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MR. ROBOT Recap: Handshake

*Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for USA’s Mr. Robot. Proceed with caution.

Much like the troubled protagonist’s delusional mind, the last few episodes of Mr. Robot have been teetering between reality and Elliot’s reality. Because of that, it’s been hard to guess where the plot might be headed. A number of things were made a bit clearer, however, as we got answers to a number of questions that we’ve been wondering since the show returned for season two–one of which touched on a fan theory that’s been circulating since episode 201. Okay, considering there are probably a number of those floating around, I’ll go ahead and spell it out for you; Based on Elliot’s “routine”, run-ins with Leon, and lack of tech, a lot of people think that Elliot is actually in a mental institution. Well, it turns out that isn’t exactly the case, but is pretty close to the truth.

Before we dive into the revelation, and what it all might mean for Elliot and fsociety, let’s start at the beginning. After being taken hostage two episodes ago, Elliot is bruised, and barely able to move. Following the wacky sitcom-like delusion, he’s finally come full circle on his opinion of Mr. Robot, and his intentions. In short, he accepts and understands that his alter ego has been trying to shield him from the blows. But the question he can’t get out of his head (and the one we haven’t been able to get out of ours), is what the heck happened to Tyrell, and why does Mr. Robot keep brushing it off?

Well, as we’ve all feared, Elliot was forced to face the music and the realization that he killed Tyrell with the gun Darlene left in the popcorn machine. According to Mr. Robot, Tyrell was insane (ranting about killing Sharon), and probably would have gone after him next. To shield him, he grabbed the gun and shot him. We obviously new this news was coming, but something tells me it might not be true. Of course, that could just be wishful thinking because I really miss Martin Wallström.

One thing’s for sure, if it is true, Joanna is in for a surprise. Her S&M-filled love affair with Mr. mystery man was front and center in her subplot this week, culminating in her getting a lawyer to draft divorce papers. She clearly still thinks he’s alive, or at least wants other people to think he is. I’ve been trying to keep track of her actions, and fit them into the larger puzzle,  but have come up with nothing. One thing’s for certain: if Tyrell is indeed dead and she finds out Elliot is responsible for it, she won’t hesitate to take action. Remember, we already saw her take a man out, just for knowing too much.

As far as we know, Joanna and Elliot haven’t come into contact in this season yet, so we’ll put  theories about her potential wrath on the back burner for now. Besides, he’s got enough to worry about now after successfully getting Ray arrested for his black market website–the content of which Ray denied knowing about until Elliot discovered it. Despite a calm chat and understanding on Ray’s part, his goons didn’t take the news very well.

In fact, according to Leon, everyone has their eyes on Elliot, and think he’s responsible for what happened to Ray and the site. After threatening him on the basketball court, a group of guys jumped Elliot to put a beating on him. But lucky for him, good old Leon was there to save the day. And by save the day we mean sneak up on them like a stealth ninja and taking all of them out with a knife. Seriously, he looked like such a pro, and I’m dying, more than ever, to find out what his story is. All we know so far is that he loves Seinfeld, and somehow knows about Whiterose.

Oh, and there’s also the fact that he’s in prison with Elliot. Yes, the big reveal at the end of this week’s episode is that Elliot hasn’t really been living with his mother. Instead, he’s been strolling the corridors of a men’s prison. The shocking reveal came via Elliot’s therapist Krista, who asked him where he thought he was. When he reflected on this, he told the audience that everything we’ve seen this season actually happened, and that his routine, and belief about where he is was his way of coping. What actually put him in prison, and how long ago everything happened, however, remains a mystery.

Speaking of prison, Angela might be heading there after what she pulled last week. We caught up with her immediately after Dom interrupted her hack. As we suspected, Dom is on to her, and grills her about what she was doing on the FBI floor. Quick on her feet, Angela brushed it off and cited the date plans she just made with the male agent. But as Darlene pointed out, Dom has nothing on her, which is further confirmed when the FBI realizes they’ve been hacked but don’t have any security footage.

The good news is, fsociety has successfully infiltrated the FBI, and discovered a plan that’s going down the following day. We don’t know what it is yet, but everyone seemed pretty concerned about it. Angela, on the other hand, made it clear that she’s done doing stuff for the group, and is back on her mission to get to the bottom of the E Corp cover up that resulted in her father’s death.

