Thursday Morning Superhero: SDCC Off-Site Events

My hands are shaking a bit as I type this because San Diego Comic Con is only two weeks away!  In two, short weeks I am going to be attending panels, battling the masses for swag, and attempting to soak in as much as I can in the Gas Lamp in the name of science.  While the action inside the convention center is the main event, the off-site offerings have dramatically improved each year.    Today I will give you my top four off-site events of 2015.

1. Conan at Comic Con - Conan O'Brien has announced that for the first time ever, he is going to tape four shows during Comic Con.  He is going to occupy the Spreckles Theater in downtown San Diego and tape shows on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The demand for tickets far exceeded the supply and like many others, I am waitlisted and hopeful I still might be able to attend.  The guest list is sure to impress and I can only imagine what types of hijinks Conan and Andy will get into in San Diego.  While it looks unlikely I will be in attendance, I am excited to watch all of his shows from Comic Con.

2. Funko Fun Days 2015 - Last year's surprise hit for me was attending Funko Fun Days.  I had no idea what to expect, and after three hours of madness, I walked away with a huge smile on my face and had turned my brother into a Funko Pop! collector.  This year Funko moved into a bigger location and still managed to sellout within a matter of hours.   I am very much looking forward to a fun night with fellow collectors that includes good food, good drinks, and some fun giveaways. 

3. Hop Con 3.0 - My brother and I have made The w00tStout Festival an annual tradition and I can't wait to begin my SDCC experience enjoying some gourmet food paired with exclusive brews.  Wil Wheaton has packed even more star power into the event this year, which includes Greg Koch, Drew Curtis, Aisha Tyler, Kevin Eastman, Dave Johnson, Mitch Steele, Kris Ketcham, Richard Rossi, and Alexis Light.  SDCC can be a very overwhelming experience, and events like this are the perfect calm before the storm.  There will be over 35 beers on hand, including seven that can only be had at this event.   I am getting thirsty just thinking about it!

4. The Nerd HQ - The Nerd HQ, presented by Zachary Levi and The Nerd Machine, is back again and is moving into a new venue.  The Nerd HQ will be moving into the New Children's Museum in downtown San Diego in its largest venue to date.  While the larger venue made me wonder if it would remain as intimate as it has in years past, the Conversations for a Cause are limited to only 200 tickets each.  In the chaos that is Comic Con, I have found the Conversations for a Cause to provide a great relief to the madness and give the fans a truly unique and personal experience.  The Nerd HQ is also partnering with IGN and AMD and will feature an entire floor dedicated to gaming.  Raising funds for Operation Smile, I am happy to see that this labor of love is returning once again.


POSTED BY MIKE N. aka Victor Domashev -- comic guy, proudly raising nerdy kids, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012. 

Thursday Morning Superhero

This has been an odd week.  Neptune buried my neck of the woods with a blanket of snow, dropped temperatures well below freezing, and delayed my ability to pick up my weekly fill of comics.  By the time the shipment was in I was surprised in the number of titles that caught my eye.   It seems all IDW books are delayed due to the port strike, and I am left with only two books to review.  With only a pair to select from, I am going to forgo the normal Pick of the Week and simply review the titles.

Before hopping into that (pun intended), did you know Dark Horse collaborated with Rogue Ales and made a Hellboy beer?  Right Hand of Doom Red Ale drops on February 21 and you can preorder the beer at www.rogue.com.  It is described as a heavy-handed, supernatural red ale and the good folks at Things from Another World in Portland are hosting a release party on the 20th.  I don't think my wife would be too keen on me flying out for this, but we shall see.

The Books:

She-Hulk #12 - The brilliant run by Charles Soule, Javier Pulido, Muntsa Vicente, and VC's Clayton Cowles came to an appropriate end this week as She-Hulk closed the books on infamous blue file.  Soule assures us that there will be more She-Hulk in the future, but it will unlikely be from this creative team.  Soule closed the case on a run that featured a super-hero that didn't act like your typical super-hero.  She relied on her wit, charm, compassion, and skills in the courtroom to bring about positive change.  Sure, some bad guys got punched and there were some epic fights, but this title marks the end for a unique book in the Marvel Universe.  This is one I hope gets the deluxe treatment as a collected series.




