The Secret Saturdays
Volume 1-2
Created by Jay Stephens
Featuring the voices of Phil Morris, Nicole Sullivan, Diedrich Bader, Sam Lerner, Fred Tatasciore, Will Friedle, Corey Burton
Cartoon Network

The Cartoon Network’s The Secret Saturdays is a throwback cartoon that tips their hats off to various cartoons and genres of yesteryear. The cartoon focuses on the Saturday family, a team of crypto-zoologists (or scientists that search for strange creatures), as they go on adventures of exploration and various forms of daring-do. Along the way, they deal with their own rogue gallery of rival crypto-zoologists and various other supped up big baddies.

While I am definitely not the demographic for this cartoon, I must say that I actually enjoyed the cartoon a lot. I am a fan of mythical beasts like Bigfoot or The Loch Ness and I am glad to see an actual cartoon focused on it. The writing and overall tone of the series reminded me a lot of the old Hanna Barbera cartoons, mostly notably Johnny Quest. The creators also throw in a Fantastic Four vibe into the mix and that gels very nicely with the series as a whole (and with yours truly). There is definitely a lot of humor and action that is not family friendly but, I dare say it, adult friendly too [...]

Swallow Me Whole
Written and Drawn by Nate Powell
Top Shelf Productions
Release Date: October 29, 2008

I tried to write a nice little intro paragraph for Swallow Me Whole, but rather than write something flowery and overtly descriptive, I decided to just cut right to the chase. Swallow Me Whole is one graphic novel that you should pick up above all other comic books out there.

Written by Nate Powell , Swallow Me Whole tells the tale of two step-siblings, Ruth and Perry, and how each of them deals with growing up in the suburbs and with their similar mental diseases. Ruth thinks that the dead insects she collects are alive and Perry thinks the wizard on the top of his pen is talking to him and compelling him to draw. Relying on each other to keep one another sane, Ruth and Perry do the best they can to keep each other’s demons in check and hope that there is light at the end of this rather dark tunnel.

I was not familiar with Nate Powell’s work up until I read this but there is a reason that this won an Eisner Award for Best New Graphic Novel. It is a great read. The story is nicely paced and the dialogue is realistic. He also creates some nicely relatable characters in Ruth and Perry [...]

Astro Boy
Directed by David Bowers
Featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Freddie Highmore
Written by David Bowers and Timothy Harris
Release Date: October 23, 2009

I learned several things Saturday morning when I watched Astro Boy. For one thing, when watching a cartoon movie, one should expect a sea of crying, whispering, and gurgling children no matter what time the movie starts. Another thing I learned, and this one is pretty important for me, is that no matter how old I get, it is nice to know that I still can be affected by a cartoon that has heart.

Astro Boy, based on the popular Japanese anime Mighty Atom, tells the tale of Tobie Tenama (Freddie Highmore). Tobie is caught in a middle of dangerous science experiment conducted by his father Dr. Bill Tenama (Nicolas Cage) and is killed instantly. Dr. Tenama is devastated and in his sorrow, he creates an exact robotic copy of his boy. Thus, Astro Boy is born.

Now a fair warning to those who are familiar with the anime: I had no prior knowledge of the anime before I stepped into the movie [...]

Robot Chicken: Star Wars – Episode II
Directed by Seth Green
Featuring the voices of Seth Green, Billy Dee Williams, Donald Faison, Carrie Fisher
Adult Swim

Some things in life just go really well together. Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Chocolate Chip and Mints are just some of the prime examples, but now you can add Robot Chicken and Star Wars into the mix as well. When the popular stop-motion series Robot Chicken decided to parody the mega popular Star Wars franchise the first time around, the reviews for the show was overwhelmingly positive. Even George Lucas approved so you can only imagine that it wouldn’t be long until the sequel Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II showed up.

Nothing has changed much since the first special. The folks at Robot Chicken, led by bite-sized star Seth Green, are still offering up their hilarious and often times, insane, fanboy interpretations of key moments in the Star Wars franchise. Ever wonder what happens to Boba Fett moments after he meets his fate in Return of the Jedi or what was going through the mind of Luke during his key battle with Darth Vader? All those questions are answered and even some random ‘what if’ scenarios are touched on in this funny special [...]