She took a pretty successful step towards her goal by wrapping Price around her finger–which she accomplished by getting the contingency on the company’s biggest lawsuit dropped. Impressed, Price revealed his actual birthday (okay?), and invited Angela to celebrate with him. Instead of taking him up on the offer, Angela declined and asked for a lateral move to the risk management firm. Despite her best efforts to use the opportunity to gather intel about the case, her new boss saw right through her and basically told her he was going to make her life a living hell.

What will happen on next week’s episode? I obviously don’t know anymore, but I am hoping somebody says something along the lines of: “orange is the new hack” at least once.

Images: USA

Use Crayons to Save People and Hunt Things in the SUPERNATURAL Coloring Book

Put aside your Colt and your demon-killing knife; it’s time to hunt the things that go bump in the night with different weapons. You’ll need to stock the trunk of your muscle car with crayons, colored pencils, and gel pens to successfully face Supernatural: The Official Coloring Book. Adult coloring books are a popular trend right now, and I’m happy Insight Editions is adding a title starring Sam and Dean Winchester. I’m even happier thinking about how Dean would react to the news; he’d be disappointed that the word “adult” in adult coloring books doesn’t have anything to do with that kind of adult.

Behold, the cover:

How do I feel about this news? This GIF covers it:

The pages of the coloring book feature the Winchesters, Castiel, Crowley, creatures, angels, demons, patterns—all sorts of things from The CW series. Like most coloring books designed for grown-ups, the images are all about the details. You can lose yourself for hours filling in the lines. I find they’re excellent for stress relief.

Take a look at some of the interior pages in the gallery below. You’ll find Dean and Sam, Castiel, and even the Ghostfacers. Yes, they really have thought of everything. If you’re sharpening your colored pencils and crayons in anticipation, you can pre-order the coloring book at Amazon. It will be available on September 20 and will be delivered to your doorstep in an Impala. Maybe that last part isn’t true.

I want to organize a Supernatural coloring/viewing marathon. Who’s with me?

We spoke to the cast of Supernatural. Wanna watch?

Images: Insight Editions, Warner Bros., All the Supernatural GIFs

GAME OF THRONES Re-Throned: “You Win or You Die” (S1, E7)

Winter is coming, but not soon enough. So to help pass the time until season seven of Game of Thrones, we’re doing a weekly re-watch of the series, episode-by-episode, with the knowledge of what’s to come and, therefore, with more information about the unrevealed rich history of events that took place long before the story began. Be warned, though: that means this series is full of spoilers for every season, even beyond the episode itself. So if you haven’t watched all of the show yet immediately get on that and then come back and join us for Game of Thrones Re-Throned.

Because the next best thing to watching new episodes is re-watching old ones.

——

Season 1, Episode 7: “You Win or You Die”

Original Air Date: May 29, 2011

Director: Danial Minihan

Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Oh Ned. Some men were meant to be soldiers, and others were meant to play the game. In this, the seventh episode of the first season—”You Win or You Die”—Cersei tried to explain to Lord Eddard how the game works, but what he never realized was how good she was at playing it. However, before we get to the tense final scene, lets go back to beginning of the episode—one full of longer sequences than normal, where we finally got to meet one of the most important players in the entire game.

The Lannisters already look ready for a war, and Jaime rides through their camp until he reaches his father’s tent, upon which we at last meet the only previously discussed Tywin Lannister, who is currently skinning a stag. That’s our second dead stag, the sigil of House Baratheon, of the season—the other coming in the first episode—but it won’t even be the last of this episode.

Tywin tells Jaime his attack on Ned Stark was brash and stupid, but also that he should have killed him. Jaime says he was worried it wouldn’t have been a clean death, and the two argue over whether or not Jaime should care what people say about him. The Kingslayer says he doesn’t, but it rings hollow. Tywin says he is giving Jaime 30 thousand men (half the Lannister forces) to go get his brother (who is already free) from Catelyn Stark.

Throughout the scene Tywin stresses that Lannisters should not act like fools, and that even if he doesn’t have much love for Tyrion he is still one of them, because ultimately the only thing that matters is the family name. The Lannister name will go on, and preserving that legacy is what is important. If no Lannisters come out of this story alive (or if Tyrion proves to be the secret son of the Mad King), Tywin’s only goal will have failed.

Back in King’s Landing, Ned—who has discovered the truth about Cersei and her children—wisely has her arrested and thrown in the dungeons of the Red Keep. Just kidding! Ned is about to embark on a series of poor decisions, all in the name of honor and not wanting to have the blood of innocent children on his hands.

