Josh Brolin is Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy!

"To attack them is to court Death..."

That moment, that turn and smile from the end credits of the first Avengers film has teased us for more than a year now. The moment Thanos made his presence known, even for half a second, comic book fans the world over have wondered how and when the Mad Titan would appear and wreck our heroes' day. Now, thanks to Latino Review, we know.

Episode 103: This Con is on Fire!

The Ace of Geeks are back at Kublacon once again! For the first half of the podcast, we're joined by Angelo Sphere, a new friend from the LARPs we played this weekend...and then the hotel catches fire. Once we finally get BACK into our room, we're joined by Aaron Lopez, Ryan Walton, Dylan Gregory of Gamer Geekus and Eric Fuller of the SCA. We'll discuss what it's like to get your kids into roleplaying (with suggestions!) LARPing and private conversations, LARPing and player death...and well, LARPing.

Episode 103!

Hulu in talks to revive Community!

Say it with me now - Six Seasons and a Movie.

SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE.

SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE.

Comic Books Have Saved Cinema. by Mike Fatum

Beast seriously looks like he's photobombing here.

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for the end of Days of Future Past.

The Avengers should never have worked. By conventional logic, a major summer tentpole movie that requires audiences to have seen at least three other movies is insane. Centering a good chunk of the movie on characters who hadn't been in a film in years (Hulk) or were only bit players in films before (Black Widow) is just as insane. Audiences just aren't that smart, conventional wisdom says. You have to hold their hands at every stage of the game and just hope they can follow even the least convoluted plot line. Movies must be simple.

Reading Rainbow is BACK!

LeVar Burton, of Star Trek and Reading Rainbow fame, has decided to mix these two venues by bringing his reading program to every internet child with internet access...for free. He has posted this project to kickstarter today.

SAWS Challenge Keeps the Indy GT Spirit Alive. by Seth Oakley

I’m never really sure how Google knows what is going on. I mean, they could have a lot of really smart people that research issues and make predictions. They could collect a lot of data and then use it to predict trends. That was the conclusion of classical mechanics as I understand them: If you knew the location and velocity of every particle, you could predict everything that was to come. Further research has shown that you can’t know both pieces of information, but still Google is able to predict, almost to the minute, how long it will take me to drive up to Sacramento to hang out with my friend Dan and cover the SAWS Challenge, a 5 round Warhammer Fantasy Grand Tournament. Google Maps put the drive at 2 hours, 10 minutes. I would be leaving San Francisco on a Friday evening, so traffic would be rough. Maybe the estimate went up. I ride a motorcycle and can cut through most of it, so maybe the estimate went down. I would be taking 80, and there was road construction, so the estimate goes up. It’s 80, so people are going like 75 mph, so the estimate goes down. I got lost and had to stop and look at a map, estimate goes up. Still, 2 hours and 10 minutes later, there I was, at the hotel, right at the time Google had told me I would be there. Can they manipulate traffic signals to control this flow of cars? Did they turn off the lights of the signs that would have guided me? All good questions for another time.

The Ace of Geeks vs Found in the Alley - Movie Draft Super War Update 2

Update 1

Welcome back to the ongoing summer movie draft between The Ace of Geeks and our frenemies at Found in the Alley. Last week, the Ace of Geeks had a commanding lead, leaving their compatriots at FiTa in the dust. I'm pleased to report that very little has changed. Here's a quick refresher:

Wizards of the Coast Announces FREE Dungeons and Dragons!

We were already pretty excited around here about the next edition of Dungeons and Dragons. After playtesting as "D&D Next" for about a year, the new edition will finally launch this summer in a series high quality, hardcover books, starting with the D&D Starter Set on July 15th. But I hear you out there - the economy sucks, and paying $60-$80 for a bunch of books just to play feels like a tug on the wallet. Why not stay with the huge amount of 4E or Pathfinder books we already have?

Well, if you're that worried about paying too much for D&D...how about paying nothing?

Episode 102: The New World of Non-Traditional Publishing

Join The Ace of Geeks for a live podcast as they discuss the new ways for authors to get their work out there. Special guests Chris Brecheen (Writing About Writing) and John Westley Hawthorne (The Dark Mercury Series) will discuss the new ways they've found success as authors in the digital age, and what some of the pitfalls are to avoid.

 

Episode 102! 

Are you an Ambassador, or a Gatekeeper? by John Garcia

I couldn't resist. -Ed

One of the first times I had to look up the word “Geek” was after watching one of Kevin Smith’s  “Evening With” shows. He gave a sort of an etymological flashback of the word, telling the audience that a “Geek” in its original meaning, was a circus performer who bites the head off of chickens. I thought about it, and decided it was a proper definition.  In addition to being a synonym to “freak,” as one who lives outside the mainstream, a sub-category of geeks do it for the acclaim, attention,( and sometimes alcohol) because they are so desperate for such things that they would sacrifice their own dignity.

