Zombies, Bat-romance, and Yoda Quotes – Geekout 16

January 18, 2017 1 Comment

With weekends only having 1 page, I’m at page 16, which means I’ll be about 52 days short of 365 for the year. By my calculations, I’m about 1/20th of the way through the calendar. Daunting! This set of topics looks interesting though! Today I’ll be naming Four Games with a Zombie theme, Two Batman Love Interests, and Two Classic Yoda Quotes.

2017-01-18 Geekout

Not sure what I’ll trim the lists down to here!

Four Games with a Zombie theme

These have certainly been popular over the years!

Slow zombies, fast zombies, smart zombies, dumb zombie, a nerd’s book by Zombie Seuss.

I liked how open-ended this question is, since it also allows for both board and video games. Based on its saying “a Zombie theme”, I would think it would need to be more than just having a zombie or two in it. Zombies are in D&D for example, but it’s not zombie themed.

Resident Evil/Biohazard

A classic game that was utterly terrifying when it first came out. It’s a bit laughable now, but graphics and gameplay have come a long way since the original of these hit store shelves. In some ways, the restrictive camera and difficult controls made the game harder and scarier. The game takes place in a mansion filled with zombies. I’ll not dive into the lore, but I will say that it’s extensive. The game features an exploration element, because you can learn more about the lore by exploring more locations and reading as you play.

Just don’t get turned into a Jill sandwich by the voice acting’s quality in this game…

Dead of Winter

I’ve not played this game enough times yet, but I’ve enjoyed it when I have. This is a (mostly) cooperative board game where the players take control of survivors struggling in in a zombie apocalypse scenario. The game mechanics work well as you try to feed everyone and defend yourselves against the hordes.

Zombies!!!

Not exactly the most strategic of games. This one has a large bag full of plastic zombies, and you’re exploring city streets trying to find a helicopter to escape. Also, yes, those exclamation points are in the title of the game. The cool mechanic in this one is that players move their own survivor piece as well as the zombies, so other players can really mess you up! Good luck surviving!

Left 4 Dead

Fast zombies! This was one heck of a crazy game! This is a first person shooter, cooperative game. You work as a team traveling from one safe house to the next, killing zombies and trying to make it to the next stop in one piece. Ammo and medical supplies will be there, so get there before you run out. This game’s zombies often run right at you, so it was fast-paced excitement when it came out.

Two Batman Love Interests

Superhero romance is always a dangerous issue, since it often means the pairing of two already-known characters. That leads to a circumstance I’m not keen on. I’ll explain what I mean by this in my selections.

Catwoman

If you’ve seen movies, cartoons, or comics, you know this is a thing. Even if nothing exists in the content you’re viewing, there are often hints at past/future interest between the two. Catwoman isn’t just straight up villainous, which is what makes her such an interesting character. She’s teamed up with the good guys before, and has motivations for what she does.

I know there’s something to establishing relationship through shared struggle, so perhaps this is an added factor in their relationship. Either way, I don’t get the impression that Catwoman is a character included only as a love interest for Batman, which is why she’s a good character in her own right. Just get her movie right next time…

Although, in all seriousness, I don’t think it has ever been romantic involvement (could be wrong), but I find the Poison Ivy and Catwoman relationship more interesting. I thought I’d heard a rumor of a movie about Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn. We’ll see if DC movies can redeem themselves…

Wonder Woman

I am fairly certain there was at least one story arc where Batman and Wonder Woman were at least somewhat romantically involved. I’m not a big fan of the concept, however, as too often female characters only exist as the male character’s love interest. Wonder Woman is great, and my opinion of her as a character increases as I learn more about her! Is it a thing that supers go for other supers? Maybe.

Two Classic Yoda Quotes

I’ll follow the rules and only pick two for this one, but Yoda imparts some great wisdom on Luke in the short bits of conversation shown on screen. I took “classic” here to mean that the quote should come from the original trilogy only.

That is why you fail.

When Yoda lifts that X-Wing using only the power of the force, Luke doesn’t believe what he’s seeing. Yoda informs him that it’s the reason he failed, which in talking about the force makes a lot of sense. It also makes plenty of sense for us as well.

When we approach a difficult task, expecting it to fail, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. We’re not trying as hard, since we’re expecting a failure anyway, why would we try as hard? Why would we make adjustments to try and make it succeed when we’re expecting failure anyway.

Wars not make one great.

Luke went looking for the “great warrior” Yoda to train him, but that’s one way in which Luke is terribly wrong-minded when he reaches Yoda. He believes Jedi to be warriors. This is an easy misconception given the little he knows of them (and his previous training). He was first taught about a Jedi weapon and told about a war, but Jedi are really the peacekeepers of the galaxy (or they’re supposed to be).

Greatness isn’t about who can defeat whom in battle. Great people improve the world around them and help other people. Yoda has fought in war, but it’s not what makes Yoda great. In The Empire Strikes Back, you don’t see Yoda teaching Luke to wield weapons and fight opponents. He isn’t shooting at human-shaped targets with a blaster or pointing a lightsaber at them. He’s learning to center himself and control his own body. He’s learning to become a better person. A Jedi.

Wrap Up

Did I seriously just succeed after catching up? That’s awesome! Keep watching next time for some more geeking out! The next one will be about fantasy, general geekiness, and gaming.

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Video Games Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Laser Weapons, Fairies, and SNL – Geekout 15

January 17, 2017 Leave a comment

Now that I’m back on track, let’s see if I can get a good streak going. Today I’ll be listing Four Fictional Weapons that use Laser Technology, Four Named Fairies, and Six Cast Members of Saturday Night Live.

2017-01-17 Geekout

Sounds difficult right now, but I think I can handle it. Let’s get diggin’!

Four Fictional Weapons that use Laser Technology

Not sure whether laser-targeting would qualify. Perhaps it would. We’ll see if I need to go there. Let’s get started with some laser weapons.

Laser Pistols and Laser Rifles – Fallout 4

This game has a few different types of weapons, and one of those types are the laser weapons. They’re reasonably OK. Having ammo for all of your weapon types is a challenge in this game.

Sentry Turret – Overwatch

Wow are these things currently really annoying. I think they’re laser weapons, but I’m not 100% on this. Either way, they’re neat. Symmetra can currently put up 6 of these little things, and they’ll destroy you if you step near them!

Iron Man Suit – Iron Man

As if this suit didn’t have enough weapons. I recall him having some lasers in the suit.

