Thanksgiving, Black Friday, And The Upcoming

Greetings all! Hope everyone's still alive and well out there, and that you're all staying free of pepper spray this holiday season. There's been a lot of that going around recently...

Thanksgiving was very nice this year. Every year, we have it at my parents house, and most of the family comes to visit us for the big dinner. We usually all watch the parade in the morning and have made it pretty much a priority/inside joke to watch the dog show that immediately follows the parade, laugh our heads off at how silly the toy class of dogs are, and then laugh even more over the fact that we usually have nothing better to think about at that point in the day.

The dinner consists of the usual types of food you'd expect: turkey, stuffing, potatoes (sweet or baked), corn, mixed vegetables, cranberry sauce, etc. We always say a prayer before the meal, and joke till the cows come home while we eat as much as we can. It's always nice that no matter how many things may change in our lives each year, this is something that we know will stay the same.

The rest of the day consisted of my cousin and I messing around in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (I think I'm now at level 24 in the multiplayer). It was hilarious to hear him talk with his friends on his headset. One of those moments where you just had to be there, but I'd say anyone hearing their younger cousin saying something like "No, I will not tell his sister that. That's disgusting." would have laughed all the same.

I also scored a few really good online deals between Thursday and Sunday. On Thanksgiving, I managed to get Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year Edition for $29.99 and Gears of War 3 for $28.00, both on Amazon. Then, as if Amazon couldn't get any cooler, I managed to score a few Blu-Ray deals too (Green Lantern: 2 disc Extended Cut for $9.99 and Sucker Punch: 2 disc Extended Cut for $7.99; not bad at all! I know they got a lot of crap by critics, but I didn't feel that either were nearly as bad as they were made out to be.). I've also just about got everyone set in terms of Christmas shopping. My girlfriend and most of my family are already covered and there's just a small percentage remaining.

As for life otherwise, things have been pretty good overall. My job is still my job, my wonderful girlfriend is still my wonderful girlfriend, my past times are still the same past times (Zelda: Skyward Sword, HOOOO!), and my life is still in fact my life. Good times all around.

So what does everyone have planned for the holidays this year? Any special dinners, charities, or other events coming up for you?

Deadpool's Completely Biased Review Of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Greetings peons! As we approach the holiday season in this time of unforgiving economic climate and poverty, people look to other mediums in order to escape the harsh realities of the grapes that bring us such wrath. Don’t you all worry; I’ve got my eyes on them; those damn grapes… Look at them there, plotting their little grapey ways… Little do they know I’m on to them… What was I talking about again? Oh yes, distractions from the pathetic existence that is your life! Well there’s one thing that’s booming in that department in more ways than one. Call of motherfrackin’ Duty mother frackers! You want bro? This game is bro!

Who needs all the thought-provoking and innovative gaming ideas of the world when you can blow that smart-mouthed fourteen-year-old wannabe cool kid to kingdom come with your RPG!? Girlfriend telling you to do unruly things like come visit her or acknowledge her existence? Screw that!!! I’ve got Modern Warfare 3 biznatch! Take a numbah!

Yeah, this game’s pretty bad-ass in that sense. You may have noticed all the differences in the graphics and gameplay… You may have. If you did, could you tell me what those are actually? I’m still trying to figure that one out… In all honesty, not a lot has changed this time around. That’s either going to thrill or annoy you depending on how you look at things. Did you enjoy the multiplayer and Spec Ops modes of the previous entries in the series? Well then it’s your lucky day because they’re all back with new stages to mess around in. Did you want to have more of a campaign mode where the graphics are touched up and the gameplay is pretty much untouched? Viola! Your sick, twisted version of Jesus has come.

If you played the campaign in the other games, you’re probably itching to see Makarov (the villain) get what’s coming to him. I won’t go into any details (as the campaign is shorter than the loser writing this review), but know that if you’ve been following up to this point, you’ll likely come out satisfied in the end. The stages and settings really do make you feel like you’re in the middle of World War III. It’s a shame that when I instigate the real WWIII soon, it won’t be nearly as cool-looking when people try to stop me from doing it and I pop their heads full of lead. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! ^-^

Spec Ops and multiplayer modes are similar to the last, with a few design tweaks and some new maps to sweeten the deal. You’ll laugh and cry as the guy over Xbox Live shouts about how he’s “The greatest and you all best be runnin’ now ni**a!” Okay, I’m the one that said that, but if you saw how obnoxious this twelve-year-old was that I was playing with, you’d have said it to him too! Children…, am I right folks!? Yeah, I know I’m right...