The "Fake Geek" is Not The Problem When It Comes to "Fake Geek Girls" by Chris Brecheen

It's possible that I'm not quite this bad.

I've now been to about twenty conventions. Comic book conventions, lots of gaming conventions, an anime convention, and a couple of conventions that defied categorization in a way that I wouldn't consider complimentary. ("Are those Pokemon yiffing in the lobby?")

I've sat with geeks of every stripe. Star Wars fans. Trekkies. Browncoats. Role players. LARPers. Cosplayers. SCAers. Comic Book lovers. Gamers. Even people who love civil war strategy games.

Was it Really That Bad? Super Mario Bros. The Movie. by Kyle Johannessen

So, last time I jumped in the Ace of Geeks way back machine and watched Judge Dredd, and while yes, it was really that bad, it had its moments. I figured that if I was gonna be in the way back, and the Machine is already primed and ready to go, I might as well stick around and watch a childhood favorite; The Super Mario Bros Movie. I mean, what’s the point in having a way back machine if you’re not going to use it? Am I right?

Ace of Geeks vs Found in the Alley - Movie Draft Super War! Update 1

For those of you who haven't been following our ugly-stepsister podcast Found in the Alley lately, you may have missed out on one of the big things that the Ace of Geeks is doing this summer. First, make sure you head to their site and check out the podcast that started all of this. The gauntlet was thrown, and three weeks ago the battle of the Summer Movie Draft began. The rules were simple: Each of the four hosts had 100 points. We could use those points to draft as many summer movies as we could, and by the end of the summer, the team who's films did the best on opening weekend (that's important) would walk away the undisputed champions. We'll be doing updates on this every Friday, so stay tuned. Here's where we stand so far:

Waking up for Paris, by Seth Oakley

This past week saw the 2014 League of Legends All Star Tournament. The top teams from the regions of North America, Europe, Korea, China, and Southeast Asia all converged on Paris, France, for a 4 day tournament and All Star Event. There were 2 rounds of group stages, a day of semi finals, and a day of finals. Each team played each other team once in the group stage, then the top 4 teams faced off in single elimination in the semis, followed by the remaining two facing off in a best of 3 for the finals. The teams for the regions were as follows: Cloud 9 (C9), representing North America, invited after their last minute pull into first at the end of the Spring Split; Fnatic (FNC), representing the Western European servers, and the leaders of the EU Spring Split after a really tough early Season 4; SK Telecom T1 K (SKT), from Korea and the Season 3 world champions; OMG (OMG), the top performing team from China; and the Azubu Taipei Assassins, the premier team from the GPL Southeast Asia league.

THE ACE OF GEEKS PODCAST AT BIG WOW COMICFEST 2014 - Press Release

THE ACE OF GEEKS PODCAST AT BIG WOW COMICFEST 2014 - Press Release

The Five Stages of Geek Obsession, by Mike Fatum

Comic by comediva.com

“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”-Simon Pegg


I've always been jealous of those of you out there who can be part of just one fandom. The folks in the geek community who hang their hats on just Star Trek, or just Game of Thrones. Your lives must be so simple. You wake up in the morning, and you love one thing. You go to a convention, and you're only searching for merchandise from that one thing. And that burning, needy feeling that comes only with being truly in love with a thing never goes away. I'm jealous of those of you out there who only have the one fandom, because I love that feeling so much.

Six Thoughts to Move You Towards Creative Success. by Justin Rhodes

            I have always fancied myself as a bit of a creator, as I'm certain that many of us in the wide variety of geek fandoms do. It is lovely to be enthusiastic about the things that we love. It is even more satisfying to be the source of that enthusiasm. We all have things that we hope to accomplish with our lives, but sometimes we don't quite know what to do, or what the next step is. So how do we begin with our endeavors and move towards the success we wish to achieve? Some of us are better at this than others. For those of you who are aspiring novelists, game designers, musicians, actors, etc. (and you crazy people like me who want to do all of those things and then some,) here is some simple, succinct  advice to help you move forward:

Five Reasons You Should be Wild about Wildstar, by Alexis George

When I asked the development team to describe Wildstar in one sentence, Stephan Frost of Carbine Studios stated, “Wildstar is large MMO with a lot of personality, crazy story, a great housing system and little gerbils that are also death machines.” After three weeks of beta, I’d say it’s closer to what would happen if Firefly, a PG13 version Disney’s Treasure Planet, and Borderlands 2 had a threeway lovechild. With goats. (Sorry, I mean Rowsdowers. I still don’t quite understand the goat thing, but I like the absurdity. Plus, those little things are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.) With a slated launch date of June 3rd, 2014, Wildstar has finally opened beta for the general public, and there is something here worth being excited about, gamers. I’ve compiled a list of features and observations leading up to release in hopes of roping a few others into the madness. So saddle up and load your phaser pistols, ladies and gentlemen.  