Death Star – Star Wars

Lasers combining together to create a beam powerful enough to destroy a planet? Check. Thermal exhaust port that would be an impossible target to hit unless you’re a jedi? Check.

Four Named Fairies

I’ll need to be careful that my choices here are actually fairies and not something similar to a fairy. Also, it says “named”, and I would think of “Fair Godmother” as a title rather than a name.

Tinkerbell – Peter Pan

Boring choice here, but Tinkerbell is a well-known character. I’m also fairly certain she’s a fairy.

Navi – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Hey! Listen! This is easily the most annoying character on this list! You can tell, because many of you will have read that in her voice! At the start of the game, you get Navi. Joy!

Razzly – Chrono Cross

Razzly is a strange member of your party in Chrono Cross. As many characters are in Chrono Cross, she’s optional, and she can be missed entirely. Her in-game profile says she’s “A Forest Fairy”.

Queen Mab – The Dresden Files

One of the most powerful characters we’ve met in the Dresden Files. She’s part of the Winter Court, one of the two Faerie Courts in the Dresden Files. The Dresden Files is one of my favorite book series ever written. If you’ve not read it, go check it out!

Six Cast Members of Saturday Night Live

They’ve had so many at this point, so I’m going to go through a set that did some SNL-inspired movies. Plenty of these cast members did more than one and also cross over into the others’ movies!

Dan Aykroyrd

Beldar Conehead. Some chewing gum? Plenty of classic characters here, but I’ll reference the Coneheads skit where he played an alien with a cone-shaped head.

Will Ferrell

What is love? Well, Steve, that’s something you’ll learn about eventually. For now, you just go ahead and keep dancing like an idiot, Steve Butabi.

Chris Kattan

Names? Steve and Doug Butabi. You’re brothers? No…. YESSS!!!! OH MAN! Definitely the crazier of the Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan duo, which takes some work.

Molly Shannon

She’s a Superstar named Mary Katherine Gallagher. And as usual for an SNL-inspired movie, she’s a bit out there.

Mike Myers

It’s Wayne’s World host, Wayne Campbell! May be the main character of the sketch, but I’m jumping to the better character.

Dana Carvey

Garth Algar is definitely better than Wayne. If you’re gonna spew, spew into this. I love Dana Carvey’s impressions, so he’s on the list despite my not wanting to go over on this list. And yes, the next one had to be included.

Tim Meadows

Leon Phelps, the Ladies Man. Oooh a lady! Did you watch SNL in the 90s? OK, you saw plenty of Tim Meadows. Did you see this movie though? It’s not as popular as some of those others, but I do enjoy it. Saved one of the best movies for last here.

Wrap Up

Game, Comics, and Sci-Fi are coming up tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Joss Whedon, Train Games, and Captain America – Geekout 14

January 17, 2017 1 Comment

Maybe today is the day I catch up. We’ll see if I can get a second out completed. I’ve been answering prompts from a page-a-day calendar I received for Christmas last year. Each day there’s a new prompt, and it’s surprisingly difficult to come up with an answer. Today I’m supposed to come up with Two Television Shows [for] which Joss Whedon was a Writer, Two Games in which Trains appear, and Two Captain America Enemies.

2017-01-16 Geekout

All aboard the geekout train!

Two Television Shows for which Joss Whedon was a Writer

This was a sudden, but inevitable question. Can’t really ask nerdy stuff without covering Joss Whedon these days. Naming four would have been easy enough. Two is a walk in the cemetery waiting for vampires.

Firefly

Glad I got another change to reference Firefly. So far, I’ve only mentioned it as being a Sci-Fi television show, having a comic published by Dark Horse, and for featuring an iconic named sci-fi starship. Clearly I am not a fan of the show. I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this show! It was really great!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

A show that was on at my house when I was a kid. This didn’t really catch my interest then, however, I’ve since gone back and watched it. I really enjoyed the show. Does this surprise anyone? Of course not! It’s got Quark in it! Armin Shimerman plays Principal Snyder of Sunnydale High in this show. It probably is Quark, considering that the he and Rom landed on Earth decades before the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer took place!

Two Games in which Trains appear

The number just wasn’t high enough for me here. I’m going over two. Didn’t know what kind of games it meant, so I chose board and video.

Ticket to Ride

Starting obvious, this is the most widespread board game about trains. It’s a light-weight, fun game that you can pick up at most stores. Don’t even need to visit your local game shop for this one. They’ve released different versions of the game as well.

Mario Kart 64

Wanted to pick something unexpected, so this is it! There’s a train in the desert level of the game.

Railroad Tycoon

This one is actually a trick. Did I intend the video game or the board game? Both! And based on that name, I think you can guess that there are trains in the games. The board game is quite fun, but it’s much heavier and longer than Ticket to Ride. Also, the board game no longer has the license to use the name from the video game. It’s now called Railways of the World.

Final Fantasy VII, VIII, XIII

I am certain that more of them also have trains if I thought about it, but these definitely have them. You start the game on a train in both 7 and 13. And you first meet Laguna, Kiros, and Ward on a train ride in 8.

Two Captain America Enemies

I wanted to say “Tony Stark” and “Bucky Barnes”, but my wife got mad at me for suggesting that. Bummer. Sometimes I like being horrible like that!

Red Skull

Classic and evil-looking, Red Skull is an obvious enemy of Captain America. He’s from the comics and was portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the recent movies, which means he was well-played. Look, I know another actor’s name!

Arnim Zola

Evil nerds are fun. Here we have a brilliant enemy scientist. I don’t want to get into everything he’s involved in during the movies for fear of spoilers, but for those in the know, it’s fun stuff! For definitions of fun that don’t require being Good.

Wrap Up

Added some extras here, because these were fun choices. Tomorrow’s categories will be sci-fi, fantasy, and general geekiness.

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Video Games Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comic Vehicles, Star Trek Actors, and Madeleine – Geekout 13

January 16, 2017 1 Comment

Catching up due to weekends being lumped together! Although, along with that, I’m not going to be able to complete this one. Today I’ll be writing about Four Iconic Comic Book Vehicles, Six Actors that have appeared on Star Trek, and Two Madeleine L’Engle Titles.

2017-01-14 Geekout

Let’s get to it!

Four Iconic Comic Book Vehicles

The vehicles in comic books are sometimes ridiculous, but can also be fun. Sometimes it’s only certain incarnations of them that are ridiculous.

