The Walking Dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Wed, 05 Dec 2018 18:30:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png The Walking Dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. The Walking Dead – Nerds on Earth false episodic The Walking Dead – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. The Walking Dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/category/the-walking-dead/ It’s Time to Give The Walking Dead Another Look https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/12/its-time-to-give-the-walking-dead-another-look/ Thu, 06 Dec 2018 13:00:49 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=21200

Viewership of The Walking Dead is at half its peak. But the latest season is really good. Here are a few reasons why you should give The Walking Dead another look!

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We used to cover The Walking Dead extensively here at Nerds on Earth, right down to the weekly recaps and reviews we would do of the episodes. But like half of the viewership of TWD, we walked away from the show.

I mean, we looooved that show and a big portion of our Slack conversation would revolve around what Rick and company were up to on Sunday nights on AMC. So, why did we ditch it? Well, many reasons, including the fact that it got a bit too big for its britches with all that after show nonsense. It honestly felt as though the show was being written precisely to be able to apply easy marketing opportunities.

But the big reason was the gleeful gore that the show began to wallow in. Sure, it’s always been a violent show. But there came a point where a grisly death was teased and promoted simply as marketing gimmicks, rather than sincere and authentic opportunities to do what The Walking Dead used to do best, which is to wrestle with morality in the midst of a crumbling human society.

But, guess what? It is worth coming back to The Walking Dead. I just finished watching the mid-season finale of season 9 and it was fantastic, as were nearly all the first season 9 episodes.

Sure, there was a grisly death early on, but there wasn’t that nonsense of teasing it out as a publicity stunt, nor was it portrayed as gracious for the sake of ratings. No, it was meant to evoke a feeling of regret and allowed major characters to wrestle with the implications, then it had real consequences on the arcs of several characters.

The pacing is back to being fast. Gone are those extended episodes meant only to add additional commercial breaks. Storylines start, then they were resolved, nearly that fast. Watching season 9 keeps you on the edge of your seat in a good way.

Old characters are gone, including the tent poles. There has been a time jump! Side characters are given a chance to shine and new, engaging characters are being introduced. It feels fresh and familiar simultaneously and the ending of arcs is being done in interesting ways.

The zombies are scary again. Comic book readers know of the Whisperers. Television viewers are getting a glimpse now. But the new show runner–Angela Kang–hasn’t made the same mistakes as her predecessors. Negan at one time was a comic fan-favorite, only to be wasted with that lean-back schlock nonsense we were shown. But the introduction of the new storylines seem much more measured and considered.

Truly, season 9 of The Walking Dead has been well done. Yet, the ratings from The Walking Dead’s “Evolution” scored the lowest ratings for a midseason finale since the show’s debut. Season 9 has been an effort to shake things up, for certain. As a fan of the show since the very beginning (and even before with the comics), I’ll be the first to admit that the last couple seasons have been a mess.

But my faith has been restored in The Walking Dead. Sure, many are reflexively still dumping on the show and the narrative of cynicism that the last couple of seasons established will carry through, meaning lots of folks will simply now roll their eyes sight unseen. But, to be clear, The Walking Dead is still the biggest rated cable television program when you take away football (Who saw that West Virginia / Oklahoma game?). So reports of the show’s death are greatly exaggerated and it is indeed poised to rise again. So why not join that zombie horde again?

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“Do you like scary movies?” Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/10/do-you-like-scary-movies-understanding-the-psychology-behind-the-horror-genre/ Mon, 22 Oct 2018 12:00:18 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=20305

Are you a fan of scary movies? Why? Here's a brief look at the psychology behind the horror genre.

The post “Do you like scary movies?” Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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I love this time of year. Temperatures get cooler (psst, temperatures…that’s your cue), the leaves change colors, there’s sportsball, and don’t forget the veritable parade of ghosts, monsters, aliens, and murderous psychopaths!

I am a horror movie junkie. And I mean everything from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, to the classic Universal monster movies, to more modern monsters like Jason and Freddy.

I remember staying up late as a kid to watch Salem’s Lot, or The Exorcist, then sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor in my parents room. What was it about those movies that captured (and tortured) my imagination? What compelled me to watch, when I knew how scared I’d be later?

Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre

Now that I work in psychology, I know that it’s our neurochemistry. Growth comes through stress. When we’re afraid, we get a big boost of adrenaline, which can be exhilarating. After we have faced our fears, we become more resilient, and feel more confident. The movie industry knows that we love that feeling and we’ll pay to share that experience with others (horror movies are more fun in a group). But how do they do it? How do they make something scary?

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” – H.P. Lovecraft

For the longest time, when it came to the American horror movie industry, I would argue they didn’t. They didn’t understand what made fear unique (or maybe they did, but they just got lazy), so they got it all mixed up and substituted other things that, while they may have evoked visceral reactions, weren’t as powerful as fear. That doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t like American horror movies, I just didn’t find them scary.

The most common substitute for fear is the jump scare. We’re following the protagonist, then hear a generic sound off screen. Then there’s a sudden visual change accompanied by an equally sudden loud musical cue.

Whether it’s turning around and seeing a monster’s face in the window, or a cat jumping out of a closet, the moment (and the feeling) is over just as quickly as it began. It may be startling, but it’s not going to inspire that looming sense of dread that keeps me hyper-vigilantly glued to the screen.

Sex and drugs are also frequent substitutes for fear. If someone is sneaking away to do something “naughty,” you can be sure that the killer is nearby. While this is definitely not fear, it does serve to titillate the audience and provoke a primal emotional response.

Graphic and gory imagery and violence are used in many horror movies to try to get the audience’s adrenaline pumping and get a big emotional reaction. Disgust and revulsion can be powerful feelings…and great publicity. So powerful, that the term “torture porn” was coined to describe some movies that were considered gratuitously graphic.

Now before you break out the pitchforks, or going stabbing pins in a little Earth Nerd Fields doll, I want to say a few more words about the elements mentioned above.

Jump scares–like jokes or humor–are things that have seemingly always had a place in the horror genre. They provide a break in the tension; they let the audience catch their breath. When used strategically, they serve to keep us off guard, not knowing what to expect, supporting that unknown element, as Lovecraft wrote, that is the foundation of fear.

Sex is fundamental in horror as well. Whether it’s Kong’s animal attraction to Fay Wray’s Ann, or Dracula’s seductive nature, horror has seemingly always been concerned with our more base desires, and what happens when we let them take over. The Walking Dead in an excellent recent example used “fight the dead, fear the living” as a tag line. Even fairy tales were frequently cautionary tales about what happened to little children who were naughty.

And when you really dig deeper, there’s always a reason, some meaning behind a story. George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead actually had a lot to say about the American Civil Rights Movement in the 60s. Even the rise of what is described as “torture porn” came at a time when anyone could find graphic videos of horrific things done to inspire terror and bend the will of nations with just a quick search on the internet. (See Clarke Wolfe’s response to the label torture porn over at Nerdist.com).

Personally I’m a big fan of Asian and European horror – Let the Right One In, [Rec], Juon, etc., but I also really like some more recent American stuff like The Conjuring, The Witch, and Paranormal Activity (not to mention things like American Horror Story and The Walking Dead). I think those do a good job of igniting and stoking that underlying sense of dread that I appreciate.

What about you? Whatever it is, whether it’s slashers, monsters, ghosts, or demons, what do you like about it? Sometimes it’s fun to think about what that meant to the creators, what it means to us, or what it means about us.

“What I’m trying to show is how the monster, the evil, is not something lurking in the distance, but something actually inside all of us.” George Romero

If you share my passion for horror, feel free to share some of your faves! Join us on Facebook. I’d love to check them out (if I haven’t already).

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7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life: Clave’s Shelfie https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/09/7-nerdy-things-you-need-in-your-life-claves-shelfie/ Fri, 28 Sep 2018 15:12:48 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=19926

A look at the nerdy bookshelf of a Nerds on Earth writer. Odds are you'll find a recommendation that is right for you, whether it be board games, RPGS, or what have you.

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Sometimes I get a little stuck on what to write about. So I’ll glance at my shelves, looking for ideas. But I’ll often talk myself out of that option for two reasons: First, I have some deep cuts over there on my shelves. Second, who cares?

“Who in the Nine Realms would be interested in the stuff I like?”, I think to myself. But screw it, my stuff is STRAIGHT PURE JOY MAN AND I GOTTA LET YOU KNOW!

So, here we are. These are 7 random things from my nerdy little bookshelf that you might not be aware of, but you need in your life:

7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life

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Raiders of the North Sea

The whole game is gorgeous.

