Reuniting the Sunnydale Class of 1999

Can you believe it's been ten years since Buffy Summers and her wacky pals graduated high school? How old does that make you? Pretty old, probably.

Last night, Whedonites of all ages gathered at the Manhattan JCC to celebrate those magical high school years when Cordelia, Oz and Angel were series regulars, Buffy was not clinically depressed, Dawn still an inter-dimensional SuperKey and Willow was still crushing on boys. Okay so maybe I personally am actually a bigger fan of the later seasons (and possibly for those same reasons?!?), but still. Faith!

The free event was put together by the folks who gave us that beloved geek institution The Buffy Sing Along, a fully-interactive screening of Once More With Feeling (that's the Buffy Musical Episode for you dilettantes). The Buffy Sing Along was of course tragically shut down in 2007 by the same suited geniuses at Fox who killed Firefly and Dollhouse.

That said, the event-planners at the reunion put together a delciously nerdy evening, complete with Buffy AMVs, a trivia contest (won appropriately by a group called The Firsts), and A SUPER SECRET MAIN EVENT which I totally cannot blog about because they asked us not to, for reasons which may be clear from this very post!

The whole extravaganza will be repeated on June 2nd at Brooklyn hipster-nerd magnet Galapagos, but this time with BOOZE! That's right, it's the Sunnydale Reunion: BRONZE EDITION. Buy your ticket now, and be sure to wear your best 90s gear and/or Vampire outfit. That means a leather jacket.

More scans from the "Class of 99: Where Are They Now?" after the jump...it's so full of Buffy Season 8 in-jokes your brain might explode. From insiderness.

See The Galaxy! New Posters Mix Star Wars Planets with Depression Era Advertisng

There are few things I enjoy more than mash-ups that combine old timey Americana with geekanerd iconography. First it was comic cover artists copping from Norman Rockwell, now it's WPA Posters meets Star Wars. Zazzle has produced a line of officially licensed Star Wars posters based on the WPA's "See America" poster campaign. What's that? You've never heard of the WPA, the jewel of FDR's New Deal? Here's the original poster that the Hoth version was based on...


Tatooine and Courescant after the jump....


I couldn't find the original version of Courescant...seems like it must be based on a New York poster, but no sign of it on google image search. Oh well. Why does Couruscant need a tourism campaign anyway? Ain't no recession in Courescant! If those guys want credits, they PRINT some! Or mine some. Program some? What's a credit?

UPDATE! Reader "Andrew" tipped us to yet more old timey travel posters...these set in the Firefly universe. They don't seem to be directly referencing any WPA posters, but the influence is unmistakable. Awesome stuff. You can see and purchase all five at the Quantum Mechanix store.

New York Comic Con: Is Joss Whedon the New Merchant/Ivory? Also, Sunday Photos!

On Sunday at Comic Con, I so desperately wanted to see the Dollhouse preview screening, but missed it due to a prior commitment. But with a little help from my press pass, I made it inside for the following Q&A, and even got to ask The Man Himself a question. Here is a clip of his answer from Cinema Blend (they cut out my stuttering faux-professional questioning, THANK GOD).



To summarize, I asked what genre he most like to work in next, and his response was a "frilly costume drama" in either the Elizabethan era or the end of the 19th century. He noted the similarities between Costume Drama and Sci-Fi, because they exist in strange, unfamiliar worlds. "Also, heh, pretty dresses."

In other news, yes on Doctor Horrible sequel (who knows when), no on Serenity 2, no on a Dollhouse comic, and kind of on a Dollhouse Musical (Eliza sings in ep 3, but it's cause she's a backup signer). And Joss is a big Battlestar nerd, and said The Sarah Chronicles was his "second favorite drama on television.". Dollhouse premieres Friday night.

Okay! Now leaving the Whedonverse. Here's a photo random for Sunday, starting with actual factual Watchmen Babies!

These kids rule all. Homemade outfits for the win. Median age: 15. The reps at DC liked their costumes so much they enlisted them to help hand out their Watchmen swag. I hope they invited them to the premiere or something. These kids are fandom personified.