Batmobile – Batman

I’m not sure I could have started anywhere else for this. Everyone’s heard of this fun ride by now. Not sure which style I like the best. Some are cornier and arguable poorly designed, but they’re still fun!

Invisible Jet – Wonder Woman

Not as iconic today as it was before, but this is still a very well-known vehicle. I seem to recall a sketch (Robot Chicken I thin) where Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman are “sitting in the invisible jet” and encouraging Aquaman to jump in. When he lands on his butt, all three of them laugh at him. Makes you wonder if she even has an invisible jet!!!

Helicarrier – S.H.I.E.L.D.

This is certain to be the largest vehicle I’ll list here. Unlike with the Iconic Named Sci-Fi Starships prompt, this one didn’t require named vehicles. For that reason, I’m counting a Helicarrier without choosing a specific one. No specific one would be iconic enough anyway. The biggest problem with a carrier, it can’t go over land. Problem solved.

Motorcycle – Ghost Rider

Not sure how many people saw this one coming! It’s pretty darn iconic. With “Rider” in his name, I’d say his vehicle must be significant!

Six Actors that have appeared on Star Trek

Since I don’t know people’s names, this is impossible if I don’t stick to the main cast. I don’t want to stick to the main cast, so I looked up the actors’ names based on other roles they’ve played outside of Star Trek. For example, the first listed actor I googled “vizzini actor” to get his name. Just to prove I can, I’ll list six main cast members at the bottom.

Wallace Shawn

With such a recognizable voice, who wouldn’t know immediately he’d been cast as the Grand Nagus? Talk about a fun character. Have you guessed yet that I like the Ferengi?

Terry O’Quinn

And “John Locke actor” got me this name. He was in a very memorable Star Trek: The Next Generation episode indeed! I’ll not spoil the episode, but you can tell almost immediately that something interesting is going on.

John de Lancie

I did not have to look up this name. Also, I’m deviating from my previous trend of choosing people known for something other than Star Trek. Yes, he’s been in other roles, but this one is too iconic for sci-fi nerds. Either way, I really like John de Lancie and Q too much to leave him off of the list! Also, I wouldn’t want to slight Q by not mentioning him here!

Dean Stockwell

Joining his old Quantum Leap buddy, Scott Bakula, for an appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise, this actor who also played Brother Cavil in Battlestar Galactica makes for a good chioce. Yes, I looked up his name using “brother cavil actor”. Tried “cavil actor” first, but that failed for a reason people other than me would expect.

Whoopi Goldberg

Another that I didn’t have to search based on a different role. I’m not counting her as main cast for the same reason that Q wouldn’t be. Most episodes of Star Trek: he Next Generation didn’t include her. She is well-known enough herself that I don’t know what else I’d say about her.

John Rhys-Davies

And who could forget when Janeway met “Leonardo da Vinci” on the holodeck!? Knew his name too! I’m proud of myself! He also played professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders. Huh? Who’s Gimli? What’s this

Clint Howard

Someone is going to love this part. I searched for “ice cream man actor” to find him. Then, seeing his name, I remembered it (and who his brother is). He was a child actor in Star Trek and returned for Deep Space Nine and Enterprise if I remember right. Was he ever in Voyager or The Next Generation? If he did have a role in those, I’d be very impressed!

Yes, I included seven, because I wanted to!

Without Looking Up Names

Just proving that I do know some main cast members names.

  • William Shatner
  • Leonard Nimoy
  • George Takei
  • Patrick Stewart
  • John de Lancie
  • Jonathan Frakes
  • Brent Spiner
  • Wil Wheaton
  • Scott Bakula
  • Kate Mulgrew

Two Madeleine L’Engle Titles

This is where I fail. I only know of one thing she’s written.

A Wrinkle in Time

I haven’t read it, but it’s too well-known for me to not know of this one. I’m sure people have recommended that I read it more than once, but I’ve just got so many books to read. Never enough time. It’s on the list, just not high enough to have been read yet.

Wrap Up

Two weeks of these down, fifty to go!

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , , ,

Consoles, Comic Cats, and Cartoon Aliens – Geekout 11

January 14, 2017 Leave a comment

Coming to the end of week two of this challenge, I’m attempting to Geekout with this page-a-day calendar I’ve received. It asks me to list a set of things each day. Today, I’ll need to come up with Six Video Game Consoles, Two Comic Book Characters with Cat Attributes, and Four U.S. Cartoons with Alien Creatures.

2017-01-12 Geekout

These don’t look all that challenging. All three are open-ended questions again, so I think I’ve got them in hand.

Six Video Game Consoles

When I was a small child, my brother and I asked our parents for an NES for Christmas. My parents said that we couldn’t afford it, so we’d have to ask Santa. Christmas morning came, and no console was found under the tree. Later in the day, my family was all treated to small me screaming about something down in the basement. I assume my parents must have sent me downstairs to get something from down there. The console wasn’t under the tree, it was hooked up to a television in the basement. My first video game console. And boy was that a ride.

Nintendo 64

Nintendo’s venture into 64-bit consoles was something they’d been talking about for a while. I remember watching promotional videos Nintendo sent out on VHS tapes talking about the system. I read many articles about the system before its release.

The year that console came out, it was hard to find. Places sold out of them quickly. Somehow my parents managed to get one. My father had a cool idea for how to wrap it. I loved the idea so much then, and it has inspired me to do some creative work of my own.

The console was under our tree for a while before Christmas. It was wrapped together with games, additional controllers, and some extra pieces of cardboard. The interested part is that it was a uniquely shaped gift. It was shaped like some kind of poultry, maybe a chicken or a turkey. It was blocky, but you could tell what it was.

Playstation

When my brother and I were little, we saved our allowance money for years. We didn’t receive as much as most people we knew, but we also knew that saving it meant you could get better stuff with it. This is one example of that paying off. In fact, this console is not ten feet away from me right now and still works well, which is impressive for being the initial model to hit stores. We bought it when the price was still $300. This is one of my all-time favorite consoles, having been host to so many great games! I loved that this generation had both cartridges and discs, since both had advantages at that time. This system was a true marvel, being a success right out the gate.

XBox 360

Microsoft’s entrance into console gaming didn’t go as well as Sony’s. Their first console wasn’t as hugely successful, however, as we all say, the second time’s the charm. The 360 was a massive success, not just for having improved their game library, controllers, and system itself. Their true win was in their online support. Xbox Live may not have been free, but it worked so well that it destroyed its competition.

