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CNI 138 - More NYCC with Greg Pak, Stephen Lindsay & Lauren Monardo, and the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

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Comic News Insider: Episode 138 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

Reviews: Atomic Rocket Group 66 #1, Countdown To Final Crisis #1, Helen Killer #1

More NYCC and it's not as boring as a mud fence! We finish up our NYCC interviews with Stephen Lindsay & Lauren Monardo (Jesus Hates Zombies, The Slightly Askew Adventures of Inspector Ham & Eggs), the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company and Greg Pak (The Incredible Herc). We get a mention in a UK magazine, discuss the comedy gold that is Paula Dean and PROJECT HAIRCUT! videos are now available. Jimmy discusses his upcoming visit to Bristol Con and what he expects upon arrival. News includes The Hobbit films, Bleach, Carrie Fisher sexing up with Harrison Ford, GTA IV, and Free Comic Book Day.

Also, we cover the tragic robbery/shooting of comic shop owner, David Pirkola. He is in stable condition, but in need of your help. iFanboy has created a donation page to help pay for medical expenses and keep the store afloat. Please donate what you can in the link.

Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

212 501 6246

www.comicnewsinsider.com

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.comicspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.cniforum.com

Thanks for listening!


It's NOT Still Long...

Wow. That's a misleading title. I'm talking about the hair, ya gutter-minded punks. If one more person tells me, "Oh, you didn't cut off that much. It's still long."....I'm gonna fight them!

Post_cut4 Seriously, kids. I cut 16 inches off. That's A LOT! Sure, I thought about doing a traditional short cut. But, since when have I been traditional? So, it's short. For me.

Now, shut it.


CNI One-Shot!: The Venture Bros.

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CNI One-Shot: The Venture Bros. is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

Venture_bros_jackson_publick_doc_ha James_urbaniak_dr_venture11
It's another special CNI One-Shot for your Saturday listening pleasure. And a special one at that full of Venture Bros. goodness! Creators of the hit animated series, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, join us to discuss the upcoming season 3. Voice actor on the show, James Urbaniak (Dr. Venture, Phantom Limb), also swings by to give us some Dr. Venturely words of wisdom.

If you missed our New York Comic-Con recap, go back to Episode 137 now! We'll wait.

Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

212 501 6246

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.comicspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.cniforum.com

www.comicnewsinsider.com

Thanks for listening!


PROJECT HAIRCUT! - Finally Styled!

If you've been keeping up, then you know I had that whole PROJECT HAIRCUT! thing going on. I had 16 inches of my hair chopped off live at New York Comic-Con last Saturday. Donated said hair to Locks of Love. After having long hair for 20 years, it's like losing a pet! Well, as you also know...the cut was a bit rough and my friend Mindy did the best she could to clean it up. And she did! Yet, it still wasn't styled.

Alas, that has been remedied. I went to see my friend Melinda last night for that styling. I had a couple of drinks beforehand and really left it in her hands. So...how did she do?
Me_melindaMe_melinda2



















Ya know.....after looking at these pics. I dig it! Thanks Melinda. You are a goddess among stylists!


CNI 137 - NYCC Recap

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Comic News Insider: Episode 137 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

No reviews or feedback since we have so much New York Comic-Con to cover! It was a crazy and mad weekend full of fun! Marvel at our fun. MARVEL AT IT!!

Over 64,000 attended the show and we cover it all. Well, not all of it, but a good chunk. Great interviews, amazing raffle, PROJECT HAIRCUT!, The Great Podcasting Dinner of NYCC 08, and more! We talk about some of the big news to break at NYCC including Marvel Apes, Power Girl ongoing, Iron Man/Hulk movie crossover and Virgin Comics party policies. We have a lengthy discussion recapping each day of the con.

Alan_moore4_2 As mentioned, interviews galore! So many that we had to split them into 3 shows. That's right, folks! This episode, "Alan Moore" returns and sits with us at our booth to discuss some more projects he's working on. A special surprise visit by Mike Norton occurs during the interview and a possible future collaboration is made.