A Zoey/Hunter team! Awesome. Great makeup on the hunter, and Zoey found a fantastic jacket (though she said she wasn't crazy bout the "clown sleeves"). Excellent pose here.

Have you ever heard of Mana energy potion? It's an energy drink for gamers that supposedly contains the power of two redbulls in one of those little bottles. Ee-yikes! This lady was giving up tiny shots of Mana (blue) and the new Health potion (red). They both taste like death, blue slightly less so than heath. But I suppose that's how you know it's working. And I did manage to prowl the con for seven hours on no food on Sunday, so maybe these shots were the only thing keeping me standing.

2-D stormtrooper made of cardboard! Now that's what I'm talking bout.

This Scorpion was really awesome. You could walk up and challange him, and he would fight you. Like, seriously. With flying kicks and stuff. I mean, these guys were pulling punches, but not by much. Hence the crowd. Some times the best events at these cons don't happen in panel rooms, they happen on the floor. It's a comic con miraicle.

Doc Horrible was a really popular costume, and why not? Here's a Captain Hammer/Doctor Horrible twosome.

Great costumes here. That burlap sack mask is damn effective.

And finally.....Sunday was kids day, and there were actually a whole lot of kids there, in adorable muscled out storebought costumes. But the coolest kid I saw all day was this little Spidey, who was practicing his crawling on Marvel's red carpet. That's some good crawlin, son!

See all these photos (and bonus pics) at the Geekanerd Flickr.

Panel Discussion: Scans from Buffy #20, Batman #683, and Thunderbolts #127

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some light spoilers if you haven't read your books this week.

Cute Overload - Buffy Season 8 #20
Oh NOES! Buffy has gone back to Season 1! And to reflect the relatively angst-free atmosphere of the early episodes, she's an adorable cartoon character! And Joyce is alive and also cartoony! And Dawn is a pre-teen instead of a key! THIS IS AWESOME.

Buffy also nicely retcons the whole Willow/Xander affair...awk!waaard. This whole issue is filled with squeeable moments, why can't they make a All Ages title like this?

PS: This is all based on the pitched but never sold Buffy cartoon series; here's the pilot with many original cast voices! Cept it's not very good...still, cute, right?



Crazy batman after the jump...

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Batman #683
We all know Batman has a lot of baggage surrounding the Robins. Here, Batman is being mind-raped by some Darkseid minions, who are making him quickly relive some of his most traumatic momments. But in this garbled memory, Tim Drake seems to be emerging, in full costume, FROM JASON TODD'S SMOKING REMAINS.

Most Painful Panel - Thunderbolts #127
Ai yee yee yee! Songbird juuuust stops Bullseye's sai from nailing her in the eyeball by stopping it....with her palm. This kind of injury is pretty tame by comic standards, but that red splash in the background and Songbird's horrified expression really bring the sting home.

Snap Judgments, "And We're Back!" Edition: Amazing Spider-Man, Buffy Season Eight, Secret Six and More

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

HOO, that was one INTENSE labor day weekend! Also, we've been moving into a new Geekanerd HQ, and you know, these things take quite a bit out of you. And by you I mean us.

Amazing Spider-Man #570 gets an A from Albo
Good old fashioned comic-booking from Dan Slott and John Romita, Jr. Nothing's being reinvented here, no concepts of what a comic can be challenged... Just a great lookin' story about Spider dealing with two Venoms. Seeing Eddie Brock getting into action again sure is exciting, and hints about Menace's real "deal" and an imminent showdown with Bullseye guarantee I'll be hanging on until this story is up and Slott/JRJR get swapped out for a lesser team (no offense to the next team, I haven't actually looked up who it's going to be.)

Detective Comics #848 gets an A from AHR
I can't believe I'm so excited about a Hush "event" story, but Dini's made him such an engaging character. More pieces of his slightly Norman Batesy past come to light, and we finally get a chance to see him put that medical degree to some truly horrific use. Throw in a surprising link to one of Dini's rising star villians, and this is a serious page-turner with great art to boot.

