Supergirl Debuts Strong For CBS

She can save me any day – Skatronixxx

The much criticised Supergirl flew out to a huge audience on CBS, grossing 12.94 million viewers for its pilot episode. Making it the strongest debut for any new show this fall season and the highest rated show based on a comic-book property this century.

Just this past week, creator and show-runner Greg Berlanti spoke with IGN and expressed the trouble in pleasing the often harsh and critical fans. ‘In TV, in general, the more you try and please everybody, the less people you please. So if we all just please ourselves and create a Supergirl show that we would all be excited by and we would all want to watch, hopefully that translates to a broader audience.’

Given that show has already surpassed Fox’s Gotham in the ratings for any of its episode, or any other DC property current/past for that matter. Berlanti and executive producer Ali Adler certainly have cause to smile, with Adler revealing in the interview that, ‘I think we want to reach our hands out to people who love comic books – It’s like an embracing hug to all. Please come in and sit. There is something for all of you out there. It’s an action show. It’s a romantic comedy. It’s a genre show. And hopefully we’ll get families in there to enjoy it.’

 

Andrew Kriesberg, co-creator alongside Berlanti on not only Supergirl but Arrow and The Flash too, expressed his welcome of fan criticism. ‘We’re those uber fans too. We are about these characters. David Nutter, who directed The Flash and Arrow pilots, said the opposite of love is not hate, it’s apathy. – So for some of the shade that’s been thrown our way, on this pilot, it still seems like even the people who have misgivings about it are excited about it. That’s always exciting. The worst thing you can do when you put so much time and energy and this much love into something and no one cares.’

When you look at the numbers, Supergirls 12.94 million viewership pummels fellow DC properties with Fox’s Gotham managing to generate 8.2 million for its pilot in 2014. The Flash whipped up a 4.83 million on the CW and the now cancelled Constantine only managing to conjure up 4.28 million for NBC when they both debuted last year. Easily the most successful of Berlanti and Kriesberg’s Tv Dc-universe is Arrow which debuted lower than any other show at only 4.14 million in 2012. So what does this mean for Supergirls future?

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 Who’s next Kurt as The Riddler? – Skatronixxx

With fan criticism before the show aired at an all-time high, its reasonable to assume that fan curiosity added a boost in numbers alongside ardent Supergirl fans and the casual viewers. Factor in NBC’s family friendly audience, it seems that the humble story of girl reaching for the stars (and her cape) resonates with viewers looking for light hearted crime-fighting that they can’t find anywhere else. But will the momentum stay strong for Kara Zor-el? With that other Krypton-Exiled show Smallville steadily losing fans over the course of its 10 season run. We will have to see if Superman’s cousin has the staying power keep the numbers high each and every week.

With Supergirl debuting this week (Thursday October 29) on Sky1, stick with @mitch_rated for my review of the pilot episode only on Skatronixxx.com.

Harley Quinn & The Enchantress Get More Than They Bargain For In Suicide Squad

 Damn those eyes are scary *runs away* – Skatronixxx

In the new issue of Empire Magazine, supermodel and super-powered Cara Delevingne sat down to discuss her characters history in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. ‘She’s an ancient sorceress, a feral being. She’s been trapped for so long and now she’s finally let out.’ From the trailer already released, Enchantress starts life as June Moore. An archaeologist who enters a mysterious cave only to exit transformed for the worst. ‘June is an adventure-seeker who’s always wanted some excitement. And she gets what she wished for, in an terrible way.’

But June Moore isn’t the only character in DC’s team-up film to face a rough ride ahead. One Harley Quinn is in for a rough ride as director David Ayer explains. ‘It’s about her breaking free of The Joker and becoming this fully actualized, independent person. That really is a metaphor for everyone’s journey here.’

As Harley tries to break free from The Jokers influence she may find solace in the unlikeliest of places. “Harley is the biggest troublemaker, but Deadshot’s actually eyeballing her a little bit. There’s a pretty ragged romantic triangle there,” revealed Will Smith who plays the infamous assassin-for-hire.

 I gotta say she looks hotter in the ‘after’ pic – Skatornixxx

Will Smith also imparted information regarding his characters troubled backstory leading into the events of Suicide Squad. “As the movie opens, he has a really big career score. He’s looking to turn over a new leaf with his daughter after the hit, but it goes wrong. It goes terribly, terribly wrong. And it lands him in Belle Reve for life.”

With Suicide Squad opening on 5 August 2016, you have plenty of time stick with @mitch_rated for all your villainous news only on Skatronixxx.

Jared Leto Opens Up About Playing The Joker

 I gotta admit I wasn’t sold on him at first but he’s turned me around – Skatronixxx

In the next issue of Empire Magazine, Oscar winner Jared Leto opens up about playing the Clown Prince of Crime and the weird method acting he undertook to get into the mind of the nefarious Batman villan The Joker.

In a move that would scare the bejeezus out of any sane human being. Leto found it appropriate to send his co-stars dead animals int he mail with cryptic messages attached. In a preview of the cover interview over at ComicBook Moviue, Leto revealed. ‘There was definately a period of … detachment,’ explaing that ‘I took a pretty deep dive. But this was a unique oppertunity and I coudln’t imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing those psychological games. But at the sametime it was very painful, like giving birth out of my prickhole.’ (WHATTTTTT??? – Skatronix )

In the interview Leto also recounted his method of staying in character, which consistered of listening to 1920’s gospel and reading about Shamans. ‘I always get the sense that The Joker may be much older than people think.’ Leto said. ‘It’s something different. If you don’t break rules you’re not going to strike new ground. I think I’ll be cooling down for the rest of my life’.

In the same issue Empire also previewed some exclusive shots of Jared Leto’s debut as The Joker and the first live action characterisation of Harley Quinn of course played by the phenomenally talented Margot Robbie in next years Suicide Squad.

Enjoy the sneaky peek and as always stick with @mitch_rated only at Skatronixxx.com

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 I wouldn’t want to be sat opposite The Joker, would you? – Skatronixxx

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A special look behind the scenes of the Suicide Squad film

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 Whadda Say Mister J?

 

Two X-Men Tv Series Announced by 20th Century Fox

 In todays gender equal society should they be called X-People?

With Fox announcing thier two new X-Men related shows coming to a Tv screen near you you. I thought I’d take time out of my busy-ish schedule and give me opinion on the new shows and what they might entail using my miss spent youth of reading X-Men comics and generally Geeking -out over every morsel of new stuff we get from our Mutant friends. Pro-Mutant and Proud baby.

Fox and The Hellfire Club

 Skatronixxx will be happy if Emma Frost is in it *faints*

The first of two shows will air on Fox’s own channel and will centre around the formation of the Hellfire Club. That evil faction of Mutants lead bu the Bacon guy from Footloose in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. The press release revealed some story details about a young special agent who learns that a ‘power-hungry woman with extraordinary abilities is working with a clandestine society of millionaires to take over the world’. With this series set during the 60’s I can’t help but experience deja vu when considered that this was the premise for The Hellfire Club within Vaughn’s 2011 film. Could this be a prequel to that? It sounds logical when the description for the ‘power-hungry woman’ could be a veiled attempt to disguise the character as the one and only Emma Frost.

Ah Emma Frost. A Seminal part of X-Men comic lore has been somewhat maligned and mishandled within Fox’s X-Men cinematic universe. From her semi-quasi and later redacted entrance in Wolverine Origins (2009) played by Tahnya Tozzi. To the prettyu weak characterisation of Frost played by January Jones (that one-out-of-Mad Men) in First Class. My favourite bad-girl-turned-good has recieved a bum deal when it comes to character adaptation on screen. The Emma Frost that I know was rebooted by Grant Morrison’s stellar comic-book run with the New X-Men (2001) whose no-nonsense attitude and cold persona a carry over to Joss Whedon’s run as writer for the Astonoshing X-Men (2005). Who whose portrayal evolved into an infiltrator for the new Hellfire Club yet became a key member of the X-Men who constantly had to compete with good and bd sides of ehr nature. Think Darth vader if he wore white and had a really noce rack. With X-Men producers Lauren Schuler Donner, Simon Kinsberg and Bryan Singer producing the new series; it leads me to believe that the connection to films may obviously be front of mind for these people.  Coupled with the fact that Fox is not only funding the series but airing it also, it basically serves as free advertising for thier cinematic universe. When casting for the main female antagonist is announced, we will get an idea of where this iteration of X-men lore is going. But a cat-and-mouse game with a secret agent and a Mutant on opposing sides, sounds like Homeland with powers, which gets a big thumbs up from me.

