THE STRIP

Each day Rob and his artistic partner Dan O’Connor serve up another installment of Ace’s adventures. This week, Ace has been given the mission of tracking down the real-life Dracula, before the Nazis can get their dastardly mitts on him.  If that wasn’t cool enough, the briefing of the mission is being given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself!  FDR talking about Nazis and Dracula… heck yeah!  Just like a newspaper comic, this webcomic features a new black & white strip each day and a triple-sized color strip on Sunday!  Click here to read ACE KILROY!  Once there, click “Archive” above the strip to read the series from the beginning.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

ACE KILROY is a real labor of love for Rob and Dan.  There is an expense in time and money associated with producing these strips.  Therefore, they’ve put ACE KILROY on Kickstarter in hopes of raising funds for the following purposes: 1) keep the strip from losing money for the next couple months; 2) raise enough money to start collecting the strips in trade paperback form; and 3) get the word out through online and print ads.  I truly believe in this project and their reasons for doing some minor fundraising.  I’ve made a pledge myself and urge you to do the same.  You can pledge as much as you want, or as little as $5.  Kickstarter uses Amazon for pledge transactions, so it’s super-easy and reliable.  Check out the video below for more details on the ACE KILROY Kickstarter effort.  Click here to pledge a donation to ACE KILROY!

Wasn’t that an awesome video?!?!?! So, are you interested in reading a daily dose of an Indiana Jones-like hero duke it out with Nazis, Dracula, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon?  If so, then support ACE KILROY on Kickstarter!  Or if you’re just a good soul who wants to support two massively-talented creators fulfill their dream, then support ACE KILROY on Kickstarter!   It’s only on Kickstarter for a limited time, so don’t delay!

If donating isn’t an option for you right now, please consider promoting ACE KILROY to others through whatever social media channels possible.  Support ACE KILROY!

Chuck season 3 starts this Sunday, January 10, on NBC!  It kicks off with a two-hour premiere from 9pm-11pm EST, then will return to it’s usual Monday 8pm time slot.  I can’t wait!  It’s been a long road getting here, but we’re finally in store for some Chuck-tacular adventure!  Below is an extended season 3 preview (running time 5:56) to help get you in the mood.

If you can’t see the embedded video above, please click here.

In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I would post some of my favorite covers from the comic book ‘Star Spangled War Stories’. These all feature ‘The War That Time Forgot’ as the lead story. American soldiers versus Dinosaurs – heck ya!

If you are interested in reading some of these, DC recently reprinted quite a few of them as Showcase Presents ‘The War that Time Forgot’.

Josh Schwartz, executive producer and co-creator of Chuck, explained that the second-season finale (airing tonight) will change the show in a way that will satisfy viewers whether the show is picked up for a third season or not.  Schwartz said, “This is our finale. This would be our finale whether we knew we were picked up, whether … we were picked up for next year or five years. This is what we’ve been wanting to do for a while, and we’ve had this planned since the beginning of season one.”  He continued, “It will end in a way that’s going to launch the show into season three with a real-it’s a game-changer. I think that it’ll be immensely satisfying in its own right, but it also really, really launches the show in a way that, you know, we’re already breaking season three stories and can’t wait to start telling them.”  For more, click here to read the story on Sci-Fi wire.

Before I knew Chuck hadn’t been picked up yet, I’d already started to suspect.  With the recent storylines (i.e. Chuck and Sarah, Orion, status of the Intersect in Chuck’s head, Captain Awesome, etc), it really seems like the show is changing in a big way.  In some ways, it felt like they were wrapping up every dangling subplot.  That’s when I first began to suspect the show might not be coming back.

I sincerely hope the show gets another season.  If it doesn’t, I’m going to be really depressed.  Other than Doctor Who (and its spin-offs), I’m not watching much TV at all.  At the very least, we have an awesome season finale to look forward to tonight (trailer below).

The Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter animated DVD is scheduled for release this coming Tuesday, March 24!  Also on the DVD will be Under the Hood, a live action adaptation of the original Nite Owl’s autobiography!  Hot dog!

To watch the trailer for either, click here and then select Tales of the Black Freighter.

