PTG Episode 39 is brought to you by Anime Festival Orlando 10, coming up this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 31st-Aug. 2nd at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. PTG will be there on Saturday morning to cover its first ever anime-themed event, and we’re looking to spread the word about the show while checking out some panels and getting an idea of what’s going on in the anime world. Hoping to run into Gary Holmes from Just Push Play, as he’s actively involved in the Swords of Orlandia role-playing game that has become a signature event at AFO, but Gary’s a busy guy and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he turned up later in the weekend. Anyway, should be good times for anime fans and cosplayers, so I’m looking forward to it!

Speaking of big events, just want to follow up on a few items relating to PTG 38 and the great job that James Wright, a.k.a. “Chuck Spear”, did for us reporting on his unique San Diego Comic-Con experience. During his report, he mentioned that he and some friends had gone to the show equipped with some custom-designed t-shirts that sounded very cool, so after obtaining his blessing I have those designs for you right here–check these out:

The images are linked to Geoffrey’s Comics Shop in Gardena, CA, who provided the shirts and is selling them … for now. There MIGHT be a licensing issue with using Marvel properties in this fashion, but until the cease and desist comes down, no reason why you can have a cool shirt, right? Right! Once again, many thanks to James–there’s a chance he’ll be attending Wonder Con in San Francisco this February, and he’s offered to represent PTG out there at that show, so you can look forward to more Chuck Spear bringing West Coast ‘flava’ to the show in the months to come!

You the Man, “Chuck”!

One last note: Don’t forget, PTG/SomaCow Karaoke Tweetup Part Deux is TOMORROW night at Colonial Lanes in Orlando, off SR 50 (Colonial Dr.) and Primrose Ave. If you’re local to Orlando and you’re a fan of Orlando podcasting in general (not just SomaCow!), come out and join us for a drink and some singing! It all starts at 11PM (though we’re likely to be there “warming up” (drinking) at closer to 10PM. Hope to see you!

Prime Time Geek Episode 25 is brought to you by Bad Apple Comics. Vote for Bad Apple Comics as “Best Comic Store” in this year’s Orlando Weekly “Best Of Orlando 2009″ poll by clicking HERE. They’ll be your best friend, and so will PTG. (Okay, so maybe not your BEST friend, but we’ll both like you a whole lot.)

Lots of time in this episode is spent talking comics – special guest co-host Matthew Ruele spent some time before (and during) the show getting caught up on Marvel’s meltdown of the Ultimates universe, Ultimatum, which could carry the alternate title of “So You Think That’s a Gruesome Death?” Later in the episode, Bad Apple Comics General Manager Shawn Schinault calls in to talk further about Ultimatum, as well as the amazingly well done Old Man Logan story in Wolverine, the aftermath of Batman: Battle for the Cowl, and the new Batman and Robin #1. Shawn gives some interesting insights on the reasoning behind Ultimatum’s brutality, Old Man Logan’s brilliance, Batman: BFTC’s blunders, and Batman and Robin’s bright future. If you’re over at the Bad Apple store on OBT and you need a recommendation on something great to read, you could a lot worse than to ask Shawn to recommend something for you. The man simply KNOWS what’s good in a comic book.

Truthfully, as Matthew pointed out, it is quite sad that so many of Marvel’s heroes in this world have fallen, if for no other reason that these often-brilliant new takes on classic characters were once celebrated as much-needed revitalizing energy for a company that needed a shot in the arm. As Ultimatum rumbles to its final, body-count raising conclusion next month, I can’t escape the growing perception that writer Jeph Loeb’s blood-soaked opus is growing into an exercise in seediness, something akin to Hostel-like torture porn, where we as readers get to see characters we’ve come to care about sacrificed on the altar of crossover-event sensationalism. It’s simply not possible for issue #5 to not kill half the remaining cast, because to do anything less would be a letdown in comparison to what’s come before. We’ve come this far, Jeph–why not simply blow up the entire Ultimates Earth and be done with it?

Hour 2 of Prime Time Geek Episode 19 is once again brought to you by a snarky Jimmy Kirk hitting on a hot-to-trot Uhura in the new Star Trek movie. Don’t miss tomorrow night’s LIVE broadcast of Episode 20, starting at 8PM EST, as I’ll be reviewing the new Trek film during Hour 1. So far, everyone I’ve talked to has loved it–it’s shaping up to be this summer’s Iron Man in terms of near-universal audience and critical appeal. Kudos to J.J. Abrams–there hasn’t been this much excitement about a Star Trek film since … well, actually, I don’t think there’s EVER been this much excitement and interest among casual moviegoers for a Trek film. Pretty amazing, indeed.