Breaking Legion

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 This one looks different, good different

The second show sounds more experimental than an obvious hit. With a character who is probably more familiar with ardent comic book fans than the general masses. This show that will appear on FX has an intriguing if not worrisome central figure that may see an uphill battle when the show comes to air.

‘The pilot introduces the story of David Haller: Since he was a teenager. David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David ha sbeen in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.’

To uninitiated, David Haller is Charles Xavier’s son whose telepathic abilities may-or-may-not (it’s never explicitly stated in the comics) have lead to his schizophrenia. Either way, David often reverts to his numerous personalities that all despise his father and the Mutant-human utopia that he fights for.

Legion is an interested if not progressive character to centralise within a show that could serve to catapult an often misunderstood condition like mental illness into the consciousness of the masses. The problem is that David is often placed as a villan within the X-Men mythos with no small part being because of his severe mental faculties that often causes him to be unable to disassociate good from bad.

I can’t deny that the character would make fascinating television if handled properly, I just don’t see who the audience for the show is besides those Legion fans. Is there enough of them out there to make this a hit? I suppose in order to hook those would-be converts is how the show works format wise. A Breakign Bad style of show could work for such a complicated character, with deep character explorations in over-arching stourylines would work but I still believe that those types of audiences is still such a niche market to gamble an X-Men show on.

Either way I am quietly confident that with the combined efforts of FX and Bryan Singer that they can produce a character driven narrative in the same vein as Breaking Bad but with the visual style of Hannibal, but that’s just my wishlist.

It is reported that The Hellfire series is in development while Legion has been ordered to pilot, which confirms that 20th Century Fox and Marvel have been in negotiations for some time, with Fox’s Dana Walden mentioning that they were talking with mavel back in August. While Fox owns the rights to any movie produced X-Men product Marvel still owns the Tv rights for the characters, which means Marvel has already signed off on the proposed plans for Fox’s X-Men Tv series.

With an endorsement from Marvel, Im quietly eager to see these shows when they air.

Film And Comic Con Bournemouth

The FIRST Bournemouth Film & Comic Con

So it’s that time again! It’s time for another blog, this time my adventure involves, Skatronixxx Jr, turtles (not the ninja variety I’d like to add), the beach, dirt tracks, kamikaze animals and oh yes Lou Ferrigno aka the original and still in my eyes the BEST incredible hulk ever. Intrigued? Read on to find out about the debut event that was Bournemouth Film and Comic Con!!!

A few weeks ago I had an email from Showmasters, I did not think much at first as in the past I have dealt with them either as a tradesperson or unfortunately being declined for a press pass in the past. So when I got the email I did not think much at first but this one caught my eye, it was to do with Glasgow. Why Glasgow? Glasgow was miles away, from the countryside that I call home in the south west of England. For people who live abroad, particularly those in America that would be like living in Detriot and being invited to an event in Canada, it may look close on paper but it’s one big a*** journey in real life.

What did the lovely people at Showmasters (please invite me again, see I’m nice about you 😉 ) want from me? Was it to see if I would be interested in a table? If you don’t already know, my ex-wife and mother to Skatronixxx Jr is a writer and we attended events in the past. Was it to say I had be unsuccessful in my application for a press pass? WRONG!!! I had been invited as a member of the press, yes lil ol me woop woop. At first I was stunned, then I proceeded to have a dance round the front room and upon remembering that my curtains were open and I live in one of the busiest streets in town, stopped before I gave an elderly lady the fright (or delight, depending on what way you look at it) of her life.

You may ask why am I writing about Glasgow when this is meant to be a blog about Bournemouth, well there is a reason to this, my friends and it will all become clear shortly. You see upon hearing that I had been invited to Glasgow my mind went into overdrive, what would it be like? How would I get there? Who would I meet? Should I get a hat an 1950’s flasher mac and change my name to something press like, like Hugh Writum (sorry couldn’t resist). Alas as time progressed and it got closer to the event, my lil guy Skatronixxx Jr was sadly poorly (don’t worry readers he is now happy and healthy yay!) and thus being the most awesome dad I am, I made the decision to forego the event in favour of looking after my son.

A few more weeks passed and I got another email this time it was from Showmasters again, this time they were inviting me to the debut Bournemouth event, this time as a member of the press. This was awesome news, not only because they had invited me to another event, but also because Bournemouth is only an hour and a half away from me by car. I had made my mind up, I was going to this event and what’s more importantly my sidekick and son and partner in crime, Skatronixxx Jr was coming too.

 Me and Skatronixxx Jr as Press yay!!

As it got closer to the event, I did the usual things most people do when they go to conventions, plan who they’d like to see, what they would say if they ran into anyone. Check regularly on the site to see if anymore big names had been added or removed. As the weeks turned to days there was not much news about new attendees until the day before the event. I had forgotten to check the site a couple of days before so if an announcement had been made I was unaware. As I scrolled through the names of the guests, there was someone who I had not noticed there days earlier. It was someone big and green, no it wasn’t the plant from Little Shop Of Horrors or the Jolly Green Giant from the sweetcorn adverts, it was LOU ‘FREAKING’ FERRIGNO. Yes Lou Ferrigno aka THE HULK! Not the Hulk from the movies (as they are all just CGI these days 😦 ) or anyone who has played Bruce Banner. It was the original and the best Hulk of all time.

Sadly some of you may not know who Lou Ferrigno is, but if you’re older than me or around my age, you will remember the Incredible Hulk tv show which has Bill Bixby as well. This was one of my fave superhero shows growing up along with Adam West’s Batman. As this is not a blog about the old tv shows although that does sound like a good idea (mental note remember that idea for next blog), I’ll just leave you with the intro of the show below, for you to either get acquainted with retro tv gold or remember your childhood.

 This was one of my fave shows growing up, yay Hulk!

Anyway I digress, back to the blog, if you were a big a fan of The Incredible Hulk growing up as I was this was a MUST, I had to meet the guy himself and could not let this opportunity slip by so it was one million percent decided, I was to go to Bournemouth meet one of my childhood heroes and write about it as a member of the press! What followed was a frantic 10 minutes of trying to ask Lady Skatronixxx to get me a ticket for for a photoshoot and she did! She’s a keeper eh?

There was a catch though, Lady Skatronixxx is a huge Harry Potter fan and at the event was Harry Melling aka Dudley or as Lady S says Dudleeeeeeeeeeeeeee. For those of you who know me well know I’m more of a half-blood (Percy Jackson) than a potterhead (Harry Potter) but still I thought it would be pretty cool to meet someone from the Harry Potter franchise.

On the day of the event, I decided along with Skatronixxx Jr and current Lady Skatronixxx to leave at 6:30am, this was initially met by WHAT??? As this was Lady Skatronixxx’s first event organised by Showmasters, (her secondly only convention the first being the one we went to in Torquay, you can read about that in my other blog 😉 ) and I was the veteran or their shows, she decided to trust my judgment. So the car was loaded and away we went. In ninety minutes we would be in Bournemouth or so we thought.

The journey was fine until we got to the other side of Shaftesbury (if anyone is from Shaftesbury, I have been there loads and love your town but you may want to skip this part). I would like to add that up to this point I had been driving solely on my driving experience and knowledge of the roads but came unstuck on what can only be described as the worlds biggest roundabout. We headed towards the roundabout but then DISASTER the Sat-Nav froze as the one point I needed it, the road signs were pretty much useless so we decided to head towards Poole as that’s close to Bournemouth. After coming off the roundabout the Sat-Nav kicked in and said turn right down this road, so trusting the Sat-Nav I head down this road, which gradually went from two lanes to one and had hedges on each side. If another vehicle was to come down the road towards me I’d have had no choice but to drive down a mile of narrow windy roads backwards.

As I got further down the road I got worried more that I was going to come face to face with another motorist and all I could hear in my head was the dueling banjo music from Deliverance. Would we make it out alive? I’m too pretty to be some crazy woodland folks plaything. But the Sat-Nav is meant to guide us in times of need so I made the decision to trust it and persevere and suddenly the road disappeared and I was greeted with what can only be described as a dirt track that went straight up. Yes not forward, up! I was greeted by a muddy version of Mount Everest. The Sat-Nav had taken me to the middle of a wood in the middle of nowhere! Goodwork Sat-Nav I think not, if I was 100% certain kiddies weren’t reading this and not the true English gentleman I am you could imagine what I would write!

