What Do You Mean They're Not Superheroes?: Dr. Dog Live: A Three Part Perspective - Part 1

So, Darren, Rob, our new Columnist Eric and a few of Rob's friends all went to The Bluebird last night to see the one and only Dr. Dog play to a pretty packed house. Since all three of our core Bloggers/Columnists were there we decided that we could do sort of a three part perspective of the show. There were two opening bands, one of which I had seen before and another which I was unfamiliar with. The evening started with Darren, Eric and I getting there and hour before doors and accidentally wandering in on soundcheck ... it was pretty cool. So, we went and got dinner at Union Station (I had an Asiago Cheese Bagel Dog from Einstein's Brothers). By the time we made it back to the venue things were starting to look pretty lively and we found a place to sit on a nice comfy couch where we spent most of the evening. The first opener was Marlow Honey, which sounded a whole lot like Kings of Leon, even moreso when they played a cover of The Bucket, they were pretty good and had some fun originals and I would like to see where they are in like 5 years. Next up was The Feed, who I saw at Off Broadway at an all covers night (they were The Clash and who I coincedentally saw at the last Dr. Dog show last year), They are an incredibly unique band that is a ton of fun to watch and even more fun to relax and listen to. The crowd at The Bluebird was a whole lot of fun and was rather diverse. And when Dr. Dog hit the stage it was time to stand up and move around a little bit. They put together a really tight set, taking into account that their second lead singer and bassist Toby Leaman suffered an injury to the throat prior to the tour beginning and is under doctors orders not to sing thought it didn't stop him from doing just a little bit of back up singing. The show was peppered with really memorable songs from previous albums as well as some great tracks from the new one. I haven't sought out seeing a band live a second time all that often, Ours, Man Man, Citizen Cope, The Bureau, and now Dr. Dog, I only really care to see a band live a second time if I really enjoyed the first time I saw them. One of the most frustrating things about most concerts is that most venues don't understand how to properly mix the audio and you can't hear the vocals of the band and so a majority of the enjoyment of the experience is lost. However Bluebird is clearly run by people who know how to make a concert a much more engaging experience The mix on the audio levels were perfect and despite being a small venue abd there being a large crowd it never felt claustrophobic like some other small venues can become. If anything can be gleaned from this experience it is that Dr. Dog is a band worthy of going to see more than once and even more than twice, and that The Bluebird is an absolutely fantastic addition the the Saint Louis Concert Venue Scene. Just remember, We all Belong.

Everyone Welcome Our New Columnist

Eric "Donut" Pollard has decided to grace us with his presence and to grace these pages with his unique view as a new guy coming to the world of comics with all kinds of things keeping him from reading all of the comics he wants to, school, work, being broke, having a social life ... but he still makes time. So, read along as we all witness the all that can be said "Straight From The Donut Hole"

ComicDorksCast Special Episode: Batman: The Dark Knight

Download Directly:
ComicDorkscast - Batman - The Dark Knight.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)

Running Time: 00:39:23

• The Dorks Talk all about Batman: The Dark Knight

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Batman Theme" by The Jam.

ComicDorksCast Episode 025

Download Directly:
ComicDorkscastEp025.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)

Running Time: 01:18:38

• 00:02:59 - Robinson continues to leave us with questions in Superman #678
• 00:11:18 - Scott's Pick of the Week: Immortal Iron Fist #17
• 00:16:22 - Invincible #51 amazes us all in different ways.
• 00:24:11 - Rob's Pick of the Week - War Heroes #1
• 00:33:33 - Scott and Darren are in paradise with Madame Xanadu #2
• 00:41:56 - Darren's Pick of the Week - Daredevil #109
• 00:53:22 - E-Mail Time! - Matt wants to know what books disappoint.
• 01:06:27 - E-Mail ... sorta ... What are the ComicDorks' Favorite All-Time Batman stories?
• 01:10:11 - Brief Mentions
• 01:12:44 - Scott's Anticipated books for July 16th
• 01:12:53 - Darren's Anticipated books for July 16th
• 01:13:01 - Rob's Anticipated books for July 16th

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Wildcat" by Ratatat.

