaints while preparing for some sort of event. The scene goes on long enough to remind you that this isn’t what you’re here to see. Aren’t you supposed to to be watching kids get violently murdered? What is going on?

What is going on indeed. This brief, disorienting intro sets the tone for the rest of the film: Something is not quite right here. However, before you have time to dwell on the question, the film flashes its title credits and starts setting up the conventional horror film formula: 5 college students heading out to an isolated lake cabin for a weekend of partying, pot, and. . . . hooking up. Each member of the group also fills a standard role. There is the naive, virginal(ish), Dana (Kristen Conolly), her hot, promiscuous roommate, Jules (Anne Hutchison), Jules’s studly alpha male boyfriend Curt (Chris Hemsworth), their pothead friend, Marty (Fran Kanz), and the handsome friend-of-a-friend, Holden (Jesse Williams), who simultaneously fills the role of potential love interest for Dana and ethnic minority. The quintet sets out and right on time, cue an ominous encounter with a grimy, tobacco chewing hermit, whose warnings the group undoubtedly ignores as they continue to their middle-of-nowhere destination.

From here, the parallel stories start to weave into each other and not much more can be said without major spoilers.The film surprises bit by bit, then snowballs with plot twists and reveals, until it culminates in an outrageous half hour finale of frenzied chaos, gleeful gore, and winks to classic villains and baddies that horror geeks love. Cabin is a treasure trove of horror fanatic goodies. The fiendishly clever script by was penned cult hero, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and director of the the much-anticiated Avengers film), and Whedonverse  followers will recognize the auteur’s self aware style. There are lots of witty one-liners, nerd references, and visual gags that are just the right amount of absurd, including a passing bit involving a collapsible bong.  There’s also a very well-timed cameo that’s sure to delight sci-fi fans.

Whedon and his often creative partner, director Drew Goddard, have always had a flare for old school horror bloodshed and there’s plenty of gore to spare in Cabin in the Woods. Be warned, this is a very violent film, but it’s never truly scary. Instead, Cabin is both a satire and celebration of the horror genre, inventively twisting horror cliches and bending conventional tradition to ask the questions: Why do we love horror films so much? Why do we root for these violent deaths? Are the victims’ demises a result of their own free will or the machinations of forces they can not control? 

The Avengers is not the only Whedon-vehicle that is a must see this year. Even for those not keen on horror films, it’s a fun genre-pushing film that will delight, surprise, and thrill you. By the end, you won’t be quite sure what just happened, but you won’t be sorry it did.

Cabin in the Woods get 4.5 Babbles out of 5.

Avengers Assemble!

Marvel Studios just released a new set of posters to promote the upcoming Avengers extravaganza. All the characters are in their expected ‘hero’ stance with the exception of Scarlett’s Black Widow- who’s seemingly most heroic attribute is her butt. Nevertheless, not sure how this movie can live up to all this hype but…in Joss we trust.

The Avengers Trailer!

Dang Joss Whedon is bringin’ it!

Go over to http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/avengers/ to watch the trailer in HQ. Leave your comments on what you think below.

EW’s Avengers Cover and set photos!

Looks like a weird family photo. Everyone just looks a little off.

‘The whole enterprise is falling apart. Egos, tempers, uneasy alliances and bad attitudes are threatening the group, and failure would be catastrophic.’ – EW

Chris Evans aka Captain America, and Robert Downey Jr. aka Tony Stark/Ironman

Scarlett Johansson aka Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner aka Hawkeye.

Chris Hemsworth aka Thor with Joss Whedon, RDJ, and Chris Evans on the set of Avengers.

Captain America spotted on the Avengers set!

The Avengers is currently shooting in downtown Cleveland posing as NYC.

Captain America fighting:

Explosions.

The Avengers Teaser Photo

This new Avengers teaser photo was released today- reinforcing that these heroes are assembling. However, don’t you think the HULK needs a bigger chair?!?! The Avengers is set to release May of 2012- which can’t come soon enough!

The AVENGERS teaser trailer

Even though it’s 2 years away, Marvel has released a teaser trailer at Comic Con to whip fan boys into a frenzy. The Avengers, under the direction of Joss Whedon is set to release May 4th, 2012.