Montreal Comiccon 2017 Haul!

As I try to sort through some more of my Montreal Comiccon 2017 pictures, after I’ve wrapped up coverage for Game Warp Podcast, I am here with a haul post (shortly after my vacation haul). Montreal Comiccon is incredible and very crowded. Pretty much a different experience from Toronto Comicon which was much less busy in comparison. However, there were artists that were at both shows but with almost 4 months span of time, they have more work. Plus, there are a lot of other things to see as well.

I’ll talk all about the rest of Montreal Comiccon in tomorrow’s post but today, we’re just focusing on what I picked up at this fantastic event. I mean, it can’t just be all “work”, right? 😉

Let’s check out my Montreal Comiccon haul!!

Johnni Kok – Brush Ink Slinger

Johnni Kok‘s art is absolutely amazing. His recent stuff is more in the form of the last one for Nier: Automata, which he also had a great talk telling me about the game and some of the endings. While that was what drew me to his booth, seeing Mulan in the armor was what tipped me over, along with steampunk Ariel. Amazing creativity. He has a bunch of really beautiful Overwatch art as well.

Igneous Art by Ogi Grujic

A walk down the Artist Alley this time lead to find this artist’s booth, Igneous Art. This was the exact picture that stopped me in my tracks. I love cute iterations of superheroes and this one is so pretty. My picture of it doesn’t do it justice because the color is so vibrant.

Claire Gary

Tell me that seeing a giant Hobbes holding a Calvin doll isn’t the most adorable thing ever! Claire Gary has some pretty nice spins. There’s also one of Snoopy and Woodstock where it looks almost like a real dog. That one was pretty cool too. But then, I also can’t give up on an adorable Stitch art either.

Chasing Artwork

Remember in Toronto Comicon when I got that Howl’s Moving Castle artwork that’s just hanging over my work desk at home right now? Well, he had this one of Highwind from Final Fantasy 7 art and its wonderful. There was also one from Alien and The Thing which also looked cool but I went home to discuss with my husband he decided this one was the one that he wants.

Teeturtle

The final thing I picked up was a t-shirt at Teeturtle. Something that matches how I feel a lot nowadays, just playing video games more.

Thats it for the Montreal Comiccon haul!

Ten Anticipated Movies of 2017!

2017 is here! I’m sorry for the tardiness of posting up the 2017 outlook post. I’m working on that and just settling on a few little decisions that I haven’t made up my mind on but that should be up tomorrow. However, in the mean time, I feel super late talking about my list of anticipated movies of 2017 and this post is going up later than usual also but its the holiday and I’m taking it easy.

Before we jump into the list, please note, this is preliminary and usually doesn’t include any indie movies because I usually don’t catch on to those until very close to release date or a ton of you have talked about it or Fantasia. Or I’m too busy with Netflix movies to look too much into it.

And you’d like to check out anticipated games of 2017, you can find that over at That Moment In HERE! I’m not doing a separate post talking about this so I figured I’ll just give it a mention here in case it interests you. This post is a collaboration with my Game Warp co-host but our choices are pretty similar with just a few exceptions.

Without further delay, here is my ten anticipated movies of 2017 in the order of release (according to Cinema Montreal site).

XXX: The Return of Xander Cage
(January 20)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
(January 27)

Beauty and the Beast
(March 17)

The Fate of the Furious
(April 14)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
(May 5)

Bon Cop Bad Cop 2

Alien: Covenant
(May 19)

Wonder Woman
(June 2)

Spiderman: The Homecoming
(July 7)

Jumanji
(July 28)

No trailer yet…

Superheroes, sequels and remakes is what this year’s anticipated movies for me is all about. It kind of makes it seem like a little scary because we all know how these things can just really go completely wrong. While a lot of people are done with Resident Evil or just haven’t really liked it from the beginning, I’ve liked it a lot for the “so bad its awesome” factor. I like the action and the over the top and everything that is wrong with it. I’m super excited for Beauty and the Beast and actually my girl friends are pretty much decided to go see that one. Hopefully everything will work out. The wildcard in this list goes to Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 which is a French-Canadian film that had a huge following back in 2006 for its first film. I have no idea how it took ten years or eleven at the time of release to get it out but I’m pretty stoked about it.