All-New Captain America #4 - This issue really had it all.  A rocket of fleas filled with weaponized blood, and appearances by Zemo, the Armadillo, and Cobra.  Despite Sam Wilson wielding the shield, which I am a fan of, Rick Remender has really captured that classic Captain America feel.  The characters feel human and the schemes that are being hatched seem plausible.  Even a horde of weaponized fleas.  Following Ed Brubaker's departure I found myself no longer reading Cap.  Thanks to the remarkable job Remender has done with the new Cap, I am happy to be back on board.

POSTED BY MIKE N. aka Victor Domashev -- comic guy, proudly raising nerdy kids, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.

Thursday Morning Superhero: SDCC Beer Edition

Welcome to a special edition of Thursday Morning Superhero.  With all of the chaos that is San Diego Comic Con, I wanted to post something more than a weekly round-up of comics (Trees #3 is excellent by the way) and focus on a couple of craft beer collaborations in what I hope is a growing trend at SDCC.

Sweet, sweet Locke and Brewskey

San Diego has a bustling craft beer scene that has largely remained an untapped resource for off-site events.  Last year, to my knowledge, was the first true collaboration beer when Wil Wheaton and friends teamed up with Stone Brewing Co. to give us the gift that is W00tStout.  This year, in addition to W00tStout 2.0, IDW partnered with Kraus Brewing Company for Locke and Brewskey, the best named beer ever.

W00tStout 2.0:
W00tStout 2.0 is an imperial stout brewed with wheat, rye, pecans and chocolate (the twist in this year's recipe), then partially aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. It is a rich, complex beer that packs quite a punch with its 13.5% ABV (you need to be careful with this one). 

Locke and Brewskey:
Locke and Brewskey is a single hopped, New Zealand Pale Ale that is light and refreshing.  It couldn't differ much more that W00tStout 2.0, but is equally as refreshing.  Packing a modest 5.5% ABV, this beer has notes of citrus and would be the perfect brew to turn to after exhausting yourself walking all over the Gas Lamp district.

As mentioned earlier, this is a trend that I would love to see San Diego and SDCC embrace with open arms.  What are some other comic and beer pairings that you would like to see next year?

POSTED BY MIKE N. -- comic guy, proudly raising nerdy kids, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.

Beer and Sci-Fi Pairings

A while back, we did a Grimdark/Black Metal Pairings post that was a lot of fun, so I figured I'd try my hand at something similar, but using my Netflix account and the empty bottles on my back porch waiting to go to recycling.

So with that, I give you the Nerds of a Feather Streaming Sci-Fi and (Mostly) Craft Beer Pairings!

1. The X-Files / Guinness Stout

For a lot of people of a certain age, The X-Files marked the beginning of their love affair with sci-fi. As a show on a major network that became extremely popular, it made the pop culture radar in a big way. Maybe not since Star Wars had a sci-fi property gone so mainstream. Suddenly it was cool to be into aliens, and conspiracies, and Luke Wilson fighting vampires and stuff. In the same way, if you're used to drinking fizzy yellow pee-water that giant megacorporations laughingly refer to as "beer," Guinness can act as your gateway into a wonderful world beyond. It's ubiquitous and easy to order instead of said pee-water, and can expand your palate, opening your eyes to all you've been missing.

2. Sherlock / Fuller's ESB

All thinking people can agree that this incarnation of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective and his physician assistant has gotten the Holmes/Watson dynamic right. This British export lives up to all the hype, and makes 100+ year-old stories feel fresh and original. Another British export, Fuller's claims to have invented the ESB, and that this is the original. But despite the name, Fuller's ESB (Extra Special Bitter) isn't really all that bitter...much like Sherlock himself, once you get past his off-putting demeanor.

3. Firefly / Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Firefly, Joss Whedon's sci-fi Western, needed to be paired with another fine mash-up. Stone's Cali-Belgique IPA dresses up Stone's regular, super-hoppy IPA with some Belgian yeast for a blending of Old and New World flavors. I actually drank one of these while watching Firefly the other night, and I can tell you it really brings out the smoky flavors in the show.

