Today’s Poll: The Next Spider-Man

Now that Tobey Maguire is out of Spider-Man 4 and the franchise is apparently headed for a reboot, let’s think about the perfect actor to play the spectacular amazing Spider-Man. Sony’s Columbia Pictures plans to focus on Spidey’s teen years, so the actor should be young and awkward. A lot of people have been throwing Zac Efron’s name around, but he’s too handsome. While I don’t know how athletic he is (all the cool stuff is done in CG anyway), I’m a big Michael Cera fan. He’d bring out the science nerd side of Peter Parker in a way that Maguire never could.

Who’s your choice for Spidey? Let me know in the poll (please)!

[poll id=”19″]

Dragon Age Comic Book Coming in March 2010 From IDW

IDW has released details on its upcoming Dragon Age comic book coming in March 2010. The book features writing by renowned homophobe Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston, art by Mark Robinson, and covers by the outstanding Humberto Ramos. Here are more details from IDW:

In a time lost to history, a war ravaged the land. Mages, incredibly powerful wielders of magic, ruled the world through mastery of dark arts and forbidden spells. Their lust for power almost destroyed all existence, and unleashed an unholy pestilence, the Darkspawn, to plague mankind, trolls, faeries, and all the inhabitants of the realm. Now magic is carefully controlled, taught behind the sacred walls of the Circle of Magi, and monitored by the ever-vigilant Templars. It is in this arena that a new generation of Mages in training will arise, warriors of sorcery who will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever.

I’m not expecting much from this book, but I might give it a shot because I’m such a Dragon Age: Origins junkie. In fact, I’m bringing the first DA novel with me for holiday break. If I can’t play Dragon Age while I’m on vacation then I might as well read about its world, right?

Any of you planning to pick up the Dragon Age comic book in March?

Source

Coffee Talk #52: Holding Out for a (Super) Hero (Videogame)

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Biz Markie teaming up with The Shack, this excellent Dhalsim song, or your upcoming holiday feasts, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As a bunch of you were discussing the Iron Man 2 trailer, the subject of super hero dream games came up. In the spirit of Coffee Talk #6, I thought it would be an excellent idea to talk about the spandex game of your dreams. So let’s do it!

As for me, there are two games DC Comics games that I’d love to see. The one that’s more likely is a Green Lantern title. With the success of the Nintendo Wii and motion controls from Microsoft and Sony coming in 2010, there’s a decent chance that the Green Lantern game of my dreams will be made. It would star Hal Jordan (and hopefully Guy Gardner) and use motion controls to create various power-ring constructs. It could be something unique and imaginative if handled by the right developer.

The second super-hero game I want will never happen. It’s just too late. I want a buddy-action game, similar to Army of Two, starring Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The JLI era of Justice League was one of my favorite comic-book runs of all time. It was unique and hilarious, but still contained enough action to keep traditionalists happy. My Blue and Gold game would be full of fast-paced action and high-tech gadgets, but the dialogue would be key. The game would be full of witty quips, immature insults, and tons of “bwahahahaha” laughter that Beetle and Booster were famous for back in the day.

As a special shout out to my friend at Marvel — make a frickin’ Quasar game already!!!

Anyway, let me know about the super-hero videogame of your dreams. Kindly list the character and describe your game. Quantum bands for life!!!

(Not a) Review of Digital Comics for PSP

As I mentioned earlier today, digital comics are now available for the PlayStation Portable through Sony’s PlayStation Network. Comic books from 2000 AD, Ape Entertainment, Archie Comics, Dable Brothers Publishing, Disney Digicomics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Insomnia Publications, Marvel, Red 5 Comics, and Titan Publishing are available. Some of the issues are free, but most of them cost $1.99.

Astonishing X-Men slider

Browsing through the store is a snap. The comics are divided by publisher then title. If you can’t find the available issues you want then you’re an idiot.

I immediately went for three comic books I know and love — Astonishing X-Men #2, Marvels #1, and Marvels #2. The “Gifted” storyline in Astonishing X-Men was fantastic and Marvels was one of the best books ever.

Downloading through WiFi wasn’t the best decision I made in this process. The three issues took around 25 minutes to download. It would have been faster to download everything to my PC and transfer the books to my PSP via USB cable. Lesson learned. Now let’s get to the experience!