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to visit this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con.

Now I can go on and on about how great the convention was. I could say how awesome it was to meet Terry Moore, Steve Lieber, and Marc Silvestri. I tell you how nice it was to see Cliff Chiang, Khoi Pham, and JG Jones again. I could also tell you how great of an artist colorist Laura Martin is but why not show you guys in a series of photographs?

Enjoy! [...]

Sleeper
Vol. 1: Out in the Cold
Vol. 2: All False Moves
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
DC Comics/WildStorm

Back in 2001, a funny thing happened. Noir style comics got popular. Sure, they have been around for a pretty long time but I think it hit its peak once noir-esque style writers like Brian Bendis, Greg Rucka, and Darwyn Cooke started to make some engrossing pieces of comic book fiction. And with the popularity came the glut of noir comics, filled with morally ambiguous heroes and deadly femme fatales. Some were good but a lot were not great. The worst part of it all was that with so many books out there, a great book was bound to be lost in the fold. Sleeper by Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Criminal) and Sean Phillips (Criminal, Marvel Zombies) was one such title.

Though it garnered a lot of critical acclaim, sales for this title was okay at best but because of solid following plus strong trade sales, the entire series is finally collected in two volumes. This writer could not be happy about the situation, though he does have some small nitpicky grips about the new editions [...]

Strangers in Paradise Omnibus
Written and Drawn by Terry Moore
Abstract Studios
Release Date: 7/22/09 (San Diego Comic Con Exclusive); 9/2009 (Everywhere)

If you were one of the many people who attended the San Diego Comic-Con this year, hopefully you were smart enough to stop by Abstract Studio’s booth and picked up a copy of the Strangers In Paradise Omnibus. The entire indie comic classic created by writer/artist Terry Moore is collected together in 2 volumes for the first time and made its unofficial debut at the Con and I was able to snag a copy with the help of GoD co-owner Dave3.

Strangers in Paradise is a romantic dramedy that centers around two best friends who have known each other since high school. Francine is the plus-sized shy one, who is unaware of just how special she really is. Katina (aka Katchoo) is the fiery outspoken artist, who is extremely loyal to and in love with Francine. The series follows their adult lives and their ever complicated relationship filled with men, women, guns, and of course, the Mafia.

If you are not familiar with the series, I must say that my summarization of the series does not do the book justice. It is a great read and provides the reader with a variety of emotions. I cannot think of a comic that has so many funny lines of dialogue and heartbreaking scenes all at once. The story, while mostly soap opera-esque, isn’t afraid to tap into other types of genres as well. At any point in time, the comic shifts from a soap opera to a comedy, to a mystery, drama, and even action. It is a story that should entertain anyone who is interested in a great story. Above all else, thanks to the writing, you actually feel for these characters and relate to them. Don’t be surprised if halfway into the story, you start actually thinking these characters are real [...]

Super Capers
Directed by Ryan Griggs
Starring Justin Whalin, Sam Lloyd, Ryan McPartlin
Lions Gate Pictures
Release Date: July 21, 2009

Super Capers tells the tale of superhero wannabe Ed Gruberman (Justin Whalin). When Ed’s parents are murdered by a mysterious assailant, he decides to dedicate his life to fighting crime despite the fact that he has no super powers whatsoever. After getting sued by a criminal he assaults, the judge orders Ed to join Super Capers, a group of bumbling superheroes in training. It is there that Ed’s adventures in crime fighting really begin and of course hilarity ensues.

Well, the hilarity would have ensued had the script been funny. For about an hour and a half, I sat there watching this movie with a blank expression on my face just wanting to laugh but not seeing anything on the screen to help me do that. The jokes were flat and just not funny, period.

Writer/Director Ryan Griggs strikes out twofold. First of all, he is one of those directors who likes to put himself into movies he’s directing. Now this is all fine and dandy, I mean many directors put themselves into their films more times than you know [...]

