The Geekbox: Episode 33

[Rydog]

Episode 33 is up right here, and it's extra-long this week. Enjoy, and keep an eye on our new Amazon store, too!

[W0lfbl1tzers]

Hells Yeah!!

[Dargonaut]

Maybe I will do this instead of studying.

[MCruz]

Maybe I will do this instead of studying.

I cannot condone this. Hit the books. I assume you go to Michigan State?http://comics.lib.msu.edu/

[KindGalaxy]

Whores of South-East Asia. That was great

Holy shit I am loving this Asian-talk, since I have been married to a Hong Kong woman for 3 years... this was EXACTLY the conversation I had, and sometimes continue to have, with people; especially the mixed-baby thing. My God. Best Podcast Episode of Geekbox

[G-Nitro]

If Fitch is looking to play the Persona DVD on his PC and wants to buy software legit, he can check out Slysoft's AnyDVD. It will simulate whatever region you need for a DVD. I love it. Slysoft.com is the website.

Another great show guys & girl. Keep up the outstanding work.

[W0lfbl1tzers]

If Fitch is looking to play the Persona DVD on his PC and wants to buy software legit, he can check out Slysoft's AnyDVD. It will simulate whatever region you need for a DVD. I love it. Slysoft.com is the website.

Another great show guys & girl. Keep up the outstanding work.

He could use DVD Shrink to back up the DVD as an Iso then Burn it with no region. That how I get around all my import problems.

[jinpei05]

Hey, guys, the auction for the GFW Radio Reunion Banner is live as of now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0100875361

Please bid generously! Thanks!!!

[lemon-fresh]

wholly fuck, already way outta my price range. Glad to see a decent amount of money will be raised.

[Mr_eX]

I watch Smallville because it's so bad it's good but Heroes is so bad its BAAAAAAAD. The writers of Heroes do not know how to write for a superhero show. The only shows on TV right now I would say are good are Supernatural, Fringe and Dollhouse (I'm not sold on Flashforward yet).

[moderndevil8]

I might have to disagree with Master Higgins definition of a European art style in comics.

MetaBaron's artist's style, Travis Charest is Canadian I think, follows more of a movie storyboard tradition of illustration and concept art illustration. Storyboard artists are known for their amazing drafting skills since the usually need to create believable backgrounds/scenery and set pieces/objects, all of which require technical and analytical understanding of what they draw. These detailed qualities also become apparent in the people/figures the artist illustrates, hence the sharp thin lines for a cleaner look and cinematic feel. It's definitely different from traditional super hero comic illustration but it's not mean it's European.

These days I see more of this hybrid of the styles. It's part storyboard and part manga influenced. It looks super clean, sleak, and modern. It uses the thin lines Master Higgins spoke of but the facial expressions seem to take their cues from manga designs. I love this style for those reasons but the coloring can be kind of flat sometimes, like cell shading, if the illustrators don't add the level of contrast, drama, and detail to the drawing that Travis Charest does with his.

This all generally speaking of course.

[achickenchaser]

Along the lines of what Fitch said on SSF4....

Contrary to popular belief on the internet, hardcore Street Fighter fans are a small minority. Most people don't care about frame data and most will never play in a competitive tournament. Why some people feel as though Capcom should only do what they want is beyond me. Maybe, just maybe, they're trying to please all Street Fighter fans with the new characters. I say bring them on.

You wouldn't be getting a new Street Fighter at all if only the hardcore tournament players bought the game. Capcom likes money, and they aren't gonna make a ton of it selling Street Fighter to a small fraction of the community.

[Klendathu]

It's weird to hear Flash Forward getting the hate for being similar to Lost. What is the problem with getting another Lost? Would you rather have another survived abortion of a show?

The thing to remember is Flash Forward having been released in 1999! It predates Lost.

Also, nobody was ever suckered into Lost. Straight from the start, Lost was a series in which some really weird shit was going down. The smoke monster was pruning the cast from day one! Lost had plenty of mystery right from the get-go. Nobody mistook that for Desperate Housewives meets Robinson Crusoe.

The only choice Lost had, was whether it was going to explain things mystically with magic and gods, or whether it was going to explain anything exceeding "normality" by advanced science. It toyed around with both concepts, but ultimately it is science fiction. Because even if it all boils down to magic, the users of that magic apply it in a rather scientific way governed by rules and procedures.

This toying around between science and mysticism is the key difference between Lost and Flash Forward. In Lost the characters do have some free will that regularly fires back on them, due to cruel authors breaking their own rules whenever they want. Flash Forward is straight science fiction. No mysticism involved in the riddle, characters do have free will all the time, so expect characters to fight their fate with full force.

[Raine]

So there's a bar/restaurant where all the chicks dress up like french maids and/or other crazy shit? . . . and one of these specializes in chubby chicks? Fuck all, I gotta go to Japan.

[DerBonk]

Loved the show and finally some comics talk again. I'd love to hear your opinions on Astro City, as I am currently reading through the series and have to say that it might very well be my favorite series so far.

Oh, I also love the board, the last four responses to this thread:
European comic art style (I agree with moderndevil8 btw)
Hardcore vs. regular Street Fighter player demands (sorry, I don't even casually play SF)
The Lost vs. Flash Forward debate (will form my opinion when FF comes out here, so sometime in 2011, maybe)
Girls that dress up and serve you at cafes (I'll take two, thankyouverymuch)
All in one coherent thread. I love you guys!

[Hellsfire]

As a mixed person, I must say I was rather cute as a baby so your parents were right. I'm also rather cute now.

Since there's no Burn Notice, I would love to hear about some more Smallville talk every week. I gave up on that show a few years ago. Good to know it's gotten worse.

My favorite new show on television is Community even though that wasn't my experience at a JC.

[LiQuid]

Final Fantasy 8 the best? You broke my heart, Ryan Scott.

[Adent]

What happened with Fitch Hitch?

[achickenchaser]

Final Fantasy 8 was a pretty good game. Square really tried to do more than the PS1 could handle, though. Looking at horribly pixelated stick figures for the entire game wasn't good. I'm surprised they don't milk the PS1 era FF games like they do the older titles. All of the PS1 games could use a remake.

I'm really hoping I'm somehow misunderstanding the previews for FF13 where it states you only have control over one character. Didn't Square already attempt a system similar to this with Final Fantasy Mystic Quest? You know, that Final Fantasy game that was made specifically for us dumb Americans.

[LiQuid]

Mystic Quest is the third best Final Fantasy after 4 and 9. And you could control the other character if you put them on manual, you big silly head.