Okay, saying it’s all exactly the same wouldn’t be the complete truth. They did a few touch-ups with the multiplayer, like lower respawn time and the overall increased speed of each match itself. Probably the most interesting of all was the way Infinity Ward gave players new ways to earn pointsreaks. If you completely suck at killing like all those around me do, you can find non-lethal ways to generate those points and unlock the rewards. Now those are what keep the multiplayer going is those rewards; those shiny, shiny rewards. Me likey the shiny. You can also level up your weapons by using them successfully and more often. It’s a good way to encourage finding a weapon that suits you and sticking with it while everything else in your life continues to fall apart. Call of Duty Elite is also a good source of stat tracking and building up clans online… Or at least it would be if it actually worked. Great job still not having it fixed to this very day guys; great job…

One more aspect of multiplayer that players will notice is the inclusion of some new modes. My favorite in particular is “Kill Confirmed,” where in order to score points for killing an enemy; you also have to pick up their dog tag. It’s a nice deviation from the excruciatingly same experience you get from this installment otherwise.

As you could tell from my last flashy sentence, the good does not come without the bad. There may be faster multiplayer, but this also results in waaaaaaaaay less tactical gameplay. It’s hard to form any kind of strategy when you’re thrown into a small map with five rank 75’s surrounding your ass. And that’s another thing! What is UP with the matchmaking system (or lack thereof I should say) in this game!? If I’m at rank 4, then why the hell am I thrown into a round with people ready to reach their first Prestige!? It’s as if they’re trying to discourage me with all of these goons popping up! And that’s ANOTHER thing! WHY oh why would you allow a game’s multiplayer to be released when it is very easy to be respawned directly in front of another player, as well as facing away from them? So that the opponent can choose which buttock they want to fire a bullet into first!? NOT COOL!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten all of that out of my system and banned myself from using the italics key for the rest of the review, I will give my closing thoughts. The game is exactly what you would expect; no more and no less. It’s got more campaign with a (relatively good) conclusion to the story that preceded it, some fun co-op gameplay in Spec Ops mode, and the same old online multiplayer you love/hate with the same damn whiny kids/drug dealers you love/hate and the same old soon-to-be-expensive map packs coming out in the future that you’ll love/hate. Is it fair that Infinity Ward doesn’t have to do much but make more levels with the exact same gameplay mechanics to make millions of dollars? Absolutely not, but everybody’s playing it anyway. In fact, according to the statistics, you already have a copy of the game, you’ve already beaten the campaign on Veteran difficulty, and you’ve already shouted expletives and racial slurs at me online despite not actually knowing my nationality. Like Guitar Hero before it, Activision wants this series whored out as much as possible and will keep finding ways to make you its bitch… and it will work.

So that’s pretty much it. The game is okay at best, but that won’t stop it from making millions. My review won’t stop it from making millions. Hell, even Fox News won’t be able to stop it from making millions (though they’ve ironically done the opposite with every game they’ve generated controversy over, come to think of it…). So we all have to simply let this one be. You can join it, or you can protest it like the “I think my opinion is so important” police that are flooding the internet as we speak. As for me personally? I’ll jump on the bandwagon as I’m all cool and super open-minded like that. AWW, that kill was so unfair! What do you MEAN he shot me THROUGH the building!? Hey, what’s that noise?

“You are under arrest for illegal usage of the italics key after banning yourself from it two paragraphs ago!”

“FOOLS! You’ll never take me alive! You have no proof!!!... Oh wait... DAMN!”

8 controversially destroyed London Subway tunnels out of 10

The Protomen at Santos Party House 11/09/20XX (Show Review)

Being a huge fan of music, as well as being a huge fan of video games, it wasn’t going to be very long before I discovered bands in the world that would build on such a concept. Some bands go the cover route, finding different video game tunes and making rock/rap/metal pieces with the material given, and others will take it a step further. Cue the Protomen. This crazy theatrical Mega-Man-induced indie rock ensemble comes from Nashville, Tennessee. I don’t know what they’re on over there in Tennessee, but I want a piece of whatever it is.

