We’ve had more than a few listeners send us a link to this story. I know you’re all well-read on the classics, but who couldn’t use a little bit of undead flesh mixed in with your literature? I know I just can’t get enough. This new take on the classic Jane Austin novel is brought to us by Seth Grahame-Smith and it looks brilliant.

From the description of the book:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen’s classic novel to new legions of fans.

Jane Austen is the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English literature.

Seth Grahame-Smith is the author of How to Survive a Horror Movie and The Big Book of Porn. He lives in Los Angeles.

I don’t know about you but comparing the two author’s and their respective writing careers at the end made me choke with laughter. Oh, and I’m checking on Amazon for the price on the Big Book of Porn for all of you. I figured I’d be helpful.

It should also be mentioned that this story made it onto the classic NPR quiz show, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me this week. You can find the show where Seth Grahame-Smith talks about his book by downloading the show from iTunes or clicking here.

Happy Readin!

SPOILERS!!!!

Green Lantern #37
Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Ivan Reis

Hal Jordan is continuing his search for the captured leader of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro. Sinestro was being transported to Oa, Green Lantern homeworld, to be put on trial for his past crimes. (Read Sinestro Corps Wars for the background story)

All was well until the newly created Red Lanterns ambushed the Green Lantern Corps and made off with Sinestro, and killing many Lanterns in the process. The other new Lantern Corps, the Blue Lanterns, are helping Hal to find Sinestro. They also explain to Hal that he is destined to become the new leader of the Blue Lanterns, albeit much to Hal’s dismay.

In this issue, Hal and the Blue Lanterns locate Sinestro on the Red Lantern homeworld. They attempt to rescue Sinestro, but are attacked by the Red Lanterns and their leader, Atrocitus. In the ensuing battle, Hal and Sinestro end up fighting each other, but all does not go well. I don’t want to give everything away, because the ending is pretty kick ass.

Fans of Geoff Johns are probably already reading this series. If you aren’t reading it, I totally recommend it. Not only is it Johns’ best book currently out there, it is also the best Green Lantern has been. Like in a long time.

Big ups to the penciler, Ivan Reis. His artwork continually shines through in every issue. His art is the exact, dare I say, epic-ness needed for Green Lantern. And there is a really great splash page in the end of the book.

If you haven’t been reading Green Lantern and want more background on the current details of the whole situation, I recommend picking up the entire shebang of the Sinestro Corps Wars. What is great about Geoff Johns writing, is that everything you need to know about Green Lantern is explained in Sinestro Corps Wars, and most of it is in the first issue. It tells you everything you need to know, without having pages of exposition that dulls the story.

Highly recommended!
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Now that Fox and Warner Brothers have settled over the distribution rights for the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s beloved 1987 graphic novel Watchmen, it’s time to start ramping up to it’s March 6th release date. What better way to get excited for the film adaptation than to read the novel? That’s why we’re kicking off the first official Robot Panic Book club! Every week for six weeks, we’ll be reading and discussing two chapters of the novel. On March 1st, we’ll be doing a live wrap-up podcast, where you can call in and discuss your take on the book. Then a week later on March 8th, we’ll be doing ANOTHER live show, where we’ll discuss the merits of the Watchmen movie, both as a film and an adaptation of the novel. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, no matter if you’ve never read the novel, or if your pages are torn and wrinkled from repeated readings.

Here’s the tentative schedule:

• 1/25: Chapters 1 & 2
• 2/01: Chapters 3 & 4
• 2/08: Chapters 5 & 6
• 2/15: Chapters 7 & 8
• 2/22: Chapters 9 & 10
• 3/01: Chapters 11 & 12, wrap-up discussion
• 3/08: Film Discussion

Marvel Chronicle is a must buy. There. Review over.

Ok, maybe a little more information is required.
So in the hopes of enlightening you Comic Dummies, I bring you Marvel Chronicle.

Basically, it is a extremely detailed history of Marvel. Starting off in the 1940′s with the original company name, Timely, to the 1960′s with the creations of some of the greatest superheroes evar, to the 1990′s with it’s epic crapfests of guys with huge muscles and even bigger guns, to current day with the epic crapfest of Secret Invasion. Marvel Chronicle covers it all.
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We’re not a news site. Or at least we try not to be, but there are some news stories you just can’t stay silent on. This would be one of them. It was reported today that 1Up.com was acquired by UGO Entertainment and as a result, EGM would cease publication and many of our favorite editors lost their jobs. To say that the whole thing sucks is an understatement. Especially for those who have found themselves unemployed at such a terrible time.