He tells Cersei he knows the truth about her children and urges her to flee with them across the Narrow Sea before Robert has them all killed. She doesn’t deny her incestuous relationship with Jaime, but gives him her signature Cersei smile and tells him he screwed up by not taking the Iron Throne for himself all those years earlier. She says, “When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

The title of the show having been said, the end credits then roll and the series concludes. Thanks for reading everyone!

Ned, rather than understanding what she has said, compounds the mistake of telling her by letting her go, instead of placing her under arrest immediately. Not good.

During this exchange Cersei manages to extract some sympathy from us, telling Ned that she did love Robert once, that marrying him was the happiest moment of her life …until their wedding night when he whispered Lyanna’s name in her ear. Lyanna Stark’s memory was a bigger presence in season one than we might have remembered.

From there we get a very long scene at Baelish’s brothel, where we find Ros has already managed a job. This is one of those scenes that got mocked at the time for being “sexposition,” but this isn’t that. Sure, the two prostitutes heavily training throughout is gratuitous, but that’s to show that the Littlefinger we have seen thus far isn’t what he presents himself as. He is teaching them how to manipulate men, to let men hear what they know isn’t true, but still make them believe it. He is a master manipulator, and the friendly ally of Ned is presented as a lot more dangerous than we may have realized.

This is highlighted further when he reveals he has always, and will always, love Catelyn. He then references the time he challenged Brandon Stark (Ned’s older brother and the man originally meant to marry Catelyn) and what that exchange taught him:

“Do you know what I learned, losing that duel? I learned that I’ll never win. Not that way. That’s their game, their rules. I’m not going to fight them. I’m going to fuck them. That’s what I know. That’s what I am. And only by admitting what we are can we get what we want.”

And what does he want? “Oh, everything, my dear. Everything there is.”

His double cross of Ned at episode’s end is not a surprise.

In Winterfell we see that Osha has been put to work, and Theon comes to mock her, but instead she mocks him and the whole “my Lord” mentality of “Southerners” from the other side of The Wall. Maester Luwin comes in, points out to Theon he too is a guest/prisoner here, and then asks Osha why she traveled south. When she mentions the coming of the Long Night he is skeptical. The maesters never believe any of this stuff about monsters and magic, which is interesting when you consider the popular theory that it was the maesters that conspired to kill off the dragons.

There is then a quick scene of Sam and Jon at the top of The Wall when they then see a riderless horse return. Benjen’s gone missing (see you in about a thousand episodes Uncle Benjen! Stay warm) and Jon’s reaction to it contains a very subtle line here that will pay off later. The horn is blown and Sam says, “One blast for a ranger returning, two for wildlings, three for–.” He doesn’t finish it, but a third horn blast means White Walkers, which will matter eventually.

Later in the episode the recruits get ready to swear their oaths to the Night’s Watch (look at this picture below, Jon with his brown fur really stands out in a sea of black, a possible bit of foreshadowing), and Sam says he will join his friend at a weirdwood tree to recite their vows, hoping the old gods will help him in a way the Seven never did.

They then hear their assignments (stewards, builders, or rangers) and_positive he will be a ranger because of his fighting prowess—Jon flips when he is named the steward for Lord Commander Mormont. I mean, he really throws a tantrum, even whining, “It’s not fair.” Jon thinks this is Ser Alliser’s revenge, but wise Sam points out Mormont is doing this to groom him to lead one day. That calms Jon down.

When the two do go to recite their vows later, it is a beautiful scene, touching and powerful, but then (still just normal wolf-sized) Ghost finds a human hand, so that kind of ruins the moment for everyone.

Oh, and the Night’s Watch vows always gives me chills, so here they are:

Hear my words and bear witness to my vow.

Night gathers and now my watch begins.

It shall not end until my death.

I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.

I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.

I shall live and die at my post.

I am the sword in the darkness.

I am the watcher on the walls.

I am the shield that guards the realms of men.

I pledge my life and honor to The Night’s Watch,

for this night and all the nights to come.

Back in Vaes Dothrak, Drogo tells Daenerys their son won’t need a chair (in reference to the Iron Throne), and she realizes he will never try to take Westeros. Then, while walking through the market of Vaes Dothrak, Jorah suspiciously goes off on his own to see if he has any letters, and one of Varys’ little birds gives him a royal pardon, allowing him to go home. With that in hand, Jorah then stops a would-be assassin from poisoning Daenerys, proving that although he had been willing to betray her so that he could return home, he has now decided to throw in his lot with her out of duty and love. Jorah got what he thought he wanted, but at that moment he realizes what he really wants is her. Later he tells her that she will never be safe, because her Targaryen name makes her dangerous—an important lesson for her to learn.