Sega Genesis

Being the only Sega console I owned, I had to name it here. It had some great games, including the more violent version of Mortal Kombat. The console was fun, however, Nintendo did have the better controller in that generation with the SNES. Sorry, Sega.

Atari 2600

This classic, famous console is old and goofy. I know some people love the wood-paneling along the side, but I think it just makes it look older. Joysticking was still the thing for this machine. Helping to contribute to the crash of game consoles, who could leave it off of the list?

Game Boy

Since I incidentally named other consoles in previous bits of text, I’m going to allow a handheld console in here. The original Game Boy was awesome; I played that handheld so much. My Game Boy is also within 10 feet of me right now. It’s right next to my two Game Boy Pockets and my Game Boy Color. I’ll lump those together for the most part, since Nintendo was brilliant enough to have them play the same games. Unlike the competition, Nintendo realized that quality games and battery life were far more important than colors an specs.

This brick of a handheld only showed images in shades of green, but it did so for hours on far fewer batteries than the competition. I remember using the magnifying glass and light combo adapter to use at night. I also was one of those people who caught the Pokemon craze immediately, picking up the game as soon as it released in the US.

Two Comic Book Characters with Cat Attributes

Thinking about what “Cat Attributes” might mean, I’m going to decide that naming actual cats would be outside of the spirit of the question, so Luna will not be listed. I do, however, think you can have “cat attributes” without physical feline traits; whiskers on humans will not be a requirement for this.

Cat Woman

Too obvious on this one? Cat-like? Absolutely. I will say that giving her a movie of her own may have been a mistake… She’s a fun character, because she’s not just a straight up villain.

Black Panther

They’ve brought him to the big screen, and it’s good. Great work, Marvel! Do this character well! I am looking forward to his having his own movie!

Four U.S. Cartoons with Alien Creatures

Well this is going to focus on some of the weirder characters from cartoons.

American Dad

While it’s not a show I watch, I’ve seen more than a few episodes of it. I included it, because it’s a show that prominently features an alien and isn’t sci-fi other than that (as far as I know).

The Flintstones

I’m sure you forgot or are trying to forget that this show had an alien! The great Gazoo, if I recall the name and spelling of that green, stereotypical alien thing.

The Simpsons

For as much of the Simpsons as I’ve seen over my lifetime, I’m blanking on the name of the two green aliens from the show. They’re cycloptic , tentacled alients wearing tall, nearly-cylindrical space helmets. Also, I didn’t want to list Futurama, since that seemed too easy.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

There are a couple of aliens here, including my favorite bean-loving idiot, Brak. If you’ve never watched this show, you missed out. It was one of my favorites as a kid.

Wrap Up

Yes, I’m going to playing a bit of catch up on these! I was unable to publish each day, so I’ll be doing a couple of these some days until I catch back up!

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Video Games Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fictional Elements, Greco-Roman Movies, and J.J. Abrams – Geekout 10

January 11, 2017 Leave a comment

Well into the second week of this, I’m hoping to get back on track. This seems to be the day. Some large numbers here, but I think I can get some good answers to these. Today we’re looking for Two Fictional Sci-Fi Elements/Materials, Six Films Based on Greco-Roman Mythology, and Four Films or Television Shows Created by J.J. Abrams.

2017-01-11 Geekout

That first one, the sci-fi one, is a cake walk. The fantasy prompt should also not be too hard to come up with, even with six being the number. The general geekiness question about J.J. Abrams at first seemed easy, but “created by” might be the challenge here. Let’s get started!

Two Fictional Sci-Fi Elements/Materials

Well here’s an easy one. Don’t even have to leave Star Trek and Star Wars for this one.

Transparisteel

As the name implies, this is a strong, transparent material. If you’ve played any Star Wars games, you’ll have come across this material frequently. It’s often used for “windows” on starships, cockpits and other areas needing transparency.

Dilithium Crystals

Any Star Trek fan will immediately know these crystals. They’re used in the warp drives on starships in the Star Trek universe. As such, they’re important in many episodes of Star Trek.

Six Films Based on Greco-Roman Mythology

I’ve not seen plenty of these, but I do know of their existence. Surprisingly difficult, since I’m (for now) unwilling to accept multiple Hercules movies.

Troy

This movie follows Achilles and depicts the events of the Trojan Horse. Definitely qualifies for this category.

Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief

Based on the first book in a series, this is a light take on mythology. It’s a modern setting, but involves gods, their children, and plenty of other mythical creatures.

Hercules

I’ll lump both Rockules and the animated Disney movie together for this. I’m not a big fan of either of these two movies, but they exist!

Clash of the Titans

Classic movie. I’ve not seen this one either. It’s about the titans, so it fits the prompt.

300

Yes, I’m counting this one. The same as the Trojan horse story, this seems to fall into the realm of myth closely enough.

Wrath of the Titans

I did not see this movie when it came out a few years ago. Was it good? I was guessing not, since most of this type of movie aren’t. Also about titans, so fits the bill for this one.

Four Films or Television Shows Created by J.J. Abrams

I’ve been wrestling with the idea of what constitutes “created by”, because I’d like to consider it to be something he had the idea for, produced, directed, helped write, etc. I started with three TV shows that I believe qualify, but couldn’t come up with anything else that I thought fit the bill.

Lost

My wife and I really enjoyed watching this show. There were points where it was not-so-good, so it’s hard to evaluate its legacy at this point. I think it suffered from the same issue that many shows do, which is they don’t set out with a full story and are making too many changes as they go. Each season gets a focus, throwing off the rhythm.

Fringe

Walter. The show is good, but Walter makes this show. Some great characters and a lot of fun here. This show is supposed to go off the rails a bit, so it’s fun that it does. Setting expectations for the win!

Alias

I only saw a few episodes of this show, but my wife watched it consistently. She seemed to like it, but I never got around to catching up from the beginning.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I didn’t want to use this example, since he’s not the creator of Star Wars. He didn’t even say, “hey I want to make Star Wars VII”. I think a more accurate description is that Disney wanted to make episode VII and he was selected to work on it. I’m fairly certain he was involved in screenplay, directing, producing, etc. I guess I’ll call that enough and include it here.

Wrap Up

Didn’t finish it as well as I would have liked, but I did manage to get there. Calling that a win for now.