First off, before even getting in to Santos Party House in New York, NY, and while waiting in line, the band member known as ‘Turbo Lover’ came out with a digital camera and shouted “If you don’t want to be in the documentary, get the hell out of the way!” Naturally my friends and I all screamed like idiots and waved and clapped for the camera as he walked by. A great way to start what was going to already be an awesome night.

My friends, my girlfriend, and I all seemed to have great timing, as we got to the show just as the line was starting to form to get in. While waiting for them to come on, we were treated to Big Trouble in Little China on two screens around the back of the stage. I never did get to see that movie previously, so that was one hell of a trip. For those who don’t know, Santos Party House is not exactly a big place. We got near the front and we stayed there, because about 20 minutes in, the room was all but filled. While waiting, I got to talk with other fans about their experiences. Ironically, they all went to NY Comic Con as well, so it was fun to compare our thoughts on the Zelda: Skyward Sword demo (no seriously, I loved it).

When things finally began, K.I.L.R.O.Y. stepped up to the stage. He is basically the person/robot that gets the show started and the crowd moving. He immediately begins by saying that we’re not here for music or fun, but for war! He also went on a rant, describing all the horrors of the dystopian world they’ve crafted in their music, when he suddenly points to my girlfriend and goes “And YOU! ... Don’t even get me started on YOU!” She was so shocked and I just couldn’t stop laughing.

Once the band started, it was nonstop mayhem from there. The musical diversity of this group is remarkable. Standing beside where I was in front of the stage was their violinist and lead guitar player, Bakker. I felt fortunate to be put right in front of him, because he was a beast through and through. Just about all members of the band have the ability to play at least two instruments, and do it very well. The lead singer, Raul Panther, for example, played keyboard in one song, and switched to an acoustic guitar in the next. The storylines crafted in both Acts I and II (their two current albums) were also displayed brilliantly on the stage. We were treated to awesome still images and animations coming from the stage TVs to set the mood, as well as awesome stage performances with K.I.L.R.O.Y. giving Panther a Mega Man helmet, and later on, a Protoman helmet and arm cannon. Seriously, if you see them live, you will never forget it.

Each song had the crowd moving in different ways. Many of the songs from Act I, like ‘Vengeance’ and ‘The Will of One,’ started all kinds of crazy mosh pits and shouting. Their softer, more melodic tunes from Act II instigated a lot of foot stomping and fists in the air. I felt like we could have very well started a revolution ourselves with all of the momentum going on there. One more thing to note was the bands ability to produce great cover songs. I saw a video of them doing ‘Ballroom Blitz’ once, and was even more thrilled to see them do a cover of Queen’s ‘Princes of the Universe.’ When a band I really like covers my favorite band of all time, and does it well, I tend to take notice.

To go with all of the moshing and stomping, we also had some crowd surfing, mainly from members of the band themselves. At one moment when Ringo Segundo (the second guitarist) put his guitar in front of us to finger tap and mess around with, K.I.L.R.O.Y., who had already been part of a crowd surf behind me, came back near the front of the stage and almost crushed me and everyone else who was bending forward. Luckily once he got back up, Ringo was awesome enough to put it back in front of us and let us mess around again.

After the performance had finally finished, I actually got a big hug from K.I.L.R.O.Y. and had a few laughs with Ringo and Turbo Lover while my girlfriend and I headed to the merch booth. I was surprised to see they still had a couple of the Act I vinyl records left, but I already had a copy, so I was already covered there. I got both of the CDs (which I had never actually owned before, despite hearing the albums countless times) and contemplated on one of the shirts, but figured there’d be plenty of chances for that in the future. The only person missing from all of this was The Nightwalker, who’s trumpet playing I did miss hearing after the awesome use of it both of the albums. Hopefully we can see her in action sometime in the future as well.

All in all, that was one of the most fun shows I’ve been too in a long time. My friends, my girlfriend and I all had a mega-blast (had to say it!), made a few new friends (including members of the band), and all made it back home safely without dying somehow. That’s what I call a perfect night. Stay nerdy my friends!

November Gaming Madness!