This attempt on his wife and unborn son enrages Drogo, who totally flips out (in the same hut where Daenerys ate the horse heart and would one day murder the khals in a giant fire), leading to him promising to take the Iron Throne and Westeros.

Okay, we’re going to end by putting all of the rest of the Ned story together, because a lot happens and it hurts my heart.

Renly, covered in blood, comes running to Ned and tells him it’s Robert (remember, Ned was going to tell the King about Cersei and her kids when he saw him next). When Ned goes to see him, Robert says he knows he is dying from the giant hole a boar put in his side, but that he killed the boar. Cersei looks petrified during all of this, fearful Ned will tell Robert the truth.

Instead Ned says nothing, and after Robert clears the room he names Ned Protector of the Realm until his son Joffrey comes of age. Instead of writing Joffrey’s name Ned puts this phrase.

When he leaves Robert’s side, Barristan Selmy feels as though he has failed his king (again), but Ned assures him he couldn’t have saved Robert from himself. However, Varys subtly lets Ned know Robert might have been drugged by Lancel Lannister, his squire, reminding Lord Stark of the danger the family poses.

Later, Renly finds Ned and tells him they must get Joffrey away from his mother and that whoever controls the king has the power. He says he can give Ned 100 men (Ned is low on men after Jaime’s attack), but Ned asks about Stannis. Renly tells us he is unloved and will be a terrible king, but Ned argues he has led men into battle. It’s a great, quick scene, where Renly says he will be king instead of his brother, but Ned passes on Renly’s offer. We find out later that Renly has fled King’s Landing with Loras Tyrell.

This felt like a mistake at the time, but 100 men from Renly probably wouldn’t have done much. Grabbing Joffrey would have helped for sure, but even then Stannis would have been the rightful heir, no matter how much Renly hated it, and the Lannister army (and money) would have had a huge advantage in the coming war. It wasn’t a viable solution. Renly’s insistence on being king over his older brother was the problem here more than anything. Otherwise the Baratheon forces (and the Tyrells, too, potentially) would have been able to hold the throne for the family over the Lannisters.

Baelish (uh oh) then comes to see Ned, who has just sent a letter to Stannis telling him everything, and Littlefinger tells Ned not to do anything but swear fealty to Joffrey. It will mean peace and safety, and they can always reveal the truth later after they get rid of Stannis. “You are now Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm. All of the power is yours. You need only reach out and take it,” he says to Ned, who has never wanted it, but still doesn’t see the danger in not grabbing it.

Not to mention Ned hasn’t forgotten that they tried to kill Bran.

“Make peace with the Lannisters, you say. With the people who tried to murder my boy.

“ We only make peace with our enemies, my Lord. That’s why it’s called ‘making peace.'”

What Ned really wants is to know if Baelish will help him the way he promised Catelyn he would, specifically by getting the 2,000 strong City Watch Goldcloaks to back him when he names Stannis king over Joffrey. Baelish says he will.

Then it happens: Robert is dead, and King Joffrey and the queen call on Ned to come to the throne room. Ned has Robert’s edict naming him Protector of the Realm, but this is also the despicable toad he shows up with as an ally.

Janos Slynt is the worst.

Cersei (to the utter dismay of Selmy, which will be important soon when he is dismissed from the Kingsguard) rips up the letter and demands Ned kneel to her son. Ned doesn’t and says he doesn’t want this to end in blood.

Then all of his men are murdered and Baelish puts a knife to Ned’s throat, telling him, “I did warn you not to trust me.”

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

Ned never understood that, even when his enemy told him the consequences of not playing to win, and as a result he lost this brief fight over the Iron Throne, and ultimately his life. As a loyal man of House Stark, I kind of wish the credits had rolled when she said “game of thrones.” Could have saved us a lot of dead Starks and Northerners.

What did you think of this episode? What was Ned’s biggest mistake? Tell us in the comments below.

Images: HBO

Inked Wednesday #99 – Stitch Mash-Ups, Tiki Tattoo, and More

Some people think the concept of mashing together two or more franchises is easy. It’s not. There’s an art to mixing two different worlds in a way that makes sense, and artist James Silvani is a master of making things go together like chocolate and peanut butter. He’s responsible for three mash-up tattoos belonging to Sarah Howson. Each tattoo stars Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, because we all know Stitch is the best of anything ever.