What it is. Raiders of the North Sea is a Viking-themed board game. The art is wonderful and the game design is top notch. To understand the basics all you need to know is that you place a worker, then you take a worker. That’s the gist. We did a full review here.

Why you might like it. Raiders isn’t an actual Viking board game obviously, like the one that historical Vikings were buried with. It’s just a simple worker placement game that allows you to play as Viking plunderers. It’s really simple to learn to play, which allows it to be a great jump into the world of modern board gaming or as a game to have on hand to bring new players in. Plus, it has tons of expansions to add later.

Where you can get your hands on it. Well, keep your hands off my little Viking! (that sounded dirtier than I intended it to; not gonna change it though) Instead, I’ll direct you direct to Renegade Game Studios, the publisher, or to Amazon. Better still, look for it at your FLGS. 

 

Starfinder

What it is. Starfinder is a “Science Fantasy” game for Paizo Publishing, the makers of the Pathfinder tabletop roleplaying game. In fact, Nerds on Earth writer Brandon never passes up an opportunity to tease me by typing “Space Pathfinder!” when we talk about Starfinder in the Nerds on Earth Slack channel.

Why you might like it. Paizo makes wonderful RPGs, most notable is how they support their products with their Adventure Paths, serialized adventure books that take characters from level 1-15 or so. Paizo is doing the same good work with Starfinder. In fact, we checked in on Starfinder on the one year anniversary of the game.

Where you can get your hands on it. Just about all of us at Nerds on Earth dig Starfinder, so it’s not just on my shelves. In fact, even as I type this, many of the other writers are coordinating a Roll20 game for tonight. You can get Starfinder direct from Paizo, or from Amazon. Better still, ask for it at your FLGS.

 

Walking Dead Compendiums

walking-dead-compendium-1What it is. There are currently 3 brain-devouringly huge books that collect the Walking Dead comics. These compendiums collect around 40 issues of the comic each. The fourth compendium should be coming soon.

Why you might like it. While the insane popularity of the Walking Dead television show has waned, we often forget what an impact the franchise has had and still has. This is particularly true with the comics, still a monthly Top 10 seller, despite being on issue 175+ and not being from the Big 2.

The compendiums are the best way to binge large runs of the comics for the best price. And you will indeed want to binge it, as the comic is so engrossing you won’t be able to wait to read what happens in the next issue.

Where you can get your hands on them. If you get them via Amazon, they are typically just over $30. For a book that collects over 40 comics, that’s a absolute steal. Here’s the link.

 

Marvel Legends Action Figures

Marvel Legends Mojo Build-a-figure
My Mojo, assembled by collecting 8 separate Marvel Legends figures.

What it is. Marvel partners with Hasbro to release 6″ action figures of just about every Marvel comic book or MCU character you can imagine. They have a few waves of these dolls action figures per year.

What’s fun is that each figure contains an additional piece of a larger figure. A wave of 8 can be collected, allowing the additional pieces to be assembled together to form a separate build-a-figure.

Why you might like it. The figures are typically well sculpted and articulated well. And at this point there are hundreds of the figures, making it a lot of fun to try and collect the characters you enjoy.

Once every couple of months I’ll spend a little time on eBay trying to steal a bid to get a figure for cheap. I’m working on the New Mutants, the Serpent Society, and the Wrecking Crew now, characters that OG comic fans will recognize.

Where you can get your hands on them. Target, Amazon…wherever. Some are rare or exclusive, so if you get deep into collecting them, you might have to hit up eBay or sales at cons. That’s part of the fun of being a collector though.

My Marvel Legends figures. Notice my Luke Cage and Misty night. As I binged the Netflix sho, I held the actions figures in my hands and made fighting moves with them.
My Marvel Legends figures. Notice my Luke Cage and Misty Knight figures. As I binged the Netflix show, I held the actions figures in my hands and made fighting moves with them. Not really, but I wouldn’t judge someone who did.

Pathfinder Playtest

The Pathfinder Playtest rulebook.

What it is. It’s the upcoming 2nd edition of Pathfinder, the wonderful pencil-and-paper roleplaying game that began as an offshoot of the 3rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons. (Here’s a primer on the history of D&D editions.)

Paizo Publishing–the makers of Pathfinder–have learned a ton in the 10 years of that game and are putting those learnings into the 2nd edition of the game, which fans are playtesting now.