Secret Six #1 gets a A- from AHR
I loved the last series of this title with a passion, and this issue promises to continue the fun. Great setup for a wacky roadtrip plotline, a new gross and awesome villian, and a Batman tie-in! All the pieces are here for a kickass run, though I personally was hoping for a few more hillarious scenes with between the six (or four, as the case may be.). Simone also nobly
tries to give some resolution to Knockout's clumsily handled death scene, though I wish more time could have been devoted to settling what was my favorite relationship in DC comics. Maybe more of that is coming. A girl can dream.

Buffy Season Eight #18 gets a B+ from AHR
Lesbian sex! Lesbian sex! All of these comics have lesbian sex! Not that I'm complaining. This is a really fun issue, and the future plotline gets more engaging as Buffy meets some sort of alternate version of herself. And of course we get a little more Dark Willow, and who doesn't love Dark Willow? Honestly. Next month's cover appears to be suitable for framing.

Sub-Mariner: The Depths #1 gets a B from Albo
Recasting Namor as mythological sea terror in an submarine horror story is a stroke of genius. The art from Esad Ribic is really something unique as well, giving a soft pastel cast to a dark tale. Could become a great series, we'll see about that second issue.

Fringe #1 gets a D from Albo
Bargh. What a schmuck I am. I see the word "Whedon" on the cover and I jump, thinking I'm snagging some underpublicized Joss Whedon-does-JJ Abrams brilliance. Instead it's not Joss but Zack that greets me with half of this dull rag. There are two stories here, both about mind-swapping. And... Well, yeah. It's a prequel for the show.

Marvel Apes #1 gets a D from Albo
Zombies these are not.

Come And Get Pay For Your Dr. Horrible!

Geekanerd tipster (and Whedon fanatic) LibraryTypeGirl let us know that the first act of Joss' new internet series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog went live today. The official page is down as of this writing, but you can rush to your iTunes and download it for $2 (or go ahead and buy all three acts for $4). LibraryTypeGirl says it's great, expect a Geekanerd review soon!

UPDATE: The page seems to be working now, so go on over and watch Act I and Act II, for free!

UPDATE: I hope you weren't waiting to watch these, because the free stream went dead last night. I unfortunately didn't get to see them before this happened. Thanks to Bryan for the last minute heads up.

Panel Discussion - Scans From Buffy Season 8 #16, Batman RIP #678, and House of Mystery #3

Gnerd is still recovering from our 4th of July Blowout, sorry for the junior sized Panel Discussion. More interesting stuff was probably going on in the Marvel Universe, but that's not my department. As always, beware of SPOILERS after the jump. -AHR

Achievement in Sound Design - House of Mystery #3
That's a hell of a KA-THOOOM. The "KA" is igniting, the "TH" is made of bricks that are shattering against the inky black "OOO" and the "M" is...well it's just a big chunky red M in sort of Sam Kieth font.


Grant Morrisson's master plan and Slayers on Broadway, after the jump...

Most Underwhelming Payoff - Batman #678
Yeah, so....Grant Morrisson's run on Batman has been referencing "Zur-En-Arrh" since it started over a year ago. Zur En Arrh is the name of a futuristic (circa 1950) planet with it's own super-tech powered Batman (here's the long version). I have to hand it to artist Tony Daniel for making this purple, red and yellow eyesore look even slightly wearable (the torn up coat is a nice touch, evoking a swarm of bats). But Bat-Radia? Molecule Guns? Old School Bat-Mite? I want to trust GM wherever he goes, but future-techspeak and alternate universe crap is my least favorite part of DC, and till now it had stayed safely out of my Bat books.

Broadway Shout-Out - Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8, #16
Trust a musical theater nerd like Joss Whedon to reference Xanadu, the most cultastic new musical on the boards today. First episode of Doctor Horrible is online July 15th, I'm waiting with baited breath...

First Look At Joss Whedon's New Web Series

I haven't even watched this thing yet, because the computer I'm currently working on is from like 1993 and doesn't want to run Vimeo. But here it is, courtesy of the official fan site, the teaser trailer for Dr. Horrible, Joss Whedon's new musical web series that he wrote with his close friends and relations during the writers strike. Because Joss Whedon CAN'T NOT write. It's like breathing for him.