The tattoos feature Stitch and Scrump mixed with visual themes from Star Wars, Alien, and Hellboy. The little blue alien makes any scene cuter, and that’s certainly the case here. Harriet Amanda, a tattoo artist based in the United Kingdom, took Silvani’s art and applied it beautifully to Howson’s skin. Look:

Stitch as Chewbacca and Scrump as Han Solo | Source: Sarah Howson, art by James Silvani, inked by Harriet Amanda

I hope you’re ready for more of Sarah’s Stitch tattoos because two more are in the gallery below. You’ll find them alongside a LexCorp symbol from Batman v Superman and a gorgeous tiki-themed tattoo.

Who wants to send me tattoos for future editions of Inked Wednesday? I expect all of you with ink inspired by pop culture, music, science, math, etc. to be raising your hands. The procedure’s a little different now, but to get your ink to me, email me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with a photo of your tattoo—the more high-res, the better. If you know the name of your tattoo artist, be sure to let me know.

Marvel’s INVISIBLE WOMAN May Be Getting Her Own Solo Comic Series

Wednesday means it’s New Comic Book Day, and it’s also time for your mid-week edition of Comics Relief. To start things off, we’ve got possible news on one of Marvel’s leading ladies finally getting a solo series all her own.

Is Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman about to get a solo series?

Marvel’s less than cozy relationship with Fox, who own the film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, reportedly led the publisher to cancel the Fantastic Four comic, the series that the entire Marvel Universe is practically built on, leaving the publisher without an FF comic for the first time in over fifty years. Last year’s Secret Wars event was essentially a swan song to the iconic team. But could one member of the group be making a comeback soon…and maybe even getting a solo series?

Marvel Comics recently registered trademarks for series like Inhumans vs X-Men, World Of Wakanda, Solo, Bullseye, Great Lakes Avengers and more – all comics that Marvel have officially announced as coming soon in the very near future. But among those titles they have also registered Invisible Woman as a title for comics as well. This can’t be a coincidence. The end of Secret Wars saw Reed and Susan Richards take off into the multiverse with their kids, but we all knew they’d be back someday. If an Invisible Woman solo series does happen, it would be the first time Sue Richards has ever led a title on her own. [Bleeding Cool]

Valiant celebrates 1 million copies sold of X-O Manowar

Valiant Comics are currently celebrating over 1 million copies sold of their signature title, X-O Manowar. But in today’s market, how on Earth did they sell a million copies of the series? Here’s how the math gets creative: To reach this figure, the publisher is counting single-issue sales for the 49 issues of the 2012 launched series released so far, both in print and digitally, and counting all the foreign editions as well. That would work out to an average sales of 20,408 per issue. Creative math or not, congrats to Valiant for reaching that number.

Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani is scheduled to be at the Richmond, VA printing plant that will print this millionth copy of X-O Manowar this week, issue #49. The Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) will be on-hand to to grade and certify the book, which will then be on-display at Valiant’s booth at Baltimore Comic Con later this month. Fans who bring a copy of X-O Manowar #49 can get theirs embossed with a “Valiant 1,000,000th copy seal.” [Newsarama]

Jeff Lemire’s DC work gets Comixology sale

Writer Jeff Lemire, currently at Marvel writing titles like Extraordinary X-Men and Moon Knight, had made quite a name for himself at DC Comics until recently. Now Comixology is celebrating all things Lemire with a sale of his DC works, including Animal Man, Justice League United, Justice League Dark,  Superboy, and more. You can check out the Jeff Lemire Comixology sale by clicking right here. The sale ends on August 22. [Comics Alliance]

Civil War II gets an extra issue, plus gets delayed

Civil War II is going to take a little longer to finish up than originally planned, as series writer Brian Michael Bendis has announced that Civil War II will now be extended to eight issues, but there’s no set release date for issue 8 quite yet.  The fifth issue will now be released on September 24; while Civil War II #6 is set for October 5.

As for the reason for the delay, apparently Civil War II artist David Marquez recently had a child and he wasn’t able to devote his full attention to the comic. “David [Marquez] has been handing in about a page a day for the last couple of weeks so we’re getting back on track,” wrote Bendis, “So much so that Marvel greenlit an 8th issue for us. I came up with a better ending but needed the pages. Very grateful that they let us do our thing.” For more info on the extended Civil War II, be sure to read our full story by clicking on the following link: [Nerdist]

Deathstroke Rebirth to give us new version of classic Teen Titans story ‘The Judas Contract’

Deathstroke is getting the Rebirth treatment soon, and along with that certain details of his revised past are going to be cleared up, including one of his most famous early stories, the Teen Titans saga “The Judas Contract.” That story is to the Titans what “The Dark Phoenix Saga” is to the X-Men. In that storyline, the metahuman teenager Terra was a mole within the Titans team, sent by Deathstroke to infiltrate and destroy them from within. “The Judas Contract” also introduced the world to Deathstroke’s son, the superhero Jericho. It’s a pretty defining story for the character and the Titans as well….but did it even happen in the current Rebirth continuity?

