Henchmen 21 & 24 Wish You A Super Fabulous Christmastime!

It's ChristmasTime! That means Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick are gifting us all with their beautiful character voices via their annual Venture Brothers Christmas Carole. Is that coherent? I've got jetlag.

Venture Brothers Season 3 SPOILER after the jump! But chances are you won't really care, just click!


Merry Christmas! I always kind of hated 24, so this holiday season, his death is Astro Base Go's present to me. Hit the picture to go to QuickStop Entertainment, where you can download the MP3.

It's nice to hear Doc Hammer sing with something approaching a normal voice, freed from the constraints of his Doctor Girlfriend gravelvox. He's actually got a really nice signing voice. Has he had a chance to showcase that in the show? I don't think he has. Musical Episode? CAAMONN.

PS! If, like me, this song gives you the wonderful chance to feel young because you HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS, here is the original 1979 video by living legend, Paul McCartney.

Batman: Brave and the Bold actually not bad!

If you haven't realized by now, we're bat purists here at Geekanerd. We prefer our Batmen to be of the Kevin Conroy persuasion, sans pun and eyebrow. So of course Cartoon Network's latest Bat offering, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, had me cursing its name. This was the Batman of the swinging 60's; dropping lamer puns than Bond and fighting campy villains with comically over sized death traps. This was the Batman that killed comics for a good 2 decades! How dare Cartoon Network glorify this false idol!

But then I watched it. Two episodes in fact. And, well, it's pretty good. Stepping outside my love of Batman for a second, I can appreciate what this show's going for. Its unapologetic fun; basking in the inherent silliness of comics (which is frankly a nice change of pace from current generation DC and Marvel books). Capitalizing on the pulp stylings of 60's entertainment, this show is driven by the same tastes that drive The Venture Brothers. However, Batman: BnB is more homage than parody (and its opening intro music is an even better approximation of the original Johnny Quest theme than the Venture Brothers').

Is 60's nostalgia not enough to get you on board? Well, there's a secret second reason why this show is a ton of fun. In fact the show should really be called:

Yeah, a HUGE dick. Sure, he has "pithy" one liners and obvious puns for the villains... but his crimefighting companions are the ones who truly earn his oozing contempt. You really see why no one in the DC universe is good friends with the guy-he's condescending to Everyone. In the Christmas episode, the adorably robotic Red Tornado asks him why he dislikes Christmas; to which he responds in the most condescending tone possible, "I don't dislike Christmas, I dislike crime." That shut him up. We even get flashbacks of lil Brucie during Christmases past... and guess what, he was a dick looong before his parents were gunned down in an alley (which this show suggests happened on a Christmas, so I guess you can cut the guy some slack).

So don't let the clunky and unappealing character design stop you (yes, I know, also a throwback... but still it's not that attractive). Even if campy fun isn't enough to get your attention, then let the asshole we all know Batman to be win you over. I promise, even if this isn't your cup of tea, you'll still find yourself chuckling.

Doc Hammer And I Are Best Friends

Seriously. Jamie, Doc and I laughed, cried, and shared our most intimate secrets together during a two-hour plus conversation late Friday night. What started with a tactically loud "There's no way that's DOC HAMMER!" ended with the bonds of friendship drawn tight 'round us all. Ok, I'm exaggerating. A little. The next morning Doc spotted Jamie on a workbreak outside the Apple store, and told him that after we left he was followed by a drunk fan, whom he chatted with until the fan was hit by a car. Doc, feeling somewhat responsible for the victim, began tending to him as best he could when the driver of the car (also apparently drunk) got out and said "Hey, you're Doc Hammer from Venture Bros!" Now when you're in a city of millions and a fan of yours gets hit by a car driven by another fan of yours... You must feel like the most famous man alive. Among Friday night drunks, at least.

Jamie's sneakers vs. Doc Hammer's kicks after the jump...

Check out our previous Venture Bros coverage...

Happy Birthday To Us! Geekanerd Is One!

The Gnerd Crew: Albo, Johnny, Bishop, Fred, Sarah B and AHR.*

"But Albo," you say, "Just one year? I feel like Geekanerd has been around forever! I can't imagine a time without such a great source for comic book, movie, and video game news and opinions!" Yeah, we get that all the time. But it's true! One year ago this week, AHR posted our very first article--a "Panel Discussion" of Avengers: The Initiative #2. Panel Discussion became a weekly feature, and this wild n' crazy journey down the rabbit hole of Geekanerdism began. But enough about the first article, what were the BEST articles? And so, in celebration of our first birthday:

GEEKANERD'S TOP TEN MOST POPULAR ARTICLES ALL TIME

(Based on total visitors)

After the jump!