For those of you who haven’t read the actual Watchmen graphic novel, Tales of the Black Freighter was  a comic-within-the-comic.  This story actually appeared within the pages of the Watchmen graphic novel as a comic book read by a young man in New York City. Tales of the Black Freighter tells the story of a young mariner’s journey to warn his home town of the coming of the Black Freighter after he survives the destruction of his own ship. During his journey, the young seaman is “forced by the urgency of his mission to shed one inhibition after another” and experience horrible events along the way.  The turbulent events the sailor endures seem to mirror those in the world of the Watchmen, specifically the events surrounding Adrian Veidt.

The Tales of the Black Freighter comic-within-the-comic was very reminiscent of the old E.C. Comics.  The art and colors were very rich; the story dense with a sense of foreboding. If you love those old E.C. Comics, then you’ll go nuts for Tales of the Black Freighter.

The Tales of the Black Freighter DVD features the voices of Gerard Butler (300) and Jared Harris (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and is directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio and Mike Smith and written by Alex Tse (Watchmen) and Zack Snyder.

Under the Hood, Hollis Mason’s tell-all autobiography, chronicles the events in Hollis Mason’s life that led to him to become the masked avenger Nite Owl and discusses how the Minutemen were formed. It features the original Sally Spectre, the Comedian, Moloch the Mystic, along with Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl.

Under the Hood is directed by Eric Matthies, written by Hans Rodionoff and produced by Eric Matthies and Wesley Coller. Stars Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan appear as their characters from the theatrical Watchmen film in this live-action documentary style special.

This DVD looks awesome!  I’m especially excited about the Under the Hood segment.  I’m a sucker for golden age/silver age superheroes.  I can’t wait!

Back in July 2008 I praised the trade paperback, Runners: Bad Goods.  Since then, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the next chapter.  Unfortunately, due to the publisher restructuring, the second volume was never released.  The good news is the creator/writer/artist, Sean Wang, is now giving it away for free to everyone!

Runners will now be available as a daily webcomic at RUNNERSUNIVERSE.com. It will be available to everyone, with no fee, no subscription costs, nothing. New pages will post five days a week, Monday-Friday. The site will start with the first story arc, Runners: Bad Goods, in its entirety. Immediately following the conclusion of Bad Goods, the second story arc, Runners: The Big Snow Job, will begin posting (this is the story that has never been published).

I’m so psyched about this!  Bad Goods was a fantastic science fiction comic book tale.  I’m really hopeful others will try it out and enjoy it as much as I have. I’m even more excited to read The Big Snow Job!  I’ve been waiting almost a year for it!

Be sure to check it out at RUNNERSUNIVERSE.com.  C’mon… it’s free!

See… now don’t you think your day will be that much easier?  Your welcome. 

Click here if you can’t see the embedded video.

• Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes at #46
• The White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at #45
• Cthulhu from The Call of Cthulhu at #26
• Sauron from The Lord of the Rings at #25
• Ernst Stavro Blofeld from James Bond at #22
• Count Dracula at #13
• Voldemort from the Harry Potter series at #5
• and be sure to check out #23.  It’ll put a grin on your face. 

Click here to check out ‘The 50 Greatest Villains in Literature‘.  And while you’re at it, show what a great villain you can be by shopping at the ‘Villain Source: Your Source for Everything Evil‘.

As I’ve mentioned before you can watch full episodes of “Chuck” online through Hulu.com.  Additionally, you can pick up the Chuck comic book from Wildstorm (issue #4 should still be on shelves).

Now you can also watch a web-exclusive “webisode” of “Chuck”.  It’s only 81 seconds long, but it features a brilliant Agent John Casey moment!  Apparently, there are more of these webisodes on the way.  Yay!

You can also join the Buy More team at the website “Inside Buy More”.  You can choose to be a member of the Nerd Herd or a Buy More Sales Associate (Green Shirt).  There is a message board, employee training (a.k.a. games), and more available on this site.  I found myself playing around on this site far longer than I expected.  If you sign up, look me up under “Co-Workers” and add me as a contact.  You can find me as “OnceUponAGeek”.

Stop by and read Captain Awesome’s missives at “Captain Awesome’s Tips for Being Awesome!!“  This is a blog run by NBC and has some posts from Captain Awesome himself.

You can sign up to get text messages from NBC about Chuck.  I’m not sure what these are going to be (just signed up myself), but it indicates that I’ll get about five messages a week.  They better be full of awesome.

If you like behind-the-scenes things, then you can watch a few Chuck cast related videos from the 2008 San Diego Comic Con on Hulu.com.