Wolverine and the X-Men
Vol. 2Deadly Enemies DVD
Starring Steve Blum, Jim Ward, Tom Kane
Marvel Animation/Lionsgate Films
Release date: July 21, 2009

When Wolverine and the X-Men first came onto the scene, I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. I never watched creators Craig Kyle and Christ Yost’s first cartoon X-Men: Evolution, but so many people enjoyed the series that I thought I give it a try and was pretty satisfied with the first batch of episodes and even wrote a review on the DVD release, titled Heroes Return. And since I did review the first volume, it was only fitting that I also review the newest volume Deadly Enemies.

For a quick recap of the series, think of this as yet another alternate X-Men Universe. In this version, a mysterious attack on the Xavier school has left Professor X in a coma and Jean Grey presumed dead. This event shakes the X-Men to the core and every member of the team goes their separate ways. Fast forward to one year later, with mutant hysteria and hatred at an all time high, it is up to Wolverine to reunite the team to prevent a future that could wipe out mutantkind permanently [...]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Starring Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols
Rated PG-13
Release date: August 7, 2009

Like many children of the ’80s, I did watch the G.I. Joe cartoon. Don’t ask me what I remember of it though. I watched so many cartoons back then that other than the Joe’s “knowing is half the battle” segments, there is not much of it that I retained over the years. What I do know is that the cartoon was very popular way back when and it was only a matter of time before it got its big screen live-action debut. I mean, if Transformers and even Alvin and the Chipmunks can get that kind treatment, why can’t G.I. Joe?

Based on the popular toy line and cartoon, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra follows soldiers Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans). On a mission to transfer a deadly technological weapon, their convoy is ambushed by a terrorist group. Their collective behind is saved by an elite military led by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid), known as G.I. JOE. In memory of their fallen comrades, Duke and Ripcord team up with the JOEs to safely transport the weapons to their destination and in the process they come across the terrorist group COBRA [...]

The Unborn
Unrated DVD Edition
Written and Directed by David Goyer
Starring Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Idris Elba, Meagan Good
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 7, 2009

Casey (Odette Yustman) seems to have a great life. She has a great good looking boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a hot friend (Meagan Good), and a nice dad (James Remar). Plus, she is terribly good looking, too. She seems to have it all but I doubt you would want to trade places with her. It seems that this pretty little lady is haunted in her dreams by her unborn twin brother. Apparently during childbirth, her umbilical chord wrapped around her bro’s neck, killing him in the womb. Turns out her undead brother holds a grudge and is bringing some demonic buddies to exact revenge on his sis in this horror movie written and directed by David S. Goyer.

Goyer, best known for the Blade movies and Batman Begins, weaves a by the book horror movie. Hottie girl plagued by a supernatural evil? Check. Scary monsters and demons? Check? Finale with exorcism and high body count? Check and check. It is not anything that you haven’t seen before and Goyer never once tries to reinvent the genre, but that is not the point. The whole point of the movie is to deliver a story that is interesting and scary at the same time and it more or less fills those requirements on more than one occasion [...]

Richard’s Stark’s Parker: The Hunter
Adapted and Illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
Edited by Scott Dunbier
IDW Publishing
Release date: July 22, 2009

When artist/writer Darwyn Cooke finished his run on Will Eisner’s The Spirit, I am sure I was not the only one that was eagerly anticipating his next project. Would he continue to play in the DC playground or perhaps venture into Marvel territory? Or maybe he would just forgo the big two and just go the creator-owned route. When the news broke at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con on Cooke’s next project, few would have guessed it would be with IDW Publishing but even more were surprised when the project in question would be an adaptation of The Parker novels by Donald Westlake.

Donald Westlake (for those like myself who was not familiar with the author), was a critically acclaimed crime novelist back in the late 1950’s. Best known for the creation of the Parker character, Westlake had twenty-four of the twenty eight crime novels written under the Richard Stark pseudonym centered on the popular anti-hero. Even if you are not familiar with the character, you be hard pressed not to notice Westlake’s work in the mainstream media.

From Point Blank to Payback, the Parker novels have been adapted numerous times on film but never has the author allowed the Parker name to be used until now. Just before Westlake passed away in 2008, he gave Cooke permission to adapt the story and introduce the Parker character to the graphic novel world in a series of four graphic novels set to come out yearly.