*Not pictured: Degan. He's in LA or something. Nerd.

10. The Dark American Psycho Knight
Our mashup of the newest Dark Knight trailer with scenes from American Psycho probably got some people in trouble at work, but that didn't stop word of mouth from making it a minor internet hit.

9. MoCCA 2007: Hot Webcartoonist Action!
Apparently people are really curious what all those reclusive cartoonists look like in the flesh. I must admit I was mildly surprised to discover what a good looking group they are! Or maybe Special Ops Correspondent Bishop just has eyes for the pretty ones. I suspect we'll be getting a sequel to this one soon, considering MoCCA went down over the weekend... Bishop?

8. An Insane Fan's Guide to the Sweeney Todd Trailer
As soon as the Sweeney Todd trailer reached our internets AHR withdrew into her patented Foaming Geek Analysis Mode to dissect the images and draw an opinion on the adaptation of what she has long considered "the greatest material ever written." She picked it apart as only a true fan could, which is really what Geekanerd is all about.

7. Superhero Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum
Special Ops Correspondent Bishop strikes again, with this awesome sneak preview of the Superhero Fashion exhibit that's still going on at the Met.

6. The Kwik-E-Mart Comes to Times Square
Mere steps from her apartment door, AHR stumbled upon NYC's very own Kwik-E-Mart on the morning it opened, giving Geekanerd readers the first look at this Simpsons Movie publicity stunt. Having the only Kwik-E-Mart photos on the internet for a couple of days got us tons and tons of traffic. Truly our first blockbuster article.

5. Watchmen Movie Photos to Comic Panels Comparison
Many places on the internet referencing such a comparison link Maxim's similar article, but ours was chock full of the kind of intense scrutiny and analysis that only a true fan can deliver. "Geekanerd: When Maxim Just Isn't Geeky Enough."

4. Dark Knight Bootleg: The 7-Minute Scene
This video still gets a lot of visitors clamoring for anything Dark Knight related. It's a recording of a full scene from DK that ran before I Am Lengend on IMAX screens. The video gets taken down every once in a while by Warner Bros., but we've managed to keep getting it back up. I actually haven't even watched it, as I want to be as fresh as possible when I go in this summer. (It's great! - AHR)

3. Venture Bros. Season Three Preview
This is a relatively young article that's climbed to the top three in record time. Another case of being the first on the scene with something that a certain niche is itching for, AHR shot this at a New York Comic Con panel and for some reason was the only person to do so and post it. There was only one place for Venture Bros fans to come for their fix, and we welcomed them with open arms. The recording was so ubiquitous that most sites reporting the official release of the preview weeks later made remarks like "Now you can stop watching that bootleg version."

2. Portal Authority: Everything Good on the Internet About Portal
AHR here for this one. This post is very close to my heart. Writing it allowed me to take the mind-consuming obsession and adoration I experienced after playing Portal and expel it onto the internet, where I could share the crazy with similarly afflicted fans. Analysis born of all-encompassing geek-love is something I always wanted to be at the heart of this site. It's been more than half a year since this post, yet it seems like GLaDOS and I met only yesterday.

1. Early Zelda Drawings Reveal Hyrule That Could Have Been
It might be misleading to call this our most "popular" article ever. It certainly has the most visitors, but my fanboy rant drew a lot of fire from Zelda-ites all over the internet. I thought I loved the franchise, but I've got nothing on the people that came out to say all sorts of bad things about me: "the author's a whiny little bitch," "this guys is an idiot," "a bucket of pure distilled nonsense," "he's talkin rubbish," "this guy is a whiny dick," "what a prick this guy is." I had some well spoken supporters in the massive (for G'nerd) comment section, though, which softened the blows. I suppose I've learned my lesson about inflammatory language.

And to you, dear readers...thanks to the early birds who've been with us for the whole year, and who stuck with us during our colored text phase and the endless reconfigurations of Snap Judg(e)ments. Thanks to the new folks who have joined the party in the last few months, and have pushed our stats into the magical land of Maybe We Should Be Making Money Now. Thanks even to the horny guys and gay girls who just came here once for the Nerdcore Calendar link. We wish we could offer each and every one of you a piece of this unbelievably delicious Food Emporium cake. Stick around for an exciting year two, which Force-willing will include some podcast action and maybe even our own little t-shirt collection.

Venture Brothers Season 3 - Watch It Now! As in RIGHT NOW!

