I Want My Obscure Fandom Back

I'm a little tired of my favorite fandoms going mainstream. It's destroying my geek cred.

Firefly used to be that awesome show that was cut down in its prime and yet rose from the ashes due to its strong cult following.

Cult following.

Now you can't swing a dead chinook without hitting a Browncoat. Now every geek clothing manufacturer in the nation has no fewer than three t-shirts with something said by Jayne Cobb. Now everyone is a leaf on the wind.

Firefly and Serenity used to be our little secret, the kind of show we watched over and over because we kept sharing it with our friends who'd never heard of it. And it got better every time. Now this elegantly crafted universe has been reduced to a bunch of catch phrases and funny slang terms.

Star Trek used to carry some serious weight as a dork. Granted, most people have seen a few shows with Kirk and Spock, that movie with the whales, or half an episode of Scott Bakula Steers a Spaceship while flipping through channels. Watching one series didn't make you a nerd. Watching two or more of them, combined with owning Spock ears, a model Borg cube, a phaser, some action figures, and a college bumper sticker proclaiming "FERENGI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS" totally did make you a nerd.

Then Star Trek hit theaters in 2009. Spock ears were suddenly acceptable attire for that awesome Halloween party at the frat house. Owning a Borg cube was suddenly about as square as owning a James Bond car. Star Trek was hip, accessible to the masses, and no more arcane and enigmatic than American Idol. All my love and knowledge of Star Trek was reduced to the equivalent of a degree in grocery shopping. I liked being abnormal.

Mega Man was once a video game institution, an elite club for gamers with the skill and persistence to conquer some of the most rock-hard games in existence. Then Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man 10 swept in with an Easy Mode that gave away free memberships to absolutely anyone with thumbs. Can I get an honorary degree from Harvard if I do an overnight tour?

One by one, I'm losing my all-time favorite fandoms to the mainstream. I relish the chance to introduce an interest of mine to the uninitiated, but I'm quickly running out of people to initiate. I enjoy geeking out with friends and family about a mutual fandom, but there's a special bond that's diminished when it's everyone's fandom. Saying you're a Beatles fan doesn't mean anything unless you've got scary amounts of evidence to prove it. In contrast, you don't have anything to prove if you say you're a Blue Beetle fan; that's instant geek cred right there.

You know what it's like when your favorite unknown vacation spot suddenly becomes popular so that it's everyone's favorite vacation spot? I'm happy that so many people are discovering my favorite fandoms, but frankly, it's getting a little crowded. I wonder if Battlestar Galactica has any vacancies...

Waiting for Wednesday, Volume 2, Issue 49

Well, it’s late Tuesday as I write this, and I’m still not entirely sure what books are coming out this week from the publishers. Diamond’s website is currently in the process of being rebuilt, it seems, after some kind of hardware issues that they are trying to resolve.

Hopefully they can get that back up and running, as people like me depend on the site to generate a pull list for the week. (It’s dangerous for me to wander into a comics shop without "pre-browsing" the books on sale, since I’m way more likely to spend way more money.)

[Editor's Note: As of Wednesday morning, Diamond's site is back up and running at full capacity, so go check out what's on sale today!]

Once I write out my list, it very, very rarely changes--if it ain’t on my little cheat sheet when I walk in the store, it ain’t in my bag when I walk out of the store.

Still and all, there’s one new release that I’m certain is coming out today, and it’s one that I’m very happy to promote, since it seemed to have fallen under the radar when the single issues were coming out month to month. There's also a single issue that I'll happily spend way too much money on, for the sake of tradition.


But before we get to all that, let’s talk about USA Today. You know, the newspaper. Okay, fine. Not really the newspaper, but the online version of USA Today. Which is kind of like a newspaper. Only it's responsible for putting the actual newspaper out of business.

Right.

Anyway, USA Today and Dark Horse Comics recently announced a joint publishing venture, wherein the paper will run short comics stories by Dark Horse creators. And, whattaya know? This week, Eric Powell's The Goon gets the USA Today treatment, with an all-new eight-page story called, "Irish Wake."