You know it’s never good when this music is playing in your head

I was faced with two choices, continue up the muddy Mount Everest of doom or head back to civilization and sanity, I chose the latter and after negotiating a three point turn in what can only be described as scene from attack of the mud people from Mars (yes I know that’s not a film) we escaped and headed towards freedom. A few minutes (and miles) later we were off the dirt track and on the road to Bournemouth. We headed back towards the roundabout the made the decision to head towards Salisbury.

Driving down the road, we had lost a little bit of time but were happy that we were surround by houses and not swamps. At this point I made the choice to trust the Sat-Nav as backwards as the route may have been that it was to send us down that road, it would get us there in the end. So we drove on towards Bournemouth.

Then the animals attacked!!

Damn evil scenic English countryside

Animals attacking? You must be thinking that I’m losing the plot, but let me explain. In the quaint, picturesque English countryside we are lucky to have some beautiful animals. The majestic fox, the cuddle bunny rabbit, the snuffly squirrel, the splendid pheasant. You are probably thinking what do all these animals have in common? Well I can tell you, on that day they all had a desire and deathwish and transformed from cute and cuddly animals to kamikaze animals from hell. They all descended towards my car and what can only be described as something from the world rally championships I safely avoided all the animals (and a dive bombing pigeon or two) and was back on the a-road to Bournemouth.

Oh the a-road how I had missed you. If you live abroad and don’t know how we classify roads, it’s quite simply a-roads mean lights, road markings and civilization, b-roads mean limited marking and limited lights and up to this point I had been on not c-roads, d-roads if they existed they should be called doom roads.

After negotiating the Ringwood roundabout aka the ‘spaghetti junction of the south’ and another 30 miles we were there. In Bournemouth yay!!! We had arrived.

We made our way over to the B.I.C the venue of the convention but before we did we stopped off in one of the main chain pubs for a much needed toilet break to find the barmaids and barmen dressed as local pop culture characters. This caused great amusement to me seeing the elderly who were drinking beer at 8:30am (why) confused by why someone was dressed as a character from Kill Bill or a minion from Despicable Me. These poor people seemed confused enough without having this curve ball thrown at them, this early on a Sunday morning!

After our brief stop we headed towards the venue, on the way we passed a building site that appeared to have drilled into the fiery sulphur pits of hell. Not even Satan himself could withstand the smell! Seriously Bournemouth what are you building there??

We arrived at the venue at 8:40 in time for the event to start at 9am. Already the que had snaked it’s way around the block and we proceeded to join the que. Infront of us was a man dressed as Harley Quinn who looked scarily like a woman much to Lady Skatronixxx’s amusement and not believing me it was a man. Behind us were a bunch of women dressed in vampish Freddy Kruger outfits, it was a lil cold for that, but hey I wasn’t complaining 😉

The queue moved quickly and soon we were at the front of the queue, we made our way in and were directed towards the press area. Where a very nice lady handed us our passes and we were on our way. Whilst we were there, it was quite hard to find our way around at first so we decided to follow the masses like zombies from The Walking Dead.

The first stand we were greeted by was the Showmasters silent auction stand. There were some cool items like a signed Star Wars photo and a script from Stark Trek. I was tempted to bid on an item but decided not to and we were on our way.

Unlike past events organsied by Showmasters I had been too, the guests were scattered around, so upon entering the hall and turning right we saw several mainstays and veterans of the scene, in other words David Prowse and Jeremy Bulloch, for you non Star Wars fans that’s Darth Vader and Bobba Fett. Other people we saw were Bonnie Langford, Veronica Taylor (the voice of Ash from Pokemon) and British wrestler Doug Williams. I did have a press pass so I could have jumped on the opportunity to interview any of the stars about various things, but as with happens with cons, the fans descend on their fave stars first before moving on the mooch around.

I decided to look around and scout the arena out and possibly come back later for any interview opportunities that arose. On turning the corner there was a comic stand but this was important for me as it had G1 Transformer comics, now if you have followed me for a while you know I’m a massive G1 Transformer fan. A quick flick through the comics and a reminiscent of my youth, I saw various things such as Galvatron quoting Terminator (only in the 80’s) . This was quickly followed up by looking at the adverts on the back of comics and Lady Skatronixxx showing her amusement at the fact that certain cereal brands around in the 1980’s are still around today (sorry I couldn’t resist!)

 Haha I miss the 80’s

As I walked away from the stand the reality sunk in that I had disposed of my G1 comics sadly before they had hit their true value and comics that I had picked up as 10 for a pound in Trowbridge market were now worth 2 pounds each, how depressing eh?

2 pounds each? Damn!!!

Walking through the various trade stands I saw more and more of my childhood toys marked up and classed as ‘vintage’. Vintage??? Am I now vintage? Vintage Skatronixxx, that sounds like a brand of cola! As is the case with many Showmasters events, most of the traders seem to stock similar things, in other words comics, toys and Funko Pops! There was the occasional weapon stand, for me I’ve never understood why the sell weapons at these kinda events. Although owning a replica of Excalibur is a pretty damn awesome concept, in reality it’s bloody dangerous.

Turning the corner I then came face to face with someone called Spockvegas who can only be described as a cross between Zachary Quinto and the late great Leonard Nimoy. It was frightening how much this guy looked like Spock but what was more frightening was he was charging people to have a picture taken with him. As awesome as this guy was, did he not realise he was at a convention where many more people dress up???

 He kinda looks like my dad crossed with Leonard Nimoy, that’s scary!!!

Next was the talk area, at other events I have been too, quite often you have to pay for the talks so to have them for free was an added bonus. We made our way out of the hall and found ourselves by the sports stars signing areas. Many names listed here were Frank Bruno and Joe Calzaghe, as this area was by the drinks section, I decided to stop for a rest, give Skatronixxx Jr a rest and get a much needed coffee. Unfortunately the bar did not take cards so we decided to sit and rest and hopefully catch a glimpse of the stars.

After a 20 minute rest, the stars had still not arrived (It was now about 10:30) and we merrily went on our way. The disappointment of not seeing these stars was only made up by seeing a local Bristolian boxer! It later turned out that Frank Bruno did appear as some photos that surfaced online show, but I was still kinda annoyed that I missed him.

We decided to go on a wonder and I was able to find a bar that took a card and I was able finally to get that coffee that my body craved. I was happy and now caffeinated.. After a trip to the loo brought on by a previous coffee, I inadvertently saw Gazza (not in the loo I’d like to add), he was tucked away in a private signing booth but looked healthy, which was good given his recent struggles. If you’re not sure of who Gazza is, he was the Beckham of English football before Beckham. I’ve enclosed a clip below for people not familiar with him.

Gazza was a ledge in his prime

In the next hall opposite was mainly the same as the one we had just come from, a mix of more celebrities ranging from Sylvester McCoy, Chris Barrie and various Game Of Thrones stars and trade stands. I don’t know why they didn’t put the Dr Who people all together, surely it would have made more sense to have the companions with the dr’s, but hey that was just me.

After a quick lunch break in town we headed back, where we then met up with my long term friend Matt. After a catch up we headed back into the arena for another look around, unfortunately it was again to busy to catch an interview and we made our way back.

By now we still had not been able to see Harry Melling, was the one person Lady S was hoping to see and hopefully the person who can convince her about the awesomeness that is conventions. We admitted defeat in our quest to find him and hoped he would be there the next day.

What were the high points of day 1? Well I gotta say going to my first convention as press rather than a trader or regular goer was pretty cool, and having the pass in my hand felt like I was the member of some elite club! In the past I had often looked at the people and thought how did you get that pass and thought I want one. Now I had one it could only be likened to Gollum in LOTR, my precious press pass (there’s a tongue twister, try saying that 5 times!) What were the low points? To be honest not many except the lack of baby changing facilities for Skatronixxx Jr but that wasn’t Showmasters fault.

‘My precious’ press pass

On the way back from the end of day 1, we chose to go back a different way, safe from the kamikaze animals and muddy roads of doom that led only to middle earth or the centre of the earth. We got back safely and recharged the batteries for day 2.

And so begins day 2. The journey down was much smoother after opting for the same way down that we came home the previous night. No animals with death wishes, just Sunday drivers!

 B****Y Sunday Drivers!!!!