Words & Stuff: The World of Wizards

Well Wizard World 2008 has come and gone but what a great time it was. This Wizard World, which is of course is located in the windy city (people also call it chitown...I was unaware), was my third consecutive Wizard World convention. The convention was held in Rosemont convention center. By posting this blog, I hope to inform my fellow comic dorks about the wonder of conventions and how they are the annual Mecca for any comic reader. If you ever dreamed to meet the talented men and women behind the books you read weekly then there is no greater chance to do so than at Wizard World. Every year, many different creators and artists appear and also local creators come such as Brian Azzerello and Alex Ross (no joke). This year’s guest list was by far the best I have seen in my convention-going career The convention had such attendee’s as Brian Michael Bendis (who happens to not like our dear friend captain cletus) Geoff Johns, Peter David, Sean McKeever, Phil Hester, David Mack, Ethan Van Sciver, Greg Rucka, Alex Ross, Tony Daniel, Alex Maleev and many, many others. Many people often wonder what all goes into conventions. What do you do and what is there to see? Well Wizard World is set up in four parts: company booths, vendors, artist alley, and panel rooms. The company booth section is the place where companies display their upcoming releases and is also the location where many writers and artists go to for their assigned signing times, which are often posted daily and the booths themselves. All publishers are located here, big and small, and there’s often a lot of things to discover at the smaller publisher booths (Such as Jeffery Brown’s Incredible Change-Bots). The next part is the most troublesome… the vendors. If you go to convention convinced that you are not going to spend a dollar on comics… think again. Vendors have every trade imaginable and usually at least a 35% discount. The most alluring of vendors are those that sell their trades at the 50% percent range. To give a taste for how much you can wind up spending, I will now share with you my personal purchase list: 24 seven Vol.1 and 2, Catwoman Vol.1, Cross Bronx, Absolute Edition Dark Knight Returns, Doctor 13, Doll and Creature, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, Firebreather Vol. 1 and Firebreather: The Iron Saint, Godland Vol.1, Jack of Fables Vol.1, Jinx, Manhunter Vol. 1 & 2, New X-Men Vol.1, Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 1 & 2, Stray Bullets Vol1. X-factor: Madrox, X-factor Vol. 1-3, The Zombie Survival Guide, and an Invincible Statue. So needless to say, I spent a little bit of the monies. So after a couple hours and a series of back problems later, the next place to go is the famous Artist’s Alley, which is the greatest part of the convention. Here you get to see up and coming talent in the industry along with battle hardened veterans. All artists and creators are very welcoming and often excited to give autographs or even sketches. And last but not least, the panel rooms. At Wizard World, there are three separate panel rooms all displaying different things at different times. In example, DC Nation and the DC panel often talk about upcoming events in the DC Universe and usually contain a line-up of artists and writers talking about their individual projects. Marvel’s Cup O Joe (though this year it was entitled Cup O Bendis) is the equivalent to DC Nation and DC Panels. There are also panels for the smaller publishing companies and some panels that are just plain fun. Though I could ramble on about how awesome conventions are, you need to just….go. So that was just a glimpse into the world of comic conventions and the great thing is if you aren’t afraid to travel there are comic conventions going on year round. So go out there, see the world, and see the comics.
* Greg Rucka and Myself in the Photograph

Blog Log #2 ("PROBABLY THE BEST SUPERHERO COMIC IN THE UNIVERSE"... hmmmmm?)

All right… I may have heard someone say something once that blew my mind. Someone I respect a great deal. Someone whose wisdom I try to soak up like the sponge that I am. A handsome man, a handsome man indeed. Damn sexy to be frank. Anyway to paraphrase, he may have said something along the lines of, “What Kirkman is doing with Invincible is what Bendis wishes he could do with Ultimate Spider- Man. Invincible is a much better book than Ultimate Spider- Man! Plus, everybody in Invincible isn’t drawn like they have a thumb jammed right up their ass.” This someone may or might not even like superhero comics? Like I always say, “ I’m not here to judge.” (Please don’t can me for this. I really love my job and would not do anything to mess this wonderful dream up. I LUV U!)