And now for some honorable mentions and other titles that has me intrigued but a little skeptical.

Honorable Mentions:

• The Lego Batman Movie
• Logan
• Power Rangers
• Pitch Perfect 3
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
• IT

Intrigued but Unsure:

• Monster Trucks
• Before I Fall
• The Space Between Us
• World War Z 2

What movies are you anticipating in 2017?

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

In the last two weeks, I geeked out a little over catching up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that I missed in 2015. Although, I don’t quite care for superhero movies much since its just everywhere, I did mention that Captain America’s franchise has been great.  I love the movies and the characters and the story.  It has great villains and it ties well into the Avengers universe that its worked so hard to build. With that said, I planned for an opening weekend viewing.  It was just my luck that one of my awesome friends messaged me to go see it.  Friday evening, great company and an anticipated movie: I’d say this sounds pretty sweet! 🙂 Oh yeah, and I think we disappointed the kids around us because we were Team Captain America…all the way!

Let’s check it out!

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Director: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Bruhl, William Hurt

Political interference in the Avengers’ activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man.-IMDB

 Its always important for me to talk about my lack of knowledge of the source material of the actual comics.  Its great that my friend actually is very knowledgeable about it and she fills me in quite a bit. Its probably also why she can criticize it a little more.  However, on the car ride over, she filled me in on the Civil War comics and a few things she was worried about happen.  For the record, most of it did happen but it turned out to be a pretty funny moment.  On that note, Captain America: Civil War was really great.  I had a lot of fun watching it.  There were some plot holes here and there but still, as far as superhero movies, Captain America has been three out of three and that’s pretty awesome!

Captain America: Civil War was absolutely entertaining.  There was some serious story but they interjected a good bit of effective humor.  The crew is definitely getting bigger and a lot of the Avengers are part of it, especially the crew from the end of Age of Ultron. We get Ant-Man and then of course, the secret weapon of the trailer, our new Spiderman. They both are kind of the fan boys of the whole deal and they are definitely there for comic relief more than anything.  It also turns the full fight in the trailer into possibly one of the most hilarious action scenes I’ve watched.  I’m going to say that right now. It was so funny that I laughed almost non-stop.  Its supposed to be serious, I guess? But Ant-Man and Spiderman and all the dialogue was great. I mean, on top of that, there was Captain America showing off his muscles reeling in a helicopter which made me laugh because it was a little cheesy but in a lovable way (I guess?) Let’s not forget that what took me by surprise was the completely unexpected new character, Black Panther or whatever you called that superhero.

I always like to address the villain for a second.  To be honest, this villain isn’t really a superhero or non-human or alien or whatever. What makes him effective is that he puts into question the role of The Avengers and just whether they are serving the purpose they are meant to: protecting the people and society, even if they kind of are what attracts the danger also.  But, this is what sets off the Accord and in many ways, its also what causes the break in the “bromance” (that existed in a vague way) between Iron Man and Captain America.  But our villain is a regular guy (kind of!) who has an agenda to cause the Avengers to self-destroy by turning on each other.  He’s kind of shady and looks normal but he also is smart and pretty much a schemer because he manages to manipulate many situations to his favor and that is what makes him a little scary to deal with.  In that way, he is probably  more effective than the other villains in many of the Marvel movies so far.

