Thursday Threesome: Marvel’s Best Replacement Heroes

Everyone needs some time off now and then. Sometimes the job is too much; you need a vacation, are too stressed out or just happen to be dead for a while (lets face it, who hasn’t been briefly dead?). The folk in the Marvel Universe are no different... but when you’re a super hero you can’t just disappear without having a good friend, colleague or usurper to pick up the slack while you’re away. Let’s look at three of my favourite replacement heroes in the 616.

Eurovision 2013: Grand Final

Oh man! What a massive weekend of Eurovision! I only just woke up from a massive Sweden-fuelled bender, and I've gotta say, while waking up in a fridge full of frozen meatballs in IKEA was pretty weird, the photos on my phone of me riding an elk through the homewares section were FAR weirder. I was battered and bruised, and I can only imagine it was from being hit with so many key changes over the last few days.

Sadly, it's nearly time for us to leave our Swedish vänner, but before we do, join me under the cut at Malmo Arena one last time as we see what went down in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2013.

Interview Time with Author/Creator/Columnist Matt Rossi

Last year, I read Matt Rossi's excellent Bottled Demon, which inspired a series of posts about things I had read in the book. Rossi is close to finishing his next book of essays and alternate histories, At Last, Atlantis, and was kind enough to spend some time answering some questions for us.

You can find Bottled Demon at Amazon for only $2.99 (and a free borrow for Prime members!), and Things That Never Were is still available via MonkeyBrain Books and may be coming in an ebook edition soon. His WoW Insider columns can be found at Joystiq, he has a personal blog at Wordpress, and he is active on Twitter via @MatthewWRossi. Our discussion about all sorts of things is beyond the jump.

Game of Thrones: 3.08 Book Comparison and Review

Game of Thrones: Second Sons was only marginally better than last week’s Bear and the Maiden Fair, offering gratuitous boobs and a slower plot line. There are a few things to compare to A Storm of Swords here that make for an interesting look at where the show is taking the characters and what this might mean for their futures.

You’ll find some musings under the jump. There are spoilers up to the end of A Storm of Swords, and hints to the story of A Feast for Crows in this article.

DC Comics New 52 - Stryder's Weekly Top 5

Hey folks!  Time to look at another 5 comics!  These ones were released on May 15th, 2013. 

Batgirl #20 - "I looked at my uniform.  And I realized, to the dead center of my soul...I didn't deserve to wear it anymore."

Poor Batgirl is suffering from an overabundance of regret, just because she threw a batarang at her serial killer little brother, James Jr., last issue and managed to put out his eye and make him fall to his apparent death, all right in front of their father, Commissioner Gordon.  She did it to save her mother's life (quite the family reunion!) but that doesn't seem to matter to her.  She's so upset with herself that she rips the bat-symbol off of her costume in disgrace!  Drama....

Well, all that aside, there's no stopping now as we are introduced to an all-different New 52 version of the Ventriloquist!  This time around, we have an extremely thin and creepy woman named Shauna Belzer and her "dummy", Ferdie, who looks like Johnny Fiama (of Muppets fame) was possessed by the Joker, or maybe Dracula...we get a cool little origin for the character and some neat characterization to boot.  I'll miss the old universe's Ventriloquist with Scarface, but this new girl is definitely far, far creepier!  She's also got a bit of a surprise twist, but I'm not gonna tell!

See what other comics made the cut this week after the JUMP!

F**k Yeah Game of Thrones! Episode 8: Second Sons!

It’s episode 8 of blood-and-boobs fantasy epic, Game of Thrones, and they finally figure out the formula for making a consistently solid and engaging episode! Ditch the deadweight Starks, Robb and Bran (and by association that bastard Jon Snow) and focus on the undeniable badassery of Daenerys and the Lannisters. Not to mention some truly stellar performances. More like Peter DRINKlage, AM I RITE U GUYZ?!

Meet the Second Sons! Chief, Rapey and Spunky.

I may not have read your fancy books, but I sure can watch a screen like a pro. So if you can tolerate my unabashed ignorance, join me as I recap the crap out of Second Sons... after the jump!

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 43: Judge Dredd (with guest host Suzanne!)

Well if you missed yesterday's teaser episode, you're going to be super confused! For the moment, at least, The Book Was Better podcast has gone weekly! That means here's a brand new full episode ready and raring to go!

Today I'm joined by my partner, Suzanne, who suffers through the film, book, and my commentary of Sylvester Stallone's epic sci-fi crapfest: JUDGE DREDD! (The terrible 1995 version). Not quite terrible enough, you say? Did I mention it has Rob Schneider in it? Yes. We read a book. About Rob Schneider. I sentence you to 70 minutes of hard listening. I AM THE LAW!

You can download it from the official site but you really should commit to SUBSCRIBING to us on iTunes so I can force this shit on you EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

"I IG DA LOG!"

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Events

Now that Doctor Who season 7 is officially over, all we can do is wait until November for the 50th Anniversary special to hit the screens to find out what the Doctor and Clara will be up to next.

However, given that this is the 50th Anniversary, the BBC and Doctor Who are running events all the way through to November’s special for those of us who want to keep the anticipation alive and who are really excited about Doctor Who in general.

Let me reiterate; this is friggin HUGE.

I have friends would will be in London for the release of the Special and will be attending the biggest Who convention of all time. There are events happening all around the world in celebration; screenings, Who pop-up shops, conventions etc.

Under the jump I’ll discuss a few of the cool events happening around the world, including in Australia and England as well as posting pictures from last night’s first event I have attended. The ABC shop in Garden City’s Doctor Who Night.

Batman: Arkham Origins Trailer

Warner Brothers have let loose the first trailer for the next game in their award winning Arkham series. Let's take our first proper look at Batman: Arkham Origins

Can I just say right off the bat just how gorgeous the CGI is? It looks, moves and sounds fantastic. I want to give WB a call and tell them to shelve the whole game thing and give us an entire film like that.

The Women of Game of Thrones

I read an article recently that tried to suggest to me that, because I am a woman, I cannot like Game of Thrones. This came as news to me because I thought I spent a lot of my spare time loving A Song of Ice and Fire and of course the television version Game of Thrones.

You can read the article here: http://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/why-girls-hate-game-of-thrones but be warned, it is stereotyped tripe.

The rebuttal is here: http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/box-seat/why-cant-women-like-game-of-thrones-20130517-2jqvz.html

A lot of the women I know love this show and this book series. In fact, people love this show. Just people in general. Because it is one of the best we’ve been treated to in a long time.

A lot of female friends, acquaintances, colleagues, article writers and twitter followers have told me there are many reasons that they love Game of Thrones. They love the complex plots, the magic, the dragons, and the world of Westeros and beyond. They love the characterisation, the twists, the relationships between characters and the way that people play the game or get caught in its clutches. Many also cite the multitude of strong female characters from many different walks of life.

Under the cut I pay tribute to some of the awesome women of Game of Thrones in season 3, because why not actually celebrate one of the most fantastic things about this show? Be aware, the post contains spoilers up to and including the  episode, The Bear and the Maiden Fair.