World of New Krypton TRAILER?!
Wow, I certainly wasn't expecting this. DC Comics has put together a video trailer for their upcoming maxi-series "Superman: World of New Krypton." At first I was extremely skeptical about this book, almost to the point of refusing to read it, but NY Comic Con turned that around for me. Now I can't wait to pick it up when it starts coming out!
What Blog?
I can't tell you how insanely busy I've been the last couple of weeks. It really bothers me that I haven't been posting here very much, but I seriously haven't had the chance. Between school and Echo Alert, my plate is full. I've been trying for the past month to find the time to record an FMF episode, but every single time I've tried to set aside the time, something gets in the way. It's been kind of a mess. I'm going to try again this weekend and it had better work out this time because it's been well over a month since the last episode.
Echo Alert has been off to a great start. Andrew and I never expected it to take off so well. We've been featured on iTunes' TV & Film Podcast front page under the "New & Notable" section almost since the beginning, and we've ranked as high as #22 out of all TV & Film Audio Podcasts! It's pretty insane. People are downloading our episodes by the thousands. I'm overwhelmed whenever I look at our stats page. So if you're among our listeners, thank you so much for your continuing support. Knowing people out there are listening really motivates us to improve the show for you guys.
That's about it, I guess. I'm going to try and post here more often, but midterms are next week so I can't make any promises. I try to avoid general Life posts and keep the blog restricted to stories of specific interest to me, but since I know that several people actually do read this, I thought I should let you know what's up. Thanks for bearing with me.
Just because I feel like it, current favorites:
Echo Alert has been off to a great start. Andrew and I never expected it to take off so well. We've been featured on iTunes' TV & Film Podcast front page under the "New & Notable" section almost since the beginning, and we've ranked as high as #22 out of all TV & Film Audio Podcasts! It's pretty insane. People are downloading our episodes by the thousands. I'm overwhelmed whenever I look at our stats page. So if you're among our listeners, thank you so much for your continuing support. Knowing people out there are listening really motivates us to improve the show for you guys.
That's about it, I guess. I'm going to try and post here more often, but midterms are next week so I can't make any promises. I try to avoid general Life posts and keep the blog restricted to stories of specific interest to me, but since I know that several people actually do read this, I thought I should let you know what's up. Thanks for bearing with me.
Just because I feel like it, current favorites:
- Song: "Lovers in Japan" by Coldplay
- YouTube Video: Chad After Dentist
- Podcast: Diggnation
- Web Comic: Cyanide & Happiness
- Watching Buffy Season 2
- Reading Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
New York Comic Con Day 1
This past weekend was the most fun I've had since I went to Disney World last summer. New York Comic Con came to the Javits Center, and I was there the whole weekend. Early Friday afternoon, my friends Andrew, Tim, and I arrived at the convention center, checked in, and waited in line for the 1:00 opening. When the giant metal doors swung open, we and thousands of our fellow geeks poured through and scattered across the Con floor. The Con is comprised of two sections: the main floor and the panels. The main floor is home to hundreds of booths for various comic book publishers, retailers, authors, and artists, as well as related media like science fiction print novels, movies and TV shows. The panels are on a lower floor where there are a dozen or so rooms big enough to fit several hundred people. On the same floor is the IGN Theater, which is where most screenings and larger panels take place, seats about 3,000 guests.
Andrew, Tim, and I are especially big fans of DC Comics, so we focused most of our time on the DC panels. Our first order of business was a panel entitled "Superman: Building a Better Tomorrow." The panelists included the editors, writers, and artists currently working on the various titles in the Superman family of comics. We were really excited because we had the chance to meet most of the panelists afterward. The next item on the agenda brought us back to the Con floor for an autograph signing by Geoff Johns, who writes Green Lantern, will be writing Superman Secret Origins this summer, and until January was writing Action Comics featuring Superman. He is my absolute favorite writer right now, so I had to take the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for the great work he does. I feel like he is one of the few writers who understands the character of Superman as well as Clark Kent. At that point our friend Vin joined us for the day. He's not a major comics fan, but he wanted to come along and see what the con was like.