You can check out the full story--which ran in two parts, one on Monday and one on Tuesday--right here. Go on, already. Check it out!

And with that perfect lead in, let's get to the new comics!

First up, from Marvel, we have a three-issue hardcover collection of a stand-alone X-Force story, titled "Sex and Violence." Featuring X-Force mainstays Wolverine and Domino, this story certainly lives up to its name.
Now, if you're not familiar with X-Force, don't worry--neither was I. I know Wolverine, and very, very little about Domino, but I was able to find my way through the story just fine.

It's a fast, violent read, and the gorgeous, painted art by Gabrielle Dell'otto is nothing short of stunning on each and every page. Here's the solicitation information from Marvel:

The Story: Just when you thought it was over, we pull you back in—it’s the X-Force story everyone’s been talking about, finally delivered!

Wolverine and Domino have always had a special relationship, but everything goes upside down when the Assassins Guild puts out a hit on our gun wielding bombshell. Why do they want her dead? And more importantly, how many people have to die before Wolverine and Domino can spend some quality time together?

Get ready for the sexiest blood-soaked ride Craig Kyle and Chris Yost have ever delivered as they join forces with international superstar Gabriele Dell'otto to offer up their final X-Force story!

Plus, Grant Morrison and Leinil Yu bring you the story of how Wolverine and Domino first got together in the pages of New X-Men. Collecting X-FORCE: SEX AND VIOLENCE #1-3 & NEW X-MEN ANNUAL 2001. 120 PGS./Parental Advisory

And they're not kidding when they mean Parental Advisory. This isn't the story you give to little Billy for Christmas. Or, come to think of it, little Nathaniel. But if you enjoy fast, action-packed (and blood-soaked) Wolverine stories, then this book is for you.

Next up, we have a yearly tradition--the DCU Holiday Special 2010 ships today! Yes, the stories are cheesy! Yes, the book is $5! Yes, I need gas in my car and should spend the money on that!
But, c'mon! It's the holidays, and they're just not complete (around my tree, at least) unless I'm reading some Christmas comics while I wait for Old Saint Nick to stop by.

Here's the info from DC:

From the dawn of time (Anthro) to the far-flung future (Legion of Super-Heroes), sentient life has honored the winter holidays with celebrations and rituals as diverse as the universe itself!

Join DC Comics – and a stellar team of writers and artists – to honor the vast and diverse holidays of the DC Universe in 6 tales of holiday cheer!

Starring the aforementioned characters along with Superman, The Spectre, Jonah Hex, and Green Lantern John Stewart for a HOLIDAY SPECIAL like no other!

Do you need to read/own this collection? Absolutely not! But it's good, harmless fun, and there's nothing better than following up a post-Christmas Eve meal with some superhero comics. I highly recommend it.

And with that, I'm out like Superman on a Kryptonite hammock. Before I go, though, what are you Waiting for?

Nintendo Guy

I'm a Nintendo guy. Nintendo is what I grew up on, and it's all I've ever owned. NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and DS. Sure, we had an Atari, but it technically belonged to my parents and resided at my grandparents' house. So I guess I'm a Nintendo and Atari guy.

I have my reasons for such brand loyalty--specifically, nobody else ever made any games that appealed to me. Too many games were dark, gritty, and serious, with no identifiable characters. Nintendo had Samus, Mega Man, Kirby, and Luigi (sorry, Mario). Sega had Sonic and--as far as I knew--only Sonic. At least I knew the Sonic games were kinda fun; the PlayStation had nothing going for it but the next Final Fantasy game. Crash Bandiwho?

Graphics have rarely been the deciding factor in anything for me, but the the few non-Sonic games I saw on the Sega Genesis looked amateurish or visually cluttered, diminishing my interest. Good controllers, on the other hand (or in both hands, as it were), were the deciding factor in why I never got a PlayStation 2.

I'm probably the only person in the world to have this issue with the well-loved PS2, but something about the buttons and shape of the controller put my hands in pain after about 30 minutes, not unlike Metroid Prime Hunters. Beating the intense final boss of Mega Man X4 on a friend's PS2 was one of the most challenging things I've ever done in a video game, and part of the reason was because my hands were stiff and twitching by the end of the post-boss cutscene.

