Wait, what? You haven’t been to the All-new All-Different Shots in the Dark Forums yet? That’s alright, I’ll wait. Check it out. You back yet? Great! As you can see, we relaunched with an all new #1, with 9 variant covers that link up to show a picture of a middle finger pointed at anyone you want. That’s all a lie, of course, but hey, I’m trying to be overtly satirical here! Shots in the Dark, Shotgun Reviews’ internet radio show, is already bringing you the best conversation about geek/pop culture out there. Now, we want you to get in on the conversation. We have a super-speedy forum set up, and we’ve invited some of our friends along for the ride. First, we have Jim Beard and Co’s Super-Articulate! They put out a great regular column on Newsarama about the ins and outs of the action figure industry, and now, between columns, you can get more insight from them on their forum hosted by Shots in the Dark!We’re also VERY pleased to announce that Raven Gregory, EIC of Zenescope and writer of such fine comics as Return to Wonderland, The Gift, and Se7en, is our first creator to have his very own forum at our site. So come by and show Raven that Shotgun readers are the best sycophants in the comic industry!So, whether you’re looking to chat with radio hosts, columnists, or creators (more on that to come, btw), or if you’re just looking for a douchebag-free zone of the internet where you can talk about your geek/pop culture, head on over to Shots in the Dark’s all new forum.P.S. Don’t forget to check out our latest episode, and all the back episodes. Our latest episodetackled everyone’s favorite comic topic, One More Day, and we’ll have a new episode this week explaining the ins and outs of Intellectual Property. All that, plus all the news you need from MacWorld Expo and from all around the geeky globe. 

At long last, the Bad Robot (JJ Abrams) delivers a film that has had quite an interesting bit of promotion, or should I say, commotion, around it. First, there was the hoopla at Comic-Con 2007. Then we saw a smattering of viral marketing websites. Slusho!, anyone? How about some fun with photos? The big question is, of course, does Cloverfield live up to all of the viral and “alternative” hype? I’d say probably, but with some caveats. This is definitely not a film for everyone. Some of us might find it a bit hard to suffer through. But there are certainly some folk, like myself, who will find it refreshing and immersive. However, if you are prone to motion sickness, seizures or regularly suffer from eye fatigue, DO NOT SEE THIS FILM! Well, I suppose you could, but you may want to bring a Dramamine or barf bag to the theater, just in case.

If you don’t think you suffer from any of the aforementioned maladies, then stop reading this review and get yourself to the nearest theater, ASAP, and see this film.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! Stop reading now if you plan to see Cloverfield! (more…)

For those of you who are unaware, Shots in the Dark is the official podcast of Shotgun Reviews. Its hosted by regular Shotgun contributors Lucas Siegel, Janelle Siegel and Vince Scalabrino. They’re joined by Imoticon, JB, and The Viceroy, expert gamers and a professional video game designer. These heavily opinionated folks dissect and occasionally eviscerate pop culture with the same tongue-in-cheek cynicism you’ve come to know and love here at Shotgun.

In their most recent episode, the Shots in the Dark crew reviews Talisman: The Board Game, coupled with a lively round table discussion of the most controversial Marvel arc of the 21st century, Spider Man’s One More Day. And if you’re into video games at all, you’d be interested to hear the exclusive cheat for Rock Band that the crew discovered. Curious? Head on over and give them a listen. Or just click on the big, blue, appropriately-named button above and get your fix.

I have been pondering something for weeks now, and I felt I must bring it to a public forum to further explore the idea.  When did it become correct to claim your movie was based on a graphic novel when in fact it was based on a miniseries of comic books?  As I watched the 30 Days of Night trailers on TV I was struck every time by the “Based on the Groundbreaking Graphic Novel.”  Really?  I guess I didn’t realize that any comic that was collected later in trade format could be considered a graphic novel.  But I’m already getting right to the ranting, let me step back a little…

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Last month, I posted the first of two parts of my journey in search of the set of Lost on the island of O’ahu. After much suspense and procrastination, I have at last deemed it time to finish off the job. Today, I will share what is undoubtedly the “creamy filling” of this little Oreo. So pour yourself a nice glass of milk and get ready. It’s time to get Lost.

