Watch The Cast Of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. As They Interview With…Michael Symon?

Damn it, Marvel/Disney/ABC – stop mixing my chocolate with my sriracha.

Last night, ABC unveiled a six minute promo clip that featured interviews with Gregg Clark, Ming-na Wen, and other members of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. by none other than celebrity chef, Michael Symon. Symon, when not appearing on Iron Chef America or actually running his restaurants, apparently also hosts the ABC daytime talk show, The Chew. I’d like to say that program is like The View and Rachel Ray had a mutant waterhead baby, but it is day time programming and I have a job. Either way, having Symon, of all people, interview this cast is about as appropriate as having Chris Cosentino write a Woverine comic; it gets the job done, but mostly just leaves you shaking your head and asking why.

Mercifully, the promo is fairly on point and gives the viewers a good glimpse into the upcoming show with only a minor veer off into Symon’s Joker impersonation oddball laughing fits. Sadly though, no Lola. Watch after the jump.

New Sneak Peek Of AMC’s The Walking Dead

If you are as irritated as I am that Robert Kirkman’s comic book, The Walking Dead, has been moving at a snail’s pace over the Big Bad Negan arc and long for Rick to man up and finally put that fucker down and let the characters and the readers get on with their lives then, well, I can’t help you. However, you may rejoice in a couple of things:

1. In the last issue, Andrea stepped up and reminded readers why the version of her in the comic book is a far more superior, kick ass lady than viewers that have been only watching the TV show will ever know. I really wish this version is the one that folks watching the show could have gotten to know and I’m hoping she does something awful to Negan in the next issue or so.

2. In the TV version of The Walking Dead, Andrea died. So, we won’t have to put up with her mewling, weak ass, suck-up-to-anyone-who-looks-like-they-might-have-an-iota-of-power shit anymore.

3. The TV version did keep Michonne, introduced this past season, just as bad ass as she is in the comic book and she’s back next season. And next season starts soon. Very soon. Yay!

Check out a sneak peek of Michonne in action, after the jump.

Brain Bleach: Kenneth Rocafort Ruins Lobo

Take a good long look at the picture of the Main Man, Lobo, over there to the left. Drink it in, because the artist who teamed up with Scott Lobdell to help ruin the launch of Red Hood And The Outlaws in DC’s new 52 is at it again. Cheesecake master extraordinaire Kenneth Rocafort has redesigned indestructible space antihero Lobo for Marguerite Bennett’s take on the character in upcoming Justice League #23.2: Lobo. Gone will be the over muscled, heavy metal biker look that has been the character’s hallmark for decades. Instead, Rocafort will be giving us an athletic-looking, sanitized Lobo with the vapid features of a plastic surgery victim. Indeed, Lobo seems to be getting the full PG-13 makeover, as was similarly inflicted on John Constantine with the demise of Hellblazer. Huzzah for mediocrity! Check it out, after the jump.

DC Nation Cartoon Shorts – Shade The Changing Man

While I am beginning to warm up to Beware The Batman – its storylines are interesting, but I still haven’t bought into the oddly designed CGI animation – and I will simply never come around on Teen Titans Go!, I find that the best parts of the DC Nation cartoon block are the animated shorts. Recently, DC Nation has been uploading many of these shorts, including the three part 70s styled Wonder Woman piece that recently aired on Cartoon Network. One piece that hasn’t made it onto the DC site yet, but according to Bleeding Cool, has found its way onto the DC Nation YouTube Channel is this cool short of Shade The Changing Man. It’s another stylized piece, but the psychedelic overtones fit nicely with the idea of a character who fights against the constant tide of madness (per Peter Milligan’s interpretation of him for Vertigo). Enjoy!

DC Nation shorts air every Saturday morning as part of the DC Nation programming block on Cartoon Network.

What Can We Expect From Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who (Video)

YouTube user Peter Nottage has posted an excellent mash up of Peter Capaldi’s foul mouthed Malcolm Tucker of The Thick Of It appearing to negotiate his way across the the Doctor Who universe with companion Clara in tow. While it is highly unlikely that Stephen Moffat would actually write The Doctor in this manner, I think it would be a welcome change from having The Doctor babble on about that which is “wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff” for fuck’s sake.

And, for those of you who continue to prefer lighter DW fare, in the vein of fish fingers and custard, I have something for you after the jump.

