The Clown Prince of Oscars

The most purely deserved award of the night. Tomorrow, I'll watch The Dark Knight on blu-ray and reflect on the awesomness that is the Nolanverse Joker, and how lucky we Batman fans are to have such a wonderful performance to savor forever. But tonight, I will dream of an alternate reality where Heath was up on stage accepting his award, thanking Christopher Nolan for guidance and Alan Moore for inspiration, and teasing us all with hints about his part in the next movie. Wish you were here, HL.

Photos: New York Comic Con 2009 - Saturday

Day two at New York Comic Con, and the cosplayers were out in force. AHR took most of these, so I don't know the story behind all of them, but this scary Joker sneaking up on Dr. Horrible is probably my favorite pic of the day. There's many more after the jump, including a cameo appearance from AHR herself!
The lovable Shin Chan...

AHR UPDATE: It doesn't come up on this site very much, but I am a HUGE Shin Chan dub fan. But the award for biggest Shin Fan of the day goes to the boy who saw this Shin Chan costume from across the room and shouted, "OH MY GOD!" so loud that Degan could hear it on the other end of my cellphone conversation.

Hm... Spider-Man, obviously, but something is wrong. Marvel Zombie Spider-Man? He doesn't appear quite zombied enough for that... Maybe just "Beat Up Spidey?"

AHR Update: It's zombie Spidey! He said his costume was falling apart by the time I took it...but it looked good to me. You're missing the detail of the Yellow Eye contact lens..
Hushhhhhh. AHR UPDATE: I had to check with this guy to see if maybe he was supposed to be the invisible man. But nope, he's Hush, the best new character ever. Glad he's getting some love.
Batgirl and the Huntress taking some time out in the cafeteria.

How do so many people have such perfect Boba Fett costumes? Are there communities dedicated to the fabrication of these things? Can you order parts from a bounty hunter supply depot? I'm always impressed...

AHR and Degan passed this in a parking lot on the way out there. Degan made a joke about Imperial blockades that I would like to steal, but I respect the man too darn much. Also note this is an Ohio license plate, and the van looks like it may have encounted some dust storms along the way...hooray for fandom!

Beyond! What a great pose, he really knows how to work that costume.

"Oh my God he's eating them all!"

Kyle Rayner is grabbing some Doritos across the room with a giant green mousetrap.

Every stormtrooper has a mommy.

Batman's lady rogues are looking good.

Princess Peach kidnapping some poor child.

These are pretty awesome Pokemon costumes. I love the intepretive aspect, supercute hoodies and little claw toed slippers. I don't know my Pokemon like AHR, but if I think the one on the left is calle Charizard, and the one on the right is probably called Batsoise or something.

I'm digging Leela's new hairdo.

Geekanerd's own AHR lookin' sharp as Zoey from Left 4 Dead. You can't really see her awesome medpack in this pic...

She's grabbin' peelz...

and protecting con-goers from pesky hunters.

Batman Animated Series Soundtrack FINALLY Available!

So the universe has finally decided to listen to me. It only took it over 10 years, thank you very much universe. A handful of Shirley Walker's amazing scores for the Batman the Animated Series are finally out on CD. The 2 disc limited edition collection features the full score from 11 episodes plus some bonus material. Unfortunately there's no villain theme medley which is really all I'm interested in... but there's more than enough here to get any Batman fan excited. Besides, my dream of having the Joker's theme as my cell phone ring will finally come true! You can purchase the album through La-La Land Records (by the way, one of my personal pet peeves is calling LA "la-la land"... don't do it).

Also, did you guys know Shirley Walker died two years ago? I was heartbroken to find that out when looking up this album... PLUS the f-ing academy didn't give her a mention in the "In Memoriam" section... which is particularly insulting considering she's one of the only female composers working in Hollywood. Ladies, you should write your congressman/woman complaining about this 2 year old slight!

The Year In Film In One Image

You know, we at Geekanerd could have done one of those big "Best Films of 2008" articles, but why bother when this Village Voice cover sums it up in one image. This is really all you need to know about 2008. Here's hoping 2009 offers more surprises.

Disturbing Chritmas Wishes From The Joker

Unless you have a serious aversion to LedJoker impressions and/or disturbing Santa Claus iconography, this video is a virtual lock for Geek Christmas card of the year.


This is an off-shoot from the fanvid series Batman: The Joker Blogs, which, despite a terrible title, is startlingly good and will probably get it's own post eventually once I've had time to collect myself. Seriously, even if you're not feeling the Xmas vid above (dude kind of falters at the deep 'n' scary Joker voice, I know), you'll probably still want to check out The Joker Blogs. As fan tributes go, TJB is an extremely well written, well acted, and dare I say insightful piece of work, and when he departs from Heath's line readings and starts inhabiting the character on his own, dude's Joker impression is something special.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Teaser... The Game You've Been Waiting For Your WHOLE LIFE

You may be unaware of this fact, but the single greatest game you've never played is actually coming out! Supposedly in the first quarter of next year even! Sure, we may be biased here at Geekanerd... considering our fave Batman writer Paul Dini is writing the story... and our fave Batman actor Kevin Conroy is on board... and even our favorite Joker of all time (yes, even still) Mark Hamill is involved [eeeeee!]. So I don't know about you... but we've basically never been more excited about a video game. And this teaser, though it doesn't show much, certainly helps. And hearing that familiar giggle at the end nearly brought a tear to this old nerd's eye.

Snap Judgements: Detective Comics #850, Cleaners #1, Batman Cacophony #1

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. Beware some potential spoilers.