According to Deathstroke writer Christopher Priest, we are about to find out. In a recent interview, Priest said “Once we move past issue 12 or so, then we’re doing a big crossover with the ‘Titans’ book. And we’re doing a JJ Abrams-ing of ‘The Judas Contract.’ The original storyline that launched Deathstroke and is like the definitive Teen Titans storyline from Marv (Wolfman) and George Perez.” Priest added “We’re kind of building a firewall around that story to say, ‘Yes, this absolutely happened.’ We are not dismissing that or ret-conning that, but as  JJ Abrams did with Star Trek, we are now telling our own alternate version of it.” [CBR]

Diamond planning to hand out 2 million comics for Halloween ComicsFest

This year’s Halloween ComicsFest — which is kind of like Free Comic Book Day, only in October — is entering its fifth year, and event promoters Diamond Comics Distributors are planning to hand out over 2 million Halloween-themed comic books this October 29. 32 titles will be handed out including Marvel Comics’ Darth Vader: Doctor Aphra #1, and Spidey #1; DC Comics’ DC Super Hero Girls #1, Dark Horse Comics’ Harrow County #1; and IDW Publishing’s My Little Pony: The Haunted Dungeon and a lots  more. For more info, be sure to click on the following link: [Newsarama]

Women now make up 40% of Marvel’s readership

Once upon a time, you’d be hard pressed to witness a living, breathing female in a comic book shop. It’s not that female readers didn’t exist, they just knew how to keep their comics love on the DL. Times have sure changed though; in an interview with ICv2, Marvel’s David Gabriel said, “From talking to retailers and looking at our titles, we’re probably up to at least 40% female, which eight years ago might have been 10%. And 15 years ago might have been nothing, while they were all buying manga. So there’s really been a shift, which is great, and it even could be even higher than 40%.”  I’d say this is a pretty cool development. [ICv2 via Comics Beat]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics / Valiant Entertainment / ComiXology / Diamond Comics

Make Your Own STRANGER THINGS Title Screens

There is so much to love about Netlflix’s latest hit Stranger Things, whether it’s the soundtrack, the science (fiction), or the cast’s musical endeavors. Aside from the show’s tense throwback horror style, the opening title sequence has also become an instant classic, so much so that it has spawned a new website that allows you to make your own stylized title screen in just seconds. Of course, we gave it a go, and we’re pretty sure we got the hang of it:

Are we doing this right? #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/qSFM3i5P4k

— Nerdist (@nerdist) August 17, 2016

Of course, we’re not the only ones who totally nailed it:

Make your own Stranger Things title cards with this site https://t.co/ddaFR3IeH7 pic.twitter.com/uxrjm7ykFl — The Verge (@verge) August 17, 2016

‘Stranger Things’ title-maker lets you make your own spooky logo https://t.co/TibcOioJyK

— Jenny L. Willingham (@DigitalQueen411) August 17, 2016

 

How have you lived this long without the Stranger Things type generator? https://t.co/GQe9WXdywU pic.twitter.com/b1vYUCfuDu

— io9 (@io9) August 17, 2016

Guys, I liked STRANGER THINGS, yeesh. Psyched for season two… pic.twitter.com/YQNiurSO4m — Phil Nobile Jr. (@PhilNobileJr) August 16, 2016

The title text has become so beloved because it evokes so well the genre and time period it represents, with its old-school typeface and neon-like glow. Vox put together a video that gives more detail about how the title sequence came to be, and it’s fascinating. It was created by Imaginary Forces, whose work you’ve seen in the title sequences of Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Jessica Jones, and others. The title card was inspired by horror books and movies of the ’80s, and the font they went with was ITC Benguiat, which you’ve seen on the covers of the Choose Your Own Adventure books and Paramount’s FBI piracy warning screen that shows up before your movie starts.

Watch that video below, and don’t forget to make your own Stranger Things title screen (and tweet your best ones to @nerdist).