Now let’s get down to brass tacks. I have just read Ultimate Spider- Man’s beautiful hard covers, volumes 1 through 9. My journey began at issue #1 and led me on an emotional roller coaster all the way to issue # 111. Along the way I got a ½ issue, a couple annuals, the Ultimate Six miniseries, and all sorts of other bells and whistles. (Including a conversation regarding Venom) I would recommend throwing Ultimate Marvel Team- Up in there too. Resting betwixt hardcover volume #2 and #3 is my Team-Up hardcover. (Don’t hate me because my collection is beautiful!) Team-Up contains some stories and appearances that I feel are essential to the bigger picture. Here it comes, my reply to that special someone I spoke of earlier. (every word was as true as true can be) Due to the fact that Bendis is restricted to certain limitations, such as, rewriting the beginning of a character that has been well established for many years, you are right, he isn’t able to do what Kirkman can. The thing is, despite these limitations Bendis writes a story that is every bit as good (if not better) than Invincible. I will not weigh in on which one is better, call me a coward if you want. Both titles are great and can exist on Earth together in harmony. Secondly, the eyes may answer the whole thumb debacle, but I liked Bagley’s pencils on this book.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Ultimate Universe it is basically re-launching all our favorite Marvel characters into the 21st century. Ultimate Spider-Man was brought to us by Bill Jemas (who left Bendis to carry on), Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, and Art Thibert. This book is absolutely fantastic. You will know what I mean when you begin to cry then turn around and laugh your ass off. These pages are filled with all your favorite characters that you have known and loved… but maybe, slightly different. A quick and exciting read I might add. I don’t want to get into too much of the story because I would hate to ruin this book for anyone. Including you folks who still have a bitter taste in your mouth after the One More Day thing. This book will slap that taste right out yo mouth! Ultimate Spider- Man is the type of book all people of different sorts would dig. It has action. It has the teen angst we all know so well. It has drama. It has comedy. (Obviously, we are talking about Peter here.) It has priceless crossovers. It has cup holders. It has central air. It even has a kitchen sink. Bottom line… give this book a read! If you don’t love it, my name isn’t Cleterus. Oh yeah…Bagley, props on realizing Bendis is the perfect Kong. - Rob

- still waiting on my money Bendis... whaddup dude?

Blog Log # 2 (OBEY ME OR...)

Obviously, this quote trumps anything I might have read in a funny book this week. I recommend when reading this message you add an intro. Such as, STAY IN SCHOOL OR…, or DON’T DO DRUGS OR…, or SURSLY…, or etc. (I guarantee you’ll throw a “pity the fool” somewhere in there.) Always remember; if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them. Maybe you can hire the A- Team. They are soldiers of fortune. Last I heard they were still chillin’ in Los Angeles underground. – Rob

(Many thanks to Pizza Reggie for the image that just changed your life. Your my ace in the hole!)

The Best Books You Didn't Read this Week, Issue 1

I read a crap-ton of books every week. A light week as of late has still been in the 14-18 book range and a lot of those are books that come into the shop in quantities of one and never make it to the shelf ... I like to take a lot of chances on small press books and niche titles from the larger publishers. And to be honest while plenty of the titles that I read aren't hugely popular for all kinds of reasons, non-typical art or story-telling, and I am okay with that. I like to read all kinds of stuff. But then there are the titles that really should be on everyone's radar that for some reason or another don't manage to find their way into the stacks of the readers world-wide. So, starting this week I am going to start talking about some of the books that you are missing out on.

