With the occasional exception (e.g. Superman: Red Son, Justice League: The New Frontier) I’m not generally a Batman-fan or Batfan, if you will. It looks like I’ll be adding Batman: Gotham Knight to that exception list, though.

This six-story anthology takes place between the events of 2005’s Batman Begins and this summer’s The Dark Knight. Each story has its own art style and writer, including Brian Azzarello (who coincidentally wrote many of my favorite Hellblazers) and Josh Olson. As it happens, Olson is also writing the script for Todd McFarlane’s revisionist version of L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories. Judging by McFarlane’s Twisted Land of Oz collection from 2003, this is going to be considerably darker than the original concept or other revisions like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked. Here’s McFarlane’s Dorothy with some cute little Munchkins:

On Gotham Knight, Olson says:

Just because it’s a cartoon, and because of the nature of the story, I wanted to do the one thing you’d never see in a Batman segment: a decapitation. I was so happy they let me keep it. I thought, “I’ve gotta get it in there.” The director did such a beautiful job. Batman never kills anyone. I wanted to have him do something really grotesquely inappropriate, and yet get the point across that Batman never kills. That was fun … very dark fun.

This sounds like my kind of Batman. Look for it on DVD, Blu-ray and online on July 8. Until then, here are some images, courtesy of our friends at Warner Bros.

“Batman Gotham Knight” (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc.
“Batman” and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and
(c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

We seem to be gamer-themed this week, so here’s the new Resident Evil 5 trailer for your perusal.

In our most recent vlog, guest Flynn DeMarco mentioned the controversy surrounding the trailer that was shown at E3. In a nutshell, the protagonist, Chris Redfield, a white guy, is seen in the trailer killing lots of black zombies. N’Gai Croal of Newsweek criticized the original trailer, saying:

“There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery.”

Producer Jun Takeuchi has said:

“We didn’t set out to make a racist game or a political statement. We did feel there was a misunderstanding about the initial trailer.”

As Flynn explained, there’s always zombie-killing in the Resident Evil franchise, and the fifth installment takes place in Africa for plot reasons, so it’s not quite as cut-and-dry as it might appear to non-gamers. Some have suggested, however, that the inclusion of a black protagonist in place of Chris Redfield would not only have made the game seem less racist (intentional or otherwise), but would also have added to the relatively small pool of protagonists of color in games.

What are your thoughts? Was this a missed opportunity for inclusion, a misunderstanding or something else?

[Via 1up.com]

I feel like I’ve apologized several times this week for still playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion two years after I got it. Coincidentally, Zero Punctuation’s Yahtzee, who normally avoids RPGs, posted a new, hilarious review of my favorite game, though he’s unsurprisingly not as enamored as I am with Tamriel.

I disagree with most of what he says in that video, though I love his reviews. Maybe there’s a difference between the PC and 360 versions, but I always felt the interface and immersion factor were superb. And how can you not love the huge and varied geography of the thing?

I have to agree about the character voices and dialog, though. Especially off-putting is that creepy “go ahead, please” which almost every character says using the same voice, regardless of race, gender or situation.

I can’t believe he didn’t mention the Adoring Fan, but I doubt he made it far enough to earn that kid’s undying devotion. I can’t stand the guy, and I was pleased to discover that most people feel the way I do.

Here are my favorite fan videos of the Adoring Fan biting it.

The long way, with Nirvana:

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not you, Neon. You’re just not Hydrogen’s type.

Marie Curie is proud to present: “Chemicals having a party”. Sexy carbons, bored noble gases, explosive reactions. More information.

[Via Make]

In our latest episode, Marc “points out” that I’m a Nintendo fan, and by “points out” I mean “mocks”.

OK, so maybe it’s true. Mental Floss has a quiz called “Super Mario Bros. Villain or Obscure Dinosaur“. I only missed one, and sadly, I didn’t have to guess: I remembered all those little beasties from my many hours with various Marios. I won’t tell you which one I missed, so you can go take the quiz yourselves.

Oh, and though I’m not sure where it originally comes from, that cosplay Birdo picture is something disturbing from a post by this week’s guest, Flynn De Marco on Kotaku. So, you can thank him for your nightmares or fantasies, as the case may be.

[Via Neatorama]

JUMP! to AfterElton to see our latest episode!

• Cowboy Bebop: Future Blues (No, it’s a new thing!)
• Men, Women and Chainsaws
• Doctor Who: “The Sontaran Stratagem”
• Lost “There’s No Place Like Home” (Part 1)
• Battlestar Galactica “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”

After all the usual blather, we have special guest Flynn DeMarco, otherwise known as Fruit Brute at GayGamer.net.