Want to take a journey to the Upside Down? Maybe you can:

Featured image: makeitstranger.com

Oracle Pulls the Strings in BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #1 (Review)

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #1 reflects DC Rebirth‘s approach to continuity: previous stories may have happened, but probably not in the way that you remember them. For example, the issue opens with a flashback to Black Canary‘s days as an operative of Oracle, back when Barbara Gordon was still paralyzed after the events of Batman: The Killing Joke. It’s kind of like their dynamic in the original Birds of Prey series by Chuck Dixon and later writers, including Gail Simone. But it doesn’t quite feel the same.

Writers Shawna Benson and Julie Benson may have given Batgirl top billing in this title, but it’s Black Canary who carries the issue and doubles as the narrator. Surprisingly, the Bensons bungle Batgirl in several scenes that feature the veteran heroine making some very rookie mistakes. That’s not even counting the fact that Batgirl and Black Canary apparently have a secret headquarters that they have to enter from the street in full view, which conveniently allows them to spot someone trying to break in. That is nonsensical.

Making the duo a trio is the Huntress, whom Grayson readers may recall is an agent and even the leader of Spyral. But this version of Helena Bertinelli is all one-note anger without the depth of her earlier appearances. Hopefully this will change as the series progresses.

The Bensons fare better in the action sequences, as the Birds of Prey find themselves at odds with the Huntress. Helena wants to murder a mob operative for his role in the death of her family, while Batgirl and Black Canary want him alive for information about the individual who has co-opted the Oracle name as an info broker for villains. The prerequisite heroine fight gets a few pages before the inevitable team up. This was one of the issue’s biggest weaknesses: it was a bit too predictable.

Claire Roe’s artwork was also a distraction in this issue. She handled the fight scenes very well, even if her facial expressions were a bit jarring. Batgirl and Black Canary’s faces were contorted in disconcerting ways. Some of that is simply Roe’s style, and she certainly has some strong sequential instincts.

There’s really not enough here to make a judgment about the new Oracle as a villain, since we don’t even have any suspects yet. In theory, a hacker who can outwit Barbara Gordon should be a formidable foe, but the Barbara Gordon Batgirl that we got in this issue was seriously off of her game. The Bensons had such a good take on Black Canary that it’s curious that both Batgirl and Huntress came off poorly by comparison. For this revival book to work, all three leads have to be well-rounded characters and worthy heroines. Though they were not in this issue, we are hopeful that the series will develop each character individually.

RATING: 2 OUT OF 5 BURRITOS

What did you think about Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #1? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Curious about WTF comics moments? Check out some of our favorites:

Images: DC Comics

Big Paper #25: Night of the Barely Fed

About Big Paper, the new Nerdist comic strip!

Abandoned as an infant, Everett, a living and breathing cartoon dinosaur, was adopted by a loving human couple. Within a reality where cartoons live and work among us, Everett navigates what it is to be 8-years-old along with his two cohorts: a cartoon turtle and child actor called Mel, and a brooding instigator and human girl named Keaton. They reside in a place where geek and pop culture have physically manifested itself, from the Incredible Hulk studying in your acting class to having the great Pumpkin King over for dinner.

About Michael McCusker:

Michael McCusker is an actor, improviser, and artist originally from Boston, MA. At an early age, he fell in love with the theater and live comedy. Michael discovered the North End’s Improv Asylum in 2005 and has been performing regularly since. Upon graduating from Bentley University in 2007, he moved westward to Los Angeles where he continued his improv education with IO West, Second City, UCB, and The Groundlings. Michael has since been featured in a string of commercials, music videos, online sketch, and some of those sweet, unaired pilots for major networks!

Thanks for taking the time to read Big Paper. If you dig the art, please check out his online portfolio, or grab something for yourself in his Society6 store.

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New strips of Big Paper debut every Wednesday, right here on Nerdist!

Somebody Recreated SUPER MARIO BROS. in an Excel Spreadsheet

What do you do if you’re at work and you really have to stay committed to not leaving Excel and busting out some spreadsheets? Well, somebody found a compromise that isn’t super productive, but is wildly fun: They recreated the first level of Super Mario Bros. in spreadsheet form.

OK so technically they used OpenOffice (a free Excel alternative), but it functions virtually the same. We wish we could say it’s a playable game (it isn’t), but that fact that it’s a stop-motion animation doesn’t make it any less impressive. That’s still a great feat of its own, considering that the video above features over 1,000 frames, and if you look at the system clock and calendar in the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll notice that the video was captured over the course of about a month (during downtimes at work, we’re assuming).

Everything is pretty spot on—from the sounds to the Goombas—with a few discrepancies, like Mario’s relative size and the at-times incorrect colors of his outfits. But also, this was made in a program designed to manage budgets and organize textual and numerical information, so come on, this is pretty fantastic.