While Captain America: Civil War is just pure awesome fun and I really loved it and it made me laugh a lot and feel for the characters and if anything, the story of Captain America and Winter Soldier and all that stuff makes the most sense out of all of these Marvel superheroes and done in a good way and its credit goes to the directors.  There were some rather cringe-worthy parts and some random parts that felt a bit weird.  I mean, the whole recruitment bit of Spiderman was entertaining for its means but everyone had a consequence but Spiderman just kind of vanished? I think the new Spiderman is alright, there’s not enough to define whether he is a fitting cast yet but we had this discussion about how Peter Parker acquires his Spiderman skills seemingly younger and younger and his Aunt also is cast younger and younger. You know, little technical details, right? Nothing that is an issue, just a weird observation.  On top of that, I heard that Vision and Scarlet Witch is a thing in Civil War (in the drive to the theatres from my friend and what she didn’t want to happen so yeah…its a thing.  Guess this is spoiler-alert), and their scenes are super awkward.  Maybe a little cringe-worthy? I can’t figure how I feel about it yet.

Overall, Captain America: Civil War was an awesome addition to the Marvel franchise.  Its actually a refreshing and unexpected feeling.  While I’m a huge fan of the direction Captain America franchise has gone, there’s a point when a franchise loses their steam and a lot of times its when it hits the third movie but luckily, that didn’t happen in this case.  I had a lot of fun.  I liked the story and the villain was good.  There were some wildly entertaining action scenes along with some pretty intense ones as well.  The relationships between the characters and building it up was pretty good as well.  There’s still some questions about little details but the point of a superhero movie is to have fun in its blockbuster glory and Captain America: Civil War did exactly that and even managed to surpass my expectations.

Have you seen Captain America: Civil War? What are your thoughts?

1UP Box: April 2015

What do you know?

1UP Box got their act together and got back on track with April’s box and it arrived on last Thursday!

What’s even more awesome than arriving early? Its that this month’s theme is in anticipation for the opening of Avengers: Age of Ultron and themed HERO!

How many of us aren’t even a little anticipating Avengers: Age of Ultron? So this superheroes theme comes right in time!

Let’s check it out!!

Funko Pop! Captain America

I’m not exactly sure how to not geek out over this! Other than the fact that I like Captain America and its all Marvel and whatnot, its because I’ve been hoping to get an ACTUAL Funko Pop! figurine thing since I’ve been ordering these boxes.  I got the weird Walking Dead one that winds up and the keychain but finally, an actual one!

I probably shouldn’t start another collection but isn’t this one just awesome!!!!

Super Key Cover: Batman

Super Key Cover: Batman

Remember how I geeked out over getting Boo in the last box.  I really like this one as well.  It was 50/50 that I might have gotten Superman.  I’m not a huge fan of Superman so this one was perfect 🙂

Legendary Hero Necklace

Legendary Hero Necklace

This is possibly a Zelda item again.  At least that was me and my boyfriend’s deduction.  It does look pretty cool 🙂 I don’t think I’ll wear it ever but it might look nice as decoration or maybe just put it in my display cabinet.

Superhero Iron-On Patch

Superhero Iron-On Patch

I haven’t ironed on a patch since elementary school.  That’s quite a while back.  This does look incredibly nice so I’m actually thinking where I could iron it on.  Probably on a messenger bag or a backpack? I don’t know yet.  I’ll think about it 😉

Spiderman Air Freshener

Spiderman Air Freshener

If you sniff this stuff long enough, its going to be bad for you.  This air freshener looks alright.  I like Spiderman but I don’t love the smell of this air freshener so I think this might end up going into the trash soon.  Its making everything in the box smell like it and I’m trying to air it all out as this goes up. I’ve been trying to figure out what the smell is.  It might be a really strong citrus smell or at least its trying to be? But then, smells are pretty subjective so who knows…maybe someone else enjoyed it more than me.

1UP Exclusive T-Shirt: Mushroom-Signal

Mushroom-signal T-Shirt

This T-Shirt just won me over to think about whether I want to continue subscribing to 1UP Box for another round.  Mario & Batman themed shirt! Let me go freak out with excitement first, k? Go ahead judge my life choices but 1UP Box just upped their game even more.

April 2015 1UP Box pin: HERO

And that’s a wrap for April 2015 and my 3 month subscription for 1UP Box! I’m putting some serious thought into whether to subscribe again. One of the main factors is money. I’m still human and gotta worry about the bills 😉 It also depends on the theme.  Decisions, decisions…that I will ponder.  We will see if I’m back for more, right?