Will write more about this episode later, when I can see clearly–eyes dilated at the moment, makes blogging … challenging.

Once again, thanks to everyone who lent their time and their enthusiasm to the production of this video: first and foremost, Michael Poley of Night of the Nightwolf for handling camera operator and video editor duties; also my beautiful girlfriend Erica Hosmer for voluntarily taking on Production Assistant duties and taking great pictures of our travels; and to everyone who appears in the video: Brian Alvear of Comic Connection, Shawn Schinault of Bad Apple Comics, Aaron Holland of Coliseum of Comics, Aaron Haaland of A Comic Shop, and Todd Fisher of Acme Superstore, as well as everyone else at those locations who allowed us to shoot and be a part of their celebrations, thank you and I hope you enjoy the ‘final cut!’

Hour 1 of Prime Time Geek Episode 19 is brought to you by Free Comic Book Day. First carried out and coordinated by Diamond Comics Distributors back in 2002, FCBD has become THE day to get out to your local comic book store and geek out by grabbing free books from the publishers you love as well as ones to whom you may not have ever given a second thought. It’s the day you bring your camera to the store with you, because there’s bound to be a superhero making an appearance at some point during the day. But most of all, it’s a day for the comics industry to say ‘thank you’ to the fans who continue to buy books and get others hooked on comic books, and a day for fans to say to the world, “Hell yeah, we read comics, and you should, too!”

Cap, Boba Fett, and Snowtrooper over at Bad Apple Comics

Brian from Just Push Play with Superman at Coliseum of Comics

Aaron Haaland along with Deadpool, Black Costume Spidey, and The Flash wave to passersby over at A Comic Shop

These are just a few of the pictures we took while touring all of Orlando’s many comic book stores that Saturday–go check out the rest on our Flickr Photostream.

In Hour 1 we were graced with a surprise phone call from none other than ELROSS, the producer of SomaCow, during which he simply gushed over the fun he and his family had hitting stores and grabbing up free books. He managed to grab a few that we actually missed during our travels that he was very excited about, so check out that part of the podcast for Ross’s comic book recommendations. Turns out that Mickey from SomaCow was also out and about on FCBD–he was over at Sci-Fi City meeting Atomic Robo writer Brian Clevinger (who incidentally makes his home right here in Orlando and we hope to interview him on the air very soon!) and getting a signed copy of the FCBD edition of Atomic Robo from Red 5 Comics for me to review, so check back with us for that in the coming week. Other highlights of Hour 1 include a review of Marvel Comics’ Dark Avengers #4 and last week’s horror-show-of-a-new-Smallville episode, “Beast”, which quite honestly could have doubled as a ‘Felix is Fuming’ segment. Tell you this though: I’m not alone in my opinion of this episode and the ‘Chloe-go-stupidness’ that occurs. I felt quite validated earlier today when I came across THIS review of the episode over at Newsarama.

“What, no ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ review,” you ask? Check back tomorrow for Hour 2 of Episode 19 for that review and a whole lot more about Free Comic Book Day, right here at Prime Time Geek.

Yup, I’m a dumbass. (Note that when something GOOD happens here at PTG, it is written up in the blog with the ‘royal’ WE. But when something bad happens, it’s all on me. Thus it has been, thus it shall ever be.)

Many thank-yous to those who attended the live broadcast of PTG last Saturday night, and to Mad Mario for his great segment recommending great DLC for console systems that’s out there for purchase through NXE for XBOX players or Playstation Network for PS3 users. It was a great hour, and I lament that I can’t bring it to you downloaders because, well, because I didn’t hit the record button until the break between Hour 1 and Hour 2. Stop by the Prime Time Geek Message Board over at http://somacow.net/forum and feel free to make fun of me for the flub. Might just be the motivation I need to not make the same mental mistake again.