So, as many gamers know, the month of November is always a huge deal. We get many of the most hyped up and biggest launches of the year all within this very month. This month started off with a bang for me since the release of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (which I will be reviewing soon), and is soon to follow with an even bigger bang for many next week, when Modern Warfare 3 finally hits the shelves. Unlike all of the hype around 2 and Black Ops, I'm actually much more pumped for this release. It's hard to explain why, but I have a gut feeling I'm going to enjoy this one a lot, maybe just as much as the original Modern Warfare even. The month doesn't end there however. We've also got the already immensely popular Elder Scrolls: Skyrim on the horizon, with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii and Super Mario 3D land for the Nintendo 3DS not too far ahead of that. Between all of that, we'll also be getting Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the conclusion to Ezio's story, and what's sure to be loads of surprises. There's plenty of other big titles this month that I didn't mention, like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Need For Speed: The Run, Sonic Generations, Saints Row: The Third, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, and many more!

So tell me everyone, what are you looking forward to the most this month!? There's something for just about anyone and I'd really love to know what's got everybody's attention. Oh, and let me know if you want me to review anything specific. Odds are I'll probably be up for it! Later!

Deadpool's Awesometastic Review of Batman: Arkham City (PS3/Xbox 360)

Howdy y’all! How’s that autumn breeze been treatin’ ya!? If my skin wasn’t burned so many times, I bet I’d be able to join you in that sentiment. Oh well, the important thing is I grow back limbs and am NOT a lizard! WOOHOO! Eat that Marvel universe science! Oh wait, that’s the same science that created me… Crap! >_>

MOVING ALONG, we come to the highly anticipated sequel to the highly rated first installment, Batman: Arkham City. If you pre-ordered the game (and actually somehow chose which obnoxious retailer to get your DLC ‘frillies’ from), then you already know why the first game was awesome and don’t need me to tell you. It’s a shame you came here though, because that’s exactly what I am about to do! You had everything in the first game: beautiful graphics (minus Batman’s Gears of War syndrome, courtesy of your friendly-neighborhood Unreal Engine, rumored to be designed by Rob Leifield… (HA, it wouldn’t be one of these if I didn’t bash my creator!)), awesome brawler/open map gameplay with gadgets, a kick-ass story worthy of the mastermind that is Paul Dini, and Riddler trophies to keep you from telling your friends you beat it 100% before they did (even though not many did. Hell, I didn’t find them all even!).

So with all of that awesome crammed into one tiny blu-ray disc/whateverthehellxboxcallsit, how could the sequel compete? Well, let’s just say that the first game was all that and the kitchen sink. This sequel is more like all that and the kitchen sink meets Godzilla, his brother, his mom, and his aunt Carla all at once. You now have the ability to run around or glide around the entire city (of Arkham, not Gotham itself. Trust me when I say you won’t notice or care enough). The city is packed with thugs and villains of the highest caliber. If you never took the penguin seriously before, you’re… well, probably still going to laugh at his goofy ass. HAHA, he can’t run with that belly! ... BUT the other villains will demand your attention, as will Penguin. I won’t spoil any details, but know that this one will throw characters at you till the last bleeding second. You never know who’s going to pop up next, and that’s part of the fun!

The dynamic of the run-down city having multiple villains fight over it is also very clever, as it throws in a lot of twists and reasons for constant interaction that you wouldn’t have probably expected considering the more straight-forward nature of the first. It’d be hard NOT to get distracted from your main objective, only to find a side-quest or save some random political figure on the street (as if even Batman could save politics for the US at this point...).

The city isn’t the only thing getting a facelift, however. Batman’s gadgets are now cranked up to wambo. One of my favorite new toys was the Remote Electrical Charge. With this baby, you could force elevators to go up and down and even cause the magnetism of a metal hook to reverse and bash into walls… Imagine the FUN I would have! I’d hum the tune of “Singing in the Rain” while bashing down the houses of all the people who owe me money! ... Or that I want money from… because they have more than I do… What? I’d put that Clockwork Orange noob to shame! 4 Reelz!

Another interesting inclusion in new copies of the game is the Catwoman downloadable content. At first I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to have, but boy was I glad I waited the hour and half it took to download that… Wait a minute, no I wasn’t! The freaking sucked! It’s a good thing it was actually GOOD DLC, otherwise that might have been a serious Simpson’s Comic Book Guy rant right there.