Cni_booth_babes_colleen_kristin_car Sunday was a bit tamer, so I sat with the lovely CNI girls and booth helpers, Carrie Tucker, Kristin G and Colleen McAllister, to get their thoughts on the show.

Me_molly_crabapple5 Also, Jimmy has a dream interview with the amazingly beautiful and talented Molly Crabapple.

What about the other interviews you ask? Well, tune in this Saturday, April 26th, for a special CNI One-Shot: The Venture Bros. That's right! Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, the creators of the acclaimed animated series The Venture Bros., joined us to discuss the upcoming season 3. Also, James Urbaniak (voice of Dr. Venture and Phantom Limb) stops by to discuss his work on the show as well.

Tune in next week for more interviews from Greg Pak (Incredible Herc), Stephen Lindsay and Lauren Monardo (Jesus Hates Zombies) and The Vampire Cowboys Theater Company.

Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

212 501 6246

www.comicnewsinsider.com

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.comicspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.cniforum.com

Thanks for listening!


NYCC 08 - Saturday & Sunday

The_entranceYou've been waiting while I've been slowly recovering from the madness of NYCC. I got nerd germs all over me and am now sick. Ugh. Still, your intrepid reporter will do his best to...uh...report. I'm just blogging now and will add pics later. But, you can see all of them in Flickr goodness if you want to cheat. I split them into each day, so go in order!

Last, I left you with the first day of NYCC. Friday. Now, on to Saturday!

Saturday, 4/19:
Again, Joe is the early riser so he was there to set everything up. And again, I waited for that damn Fed Ex package. But, I wasn't going to wait too long. I'll admit, I stalled a bit since I knew the haircut was going to happen that day. I walked up to the Duane Reade and got some stuff needed. Scissors, mirror, gel, comb, brush, and a ruler to measure the hair. I jumped in a cab and headed off. I got in around 11 a.m. to madness. Saturday is always the busiest day. I pushed through to the podcast arena and things were rocking. Another raffle at noon started off and we gave out some more great stuff. Post raffle, I headed off for a walkabout with my hair. At 1:15-1:30, the cut was going to happen. I'll admit, I was filled with trepidation. 1:00 p.m. rolls around and Unemployed Skeletor arrives as he's doing the cut. We chat about how it's going to go and I ask if he can see enough through that bony visage. I didn't want to lose an ear as well as hair. I confer with the Vampire Cowboys Theater Company (VCTC) and we come up with a little bit to make it more theatrical. And go over music with Colleen to play during and after. Finally, it's time.

Me_precut_with_joeMe_precutJoe gets on the mic and the crowd gathers. "See a grown man cry! He's cutting off his hair and donating it to Locks of Love!" I stand around lamenting and holding my hair out. People take pics with me. I don't think people believe it's going to happen. Suddenly, I say, "I changed my mind. I'm not doing it!" Colleen hits the music. It's the song "Hair" from the musical Hair. "Gimme a head with hair. Long beautiful hair." comes out over the speakers as I bolt off. On cue, Andrea and Qui of the VCTC stop me by punching and dragging me back to the booth. Apologies to the little girl who almost got sideswiped as they dragged me over. Andrea gives me a big punch and I finally agree. I pull the hair back and have Joe measure. 20 inches? Too much! I go for 16 and prep myself. Skeletor grabs the scissors and cuts. It seems to take forever and finally.....

The_cut2Unemployed_skeletor_triumphsPost_cut4Mindy_styles4My_post_cut_munich_poster_poseWhatchoo_lookin_at_2

It's gone. 16 inches cut! The crowd cheers as Skelly holds the hair up. I, in turn, also hold it up. Colleen cues some sad music as I lament over my lost locks. Good friend Mindy, comes over to clean up the uneven cut. She filled in for the stylist that backed out at the last minute. She did a great job of making it look presentable. Post-cut, I felt like I just lost my puppy. Peter Rios of Comic Geek Speak said, "Your whole demeanor changed. You went from super energized to down and out." Yeah. I didn't like it. Sure it goes to a good cause and I raised money for it as well. That's great. But, I don't like the cut.