Detective Comics #850 gets an A from AHR

This was one of the best Batman stories I've read in over a year. The ending resolves every storyline with an emotional gut-punch and a few surprises as well. Dini has weaved Hush and Ventriloquist II so well into the fabric of the Batman universe, I'm dying to see where they'll turn up next.

Cleaners #1 gets a B from AHR

If there's anything that my film school writing classes taught me, it's that people LOVE a procedural drama. This story explains the largely unexlored world of trauma scene cleanup, and that subject alone will keep your attention in a Discovery Channel sort of way. But the characters are also subtly written, which is a nice change in a storytellng medium that tends to rely so heavily on over-the-top archtypes. There's also some really horrific indications of the things to come, which leaves you feeling so anxious I feel almost obligated to get the next issue. Well played.

Batman Cacophony #1 gets a C from AHR

Dude writers like Kevin Smith and Judd Winick really love writing the Joker with lots of gay jokes. Objectively, this is fine (all's fair in love and Joker characterizations) but at a certain point this issue, it feels like Smith is using gay-sex jokes not just for cheap laughs, but as a shorthand for perversion. Plus I think we all know that the Joker is only gay for Batman. Anyway. This issue is mostly just cartoonishly violent, low-calorie fun. Low points include a weakly characterized Deadshot and a new villain that has a lot of 'splainin to do if Smith means for us to take him seriously.

Panel Discussion - Scans From Astonishing X-Men, Rage of the Red Lanterns, Joker HC, and More

Celebrity Casting Corner Pt. 1 - Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1
Never have I seen better ringer for Ed Harris than Inspector Slipper from this steampunky X-Men tale. And well cast, I say--the man's got quite a face. As fun as it is to spot celebrity likenesses in comics, the excitement is multiplied big time when you can find the exact image the artist used as reference!

Cute OverloaaaAAAHHH OH GOD NO - Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1
My goodness. What is going on at the DC Offices? Did their medical plan stop covering anti-psychotic perscriptions?


A Moral Confusion - Avengers: The Initiative #18

Why is it that all of these superheroes that "don't kill" have no problem exploding Skrulls all over the place? Because they aren't from Earth? Because they have wrinkly chins and green skin? Seriously, they don't even look that different from humans... It makes me very uncomfortable in a very political way.

Achievement In Joker Creepiness - Joker

How do artists keep finding ways to make the Joker seem creepy? Lee Bermejo has him dig into a plate of shrimp the same way he does everything...with perverse, life-threatening glee. *shudder*


Celebrity Casting Corner Pt. 2 - Kick Drum Comix #2
It's nice to see that EVE is getting some work post-Wall-E. It must be hard out there for old cartoon characters, sitting around waiting for direct-to-DVD sequels and crappy movie tie-ins and praying for another Roger Rabbit.

Futurama Alert! - The Avengers: Initiative #18
Well don't these wisecracking heads in jars look familiar! Any Futurama fan should be looking around for Nixon.

A Fitting Weapon - Joker
Only the Joker would think that sticking shards of glass in his fingers so he could razor slap people is a good idea.

Best Use Of A Repeated Panel - Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1
Okay so this is not exactly a repeated panel, but the fact that everything in the panel remains the same except for the head exploding really hightens the sense of surprise in this split second turn of events. In other news, we're all very upset that fuzzyhead Green Lantern didn't make it out of this issue. He was our favorite.

Best Case of Hat Hair - Joker
How frustrating for Harley Quinn that she can't put that Jester hat on without looking like this until her next shower.

Best Acting - Bot-E, Kick Drum Comix #2
She just does surprise so well!

Best Geek Jack-o-Lanterns of 2008!

Sure, it's one thing to invest hundreds on an elaborate costume honoring your favorite icon of geekdom... but it's a whole 'nother deal when you're elbow-deep in pumpkin innards carefully carving that same icon into a decaying gourd. Here we honor the 2008 masters of negative space with the top geek pumpkins of this past Halloween!


UPDATE 2009! Here and here are a new crop of pumpkins designed by your own Gnerd editors, including Left 4 Dead zombies, Larry David, and Ponyo!


First of course, the most popular costume... ALSO one of the most popular pumpkins!

Image Courtesy of CraigG144

Now if only I had found this costume, I would have won Bingo!

Image courtesy of sage_82

Star Wars, Portal, Cylons, and so much more after the jump...


Another Wall-E... much simpler, but its simplicity adds to the cuteness of the character

Image courtesy of mrboma

An awesome Wario and Boo
Images courtesy of grantsewell

Some one's got Secret Invasion on the brain...

Image courtesy of lensbs

Of course it wouldn't be a geek Halloween without Star Wars!

Image courtesy of pixelelated

Image courtesy of Metal Chris

Image courtesy of Simon Davison

Image courtesy of garcher84

Here's The Adorable Gizmo and his pal Batman (my favorite Batman RIP title so far)

Image courtesy of ktsaltishok

Here's an impressive combination of the latest in LED and pumpkin technology

Image courtesy of MAKE

This is a simple pumpkin, sure... but the connotations of this image are far more terrifying to any geek than anything else Halloween has to offer...

Image courtesy of penner42

If you weren't aware of Geekanerd's obsession with all things Portal, then you've been under a rock for a year (or you haven't visited this blog... either or)

Image courtesy of wickerman

Image courtesy of prettypinkninja

This one's for AHR

Image courtesy of bluedot11

And lastly (and probably leastly), here was my pumpkin... It was a design I did in high school during a major Bond phase... unfortunately I didn't have time to flesh out my own Joker design this year-so I went back to this oldie... but it turned out pretty well. Unfortunately this photo is at a bit of an angle, but you get the idea.