If you are even remotely a fan of Batman or action games, you owe it to yourself to kick this bad boy into gear. Even after playing through the awesome (but still short) campaign mode, you have a plethora (ooo, pretty vocabulary usage!) of things you can do, such as finding all the Riddler trophies, besting all the challenge maps, finding any missed sidequests or events, and even a new game plus mode for those who have absolutely nothing to do with their lives. Ah, how I yearn to go back to being that guy with no life. It seemed sucky at the time because of all those bed-sores, but oh man was it sweet!

Before ending this, I will make one more quick note directed toward those who (like me) absolutely loved the trippy scenes involving scarecrow and thought they were among the best in the entire first Arkham game. While I can’t say there’s anything specifically like that in this one, you will not be disappointed, you will see other ways they managed to take you “out” of the world around you, and you will feel like you are high on something acidic. Can it get any better (other than adding women and bacon into the equation)? I think not!

9 Riddler Trophies out of 10

Now Batman and I… THERE’S a crossover waiting to happen! I would tell knock knock jokes and feed him animal crackers; oh the joy! Oh, and contrary to popular belief, I am not gay for Batman. I am however, extremely gay for Kevin Conroy (his voice actor). I would do horrible horrible things for that man. The only reason I’m not ashamed to admit it, is because I know you all just read that and said “Hahaha yeah. Me too…” Don’t lie!!! Good night sucka fools! Deadpool OUT!

NY Comic Con: Days 2 and 3

Day 2:

I have to say that between what I was expecting (or hoping) to get out of Saturday, and what I actually got out of Saturday, that was one heck of a nice balance. Starting the morning, my friend, my girlfriend, and myself all ended up getting to the floor much later than we were hoping to, forcing us to miss the Green Lantern animated series premiere. While I was a little annoyed I couldn't make it in time, I don't regret it too much, knowing it'll be on TV soon enough and I can form my thoughts on it then.

What we ended up doing then instead was walking around as many booths and artist alley locations as we could. For some reason, this ended up being more of an exploration day than Sunday, which is very different from previous years for me. Saturday is supposed to be the day of all the important shows and panels, and yet, the few I was really interested in this year, I did not actually get to go to. Trying to get in line for the Avengers movie panel 2 hours before still got us sent back, only to be told that the IGN Theater was already packed and that since they don't empty out the room per panel, that we pretty much had no chance in hell since there was a panel for the Walking Dead (TV series) right before it.

So what the heck did we actually do on Saturday? Thankfully still quite a bit, as I'll get to. At the Midtown Comics booth (who's store I absolutely love by the way), I was thrilled to see they still had a few signed copies of Craig Thompson's "Blankets" in hardcover, as well as his newest project, "Habibi." I saw that "Blankets" was sold out on the Midtown website, as well as going on Ebay for over $200 in hardcover already, which was absolutely nuts. For those who haven't experienced the awesome and the emotion that is Craig Thompson, know that you're missing out on one hell of a set of experiences, both realistic and enlightening.

While standing on line to pay, I saw that Kevin Levine (one of the creators of Irrational Games, and the game "Bioshock") was going to be signing posters for his newest title, "Bioshock: Infinite." While I would have loved to get one, being diabetic and forced to eat around the same time as this signing kind of made that impossible. We ate at Subway however, and I did happen to get a winning code for Uncharted 3, but it was not for the game, rather a journal and wrist cuff. I happen to find that very interesting in itself though, as it sounds like both of those (especially the journal) will make for awesome collectibles.

Looking at the Bandai booth was absolutely awesome, with figures from series like Gundam, Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Kamen Rider, Saint Seiya, Gojira, and more! I'm a sucker for action figures, and these were absolutely perfect-looking. I don't even want to think about what they would cost, but I can still imagine. From this booth, I also bought part 1 of Zeta Gundam, the only Gundam series I would actually admit that I enjoyed more than the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

It was around this booth that I happened to actually meet up with an online pal I knew from an internet forum called The Haisho. Darren was an awesome guy and I wish we could have talked more. I also felt bad that he kept following me and Kelsey around without really having anything he particularly wanted to do himself. I hope he had more fun as he went on, and if you're reading this Darren, it was great meeting you!

