Review: The Fantastic Four Official Website

Well, I just went through the newly launched Fantastic Four Official Website and I must say that I am very impressed. Two things are a must for getting the entire feel for the website: you have to have broadband access, and you have to view it full screen. There is a lot of Flash animation going on and dial up won't cut it. As for the full screen, it just makes the experience much more enjoyable. After picking your region, you are taken through a slick intro that simulates a computer mainframe giving a countdown. When the count reaches four…

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PSA: Free Comic Book Day 2005 Announced

Free Comic Book Day 2005 will be celebrated around the world on May 7, 2005, a date voted on by comic book retailers. As in years past, on Free Comic Book Day anyone can walk into a participating comic book specialty store and receive a free comic book, with no purchase required (while supplies last)."This year marks the fourth annual Free Comic Book Day," said Free Comic Book Day Committee spokesperson Barry Lyga. "Its success has been proven beyond a doubt, as stores enjoy record crowds, fans get a holiday all their own, and new readers discover the wonders of…

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Pumpkin Seeds: Will I Ever Write a Complete Post Again? Edition

1. I was heading to the airport the Sunday before last for my trip to Miami when I realized I hadn't flown since August of 2001, to Seattle for my last National Poetry Slam. Nine days and six flights later, I've had my fill of airports to last me another 3.5 years! Almost every one of my flights experienced significant delays, including Friday night out of LaGuardia that made me miss my connecting flight in O'Hare and end up staying in Chicago overnight with a complimentary hotel room and a $300 voucher for a future flight. The voucher made up…

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Indie Spotlight: January 2005

[From the ridiculous to the random to the superb, a quick roundup of notable indie comics (aka, not Marvel or DC proper, though Vertigo, Icon, Image, et al, do qualify) I picked up in the past month. Release dates may vary.] Skyscrapers of the Midwest #1 (Pictures and Stories by Joshua W. Cotter; AdHouse Books, $5) qualifies as one of the oddest comic books I have ever read. On first glance, the black-and-white artwork is very "children's book," like Sanrio's preschool character Miffy drawn in shades of grey. The shotgun-loading skeleton farmer on the cover, the fake ads promoting "Healthy…

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Dan’s Top 3 Comic Book-Themed Video Games

[Three ground rules. 1) All games considered must have its origins rooted in a published comic book, ie: Marvel, DC, Image, etc. Power Puff Girls and the Simpsons do not qualify since they were "born" on screen. 2) WOW factor must be taken into consideration when ranking the games. WOW factor is defined by how the game was recieved by comic fans/gamers when it came out. This is very important because it opens up the field to any console/arcade game, any year. ie: I would argue that of the two Spider-Man games based on the movies, Spider-Man 1 would rank…

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ménage à trois: 1/5/05

[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]A double dose of Marvel this week, thanks to the late shipping New Avengers #2 and nothing of interest from DC as I bailed on both Toe Tags and Detective Comics this month. (I did give in and pick up last week's Batman #635 which turned out to be a good decision.) Joining Team Bendis this week is The Tomb of Dracula #4…

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Pumpkin Seeds: A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That Edition

1. So, this time around a Democratic Senator decided to show a little backbone as California's Barbara Boxer stepped up and joined the House's challenge of the certification of the electoral college results, specifically in regards to the issues in Ohio. Unlike in 2000 where not a single one stepped forward to support members of the Congressional Black Caucus fighting to have the voting irregularities in their mostly minority districts investigated. Not John Kerry, not John Edwards, not Bob Graham, not Joseph Lieberman, each presumably looking forward to their own challenges for the nomination. Mind you, the idea was not…

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