It's kind of killing me that I can't watch this right now. Anyone want to tell me if the trailer is any good?

Update: Oh wow. I just watched it. It's really good. This might be Neil Patrick Harris' finest work, although I could just be saying that because he's rocking my favorite outfit of labcoat and goggles. Odd that there's no singing, maybe they're concerned about scaring away geeks who think themselves too manly to associate themselves with anything all-singing, all-dancing. Or maybe the mixes just aren't in yet.

Dollhouse Upfront Teaser Hits the Net; Wheadonites Rejoyce

Have you noticed all these ads around NYC for TV Networks, a'cept they're not asking you to watch their network, they're telling you that you should advertise with them? This is because it's time for UPFRONTS, when all the advertising suits come to town and get wined and dined by network suits who show them splashy presentations of their amazing new post-strike fall seasons. And while it's hard to get too excited about anything TV-related because the cultural relevance of network/cable boxed television died with the last really good HBO show, one interesting leak did make it online; the very rough looking teaser for Joss Whedon's return to network TV, Dollhouse.

Why you should not expect this trailer to be very good, after the jump...


Keep in mind this is a teaser designed to appeal to advertisers, not audiences. It's very BASE, is what I'm saying. Not FANbase, just base. As in, lots of clumsy exposition, skin, cheesy aftereffects and bad font choices. And it's not like they have a ton of footage to pull from, they've been in production for a month. A month! This is probably why they don't want this kind of thing leaking on the internet. But as a fan of many people involved on this particular project (faithfaithfaith), I can't NOT watch and post it.

Extra points to anyone who can spot the clip from Buffy Season 3, presumably thrown in because they simply haven't shot enough action sequences to fill a two minutes trailer (again, one month of production). Also note that actor Harry Lennix makes an appearance (the skeptical black guy about 1:45 in), who you might remember from one of those awful Matrix sequels, but who you SHOULD remember from Titus, in which he gave a supervillianous performance for the ages.

Anyway, if you Wheadies out there are looking for more of a reason to have (ahem) confidence in this show (see how I avoided a potential pun there?), check out this New York Magazine article in which Joss says he created Dollhouse to save Eliza Dushku from B-Horror Movie Starlet Hell and that she guilt tripped him into not sheving the writing duties off on someone else. How can a series so steeped in personal drama fail!? The stakes are simply too high.

Weekanerd NYC: Buffy Sing-A-Long, Head Trauma, and Comedy All-Stars

FRIDAY, JULY 13

• Buffy At Midnight: "Once More With Feeling" Sing-a-Long
  
• Midnight @ The IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave, Manhattan
  

This weekly midnight screening of Buffy's classic Musical Episode features gift bags, karaoke, a Rocky Horroresque live cast performing along with the show, and the other sorts of crazy crap that you expect from Whedon fans. $15 bucks at the door.

SATURDAY, JULY 14

• Head Trauma - New York Premiere
• 6:30pm @ The Museum of The Moving Image, 35th Ave at 36th Street, Queens
  

The official site of this event describes it as "a collision of movies, music, gaming, and theatrics". And the website is decked out with great looking comic book style graphics, so this may just be the perfect Weekanerd event. Filmmaker Lance Wieler does Q & A after the show. Tickets are $18 bucks for non-members.

SUNDAY, JULY 15

• Tearing at the Veil of Maya - Anniversary Party
  
• 6pm @ Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn
  

This is the 1 Year Anniversary celebration of Michael Showalter and Eugene Mirman's live comedy show. There will be music downstairs and comedy upstairs, courtesy of guests such as Janeane Garofalo and David Cross - it's only $10, so are you there, or what?

Win Buy a Date With Joss Whedon

On July 2 you'll get the chance to bid on an intimate dinner with Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. Hope you like... STAKE! Oh, and by intimate we mean there will be four other winners. And press, probably. You're guaranteed three hours of his time, and they promise "hilarious anecdotes and dark, personal secrets." Proceeds from the auction go to benefit Equality Now, which protects women's human rights around the world.

Read all about it at eBay.