For day 2 we got there a little bit earlier so the queue was not as long as it had been the previous day but I was excited for one reason only, well two words LOU FERRIGNO!!! The month before I had met another one of my heroes growing up Ernie Hudson and he was well awesomeness personified. How would Lou be? Would he be cool? Would he be annoyed and hulk up and go on an epic style rampage only one the likes of The Hulk could do? The mind boggles.

After a quick coffee to recharge the senses and calm the nerves, we had another walk around. Unfortunately it was again too busy to interview the celebrities, but success we had found Harry Melling! What happened next was Lady S fangirling out over seeing one of her heroes. I was happy I could see the geekiness growing inside her, my work had been accomplished she was now a fully fledged GIT. Now let me explain, GIT is not a bad term in my eyes it stands for Geek.In.Training! It’s what I use to describe someone new to the geek scene.

Lady S was admiring Harry Melling from a distance, too shy to go up and say hi. So I made the plunge and bought her not only an autograph but also a photoshoot opportunity. What followed was a quick 5 minute chat with a guy who seemed pretty down to earth and pleasant. Aren’t I a nice one eh?

 Lady S with Harry Melling aka Dudley from Harry Potter

Now she had met her hero it was my time to meet mine. After a quick break and visit to the nearby Oceanarium to stop and look at the turtles (unfortunately they were not teenage, mutant or ninja but Skatronixxx Jr loved them and so did I 🙂 ), it was time for us to go back for my photoshoot!

They may not be teenage, mutant or ninja’s but they were still pretty cool

As myself and Skatronixxx Jr queued up, I was speaking to people about Lou, some were Hulk fans, others bodybuilders. As the queue got closer, my palms got sweater, my heart raced faster, would I hulk up like my hero and become the Incredible Skatronixxx? The queue was marching and moving forward, then we caught a glimpse! He was there, The Hulk wooooooooop. After a quick handshake (this was a nervous feat as I felt his hand grip mine part of me was worried I would be picked up and thrown across the room) chat, and pose for a photo me and Skatronixxx Jr were on our way and so was our weekend.

 Another hero met 🙂

How would I sum up the weekend? First of all weird, as it was the first time I had been to Showmasters event as a non trader. Don’t get me wrong it was the good kinda weird, I felt like the member of an elite club as I said earlier. Maybe next time I’ll be braver and go and interview one of the celebs, that be a pretty awesome thing to do. Showmasters you did me proud, next time you invite me I’ll do you the same. Keep up the good work 😉

Optimus Convention 2015

Ghostbusters AND Doctor Who??? I’m there!!!

As you know over the weekend me and Skatronixxx Jr were away in Torquay. For those of you who live abroad Torquay is a seaside resort in south Devon (Devon is a county, it’s what we call regions of land like ‘States’ in America.) It’s famous for being a favoured retreat of the elderly, Agatha Christie fans (she came from Torquay and there is a museum to her within the town), Faulty Towers was also set and filmed here, so naturally you can imagine it’s normally a busy and thriving place. However our trip to Torquay was for none of these reasons, it was actually for an event called ‘Optimus’.

I know you’re probably thinking Optimus, that sounds like a Transformers convention right? Well actually you wouldn’t be a million miles away, it was for a locally based SciFi & Film convention. How did I come across such a local convention? Well I was on Facebook a couple of months ago, yes I know (boooooo Facebook) and I saw a picture that caught my attention. It was a picture of Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore from Ghostbusters), Stay Puft and a Tardis! Yes Ghostbusters and Doctor Who in one picture, how could I not be interested. If you don’t know me well enough already, here’s a heads up there are two main fandoms that I care passionately about and that is Ghostbusters and Doctor Who!! I looked at the photo and it said ‘Optimus Convention, 1st of August, Torquay Riveria Centre’. I was like hmmmm I haven’t heard of this one but any convention that uses Ghostbusters and Doctor Who in it’s logo must be worth a quick look. I should say at this point I thought the inclusion of Ernie Hudson was just because they were having a Ghostbusters presence at the event, like when you goto London Film and Comic Con and they have the amazing ‘UK Ghostbusters’.

I click on the website and wait for it to load and as I skim over the website I see there’s the usual convention guests aka. Chris Barrie and Colin Baker, then the page scrolls across and it’s Ernie Hudson. Yes Ernie ‘freaking’ Hudson as a guest, I sit there open mouthed for about five minutes and take in that one of my heroes was at a convention in the UK and what’s more he was in a convention not in London but down the road from where I live. How could I say no, not only that but there was also Mark Bryan Wilson aka Slimer and Billy Brian aka Stay Puft. That was it, I was sold, the chance to meet Ernie Hudson, Mark Bryan Wilson and Billy Bryan was too much to pass up. I bought my tickets on the spot fearful that the tickets might soon be sold out.

For the next couple of weeks I was thinking about the convention as I have not been to the Optimus one before, I was like, what would it be like? Would it be busy? Would there be hours of queues like at other conventions I’ve been too? As the days came closer, I got more and more excited but also more and more scared that I would fanboy out when I meet one of my heroes or worse yet what if he wasn’t nice. I used to work in music and had the pleasure of meeting quite a few famous bands most were awesome, but there was a few who’s music I loved but when I met them, they were so far up themselves they became inside out as as you know I’m not like that. I already knew that someone who was in Ghostbusters and shares my view on the remake couldn’t be that bad but you still  worry!

Let’s fast forward to the day of the event and me arriving, as we walk up a steep road with Skatronixxx Jr in his buggy, I hear a noise, it’s a siren but not just any siren, it was the Ghostbusters siren! Like a moth to a flame I was drawn towards the sound with a smile on my face, a grin bigger than the cheshire cat. I get closer and see the event but no queue. Were we the first people to arrive? If you’ve been to a larger event you know that at 9am the queue is usually a few hundred people long and it looks like a mix of the Justice League of America, the entrie Marvel Universe with a few whovians and GoT fans thrown in for good measure. No there was a few people scattered about and queing but they were all wearing the trademark brown suits with packs on thier backs. They were Ghostbusters! My kinda people, we queue up for about five minutes before going to the area. I was surprised at the quickness of the queue and the efficiency of the staff on this part.

Let’s do this Skatronixxx Jr! What you talking about daddy???

Outside the venue the sound was coming from a car that resembled a converted Morris Minor that had been turned into Ecto-1 with various Ghostbuster cosplayers outside. The car although it was not the same model as Ecto-1 was still damn impressive and I liked the guys commitment to the cause. The fact that they were also willing to pose with me and Skatronixxx Jr for a quick snap was a testament to thier awesomeness.

 Ecto-1 UK Style!

We move towards the main arena and see another recongnisable car it was the BTTF DeLorean, just sitting there with no cord or barrier around it, now I know it probably wasn’t THE DeLorean but it was a damn impressive sight and needless to say after another quick photo we made our way inside. The first thing I saw and heard as I entered the building was a Doctor Who cosplayer dressed as Colin Bakers’ Doctor walking around saying ‘I’m lost this place is bigger than the Tardis’. We head through the main arena and then turn right, upon turing right I see the Scarlett Witch, Jack Sparrow and Wolverine drinking coffee and am like ah ok this must be the drinks area. Instead we turn left and enter the main hall.

Yay DeLorean 🙂

As we enter we are greeted by the sight of Ecto-1 just sitting there in all it’s glorly. I have been lucky enough to already see Ecto-1 that was at LFCC 2014 but this was different, whereas I was able to touch the Ecto-1 at London it was whilst being surrounded by other people and did not make a good photo oppertunity. Needless to say we pounced on this chance and after a few quick photos infront of Ecto-1 we made our way around the hall. Upon turning right we the people that me and Skatronixxx Jr were going to be meeting later sat at thier respective signing tables (Mark Bryan Wilson and Billy Bryan) and on next table along was Ernie Hudson! As he was the main headliner of the event I almost expected him to have his own section but he was quite happy to sit with everyone else and even take a few selfies with them too. I thought straight away he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

Who doesn’t love Ecto-1?

