The floor this year at PAX East included a section indie developers dubbed the Indie Megabooth- 16 independent developers showing off twenty of the latest and greatest indie games on all sorts of platforms. One of those titles was Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, the follow up to PSN title Tales from Space: About a Blob, now available for the Playstation Vita. I decided to pick up the title to play during my free time at PAX East, and I’m really glad I did.

Much like the Katamari games, Mutant Blobs Attack  requires you to eat everything in sight to proceed through the level, as long as it’s not bigger than you. But, while Katamari is a 3rd person perspective three dimensional game, Mutant Blobs Attack is a 2D sidescrolling platformer, more like Loco Roco.  As a blob, you’ll also gain powerups to allow you to fly, float, and magnetize yourself to walls.

The game utilizes the Vita’s controls without overdoing it and becoming cumbersome to play. You control the blob throughout the levels using the analog stick, but there are also a few random levels that require you to tilt the Vita around like a ball maze to try to move the blob to the goal. The back touchscreen don’t come into play at all, but the front is used to manipulate the environment to proceed.

There’s a lot at PAX East, which takes place this upcoming weekend, to be excited for- the show floor will be jam packed with tons of exciting games, the concerts at night will be rockin’, and there’s endless free play areas for console, PC, tabletop, and card games.

But one other thing you should definitely make some time for is the panels- they’re a chance to catch up with some of your favorite people in the industry, learn more about making videogames a career, or ask your favorite developer or community manager a question. Here’s some of the panels I’m most excited for this weekend.

PAX East rapidly approaches, which means you’re probably starting your packing list right about now. And whether you’re a PAX East veteran or attending for the first time, it may be tricky, downright overwhelming even, figuring out exactly what to bring with you.

Well, allow me to pack for you. Here are some things you must absolutely bring with you this weekend. This stuff, and underwear. You may need underwear.

Portable gaming device

Believe me, whether you’re waiting in line to play a game on the floor, sitting and waiting for a panel to start, or killing time in the bathroom line, you’re going to want a portable gaming system with you.

Another WonderCon has come and gone. This year was slightly different than any year previous as this was the first time that WonderCon was held in Anaheim, CA and not its typical home of San Francisco.

Many people I spoke to enjoyed the change in venue, and liked the added space that the Anaheim Convention center seemed to provide.

One of the best things coming away from a comic book convention is the chance to look at pictures of the costumes, ruffle through your free swag, and watch fun videos captured around the convention. Enjoy them all after the jump.

You may not know her name, but I bet you have seen one of her videos.

Jessica Mill is the star and creator of Awkward Embraces, a web series about three nerdy girls working their way though the dating world of Los Angeles. The series has become popular among the “nerd” culture. Jessica herself has become a “nerd” icon on Twitter and Tumblr due to her frequent posts and nerdy sense of humor.

It was at WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim that I talked to Jessica. She reveals the details about three new web series she is working on including Damsels and Dragons. A new web series about a girl LARP (live action role playing) group that she is creating with Greg Aronowitz, designer of The Guild.

Watch my full interview with Jessica Mills below.

Uncharted is one of the most beloved and critically praised game franchises of all time. Both epic and intimate, the trilogy brought back the concept thought killed by shooters of games as storytelling.

The game has been so successful, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood took notice and decided to translate its already cinematic action to the big screen. Actors rumored to have been involved include Mark Wahlberg, Robert De Niro, and Bruce Campbell.

But who would be perfect? Let’s get ur dream cast together and find out.

Now that Marvel has its own movie studio, it’s time for the House of Ideas to try out some fresh ones on the big screen. Sure, we all know the Iron Man and Thor sequels will make a billion dollars, but Marvel needs to think long term and use this opportunity to branch out.

Black Panther has never ranked in readership with Marvel’s flagship titles, but the movie-going audience is more diverse. A superhero film featuring a strong black cast could bring in a whole new audience to comic book movies. And the hardcore fans will always be along for the ride so long as the movie stays true to the source material.

Of course, in order to do that, the studio has to nail the casting.

Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

Preacher is The Godfather of comics. Its brazen, over-bearing, and loud tone leave a distinct aftertaste when you finish reading. The characters are mean and hateful. The locations are gritty and gross. Preacher is the sum total of all the dark corners of America combined into a tale of the problems of religion. It is a series that is not for everyone, and will turn some people off of comics forever. However, if someone asked me what my favorite comic book series of all time was, I would be hard pressed to not choose Preacher.

Preacher was a mature and violent comic book series published by Vertigo in 1995. It lasted sixty-six issues as the main characters blasted and hunted their way through America on their quest to find God. Oh, by the way, their quest was not metaphorical; it was literal.

Over the past two decades, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens has almost been made into a movie several times. Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam tried for years to put the comic fantasy on film, but the infamously unlucky auteur (see the wonderful doc Lost in La Mancha) could never make it happen.

There has been talk lately of a possible TV miniseries, but many of the book’s fans still hold out hope for a feature. But who could bring Good Omens‘s outrageous characters to life?

Take a look at our picks after the jump.


With comic properties being snatched up by movie studios like lucrative hotcakes, a Luna Brothers film project is clearly inevitable. With their cinematic style, self-contained stories, and strong emotional centers, Joshua and Jonathan Luna’s titles are a perfect fit for the silver screen.

Probably the best thus far, a very original and dark superhero tale called simply The Sword could make an amazing, violent, and beautiful modern fantasy film. Of course, the cast would have to be as moving as the source material. Here are my humble suggestions for a movie adaptation of The Luna Brothers’ The Sword.

Take a look at Part One of the Horror 2012 movie preview here. We’ve already talked about Women wearing Black, Ravens, and a few other things that go bump in the night, but this spring and summer is when we’re going to get some true horror in theaters. Let’s get started, shall we?

April 13, 2012 – Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods (Distributed by Lionsgate Films) Produced by Joss Whedon, this film promises a new spin on the basic remote thriller concept in this voyeuristic slasher.

April 20, 2012 – House at the End of the Street

(Distributed by Relativity Media) Based on a treatment and short story written by Jonathan Demme and Mostow, the story focuses on a girl’s discovery of the murder in the home across the street from her new home.  Things become complicated when she befriends the victim’s son.

It has never been a hotter time to be a fan of Sherlock Holmes. The old chap now has two blockbuster Hollywood movies. Plus, Sherlock has a highly rated and successful BBC television series. The only thing he is missing is a comic book.

His mortal enemy Professor James Moriarty is brilliantly featured in his own series published by Image comics called, what else, Moriarty. It is the beginning of the 20th century, the dawn of World War 1, Sherlock Holmes has been dead for twenty years, and Moriarty has been drafted into service by MI5.

This issue is part four of the storyline called The Lazarus Tree.  A full-scale riot breaks out in the streets of Kyauktada, and the British authorities sweep in to take control. The mystery begins to unravel, and Moriarty becomes aware of the lurking threat of Moran’s sniper rifle hunting him in the shadows.

The characterization of Moriarty is brilliant. He is essentially an evil Sherlock Holmes. He sees common details that people miss, he is a brilliant doctor, and he is even a brilliant professor, dealing with concepts and theories that are way beyond his time. The major problem with the character is that even though he interesting; the writing never truly gives us a reason to like him.