Why you might like it. The Pathfinder Playtest is a popular topic of chatter in our Nerds on Earth Slack. In fact, several of our Slackers are doing a podcast play through of their playtest. The draft is wonderful and it is only getting more solid after feedback from the play testers.

Where you can get your hands on it. The final rules won’t be released until their big slash at GenCon 2019 but the playtest rules are available right now as a free download.

Wizkids Minis

What it is. If you can’t already tell, I love RPGs, particularly tactical ones because I think it’s fun to push miniatures around. But while I do enjoy painting minis and building terrain, I don’t have a whole lot of time for that.

So, I want pre-painted miniatures and there isn’t a better vendor for pre-painted miniatures than Wizkids, who build on their 15 years of Heroclix manufacturing experience.

Why you might like them. These are great looking miniatures for a nice price that give you tons of player characters and monsters for your roleplaying gams. What’s not to like about that?

There are also oodles of them. Here is a full overview of the different sets available.

Where you can get your hands on it. Look for them at your FLGS. They come in blind boosters, so I’ve written a guide for you if you are looking to build a collection through getting some specific individual pieces. Individual miniatures is the way to go if you are just looking for a fun character to serve as your PC in a D&D game.

Amazing Spider-Man

What it is. Spider-Man was the first comic I got off a drug store spinner rack and I’ve written before about how that issue has been so meaningful for me, turning me into a life-long Spider-Man fan.

As Marvel is wont to do, they’ve relaunched the Amazing Spider-man comic recently with a new #1.

Why you might like it. Well, it’s Spider-Man and who doesn’t like Spider-Man? But I’ve written a lot recently about how it’s difficult to be a Marvel Comics fan with the frequent relaunches and frustrating crossover events. Yet, they’ve hooked me with this latest relaunch, as it promises to be a long run without interruption and it is drawn by Ryan Ottley. If you want a back-to-basics Peter Parker, it is worth a look from you.

Where you can get your hands on it. Your FLGS. I started a pull list at my FLGS, my first in a couple decades.

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There you go. If you want to be a nerd in my mold, then these are a few of my favorite things. Nerds on Earth is a website for nerds who love stuff, so I hope you enjoyed looking in on a few of the things I love. Share your loves over on our Facebook page.

The post 7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life: Clave’s Shelfie appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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“Do you like scary movies?” Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/10/psychology-horror-genre/ Thu, 26 Oct 2017 12:38:01 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=15109

Are you a fan of scary movies? Why? Here's a brief look at the psychology behind the horror genre.

The post “Do you like scary movies?” Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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I love this time of year. Temperatures get cooler (psst, temperatures…that’s your cue), the leaves change colors, there’s sportsball, and don’t forget the veritable parade of ghosts, monsters, aliens, and murderous psychopaths!

I am a horror movie junkie. And I mean everything from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, to the classic Unversal monster movies, to more modern monsters like Jason and Freddy.

I remember staying up late as a kid to watch Salem’s Lot, or the Exorcist, then sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor in my parents room. What was it about those movies that captured (and tortured) my imagination? What compelled me to watch, when I knew how scared I’d be later?

Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre

Now that I work in psychology, I know that it’s our neurochemistry. Growth comes through stress. When we’re afraid, we get a big boost of adrenaline, which can be exhilarating. After we have faced our fears, we become more resilient, and feel more confident. The movie industry knows that we love that feeling and we’ll pay to share that experience with others (horror movies are more fun in a group). But how do they do it? How do they make something scary?

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” – H.P. Lovecraft

For the longest time, when it came to the American horror movie industry, I would argue they didn’t. They didn’t understand what made fear unique (or maybe they did, but they just got lazy), so they got it all mixed up and substituted other things that, while they may have evoked visceral reactions, weren’t as powerful as fear. That doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t like American horror movies, I just didn’t find them scary.

The most common substitute for fear is the jump scare. We’re following the protagonist, then hear a generic sound off screen. Then there’s a sudden visual change accompanied by an equally sudden loud musical cue.

Whether it’s turning around and seeing a monster’s face in the window, or a cat jumping out of a closet, the moment (and the feeling) is over just as quickly as it began. It may be startling, but it’s not going to inspire that looming sense of dread that keeps me hyper-vigilantly glued to the screen.