Wolverine and The X-Men
Heroes Return Trilogy DVD
Starring Steve Blum, Jim Ward, Tom Kane
Marvel Animation/Lionsgate Films
Release date: April 21, 2009

I have not watched an X-Men cartoon on a regular basis since the early 90’s but since I heard so many good things about Wolverine and the X-Men, I decided to check it out and see for myself.

An explosion rocks the Xavier school, leaving both Professor X and Jean Grey presumed dead. With Xavier gone and Cyclops reeling from Jean’s death, the X-Men are forced to disband. A year passes and with mutant tension rising and the mutant hunting organization Mutant Response Division (MRD) growing, it is lone wolf Wolverine who must reunite the team and he’d better do it fast. A war is coming and it is one that will decimate both mutant and mankind.

From the creators of X-Men Evolution, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, and Greg Johnson, this is not a continuation of the X-Men cartoon nor does it necessarily follow the storyline from the X-Men comic book. Rather, it appears to be a cartoon that not only stands on its own, but also borrows just enough characters and storylines from both the movies and the comic books to make it feel new and original. It almost feels like an alternate universe version of the X-Men and that has its benefits and disadvantages [...]

Weapons
Directed by Adam Bhala Lough
Starring Nick Cannon, Paul Dano, Mark Webber
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 3, 2009

I knew I was headed for trouble when I saw Nick Cannon on the cover of the DVD for the movie Weapons. But I am forever an optimist, so I decided to give it a shot. Just because Mr. Cannon’s claim to fame is being on basic cable and marrying Mariah Carey doesn’t mean he can’t act or pick good movies to star in, right? So after watching this movie, was I proven wrong? Sadly, no.

Weapons is just about near every idealistic student film you have ever seen. Right off the bat, a murder occurs at a fast food restaurant and Reggie (Cannon) is killed. For the rest of the film, the movie follows Reggie as well as other youths in a series of disjointed flashback vignettes that explains how Reggie ended up dead and why the murder occurred in the first place. The whole point of the film is to explain that even the smallest event can have devastating results but after watching 30 minutes of the film, does it really matter? [...]

Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen
Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
Rated PG-13
Release Date: June 24, 2009

When Transformers came out in 2007 and was a huge hit, you had to have known that a sequel was waiting in the wings. While it was an entertaining movie, it was far from perfect, due to the fact that it had to set up a lot of the origin story. Now with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the sequel can hit the ground running, but does it deliver like its predecessor?

It has been two years since our main protagonist Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has encountered the Transformers and life has moved on. He is going to college and trying to maintain a long distant relationship with his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). He has all but put the Transformers behind him but unfortunately, the Decepticons have other ideas. Apparently remains of the All Spark, the cube that brought all electronic machines to life, are still on Earth and hold the key to giving the Decepticons the upper hand in the destruction of the Autobots. This puts Sam smack dab in the middle of the war between the Transformers once again.

Now, just so no one gets the wrong idea, if you have seen the first movie or have seen trailers of this movie, I am already assuming that you are not paying money to see Revolutionary Road. Revenge of the Fallen is about as big a popcorn flick as can be [...]

Squidbillies
Vol. 2 DVD
Created by Dave Willis and Jim Fortier
Written by Dave Willis
Turner Home Entertainment
Release date: April 21, 2009

So Adult Swim has come up with some odd cartoons in their time, but I think Squidbillies takes the cake. Squidbillies, created by Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and Jim Fortier (Brak Show), follows the story of the Cuyler family, a clan of hillbilly squids that happen to live in a town in Georgia. The Culyers’ penchant for violence and racism are always getting them in trouble but their bacon is usually saved by the town sheriff, thanks to a previous federal law passed that makes them an endangered species.

If you are even a bit familiar with Willis and Fortier’s previous work, you should like this series. The episodes are short and concise, and always really have no continuity whatsoever. Characters from the cartoon are often shot, brunt to a crisp, and eaten in every episode, but show up unscathed later on, sometimes even in the same episode. The storylines are also outrageous and over the top. One of the episodes involves Grandma Cuyler getting into a botched tanning accident and rather than have plastic surgery, the Cuyler family kill various animals and sew the animal skins onto her. Though be warned: A lot of the comedy is broad, with jokes ending with the death or dismemberment of another character, and might not be for all viewers, even for yours truly who happens to like Aqua Teen and Brak [...]