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , , , ,

Superheroines and Hitchhiker’s Guide – Geekout 8

January 9, 2017 1 Comment

It seems I got fairly lucky in the beginning of this, because I’ll again be defeated. I can, however, get two of the three on today’s page! This page-a-day geekout calendar is an interesting challenge, and it really is a challenge sometimes. For today’s challenge, I’ll need to list Six Female Comic Book Superheroes, Two Characters from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Four Heroes from Masters of the Universe.

2017-01-09 Geekout

And of the comics, sci-fi, and fantasy prompts on this page, only the fantasy one eludes my area of expertise.

Six Female Comic Book Superheroes

Glad they went big on this one, because there are a lot of great female superheroes that don’t get enough attention. My wife and I went to an interesting symposium on Wonder Woman where there was quite a bit of discussion about female superheroes. One of the speakers discussed the idea that there could (and should) be a difference between a “superheroine” and a “female superhero”. In it, he pointed out that the latter is the female version of the male counterpart, and the former has a different approach to things.

Wonder Woman

I’m obviously starting here, since I already mentioned a symposium on the character. She’s an extremely powerful character, sure. The significance of the character, however, is in how she uses her power. She shows much more empathy and understanding than many of the beat-the-villain-to-a-bloody-pulp heroes. She has a lasso that restrains rather than kills. Does this mean that all interpretations of the character follow these rules? No, certainly some have made her a beat-em-up hero who seems to be around as eye-candy.

Supergirl

This is one strong Kryptonian who’s currently featured in her own TV series. The show is on my list of shows I want to watch, but timing is often a challenge. I’ve heard reasonably good things about it, so I’m on board. I’m sure most people know that she’s the cousin of Superman. I was going to include Power Girl in the list as well, since my wife and I find her outfit a bit ridiculous. She was complaining that it would be cheating to include her. For the record, the alternate reality version of me is not me.

Kamala Khan – Ms. Marvel

Starting only a few years ago, this new Ms. Marvel is awesome. I’ve only read one book about her (my wife left it sitting around), but she seems like a great person to hold this mantle. Who wouldn’t love a story about a teenage Muslim-American living in New Jersey? In addition to being a superheroine, she’s also able to reflect on some situations many readers won’t have experienced. Looking forward to great things from her!

Sakura – Cardcaptor Sakura

I am going to consider the magic of magical girls to be a super power, so she’s totally going to count for this. There are plenty of other magical girls to choose from, but this one is covering the bookshelves to my right at this moment. This is shōjo manga from Clamp, which is the way of saying Japanese comics for teenage girls. Sakura is a very young girl who uses magical cards to cast spells. The cards have powers, and I like to joke that she uses “Windy” for everything. I’m told that’s just because it’s her first card, but it seems to apply in nearly every situation!

Hawkgirl

I don’t know my Hawkgirls well enough to pick one of them. My knowledge of the character mostly comes from cartoons and the new Marvel TV shows. And since those are different Hawkgirls, I’m not going to choose one. Flight has always been a popular power. Some characters’ flight powers are never explained, but wings are fairly obvious. She’s a very skilled fighter and wields melee weapons, which is totally awesome. Being one of those reincarnating-types, she’s also got lifetimes worth of knowledge and training, making her a very worth superheroine!

Carol Danvers – Captain Marvel

While she was once Ms. Marvel, and has been successfully replaced by Kamala Khan,  she took on the mantle of Captain Marvel. Carol has had a whole host of powers longer than I want to name. Let’s just say that she’s by far one of the more powerful supers out there, and she’s been involved in plenty of great team-ups and crossovers over her many years.

Two Characters from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Now here’s a ridiculous book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which I received as a gift when I was in college. Surprisingly, I hadn’t read it before that! My wife gave me a copy of this book!

Arthur Dent

Our protagonist for this book, this guy is lucky (or unlucky) enough to escape Earth with the character I’ll name next! He’s kind of clueless when it comes to traveling the galaxy. And with the story being a bit ridiculous, he’s in for quite the challenge!

Ford Prefect

An alien friend of Arthur Dent’s, Ford rescues Arthur during Earth’s destruction at the novel’s start. Not a spoiler, considering how early that happens! He’s a galactic hitchhiker, and you can start guessing where things go from there. Even better though, read the book!

Four Heroes from Masters of the Universe

Didn’t watch the show, so this will end quickly (and with fewer answers than I should have).

He-Man

Not even sure if this one counts, since it’s “He-Man and”. And if you want to argue that, give me a break, because I’m missing the other 3 anyway. And yes, I did turn on that ridiculous “Heyeayea” video while I was writing this.

Wrap Up

So I’ve bombed three questions now. I’m worried what will appear for tomorrow. Crossing my fingers!

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , , , ,

RPGs, WW2, and Sci-Fi TV – Geekout 6

January 6, 2017 4 Comments

I am disappointed that the first prompt for the day only requires listing 2, but I can understand that for many people only 1 is obvious. Let’s jump in! Today’s prompt is Two Tabletop RPGs, Four Comic Book Characters Alive During WW2, and Six Sci-Fi Television Shows.

2017-01-06 Geekout

I’ll warn you in advance that I’m adding an honorable mentions list to my gaming question of the day, since I’ve got too many to name.

Two Tabletop RPGs

Well here’s one that I wish had a larger number. Yeah, plenty of people are going to name one obvious one and have trouble coming up with a second. That’s just that outside the RPG community, only one game has risen to the public’s mind as much as D&D.

Dungeons & Dragons

Considering that the Geekout prompts have already challenged me to name Two Dungeons and Dragons Character Classes, it seems like they made this one incredibly simple to get the first. Even people who’d forgotten the game existed would’ve been reminded five days ago.

As I mentioned in that post, I’ve been playing this game a looong time. My father got my playing D&D using the first edition advanced books. As years passed, my friends and I moved through Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition, Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, Dungeons & Dragons v3.5, Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. Yes, I did play Pathfinder (a.k.a. D&D 3.75).

Here are some of my D&D books that were near enough to grab and take some quick photos. I grouped them roughly by edition, having the 3.0 and 3.5 together.

AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsSecondEditionAdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsDungeonsAndDragonsThirdEditionDungeonsAndDragonsFourthEditionDungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition

 

Exalted

While you might have thought that my favorite Tabletop RPG (based on the amount of D&D I’ve played) is D&D. It’s not. My favorite game is definitely Exalted. I’ve been playing in an infrequently played Exalted campaign for years now, and my group gets together to play whenever we’re in the same city.