The Spirit #19 – It all started about two years ago when Darwyn Cooke brought the classic character created by Will Eisner back to the pages of modern comics. For 12 issues he and his co-conspirators created brilliant tales of action and adventure with a great sense of humor. When J Bone had to leave the title Cooke left as well and a new team was announced and it's been rather interesting since then. While Cooke's run on the book was certainly amazing the new writing team of Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier have had some really fantastic artists to work with, namely Mike Ploog and Paul Smith, and to be honest the book has been really fun. Each issue is it's own story and to a certain extent that is part of the appeal, sometimes in this age of stories that last 6 to 8 issues or longer and when everything is written for the trade a book that is great for singular issues is a welcome commodity.





Elephantmen #13 – This is maybe the best book that I am reading right now. Richard Starkings isn't just a lettering genius, he is also one hell of a writer. He has two Hip Flask Hardcovers available and the first Elephantmen HC ($24.99) is still available, and the trade paperback ($16.99) comes out next week, also available is the War Toys ($9.99) trade paperback. Honestly, some of the best collections available when you concern page count per dollar. Really the story is way too complex to start talking about here but I assure you that if you are a fan of Sci-Fi and/or Noir with a touch of anthro-pomorphism then look no further. (for more of a review click HERE).












Thirteen Steps Volume 01 Trade Paperback – For $15.99 this trade paperback collects the first five issues of this really great book from Desperado Publishing co-written by Phil Hester (Firebreather and Atheist: Antoine Sharpe) and Chuck Satterlee (Of Bitter Souls and Smoke & Mirrors) with art by the wonderful Kevin Mellon (Gearhead) is the story of Justin Ullrich who is a semi-professional baseball player with a bit of an addiction problem. He hunts. Humans. He's a Were-wolf. But, he's trying to get his problem under control with the help of a Thirteen Step program. The first 12 steps are just like every other sobriety/addiction program but this adds a thirteenth step ... the creatures who go through the program must learn that they shouldn't kill just anyone ... but that sometimes deaths still occur. GREAT BOOK!

More to come next week!

Blog Log # 2 (Calling all cars. We have an emergency!)

MISSING!!!

Have You Seen
Scotty’s Vocal Track?

Last seen early Tuesday morning.

Reward Upon Return!
( in the form of a thank you and a handshake)

If Seen Please Contact The ComicDorksCast.

ComicDorksCast Episode 024?

Download Directly ...

Wait ... where's the episode?


Well ... due to a technical SNAFU my (Scott) voice was not recorded during the taping of the most recent ComicDorksCast ... while we were in the process of recording both Darren and Rob could hear me and I could hear them but ... the recording has their voices and blank spots in between ... no explanation the previous recordings from the same night feature my voice in all it's oddity and wonder but ... nothing there ... I apologize ...

It was a pretty good episode too ... Rob finally got a head set so we were hum of air conditioning free.

I apologize for this unavoidable technical oddity.
As a consolation prize a picture of me at RibFest with a Deep Fried Twinkie

ComicDorksCast Special Episode: Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army

Download Directly:

ComicDorkscast - Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)

Running Time: 00:17:14

• Last week's talk about HELLBOY!

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Devil's Haircut" by Beck.

Blog Log #2 (Satan called and said send a sweater.)

… AND NOW FOR THE QUOTE OF THE CENTURY!!! Just today I received a message (the textual kind) that shook the world. My idol, Scotty Don’t caused a vibration in my pocket that crept right into my heart. You see, Scotty and I have a pretty heavy textual relationship. (He could be the king of text. Guess he just knows all the right buttons to push.) So there I am working hard at my job... talking comics (that’s what hump day is like at a comic book store) and I notice a tingling sensation on the thigh. As if that wasn’t good enough I open my phone to see words, a bunch of words, I don’t know what they were because the only two that mattered were the last two. They read “… YOU WIN.” ‘Nuff said, know what I mean.

Sursly, Scotty you totally fucking rock. All the hard work you put into this whole operation is greatly appreciated. Our new digs look fanphuckintastic. I mean you even edit the shows to a point where I almost sound like I know what I’m talking about. No easy feat, I’m sure. So all you people out there bow down to the glory of Scott, my personal hero. Scotty… you may have been added to the list of people who's nuts we are on, but still... I WIN!