Sci Fi Channel’s Warehouse 13 premieres on Tuesday July 7th at 9/8c. Starring CCH Pounder (The Shield), Eddie Mclintock (Bones), Joanne Kelly (Vanished) and Saul Rubinek (Eureka), the show follows a group of government agents assigned to retrieve strange supernatural objects for the U.S. Government. Once obtained, they are housed and safeguarded in a super-secret facility known only as Warehouse 13. According to the Sci Fi Channel, the show is a cross between the X-Files and Moonlighting, two very awesome shows in their own right.

In celebration of this super show, we came up with the Top 13 coolest objects from the comic-verse that would fit perfectly on the vast shelves in Warehouse 13. Get it? Because there’s 13 items and the Warehouse is numbered 13…and it is…uhh…funny…ha..umm..hah…..moving along…

X-Men: Manifest Destiny
Written by Jason Aaron, Mike Carey, Frank Tieri
Drawn by Michael Ryan, Stephen Segovia, Takeshi Miyazawa
Marvel Comics
Release date: May 13, 2009

Having been decimated, become an endangered species, and developed a Messiah Complex, it is safe to say that the X-Men have had a rough couple of years. The years have not been kind to the merry mutants as their population dwindled and the hatred toward them increase twice fold. In their latest storyline, Manifest Destiny, with their home in ruins and with no allies to be found, the X-Men have decided to abandon their home in Westchester and set up shop in mutant friendly San Francisco. It is there with Warren Worthington’s (aka Angel) money, they set up a new facility to house any mutant in need of shelter, sort of like a new age Xavier Academy.

The storyline is actually pretty entertaining but too bad it is not in this hardcover. X-Men: Manifest Destiny hardcover does not collect the main story but rather the back stories and various mini-series that spun off from the storyline itself. One of the mini-series that it collects are Wolverine: Manifest Destiny, where fists fly and kung fu chops are thrown as Wolvie must confront his past in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. In Nightcrawler: Manifest Destiny, our favorite elf heads off to a museum dedicated to him and the monster that lurks the area. Other back up stories revolving around Iceman, Mystique, and Boom-Boom that were presented as back up stories are also published in this book [...]

The Burrowers
Starring Clancy Brown, Sean Patrick Thomas, William Mapother, Doug Hutchison, Karl Geary
Written and Directed by J.T. Perry
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 21, 2009

Sometimes when you have a seen a lot of movies, you tend to jump the gun on your opinion of the film before you watch it. When I looked at the cover for The Burrowers, I have to tell ya, I thought the movie was going to be terrible. It is not rare occurrence. When you review a lot of types of movies, they are not all gems. Some are just dreadful but sometimes, when the stars are aligned, a movie can really surprise you and this movie did just that.

The Burrowers is a movie mash up like once you have not seen. It is 1879 and when farmhand Coffey discovers his betrothed has been taken by Indians in the dead of night, he rounds up a few good men to find her and bring her back. What they find on this journey are freakish looking monsters called Burrowers that only come out at night and have a penchant for grabbing, paralyzing, and eating humans.

There are many things that I liked about this movie but above all else, I like it because it has everything stacked up against it to make it a terrible movie. The plot is borderline absurd, no one on the cast is a household name, and the concept in itself is hit or miss. I mean cowboys vs. monsters? It just sounds so silly but somehow the film works, and there a several reasons for this [...]

Geeks of Doom was very lucky to interview writer/artist Jimmy Gownley of Amelia Rules! fame. Jim talked about his series Amelia Rules!, how to break into the business, and most importantly, what is in his fridge.

If you have not read Amelia Rules!, you are missing out on some great comic writing. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy at your local book store or comic book store. You will be glad you did. Special Thanks to Jim for giving us a chance to interview him.

You can learn more about Gownley and Amelia at ameliarules.com [...]