Wow, time flies; the first episode of Venture Brothers Season 3 is available for internet viewing RIGHT NOW over at AdultSwim.com. You're probably going to want to watch that. I'm going to watch it right now. I'm extremely excited. I just watched the first 10 seconds. I'm even more extremely excited. I just watched the whole thing. Entirely satisfying. Big win for fans of the Monarch and Doctor Girlfriend. Continuity/character development heaven. Several lols and one "aww" at the end. I love this show so very much.

The show properly premieres Sunday at 11:30pm on TV, if you still have one of those.

Extra Bonus Funtime 3000: James Urbaniak, voice of Dr. Venture, celebrates the new season with by posting a David Bowie photo to go with each of the show's mains characters. This is possible because David Bowie has not just one outfit, but several ch-ch-ch-changes. Sorry, blame Flight of the Conchords.

In other less-free but still awesome Venture news:

Jackson Publick Posts Legit, High-Res Season 3 Preview!

Jackson Publick and Quickstop Entertainment just posted a totally official, non-bootlegged version of the Venture Brothers Season 3 Preview that was shown at the New York Comic Con last weekend.


This high quality goodness reveals a better look at younger-versions of The Monarch and Phantom Limb, a glance at Dr. Girlfriend in her new (spoiler alert for lame-os who haven't seen Season 2) Dr. Mrs. Monarch outfit with crown included, and a nice clear version of the G.I parody theme song! SWEETNESS AND LIGHT!

NYCC 08 Venture Brothers Panel: Clips, We Got Em

The Venture Brother's panel at the NY Comic Con was completely packed, and why not? The Astro-Base team was certainly the most articulate, entertaining group of creators I saw all week. Let's go to the video proof.

There's something magical about seeing a man do a cartoon's voice, live and in person. Especially when that man actually writes the show, and can ad-lib in character.

More clips from the panel (with classy graphics from Mantis-Eye's screencap gallery) after the jump...

Ask and ye shall receive; here's James Urbaniak answering a fan's request to do a pick-up line in Dr. Venture's voice. Vulgar hilarity (I call it "hilgarity") ensues.

Here's what happened when a fangirl asked the panel if Kim would be making an appearance in the third season. You know, Kim? Triana's friend who looks like a supervillian? Apparently you were not the only one who thought her 30 seconds of screentime were enough to warrant a major crush, and Doc Hammer is none too happy about it.

Don't act so surprised, DH. You wrote a scene in which Kim thinks Doctor Girlfriend is coming on to her. People are going to like that.

A fan asked why Brock couldn't simply break off the lock of the chastity belt keeping him from consummating his highly unusual relationship with Molotov Cocktease. Doc Hammer sets him straight and shuts him down. Sex is complicated. Cartoons fans need to hear this stuff.

Watch this post Venturers, it'll fill up with more bite sized morsels of Q&A goodness as the day goes on.

The Venture Brothers Season Three Preview

If you could have had an aerial view of the New York Comic Con exhibition hall just before they opened the doors to the Venture Brothers panel, you would have seen a line that filled the entire hall, coiling around the space like a snake made out of nerds and girls wearing Triana costumes.

The hour-long panel kicked off with exactly what we all wanted to see; a five-minute preview of the achingly anticipated Season Three (coming June 1st! O the pain, the pain of longing!). The preview includes lots of appearances by fanfavey secondary characters, such as Dr. Killinger, Hunter Gatherers, The Pirate Captain, and The Alchemist (maybe it's a stretch to call those last two fan favorites...I like them). Many members of the show's mammoth supporting cast who aren't seen in the preview were confirmed by the panel in the Q&A; clips and quotes are forthcoming, so check back soon.

Ruining Christmas with The Monarch and Doctor Girlfriend

True Venture Brothers fans probably already know that series creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick have released Christmas classics as performed by VB characters every December since 2004. But if this is news to you (it was to me), Merry Xmas! You get to sift through four sometimes hilarious, sometimes unlistenable holiday tunes - they're all available as MP3s at Quickstop Entertainment.

This year, happy couple Monarch and Doctor Girlfriend absolutely murder Fairytale of New York by the Pogues. It starts out well enough, as Doctor Girlfriend's deep, heavily accented voice is not radically different from the original version. But once Monarch starts in on the Kristy MacColl part...let's just say that if you add this to your Christmas party playlist, you will in fact ruin the holiday, possibly for years to come.

Speaking of Fairytale of New York, remember the opening titles of Basquiat? That's a good holiday movie. I mean, it doesn't take place during the December holidays, but....s'pretty.