Shoot the WISB #02: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Reviewed w/ Paul Weimer and Jay Garmon

Spoiler Alert:  the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.

Paul Weimer (website / twitter) and Jay Garmon (website / twitter) join me to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of J.J. Abrams' second installment in the Star Trek film reboot.  Feel free to offer your thoughts in the comments below.

You can download or stream the mp3 from this link.

2012 Nebula Awards Winners (w/ Brief Thoughts)

Last night, the SFWA folks hosted the 2012 Nebula Awards.  I didn't get to watch the live stream because I was trying to recover from the episode we recorded for The Skiffy and Fanty Show on Friday night (I'm still sort of recovering).  However, now that the awards have been announced, I see fit to talk about the winners.

Here they are:

The Black Guy is Ruining the Fantastic Four Reboot!

Oh, what?  He isn't?  Are you sure?  I mean.  He's black.  That means, like, Sue has to be black, right?  She doesn't?  Johnny or Sue could be adopted?  Or they could be children of different mothers or fathers or maybe they're interracial or something?  But I thought if you're half black and half white you just look almost white?  That's not true?  Really?  Well, the original Johnny was a white guy, so he has to stay white.  What about Idris Elba?  Oh, yeah, he was cool in Thor?  The original character wasn't a black guy?  Oh, well, then that's OK because he's not a major character.  Besides, this doesn't have anything to do about race.  I know I keep talking about it.  But just because I talk about race doesn't mean what we're talking about is actually about race, even if the only reason we're talking about it is because a black guy might be the Human Torch.  It's just not about race, OK?

That pretty much sums up the stupidity you'll find online about the rumor of Michael B. Jordan's (of Chronicle fame) possible casting as the Human Torch in the reboot of The Fantastic Four.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (2013)

If this is the end of Robert Downey, Jr.'s Iron Man films, then he's certainly left with a bang.  While far from perfect, Iron Man 3 (2013) continues Stark's emotional development with the same humor and action we have come to expect.  But it is also an unexpectedly deep look at Stark as a man amidst increasingly dangerous villains, tying together not only the previous two Iron Man movies (2008 and 2010), but also Joss Whedon's The Avengers (2012).  Flawed though it may be, Iron Man 3 is an excellent conclusion to a superb series.

Iron Man 3's basic premise is this:  Tony Stark has returned home from the events in New York City, only to find himself overwhelmed by panic attacks and nightmares; to distract himself, he has begun tinkering endlessly in his lab, building suit after suit after suit.  Meanwhile, the United States

My Trip to the Comic Shop (or, How I Started My Journey Back to Comic Books)

(Note:  I am still open to comic/graphic novel suggestions.  Feel free to leave them here.)

Yesterday, I went to the comic book shop.  It has been close to a decade since I last went into one, and longer since went shopping for comic books (or graphic novels -- manga excluded).  And so, I took the bus out to MEGA Gaming and Comics in Gainesville, FL expecting to find a few interesting things in that tiny shop by the gas station.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into.  MGC is not so tiny after all.  Unlike the place in Placerville, CA, where I would sometimes buy Magic: the Gathering cards and what not, MGC seemed enormous in comparison.

The fellow running the place was also quite helpful.  The greatest fear I have as a new comics reader (or renewed, if you will) is jumping into the middle of a series and getting hopelessly lost (DC and Marvel in particular).  While I think some of my selections will require some backwards reading, the staff member (whose name I didn't catch) was kind enough to point me in the direction of a number of renewed properties that would be less alarming to a new reader.  Apparently DC and Marvel have recently tried to reboot some of their characters/series (the New 52 for DC and Marvel Now! for, well, Marvel), and I wouldn't have known that if MGC's staff hadn't told me.

As the list below will indicate, I didn't get that many things that were suggested by you readers.  Part of this was because the store simply didn't have some of them or were missing book #1.  The other part was that I forgot to write some of the titles down on my way out, and subsequently forgot the titles.  I've since added them to my Amazon Wishlist.  Since I have already read two of the books I purchased (yeah, that fast), I expect I'll buy a lot more stuff in the future, which means that my Amazon Wishlist is going to fill up with comics and graphic novels.

In any case, I won't hold off telling you what I got anymore.  Here goes (large pictures ahead):

Source Help: Books on Race in the Spanish Empire (and Mexico)

The other day, I stuck my foot really far into my mouth.  While recording an episode of The Skiffy and Fanty Show, we managed to get into a discussion about race in the various colonial empires (a discussion that is not part of the actual episode -- beyond off topic, really).  I managed to say something that, moments later, I realized was phenomenally stupid.  Why was it stupid?  Because I simply did not have enough information to make any reasonable assertion whatsoever.  If it's not already obvious, the topic was race in the Spanish Empire (Mexico in particular -- pre- and post-independence).  I caught myself fairly quickly (which is nice, considering the last time I said some stupid stuff on the show), but I still feel pretty damn bad about it.

Julia Rios has already suggested one book related to the subject of race in the Spanish Empire or Mexico (pre-/post-independence), but I was hoping some of you folks might have some good suggestions.  Basically, I'm looking for books that explore the relationship between the Spanish and the native populations at any point from the start of colonization to at least its end (if not later).  I have a preference for academic books (stuff printed by actual academic presses, rather than one of the big six), but even a really good popular text will give me a lot of gateways into exploring the topic in depth.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated!  Education is wonderful, and since the Spanish Empire and Mexico are not my strong points, I'd like to do some educating...

Comic and Graphic Novel Suggestions: First Comic Book Shop Trip...in a While!

I'm going to run off to the comic book shop at some point this week.  And that means I'm going to buy me some comics...which is where you lot come in.  Since I haven't been in the comic/graphic novel world in a while (aside from some manga here or there), I really don't know what's interesting and what's not.  I'd like to know what kind of stuff you have enjoyed that you think I might enjoy too.

What I'm looking for:

• SF/F-ish stuff (broadly speaking)
• Things that won't require me to be overly familiar with preceding material (so don't drop me flat in the middle of a story arc if I need to have read the previous two to figure out what the hell is going on)
• Graphic novels OR standard comics (or collections/omnibuses)
• No "universe" restrictions (you can throw me into DC, Marvel, or whatever)

Pretty basic wants, no?  Superheroes, space stuff, dragons, whatever.  I'll take my list of suggestions and go play around.

So have at it!