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As many of you are aware, one of the greatest shows on television has decided to push its fourth season’s start date to the very end of January 2008. For those of us entranced by Lost’s delightfully complex storylines and enigmatic mysteries, that’s a helluva long time to wait. In the meanwhile, we’re supposed to get by on little snippets of video that create more questions then answers. Fear not, disillusioned fans. I have for you all a story about our long-delayed show that’s filled with adventure, excitement, mystery and a couple of radical surfer dudes.

Our story begins some 3000 miles off the coast of California, on a little island known as O’ahu. When my fiancé and I booked our trip to the island paradise of O’ahu, we joked about running into Matthew Fox or Terry O’quinn whilst sipping Mai Tai’s on Wakiki Beach. Of course, that didn’t happen. But it got us thinking. What if we could find one of the locations they film the show? We knew that they filmed it on the island and the island isn’t that big. So on our second day there, we decided that after an early morning trip to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and a hike up Diamond Head, we’d head out on a trek to “get Lost”. And that we definitely did, but not nearly in the way we originally intended.

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ewwww, not like THAT! sheesh. Anyway, the Shots in the Dark team will be representing Muggles everywhere as we travel to a magic-ified Hero Headquarters in Wheeling, IL TONIGHT, Friday 20th of July! The party celebrating the launch of the seventh book starts at 9 and runs past midnight, when you can buy your copy! There will be a real magician there putting on a show at about 10:30, and Shots in the Dark will be recording an extra special Potter-cast! Get it? Huh? Do you get it? I replaced “Pod” with “Potter.” Now do you get it? Cause it’s all about Harry Potter, with book summaries from the first six, a movie review of the 5th movie, and a little peek at what’s to come in Year Seven: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Get it now? Potter-cast. Heh. I crack myself up. Well, See you there, and if we don’t, check back tomorrow night for the all new episode of your favorite geek culture podcast, Shots in the Dark!

Howdy Shotgun Reviews readers! Been to the Shots in the Dark page in a while? No? I’ll wait…

OK, you back? Good. You’ll notice it jives more with the Shotgun site now. We decided the KISS method was the best way to go. Also, we’re gonna use that main blog there as the only, not just the primary, location that podcasts will be linked on. Again, one simple place to find the best geek culture podcast on the net makes our lives easier and yours, too!

But, what does that mean about the video game reviews and those awesome Developer Blogs Eric, our man on the inside writes?

They’ll be right here on the Shotgun Reviews proper site.

All this, and more! We’ll have the debut of an all new SitD feature, the Pocketcast, a bite-sized mini-podcast focusing on the latest news, games, tech, or just something we’re excited about, next week! Also, look forward to some more kick ass interviews, and a special Wizard World Chicago preview with the guys from Wizard themselves that you won’t get ANYWHERE else!!

So keep reading Shotgun Reviews, and the next time you’re sitting down to play Madden, don’t listen to him drone on about how the team with the most points usually wins the game, listen to Shots in the Dark!

Today, the CW announced that Veronica Mars will not be coming back next season. This is a very sad day in my life. Veronica Mars is/was one of the best written, funniest, engrossing, intelligent hours of television out there today. This season has been different from the Veronica we know and love, but still a good Veronica, and it’s really sad to see it go out like this. I only hope they had a chance to wrap things up in some kind of a way that will be satisfactory for me. Meaning, I want some LoVe action, but who knows if that will happen!

Next Tuesday is the two hour season finale. You can find me curled on my couch sobbing like a baby from the hours of 7pm until 11pm.

Also, how did Veronica Mars get only 3 seasons when Dawson’s Creek (which I loved as a teenager, to be fair), got 5? Honestly, there’s something wrong with the world today.

In part 1 of my 4 part Nerdcore series, I’m going to talk to you about the Nerdcore pioneer himself, MC Frontalot, as heard on Shots in the Dark.

Front has a new album out entitled Secrets From The Future, and he shows why he’s the leader of this revolution.

For the unitiated, Nerdcore is a new subgenre of hip-hop, aimed at bringing the story telling aspect back to rap, as well as bringing subjects like Star Wars, Comic books, and Video games into rap music.