This box (and the last one here) is all sorts of awesome! Funko Pop, Mario, Batman: all of these things win my heart over so easily! I’m pretty pleased with it all (except the air freshener).

Happy Monday! 🙂

Tug of War: Marvel or DC?

I’ve been pretty busy this week so I haven’t dropped by to The Matticus Kingdom to check out your answers but I just did a quick skim and there’s been a lot of comments which is fantastic.  If you haven’t read THIS post, asking you join into The Offical  Matticus Kingdom Tug of War, well, you probably should head over HERE to check it out instead! This should spark a pretty interesting tug of war 🙂 If you are into the DC universe, well, go ahead and tug hard and well, if you want Marvel to win, pull back with all your might.

The question we are tugging for in this war is: Which universe of superheroes (and villains) is superior: Marvel or DC?

Now, the big question here is which side did I pick? I could’ve just answered in the comments but you know, I like to talk and ramble 😉 I’ll try to keep it short, ok?

Just in case you are unfamiliar, because I’m a mega beginner.  I only know about either of them because of movies.  Here’s a poster for each of them.

So, which side am I going to pull with all my force, right?

Its really funny actually.  For all of today before I sat down to write this and search up those images, I was thinking I’d back DC comics because hey, there’s Batman, Catwoman, The Joker and some pretty impressive heros and villains.  I haven’t experienced the apparent awesomeness (from what I’e heard) of Arrow yet so it wouldn’t be fair to include that.

But, as much as it pains me to say this, lets get those apologies out there. I’m sorry, Batman, I had to let you go. I can’t defend DC Universe. If one of my really good friends read this, she will give me a lesson also, but still…

*sigh of relief* Now that thats out of the way. I’m joining all of you tugging for Marvel.

Now, hear me out, ok? I had to pick a side and not just a hero.  If it was a hero, Batman would win hands-down but I took a good hard look at DC Universe and what its had to offer (in terms of movies).  Other than Batman and Catwoman, Green Lantern was a disaster and not to mention a snoozefest. Watchmen was a mega weird one and still so boring (but apparenlty I’m the minority who thinks that), and well, I didn’t see Jonah Hex because Megan Fox was in it and I don’t really want to watch it. Call it a lack of exposure to other DC universe characters but they aren’t winning over my heart right this moment.

Isn’t this concept art poster so cool?

With that said, Marvel has done a great job.  All the characters are fun.  Wolverine and X-men kicked some ass along with Cyclops and Rogue and the whole bunch.  Even the villains were pretty bad-ass.  I mean Xavier to Magneto, epic! 🙂 Then, just look at The Avengers. Would you want to mess with The Hulk? I wouldn’t.  I mean, thats one of the reasons, I would not choose DC either.  I mean, Joker is pretty nasty but some big-ass green dude can probably crush me.  Look over at the positives: Thor is just fantastic, I mean, he’s a demi-god. I think that says it all.  Ironman is not godly but he is quite torn and broken but pretty powerful in his own way.  And then, we have Hawkeye who is a great archer and Black Widow is a femme fatale right now.  A great team right there! Oh and how can I forget, Blade is in this mix also.  Who doesn’t love a vampires? I know I do!

What wins it for me has to be Spiderman though.  I mean, it was pretty much a battle between Spiderman and Batman in the first place.  I’m not very much Tobey Maguire Spiderman as opposed to Andrew Garfield but Spiderman is quite Amazing in itself.  There’s a god, a few superhumans and some pretty awesome fighting capabilities in this mesh and I’d say Marvel is the winner, for me at least 🙂

Do you agree? Maybe you disagree and you’re more of a DC Universe supporter? Head on over to the Matticus Kingdom HERE.  If you don’t want to do a post, then just leave a comment so that you can make sure that you give a bigger chance to your side.

Keep on tugging! Tomorrow is the last day to help out your side! 🙂