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Bagged and Bored Cast Episode 10

We are back at the wonderful Martin Rd. Studios to bring the nerd news to all.
Join Chris, Paul, John and Producer Scott this week as they discuss:

The Week in Geek - Lobo going to the Big Screen, New Line goes to Middle Earth and back again to bring "The Hobbit", Marvel's MiracleMan news, Wizard's Convention constriction, the PAX-Pox and DC Comics' new deal.

The List - What books have us heading to the shop the week of September 16? Find out here.

The Main Topic - What bigger news could their be then, Disney buying Marvel? Hear why Chris is excited, Paul is worried and John feels the way he does.

The Movie Fix - Halloween 2, does Rob Zombie's remake slash its way into our hearts, or just leaves Paul with an upset stomach?

If you haven't already, there's no time like now to subscribe to the Bagged And Bored Cast on iTunes. Also, be sure to rate and review us at the iTunes store and follow us at http://twitter.com/BaggedandBored as well!

Bagged and Bored Cast Episode 9

The boys are back in town! And by "in town" we mean Toronto, for the annual FanExpo. Give a listen to Bagged and Bored Cast: Episode #9 as:

We review last weeks comics on the road to T.O.

Paul pulls aside a rep from Bioware to find out about their newest game: Dragon Age: Origins.

We talk about the first day of FanExpo at our favorite watering hole, C'est What? on Front St.

Chris gets a chance for a one-on-one interview with the head honcho of DC Comics, Dan Didio.

We head back to C'est What? after the second day at FanExpo hungry for more comics talk and poutine.

We wrap up the weekend talking to our new favorite, nerd band Kirby Krackle.

And finally as we head back to Buffalo, NY we talk about the experiences of the third day and the Expo as a whole.

So check out the episode HERE and as always, make sure you subscribe for free on iTunes. Also be sure to follow us at: http://twitter.com/BaggedandBored and be sure to check back next week as we get back to our regular format!

Thanks for checking us out!

With Great Power...

So the day after FanExpo the world is all a flutter with the biggest news in comic book history, maybe: Marvel Comics has been bought by the Disney Company.

Now I can see where some people may get nervous about this news. But as the resident Disney Expert here at Bagged and Bored, I say to you in the immortal words of Douglas Adams: DON'T PANIC.

When looking at this news you have to remember that Disney is an entertainment company, and they want to diversify their assests as much as possible, which is something Disney has been working on for a while.

Disney has long been targeting the 8-14 year old male demographic with some struggling success. I'm not going to turn this into an article about gender roles and identity but it boils down to the fact that if you're a little girl you like the Disney Princess lines and if you're a boy you like the Pirates franchise.

Disney has worked on exploiting these franchises as much as possible, hence the popular Pirate and Princess Party that Disney has been running annually.

This after hours event (for the price of a special event ticket) welcomes families into a party that spans Disney's Magic Kingdom Park that features (in addition to pirates and princess all across the park): a special night-time parade, a party exclusive fireworks show, as well as a special stage show in front of the Cinderella Castle.

And if you REALLY want to be prepared for the party (or just to make you special day even more special) you could take your little girl to the Bibbidi Bobbiddi Boutique in Downtown Disney, where for a price between $48 and $280 she can be made up to look like a princess.

After capitalizing on this, Disney began offering a similar experience near the Pirates of the Caribbean in the Magic Kingdom for boys (for the rate of $49-$125).

While buzz is building for Disney's newest action-adventure franchise, Prince of Persia, it's more recent ventures into the pre-teen male market have been lackluster (see: Race to Witch Mountain). And with no Pirates of the Carribean picture in the works right now Disney is in a tight spot. Cue the recent changing of the Toon Disney channel to Disney XD, a more action-adventure based network and you have further proof of Disney trying to capture that younger male market. Which brings us back to the Marvel deal...

Due to Marvel's runaway success at the box office, it's proven that it's franchises are viable in the market that they're looking at.

When looking at the sale of Marvel to Disney, it's relevant to bring up the 2006 deal in which the Mouse-house bought Pixar Studios. Since Disney aquired Pixar (which it bought outright for $7 Billion), Pixar has opperated as a seperate unit, that doesn't have to answer to Disney, but both benefit from the deal that's been set up. As Disney gets to release highly successful cgi films under their banner and Pixar get's a more distribution and marketing than they would on their own.

So fans worried that characters such as the Punisher may be shevled coming out of this have nothing to worry about. Bear in mind that in addition to ABC and ESPN, Disney owns studios such as Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax. Some notable movies from those houses?

The Sixth Sense, Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Dogma, and Kill Bill.

All far from what most would consider "Disney-fare". Disney won't care about the publishing side of the business and Marvel Comics will be left to flourish on it's own. Let's not forget that Marvel was once bought out by ANOTHER company when it was snatched up by Toy Biz in the 90's, and it did quite well for it's self after that. But Disney knows that Marvel will be a cash cow when it comes to it's feature presentations and licensing, which is where the real money is made.

Unfortunately Disney may have to wait on some of the licensing deals Marvel has in place right now to capitalize on what it wants. Right now Marvel has a deal in place with Universal Studios, letting their characters appear at the Islands of Adventure Park, meaning it might be a while before Spider-Man and crew show up at Disney World. Also all the Pixar, Muppets and the Mickey Mouse family of characters are licensed to comic publisher BOOM! Studios, so it may be a while before we see some comics featuring Disney characters come out under their Marvel imprint.

That was weird to say. But I see this being beneficial to both Disney and Marvel, much like the Pixar deal was. And with someone like John Lasseter, who cares about not only the company but more-so characters and story, working behind the scenes at Disney if he teams up with people at Marvel I think we're going to see a renaissance.

We're Back...

The Bagged and Bored Crew just finished the return journey from the FanExpo up in Toronto and to say it was a successful con-experience would be an understatement.

Look for day by day overviews and pictures from the convention over the next couple days, and make sure you tune into the exciting new episoe the Bagged and Bored Cast which will be hitting iTunes later this week!

Bagged and Bored Cast Episode 8

It's time again for that weekly dose of all things nerdy, now with an All-New, All-Different intro! Join Chris, Paul, John and Producer Scott this week as they discuss:

The Week in Geek - Todd Macfarlane's Spawn heads to the big screen again, sometime. The debut of the new season of Felica Day's The Guild, and the related Legend of Neil. Then we jump into big news out of BlizzCon, including the new World of Warcraft Expansion, Diablo III, and the WoW big screen movie.

The List - What books have us heading to the shop the week of September 2nd? Find out here.

The Main Topic - On the eve of the Bagged And Bored crews trek up to the Great White North, find out what the team does to prepare for comic conventions, what we look forward to when we're there, and some of our favorite stories from conventions past.

The Movie Fix - We jump into the wayback machine and remenisce about Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and discuss the recent live presentation from the MST3K crews newest venture www.rifftrax.com and their tearing apart of the B-movie classic: Plan 9 From Outer Space.

If you haven't already, there's no time like now to subscribe to the Bagged And Bored Cast on iTunes. Also, be sure to rate and review us at the iTunes store and follow us at http://twitter.com/BaggedandBored as well!

The List - 8/26/09

Man, for some reason posting this tonight has been a real hassle, here's the books I'm grabbing this week, attempt number four...

It's also a special edition of the list as right now I'm right there with Paul, in the fact that I need to drop some stuff. With the November Previews coming out this week, you can be sure the Lists within the upcoming months to be MUCH shorter :

BATMAN AND ROBIN #3 - "Batman Reborn" concludes the explosive reteaming of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, WE3, New X-Men)! Witness Batman and Robin's final showdown against Professor Pyg and the Circus of Strange! The future looks bright for the new Dynamic Duo as they prove themselves in battle, but lurking in the shadows is a mysterious red-hooded vigilante. Also, the origin of Scarlet! - I dig Grant Morrison, and I dig Frank Quitely just as much. This book defintitely see Morrison on his A-game. It's out there, but not too much. Also the stuff Quitely is pulling off in the panels is fantastic. I think at next years Harvey's we'll see Batman and Robin nominated all across the boards, much like All-Star Superman was this year.

BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #3 - Black Lantern Titans are descending together onto Titans Island! Will the Titans be prepared to fight off their deceased allies? And how can Beast Boy not lose his heart to Black Lantern Terra? - Here's where it gets tough. I've always like the Titans and Teen Titans, but the books have just left me feeling empty lately. I'm hoping for more from this Blackest Night tie-in though.

DETECTIVE COMICS #856 - "Elegy" part 3 of 4! Batwoman unites with an unlikely ally to momentarily defeat the fairytale villain known as Alice. But when Kate is forced to attend a high society event, she soon learns that her worlds are colliding as Alice's plans for Gotham's elite put Kate's father directly in harm's way. Plus, in the next part of The Question co-feature, writer Greg Rucka and artist Cully Hamner bring Renee's search for a missing girl to new depths when The Question is trapped inside a sinking car. Will her life and her leads end up at the bottom of the river? - Consistently one of the strongest books since the Batman: Reborn launch. Rucka and Williams blow it away every month, and while I like the Question co-feature, it's been leaving me wanting for the most part. I wish the Manhunter one was in this book. Then I'd be truly happy.

THE FLASH: REBIRTH #4 - Barry Allen left a legacy that thrived after his death. Now his return threatens it all. What secrets does Barry hold inside him about the fate of the Flash Family? What destiny awaits Wally and his twins? What murderous force targets Bart Allen? And what does it truly mean to be a speedster? - Here's the thing. I love the Flash, but I'm not overly hyped about this book like I was Green Lantern: Rebirth. Now I was at the begining, but now it's just kind of like "oh the Flash is coming out". It's going to be interesting to see where this goes and how it will impact my Flash ordering in the future, since there's a rumoured two Flash titles coming out of the conclusion to Rebirth.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #3- With their uneasy alliance in place, the sirens encounter trouble in the form of the mysteriously returned Bruce Wayne. He's dazzling, he's dangerous and he's got his sights set on Harley Quinn! Has romance sparked between these two long-time enemies – or is Wayne playing a more sinister game? - I like this book, I like the characters, I like the writer but I think I found one of the easiest titles to drop out of the Batman: Reborn books. I don't mean any slight to the book because I dig it, but in the scope of things I don't think it's a must read. Sorry Mr. Dini.

GREEN LANTERN #45 - BLACKEST NIGHT continues! The Black Lanterns descend on all the Corps throughout the universe! Sinestro's assault on the Star Sapphires' homeworld of Zamaron is interrupted by another Sinestro Corps – one made up of those who died during the Sinestro Corps War! And while the War of Light flickers, deep in the darkness of space, John Stewart comes face-to-face with his deceased wife – and longtime Green Lantern – Katma Tui. - Finally, a book I KNOW I'm not dropping or worried about. With Blackest Night firing on all cylinders, all the Green Lantern and Blackest Night books easily find their way to the top of the read pile.

TEEN TITANS #74 - The assault against the Teen Titans continues this issue as the team struggles to even the odds. Will they be defeated by a foe with superior leadership? And in the co-feature, Ravager is attacked in her arctic hideaway. Who wants her dead? That's what she wants to know… - This is kind of tough. I've been on board with Teen Titans since the Geoff Johns relaunch a few years ago, but sadly the book has benn floundering a lot lately. I'd hate to drop this now that Superboy and Kid Flash are back, because I want to see them turn up again. But I guess I can always pick it up again later.

COVER GIRLS OF THE DC UNIVERSE: ZATANNA - Seductive sorceress Zatanna Zatara casts a spell on the DC Universe as she becomes the second Adam Hughes Cover Girl to appear as a stunning statue. With a pose taken directly from the cover of CATWOMAN #58. - This is one thing I hate about using Previews to order my books. I ordered this statue MONTHS ago, and then of course I lose my job the week before it comes out and my money situation is tight. I guess it's time to tap into that $50 emergency credit I put down at the store a few months ago...

INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE - To commemorate the tragic events involving Atom Eve in recent issues of INVINCIBLE, Image is reprinting her acclaimed solo series for the first time ever. See Eve’s beginnings as she gets her powers and trains herself to the hero we all knew and loved. Don’t miss out a second time! - This is the OTHER thing I hate about ordering through Previews. I only read Invincible through trade, so I try to avoid any spoilers as this is a book I love reading in one sitting when ever the collections come out. So when it comes to ordering the new ones I HATE when they give something big away. Thanks Image.

RUNAWAYS #13 - It’s the end of the Runaways’ California dreamin’ as they attempt to make their escape from Klara’s chlorophyll lockup…only to be denied by heavily armed outside forces who are about to foreclose on the property in a big way! Chase finally tells the truth about a violent event in his past. And when the kids have no choice but to turn to Hunter Stein to find a way out of this mess, he reveals a Malibu Beach House secret they never would have guessed. But it’s not easy sailing because Chase is about to make a unilateral decision that looks a lot like...murder?! - Runaways has gotten MUCH better under the guiding hand of Kathryn Immonen, but the book is still missing the fun and danger it had under Brian K. Vaughan. It's tough, but this book may be on the chopping block eventually.