Due to being unable to visit the Avengers movie panel, I thought it would be a good idea to show Kelsey more involving female writers and heroine characters as she began to get into more comics herself. There was a panel just for that, called "Girls Kick Butt: Strong Female Heroines in Young Adult Fantasy." First off, I want to give kudos to the moderator of the panel, who started off changing the title to "Girls Kick Ass" right away. I very much agreed with her sentiment. In this panel, we got to hear from some surprisingly big names in fantasy, such as Esther Friesner and Caitlin Kittredge amongst others. They were all an absolute joy to listen to, and I wouldn't mind getting into some of their works myself.

Another part of getting Kelsey into more comics was to let her try out different titles and see what she liked. Spider-Man was the first one she wanted, so I had no problem lending her trades of the earliest issues, as well as JM Stracynski's stories for the character. Here at the con, we found her some issues of Wonder Woman, and even the first issue of Black Panther, which she told me she used to be a huge fan of when she was younger, to my surprise.

We met some very nice artists in the Artist Alley and Comic Artist Alley. One that I have to give the biggest shout out to for Saturday was Nick Nix, inker for Black Panther, Aspen Comics, G.I. Joe, and others. He seemed so appreciative that we were even talking with him, that he drew some rough sketches of us for free. For quick drafts, they were actually very well done, and I came out impressed. He's a very nice man and I hope he continues to succeed in the field he's working towards.

One last guest I got to see before the end of the day, which I haven't seen since about 3 years ago at my first NY Comic Con was Irwin Hasen, original Green Lantern artist, as well as Justice Society, Wildcat, and Wonder Woman. He didn't remember me from the panel years back of course, but he was just as polite as I recall and it was nice seeing such a classic here. I hope he got the appreciation he deserved and it was good to actually get to shake his hand this time, as he left very quickly the previous year.

I think that just about wraps up Saturday. And now for the next and final day of the con!

Day 3:

With our legs still wanting to murder us (and still do even as I type this), Nasser, Kelsey, and I proceeded to venture out for the last day of the con. We weren't expecting as much from this day, but I think that's what made it so great in the first place.

The objective for today was to continue where we left off and see as many things as we possibly could. I would say that we did just that and really got a lot out of it. Outside of seeing some more amazing figures, statues, and other collectibles, we got to meet a few nice artists along the way once more.

For those who don't know, Darkwing Duck was all but my favorite cartoon of all time when I was little. I decided to try some of the recent issues of the comic just to see how they were, and sure enough, I had liked them quite a bit. I was even more excited to see the artist of the reboot, James Silvani, at his own table. He was only charging about $5 for each print, so I ended up paying for two and they gave me a third free, all signed by the man himself. He was really nice, and we talked about how much fun that they were having by making spoof covers of classic DC issues like "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Crisis of Infinite Earths," only using Darkwing instead.

Just before this, when we were all proceeding to find a decent (and working) ATM machine, Kelsey noticed a line by the Cartoon Network stand near the entrance of the con. They were giving away an exclusive figurine of Finn from "Adventure Time" to promote the show, the recent DVD release, and Toys R' Us, who provided all of the figurines we received. It was a nice little surprise that we didn't see coming until the last second.

One final booth I'll mention was for the company Fierce Comics. The title I was interested in was known as "The Maniacal Smile," a character that ended up being referenced in the game "Captain Smiley," as there was some huge debate over what came first, who could sue who, etc. They were just premiering an omnibus edition for Comic Con this weekend, and so I decided to pick it up and get it signed by the creator. They were another very nice group and I hope they keep going strong for years to come!

So there you have it more or less. This was some of the best and most important descriptions I can recall. I had a great time this year, as did Kelsey and Nasser. I hope that we can all do this again next year and have just as much fun as we did this weekend. Later everyone!

NY Comic Con: Day 1

Awesome, awesome first day!!!

I must say things went much better then I was even expecting today. Things started off with Nasser, Kelsey, and I heading over to the IGN theater upon arrival for the Batman: Arkham City panel. It was an excellent panel, and even had Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) to contribute to the fun. We got to see some fun and interesting questions asked by both the panelists and the fans, as well as some excellent live gameplay footage. Tuesday can't come soon enough for this game to come out. Very excited.

After the panel and getting lunch, we began to explore the booths and dealers areas themselves a little more, and WOW at the people we were able to meet and so easily too! First off, and most importantly in my opinion, I got to meet Joe Kelly. For those who don't know, this is basically the man that made Deadpool awesome, as well as crafted many other excellent stories for heroes like Spider-Man and Green Lantern. He was awesome to speak with, and he signed a copy of "I Kill Giants" for me as well. I might go back and see him tomorrow. I can't believe there wasn't a large line to see him or anything.

