AEG Giving away free Thunderstone promos!

If you haven't played Thunderstone yet, you need to.  You can find our review here.  Everything about AEG's handling of the game and its expansions has been perfect, from the awesome storage option provided by the first expansion box to the free (ish) Dwarf hero promo card distributed through Boardgamegeek.com.  Now, they are offering a cool promo set which includes a full play-set of eight different cards!  That is going above and beyond as far as fan service goes, and good on 'em for it.  Apparently, not many of the 4000 sets they printed are left, so get over there soon.  But, catch this, AEG has already decided to keep taking orders for the free cards and to order a new  printing as soon as they have enough orders.  Thunderstone is currently the only AEG game I have in my collection, but given the way they treat their customers, I think I'll be adding a game or two of theirs to the next NB game order.

Roses, Chocolates, a Candlelit Dinner...and possibly a stabbing

When I logged in to work on Nerdblogger's tonight, the following were the center two items on Yahoo's US News Ticker.

We can only hope that it didn't put any ideas into anyone's head.

Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead Ready to Take a Bite Out of Prime Time

I’m probably not the best blogger in the world, especially for a geek.  I’m mean, blogging is all about sorting through tons of info, commenting on info, or adding to it.  That equals lots and lots of time dashing up, down, across, and through the information super-highway.  Yeah, I don’t do that.  I spend my time on the net, but lots more away from it.  When I get breaking info of the geekish or nerdy variety, I usually get it from my friendly local comic/gaming store.  Call me old fashion, but I like interacting with people I can see while leaning on a counter or perusing shelves of books or boxes of comics.  Just can’t do that online.  That is why, no doubt, that when I do find out something, it’s usually a few weeks or months old.  Sometimes years.

What, you well ask yourself, does that have to do with The Walking Dead and television?

Not a lot really.  But it was at my favorite comic shop (big shout out to Brian over at Cavalier Comics in Wise, VA – Hoody Hoo!) where I got the scoop.  Scoop, of course, being a relative term for me, but it has only been a few weeks since the announcement.  Okay, hold on to your hats lovers of the undead: AMC has given the green light for a pilot episode of The Walking Dead.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, The Walking Dead is one of the greatest things to come along since zombies started hanging out in shopping malls.  The main story follows the trials and tribulations of a police officer’s trek from small town Kentucky,  down to Georgia, and as of now, up to D.C.  Family members are found and lost, friends are made and lost, and all the while, zombies are everywhere.  The writing is intense, and the art is fantastic.   I recommend starting from the beginning, which is easy to do thanks to the trade collections.  And once bitten . . . (heh, heh, heh)

Anyway, AMC (of Mad Men fame) gave the green light for a pilot as of this January.  Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist) is set to direct.  Kirkman himself will act as an executive producer.

Will it follow the storyline of the comic?  Who knows and who cares?  It’s Kirkman and zombies!  Either way, it’s a win-win situation.  Actually, it would be great to see what’s going on elsewhere in his zombiefied America. 

Over at Cavalier Comics, we’ve dreamed of this moment for years.  The Walking Dead is everything that’s great about a George Romero film, but with a much bigger canvas and more developed characters.  I doubt it will have the gore of a film, but even with Romero work, it’s the story that makes or breaks the work.  AMC, however, has been pushing the envelope with its current programming, so we’re bound to see some of the ultra-intense, ultra-violent scenes that make Kirkman’s reader’s jaws drop.  This seems like a project that will take a whole lot of effort to screw up.

In Case You Haven't Heard About the Frank Frazetta Burglary . . .

Frank Frazetta made me a fan.

Oh, it was other covers that drew me into those aisles in Dalton’s and Walden’s thirty-odd years ago – I remember one in particular.  It was the cover to Andre Norton’s Daybreak – 2250.  It was one of the first books I bought and kept in what has become my collection.  I still don’t know who the artist is, but the picture of the man rafting through a half-submerged city, sword strapped to his hip, very large Siamese-looking cat by his foot . . . it was like nothing I had ever encountered before . . . until I first saw the terrors of Pellucidar.  Frazetta made me stay. 

I couldn’t believe the monstrous beasts that dwelt in the world at the earth's core (according to Frank Frazetta’s covers anyway), or the absolutely gorgeous women.   Those covers made me read my first Edgar Rice Burroughs book.  Frazetta covers made me pick up Conan.  That was the power of Frazetta.  His covers filled me with a sense of mystery, awe, and fear.  It was like the haunted house ride when you were a kid.  It was dark and scary, but you wanted to be in there.  And I never left.

You could probably argue that Frazetta covers helped create and popularize the paperback science fiction and fantasy market.  That’s why I was devastated when I read about the feud broiling between the Frazetta children.  Frazetta’s health is declining.  His wife passed recently.  The museum has been closed.  And apparently Frank, Jr., tried to break into the museum to still hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of paintings.  All the facts are not out, so I don't know the whole story - I don't know if I want to know.  So, I’m not even going to try to explain what's being said. 

I've been following the story online since it broke in December.  There was a good article in the recent Locus about it, too.  You probably will want to check out these links for the bigger story:

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091212/NEWS/912120332

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091210/NEWS/912109991