Continue reading “(Not a) Review of Digital Comics for PSP”

PSP Digital Comics Now Available on PlayStation Network

Marvel Civil War

Sony has announced that digital comics from Marvel, IDW, and iVerse have arrived for the PlayStation Portable through the PlayStation Network. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Digital comics are available through PlayStation Store. Approximately 550 comics are arriving today on PlayStation Store, with additional content to be added weekly. PSP users can purchase comics either directly from PlayStation Store on their PSP via WiFi, or access and download comics from PlayStation Store from their PC with Media Go software, then easily transfer their digital content to their PSP via USB cable.

Remember, PSP firmware 6.20 is required for digital comics. Like I mentioned last month, I love comics but I’m a little bit scared of these things. It will totally ruin my world if certain characters sound way different from the voices in my head. (Yes, I hear voices in my head like Randy Orton does.) [Correction: These are digital comics, not motion comics. There are no voices — just images and words.]

My PSP just finished updating. I’m going to download a few and let you know what I think shortly.

Google Nexus One Boot Animation — Windows or Blackest Night?!?

A bunch of tech writers have accused Google of ripping off Microsoft’s Windows colors and animations with the Nexus One boot screen. As a comic-book nerd, that’s not what I’m seeing at all. It’s clearly DC Comics’ War of Light, featuring the Green Lanterns, Sinestro Corps, Red Lanterns, Blue Lanterns, Agent Orange, the Star Sapphires, and the Indigo Tribe. Am I the only one seeing this?!?

DC’s Blackest Night is Awesome…and it Shouldn’t Be

Blackest Night

DC Comics’ Blackest Night crossover event is working…and it shouldn’t be. The whole premise is ridiculous (even by comic-book standards). The established Green Lantern Corps has been patrolling the universe for decades in the DCU, but now there are a total of seven lantern corps duking it out in the War of Light. The seven corps are based off of different emotions. You have green (willpower), yellow (fear), blue (hope), red (rage), orange (green), violet (love), and indigo (compassion). When you add in the fact that all these lanterns recharge their powers by reciting a rhyming oath, the whole thing sounds stupid…yet it’s working so well.

A large part of why it’s working is that Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi have done an outstanding job with the Green Lantern and Blackest Night books. The whole thing feels epic and the pair have made the “emotional spectrum” thing plausible. Despite the facts that willpower isn’t an emotion (as previously used in the Green Lantern books) and the various lantern combat mechanics are straight out of Pokemon, these masterful writers are making a silly premise terribly compelling.

Continue reading “DC’s Blackest Night is Awesome…and it Shouldn’t Be”

Raymond’s Random Rants

– Last night’s fight between Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman was fantastic…until the decision was announced. While Guzman boxed excellently for two and a half rounds, Funeka pretty much dominated the rest of the fight. Inexplicably, two of the judges scored the fight a draw. This was the worst decision I’ve seen in 2009, by far. It’s sad that Funeka traveled all the way from South Africa to America to get jobbed. Whether the judges were inept or corrupt, bad decisions are way too common in boxing and one of the big reasons the sport is no longer as popular as it was.

Blackest Night

– I picked up the two Sinestro Corps War trade paperbacks for my first September Tokyo trip. They totally got me back into Green Lantern. While they weren’t quite as good as the Sinestro Corps Wars, I enjoyed Rage of the Red Lanterns and Agent Orange too. My expectations were low for Sins of the Star Sapphire, but I picked it up anyway so that I could get all the info leading up to Blackest Night. I was shocked (in a good way) by how graphic it was. There’s some really messed up sh*t in there! [Spoilers ahead!]

Continue reading “Raymond’s Random Rants”

Coffee Talk #34: A Blue Lantern Thanksgiving Thank You

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your picks for today’s NFL games, New Moon mania, or the old Fender vs. Gibson debate, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Blue LanternI wanted to use today’s Coffee Talk to give each and every one of you a big Thanksgiving thank you for visiting RPad.tv. October was a really difficult month for me. I lost my job, a dear friend passed away, I couldn’t get the knee surgery I was planning to have, and there were several days where I struggled to walk around my small apartment. You guys and gals were a huge part of helping me make it through the month. “Seeing” you in the comments section every day helped me stay positive and happy. You’re awesome and I thank you for being part of my everyday online life.

Now I have to geek it up a bit so things aren’t too sappy. You peeps are my Green Lantern Corps to my Blue Lantern. My blue power ring can do a great many things, but only if there are Green Lanterns close by. Hope (Blue Lanterns) needs will (Green Lanterns). Ha! Is that sufficiently nerdy?

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!!!