Walking around more, we got to see some decent cosplays, thought not many that I would call too memorable. That's not to say they were all bad, and I did still get some nice pictures; I was just expecting a bit more than what we got so far. I imagine we will see many better ones tomorrow, as Saturday is always the biggest turnout in general.

One more big surprise was walking over to the Marvel booth to see non other than Marvel's editor in chief, Joe Quesada. While I didn't have anything for the man to sign, the line for him was short enough so that within seconds I was shaking his hand. Just another one of those unexpected moments that's really cool to look back on. Again shocked at the short to near-nonexistent line.

After looking through lots of dealers booths, Kamen Rider and Sentai action figures, and a few graphic novels with great sale prices, we began to head near the artist section of the con. It was there at the Dark Horse booth that Kelsey and I got signed copies of Star Wars: Legacy War #5 for free by Jan Duursema. Once again, she was very nice and friendly; another person who very much loves their work, and it shows. I would read her stories just because of how great she was in person. Very happy we caught her.

After looking at Aspen comics variant covers (may get Haunted City #1 tomorrow, just because of how awesome the NYCC variant looked for that), we found the booth for Nintendo, who was featuring playable demos of some of their upcoming titles, like the new Kirby. Kelsey and I were fortunate to get to play a demo of the upcoming Zelda title, Zelda: Skyward Sword. There were three parts to the demo you could choose from: a flight stage, a dungeon, and a bossfight. I watched someone in front of me play the flight stage, which ended up being very interesting. While mounting a giant bird, you use the Wii remote to control the direction the bird flies in, while using other buttons to boost and attack. The boost was similar to that of controlling Epona, as instead of carrots on the bottom, you had small graphics of wings instead. The next person who was also in front of me to play, chose the dungeon stage. This portion of the demo showed off a very interesting new gadget that Link uses to solve puzzles with. With this device, you control a small, flying scarab, using the Wii remote to control the direction it flies in. In the demo, Link was trapped in a large room and had to use the device to hit a switch on the outside. It was a nice dynamic and I look forward to seeing how it is used in the rest of the game. But the best, most difficult, and most fascinating part of the demo was the bossfight with the "Demon Lord Ghirahim." I'd like to say I'm pretty well skilled at games such as this, so believe me when I say this fight was TOUGH, especially for a demo! He left little to no openings when coming at me. When the fight began and I tried to slash him with my sword, he immediately grabbed it between his fingers and threw me back. After figuring out the right way to attack him, he pulls out a sword of his own and this is where things got insane. He was capable of launching small red projectiles, which weren't really difficult to dodge, but he would then follow up by teleporting himself, usually right behind you. I later came to find that this was the only opportune moment to attack him. Otherwise, he would do this annoying dash attack that was surprisingly hard to dodge. I almost died at least two times while this character made me look like a novice, and even forced me to use a red potion (which was thankfully provided), as well as a fairy. According to Nasser, I was also drawing a large crowd that was going "UGH!" and "OOOH!" as they were watching. That made me feel a little better since I actually did come out the victor. I watched a few other people get very distraught by this battle and most around me did not win the fight. The Nintendo rep had said we were supposed to get tickets for free t-shirts after playing, but that they had run out for the day, so we were advised to come back tomorrow to get them. I will definitely do so, as the shirt looks bad-ass. That was one hell of an experience, and one hell of a bossfight for a demo. I came out very satisfied.

Finally, with a bit more time before we had to leave, we headed over to the Archie Comics booth. Here, I brought my copies of Sonic The Hedgehog #226-229 and Mega Man #1 to be signed by the writer, Ian Flynn. He seemed really appreciative of the compliments I gave him for rebooting the Sonic The Hedgehog series with the "Genesis" storyline. For those who don't know, the covers to these Sonic issues (with exception of the last) all represent the boxart images from Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 for those who remember. The third issue even had the old Sega Genesis logo on the side like the game did. Really nice touches they made here, and Flynn was a blast to talk to.

The time just flew today and we had a lot of fun (and a LOT of pictures which I hope to get posted soon). If the rest of the weekend is half as awesome as today was, I see this being by far the best NY Comic Con yet! I'll be sure to keep you all posted!