That said, Episode 15, Hour 2 of Prime Time Geek has MUCH for your listening pleasure as well. Our special guest on the phone, Shawn Schinault of Bad Apple Comics, had great things to say about the new Marvel MAX title “Destroyer”, written by Robert Kirkman (Marvel Zombies 1 & 2, Invincible, The Walking Dead) and illustrated by Cory Walker (Invincible), as well as a number of titles on his recommended reading shelf at the store, including trade paperback compilations of Marvel MAX’s Alias, Invincible Iron Man, Daredevil-Lady Bullseye, Pt. 1, and a few others that you’ll have to stop into the S. Orange Blossom Trail store to check out. Talking comics with Shawn was great fun and we hope to have him back on the show soon to provide more reviews and recommendations.

Speaking of the South Orange Blossom Trail store, the Car Meet co-sponsored by Lollicup to promote the new film Fast and Furious was a great success in terms of traffic to the store, so thanks to everyone who came out with their cars to be a part of the show. And a special thank you to everyone who took part in the video PTG shot while out there that day, particularly Mike Garcia, who earlier in the day took 1st Prize at the 25th Annual All British Car Show at Mead Gardens out in Winter Park. His MINI Cooper S is truly a delight to check out for car enthusiasts and gamers alike, considering the XBOX 360 system he’s got built into the trunk of the car! Keep checking back here at http://primetimegeek.com for the interview with Mike about his car, as well as all the other great footage we got from the day.

Hour 1 of Episode 14 begins with a drop from a movie we never get tired of here at PTG, John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, featuring Kurt Russell in perhaps his most memorable role, at least among cult classic fans, Jack Burton:

Jack: Not so fast there, gentlemen.
Lo Pan: Is it too much to ask, Thunder, kill him for me!
Jack: What’s that gonna solve, Dave? Too many people around here droppin’ like flies and where’s that gettin’ you? Nowhere, FAST. Ah, you know what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like this?
Thunder: Who?!
Jack: Jack Burton! ME!

The highlight of this hour is our interview with Luis Gutierrez, Marketing Director for Bad Apple Comics here in Orlando. Luis chats up Bad Apple’s subscription service, store locations, and upcoming events, including this weekend’s car meet in front of the South Orange Blossom Trail location to promote the new film “Fast and Furious.” We also get his thoughts on how Bad Apple works to stand apart in a market crowded with competition from other comic book stores, how he feels Bad Apple will adjust to the current economic downturn, and the vacation destination he looks forward to the most each year: DragonCon!

Also in this hour, thoughts on DC’s Justice League of America #31, featuring the fallout from the Final Crisis and New Krypton storylines as felt by the League itself, and a review of Smallville’s latest episode, “Hex”, which featured the debut in Smallville continuity of Zatanna Zatara, played by the gorgeous Serinda Swan, ALSO from Vancouver, BC. First, Kristin Kreuk (Vancouver), then Erica Durance (Calgary) and Laura Vandervoort (Toronto), and now Serinda Swan, all Canadians. Seriously, it may be time to move. In any case, enjoy, and stay tuned for Hour 2 being uploaded tomorrow night!

This is the first in a series of posts this week covering the happenings at MegaCon 2009 this year. It was a exhausting but truly enjoyable three days, and posting these pics is just one way I can show the pleasure and appreciation I felt while meeting some terrific people and spending a little time talking to them on camera. In particular, I want to thank (and this is in no particular order) Jim from Barbarian Battles, Todd from the Greater Orlando Lego Users Group, Brad and Doug from the R2 Builders group; Terry Cronin, J. Chris Campbell, and Kimberly O’Keefe from Students of the Unusual, the ever-awesome Margie and Ned from Heroes Alliance (Starfire and Flash in the photos); Ana Aesthetic, this year’s Fanbabe of the Year on MySpace; Kitty, Eve, and Nova from Team Fanbabe; and (unfortunately not pictured) Moshi, Buddhaful, and the ‘Alien Interloper’ from the Wolfpack Elite; and Luis and Shawn from Bad Apple Comics!

Thumbnails for the pictures are located in the Flickr Photostream in the far-right sidebar on this page – just click on any thumbnail and it will take you to the album. Enjoy! And come back later today for:

-COMPLETE audio from the DC Universe panel at MegaCon this past Saturday;
-Hour 1 of last night’s Prime Time Geek live broadcast, featuring recorded interviews with MegaCon Guest of Honor George Perez and longtime DC Comics writer and artist Dan Jurgens!