For those of us who have been around the gaming scene for awhile, the news that EGM would cease publication brings to end an era that brought four-man reviews, in depth coverage and a commitment to honesty and integrity not often found in a magazine based on advertising games. Our connection to EGM runs deep. John and I were both avid readers of EGM, and it was one of the constants in our respective gaming universes when we were young. I don’t care how many other magazines jumped into the scene over the years, EGM was always the one I turned to for news and reviews that I cared about. Even in the later years, as the magazine faded from what I once knew, I carried the torch as did many others.

Not so long ago, at the Midwest Gaming Classic, we had the honor and privilege of meeting two former EGM staffers, “Trickman” Terry Minnich and Martin Alessi. Try as hard as I might during that interview, it was a little tough to suppress the EGM fanboy as I sat talking to them. Through that connection we also became acquainted with another EGM legend, Ken Williams, who once wore the legendary name of Sushi-X. Those of you old enough to recognize that name will understand my reasons for asking Terry and Martin the identity of the mysterious EGM ninja. It has been our privilege to call Terry and Ken friends as we all continue to follow a passion for gaming and all things geek.

We’ve also had the honor of a great friendship with Phil Kollar and I have to say, I laughed out loud in surprise and glee when I first saw his name on an EGM game review. To see his fire and passion ignite some great things at 1Up.com was a pure joy. I remember sitting upstairs in my house with Phil, on the night before he left to start at 1Up, eating terrible Hardee’s food as he laid out his ideas for a new kind of magazine style podcast. At the time, he was only going to be the News Editor and it was just thoughts and “wouldn’t it be cool if…”. Imagine my delight when 1Up FM debuted, exactly as he had wanted, and climbed the iTunes “charts” to become one of the top gaming podcasts on the web. It was the fire and energy found in editors such as Phil and Nick Suttner that gave me hope for both 1Up and EGM. But alas, it was not to be.

We say goodbye to an era that started in 1989 as news hits that EGM is ceasing publication. Our regret is that they couldn’t have gone out in style, with a fitting end to a magazine that meant a whole lot to a whole lot of gamers. It would have been nice see the old crew back again for one final issue, wouldn’t it? While we may not get a proper send off of the magazine from the corporate giants, we can at least do our part here. For those of you who read and appreciated EGM, let us know what the magazine meant to you. Were you one of the many who poured through the April magazine, looking for the infamous joke? How many times did you try to unlock Shen Long? Anybody try the All Bonds trick? If you would, take a minute and let us know your favorite moments as we say farewell to EGM.

To the staff of EGM and 1Up.com, we wish you the best and know you’ll all land on your feet. Here’s to the awesome things you’ll bring to the gaming public in the future.

Wizards of the Coast grace us with a couple more books this month and that sound you hear is the money being sucked from your wallet. Here they are, straight from the source:

Martial Power

Martial Power is the first of a line of player-friendly supplements offering hundreds of new options for D&D characters. This tome focuses on the martial heroes: characters that rely on their combat talents and keen wits for survival.

This book provides new archetypal builds for the fighter, ranger, rogue, and warlord classes, including new character powers, feats, paragon paths, and epic destinies.

While I appreciate the steady stream of supplemental books, anyone else feeling like these class editions are simply a bunch of things they could have easily fit into the Player’s Handbook? I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but come on.

Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons

Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons describes several varieties of dragons, including red, blue, green, black, and white dragons, as well as three new chromatic dragons.

This sourcebook gives details of each dragon’s powers, tactics, myths, lairs, servitors, and more. In addition, this book provides new information about draconic nations and organizations and how chromatic dragons fit into the D&D game. Wide-ranging story and campaign elements in the book give DMs ready-to-play material that is easily incorporated into a game, including adventure hooks, quests, and pregenerated treasure hoards.

While I’m sure this is just as much of a money grab as the Martial Power book, dragons are at least way cooler. Anything regarding these powerful creatures is cool. I guess if I have to get one of these, this would be the one. But again, all this information could have been in the Monster Manual.

Not sure if these are worth the price, but they’re available now and in all the hardcover splendor you’d expect from Wizards of the Coast. Have at it, my friends.