Hooked On A Feeling: Guardians Of The Galaxy Footage Leaked

Hey, folks. Footage of Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy movie has leaked online. Curious about what it might look like before the studio sends out the inevitable take down notice? Check it out after the jump, along with first images from the movie set.

Home Office Team Travel Day: Check Out Game Launch Rock

The Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office is currently in transist through the hinterlands of deepest, darkest Florida. While we make our journey back to what we hope will be air conditioned,  beer heavy climes, please enjoy this School House Rock inspired video that warns of the dangers of buying a new gaming console at launch.

Meantime, pray for us.

Via The Mary Sue

My Umpteenth Comic Con – A Boston Comic Con Report From A Jaded Convention Veteran

This was taken at 9:45am, when the line to get in was only curling around one side of the building.

Rob and I attended this year’s Boston Comic Con last weekend. We were pleased to have Pixiestyx and Trebuchet accompany us and not just because Trebuchet offered to drive on Saturday. It’s exciting to see a convention through the eyes of someone who hasn’t been to one before. And while we didn’t get to every creator or panel we had originally intended, a good time was generally had by all.

Rob and I have been attending San Diego Comic-Con for the past several years. It would be very easy to turn this post into a comparative study of Boston versus San Diego, but it wouldn’t be particularly fair. San Diego is the mega prom of all geekdom. Really, it is several conventions for fans of all stripes all crammed under one roof. You like movies? Go pack some Depends and hang out in Hall H. Like TV? Please direct yourself to Ballroom 20. Cosplay enthusiast? Action figure collector? Gamer? We’ve got panels for you, too. Oh, and there’s still programming for those who come because they love comic books. But, San Diego has taken on such a life of its own that it’s almost more like SXSW now. Alternative programming, such as Wootstock, Geek And Sundry, and Trickster, has spilled out into venues around Gaslamp and the surrounding neighborhoods. The number of options is mind boggling and, at times, overwhelming.

Boston Comic Con was a refreshing return to what a comics convention is supposed to be about: comics.

Doctor Who News – Peter Capaldi Is The 12th Doctor

Yesterday, the BBC announced that Peter Capaldi will be the next Doctor in Doctor Who. Capaldi is probably best known for his work as Malcolm Tucker on The Thick Of It. He also was most recently seen on the big screen in World War Z as W.H.O. Doctor (ha!).

Capaldi’s casting is a departure from the recent trend of casting much younger actors to the role of The Doctor in order to court the demographic. Indeed Capaldi is 55, the same age as William Hartnell when he was cast as the very first Doctor back in 1963. Reportedly, Capaldi was the only person show runner Steven Moffat was interested in for the role. As of the Doctor Who panel back at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, Moffat had said that there had been no casting decisions made with regard to the 12th Doctor. Nice to see Moffat continue his streak of being upfront and transparent with the show’s fans.

Check out the video of Peter Capaldi’s introduction to Doctor Who fans from the BBC television special that aired yesterday, after the jump.

They Call Him: Barry, Barry, Barry – CW Announces The Flash As Arrow Spin Off

The CW, buoyed by the success of last fall’s DC television superhero foray, Arrow, is taking steps to expand into other DC properties, beginning with the introduction of Barry Allen in episodes 8, 9 and 20, according to the series executive producer, Greg Berlanti, in the New York Daily News. Barry Allen, better known to comics fandom as The Flash, will initially demonstrate no power set in his debut within the CW’s slowly evolving DC TV universe, however, says Berlanti, “He does need powers to become The Flash. And he will be The Flash. He will wear a red costume, and he will go by that name.” If his introduction is successful, then he will be spun off into his own series.

The movie of The Flash pitched during this past Comic-Con is still a “go” for 2016, with Berlanti credited for both director and as one of the writers of the screenplay. Meanwhile, Amazon, a proposed Wonder Woman origin story that would have focused on a younger Diana, in the same vein as the younger Clark Kent in the 10 season Smallville, is “on pause”, according to CW President Mark Pedowitz in remarks made during the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour yesterday. “It’s better to wait and get it right than put it on now.”

Better to wait and get it right for Amazon, but the CW is going to fast track a Flash TV show as an Arrow spin off after introducing the character over just three episodes?

Let’s take a look at how well The Flash fared the last time they tried this back in 1990.