MC Frontalot’s new album infuses funk, rock, and hard hip-hop beats with his super-articulated lyrics that range from poignant (Origin of Species) to simply goofy (Bizarro Genius Baby). The range of song topics is stretched much more on this sophomore album than his first, and shows how far reaching Nerdcore can be. Origin of Species is pretty much everything you could hope for from a Frontalot song, and the album’s momentum continues from that middle-of-the-disc track. There are really only one or two tracks that I feel I can ever skip when listening straight through, and even then it’s only occasionally. Optimus Rhyme fans need to check out track 11 for a new riff on a killer song from their latest disc (which I will be covering soon).

If you already like Frontalot, you simply need this album. If you’ve dabbled in some mc chris or MC Lars, expand your repitoire with this album. If you just miss story telling hip-hop and long for the days when rap could be about something besides guns and forties, this album is for you. All in all, a solid return effort, building off the fundamentals he established with his debut. So sit in the pew and listen to Reverend Frontalot preach- he’s leading a revolution.

For those of you who live in the Chicago area, you should attend the Shots in the Dark Launch Party tomorrow, April 28th! For more details on the location and what’s happening when, click here!

Chicago, IL (April 17, 2007) - The April 28th episode of Shots in the Dark will be recorded at the Shots in the Dark Launch Party at Hero Headquarters! The episode will include the usual geek news, as well as interviews with Tim Demeter, Mike Norton, and Skottie Young. You can participate in this week’s show just by attending the party and saying hi! The party will be from 10am - 9pm on Saturday, April 28th at Hero Headquarters, 1530 W. Lake Cook Rd. in Wheeling, IL.

Other activities at the launch party include gaming of many different kinds including Heroclix, raffles and auctions of signed goods from Brian K. Vaughan, Robert Richardson, Sean McKeever, Eric Wight, and Geoff Johns, as well as original sketches and pages by creators such as Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Half of the proceeds from the auctions and raffles, as well as 100% of the proceeds from any sketches done at the event will be donated to the Hero Initiative ( www.heroinitiative.org). The Shots in the Dark launch party also kicks off the Grand Re-Opening Week of Hero Headquarters which will culminate in their own celebration on May 5th!

Don’t forget there are now THREE great Shots in the Dark episodes available for download on the Shots in the Dark website, including the gang’s interview with comics legend Jeph Loeb!

It’s that time again! A brand spankin new episode of Shots in the Dark is up and ready for your consumption! Find the answers to those burning questions*:
1) What is the meaning of life?

2) How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

3) Why ask why?

Get these answers, plus all the geek news, comic and manga reviews, and even a tech Geek Out! from yours truly, RIGHT HERE!

Plus, check out The Viceroy’s second installment of his Game Developer Diary! He gives us some great insight into the process of actually making a video game from start to finish!

See that HERE!

Then head to the forums and tell us what you think, and what YOU want to hear on upcoming shows! Stay tuned to the SitD Blog for a 4 part series covering the burgeoning field of Nerdcore Hip-hop throughout this week, as well!

*None of these questions are actually answered on the show. The last one is just Drink Bud Dry, though. So there ya go. 1 outta 3 ain’t bad. 

I was given the opportunity to review the book Women! Rebel! recently, and I accepted the offer for many reasons. The first is that as a writer, I enjoy reading other writers that are in the beginning stages of everything. The second is that I thought that even if I didn’t agree with the ideas behind the book, it sounded interesting.

The premise of the book is basically that women should not accept any crap from men. This is a valid premise, of course, and one I agree with. The author, Gabby Buzzman, was writing not only about others but also about her own experience after two divorces. It’s obvious from the title and the cover (three female fists in the air) that this was not going to be a happy-go-lucky book. But before I get into my feelings on the book, I must say that I understand why the author wrote it. It is a horrible thing to be treated like dirt, and no one deserves it. However, I did not deserve the suffering thrust upon me when I opened this book.

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Here you are lads and lasses, our second podcast!

This time around, Shots in the Dark does some geek news talk in another round of the Gatling Geek, talk Star Wars books with JB, listen to some killer tunes by rising stars Treaty of Paris, and of course chat with the amazing, the talented, JEPH LOEB! So whether you just need to catch up on what’s happening in the worlds of gaming, comics, and tech, or you want to hear some nuggets of truth, wisdom, and comedy from the Co-Executive Producer of Heroes and one of today’s PREMIER comic writers, click the link and download this episode now!

Shots in the Dark featuring JEPH LOEB!