There’s something about the gritty world of noir fiction that draws me in, making me want to wear a fedora and smoke filter-less cigarettes. And as you can see by the look of this site, we dig pulp fiction. My first real experiences with noir was a few years ago when I decided to go on a Humphrey Bogart bender, watching nearly every one of his available films on DVD, including The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Dark Passage, all classics within the noir genre. Gritty crime stories have a long history not only in film, but also in the pulp novels of the mid-20th century. They usually came in the form of small paperbacks with salacious covers luring people to peek inside at the contents. Running for ten-cents a pop, the thrills were cheap and the stories were provocative.

The pulp fiction/noir genre has been seeing a resurgence in popularity over the past several years and Hard Case Crime is leading the way. Having started up just a few years ago, the publisher already has dozens of titles in their catalog and a loyal following from crime fiction fans.

According to their website:

Hard Case Crime is dedicated to reviving the vigor and excitement, the suspense and thrills — the sheer entertainment — of the golden age of paperback crime novels, both by bringing back into print the best work of the pulp era and by introducing readers to new work by some of today’s most powerful writers and artists. Determined detectives and dangerous women…fortune hunters and vengeance seekers…ingenious criminals and men on the run for their lives…Hard Case Crime novels offer everything you want from a great story, all in handsome and affordable mass-market editions.

Hard Case Crime puts out a new book each and every month, and each title is filled with the sort of gritty, hard-nosed drama that would make Bogie proud. The first book I received (pictured above) follows the story of a lone Iraq War veteran who gets tangled up in the Mexican kidnapping syndicate and is forced to exact revenge upon the “friend” who set him up and the gangsters who nearly killed him. Written in meticulous detail by David J. Schow, Gun Work kept me turning the pages until wee hours of the night with its action-packed story and incredible realism and has me anxious to receive the next Hard Case title.
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I know we have a lot of fans of Freaks & Geeks here, so I figured I’d point you in the direction of Entertainment Weekly’s new “where are they now” article on the cast and crew members. You can check it out here.

Incidentally, how hot is Linda Cardellini?

Meow.

It also turns out that Jason Segel is writing a new Muppet movie script. Word!

Last week I mentioned that I received an extra comic or two in my bag after a weekly run to my local comic shop. One of those extra comics was Captain America #42 and I commented on how much the series had changed for the better under Ed Brubakers writing hand. In the comment section below the post, our good friend Tyler Durden mentioned that I should really read the earlier stories and that an Omnibus had been put out that cataloged the first 25 issues of the Brubaker Captain America run. While I’m a big comic book fan, the idea of an omnibus seemed like a pricey endeavor and a difficult one to justify. Perusal of Amazon.com confirmed my suspicions with a rather hefty $75.00 price tag.

This last weekend John, Moe and I attended FallCon 2008, a local comic book convention held here in St. Paul, MN. While checking out the various booths, my good friends happened to find the Captain America Omnibus hanging out under a 30% off sign. And you just can’t pass up a deal like that, can you? What I found was one of the greatest collections of comics I’ve read in a long, long time. In one night, I had consumed the entire book and I am simply floored by what Brubaker has done with one of Marvel’s most iconic characters.
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Witnessing the great rock music upheaval of the early 1990s was quite the experience. It seemed that almost in an instant, years of butt-rock domination was crushed by the d-tuned bottom end of grunge. And in one fell swoop, all that glitter and excess was replaced by something weightier and oftentimes gloomier. Blind Melon was a band who seemed to walk that line between the two. In their early career they hung with bands like Guns n’ Roses and Ozzy Osbourne, and in fact owe much of their subsequent success to Axl Rose. But as the musical climate changed, they felt perfectly at home with the likes of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. The key to their success was twofold. First, they were supremely talented musicians. To this day, I have trouble naming a rock ensemble that has, line by line, a better group of diverse musicians. Each of them contribute equally to the band’s songwriting, and that’s exceptionally rare these days. And secondly, they had a frontman who could have gone on to become one of the all-time greats; a guy who would have lined up comfortably next to guys like Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, Eddie Vedder, and Kurt Cobain. I say “could have” because like Cobain, Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon tragically died at a young age.

The story of Blind Melon’s meteoric rise and abrupt fall is told beautifully in Greg Prato’s “A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other”. Through interviews with band members, insiders, family members, and past quotes from Hoon and others, the book chronicles the band’s almost miraculous start as they each traveled to Los Angeles from small towns all over the United States, to Hoon’s demise, to their eventual reunion thirteen years later. It’s a remarkable story, and one that deserved to be told as Blind Melon remains one of the most criminally underrated bands of the early 90s.
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