Not that the Wii is any better, mind you. Maybe there's something about modern controllers in general. One of the reasons I'll never get an Xbox is that I can't play any of the games. Well, I can't play any of the first-person shooters, anyhow.

I do quite well with FPS games on the PC. I specialize in carrying around the dinkiest gun in the game, administering headshots to the needy. On a console, deprived of my precision mouse, the time it takes me to line up one shot is approximately the amount of time I have to live. Controls that do what I tell them to are absolutely critical in my enjoyment of a game, and no amount of practice and controller sensitivity tweaking has ever made a significant difference in my ability to not get fragged.

More and more I'm finding that I enjoy watching other people play Xbox games. The only games I'm interested in watching on a PlayStation console are ones that I might actually play someday, should I ever find a more comfortable controller. Xbox, on the other hand, is entertaining when it's two of your friends playing split-screen cooperative in Borderlands, Left 4 Dead, or Halo: Reach.

That's when I can appreciate the graphics. That's when I can get into the action. The controls are no good for me, but it's neat to see people who actually know what they're doing. It's interesting to watch their playing styles and their reactions to things. These are games I normally wouldn't be that interested in, but when the game is an unconventional vehicle for me to hang out with friends, things are so much better.

I'm a Nintendo guy, but I'm an Xbox groupie. Go figure.

Season One of The Walking Dead

Last night, AMC aired the much-anticipated season one finale of their critically acclaimed zombie-fest, The Walking Dead. This show has literally captivated millions of viewers, breaking all kinds of cable TV ratings in the process.

I'd like to talk a bit about the show, and the comic, so please be warned--there are SPOILERS AHEAD, and there will be throughout this post, so if you haven't yet watched all six episodes and/or read through the first trade collection of the comic, now's your chance to jump ship. Well, actually, these next few lines of dashes are your last chance.

But after the dashes...it's your own fault if something gets spoiled.

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I can't believe everyone died!!! Sorry. Just wanted to completely freak out anyone who may have wandered past my system of dashes.

Seriously, now. SPOILERS AHEAD:

I've heard two main criticisms of AMC's adaptation--first, it's too different from the comic. And second, it's too similar to the comic. Ah, fandom, how I love your crazy, contradictory attitudes towards everything on the planet.

Whenever a story is taken from one medium and transferred to another, it's inevitable that someone's favorite bits will be left out, while someone else's least favorite bits will be kept in.

And made a recurring theme. Or something.

But in the case of Walking Dead, I truly feel that the TV folks are keeping the series very much in the same vein as the comic book. It's a dark, bleak show--hopeless, at times--and that comes directly from writer Robert Kirkman's comic scripts.

Aside from episode two's weird, rock n' roll playing, cool car driving ending, there hasn't been a hint of levity in the series. And, as readers of the comic know, any time something (just a little bit) good happens, brace for impact, because things are about to get very, very bad.

Like in last night's episode.

A drunken, happy, relieved Rick? Yep. You just knew the zombies were gonna mess that up. Or, you know, the building was going to self destruct and kill everyone inside.

Personally, I wasn't thrilled with the introduction of the CDC, and the whole government facility in general when it was introduced last week. However, last night's finale sold me on it as a solid--and sensible--plot point.

The group is in Atlanta, the actual CDC is in Atlanta--it makes sense that they'd at least try getting to the building.

We also saw a much darker turn for the Shane character--something that's very much necessary if Shane's fate in the TV series is to match his fate in the comic series. He's a man on the brink, and for the first time, we see that he's a real, live threat to Rick and his family.

Episode six leaves our group at a perfect place from which to start season two--it's more or less a clean slate, with a couple of dangling, and interesting, plot points. Besides the major Shane-Rick feud that's brewing, we have Michael Rooker's Merle character--who is not featured in the comic--as a looming, ever-present threat to everyone on the show.

And, of course, there are all those pesky zombies out there.

Season one was a huge success--both financially for AMC and critically for the creators--and I cannot wait for season two. I'm interested in everyone else's thoughts, though, so please chime in!