Venture_bros_jackson_publick_doc_haVenture_bros_jackson_publick_doc__2No time to cry as we have an interview with the creative team behind the hilarious Venture Bros. cartoon. That's right. Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer sat at our booth and chatted with us for about 20 minutes. Great guys and of course, gutbustingly funny.

James_urbaniak_dr_venture4James_urbaniak_dr_venture11James Urbaniak, the voice of Dr. Venture on the toon was supposed to swing by right after. But, we rescheduled after his panel since he was running late. He,too, was really great to chat with and had some funny stuff to say. No spoilers for the upcoming season 3 though. All good.

More raffling off and walking around that afternoon. I showed off the new hair and everyone said the same thing, "Dude, I thought you were gonna cut it!" Hey! Eff off! I just chopped off 16 inches of hair that I've had on my head for 20 years! So eat it! Most were very nice and said it looked good. I clearly was showing my dislike for the new do, so I'm sure they were just appeasing. Though it was nice to hear Amanda Conner and Melody Anderson say it. Me heart them.

Johns_pizzaJohns_pizza3As the day ended, I jumped in a cab to head home and change and chill before the Great Podcasting Dinner of NYCC 08 at 8:30 at John's Pizza. After all of the planning and headaches, it went over great. We all had tons of food and a really good time. The only thing that sucked was the no shows that didn't pay. We had to have a set number to give to the restaurant and they based our final total on that. There was over a $300 pot that had to be taken care of for those non-paying no shows. It was all very confusing as we were trying to figure out who paid and didn't in those no shows. I knew someone who hadn't made it but I was pretty sure had paid. I accidentally offended them when I texted to find out. Again, my apologies. They were very gracious in letting the money paid stay in the pot so we wouldn't have to cover. Thanks, E! You rock! (I'll make it up to you with some free comics and swag. Deal?) So, if you committed to showing up and didn't pay, watch out. The comic book gods will curse you to a life of nothing but bad stories and horrible art. You've been warned.

More debauchery after the dinner. A bunch of us went out to Limerick in Chelsea. Nice little Irish pub. Nothing special, but a good place to chill. Charlito and Mr. Phil of Indie Spinner Rack, Peter Rios and Bryan Deemer of Comic Geek Speak, Denise and Amy of Birds of Geek, The Aviary creator Jamie Tanner, forumites Tim, Jeff, Mitch, Ryan and many more were all in attendance. Many drinks were had and it looked like there might be some Gentleman's Club trip in the making, but alas, no. Curse you Charlito!

Sunday, 4/20:

Cni_booth_babes_colleen_kristin_carThank goodness for my booth babes, Carrie, Kristin and Colleen. The girls got there early to set up and I arrived around 10:30 as I was working on about 4 hours of sleep. The four of us recorded a quick little chat about their time there. Wait a tic...where's Joe? Well, he's a good friend and went to our mutual friend's wedding in Seattle, so I was flying solo. But, I made the most of it and soldiered on.

Charlito_changing2On my way in, I decide to play a little joke on my buddy Charlito. I text him asking him to bail me out of jail. He replies with a laugh. I reply with this, "No. Seriously. I snuck my phone down my pants. At 54th st. precint." He replies back in panic and I go silent. Mwhahahahaha.

I roll in and sit down. Soon after, Charlito comes in and jumps on me. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! You had me going! I was trying to figure out ways to get you out and who to call. Damn you!" Oh yeah. I got him! We laughed it off and I told him it was payback for the previous night. "Touche", he says. Though I've a feeling this may be the beginning of much mutual prankage in the future!

Me_black_mantaAt noon, the nicest guy in comics, Greg Pak, came for his signing. (How did I not get pics of that? Me stupid.) It was a bit slower that day, so the traffic wasn't all that heavy. Though we did have an awkward girl come over and try to pitch us. Greg couldn't see any of the stuff for legal reasons, so I took over and tried to shoo her off. 3 times. Yeah, she was that awkward. A few of those at the show to be sure. Shortly after, we decided to go ahead and do an interview. Greg gave some great info about both of the incredible worlds of Hulk and Herc!