And muchas gracias to our friends at GravityFaggot.com for the great t-shirts!

Prism Comics has just released Prism Comics: Your LGBT Guide to Comics 2008, with editor Jonathan Riggs and cover art by Jackademus.

This year’s Prism Guide features a “Prism High” yearbook theme, recounting everything LGBT in this year’s comics. Highlights include a report card on LGBT portrayals in everything from JSA to the X-Men books and beyond; interviews with famous alumni such as Chuck Kim, writer for TV’s Heroes, and Darren Davis, the founder of Bluewater Productions; an erotic comics roundtable discussion; a celebration of the Transgender Day of Remembrance by Jenn Dolari; an exploration of the role of religion in LGBT comics; a tribute to the 25th birthday of Jeff Krell’s Jayson; and an intro by Erica Friedman to Yuri Manga (lesbian manga). Original comics include work from LGBT comics giants such as Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), Leanne Franson (liliane bi-dyke), Tim Fish (Cavalcade of Boys), Allan Neuwirth and Glen Hanson (Chelsea Boys), Patrick Fillion (Deimos), Justin Hall (Prism grant winner for Glamazonia), Tommy Roddy (Prism grant winner for Pride High), Chris Companik (HIV + Me), and many more.

I don’t think you can get it online yet, though last year’s is available in Prism’s store.

Though we didn’t see Prism Comics at NY Comic-Con this year, they will have a booth at the MoCCA Art Festival:

The Prism booth (#S36) at the MoCCA Art Festival will host creator signings with Allan Neuwirth (Chelsea Boys), Jennifer Camper (Juicy Mother 1 & 2, Dangerous Women), Abby Denson (Tough Love: High School Confidential), Ivan Velez, Jr. (Ghost Rider, Dead High, Tales of the Closet), Erica Friedman (Yuricon), and JD Glass (American Goth, Punk Like Me). Also, a full range of LGBT comics will be on sale from such favorites as Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), Joe Phillips (Boys Will Be Boys), Brian Andersen (So Super Duper), Tommy Roddy (Pride High), and many more.

You can also see Allan Neuwirth, Jennifer Camper, Ivan Velez and Jose Villarrubia (Mirror of Love, New Avengers, Manhunter) at a Queer Pride signing on Friday at 7:30pm at Jim Hanley’s Universe here in Manhattan.

I record G4’s Attack of the Show every day, but since I’m a grown man, I don’t watch the full episodes. Instead, each weekend, I skim through them all, watching mostly just the scenes with Olivia Munn (don’t judge me) or Blair Butler.

For those who don’t watch, here’s Olivia Munn as Lesbionic Woman. If Bionic Woman had been this good, there’d be a second season.

This week, they showed the gay-geekiest thing I’ve seen in a while: I Will Derive, a calculus-themed parody of the Gloria Gaynor hit.

Of course, that led me into an Internet K-hole, so submitted for your approval are my top picks in the first annual Math-Themed Music Parodies Probably by High School Students for Class Projects Awards or MtMPPHSSCP Awards, for short. Read the rest of this entry »

That Kerli music video got me thinking, and now I want to do a thing. A crowdsourcing thing.

Send me your favorite geek song (or themed list) along with a paragraph or so explaining why you like it, what makes it geek and anything else you want to add. I’ll post one every now and then along with YouTube clips and other stuff I find online.

Sure, you could just put it in the comments, but if you send it to me, I’ll share it with everybody else in a blog post. And besides, no one actually reads the comments, do they?

To start us off, here’s a list of all the Tori Amos songs that mention Neil Gaiman:

Tear in Your Hand
“If you need me, me and Neil’ll be hanging out with the Dream King. Neil said, ‘hi’, by the way”

Space Dog
“Seems I keep getting this story twisted. So where’s Neil when you need him?”

Horses
“Will you find me if Neil makes me a tree?”

Hotel
“Where are the Velvets?”

Carbon
“Get me Neil on the line. Have him read Snow, Glass, Apples”

You can hear snippets of each of these songs in this Amazon widget:

For you gay horror fans, this version of “Father Lucifer” includes an homage to both The Exorcist and Bronski Beat.

Judging by our Facebook group demographic stats, I need to explain for the youngsters that Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” was a sort-of gay anthem back in the Moral 80s. And now I have an excuse to post it.

I don’t usually go in for the pop divas, but if we have to have them, can we elect Kerli as the next big thing? Creepy Baltic videos are just what you need to get you through your Wednesday, so for your edification, here’s “Walking on Air”.

The best quality version I found auto-plays, so click through to see this beautiful thing. Read the rest of this entry »