As we made our way from the signing tables we head towards the trader stands, the first stand I see saw some pretty dangerous looking knives and swords and needless to say I moved swiftly on. The next stand was a jewelery one and had various assortment of nerdy type jewelery, if I was a girl I would have been in my element as I came across things like scrabble wrist bangles and lego earrings. The next stand was a t-shirt stand and as many of you know I have set up Skattees, I looked at the t-shirts admired thier handy work and moved swiftly on. The next stand I was pleased to see at an event and I wish more events and conventions would have these kind of stands, it was one for the ‘Cat Protection League’. I often think that these kind of stands would be good at bigger events and was glad that this event had one, it further cemented my view that this was my kind of event as it had a nice mix of Ghostbsuters, Doctor Who and charity events. As we walk further along we come across more traders, the usual kind of things, brick-a-brack and, clothing and funko pops! At the back were some more signers, the most notable being James Cosmo who played Jeor Mormont ‘Lord Commander Of the Night’s Watch’. Now this was quite an amusing sight seeing such an impressionable character from GoT in a t-shirt but hey these people are people too. As we circle the hall we come across various other guests and stands.

EEP! Looks scary :S

I look up and see probably some of the best cosplayers from Planet Of The Apes, I’ve ever seen and try to figure out how we get up stairs with a buggy. Upon doing another lap of the building , the lift is spotted and we head up to the upper level. On the next level up are more signees and more tradestands. Optimus organisers if you are reading this, I get why you had the guests spread out but next year PLEASE keep them together, trust me this is a proven plan and it works! I personally did not like the fact that the guests were spread out but chose not to dwell on this too much. On the top level I see yet another charity stand, this one was for children and as you know being a parent I have a quick look and quick chat before moving on. The next stand was a Japanese food stand, now luckily I have a cousin who lives in Toyko so I had seen some of this stuff online before but rather than marvel at the chocolate pandas I saw my eyes drift towards something green. It was Slimer! Yes the Slimer 🙂 one of my childhood heroes, I’m sorry but Casper had nothing on Slimer. This was the stand for the Uk Ghostbusters, I try to get a look but naturally as you can imagine Slimer is quite a big star and had all the Ghostbuster cosplayers swarming around him 😉

SLIMER!!! Oh yeah and Wall-E 😛

After a couple more trader stalls we run into the POTA cosplayers and got an even better look upclose at these costumes and let me tell you they were amazing! I have seen POTA cosplayers before but not to this extent, everything was so detailed the clothes, the skin, the fur! Behind the cosplayers we saw the flash of a camera and was drawn across to see a T2 and an Alien statue, after another quick pose and photo we were interupted by GANGHAM STYLE? As I look over the balcony we see a steampunk Dalek Khan fully lit up like a boy racer and dancing to Gangham style I kid you not. It had to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately I was too entranced by this to get a video  :’o( Rookie mistake I know

Awesome POTA cosplayers with some Terminator and Alien statues

We had back downstairs and see a fully lit up R2D2 move across the floor and decide to follow it to the next room. In the next room there are more signers mainly cosplayers, comic book artists and a few martial artists along with a few more charity stands. On the door pointing downwards there was a sign that read ‘Photoshoot’. I quickly look downstairs to see about 40 long winding stairs that are impossible to carry Skatronixxx Jr down and think how will I get down there! In todays society you would have expected to have the photoshoots in a place with disabled and parent and baby access. This was again another sour note on an otherwise positive day. Going back into the arena, we see Ernie Hudson, a quick head nod is exchanged between me and him as he is escorted in one way and I head in the other. Wow Ernie Hudson acknowledged me, yay!! *FANBOY MOMENT!!**

Us with R2D2, a Dalek that danced to Gangham Style (seriously) and a steampunk R2D2

The next mission was to find a way to get Skatronixxx Jr downstairs for his photoshoot, we circle the arena before heading back to the lift and inside the lift we meet a friendly janitor who offers to show us a way, which is pushchair friendly for the photoshoots. As we head a side entrance of the building we quickly scope it out before coming back later.

 Awesome Dr Who props! Look a Union Jack Dalek

The first photoshoot of the day was with Ernie Hudson, there was about 10 of us in the queue and before the photo, Ernie comes out and personally thanks us all for coming, asks how we are doing and shakes our hands. Before he gets to myself he see’s Skatronixxx Jr remarks on how awesome and friendly he is and gives him a high five, yes Ernie Hudson high fived my son :oD *FANBOY MOMENT2!!** The queue moves quickly along until it is mine and Skatronixxx Jr’s turn. For those of you wondering why I took him along to see one of my heroes, the main reason was that I love my son and want to share my fandoms with him. I would have felt bad if I had a photo when he was there without him, so up we both go for out turn. After another quick chat, nothing…. the photographer utters the immortal line ‘It’ll just be a second’. I take this oppertunity to have a five minute chat with Ernie where we discuss how he’s finding this part of the country, the event and more about my son. After another high five for my son the photographer is ready, then FLASH, before I get a chance the photo is taken. I wait patiently to see what it looks like, the chance for a photo with hero and the end result is me fanboying out mid pose looking like the leader of UKIP aka Nigel Farage or as comedian Russell Howard says a ‘scared turtle’ noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. The iconic photo with my hero and he I look like a constipated turtle **AWKWARD FANBOY MOMENT!!**, I was visibly distraught and upset the photographer had not given me more of a chance to get ready GRRR. Instead of focusing on the negatives, I look on the positive that I had met my hero, he was awesome, he high fived my son and whereas most other people said a quick ‘hi and bye’ I was able to chat to him for five minutes.

Using this new found confidence, me and Skatronixxx Jr walk into our photoshoot with Mr Stay Puft he seemed like an awesome guy but was not in the mood to sadly chat and after a quick hi and bye we were out of there. This photo came out a lot better tho I’d like to add 😉

The last shoot was with Mr Slimer and there was just me and the other guy from the last shoot, yes there was only two of us, I could not get over this fact that out of so many Ghostbuster cosplayers on site, only me and this other guy had taken this oppertunity. Unfortunately after a full day of taking photo’s the camera was slighly worse for wear AGAIN! After a 15 minute wait the only other person had a lengthy chat with Mr Slimer about the same things I had the chance to moments earlier with Ernie Hudson. Alas me and Skatronixxx Jr were too busy wrestling to make the most of this oppertunity. Again the photo came out good, I’m getting better at this posing stuff and we were on our way.

It was so worth it to meet these 3! Check out my awesome fanboy moment with Ernie Hudson haha

So what did I think of the Optimus Convention, well first up let me start with the bad, there was no way for people in wheelchairs, disabled or parents with buggies to get to the photoshoots. As we were told by a member of staff when trying to enter, the way we were shown by the very helpful cleaner was for VIP only and if we wanted to come back down we had to negotiate the entire building and down the 30 odd steps! Come on people be reasonable!!! The second bad point was the photographer was very slap dash and rather than actually check the photo is was ‘click’ and away you go, the third was only niggly but the fact the guests weren’t all sat together. This made it hard to find certain people.

Now that’s been and gone out the way let’s take the positives, first of all very friendly signees and cosplayers, which is always good! There was a family atmosphere that I liked this. Whereas certain mentioning no names ‘big events’ you may feel like you’re in a cattle where you get moved along from stand to stand, there wasn’t that. Now if that was because it was a small convention or a newish one, I hope it doesn’t lose it, especially with those charity stands too. The guests (most of them) were very friendly especially Ernie Hudson and he further cemented my proof that he is a more awesome Ghostbuster and person than Bill Murray. Sorry Bill but it’s true.

Will we go next year? Well if you get Dan Ackroyd, we’ll not only be there but camped out front! That’s your challenge don’t let us down 😉

A Review Of ‘My Geek Box’

 What’s in the ‘My Geek Box’ from mygeekbox.co.uk , who knows?

Hi everyone I know it’s been a while since my last blog, I feel like I’ve let you down but I’ve had a kick up the backside and told to write some more blogs by you my awesome followers and I don’t wonna disappoint you so here goes!  For this blog I chose to review a product and company called ‘My Geek Box’. Who and what are ‘My Geek Box’ I hear you cry well to best describe them if you haven’t heard of them is to sum it up like nerdom in a cube.

Why nerdom in a cube and why is it called ‘My Geek Box’? Is it a box full of geeky and interesting things? Well to be honest yes it is. My Geek Box is a company that sends you a gift box every month containing lots of random and geeky things for a set subscription and charge a month. The amount you pay varies depends on the commitment you are willing to make. If you want to commit full hog you can get a 6 month subscription for as little as 15 pounds a month, how the downside of this is that you have to pay everything up front. If you’re someone like me who likes the concept but don’t know if they can justify the cost you can pay a rolling fee of around 17. Now I know 17 might sound alot when you consider that it’s essentially a gift box but I had several reasons for wanting to try this product out.