Me_leelooAfterwards, I grabbed Stephen Lindsay and Lauren Monardo of Jesus Hates Zombie fame for a quick chat as well. (Again, no pics. Sigh...) They discussed more JHZ and their cool webcomic which I can never get the name right. You'll just have to listen! I ran around a bit to see if some people were available for interviews or not. The beloved Molly Crabapple had promised an interview so I was hoping to secure that. Alas, she was on a break. Sigh...

Me_vampire_cowboys_qui_maureen_jonI come back and grab a few of the kids from VCTC. Qui Nguyen, Maureen Sebastian and Jon Hoche joined me for a chat about the con and their upcoming show, Soul Samurai. Maureen and Jon were both in Fight Girl Battle World, the acclaimed show I recently saw and loved. Always a fun time chatting with this crew!

Me_molly_crabapple4Me_molly_crabapple5I run back to see if Ms. Crabapple is ready and...she is! We walk back to the Podcast Arena and sit at our table for the recording. I was very excited for many reasons. I am a new fan of her work having just discovered her online webcomic, Backstage, and purchased her book, Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book. She's a very interesting woman and has found success in such a unique fashion. She also dances burlesque when she can and oh yeah...she's friggin beautiful!

Me_colleenMike_nortonMy life fulfilled after chatting with Molly, I just chill and stroll around a bit. Taking it all in. Colleen and I run around looking for Ghostbuster's swag for her boyfriend, Jay of The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack. I come up with a brilliant idea to have Mike Norton draw something for him. You're welcome, Jay! You owe me...AGAIN!

Podcast_arena3Podcast_arena_endsThe girls and I break down the booth and we sadly say good-bye to another great convention. Thanks to NYCC for the great Podcast Arena again. Though, small request and hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, maybe next year don't put us by the stage. My voice is totally shot. As for the interviews, we will be dispersing them throughout the next few shows. Maybe even do a special CNI One-Shot this weekend. Stay tuned!


NYCC Recovery

My_post_cut_munich_poster_poseWell, the live reporting from the convention only seemed to happen on Friday. Saturday was so crazy busy with interviews, raffles and of course, the haircut. Sunday was more low key, but I still managed to get our a bunch of interviews. All of the madness and stress and no sleep got this podcaster sick. Ugh. Still, I have to work tonight. I know I'm behind on blogging, but will have the full weekend story up within the next day or two.

For some reason, Flickr is taking forever to upload my photos. Some are there and the rest will have to be posted later. You can check them out here:
http://flickr.com/photos/jimmyaquino/

Oh, and yes. I had 16 inches cut off. Still a bit shaggy. I feel quite "off" and don't know if I really like it. I need to go to a stylist some time this week and have something done. But, until then....here it is.
Post_cut4_3 Me_leeloo


NYCC 08 - Friday, Part 2

Well, lots happened after I posted live from the con! With only a couple of hours left, who knew?

Alan_moore2First up, "Alan Moore" appeared at our booth for a nice short interview. Strangely, we heard "Dan Didio" and "Dr. Phil" as well. Always a pleasure to have Mr. Moore on the show. He told us some juicy stuff, so be sure to tune in to COMIC NEWS INSIDER next week! During the interview, Bryan Deemer of Comic Geek Speak chimed in as well as the awesome Mike Norton. Whom we interrupted mid-sketch to come chat with Mr. Moore.

Girls_who_kick_ass_panel_with_jennaColleen, another CNI booth attendant (hey, I got 3 girls to volunteer but I'm not calling them booth babes! Well, not to their faces.) arrived just in time to see her beloved X-Files panel. Meanwhile, Carrie and I headed over to the Girls Who Kick Ass panel with Jenna Jameson and Amanda Conner. Yup. Just the 2 of them. I heart Amanda Conner, but she was overshadowed by shadow hunter herself, Jenna. If you don't know, Jenna recently "wrote" a comic book called Shadow Hunter being published by Virgin Comics. She's co-writing with Christina Z. whom we all believe is actually doing all of the work. Hey, I could be wrong, but really?

