I've spent almost the entirety of my day working on a campaign for an upcoming D&D game which is extremely fitting given the episode we have for you this week.

You see, I've done little to hide my admiration for everyone over at Penny Arcade. I've mentioned that website in some way, shape or form dozens of times during our tenure not to mention the three years of PAX that I can't seem to shut up about. To put it bluntly: They just do neat shit.

An example of their neat shit: How about playing D&D in front of thousands of people multiple times a year? How about expanding that game into a 12 part mini-series on YouTube that was concluded in front of a packed symphony hall and streamed in movie theaters across the country? Not quite enough? How about we add guest stars like Wil Wheaton, Morgan Webb, and Patrick Rothfuss and games that are run by Chris Perkins himself. I mean come on.

That's some neat shit.

At the end of the day shit like that doesn't just come together on its own. Someone has to plan, organize, and execute months in advance so we can all sit down and watch five people play Dungeons & Dragons for 3 hours. The man behind the curtain....the unsung hero goes by the name of Jeff Kalles. He's the Senior Sales Manager at Penny Arcade but as you'll hear during our chat that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all that he does.

Mere days after putting on quite possibly the largest live D&D show ever Jeff was kind enough to Skype in so we could learn about everything that goes into the role playing phenomenon that is Acquisitions Incorporated.

And good lord was it some neat shit.

-Jr.

Watching the live feed from PAX West is really killing any productivity I had when I began uploading this episode...

BUT WE BACK. AND WE GOT AN EPISODE FOR YOU.

This week we're joined by fellow steampunkers/hobbyists/all around awesome people Katie and Brendan of Redfield Designs. Some of our listeners may find that name sounds familiar....that's probably because it's been mentioned on our show pretty much every time we talk about The Steampunk World's Fair or other related events. You may have even seen the fabulous Brett Kelley rocking his custom made Redfield Design three piece suit. (It's the one that almost made you pass out because he looked so damn good in it)

They're also both members of the infamous Red Fork Empire. Remember when we talked with The Emperor a few months back? No? Go ahead and have a listen. We'll be here when you get back.

Join us this week for some chatter about enormous space marines, my struggles with sewing machines, and the Oscar count for Mad Max: Fury Road.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Way back....like wayyyyy back when OMV was in its infancy we tried to be the news podcast that would cover movies/comics/video games. We'd scour the internet looking for the latest headlines and stories to offer our opinions on and while that format didn't last very long (thankfully) one of the sites that we'd always rely on was the one called Topless Robot.

Even before we started doing the show Alex would frequently hit me up with links and articles he figured I would find interesting. In a sea of "geek blogs" re-posting all of the same stories with the same press releases Topless Robot was a breath of fresh air that wasn't just the standard "BREAKING: SOMETHING HAPPENED. MORE DETAILS TO COME". It was more "Hey. This happened. Here's an opinion on it that's both humorous and informative."

There was also fan fiction. And not really the kind of fan fiction you'd expect...or maybe it was the exact kind of fan fiction you'd expect....either way just listen to the episode and all will be explained.

Founded by Rob Bricken in 2007-2008, Topless Robot was his baby until 2012 when he took a gig at the insanely popular site io9 and since then he has moved up to the role of Editor. With a monthly readership in the millions....it sounds like it's equal parts terrifying and amazing. I mean..I get excited when our episodes hit triple digits...I can't even begin to imagine hitting seven of them. All the time. And getting paid actual money to do it.

Sadly if you were to visit www.toplessrobot.com right now you'd find that under the new management it got a bit of a facelift and hasn't had new content posted since December of last year. Bummer. Luckily Rob is still cranking out material over at io9 for us to enjoy and the Topless Robot archives are still intact for those looking to re-live some old geek nostalgia.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Hey all,

Just Alex and me this week telling tales of our trip to Boston last weekend for the 2016 Boston Comic Con. We only went for one day but we somehow managed to fill an entire episode with just the two of us...I can't really tell if that's a good or bad thing...for now I'll say it's good and start arguments with anyone who disagrees with me. That's the right way to do it, yeah?

Anyways. We've been talking about BCC a lot these days. So to some this might bring a bit of closure to our weeks of anticipatory statements.

Also. MAN was it hot last weekend or what?

-Jr.

UPDATE: It was brought to our attention by Bob and members of the Boston Comic Con Staff that some of Bob's comments were deemed inappropriate and we were asked to remove them after the episode was posted.

It's no secret that we're huge fans of the Boston Comic Con. We've long touted that it's one of the best shows around for people who like comic books and the artists/writers that create them. I guess after 6 years of attending, 3 years of tabling and hours upon hours of recap episodes it was only fitting that we get someone who actually helps make the show happen on our humble podcast.

And it finally happened because Bob Shaw has made his much anticipated OMV debut. Join us this week as we do our best to hype the upcoming BCC and list a bunch of names that might intrigue you. Honestly most of the episode consists of three comic book nerds talking about some of their favorite artists who might be in the city of Boston next week. How could you possibly miss out on that?

Oh by the way...not only does he work for one of the best comic book conventions on the East Coast but Bob is also an art representative for some of the industries top names. Wanna buy some art? Check out his site.

See you in Boston!

-Jr.

The Boston Comic Con is literally 2 weeks away. Literally. We'll be there on Friday as good 'ol regular attendees spending too much money and gushing over our favorite artists. It'll be a good time.

You know what else is a good time? Chatting with the artist who was tabling next to us last year. We kind of have a small habit of doing this. Remember Dave? Well we're doing it again with our pal Ed Yancey. Ed is an artist based out of New York who like us is fueled by self-deprecation but unlike us he is full of talent. Pretty simple. Check out this week's episode to hear us chat with him about what it's like to be Ed Yancey and also to hear Jr. relive some horrible middle school art class memories. It's great.

Also, if you're interested in checking out Ed's artwork you should probably click HERE. 

-Jr.

Alex and Colin are really tired of me using the phrase "hot takes". In one night they went from having never heard it used before, to understanding its definition, to absolutely hating it....and me. Someone give me a count of how many times I say "hot takes" during this episode and I'll give you a shout-out next week. Because you'll have earned it. Cuz I say it a lot.

So we saw Star Trek: Beyond last night and immediately hit the studio to record some initial thoughts and reactions with minimal prep time...aka WE RECORDED SOME HOT TAKES. And it was good. Colin was gracious enough to join us via telephone that straight up sounded like an ESPN Radio interview. And while we try not to have the same person on two weeks in a row this one just kind of fell into our laps and we couldn't risk losing these hot takes.

We'll probably have someone other than Colin on next week. Probably. Maybe.

A quick warning of some mild spoilers this week. We tried to keep it to a minimum but some important stuff fell out of our mouths a couple times. Those hot takes man. Just too hot.

-Jr.

As I sit here staring at my phone cursing the Pokemon Go error screen I have a little time for some reflection. See, I'm a bit nervous this week as it's time for our yearly coverage of our favorite local show ConnectiCon and I'm scared that after 4 years of coverage we're just going to sound like broken records and repeat the same stuff we said last year...or the year before.

Then I remember that in 4 years of attending ConnectiCon I've literally never had the same overall experience twice. It's one of those shows that might stay in the same place, keep the same name and feature some of the same acts but it always has this incredible ability to show you something new. Super Art Fight? Rad. Love those guys and gals.  Super Art Fight with Cyanide & Happiness competing against them? A dream come true that I haven't even dreamed yet. (It was amazing. I'd show you the pictures but I can't because they don't exist. Shoulda been there!)

You'll remember wayyy back in our first year I wasn't too blown away with what ConnectiCon had to offer. That's because I was an idiot and I was comparing it to every other convention I'd ever been to and expected it to be exactly the same. That's the brilliance of the show, though. It's literally NOTHING like any convention we attend throughout the year and Alex has pointed out in the past that if you go in without a plan or just expect the show to present itself for you...you might leave disappointed. But I said it last year and I'll say it again: Take your time. Do some research and find something that interests you.

Overall I found that past years definitely left me more satisfied but as I point out in the episode...it's through no fault of ConnectiCon. I'm just greedy and I wanted more. More time, more money, more pictures. I was borderline insatiable and just wanted to consume the show in it's entirety (Side Note: That's the creepiest yet most accurate thing I've ever written). But sadly time is a finite bastard and eventually the show had to end....and we had to record some thoughts about it.

So join us and Colin this week as we recap our favorite backyard show that is ConnectiCon.

Oh, and check out our photos, too. CLICK HERE for that.

-Jr.

A long, long, long, long, long time ago we took a shot at having this guy Charlie on our show. He was the creator of a website that was devoted to the collection of sketch pricing from various artists at conventions. While there's no exact science to sketching and pricing literally varies from con to con; it was an amazing tool for giving you an idea of how much you might anticipate spending on one of your favorite artists.

As it turns out this guy Charlie is rad as hell and is now one of the show's closest friends.

Unlike OMV, Sketch Prices is ever evolving and Charlie and his crew are constantly looking for new ways to improve their product. They just recently launched the open group on Facebook so anyone can join in and contribute/admire as they please. Click HERE to check it out.

This week's jam also brings us our review of the MASSive Comic Con from a few weeks ago up in Worcester, MA. You might remember Alex and Brett visiting the show last year. This time it was Alex and I working our usual OMV magic aka "trying not to spend too much money". Check out the episode for the full recap.

One last thing: ConnectiCon is literally happening right now. We're going to be there soon so make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all of the inevitable updates.

Peace

-Jr.

ConnectiCon is but a week away and over the past couple of years it has really solidified its place near the top of my "Dude I'm pumped for this show" list. It took a few years to grow on me and way back in 2013 I remember thinking it was a one day show at best.

That has changed.

See, I know what ConnectiCon is now. And I know what kind of show it brings to the table. I also know that our friends from Super Art Fight have been there every year since we started going...and they're going to continue that tradition next week. So what better way to celebrate than to have two of the guys who make the whole thing possible on our show so we can gush about how much we dig them and their production for well over an hour.

Shameless and damn proud of it. Besides, it's been WAY too long since we last talked to them and that was a problem that needed fixing right away.

For more info on the beautiful insanity that is Super Art Fight click HERE. Check out their schedule, find a show near you or check out their podcast if you can't make it out. You can trust us when we say it'll be worth your time.

-Jr.