If you want actual Excel games, the platform actually has a rich history in that field, believe it or not. Excel 95 and Excel 2000 actually had full-fledged games secretly built in to them, as well as Excel 97, which featured an impressive (for its time) flight simulator.

Watch the video above, and don’t blame us if you get inspired to reorganize your work priorities.

Featured image: Cinémavore

BIOSHOCK: THE COLLECTION is Worth Diving Back Into (Preview)

Can you believe that it’s already been nine years since BioShock was originally released? No? Well neither can we, but it’s true. 2007 was the first time we dove into Andrew Ryan’s insane underwater Utopian city of Rapture, and it’s almost time to return. Considering this is one of the best games ever created, there has been an understandable amount of excitement surrounding the recently announced title BioShock: The Collection, despite there being some “remaster” fatigue in the gaming community. We recently got our hands on said remasters from Blind Squirrel Games and the collection is looking rather splendid.

BioShock: The Collection will include all three games, with the first two being on the same disc, and BioShock Infinite included on its own. All three will run at 1080p resolution at up to 60 fps–which is pretty standard for remastered games these days. Though the spike in resolution is nice for all three, it is most noticeable in the original BioShock. But don’t shrug off the sequel and Infinite; both look absolutely brilliant. I was actually (bio)shocked by how great Infinite looks on new hardware. I guess I forgot that the game did push graphical limits when it launched back in 2013. It also helps that the art direction on the series has always been incredible.

All of the single-player DLC (even the BioShock Infinite pre-order bonuses that were exclusive to different retailers) will be included in the package, which is great for those who missed out the first time around. That means that you’ll finally be able to get your hands on BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition‘s Museum of Orphaned Concepts content. New art assets were created for both Bioshock and Bioshock 2, as well, to fill out the screen with more detail. During the iconic intro scene of the original game, for instance, there are now jellyfish floating about. While that seems trivial, it’s a heightening of detail that makes the overall experience more effective.

Now, onto the real star of the show: BioShock. As I mentioned above, BioShock is undoubtedly one of the greatest games ever created. Its incredible setting, complex storytelling, and ability to challenge the imagination are all unmatched by most games. However, despite being one of the better looking games back when it first launched, the original title is starting to show its age on the graphical end.

But thankfully, the graphical upgrade has brought new life to the classic. Seeing as Rapture’s atmosphere is an integral part of the experience, the new coat of paint is much appreciated. From what I’ve seen, Blind Squirrel Games did a great job of enhancing the look of the game without changing the tone of it. Nothing I saw looked out of place, nor did it distract (ex. jellyfish).

Weapons and the character’s hands have also been re-textured in the first two games, since is great since they’re the two things closest to your point of view; The attention to detail is impressive, and I’m glad this didn’t turn out to be a simple remaster.

And I haven’t even mentioned the best part yet, BioShock will now include 10 Golden Reels (unlocking Ken Levine’s commentary hosted by Geoff Keighley) scattered throughout the game. We got a glimpse of the first episode, which was an incredibly informative and interesting look at how the team’s creative process worked when they were trying to bring Rapture and all the characters that embody the world to life. Take it from someone who has played through the first title four times — this makes another trip to Rapture worthwhile.

Gameplay-wise, all three games played about the same as their original counterparts. I didn’t feel much of a difference, if any at all. The first-person mechanics are more than serviceable, and are still pretty damn solid. It did take me a bit to remember the control scheme of the first game, but once I got it, I was blasting every Splicer that got in my way with Plasmids.

What really matters here is that the games look good and that all the single-player DLC is included. The work done on the original especially makes it worthy of at least one more go. I played through the whole Sander Cohen (one of the best video game villains ever) section where you’re tasked with completing the artist’s masterpiece (which involves taking pictures of mutilated splicers), and not once did I feel like I was playing an old game. Instead I remembered just how special this creepy this game really is. That’s what you want out of a your remastered titles. And yeah, definitely don’t forget how eerie Rapture really is. There’s nothing more chilling than watching all the Adam-addicted Splicers scurrying around, whispering horrifying things before ambushing you in claustrophobic hallways.

You’ll be able to pick up BioShock: The Collection beginning September 13 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Those who already own the first two games on PC will get an upgrade to the prettier versions (including the Golden Reels, aka director’s commentary), completely free of charge.

Will you be adding this collection to your library? Which BioShock title is your favorite? How do you feel about these games getting the remaster treatment? Would you kindly leave your thoughts in the comment section below?

Image: 2K