Episode 100: A. Lee Martinez

For our (oh my god) 100th episode, the Ace of Geeks welcome A. Lee Martinez, author of The Divine Misfortune, Emperor Mollusk vs the Sinister Brain, and Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest. We'll discuss how he became an author, what the publishing world is like today, his thoughts on NanoWriMo and the new world of Kindle Publishing, roleplaying games, and the craziest comic book team up we've ever heard of.

Read our review of Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest here:
http://aceofgeeks.blogspot.com/2013/10/helen-and-troys-epic-road-quest-its.html

Episode 100! 

Anti-Bronies and Sexism - by Jarys Maragopoulos

An example of an Anti-Brony hate image.

     I was, at first, resistant to watching My Little Pony. I had been raised as a male and had plenty of reminding that girls things were not for me. I didn't even think about it, I just assumed I wouldn't like it, like the conditioned adult that I am. It took three different people to suggest I watch the show for me to sit down and watch it. I was well pleased that I did. I found that My Little Pony's newest iteration had humor that worked at adult levels, meaningful messages about interpersonal relationships, and a positive outlook. I like it a lot, so I guess that makes me a Brony. I'm happy with the label and I like to watch/discuss the show with other adults. Fun times.

Why We Cosplay, Why We Take Pictures, and Why You're Wrong to Hate Us - by Megan Marie Fox and Oscar Chang

Editor's Note: There's a particularly vile article going around the interwebs this week, with some guy trying to put himself into a position of judging people for what and how they cosplay. It's stupid, and we aren't going to link to it. However, it did inspire Megan to write an article about why she cosplays, and what misconceptions she has to face every time she does it. It also inspired Oscar Chang, one of the photographers featured in that article, to send us a response - in that particular article, he was portrayed as a creepy, up-skirt shooting convention troll, and he wanted to clear the air. Both responses are below.

MEGAN MARIE FOX

I wake up at five o’clock on a Summer Saturday morning. I’ve laid out my clothing for the day the night before. I apply a dozen different kinds of makeup, spray some long lasting setting spray, and then I apply my wig. The transformation half complete, I step into my costume and become someone new. Someone from a different world, with different problems. I’m in someone else’s skin, and it feels awesome.

Nerf Rebelle: Good for girls? by Carolyn Nave

Recently, Nerf came out with guns that are marketed toward girls. They’re pink and purple, and some of them are smaller or in the shape of bows (one called the Heartbreaker) reminiscent of Katniss, Merida or any number of other popular bow-wielding heroines. The packaging itself includes pictures of girls looking quite proud and wielding these new contraptions. The name of this new campaign? Nerf Rebelle.

First trailer for GOTHAM on FOX!

We've all been waiting to see some of FOX's new take on Young Commissioner Gordon and Even Younger Bruce Wayne. The show promises to be for Batman what Smallville was for Superman, but with a darker, grimier tone and police procedural stylings. Now, as part of Jack Bauers umpteenth outing tonight, they released the first full trailer for the show. Hit the jump to check it out.

FREE Pixel Horror Picks! by Stephanie Cala

(Art by pai-thagoras)

When I started this article, I intended to make a broad list of horror games.  Since Amnesia: The Dark Descent, there has been a giant uprising (particularly in the indie gaming world) of horrifying games that players can become absolutely absorbed in.  If you want a gory story with stunning graphics, there are games for that.  If you want an unbelievably terrifying story that makes you question your own morality, there are games for that.  If you literally want a game to sense how scared you are, and then have that affect the in-game content, there is now a game for that.  (Seriously, check out Nevermind.  It comes with a heart rate monitor and the game becomes scarier the more scared you become.)  

That aside, I also had to ask myself: What kind of horror games do I like?  What horror games are good for those of you, like me, who may be a bit faint of heart, but would still appreciate great story-telling (with or without an occasional jump-scare)?  The answer to that is actually pretty simple: Pixel Horror RPGs.

Episode 99: It's Not Even a Proper Mode of Conveyance

Mike and Mae Linh are back from London, with tales to regale Jarys of their trip and the things they saw - including the Queen musical We Will Rock You, and all the amazing artifacts Jarys DIDN'T get to see at the British Museum. Plus: They dug up the Atari graveyard this week! Oh my god! Jarys is loving Divinci's Demons, and all three of us have finally seen, and can talk about, 47 Ronin.

Episode 99!

The Princess and the Pilot, a Review by Mike Fatum

It's not that I'm not big on anime - that's never been my problem. My problem has always been that there is so damn much anime out there. I never know what to watch. For every Ghost in the Shell or Durarara or Sword Art Online that I manage to find, there's a hundred other series out there without the depth or beauty that sucks me in to a really great anime movie or series. In that way, anime's just like every other form of entertainment, but because it's all imported and in another language, it's harder to sift through it to get to the good stuff. That's why the majority of your typical entertainment consumer will only have seen a Miyazaki movie or two, and why almost nobody's ever heard of something like The Princess and the Pilot.