DID YOU GUYS SEE THE COMICDORKS STORE YET? IF NOT CHECK IT OUT! Fuck Justin, we are bringing sexy back!!!

T-Shirts!

They're finally done and they are ready to get into your wardrobe!
Head on over to www.cafepress.com/comicdorkscast and check out all the apparel that is available.
Get a t-shirt or a hoodie or a hat ... even have items for the ladies!
All sporting the design by our friend Richard Bardle that you can now also see at the top of our website!
Send us a picture of yourself wearing the ComicDorksCast Clothing line and we will do something special for you, PROMISE!

ComicDorksCast Episode 023

Download Directly:

ComicDorkscastEp023.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)

Running Time: 01:14:21

• 00:04:21 - Scott and Darren both really liked I Kill Giants #1
• 00:08:02 - Scott's Pick of the Week: Joker's Asylum: Penguin
• 00:12:45 - Again Justice Society of America stuns us all.
• 00:20:28 - Rob's Pick of the Week - Action Comics #867
• 00:34:36 - Final Crisis: Requiem leaves the Dorks a little misty-eyed
• 00:43:36 - Darren's Pick of the Week - Detective Comics #846
• 00:51:16 - Scott's Best Trade of Last Month: Water Baby
• 00:54:02 - Rob's Best Trade of Last Month: Atomic Robo TPB Volume 1: Atomic Robo & the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne
• 00:57:44 - Darren's Best Trade of Last Month: X-Factor: Madrox - Multiple Choice
• 01:03:17 - Brief Mentions
• 01:07:20 - Scott's Anticipated books for July 16th
• 01:07:48 - Darren's Anticipated books for July 16th
• 01:08:37 - Rob's Anticipated books for July 16th

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Momma's Boy" by Elizabeth & The Catapult.

Blog Log # 2 (1+1+1= 3 way or the beautiful world of multiple choice!)

Okay, this blog log might be a bit offensive. To show all of you that I don’t discriminate, I will try and offend everyone equally. Are you ready? Remember, I am just repeating what I found in comics this week. All right, lets rock! “Surely don’t want no country band getting’ to the enemy with a mess of banjos and fiddles. It will be chaos in the streets!” (this offends me. I’m pickin’ a banjo right now. See, I am an equal opportunity hater.) “Hello, I’m a grown man with a mustache that enjoys watching women shake their boobies about. Therefore I would like one ticket to your burlesque show, please, since I hear you have lots of boobies shaking about.” Last but not least. “I am a grown man with a mustache, after all, and like all other grown men, I like to become intoxicated while half- naked ladies dance about and make my wee- wee big.” - Your welcome, Rob

P.S. - A salute to the mustache. Obey the greatness that is upper lip hair.

Blog Log #2 (Why you such a hater, Bendis?)

So, I am just sitting here enjoying some Ultimate Spider-Man (this books is great, great, great!) and what do I see? Bendis talking trash. I know half his name is dis, but come on. You don’t even know me. Well… at least I don’t know you. Where is all this hate coming from? What I am speaking of comes out of issue #69. Bendis uses Johnny Storm to deliver his insults (I spoke with Johnny and he is not happy at all. Go ahead Bendis ask him what happened.) Anyway Johnny is talking to Peter and MJ and these words (no not words we will call them mouth turds) these mouth turds spew from his mouth, “Oh, you mean that obnoxious fat guy’s website? What’s his name? Cletus.” Very cute Bendis, very cute indeed. Acting like you can’t remember my name and the crack about being fat. Come on Tubbs, whaddup? I know what you are going to say. “ I wrote that issue like three years ago!” Well mister that just isn’t good enough. We all know about your ability to see the future. Give it up! The secrets out! It is because of this ability that you are probably afraid. Bet you didn’t know I could be so savage. What’d you see? Me being savage, right? I demand satisfaction! I want an apology and twenty bucks. You know what I will go ahead and except your apology right now. Where’s my money, man? I needs some Dr. Pepper. But for real, next time you got something to say, say it to my face. Don’t go around using super heroes for your dirty work (makes you look like a punk. maybe even a punk bitch.) You think I got time to go around destroying heroes all day. Well... I don’t. All right Bendis, get at me about my money and we can try and pick up the pieces. -Captain Cletus