Girls_who_kick_ass_panel_with_jen_2The panel started late because I heard Jenna was powdering her hoo ha. Finally, we see her about to enter and they show a clip from the new flick Zombie Strippers. And then she enters! Amanda comes up shortly after and the questions start. For Jenna. Jenna actually spoke about her former career in porn! Well, she didn't go into specifics, but she at least said things like, "My former career in the adult entertainment industry." I felt bad for Amanda, but she seemed to take it in stride and talked as much as she could.

Jenna's a smart woman. She knows her audience (as she repeatedly said) and seemed to sprinkle sexual innuendos in. At first, they seemed accidental, then deliberate. A few examples:

  • "It's hard?" - responding to getting into comics.
  • "Adult entertainment fans stick with you."
  • "I pushed hard as I can to dominate."
  • "I've always been passionate and hands on in my career."

Other great Jenna quotes:

  • "I wanna be that cute, sensitive, sexy girl. And, I am!"
  • "There's a little porn star in everyone."
  • "Fuck it sideways."

She also spoke of the new movie and said she was sold on it when the director said, "You get to eat a man's penis off!" Now, THAT'S knowing your audience.

I got to ask the last question of the panel and addressed it to both of them. I asked, "Amanda, I know you've got some new stuff coming and I'm curious to hear about it.  And Jenna, any new comic characters you're working on to get in print?" Amanda responds first with, "Well, I think I can announce this...I'll be illustrating the new Power Girl ongoing series for DC!" Sweet! I broke a story! (Kinda.) And Jenna answers, "Well, I'm really just concentrating on making Shadow Hunter the best book out there and have a lot in store!" In other words, no new work from the mind of Jenna.

Surprisingly, the panel was not packed. Pretty full, but not over packed. After the panel, I saw the lovely Zena and chatted for a bit. Everyone rushed to the stage to chat with Jenna and she kinda just let them. I went over to chat with Amanda who was so sweet and offered to donate for PROJECT HAIRCUT!

CRAP! I'M CHOPPING MY HAIR OFF IN 3 1/2 HOURS!!!!

Sorry, I had a moment there. Anyway, post-con, a bunch of us headed out to eat. We were a large group and ended up splitting up. I had eats with Jamie Tanner, Fred Van Lente, Ryan Dunleavy, Monica Gallagher, Gia-Bio Tran and Mike Dawson. Fun times! Good food and much beer.

A few of us continued on....and on...

Not a bad start. Off to the show now, so stay tuned for another live update later!

Flickr pics here.


 


LIVE FROM NEW YORK! IT'S NYCC 08!!!

Nycc56:00 p.m. and New York Comic-Con is buzzing away with excitement. We just did our first raffle for charity (all proceeds going to Comics in the Classroom) and it went over with a big bang! We gave away Jim Lee signed books, Paul Pope stuff, Jesus Hates Zombie, Naruto DVD's and more! A happy (winners) and sad (losers) mix of raffle attendees!

RaffleRaffle2Raffle3More raffle-age this weekend! Swing by and buy tickets to win big. Tickets are $1 or 6 for $5.

Joe_at_boothJoe got here bright and early to set up the CNI booth. I was at home awaiting a big FED EX package and by 11:30 a.m., had not arrived. So, I cabbed it to the con and got here at 12pm. I did a quick run around and saw many of my friends and pros alike. It's 3 times as big as the first year and only getting bigger!

Jenna_jameson No panels to attend except maybe the one with Jenna Jameson. Just because I want to hear her avoid talking about porn the whole time. Might hit a Death Note panel or Shin Chan as well. Mostly running around and seeing folk, hanging at the CNI booth and greeting folks. Booth helpers Kristin and Carrie have been doing their booth helping as well! Some costumers are around, but haven't seen many. Hopefully, there will be a lot of Slave Leia's and Lara Croft's.

Post-con, we're debating on seeing the new non-porn Jenna Jameson flick, ZOMBIE STRIPPERS. It's like someone opened up my brain and swam around! Much drinking will be had as well, I'm sure.

Tune in tomorrow for news of THE CUT!