At that point we walked the Con floor for a while, doing some shopping and taking in the sights and sounds from the booths. We met the artists from explosm.net, who were offering free doodles to anyone who stopped by. We took advantage of that, of course. Next, we headed over to the autograph area where we met Peter Mayhew, better known to Star Wars fans as that lovable Wookiee, Chewbacca. It was really cool to meet him and I made sure to tell him how much I appreciated his work. I feel that he is underappreciated just because he didn't speak in the films and wore a costume that obscured his face.
Next, we went off to the Podcast Arena to meet Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin, the hosts of Raging Bullets: A DC Comics Fan Podcast. This is one of my favorite podcasts and I just wanted to quickly talk to the guys and tell them to keep up the good work. They were very friendly and seemed very glad to talk to a fan. At that point, we headed back to the panel area for the DC Nation panel. We sat in on the end of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold panel, which was especially cool because Phil Morris was there. Morris is best known for playing the roles of Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld and the Martian Manhunter on Smallville. We tried to meet him, but he was in a hurry to get to another panel so we didn't want to bother him. I did manage to snap a picture, though. Then began DC Nation. Many the major writers, artists, editors, and staff of DC Comics were present. They discussed everything happening in DC Comics, with a special focus on Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis. There was also an audience Q&A session, which was especially entertaining. At the end of that panel, we were excited to meet DC executive VP and editor Dan DiDio and renowned artist George Pérez. That ended Day 1.
Andrew, Tim, and I are especially big fans of DC Comics, so we focused most of our time on the DC panels. Our first order of business was a panel entitled "Superman: Building a Better Tomorrow." The panelists included the editors, writers, and artists currently working on the various titles in the Superman family of comics. We were really excited because we had the chance to meet most of the panelists afterward. The next item on the agenda brought us back to the Con floor for an autograph signing by Geoff Johns, who writes Green Lantern, will be writing Superman Secret Origins this summer, and until January was writing Action Comics featuring Superman. He is my absolute favorite writer right now, so I had to take the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for the great work he does. I feel like he is one of the few writers who understands the character of Superman as well as Clark Kent. At that point our friend Vin joined us for the day. He's not a major comics fan, but he wanted to come along and see what the con was like.
At that point we walked the Con floor for a while, doing some shopping and taking in the sights and sounds from the booths. We met the artists from explosm.net, who were offering free doodles to anyone who stopped by. We took advantage of that, of course. Next, we headed over to the autograph area where we met Peter Mayhew, better known to Star Wars fans as that lovable Wookiee, Chewbacca. It was really cool to meet him and I made sure to tell him how much I appreciated his work. I feel that he is underappreciated just because he didn't speak in the films and wore a costume that obscured his face.
Next, we went off to the Podcast Arena to meet Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin, the hosts of Raging Bullets: A DC Comics Fan Podcast. This is one of my favorite podcasts and I just wanted to quickly talk to the guys and tell them to keep up the good work. They were very friendly and seemed very glad to talk to a fan. At that point, we headed back to the panel area for the DC Nation panel. We sat in on the end of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold panel, which was especially cool because Phil Morris was there. Morris is best known for playing the roles of Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld and the Martian Manhunter on Smallville. We tried to meet him, but he was in a hurry to get to another panel so we didn't want to bother him. I did manage to snap a picture, though. Then began DC Nation. Many the major writers, artists, editors, and staff of DC Comics were present. They discussed everything happening in DC Comics, with a special focus on Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis. There was also an audience Q&A session, which was especially entertaining. At the end of that panel, we were excited to meet DC executive VP and editor Dan DiDio and renowned artist George Pérez. That ended Day 1.
Podcasts Own My Life
Wow. I have been -- to put it in my friend Andrew's words -- " a podcasting fiend" lately. Seriously. My name is Frank and I'm a castaholic. Listening to them, recording them, I just can't get enough. It's an exciting medium that I think has amazing potential.
For two and a half years now, I've run Frank's Music Free-For-All. About three weeks ago, I teamed up with my friends Tim, Ky, and Faith to create the Obiter Dictum podcast, a TV fan commentary show. And most recently, the aforementioned Andrew and I have started Echo Alert, a podcast devoted to the upcoming Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku series Dollhouse.