ComicDorksCast Episode 022

Download Directly:
ComicDorkscastEp022.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)
(Sound Quality on this episode is not great ... Scott's Headset needs to be replaced)
Running Time: 01:09:32

• 00:04:40 - Scott loved the drug fueled haze of Batman #678
• 00:10:05 - Rob's Pick of the Week: House of Mystery #3
• 00:16:45 - Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men #25 surprised and pleased The Dorks
• 00:27:05 - Scott's Pick of the Week - Jonah Hex #33
• 00:32:47 - Economy of action still leaves quite an impact with Walking Dead #50
• 00:42:46 - Darren's Pick of the Week - Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1
• 00:49:40 - Rob's Best Issue of Last Month: Batman Confidential #18
• 00:51:18 - Darren's Best Issue of Last Month: Invinincible #50
• 00:54:03 - Scott's Best Issue of Last Month: Manhunter #31
• 00:55:33 - Brief Mentions
• 01:00:13 - Scott's Anticipated books for July 10th
• 01:01:19 - Darren's Anticipated books for July 10th
• 01:03:14 - Rob's Anticipated books for July 10th

If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at: Comicdorkscast@gmail.com

Go to www.FantasyShopOnline.com and check out the growing community on the Message Boards.

Check out our website at ComicDorksCast.Blogspot.com.

The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Way Down In The Hole" by Tom Waits.

Blog Log # 2 (Give us... Free!)

Here it is. The quote of the week is coming at you now. "Do you smell what I smell? Smells like freedom. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather... brother." Hope y'all had fun blowing shit up.- Rob

What Do You Mean They're Not Superheroes?: Independents Day (Ha HA! A pun.)

Since today is the anniversary of America declaring it's Independence from the British Royal Kingdom I thought it might be fun to do a post about a couple different things. Independent music, independent movies, independent comics, independent programming, personal independence, and an independent internet.

For the sake of entertainment let's talk about things out of order.

One of the most important causes in the world today isn't gas, the credit crunch, the freedom of the citizens of Zimbabwe, the war going on in Iraq, the “conflict” going on in Afghanistan, it's Net Neutrality. Without Net Neutrality we wouldn't be able to freely know about all the things going on in the world. Without Net Neutrality corporations will cut up the internet, which is basically the last free and open frontier left in the world. Real Estate is drying up, as they say “The only thing you can't make more of is land”. Every second on television is owned and spun by someone. Every radio wave is occupied (the places on the radio that are static are most likely owned and undeveloped or are static for a very specific reason). The internet is the last place where you can make a stand, the last place where the world is truly at your fingertips. If the corporate world has it the way they want you'll not only have to pay for access to the internet and for the speed at which you wish to access it but they will charge you for how much of the internet they will allow you to use, sort of the way that the cable companies charge you for the channels that you want to watch ... Stop them ... go to http://savetheinternet.com and find out everything you need to know about the ways to keep the world at your fingertips.

More and more the best shows aren't on the Big Three (alright, Fox counts too ... Big Four ... sheesh). Sure most of the rest of the television networks are owned by the big three ... ahem Four, sorry ... but still networks like USA, FX, HBO, Showtime, A&E, Sci-Fi, etc. have some of the best shows. Shows like Psych, Burn Notice, Rescue Me, The Shield, The Wire, Dexter, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and a growing number of others, stretch outside your comfort zone and check out some of these shows. Head over to www.hulu.com (if you check out Hulu then do yourself a favor and check out Murder One) or www.surfthechannel.com (if you check out SurfTheChannel then do yourself a favor and check out Damages) and check some of these rising stars out.