• The Comic Con Walk with Chuck & Morgan (5 minutes)
  
• The Chuck Panel (45 minutes)
• Back Stage with Chuck Cast (6 minutes)

Of course if you feel like spending money, you can buy Chuck-related merchandise through the NBC online store.  I’m thinking about buying a Nerd Herd Lanyard before next year’s DragonCon myself.

Finally, if you happen to like Yvonne Strahovski (Agent Sarah Walker), then you might want to check out the website StraHOTski.com.  Very nice.

See… now don’t you feel better?  You can get through your week a little easier with more Chuck in your life.

]]> http://onceuponageek.com/2008/10/13/need-more-chuck-in-your-life/feed/ 5 http://onceuponageek.com/2008/09/24/chuck-season-2-premiere-review-chuck-versus-the-first-date/ http://onceuponageek.com/2008/09/24/chuck-season-2-premiere-review-chuck-versus-the-first-date/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:00:40 +0000 Shag http://onceuponageek.com/?p=161 I watched the “Chuck” season two premiere online this week – Chuck Versus The First Date.  It was AWESOME!  (pun intended)  It was well worth the wait we’ve endured since last season. The story was funny, the action was good, and the romantic tension really worked. 

Zachary Levi’s comedic talent continues to shine as the lovable, yet doofy, Chuck. Adam Baldwin brings a real intensity and straightforwardness to the role of the no-nonsense Agent Casey. And Yvonne Strahovski divides her time between being absolutely gorgeous and kicking some serious butt. It’s hard to believe her natural accent is Australian. They did a good job reinforcing the core concepts behind each of these characters and thus reminded us why we love them so much.

I’ve outlined below some of my favorite bits from the episode, however, be warned THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD.

If you want to watch the episode now before it airs on NBC next Monday, visit Hulu.com.

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SPOILER SPACE – I’m serious here.  I’m really going to blow the episode for you if you continue.

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SPOILER SPACE – You’re still reading?  Okay, you’ve been warned.

Overall the episode was very enjoyable.  There were several really funny scenes, possibly some of the best in the show’s history.  The chemistry between Chuck and Sarah was done especially well and seemed believable.  Casey struggling with his mission was interesting and made the character even more likeable.

A few things I enjoyed worth mentioning:

• Great opening scene featuring Michael Clarke Duncan holding Chuck by his tie.  Chuck leaning back like that was hilarious!  And later Duncan holding Chuck by his feet was good too.
• I was very pleased to see the opening credits now include Captain Awesome, Big Mike, Jeff, Lester, and Anna.  I like all those characters, so it’s cool they are getting the proper recognition. 
• I was laughing hysterically at Chuck’s shell-shocked expression in the aftermath of the shower scene!  Captain Awesome makes me laugh every time he’s on screen. 
• Yay for the ridiculously over-sexed yogurt scene (including the crazy windswept hair) and the underwear scene. 
• Casey’s tricked out apartment (camera, showers, and emergency adrenalin needle) and his love for Ronald Reagan.  Brilliant additions to this character.
• Casey’s fantastic rescue of Sarah and Chuck in the Chinese restaurant
• The use of Huey Lewis music and the posters in Chuck’s room (Tron, San Diego ComicCon, & “Y the Last Man”)
• The uncalled for and unwelcome advances from Jeff during the interview scene!  LOL!
• Morgan’s new haircut, his Call of Duty masterplan, & most of all the Thunderdome cage match!!!
• Chuck’s imposing team of tactical agents and the clever dialogue to go with it
• The fascination with Jeff eating 90 Twinkies; especially how Casey’s interest piqued when he heard that Jeff might die.

The only real criticism I have is that the Intersect 2.0 plot was cleaned up a little too neatly.  I got the impression that the CIA Director knew it was going to blow.  Perhaps he was affiliated with Fulcrum.  I just hope they revisit this plot later, otherwise it will feel too ’throw away’. 

The plot point of Chuck trying to better himself by leaving the ‘Buy More’ got me wondering how long that element of the show can survive. While I’m loving the ‘Buy More’ setting right now, I can envision a period in the future in which this part of the show becomes repetitive and tiresome.  It’s not boring right now, but could become that way someday.

I’m thrilled that season two has gotten off to such a great start.  I can only hope the rest of the season lives up to the example set by this episode.  Now I’m going to be miserable waiting two weeks for the second episode of the season to air!  Arrrggghhh!!!