PAX East 2010: A (Very Belated) Look Back

The last weekend in March was a very exciting time to be a fan of all things gaming in Boston, as the Penny Arcade Expo took over Hynes Convention Center for three glorious days.  I couldn’t possibly sum up what PAX means better than geek icon Wil Wheaton did during his keynote speech, so I’ll simply direct you to it (links are provided at the end of each part for the next):

OPERATION BACKLOG SLOG (BLOG): Episode 10

This is the first episode of OBS to reflect the broad, sweeping changes I have enacted.  Huzzah!
Today I’ve got some excellent independent downloadable games, a great piece of computer hardware, an album by a nonexistent band, an hilarious audio/video podcast, and one of the best X-Men story arcs ever to be written (among other things.)

OPERATION BACKLOG SLOG (BLOG): Episode 9 – The Steampunk Edition

Steampunk can be a difficult subgenre to wrap one’s head around. But since the mainstream world seems to be embracing it with movies like Sherlock Holmes and video games like Epic Mickey, I figured I would take a look at the things in my collection that might be representative of the genre. We’ve got Steampunk books, movies, music, video games, anime and comics to get through, so it’s time to fire up the boilers! Full steam ahead!

OPERATION BACKLOG SLOG (BLOG): Episode 3

It’s surprisingly hard to find the time to just sit down and consume media!  Here are a few tasty morsels that I’ve recently devoured:

OPERATION BACKLOG SLOG (BLOG): Episode 1

Hey there, folks!  John here.  I’ve got some exciting news about the brand new project I’ve recently launched out of financial desperation and intellectual curiosity: Operation Backlog Slog.

Beginning December 1st, I swore off purchasing any new music, movies, TV shows, video games, graphic novels until I finish my existing stockpile of each.  I haven’t done a full inventory yet, but I’ve got at least 10 video games, 10 graphic novels (here, plus hundreds back home), two high-capacity DVD binders full of movies and TV shows and several albums to go through.  In order to keep me on track (and to offer some potentially helpful recommendations to you, dear reader), I’ll be posting some details about what I’ve consumed here on WITWAR.  Without further ado, here are the highlights from Operation Backlog Slog: Days 1-5!

COMICS: John reviews “Power Up” by Doug TenNapel

Power Up, an original graphic novel by Doug Tennapel

The premise of Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel’s latest graphic novel, Power Up, is not unlike the Fantasti-defeat-Dr. Doom-ray.  It’s so obvious and clever that it’s a wonder no one has tackled it before: Wouldn’t it be great if real life worked like video games, where you could have cool abilities like stop-time and extra lives?  (EDIT: I guess you could say that the Scott Pilgrim series does this to an extent, but O’Malley tries to make the video game elements seem second-nature to the characters.)  TenNapel takes this premise and blends in elements from a few classic wish-fulfillment stories like It’s A Wonderful Life and The Monkey’s Paw, then brands it distinctly with his own unique blend of humor and heart to create a compelling cautionary tale warning of the dangers of obsession and of getting everything you always wanted.

Watchmen Gets Its First Video Game

While next-gen gamers around the world wait patiently for Watchmen: The End is Nigh to debut on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network (and PC, too? I can’t keep track)  The folks at the UK Watchmen website have come up with an enjoyable browser game that harkens back to the days of Final Fight and Streets of Rage (or River City Ransom and Double Dragon, if you go back to the 8-bit days.)  Players can choose to play as Nite Owl or Silk Spectre (specifically their Golden Age iterations) and make their way through three levels, punching and kicking everybody they come across in the name of justice.  There are neat little easter eggs to be found, but mostly this is just for casual gamers who are fans of the movie and want to experience some of the classic superhero fun of keeping the streets safe by beating everyone on them senseless.  Click here to play.

P.S.: Credit goes to Newsarama for bringing this info to my attention.  Click the picture to see the original article.

COMICS: John Reviews “Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe” by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5 (First printing has a foil cover)

If you haven’t been reading Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, you’ve been missing out on the best action/comedy/romance graphic novel series in recent years.  The story builds on each previous volume, though, so if you are unfamiliar with volumes one, two, three, or four you should pick them up or at least click the links to read my previous reviews.

In Volume 5, entitled Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe, Scott turns the big 2-4.  As his “quarter-life crisis” begins to set in, his “lazy, unlucky-at-love slacker musician” lifestyle is looking less cute and more pathetic.  Scott pledges to be the best 24-year-old ever, and plans to defeat the last of Ramona’s evil exes and live with her happily ever after.  Unfortunately for Scott and Ramona, their biggest threat may not be an evil ex at all…

John’s NYCC Wrap-Up

New York Comic Con has come and gone, and taken entirely too many of my hard-earned dollars with it.  Big comics news was announced, movies were screened, video games were demoed, sketches were drawn, and lots of geeky stuff was bought and sold.  Good times were had by … many.  Here’s all the stuff I was privy to/excited about at NYCC ’09:

The Comic Con Checklist

New York Comic Con

New York Comic Con is almost here (2 days to go!), and this year I’m making an effort to be as prepared as possible.  I thought I might share my list of things to have and do, that way you can learn from my past mistakes (and suggest something I might have missed!)

Let’s begin!