My regular, weekly gaming session is currently an Abyssal Exalted game and the less frequently played one is a classic, Solar Exalted game.

Solar Campaign

In my solar campaign, I play a priest of the Unconquered Sun. As anyone who knows the game would expect, the character is a Zenith caste. He frees slaves, protects innocents, and tries to provide food and shelter to anyone and everyone he can. Driven primarily by compassion and conviction, he’s trying to carve out a better world than what exists today.

Abyssal Campaign

Surprisingly, this campaign has had a severe lack of combat considering we’re playing Abyssals, which are commonly known as Death Knights. We’ve been working behind the scenes and are establishing positions where we’re likely to behave more like you’d expect from creatures of darkness. Just hasn’t happened yet. We find it funny, because our “light-side” game involves much more killing than the “dark-side” one.

Honorable Mentions

  • Pathfinder – Often referred to as D&D 3.75, this game leveraged the D20 system based on Wizards of the Coast making it an open system for expansion. That means that when D&D went to 4th edition, the people who thought it had gone the wrong way we able to fall back to 3.75. My group was among those, and we enjoyed Pathfinder as it added new life and ideas to D&D 3.5.
  • Eclipse Phase – A game I’ve played once that seemed very interesting. It’s futuristic, and has some cool mechanics. I’ve got the book for it, and I’d like to use that to play the game more. It’s so hard to get games going (and finding the time to play them requires even more!)
  • GURPS –  I wanted to mention this one despite my not having played it. I know plenty of people who swear by this system. They tend to be the people who play way too many Steve Jackson games already. The name of this system is ridiculous. It’s the “Generic Universal RolePlaying System”, and yes, people do say “gurps” rather than spelling G-U-R-P-S.
  • Shadowrun – I’ve only played a little bit of Shadowrun, but it’s also a very cool roleplaying game. It is set in a fictional future society and combines technology and fantasy ideas. There are fantasy creatures like elves, dwarves, etc. in their world, and it’s on Earth still. It’s set in the future, so technology has advanced some. I’ve often laughed with people about how off the game is in its technology though. A challenge that anyone imagining the future will run into!

Four Comic Book Characters Alive During WW2

OK. This one is a little tough, since I know my comic book characters mostly through their cartoon, movie, and TV adaptations rather than the comics. I’m fairly certain that my selections here were alive during WW2 in the comic books, but I can’t say for certain.

Captain America

This one should be obvious, so I started here. This is kind of his thing, since he’s basically the character made to fight that war. With all of the movies about him, do I really need to say much more? No I’m not including his friend Bucky in the list.

Magneto

I’d guess he’s that old in the comics as well, since he’s been around for quite a long time, and he’s (as far as I know) often one of the older characters. In the films they certainly have him alive for WW2. In fact, it’s quite central to his character’s backstory in the films. He’s got the tattoo as a reminder of that time period.

Wolverine

Not sure how old Wolverine is to be honest, but given that he doesn’t really get much older, it’s not hard for him to have been there. At least in his origin movie, he was definitely there for WW2.

I liked this character a lot as a kid, despite the outfits from that period that I now laugh at. He’s interesting because the claws are nice, but his real power is just healing. On the surface that might seem super amazing, but keep in mind that is different from impervious. When Superman deflects a bullet, does it hurt? I doubt it. I’d guess that Wolverine feels every cut before it heals closed. Now that would build a not-so-light-side character over time.

Peggy Carter

And we’re back to the badass herself, Agent Peggy Carter! Yes, she’s probably more of a badass now than she was in the early comics, but she’s kicks some serious butt. Obviously around for the right time period, since she was in that time period with Cap.

Six Sci-Fi Television Shows

Well here’s a great one for me! I’ve watched so many sci-fi shows, so I’m going to lump franchises together. I’d have too many to list otherwise.

Star Trek

Is there a more iconic answer to this? I don’t think anything else could have come before Star Trek. Sure, Trek and Wars are often compare, but Wars is known for movies and Trek for TV. They may both cross over that, but traditionally that’s where each stood strongest.

My favorite of these would surprise many people. I’m a Deep Space Nine fan, which is not a common opinion. It bridged the Next Generation and Voyager gap nicely. So far no Star Trek series has been made that I did not enjoy. I’m not sure if I’m going to watch the upcoming one, since they’re planning to have it be streaming only and behind a subscription paywall. If I were watching their full lineup of shows, maybe, but I’m not and won’t be.

Firefly

This is a fantastic, wonderful show that probably could have and should have been one of the greatest shows ever made. Joss Whedon is known for doing ensemble casts well, and this show is a lot of the reason why he’s known for that. I’d watch the heck out of this show if it continued, but I don’t want it to continue anymore. More than anything else, I worry that this canceled-too-soon show will be made far worse if it were continued at this point.

I did not watch the show when it originally aired. To be honest, I didn’t get a good vibes from the marketing of the show during its airing. After it was cancelled, some people made sure I saw the show. I was hooked after watching the first episode. Yes, the 2 hour pilot that Fox didn’t air until the show had been marked for cancellation was so good that it along sold me on the show. Most shows take a few episodes before I’m really into them.

Anyway, if you want t good Firefly rant, I enjoy this video. The Firefly rant starts at 1:30.

Battlestar Galactica

I’m referring to the reimagined series here, not the original. I tried to watch that one, but just didn’t get into the original one. As you’d expect, fans disagree on which parts are good and bad, etc. Through the series, however, I believe the best part is the characters. I may not always agree with the directions a character took, but I love the characters in this story. And if you’re a board gamer, I’m a big fan of the board game based on this show. The more popular game, The Resistance, is pretty much based on a mechanic from this board game.

Stargate

Again I’m talking about multiple shows here. SG1, the original series, is a classic that is loved by the fans. Before the later-season cast changes, it’s one of the best shows you’ll find within the genre. No, the issues weren’t the cast changes themselves, but the show did start going off the rails a bit toward the end. I think they were just getting exhausted for ideas and still trying to keep the show going.

Teal’c, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Jack O’Neill, “Hammond of Texas”, and a wide variety of other enjoyable characters kept that show going strong for a long time. The concept itself is great, and it allowed the series to expand on the idea a few times.

I’ll probably bug some people here, but I did not like Atlantis. I watched it at the beginning, but it lost me very quickly. The show seemed to drift from science fiction into fantasy, and that’s not what I like in my Stargate. It just didn’t feel like Stargate anymore.

And for the show that got cancelled too early, Stargate: Universe, it only received two seasons of content, which in some ways seems deserved. The issue, however, is that the show was great right at the start, and didn’t hit its stride until it was nearing its cancelation. Yes, that happens a lot with shows, they get something going and just end. And yes, I’m a big fan of Nicholas Rush in the show.

I didn’t watch infinity, so I’ve not much to say on that point.

My favorite episode of Stargate is definitely the Groundhog Day Episode, “Window of Opportunity”, which features a Groundhog Day-like timeloop. In it, Jack starts each loop being asked a question by Daniel while he’s eating his bowl of Fruit Loops. The problem is that Jack didn’t hear the question the first time, so can never answer that question. The best part is after Daniel suggests that they can do anything, so they decide to go golfing through the Stargate. “Colonel O’Neill, what the hell are you doing?” “IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BACKSWING?!?!”

Sliders

This must be the least popular of the shows on this list, but Sliders did have quite a few seasons in the 90s. In this show, the main character invents a device that allows people to “slide” between dimensions. He and some others end up traveling together through dimensions as they try to find their way home. It’s a fun show that obviously gets off its rails quickly, but there are some good seasons at the beginning if you’re interested in some 90s nostalgia.

The Expanse

My wife suggested we watch this series. I agreed, since it sounded interesting. After watching a couple of episodes, she mentioned something about the books. Well, I’d not heard of the book series, so I started reading the books. They’re great! I’m currently reading the 6th book, which came out almost exactly a month ago. I’m not reading it quickly, usually a chapter at a time. I think the TV show did the books justice, and I’m really looking forward to what they do going forward.

If you’re interested, the first season of the show doesn’t follow the books exactly, but is mostly the first half of the first book. Looks like they’re pulling in characters earlier than they appear in the books, but this makes sense for a TV show where you need to meet characters sooner. Books can get away with that a little better.

Filed under All, Fantasy, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aliens, Mermaids, and Old Films – Geekout 5

January 5, 2017 1 Comment

It would seem that I can list quite a few things. Without thinking too hard yet, this one includes a more challenging question than the previous ones! I’ll now need to choose, Four Named Fictional Aliens/Extraterrestrials, Four Franchises in which Mermaids appear, and Two Prohibition Era Films. Did you identify the difficult question?

2017-01-05 Geekout

Well, here goes nothing. It’s time to answer a Sci-Fi, a fantasy, and a general geekiness prompt!

Four Named Fictional Aliens/Extraterrestrials

I could name four each easily from a variety of franchises including: Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Justice League, Mass Effect, and more! I won’t do that. I’ll keep it to one per franchise.

Also, is the author of this just a conspiracy theorist, or is there something the author knows that I don’t? Are there known, non-fictional extraterrestrials?

Quark – Star Trek

Along with his brother, Rom, Quark runs the best bar on Deep Space Nine! One of my favorite Star Trek characters, this was an easy choice. While there are so many aliens from so many series (most of them quite awesome). Quark is just too much fun to pass on!

And if Quark reads this, I’m sure he’ll agree that it never hurts to suck up to the boss – rule of acquisition number 33.

Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars

When I started answering this question, it took longer than I expected, because… It’s a trap!

Sorry. Had to do that. Now at least everyone knows that I’m talking about the Mon Calamari admiral leaving the Mon Cal Cruiser in the battle of the second Death Star who let’s us all know why the shields are up.

Since they’re from another galaxy, I guess that would make all of the characters aliens…

Thor – Stargate SG1

I bet some people were thinking of the Avengers character before I said SG1. And of course I chose the alien from SG1. The Asgard were one of the best additions to SG1. The concept of ancient gods being powerful aliens is a very cool idea, and the Egyptian gods had been the villains in the beginning. It made it very cool when the team first learns about the Asgard and learns of the protection offered to some worlds by the Asgard.

While he may show himself to the more primitive humans as a hologram of a strong Viking warrior, he is actually a little alien who wields power through technology rather than physical might. They’re brilliant allies of the humans, dealing with far more than is fair for one species to put on themselves. Truly honorable aliens everyone would want living nearby.

Lavos – Chrono Trigger

Spoiler alert! Lavos, the final boss in Chrono Trigger is an alien. Had to include this, because the game is too much fun to not find a way to include! If you’ve not played this, you should. For being as old a game as it is, it’s held up very well. Much of this is due to the style of game it is, being from the SNES days. It was at the end of those, so it benefitted from a lot of the advances made along the way.

Four Franchises in which Mermaids appear

A wonderful idea from classic fantasy storytelling, mermaids are one of many sea-dwelling creatures. And also like a lot of those, some stories make them benevolent, helpful creatures and others have them more mischievous than helpful. Choose the style you like, but sea-dwelling creatures like this certainly spark an imagination!

Peter Pan

While I don’t remember these being in the book, I’ll count the mermaids in the franchise from Disney’s animated adaptation added them in. And because of that, I’m sure Disney included them again in their other works.

Dungeons & Dragons

Now some people might say that I’m cheating by including a rules system franchise, but I’m not! The novels written about the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons include merfolk as well.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Not common in the franchise, but I remember at least one mermaid scene and it wasn’t a friendly one either! Almost seems that way at first, but becomes very ominous quickly…

The Chronicles of Narnia

Again, not too common in the series, but they do make an appearance in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Not that I want to get into how or why that encounter occurs.

Two Prohibition Era Films

While I don’t remember the exact dates of prohibition, I do know it encompassed the 1920s, so I’ll name some films from that decade. Being much too young to have lived during prohibition, this was the challenging one I mentioned, since I’d have struggled if the number were increased to 4 or 6.

Nosferatu

While not an American film, I believe it made it to the US still during Prohibition, so I’m counting it! This is a fantastic, classic horror film. If you’ve not seen it, I’d recommend it. It’s clearly a knockoff of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, avoiding using the names, but the vampire being a “Count” kind of gives that away.

It’s 1920s-style scary, so you’re probably relatively safe to watch it, even if you don’t like horror movies.

The Jazz Singer

Could I really leave this one out? If I’m not mistaken, this is the film credited with the rise of sound films and the decline of silent films. While clearly a product of its time period, the film is still well-known and respected today. Not that I get around to seeing old films. It’s not really my thing.

Wrap Up

Glad I made it through that one OK. I may have to go re-watch some things now!

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction Tagged with , , , ,

Drawn Characters – Geekout 4

January 4, 2017 3 Comments

I’ve now found a very interesting one in my page-a-day calendar! All three of the prompts deal with drawn characters. For today, I need to list: Six Recurring Animated Female Characters on 1990s Television, Six Characters from the Mario Bros. Game Franchise, and Two Dark Horse Publications.

20170103_215217

These are just fun! I’ve got good choices for all of them! And I think my category guesses are correct; general, gaming, and comics are the categories this time.

Six Recurring Animated Female Characters on 1990s Television

Now here’s a prompt that my wife exclaimed about when I revealed this page. Considering we both watched quite a few 1990s cartoons, we’ve got quite a few choices!

Barbara Gordon – Batman: The Animated Series

Starting off strong (even speaking literally!) Who wouldn’t have chosen Batgirl? She has always been one of my favorite characters from the Batman franchise, so she was a must include for this list. Through her incarnations, she’s had some changes, but I do enjoy this TV series.

Jean Grey – X-Men

Staying on that strong note is Jean Grey, a mutant of impressive powers. I’d fault this version of the character for her goofy outfit, but that’s just kind of what was worn for this era of the X-Men. It’s definitely nostalgia more than anything else that I like about that era. The colors were crazy. Oh, did I mention that she’s also Phoenix? Yeah… Badass..

Dee Dee – Dexter’s Laboratory

One of the greatest agents of chaos to ever exist, Dexter’s wonderful sister, Dee Dee is a source of endless strife in Dexter’s Lab. Oh how she manages to foil so many of his plans. My favorite of those was when he made her smart, but she was smarter than he was then. Haha!

Bulma – Dragon Ball Z

This brilliant dragon ball hunter may not have been one of the primary combatants of the series, but she was terrifying in her own right (no Chi-chi of course). Bulma was often the person that we could relate to, since she was almost sane. Almost. Her common sense, technical expertise, and tenacity made her an always valuable member of the team!

Harley Quinn – Batman: The Animated Series

Didn’t think I was going to skip this one after bringing up this TV series, did you? Harleen Frances Quinzel was introduced in the 1990s in this series to be exact! Her current portrayal and relationship you may have seen in a recent movie seems quite different from what existed in this series. She may love “Mistah J”, but in this series her relationship with him almost seems abusive.

While I hate discussing a female character based more on her connection to a male character than herself, this one is a bit of an exception. Since I chose Harley Quinn specifically, I’d say that the Joker created her, so that relationship is extremely important. She’s also got an interesting relationship with Poison Ivy, so that’s a thing.

Angelica – Rugrats

And for the show about a bunch of babies, the young, bullying child is a great choice. She’s in an interesting role in that show considering how strange their whole dynamic is in general. I guess when you’re applying wisdom and intelligence to a bunch of babies, you get some weirdness.

Six Characters from the Mario Bros. Game Franchise

Wario

“I’m-a Wario, I’m-a gonna win!” I shouted, crossing the finish line seconds ahead of my nearest opponent! He’s about as “American” as you can get. He’s greedy. He’s overweight. He pushes people around. And he’s such a good driver…

Toad

This topic reminded me of a time I was playing a game of Telestrations, and I was supposed to draw the word “Toad”. I didn’t draw the animal, since I’d have no way to avoid the frog/toad debate in a cruddy marker-drawn picture. Being the nerd that I am, I drew our mushroom-headed friend, Toad with some question blocks and a pipe for added clarity. My drawing was guessed correctly, and the next person, also being a video game nerd, chose to take the same route, drawing a picture very similar to mine. The guess? “Video Game Character”. That could have gone better.

Toad is really interesting though. Considering how many there are, I guess I’ll have chosen the one from Mario Kart, since that game is a blast. Sometimes literally!

Daisy

As the games shifted away from the main titles and more into all of the spinoffs, Daisy became much more prominent. I’m really glad that she was added to the games, because these games would have a broad appeal and were somewhat lacking in interesting female characters. If I’m remembering correctly, she’s athletic and quite capable (despite her initial appearance being as a captured princess).

Bowser

Hooray for the villains! Although, I may like him best in Mario RPG, which casts him in a very different light! Always kidnapping, scheming, and causing problems. I enjoy how he causes problems in the Mario Party games as well. As is there way, Nintendo finds ways to make the villains fun (even the monstrous ones).

Peach

Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle! Well that’s frustrating. Perhaps next time I should figure out which castle looks best defended and go there first…

I remember there being some strange things about her name. I don’t think she really had one at first, or maybe it came from a manual or something. Was this always her name in Japan? Was it something else at first? Either way, she definitely had a name when Mario Kart came around, and I think that name was just “Peach”. Did she sign her name as “Peach” in the note on the cake in Mario 64? Either way, great character.

If you played the game released as Super Mario Bros. 2 in the US, she was just awesome. Love that she wasn’t a “damsel in distress” in that one. She was a playable hero right alongside Mario, Luigi, and Toad! And in some ways better than they were!

Birdo

Now here’s one with some extra weirdness if you dig more deeply. Being a recurring boss-like character in Super Mario Bros. 2, this egg-spitting, bow-wearing creature was more of a nuisance than anything else. It took a real mistake to get hurt by her/him. If memory serves, Birdo is actually male, but wears the bow? Not sure where the eggs are coming from then… Either way, Birdo came back and was featured in more stuff, which is very cool. The games could always use more non-humanoid characters.

Two Dark Horse Publications

Clearly there are none of these on my bookshelf! Why would there be? And I definitely can’t just turn my head and see plenty of Dark Horse logos! No way!

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Comics

If you read the previous ones of these, you may have noticed that I like Star Wars and specifically The Old Republic, having played the single player and MMO games. I don’t think Dark Horse is still the ones publishing these, but they did for a time. That whole Disney acquisition of Star Wars changed many things.

Serenity – Comics

While I agree that restarting Firefly would likely make the series worse than it is, I am glad it received a movie to help wrap things up. Getting canceled before a season completes tends to leave much unanswered (as plenty still is). There are some comics that do as the movie did, helping to tie up additional lose ends and add bits to the story.

I’m happy where Firefly/Serenity is today. Although I really wish I could see what the show could have been!

Wrap Up

20170104_004525

20170104_004513

And no one will ever guess how I chose those two Dark Horse publications…. And if you’re paying careful attention, you’d notice additional Dark Horse publications I didn’t mention…

Filed under All, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Video Games Tagged with , , , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →