Getting Ready for the GEEKend!

I am so excited about the upcoming four day weekend to kick off the month of May.

I'm not saying its a vacation weekend, just talking about all the plans for May 1st through the 4th.

Starting Friday, the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe Feature Film officially hits theaters. Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron looks to be an exciting ride with old friends and new faces. Add to that the genius move of having James Spader voice Ultron, and you've got a movie I have to see opening day. Ny the way, if you watch Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC you might want to make sure you watch Age of Ultron this weekend. Like last year's Captain America: Winter Soldier  it looks like events in the movie will directly impact the characters on the TV show.

So that's Friday.

Saturday is Free Comic Book Day.

If you've got a kid who just watched Avengers and wants to know more, take him or her to a comic book store near you. there are a lot of great things going on in the realm of comics today. With Convergence in the DC universe and Secret Wars in Marvel, there are some fantastic new story lines to get started reading. Also, if you're having trouble getting your son or daughter to read, Free Comic Book Day allows him or her to pick out something enjoyable and possibly move on to a lifetime path of reading.

Finally Monday is May the 4th, as in "May the 4th Be With You."

It's a great opportunity to celebrate Star Wars. And it couldn't come at a better time. The new animated series Star Wars: Rebels is coming off a highly successful first season, and the trailer for the second season looks phenomenal. The fourth in the newest series of canon novels, Lords of the Sith, just came out on Tuesday.

If you're looking for a way to celebrate the galaxy far, far away you and maybe even pick up that book, you can join me at Best of Books on Monday. With Star Wars origami, a scavenger hunt and Jedi traning, we expect it to be a fun day!

So that's my weekend. What's yours look like? Let me know in the comets...

Let the GEEKening begin!

This Friday kicks off what could arguably be the most GEEKtastic summer movie season of all time.

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron coming to the theaters is likely the first of the most anticipated movies of 2015.

Now, I know what you're going to say: "But there have been other geeky things which have come out before May First, such as the Daredevil series on Netflix.

To which I say those were just a taste of what is to come.

A preGEEKqual if you will.

This summer looks jam-packed with some of truly awesome movies with Mad Max Fury Road and Tomorrowland rounding out May.

Jurassic World and Pixar's Inside Out is hitting theaters this June.

July comes around and the fireworks will be found in the theaters with Minions, Ant-Man and Pan.

July also includes Terminator Genisys but I fear there's more wrong with this film then just bad spelling.

 We finish out the summer with Fantastic Four in August which after the last trailer is actually looking better than expected.

Of course we round out the year with the most anticipated film ever: Star Wars: A Force Awakens.

But first we have to get through this summer. To my fellow geeks I say this "pace your self".

It could be very easy to get overwhelmed, so make sure you plan accordingly.

I would suggest picking a certain time to see a film and stick with that time for every opening. This is a fun time to be alive and be a geek. Have fun and enjoy it, because these types of films won't always be the norm.

In the meantime, if you need me, I will likely be at the movies...

So what are you planning to see this summer? Let me know in the comments...

I've Got a Theory About the Inquisitor in Star Wars: Rebels!

So what follows contains spoilers! If you haven't seen the final episode of Star Wars: Rebels "Fire Across the Galaxy" I suggest you do that first before you read this if you don't want to get spoiled.

That's Ok, I'll wait....

Good. Now, first off, wasn't that amazing! What a great way to end the first season! 

What got me was the way the Inquisitor "died" after allegedly plummeting to his death. This is a character introduced very early on by Disney/LucasFilms. And Hasbro only recently came out with the action figure. It seems a lot of work just to kill off a character after about 15 episodes.

I was talking to my son, and we came up with a theory. And here it is.

The Inquisitor died, but not permanently.The last thing he says to Kanan before falling from the ledge was "There are worse things then death." Some have suggested this is just a hint that Darth Vader was coming after him, but what if it wasn't.

Right before Ben Kenobi died he tells Vader, "If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can imagine." While this might have been a little bit of an exaggeration, it basically meant Kenobi would become what we call a force ghost. Thanks to the training of Qui-Gon Jinn, Kenobi shed his mortal body and became a corporeal part of the force, still able to influence people and events.

Yoda also did this during Return of the Jedi. Somehow at the end of Return of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker was also able to become a Force Ghost, but he never got the training to do that.

Or did he.

We know that Darth Sidious was obsessed with learning how to cheat death as he discussed with young Anakin during Revenge of the Sith. Sidious even mentions wanting to work with Anakin to discover this secret.

So, what if they did it. What if Sidious and Vader managed to find a Sith way to cheat death in much the same way as Kenobi and Yoda. But what would a Sith Ghost be like: just pure evil I imagine.

And, that's how I believe they will bring the Inquisitor back in the show: As a dark side force ghosr or Sith ghost

So let's take this just a step further. 

Maybe the reason Anakin shows up at the end is because he had been through the training with the Emperor However, since he had crossed back over to the light side he appeared as a force ghost rather than whatever it is a Sith turns into after death.

Also, the death scene of the Inquisitor falling to his death could be compared to the Emperor's death at the end of Return of the Jedi. So, what if whatever is going to happen to the Inquisitor also happens to Darth Sidious?

The original working title for Star Wars VII was called an Ancient Fear, which could point to a return of an old Sith. Sidious maybe? Just some thoughts on what if there are Sith Ghosts along with Jedi Ghosts.

So what do you think? Am I on to something or am I cuckoo for cocoa puffs? Let me know in the comments...

Paying Final Respects to Our Honored Dead

Last week, we lost someone very dear to us: Leonard Nimoy.

I have been dreading this post, because I'm not sure I can produce the words to express what his passing means.

One of my earliest memories is watching reruns of Star Trek: The Original Series with my father. Even at so young an age, Mr. Spock was fascinating to me.

I loved how Nimoy chose to play the character, and how the character truly evolved before our eyes.

The logical, emotionless character certainly wasn't unique, but Nimoy added something no one else had before: a heart. He helped us care for the character and feel the love he couldn't.

This was best expressed in the episode "This Side of Paradise" by D.C. Fontana. Spock chooses a life without emotion and love in return for duty and responsibility. If you haven't seen it lately, it is wonderful.

Eventually, Nimoy would try to distance himself from the character of Spock.

It's certainly understandable. No actor wants to be typecast into one role.

But eventually he came around to see what the character meant to the throngs of fans.

And they did embrace him!

The Vulcan salute and phrase "Live Long and Prosper" are synonymous with geeks everywhere.

At times we have even embraced his emotionlessness to protect ourselves from the bullies of the world and the ones who couldn't love us because we were so weird.

When his death was announced on Friday, I cried. To me it was different than when we lost Robin Williams last summer. You see, Robin Williams belonged to everyone. All people had a special connection with him.

But Leonard Nimoy was ours alone. He was a mentor when we needed wisdom, an ally when we needed strength and a companion in the darkest times,.Most people don't understand what he meant to us, but he helped us be a better part of this world.

I couldn't help but watch the funeral scene in Wrath of Khan again when I heard the news, and the words of Captain Kirk ring true:

"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most Human!"

Cue the bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace"!

Farewell, my friend. We are better for having known you.

My Hope for a Marvel Reboot!

As some of you might know Marvel is planing some big changes by the end of the Summer.

It all begins with the epic Secret Wars mini-series which looks like an epic battle of the Marvel multiverse.

The way its being advertised it looks like it will end in a very Highlander fashion "There can be only one!"

But, which one?

There have been many speculations, so before the beginning of the end I thought I would provide my tuppence.

As many of you know if you read my blog, I am a big fan of continuity.

I have been thrilled with the inter-connectivity of the  Marvel Cinematic Universe where the same characters and actors in the movies are referenced on TV and in movies.

This is a genius move on Marvel/Disney's part.

This encourages someone who watched Avengers and mourned the loss of Agent Coulson to watch him on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The continuity can even cross different eras as proven in Peggy Carter, starting Hayley Atwell who we first enjoyed in Captain America: the First Avenger.

Again, its marketing at its best.

And, something we've rarely ever seen in a comic book setting where any director or writer can change anything and everything about a character, usually to disastrous results.

The worst part is even when the movies are successful, a new fan has no where to go.

If a young person enjoyed the 2012 Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, and then rushed out to pick up the comic book of the same name, he or she would be sorely disappointed.

That character hasn't existed since the 60s, and his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, died in 1973.

This is why most comic book movie and TV fans don't translate into readers.

But, this is changing, and Marvel/Disney is the one leading the way with Star Wars.

In the new continuity of Star Wars everything from books to comic books to movies to television are connected.

And it's wonderful!

I know that at any point one story might be connected to another one even if they are in different media.

I would love to see Marvel do the same.

There are already character additions coming to Netflix.

We also know that Sony and Marvel have inked a deal to keep Spidey in this universe.

Now its time to bring all of them together and give fans what they really want.

A truly connected universe on screen and in print.

So, what do you think? Let me know in the comments...

Grant Morrison Does it Again

A while back I wrote about how I felt DC needs to pull away from its multiverses and follow Marvel's idea of more consistency.

This feeling remains unchanged, but the recent Multiversity guidebook almost made me change my mind.

Multiversity is the brain child of the incredible Grant Morrison.

Morrison stands as a truly great writer of graphic novels along with Sandman creator Neil Gaiman.

It was Grant Morrison who, in the early 90s, ended his reboot of Animal Man, by making the titular character meet up with himself as the author of the comic book.

The surrealistic ending still stands as one of the best ending to a series arc in history.

Now, DC has given Morrison the task of teaching everyone about the Multiverse.

And, not unusual for Morrison himself, he's also teaching the characters within the Multiverse itself.

Every issue of the current series includes comic books left for characters to find which are the very same comic books the reader is currently reading.

The issues have been somewhat confusing... until now!

On Wednesday, DC released The Multiversity Guidebook by Morrison.

This amazingly extra-long issue contains not only the best story and the best artwork, but also the best explanations of the 52 universes which have sprung up since the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The best part of the massive graphic work is the description of each of the individual universes.

(While the following aren't necessarily spoilers, I highly recommend picking up this issue at your local retailer)

First off there's Earth-0 which is what we are currently reading in the New 52.

There are a few universes which are being told now like Earth-2.

Still others have played out in previous graphic novels like Earth 30: the story line Superman: Red Son where Superman lands in Soviet Russia rather than Smallville, Kansas.

Still others come directly from the genius mind of Grant Morrison like gender-bender Earth-11, Steampunk Earth-19 and groovy Earth-47.

Morrison even left seven Earths unknown which could certainly play into the current and upcoming television and film superheroes.

The most interesting aspect of Morrison's Multiversity Guidebook comes from the realization it is truly a handbook I can't put away.

My habit as a comic book collector is to bag and board each issue upon reading it.

Not so with this one.

Grant Morrison's The Multiversity Guidebook will remain on my shelf as a much needed reference for what I expect to be a mind-blowing dive into the future of DC Comics.

While I still question DC's choice to double-down on the inconsistency in its works along print, TV and film, I'm excited to see there this leads.

Any thoughts? Please leave me a comment below...

Year of the Geek Part Two: Star Wars

The end of 2015 brings Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but, also this year, there are other options to get your fix of stories from the galaxy far, far away.

First off there's the current ongoing series "Star Wars: Rebels" on Disney XD.

If you haven't checked this one out, I highly recommend it.

The creators are the same who won awards for "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", so you don't want to miss it.

There are great options for readers both young and old.

Starting this month, Star Wars returns to Marvel Comics!

Marvel is releasing three titles over the next three months beginning with Star Wars #1 on January 14th.

The first issue could be the biggest comic book seller ever!

Two more titles, Star Wars: Darth Vader and Star Wars: Princess Leia will follow.

Also exciting is Marvel's Omnibus release of the first 44 issues of Star Wars which came out in the late 70s.

Another great addition to the new Expanded Universe includes the novel Heir to the Jedi.

The story fills the gap of what happened to young Luke Skywalker between blowing up the first Death Star and the battle on Hoth.

All of these will be canon and possibly laying the groundwork for The Force Awakens.

Finally and possibly most exciting is the summer release of books retelling the story of the original trilogy.

These books will be perfect for the young people who only have memories of the prequels.

All in all, its a wonderful opportunity to whet our appetites until December.

So, what are you looking forward to in the Star Wars Universe this year? Let me know in the comments...