4. Fringe / Unibroue La Fin du Monde Belgian Trippel

There are two ways to look at the end of the world. One is the sort of traditional armageddony view of the world temporally and/or spatially ceasing to exist. But the other is to consider the end, or barrier, of one world and where it abuts another. Fringe's focus on parallel dimensions and the unknown brought to mind the depiction of the "end" of the world on Unibroue's signature Belgian ale as the barrier between land and sea. This is a stunning beer, and at 9% ABV, it can be just as much of a head-trip as the show.

5. The Clone Wars / Firestone Walker Wookey Jack American Black Ale

Now it goes without saying that we only endorse adults of legal drinking age partaking in any of the brews mentioned here, and the inclusion of an animated show should in no way imply otherwise. But if you're an adult who is into The Clone Wars – and you should be, since it actually lived up to the promise of the epic-sounding Clone Wars mentioned in the original Star Wars trilogy and since it made Annakin Skywalker finally seem like something other than a semi-literate dope that Natalie Portman could never, never love – then a beer called "Wookey Jack" is a natural complement.

6. Twin Peaks / New Belgium 1554 Black Lager

My first inclination was to try to find something really weird and left-of-center to pair with such a unique and wonderful show. Or maybe something brewed in the Pacific Northwest, where poor Laura Palmer met her fate. But I quickly came to my senses and realized that any beer pairing must pay tribute to The Black Lodge. Hence, New Belgium's 1554 Black Lager. This beer is derived from a recipe found in a monk's notebook dated 1554, hence the name, and it is probably my favorite brew from an across-the-board solid brewery.

Bonus: Twilight Zone / Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue Label)

Simply, the best for the best. Maybe you've got the luck or money or phone savvy or Belgian friends you need to get your hands on some Westvleteren, but that's not me. So for my money those who say Chimay Grande Reserve is the best beer on the planet will not get an argument from me. In the same way, I can make the case that The Twilight Zone is not only the best show on this list, but the best show of all time. What else could keep it company, but a peer?

Posted by Vance K – Cult film aficionado, unapologetic lover of terrible movies and good beer, either consecutively or concurrently, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.

2013 Nerd Gift Guide - Vance

Last year I went kind of broad with Star Trek, Back to the Future, and Cthulhu (but seriously, you have to check out the Cuddlethulhu), so this year I've decided to focus on the micro. I've picked three gifts that are almost mind-bogglingly specific, so it's possible no one but me will be interested in them. But believe me, they're all excellent and will be worthy gifts for that special nerd in your life.

For Writers/Word Nerds: Shady Characters [Buy the book or download for Kindle .]

We are huge advocates here at Nerds of a Feather for independent authors and literary voices that fall outside of the mainstream. But we also understand that many (so, so many) independent works are bedeviled by spelling and punctuation errors. That got me thinking about Keith Houston's surprisingly engaging Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks. As a type and design nerd, the idea of learning the history of these marks I use every day was quite alluring. I mean, what the hell is up with that paragraph symbol, anyway? If you watched and enjoyed Helvetica, you can't go wrong with this.

For the Film/Animation Nerd: Cartoon Modern [Buy it today.]

This had been on my wish list for a long time, and I'm thrilled I finally got my hands on it. I grew up watching a lot of animation, I still do, and have even done a little myself. While I'm impressed as hell with the work that big shops like Disney have always done, I've been far more inspired by folks that undertook this hugely labor-intensive artform with very few resources, an idiosyncratic vision, or a hunger for experimentation. All of those things flourished in the 1950s, as artists began to break away from the "centerline" school of animation at the same time that TV networks and advertising outfits embraced animation for mass audiences. Cartoon Modern does a very thorough job of profiling all of the animation companies that were active at the time, including tons of amazing production and pre-production images, and puts everything into a larger cultural context. Also, many of the films are available on YouTube if you look, so you can enjoy a DIY multimedia extravaganza!

For the Beer Nerd/Snob: Beer-of-the-Month Club (Sign up here)

No doubt, this is not the cheapest way to buy beer, but if you know a beer nerd who enjoys supporting microbreweries and trying as many different styles and variations as he or she can find, then this is a great way to go. It was the first time, for instance, that I had heard of and was able to try a Milk Stout, of all things. Also, the newsletter they include is interesting, with a little background on each style and brewery. Needless to say, this is only for nerds of legal drinking age.

And on that note, all this typing is some thirsty business. I think I'll see what I've got in the fridge...