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Entertainment Overload podcast and the Geekland podcast at the gracious invitation of my Twitter friend Willie. Entertainment Overload is a podcast reviewing TV, movies, video games and other entertainment. We had a great time talking about this week's TV and movie highlights. Smallville, LOST, Scrubs, and Taken were among the many topics discussed. Check out the guys and listen.
Then, on Geekland, we talked comics. I really had a blast with this one, since comics have been a new passion for me. We covered Superman, Final Crisis, Spider-Man, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Trinity, and whole host of other titles and trade paperbacks that we all read in the past week. If you like comics, please listen to Geekland. I started listening a couple of weeks ago and I honestly think the guys have a great show here.
So that's what I've been up to lately. There should be a new ODTV and FMF out this week, and a new Echo Alert after next weekend. February 6-8 I will be at New York Comic Con with my friends Andrew, Tim, and Vin. It should be a good time. During and after the convention, I'll blog my reactions to the panels and other goings-on. We plan to attend the DC Comics panels as well as a few others, including the Dollhouse panel where show creator Joss Whedon and star Tahmoh Penikett will screen the first act of the show's first episode. So that should give us plenty to discuss on Echo Alert. See you in the podcastverse!
For two and a half years now, I've run Frank's Music Free-For-All. About three weeks ago, I teamed up with my friends Tim, Ky, and Faith to create the Obiter Dictum podcast, a TV fan commentary show. And most recently, the aforementioned Andrew and I have started Echo Alert, a podcast devoted to the upcoming Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku series Dollhouse.
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Entertainment Overload podcast and the Geekland podcast at the gracious invitation of my Twitter friend Willie. Entertainment Overload is a podcast reviewing TV, movies, video games and other entertainment. We had a great time talking about this week's TV and movie highlights. Smallville, LOST, Scrubs, and Taken were among the many topics discussed. Check out the guys and listen.
Then, on Geekland, we talked comics. I really had a blast with this one, since comics have been a new passion for me. We covered Superman, Final Crisis, Spider-Man, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Trinity, and whole host of other titles and trade paperbacks that we all read in the past week. If you like comics, please listen to Geekland. I started listening a couple of weeks ago and I honestly think the guys have a great show here.
So that's what I've been up to lately. There should be a new ODTV and FMF out this week, and a new Echo Alert after next weekend. February 6-8 I will be at New York Comic Con with my friends Andrew, Tim, and Vin. It should be a good time. During and after the convention, I'll blog my reactions to the panels and other goings-on. We plan to attend the DC Comics panels as well as a few others, including the Dollhouse panel where show creator Joss Whedon and star Tahmoh Penikett will screen the first act of the show's first episode. So that should give us plenty to discuss on Echo Alert. See you in the podcastverse!
DiggNation and Felicia Day on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"
So by now, you probably know that this March, Jay Leno will move to primetime, Conan O'Brien will take over The Tonight Show, and Jimmy Fallon will take over Late Night. But what you may not know is that in preparation for his return to TV, Jimmy Fallon has been keeping a video blog with 5 minute entries posted nightly at 12:35 AM ET, the time at which Late Night airs. The best way to follow the show is to subscribe via Hulu and have it added to your queue. I usually let each week's episodes pile up and then watch them all over the weekend.
This week began with a bang as Jimmy practiced his interviewing skills on celebrity guests. Monday night, he welcomed Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht of the popular web show DiggNation to Late Night for a great chat about new technology and communications. Tuesday night, Jimmy hung out with the lovely Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and The Guild for a hilarious little chat about World of Warcraft and online gaming. Watch the clips below!
Alex & Kevin from DiggNation:
Felicia Day:
This week began with a bang as Jimmy practiced his interviewing skills on celebrity guests. Monday night, he welcomed Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht of the popular web show DiggNation to Late Night for a great chat about new technology and communications. Tuesday night, Jimmy hung out with the lovely Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and The Guild for a hilarious little chat about World of Warcraft and online gaming. Watch the clips below!
Alex & Kevin from DiggNation:
Felicia Day: