Before you spend the next hour of your life listening to three dudes talk about professional wrestling you should go back and listen to Matt's first appearance from episode 151. Click here to do that. 

Done?

Fantastic.

Now you get to do it again! Despite still not knowing hardly anything about the current state of professional wrestling these episodes are quickly turning into some of my favorite ones we've ever produced. It's just fun. I used to shit on anyone over the age of 17 who was into wrestling and I'm quickly realizing how much of a douche I was for all those years. I spend hundreds of dollars every year on paper books full of people in spandex fighting bad guys. Really it's not much different only in wrestling it's real people putting their real bodies on the line on a weekly basis in front of thousands of real screaming people.

Anyway, join us this week as Matt updates us on all things wrestling both professional and independent. Be sure to stick around to the end to hear a really rad story about a legend taking someone to school. You won't want to miss this one.

-Jr.

Our annual trip to The Steampunk World's Fair is but a week away. If you're new to the show you'll quickly realize this is one of the key events of the year for us...probably in the Top 3.

Don't believe me?

You'll find some evidence here when we interviewed Nicole of The Devil's Darkroom. Or here when we had a quick chat with Jeff Mach himself (the man who runs the event).

Still not sold?

Hopefully this week's episode will fix that problem. Our guest is none other than Babette Daniels aka Babs Who Takes Pictures. She's the official photographer of The Steampunk World's Fair and is the woman responsible for taking some of the most captivating steampunk photos you'll ever see. (Like this. Look at that guy. He's just a big ball of fantastic. He's also Brett Kelley so I'm kind of biased.)

Click here to take a look at some of Babs' work and click here to check out her Facebook page. Also, if you plan on attending SPWF 2015 you'll be able to see Babs during her panel or you can even schedule some time with her to do a personal photo shoot. Don't delay! Time is running out!

Hopefully we'll see you all in Jersey next weekend.

-Jr.

I mean...does it get any better? I can't think of many things that make me happier than the concept of free comic books. Never heard of FCBD, you say? Well good news: Jon joined us this week to help us educate you on some Do's and Don'ts of this yearly celebration.

I still remember my first Free Comic Book Day like it was yesterday...From the outside my local shop looked like it did on any other business day. But when I entered I was greeted by words like "free" and "comics"...both in the same sentence! Free comics? Comics that cost $0? What joy! There must be a catch...this must be too good to be true. But no! I was directed to a special display full of a variety of comics...all free...and was told I could have one of each. You know that phrase "Kid in a candy shop"? Yeah. Imagine that only it's a Twenty-something year old with little to no dignity when it comes to discounted comic merch. A short while later (after browsing the discounted trade section) I emerged from the shop with an armful of merch ready to spend the rest of my day diving into worlds both new and familiar. And it was glorious.

If you're not sure your local comic shop is participating you can go here to find out or to find other local retailers that might be willing to give you some free stuff, too. It's fun. It's free. Go support a local business on a (hopefully) beautiful Saturday afternoon.

-Jr.

Ever wonder what it's like to hear 3 grown-ups talk about Daredevil for an hour and a half?

Today is your lucky day.

Oh, it gets pretty spoilery right away. If you don't want anything ruined it's best to watch all 13 episodes of Daredevil first.

-Jr.

Our guest this week is the man responsible for putting on one of the greatest events I've ever attended: The one and only Jeff Mach.

For those that might not know; Jeff and his company Jeff Mach Events are the people behind gatherings such as The Steampunk World's Fair, Wicked Faire, Voltaire's Necrocomiccon and many more. Seriously. The amout of events JME runs per year is nothing short of mind blowing.

You'd think someone with that amout of pressure to consistently raise the bar when it comes to running events would have to be one hard bastard...but it's quite the contrary. Jeff is a soft spoken, humble person who just wants to give people a place to be entertained and have a good time. And as a three-time veteran of various JME shows I can say without a doubt that they pull it off beautifully.

I owe Jeff and his crew a huge thanks not only for running great shows but for introducing me to so many new things like:

• Frenchy & The Punk
• The Folks Below/HUMANWINE
• Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band
• Nicole and The Devil's Darkoom
• Professor Mark P. Donnelly
• Super Art Fight

Just to name a few. Seriously. If you're ever in the New York/New Jersey area and you hear of a JME show coming to town...check it out. The worst that can happen is you'll see a gigantic robot or two standing guard as people engage in parasol duels.

-Jr.

The last time I had been to Anime Boston I was in an entirely different time in my life. It was 2005, and I was a lowly high school student. At that point, I was obsessed with anime and all things Japanese. Endlessly watching shows and picking up manga at the nearest Barnes & Noble. When I had gone then, it was with my closest group of friends. And we had all cosplayed for the occasion. We were obsessed from the get-go. Seeing waves of characters we had loved being cosplayed and coming up to us and the photo shoots and the merchandise and the panels and events and celebrities - all of it was overwhelming in the most perfect sense of the word. Now it's years later. I see only half of that group of friends, and even them sporadically. But when I made my triumphant return to Anime Boston, I was immediately brought back to that time. I was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. And though I wasn't with my best friends, it certainly felt like I was coming home after a long respite.

I hope to make it back to that beautiful chaos again next year. This time with a new batch of friends. And we can laugh and wax poetic over Gundams and Zoids until we all collapse under pocky and wall scrolls.

Yosh - Colin

Disclaimer: Before listening to this episode you should probably watch the trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road.

Click *here* to take care of that.

If you're concerned that we talked about Mad Max: Fury Road for an hour I wouldn't blame you. No worries, though, as we actually managed to talk about other things this week in addition to Mad Max: Fury Road. Some of the things were even somewhat serious with facts and opinions supporting them. We did eventually talk about Mad Max: Fury Road, though. So if you're just tuning in to hear us discuss Mad Max: Fury Road you might want to skip to about 40 minutes in. The Mad Max: Fury Road good-ness is ready and waiting for you.

-Jr.

I think there have been a total of three times where I've gone to my local comic shop on new comic book day and walked out empty handed. I read enough different stories that on any given week I'll usually walk out with 3-7 solid books.....last week, however, was one of those rare and horrible times.

After greeting my comic provider with a chipper "...hey man" I walked over to my pull file to find a few books eager for me to purchase them. Sadly, both books that had been set aside for me were stories that I'd recently dropped yet it had slipped my mind to actually remove them from my pull list. "No worries" I thought. There will be a few random titles waiting for me on the new racks.

Alas. This was not the case.

The racks provided only disappointment. Every "New This Week" sign was displaying titles I don't read, don't recognize, or don't like. With depression beginning to set in I turned to the trade racks in hopes that I'd find something to hold me over for at least a few days. It only took but a minute...but I soon found the perfect one: 

Where do I start with this? This book is just. Friggin'. Awesome.

Most people already know the premise and whenever I try to pitch the book to someone I always get the same response: "Oh yeah that's where they like bang and stop time or whatever." And they're not wrong. But they kinda are...because there's so much more to the book than that. It's like if you were trying to describe Batman and stopped at "He's a rich kid with dead parents" without ever mentioning him dressing up like a bat.

Yeah the book is full of sex and sex jokes and sex innuendo and sexual imagery (making it perfect for someone with a juvenile sense of humor like myself) but it's also about love and being a fucked up person dealing with being in love. What really impresses me is how well the book transitions back and forth between a serious story of two people dealing with crippling dilemmas and dick jokes. If you asked me the balance is perfect. The issues the main characters face are problems that most of us can relate to: financial stress, hating the workplace, etc. So when you're reading Sex Criminals you might start to feel a bit of anxiety when the book hits close to home then *bam*

While I realize this book might not be everyone's cup of tea I urge you to at least give it a shot. Matt Fraction has proven time and again he knows how to write a good story and Chip Zdarsky provides spectacular visuals on the page. Together they've created one hell of a book and now they have the Eisner and Harvey awards to prove it (Along with a shining review from yours truly).

-Jr.

 The pilot episode for Powers was released for free to entice audiences to watch the rest of the series. It popped up on my youtube, which isn't a bad medium to put out free content but I was having some lag as it was loading the entire 52 minute episode. I stopped it 3 minutes in to go watch it on Playstation3, as it being a Playstation exclusive series you would think it would show up on the first page once signed into PSN or be really easy to access. Nope. I had to work through at least 6 menu screens to get to the free pilot.  Since I hadn't really looked into the shows timeline or anything about it other than a couple characters I put no thought towards if it was going to completely free or if I'd have to buy episodes. That was a learning experience. I had assumed "I own playstation, I get free Powers show." But I'm naive and haven't bought seasons of shows online before from say iTunes or Amazon.    

 If I remember correctly Powers will be free for Playstation Plus members, the rest of us have a choice between buying the season in HD or SD, which I think were $24.99 and $17.99. This info is nowhere to be found until you get to the fourth menu screen where you can pay for the season. It's like a fun surprise Playstation is keeping secret because they're much more encouraging about getting you to buy a Plus membership.

  The show itself has high points and low points. I've read all the Powers tpbs, albeit some were a long time ago, so I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any expectations. There were some switches made between the comic and show that seem questionable. Detective Christian Walker used to be a super hero, but he lost his powers. In the comics this is kept a secret to the general public. Walker doesn't want everyone to know who he was, because he's not him anymore. The show has Mario Lopez explaining the whole background on a Entertainment News-esq tabloid show in the first 10 minutes. This means anyone who pays attention recognizes Walker and says "Hey, you used to be Diamond!" This happens often enough where it becomes filler and we get less actual show. The book focused on the detective work of cops dealing with people that have Powers, the show is focusing on not as much detectiving and more strained interactions. It's no longer a secret that we the audience can share with only a couple characters on the show. With it being different it will add a new dynamic that Powers fans haven't already read about, hopefully making the show interesting and not as predictable. Some lines and quotes were leaked or released as examples and taken out of context made Christian seem like a huge d-bag. Watching those lines in the show made more sense and even made me nod with a sense of 'yea... ok.'  Comicbook Walker is practically a boyscout good guy, it's his partner Deena Pilgram that breaks rules, has a filthy mouth and ignore authority to get the job done. TV Deena seems more calm and .... nice?

  The super people costumes have been more misses than hits. Diamonds costume is cool. Retro Girl has a variety of outfits, with a red bodysuit looking like the primary. A plain red bodysuit, with accents on the shins and forearms, but others it's the Britney Spears red squeaky suit. It looks boring, is not very heroic and is not recognizable as Retro Girl by any means. We do see her in an outfit for a brief moment that does reflect the classic Retro Girl, but it doesn't seem like it'll be the norm. I would have preferred blonde to a brunette though, it pretty much defines what Retro Girl is. 

  I also HATE Triphammer's outfit. God damn it looks like shit. To go from a guy with full body machine armor such as Iron Man or his enemy Crimson Dynamo and end up with putting sledgehammers on his fists and wearing a marching band jacket? Was there no research done on this design? "Oh Triphammer eh? Lets put actual hammers on him I guess?" Triphammer isn't a regular character in the comic, he shows up maybe once every 10 issues? But he's cool and relevant when he does show up, so when you turn the page and there he is you say "Oh shit! Fuck yea! It's Triphammer!" TV him looks like garbage.

  The special FX used for Powers isn't the best. It's probably fair for the budget, it's not seamless like in Avengers, but it's better than a Sci-Fi channel movie of the week. I'd rank it around the better episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eyes glow, people flying, Johnny Royale's teleporting isn't bad. I got a kick out of Simons, a Multiple Man type character.

  I didn't expect the storyline to follow the comics exactly, and it hasn't but it's maintaining the right elements. It's not worth nitpicking the entire plot because it's something new made from something established. Walking Dead hasn't had too many problems with differences and altering a few things here and there.

  Will I be buying the season? Yes. It's projected to run 10 more episodes. Yes, it says "projected" or "planned" on the Playstation Store. Even if I hadn't read the series already this was enough to intrigue me and want to see what more they were going to do with it. If you like Agents of SHIELD but it doesn't have enough swears or violence for you, then Powers is on par for your appetite. Remember the pilot is free to check out if you're interested.

-Alex

All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Hey folks,

We had so much to say about PAX we ended up splitting it into two episodes. Sadly I couldn't upload both episodes at the same time so a second post is necessary.

Anywho.

We hope you enjoyed the first part and with any luck you'll be chomping at the bit for part two.

Don't forget to check out our photo album and while you're at it give us a follow on the Twitter and maybe even a subscribe on YouTube. That would be pretty awesome. Until then, enjoy the OMV specPAXular wrap-up!

-Jr.