The first reason is I’ve heard of this product for a while and have genuinely been interested by the concept and wanted to try it for around a year or so now but never actually commited. The second reason is I need new clothes, yes clothes! You’re probably thinking what??? Well let me explain, part of the box is a t-shirt and rather then go through the horrible task of clothes shopping then buying something I don’t like for the sake of having clothes, you could get nerdy clothes sent to you on a monthly basis without having to go clothes shopping. Now that sold it to me pretty much straight away. Geeky clothes sent to my doorstop rather than going clothes shopping GENIUS!! As for the third reason, it was the lure of this month having an EXCLUSIVE ‘Funko Pop!’ figure. Now for those of you that don’t know what Funko Pop! figures are they are little figures that are based on characters from many and many of our favourite tv shows and movies. Think kinda like collectable figurines, some of the figures out at the mo are from Game Of Thrones, Disney and Marvel. I’ve always wanted to start collecting these but never actually commited to, plus I didnt know where to start, as there are sooooo many. I wanted to start collecting these for my son, so when he gets his own bedroom I can decorate them with these cool and collectable figures. So when the lure of an EXCLUSIVE figure only to the company was promised that pretty much sealed the deal!

So to recap for 17 pounds a month I get a t-shirt, collectable figure and other nerdy stuff? That sounds good to me so I signed up with luckily 24 hours to go before my first ‘My Geek Box’ was dispatched. I didn’t hear much for a couple of days, then when I was out I recieved an email from a courier company called ‘Yodel’. Now I have had nothing but bad experiences with this Yodel company and one quick search online will reveal just the extent of how this company got it’s reputation but I thought I hadn’t (luckily) had anything delivered from them in years, so now it might be different. In the email was a mobile number and a couriers name, he said he would be delivering up to 9pm that night and to text him to let him know when it would be convienient. Straight away I’m like 9pm!!! For anyone who has a young child you know how annoying it can be when someone knocks you’re front door whilst they are trying to sleep. Also having to wait in until 9pm is extremely annoying especially on a Saturday night. So all saturday night I sit on tenderhooks waiting for my parcel to be arrive, ready to pounce and jump off the sofa and get to the door before the delivery driver wakes my son. Then nothing…..

It gets to 9:10pm and the parcel hasn’t come I go on the tracking website and all it says is ‘out for delivery’, no indication of a time, only that my parcel will be delievered between Saturday the 20th and Tuesday the 23rd of june. I decide to go to bed and ponder the location of my box, has it been delieverd to a neighbour, has the delivery driver said he’s delivered it when he hasn’t? Time passes until it’s about 9am sunday morning then there is a knock at the door. I peer through the door wondering who it could be, was it a relative, an angry neighbour? I could just about make out to see it was a kid aged about 14 to 16 and a man aged about 40-50 in a vest and shorts. As you could imagine right now, I was thinking ooooooooook, then I readjusted my vision to see that the young kid had in his hand my parcel! Yes this small child had my cube, what was he doing with it? Then I open the door to see the child hand me over a PDA and ask me to sign! It turned out that the young kid and his shirtless dad were the delivery drivers. Yodel never ceases to amuse me and this is another one to add to the list. Anyway I put my thoughts about Yodel to one side, sign and rescue my cube!

That’s some cool artwork on the side of the box guys

The cube is mine, all mine! MY PRECIOUS!!! On first glance the box was made out of printed blue corrugated cardboard, it was about a foot long by 10 inches wide and 6 inches high.  If you wanted to be pedantic, you could say this was a geek prism not a box. But I’m not Sheldon Cooper and this isn’t his review it’s mine. When I held the box in my hands, the mysery of what’s inside hit me, I felt like a kid at christmas, this is a feeling that many of you wouldnt have had in years, you’re there hilding a present, not knowing what’s inside but you know it’s awsome. I’m almost half tempted to shake the box but I don’t through fear of possibly damaging the contents of whats inside.  On the side are some snazzy drawings and printings, I like these small kinda touches. I try to figure out how to open it and find a plastic sticky tab, the sticky tap is circular and when I peel it back, I lift the flaps. The lifting of the flaps can only be described as like lifting up the tabs on a pizza box, those of you who have done it, will know what I mean 😉 slowly the box begins to open.

Does ‘Nerd-vana’ await me or it is a ‘Geek-apolypse’?

Immediately upon opening it, a couple of things catch me attention for instance BATMAN!!! There’s a batman logo, which means batman goodies YAY!!! There’s also some other bits and pieces but my eyes are drawn to a gold packet, it appears to be facing backwards so I have no idea what this is. When I turn it around I see it is….

Spidey cards, as long as they aren’t Andrew Garfield ones I’ll be happy 😉

A pack of ‘Spiderman Heroes & Villans’ trading cards, I think this is pretty cool as I am a big spidey fan, these are yet to be opened, later I google these to find out that the packs are worth about 1 pound on ebay, which means they are probably about 3 pounds in a shop so I’m happy with this. Will I open them? Will the curious part of me over rule the nerdy part? Who knows!  (As of press, the currently remained unopened although the curiousness grows by the hours) .

Batbadges, batbadges, BATBADGES!!!

The next item is a series of batman badges, amongst the many badges are joker badges as well, these are pretty cool and they are glossy pin badges too. These are high quality items too, a quick look on Amazon and I see the same set for sale in America at $8.20 this works out to roughly 5 pounds. So two items in and I’m already at about 8 pounds worth of stock!

A replacement for Mjolnir???

My eyes are then drawn to the side where I see a small rectangular prism called ‘Now & Later’ it looks like chewing gum. On closer inspection I can see there is the word pineapple on there. I unwrap the packet to see what can only be described as small rectangular sweets, that are so hard you can hammer nails in with! I try one and almost crack a tooth, now to be fair the wrapper does say they are ‘long lasting chews’ I think the phrase ‘substitue for a hammer’ might be more apt for this one. Perhaps even Thor’s hammer, hmm maybe that’s why they chose it! The only sweets tougher than almighty Thor’s hammer haha.  Flavour wise they are ok, but they are just too hard for me to eat, which is a shame as I love American sweets. A quick search online shows them to be about 50 pence, so now I am up to 8 pounds and 50 pence worth of stock and I haven’t even got to the big items in my box.

One for you Star Wars fans

My eyes are then drawn to something that has ‘Star Wars’ on it. It turns out to be a mouse mat, it’s a pretty cool mouse mat that that features Anakin, Yoda and some Troopers, however who uses a mouse mat these days? Maybe it would have been cooler if it was a coaster or something? A quick search reveals the item to be for sale on around 5 pounds so now we are up to about 12 pounds and fifty pence.

 That is one AWESOME t-shirt

I am then drawn to a white t-shirt the quality is quite heavy cotton and I am immeadiately impressed, however thoughts enter my head as I turn it round. As this is a geek box it could be literally anything! It could be a ‘My Little Pony’ t-shirt! How would I explain that one to my mates? Have I spent 17 pounds on a t-shirt I’d never wear? When I turn it around I see it is a pretty cool looking ‘sports style’ t-shirt with the words  ‘Mutant Academy Athletic Department’. For me a veteran of many ‘cons I have seen similar t-shirts on sale for around about 15 pounds so I know that with t-shirt alone, I am happy with the amount spent on the box. A quick search and I am unable to find a similar product online, so for arguements sake I’ll say it’s about 15 pounds, this takes the value of the box up to about 28 pounds.

Cute

Finally we come to the most important part of the box! Skatronixxx Jr’s exclusive Funko Pop! figure. I glance at it quickly and see it’s a Marvel figure, it’s some kind of X-Men character, then the eyes give it away. It’s an unmasked Cyclops figure. I think this is pretty cool, although Cyclops is not on the same level of awesomeness as Colossus, Juggernaut or Wolverine, he’s still alright and the fact that I get a rare collectable one to give to my son’s collection the better. After all it could have been a ‘My Little Pony’ one!Sorry to all the Bronys out there for the anti-MLP vibes in this article. A quick search online and I can see that some people are already selling thier figures on certain websites for around 15 pounds, although I expect that figure to up in the future.

So that’s everything from my ‘My Geek Box’ overall I worked out the total to be around about just under 45 pounds, which isn’t bad for an initial 17 pound outlay, would I use it again? Well if they gaurantee a Funko Pop! figure and a t-shirt in every box I’m sold. If it’s just a t-shirt? I’d seriously consider it. Just a Funko Pop! and no t-shirt? possibly.

What are the pros and cons? Well lets start with the cons, mainly the first being the delivery company but I know you can’t judge a product on how it gets to you as once it leaves the warehouse it’s out of their hands, but then again if you are trying to sell your product it should be an enjoyable experience from start to finish as this part let it down. Another con is the thought that goes into it, although it’s definitely good value for money alot of the supplementary items seemed kinda random. I know there are themes with each box but I would have liked to have seen it more dedicated to one thing, like with the X-Men figure and t-shirt, why not have X-Men trading cards and badges too? Although I know some people would like the variety I prefer more rigid themes I guess that’s just the Sheldon Cooper in me.

As for the pros it’s definitely 110% worth the money if you can afford it and even more so if you pay in advance, the more you pay, the more you save! As a casual one off purchaser like me it does seem kinda pricey but if you are buying it with a reason in mind like a t-shirt or collectible figure you do make your money back.

I’m still on the fence with ‘My Geek Box’ although I like the idea and mystery of not knowing what’s inside, I think an option to choose what to include as supplementary items i.e. less badges more sweets or vice versa would make it an even better experience! That’s my thoughts what about yours?

Why Everyone’s Talking About The ‘Deadpool’ Movie

Ryan Reynolds is back from another ‘Deadpool Movie’ but will it be good?

Ok I know haven’t done much blogging for a while but those of you who know me, know that I’ve been having some big stuff going on so although I will always try and write something there may be gaps between when I write loads and not a lot. That doesn’t mean I don’t still love you guys so I thought I would scrape the dust off my antique Dell laptop to write a new piece for the site. But what piece? What to write? There’s so much going on in the internet right now but after much thinking and letting my twittery tweeps vote, they chose the upcoming Deadpool movie. So my skatfamily buckle up because this should hopefully be as an interesting read as it was to write!

Who’s Deadpool? Now I know some of you may be thinking ‘How could he not know who Deadpool is?’, of course I know who Deadpool is but I’m aware that some of my tweeps may not know who he is so I’ll do a quick overview of who he is and why so many people love him.

Deadpool or to more accurately call him ‘Wade Winston Wilson’ is 100% badass, if you got Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee and Steve Austin and mixed them together you’d get Deadpool. Yes that’s right Beeftekos I said Deadpool could kick Chuck Norris’s ass, sorry dude! Deadpool first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1991 so given his relatively short life he quickly because one of the Marvel universes most endearing characters, that will tell you something about his appeal.

Deadpool is a mentally unstable and disfigured mercenary for hire featuring in comics selling his services to the highest bidder but it wasn’t until 1997 when he was given his own comic book series that he came into his own. Writer Joe Kelly wanted to create a character that combined pop culture slapstick with angst however he always had his morality in tact. If you think of a hitman with a conscience you got Deadpool.

Typical Deadpool humour

Now on to the movie and why it is one of the most highly anticipated and talked about movies of recent times. Deadpool has appeared in the Marvel movie universe but let’s be honest he sucked. The casting was ok it featured Ryan Reynolds as the wise cracking mercenary but it was less about Deadpool and more about his alter ego in the film ‘Weapon 11’ but I’ll cover that more later.

Let’s all forget this happend people

For many the combination of Ryan Reynolds was a match made in heaven and some a match made in hell. However one thing’s for certain the tease of a possible Deadpool movie admittedly excited more people than the actual Wolverine origin film. So when rumours of a possible spin off came to life in 2011 the internet was a blaze but it wasn’t until this year that most of the mainstream media picked up on it and the film gathered real pace and traction.

So that’s Deadpool and a little bit of the back story regarding the film, let’s get on with the show and more importantly this article. How should I break down the article? Hmm I think rather than keep it rigid, I’ll just go with the flow I think Deadpool would appreciate that and it’s more akin to my style 😉

So what are my thoughts on Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool? Well I gotta be honest with you when I first saw Wolverine Origins I thought Ryan Reynolds character sucked. It felt like writers of the film liked the concept of Deadpool but were too afraid to either commit to making him a bigger part of the movie or didn’t really understand who he was. Now don’t get me wrong there were good parts where we caught a glimpse of what a possible expanded role of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool could look like (the lift scene for one). But like many things it fell flat and I think for years looking back on it I blamed Ryan for the suckiness of Deadpool however years later I can now see that he actually wasn’t half bad instead her was stuck with the suckieness, so as for the casting yeah why not I think Ryan could be good. He has the perfect blend of arrogance, morality and a semi-brief action film career who could pull this role off. If it was me I would have chosen the ‘other’ Ryan, Ryan Golsing as my Deadpool but hey it could be worse.

Part girl, part squirrel it’s Squirrel Girl

What do I know about the film? Well quite a bit actually, I know some of you may know more than me, some of you may know less but one thing I do know is it will have action. From the leaked photos released not so long ago it looks like it’ll be less about the back story and more about the action.

Let’s go through some of the things that have also been leaked onto the net:-

CONFIRMED – Deadpool will break the ‘fourth wall’. What it is the fourth wall? Well it’s where a charcter actively engages with the audience during the film. This excites me this teases that Deadpool will have a screw loose., which bodes well for his character development and already this fact has me more excited than anything else already.

CONFIRMED – Deadpool will be a reboot and NOT a continuation from that horrible, horrible cameo in the Wolverine film. This is great news as for the younger audience and casual viewer who may not remember or have seen that train wreck thus giving many new fans a chance of meeting the ‘proper’ Deadpool for the first time. Also for the more hardcore fans like us it’ll be a fresh start at the chance of seeing one of our favourite characters reborn.

CONFIRMED – Ryan Reynolds is back to play Deadpool, well that’s a no brainer really!

CONFIRMED – Ed Skrien will play Ajax. For those of you who don’t know Ajax is a character from the Marvel universe who is closely associated with Deadpool. His role was as enforcer for Doctor Killbrew’s ‘Weapon X Project’ so with this casting we may possibly see a little bit of a back story, either this or expect him to be one of Deadpool’s main adversaries through the film.

CONFIRMED – Squirrel Girl and Weasel WILL be in the film. I know that 99% of you are probably going WHO? Well Squirrel Girl is a girl who is part Squirrel and can communicate with squirrels, how this fits into the film, I for one would love to see how. As for Weasel? This one is more interesting, he’s Deadpool’s best friend. He act’s as an information broker, arms dealer and confidant for Deadpool, however due to Deadpool’s frequent mood swing’s he also often becomes number one target for Deadpool’s blind rage. Rumoured actors to play the role of Weasel include Seth Green and Justin Long, I for one would be happy with either of these choices.

NOW FOR THE BIG IF

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What will the rating of the Deadpool movie be?

There’s two ways this movie could go PG-13 /12A or 15+

I’m torn on what rating this film should get and what rating I’d like this film to get. Personally I think the film warrants a 15 rating however unfortunately due to the ironic popularity of the Marvel universe I expect to see as lower rating. How could this impact the film?

Well a 15 rating would allow the character to thrive in a setting he should be accustomed too, this would please the more hardcore older Marvel fans like me and you. It would allow the film to be fast packed and full of action like his character is within the comics. The impact for this film wise however would not be so good for the wider picture.

If Marvel truly cared about this project and character development they’d give it the older rating, however this would eliminate most of the audience and a large chunk of any profits. By lowering the rating although you would essentially be watering down the Deadpool character you would do so by selling it to a wider audience, thus introducing the character to a bigger audience. I also see the cockiness of Deadpool’s character setting well with the pre-teen market, this would be removed if the more mature rating remained.

So it’s tricky do you keep the higher rating and stay true to the character or do you water him down to a younger audience at the prospect of making him more popular with a wider audience?

This blog has raised more questions than answers and now hopefully you’ll understand why I’m so intrigued by the prospect of this movie!

An Interview With Top Fantasy Author Anthony Ergo

Another one of the people who I wanted to interview for skatronixxx.com was my good friend and up and coming fantasy author and musician Anthony Ergo. We met at London Film and Comic Con, when myself and my author client RJ Truman were sat on a table next to him. I thought he was an awesome guy and he’s agreed to do a quick interview with skatronixxx.com

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1) How did you get into writing?

I have created stories, characters and worlds since before I could write (thanks to Lego, which I still bust out occasionally!) I started writing at school and won several short story and poetry contests. In recent years I decided to turn my stories into published works and I’ve been addicted to it ever since.

2) How would you describe your writing style to the casual reader?

Fast-paced, adventure-filled young adult thrillers with plot twists that you won’t see coming.

3) If I remember right, you mentioned that you had written children’s books previously 

what prompted you to move into writing for young adults?

Dystopia started out as a children’s horror novel but I soon realised that its themes and intensity were more suited to young adult readers. I find the young adult audience to be some of the most passionate readers out there and I was encouraged to stay within the genre and write the follow-up to the first book.Hysteria  was released on Halloween last year and plans are in place for a third book in the Dystopia series.

4) You’re also the bassist in a band called ‘Signed In Crimson’ do you find that you take inspiration from your music for your writing or vice versa?

There is definitely a connection between the two. My band is fronted by a young female vocalist who writes some powerful lyrics. I wrote Dystopia at the same time that we were writing and recording our debut album so there was a natural crossover. I have also been able to use some transferable skills, such as creating music videos and book trailers.

A video of Anthony’s band ‘Signed in Crimson’

5) Perhaps your most well-known book to date is ‘Dystopia’, how you would describe this book to someone who has not read it yet?

Dystopia is a genre-blending paranormal/dystopian novel. It’s about a superstitious young girl and how her life is affected by a catastrophic world-wide blackout which she is at the centre of (…that’s my attempt at a spoiler-free teaser!)

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The front cover to Anythony’s book ‘Dystopia’

6) If a film was made of ‘Dystopia’ who would you like to play the main character and why?

Chloe Grace Moretz (Kickass) would be a nice fit for the role of Sasha. I think she could show both the character’s vulnerable side as well as discovering her inner-resilience.

7) We first met at London Film and Comic Con in 2014, do you do lots of conventions and can we hope to see you at LFCC again this year?

I do a lot of school visits but the 2014 London Film and Comic Con was my first convention. I decided to give it a try because it was the inaugural ‘Young Adult Literature Convention’ as part of the same event. It was great to meet so many people, both readers and fellow authors, and I’d definitely be interested in attending again.

8) What can we expect to see from you in 2015?

After releasing Hysteria, I decided to take a break from the Dystopia series. I’m actually working on a brand new novel called Plague Risers. It’s a zombie fiction with a twist, set in the Middle Ages. I studied the medieval period as part of my English and History degree and I want to recreate that authentic world. After reading the opening chapters, a friend described it as “Game of Thrones meets The Walking Dead”.

​​

A preview of the front cover to Anythony’s  upcoming book ‘Plague Risers’

9) Tell our readers one fun fact about yourself that they may not already know?

As well as writing and music, my other pastime is playing as a hockey goalkeeper and having rock hard balls blasted at me!

10) Finally what advice would you have any advice for an upcoming writers?

Set yourself realistic goals, no matter how modest, and stick to them. I have a target for how many words I write per day, chapters per week, etc. Some days are more productive than others (and often I’ll re-read a previous day’s writing only to delete it or completely rework it). Lots of people have ideas for a story and many will start to write a book, but not all of them manage to finish. For me, it’s all about completing the first draft. Go with the idea that you’re most passionate about and it will never feel like a chore.

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There you go readers, Anthony Ergo! A fantasy author and a bassist, what more could you want ladies??? Be sure to check ‘Dystopia’ out now it’s available on Amazon now

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dystopia-YA-Paranormal-Adventure-Romance-ebook/dp/B00LMAWUYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404841922&sr=8-1&keywords=dystopia+anthony+ergo

Follow him on Twitter he’s https://twitter.com/dystopianovel or Wattpad http://www.wattpad.com/user/anthonyergo

They say everyone has a book in them! But do I???

They say everyone has at least one great book in them, one amazing award winning story waiting to get out, trying to jump out of your mind and onto paper. I’ve been on twitter a while and one thing that I was always intrueged by was something called #writinghour . It’s where people write for an hour and share the results online. I for one know I’m not a great writer, however as a former literary agent and publicist for my ex wife and due to the fact I know some pretty cool writer people I decided to give it ago. Just load up my keyboard and type away to my hearts content no matter how random it may be and here was my result!!

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They say some people are born great whilst others have greatness thrust upon them, I was neither. You see growing up I didn’t really have many friends, I guess you could say comic books and action figures were my friends. I didn’t really have a talent either, unless you count being fodder for the local bullies. I was well just plain and normal. Normal height, normal intelligence, normal looks. If I was a flavour of crips I guess you could say I was ready salted. Good old dependable ready salted, it may not be the most glamourous of the crips but you always find it in the multipack bags just  sitting there, hoping to be eaten, unlike the controversial cheese and onion or salt and vinegar. If I was a biscuit I guess I’d be a digestive, anywho I digress. I tend to do that alot, let my mind wander and I guess that’s how I ended up in the situation I am now.

What situation is that I hear you ask? Well lets just say it involves aliens, a dragon, a princess and robots, no I wasn’t transported to a fantasy land or even imagined it. Although I am at a special place with those entities, they are sadly not real. I’m at ComiX Ex-pose 3000 where the aliens are a pair of teenage goth twin girls called Caitlyn and Harmony, who came here with thier dad. They became hooked on UFO’s after watching Alien Smashers, the top grossing film of the year where a man and his pet hamster join forces to stop the impending alien invasion of hamsters. Yes a normal hamster teams with a man to stop an invasion of space hamsters from Pluto. Society worries me sometimes, seriously! Thier outfits are a mixture of your classic grey alien with big bulging eyes and small silver grey body, the only difference being that these outfits have big hamster teeth and a small hamster like stumpy tail. I know I said it earlier and I’ll say it again, society worries me *sighs* The dragon, a middle aged balding insurance salesman called Steve Walsowski, who although he is 43 and lives with his mum, inists that she lives with him, although he pays her rent and lives in the basement of her three bedroom colonial townhouse. The princess a chinese woman called Biyu, who looks striking in an emerald green dress and tiara combo, based of the Princess Lian from the sucessful book series ‘Princess Lian The Eteneral Princess Of Light’, although a lil shy and out of place, I think she’s a convention virgin. As for the robots? Don’t get me started on the robots, they are only here because it’s now ‘scene’ to like comics, whereas it’s ironic these same robots would picked on me ten years ago for liking comics and calling it babyish they are now here attempting to win points and score with cosplay chicks because it’s the ‘cool thing to do’.

How do I know all this? Well if I told you that I’d have to kill you, haha I’m joking or am I? *serious face* Nah it’s cool, you’re here reading this and I have cunninngly wrote this book under a pseudonym, so like other more popular characters from various universes you’ll never know it’s me.

I could be the old lady sat in front of you on the bus, the attractive guy you sit next to at work with the cheesey smile or even your mum! Back to the point at hand, how do I know this? Well did I mention I’m a supervillan? Why a supervillan? I bet you were expecting a superhero weren’t you! Well why not, think about it, a shy loner guy who got shunned by society for liking comics as a teenager, bitter by society embracing the same thing they mocked him so harshly for years ago. Where’s the justice? I’ll tell you where the justice is, it’s in my plasma ray gun shooters mwuahahahaha. No in all seriousness I wish I could be a supervillan that would be amazing, it’s actually a much more mundane existance for I’m the ‘ticket guy’.

Yes the guy who sits behind a perspex screen in a booth and checks the tickets for the people who get to be inside the glorius heavenly land whilst I am shunned and in the desolate arid wasteland outside looking in. No one bats an eyelid towards me as they hand over thier ticket for validation, whereas at a gig or music festival where I would have the power, to turf people away for attempting to break into my kingdom. Here my role is diminished to attaching wristbands and overhearing stories from people, rather than actually being talked to, whilst my supervisor 10 years my junior makes out with his chav girlfriend sitting behind, whilst they mock those in attendance.

I knew right then that I had to change my life, I had to be someone, I had to be a hero, I had to save the world well after my lunch break that is! Little did I know that’s what actually would happen ……

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Well that was my hour! First thoughts? It was quite easy, fun and extremely random to just write put your thoughts down and go with the flow, it’s kinda like blogging. I can see why people do it.

As for the actual content? Hmm I have no idea what made me think of that, was it my past experiences of being at Comic Con’s and engaging in people watching. After reading it back it seemed like quite a good idea for a screen play of a Jack Black style film where a hapless ticket guy gains super powers and ends up saving the world at a comic convention? The funny thing is that actually sounds like quite a good film and I’d probably watch it, maybe I’m onto a winner here! If you the reader of this or Hollywood steal my idea I’m coming for you 😉

Well that’s my attempts at writing for an hour, I suggest you give it a go, you may just surprise yourself.

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