Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Lots of Nerd News

Man, today has been filled with tons of geek news so I'll go over bits and pieces.

Video Game Goodness
It's E3 and there is a ton of game news...well maybe not news actually a lot of grandstanding about why "My system is better then the others guy's". Nintendo bragging about their sales figures...and why the hell not? A lot of people were starting to think Nintendo was going to head the way of Sega before the DS and WII appeared. So a lot of stuff was said and very polite smack was talked and there are much better reporters covering it then me, they've even got their own channel. So for all the news and video check out G4 on your tv or head over to their website, http://www.g4tv.com/

In the meantime, here's what caught my eye.

Nintendo
Zelda is coming to the DS and man it looks cool. Zelda: Phantom Hourglass appears to be very touch screen oriented which worries me a little (Starfox, I'm glaring in anger in your direction) but the demo looked really good and it's selling craploads in Japan.

The WII blaster...a connection to make the wimote and nunchuck into a lightgun...and a resident evil game to go with it...if they weren't so hard to find I'd buy a Wii just for that...except for the fact I want Halo 3 much worse.

Xbox 360
Saw a bunch of things we already knew about but at least saw in game demos. Left 4 Dead being a little bit of a surprise. Fast "28 Days Later" style zombies, team play...drool. Assassin's Creed looks like it's coming along nicely. There was also a demo of Rock Band, the guitar hero style game but with guitar and drums and bass. And yet another Halo 3 trailer...which shows The Arbiter standing beside The Master Chief on Earth looking at the sky.

Sony
Trumpeted their non-price cut price cut (the current PS3's will be dropped by $100 which would be a step in the right direction except it's because they're bringing out another version with more memory at the higher price) and the line up of games on the way...not many of which are exclusive. That may even include the new Metal Gear. But they've also got Lair which I admit, looks awesome, piloting dragons, wiping out armies. But the games are kind of moot if no one can afford the system.

The others
Plenty of multi platform games coming but the one that caught my eye was Stranglehold, the video game sequel to one of my favorite movies, Hard Boiled...ah John Woo before Hollywood ruined him.

Comics
A bunch of little items and then one big one.

- According to comic gossip columnist, Rich Johnston (yes we do have them, he's latest column is here ) The Punisher is having a baby.

- Jim Starlin is writing a miniseries for DC called Death of the New Gods.

- I saw the following at newsarama but felt it should be posted here as well.

From Jim Lee

To my fellow professionals, artists and comic book fans--In comics, we're always telling stories about people in life-threatening situations. That's thrilling in a comic book, but in real life it's the scariest ordeal you can imagine. Right now Gordon Lee, a retailer in Rome, GA, is facing the fight of his life. This August he will finally stand trial against two counts of distributing harmful to minors materials. He faces penalties of up to a year in prison and fines of up to $1,000 on each count if convicted. Gordon has been fighting to prove his innocence for almost three years. Fighting through being overcharged with two felonies and five misdemeanors, most of which were later thrown out. Fighting though the prosecution throwing out and refiling their case because the day before the trial they discovered that their facts were wrong. And now fighting against two remaining charges that are completely meritless. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has taken up the fight for Gordon, and now we need to help them finish that that fight.Right now, I'm asking you to join me in supporting the CBLDF's work on this case. To date they've spent nearly $80,000 defending Gordon, and they expect the trial to cost another $20,000 on top of that. To ensure that they have the cash on hand for Gordon's August trial, and to shore up their reserves for what could be a very litigious Presidential election year, they need our donations now.Please join me in supporting the Fund by making a donation of cash, original art, high-grade comics, or even some of your time (like I did in 2003 when I did a signing at Defender of Liberty recipient Chuck Rozanski's Mile High Comics as part of a CBLDF benefit auction). It's up to those of us who rely on comics for our living to stand behind the Fund in protecting our own. The Fund needs all of our support to win this case, where a conviction won't just harm Gordon, but its precedent could affect all of our livelihoods.To donate art or collectibles for the Comic-Con auction, please send an email to cbldf1@gmail.com to let them know what you are contributing. If you have it available, include a jpg of your donation so they can list it in their auction preview online. You can see my donation--a penciled promo piece of Batman for the upcoming DCU MMO--above.To donate money, go to Donations-CBLDF. To make sure that the Fund can include your donation in their Comic-Con auction preview, please be sure to get in touch with them with a jpg no later than Sunday, July 15. You can send the physical piece to their office until July 20th, or deliver it to them onsite at Comic-Con.Please join me in helping the CBLDF raise the resources it needs to win this important case. If you have questions or to let the Fund know what you're sending, email Charles Brownstein or Greg Thompson at cbldf1@gmail.com or call them at the CBLDF office -- 212.679.7151. And please send your contributions to CBLDF, 271 Madison Ave, Suite 1400, New York, NY 10016 and tell them that I sent you!Thanks for joining me in support,

Jim Lee


And finally a little personal retrospective. Until the early 90's I had bought comics but never hardcore collected...until the first issue of Rob Liefled's X-Force hit newsstands. Just look at that art...alright today it looks over used and plain but back then it really stood out.

Liefeld's been an interesting character when it comes to comics. Left Marvel to help form Image, thus helping to start a revolution in comics. Then goes back and takes over a couple of marvel books along with fellow creator Jim Lee and then get's kicked off of that and then get's kicked out (or leaves depending on who's version of the story you're ready) Image and forms or joins hands with numerous companies all the while only releasing a comic seemingly every few years.

This is not to mention the feuds he's started or snide remarks he's made about others (including his former Image brothers) or remarks made about him.

So lo and behold I was nearly knocked on my ass when I saw that Rob had teamed up with his former cohorts at Image to reprint old Youngblood material and print new Youngblood material.

You can read the story here and get a good view of the whole Liefeld story here.

Now the real question is, how long till the first new Youngblood comes out after it's supposed to and how long between issues? I say 3 months late for issue 1 and a year for issue 2.

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