Recently I went to a concert at The Duck Room, which is the concert venue beneath Chuck Berry's own Saint Louis restaurant Blueberry Hill. It is perhaps the most underrated concert venue in Saint Louis. The concert I attended was for one of my favorite bands, Ours. They recently released their third album on a new label, long gone from their previous label Dreamworks. They worked long and hard on this album with Rick Ruben before finding a home for the record and it was well worth the wait. Ours is one of the most awesome bands I have ever had the pleasure of seeing live. They have a similar sound to that of Muse, and maybe even a little bit of Radiohead and A Perfect Circle. Jimmy Gnecco is an amazing frontman who also is the creative drive behind the band. When they make their way to Saint Louis again you should all take a chance on something unfamiliar and prepare yourself for a really good time.

Lately in the store we've been watching Mystery Men ... really an underrated superhero movie.

I had 34 books this week ... I admit, I have a problem. The breakdown as the books go are as follows: 1 Marvel, 8 Vertigo, 9 DC, 6 Image, 3 Dark Horse, 7 Smaller presses. So, while Vertigo is technically part of DC and Jonah Hex is technically a DC publication, even a conservative count still has it as 18 mainstream books and 16 small press books. A more liberal, and if I am anything I am a bleeding heart liberal, interpretation puts the numbers at 9 mainstream titles and 25 titles outside the purview of the mainstream. So I have fantasy books, sci-fi books, crime books, slice of life books, western books, and non-typical superhero books. So, I think it is easy to say that I am a supporter of the whole of the comics industry, as both a fan and a retailer. I try the kinds of comics that sound good to me. Even more I try the same kinds of stories that appeal to me in any medium. Why people only read superhero comics has never made sense to me. If when you go home from work the one thing you want to watch is Law & Order or re-runs of NYPD Blue or something like that then why aren't you reading Powers? If you love the novels of Robert Ludlum then why aren't you reading Queen & Country? If you are one of the millions who read The Da Vinci Code then why aren't you reading Rex Mundi? If you love old Clint Eastwood movies then what is keeping you from Jonah Hex, The Lone Ranger, The Man with No Name, and all the awesome western graphic novels out there? If you like Quentin Tarantino and the crime movies of the 60's and 70's then why isn't Criminal, '76 and 100 Bullets on your pull and hold list? Seriously, there is a comic out there for every taste. So seriously, if you watch television or movies, or read novels then the next time you go into your Local Comic Shop ask them if there is anything like the rest of what you enjoy.

I treat comics, movies, music and everything in my life with a sense of independence. The more variety in my life, the more I declare my independence from any one concept or precept, the more I try new things the more I define my palate. Things I like, things I don't like ... it helps me develop a sort of compass to guide my way through life. And that means that I can try new foods, new cuisines, new artists, new authors, new shows, new comics, new movies. It lets me know who's opinion I can trust and whose I cannot ... and hopefully at some point my opinion can become one of your compass points.

ComicDorksCast Episode 021

Download Directly:
ComicDorkscastEp021.mp3
(Right Click and choose "Save As..." and save locally on your computer)
Running Time: 01:17:04

• 00:05:10 - Darren dug Uncanny X-Men #499
• 00:11:05 - Scott's Pick of the Week: Final Crisis #2
• 00:22:18 - Rob and Scott muse over Avengers Extravaganza 2008!
• 00:38:22 - Darren's Pick of the Week - Daredevil #108
• 00:45:48 - Rob's Pick of the Week - Superman #677
• 00:57:37 - PREVIEWS!
• 01:08:05 - Brief Mentions
• 01:11:02 - Scott's Anticipated books for July 2nd
• 01:11:38 - Darren's Anticipated books for July 2nd
• 01:12:13 - Rob's Anticipated books for July 2nd

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The Music at the opening and closing of the show was: "Paper Kitten Nightmare" by Margot & The Nuclear So & So's.