Sex and drugs are also frequent substitutes for fear. If someone is sneaking away to do something “naughty”, you can be sure that the killer is nearby. While this is definitely not fear, it does serve titillate the audience and provoke a primal emotional response.

Graphic and gory imagery and violence are used in many horror movies to try to get the audiences adrenaline pumping and get a big emotions reaction. Disgust and revulsion can be powerful feelings…and great publicity. So powerful, that the term “torture porn” was coined to describe some movies that were considered gratuitously graphic.

Now before you break out the pitchforks, or going stabbing pins in a little Earth Nerd Fields doll, I want to say a few more words about the elements mentioned above.

Jump scares–like jokes or humor–are things that have seemingly always had a place in the horror genre. They provide a break in the tension; they let the audience catch their breath. When used strategically, they serve to keep us off guard, not knowing what to expect, supporting that unknown element, as Lovecraft wrote, that is the foundation of fear.

Sex is fundamental in horror as well. Whether it’s Kong’s animal attraction to Fay Wray’s Ann, or Dracula’s seductive nature, horror has seemingly always been concerned with our more base desires, and what happens when we let them take over. The Walking Dead in an excellent recent example used “fight the dead, fear the living” as a tag line. Even fairy tales were frequently cautionary tales about what happened to little children who were naughty.

And when you really dig deeper, there’s always a reason, some meaning behind a story. George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead actually had a lot to say about the American Civil Rights Movement in the 60s. Even the rise of what is described as “torture porn” came at a time when anyone could find graphic videos of horrific things done to inspire terror and bend the will of nations with just a quick search on the internet. (See Clarke Wolfe’s response to the label torture porn over at Nerdist.com).

Personally I’m a big fan of Asian and European horror – Let the Right One In, [Rec], Juon, etc., but I also really like some more recent American stuff like The Conjuring, The Witch, and Paranormal Activity (not to mention things like American Horror Story and the Walking Dead). I think those do a good job of igniting and stoking that underlying sense of dread that I appreciate.

What about you? Whatever it is, whether it’s slashers, monsters, ghosts, or demons, what do you like about it? Sometimes it’s fun to think about what that meant to the creators, what it means to us, or what it means about us.

“What I’m trying to show is how the monster, the evil, is not something lurking in the distance, but something actually inside all of us.” George Romero

If you share my passion for horror, feel free to share some of your faves! Join us on Facebook. I’d love to check them out (if I haven’t already).

The post “Do you like scary movies?” Understanding the Psychology Behind the Horror Genre appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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7 Times The Walking Dead Comic was too Controversial for Television https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/03/walking-dead-comic-was-too-controversial-for-television/ Wed, 01 Mar 2017 13:41:21 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=11739

Sometimes The Walking Dead comic has been too controversial even for television. Here are some of those moments.

The post 7 Times The Walking Dead Comic was too Controversial for Television appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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The season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead depicted a brutal double murder that was shown in grisly detail.

The show’s ratings showed a noticeable drop after that episode as many viewers felt like it was just too much. The writers on the other hand were congratulating themselves on pushing the line further and further on what types of gruesome displays of gore and violence they could show on TV.

Then reports got as muddled as Rick Grimes Southern accent. One Walking Dead producer said they dialed back the violence in subsequent episodes, due solely to the fan feedback they received. But other executive producers directly contradicted that statement, saying that the decrease in violence had been planned all along and was not at all the result of fan discomfort with the season premiere.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don’t know what is going on among the producers, but I am a Walking Dead comic reader from the very start, so I know that the comics can get even more stomach turning than even the TV show. Here are 7 times that the Walking Dead comic was too controversial for even the AMC television producers.

Warning, MAJOR SPOILERS are possible, as some the show could always loop back to early storylines and some of the comic moments are out in front of the television show. A second warning, this post is GRAPHIC. Seriously, it’s REALLY GRAPHIC.

7 Times The Walking Dead Comic was too Controversial for Television

The Walking Dead #65

7. The Hunters eating their own children in Walking Dead #65. The television show remixed many of the elements surrounding Hunters, turning it into the Terminus storyline. And the show showed the Terminus gang as cannibals, with Bob being a victim. Everyone remembers Bob yelling, “Tainted meat!”

In the comics, the group was the Hunters and Dale was their victim. But what was chilling about the comics was a sequence when Rick questioned the Hunters on what brought them so low as to resort to cannibalism. They replied that if a bear would get hungry it would result to eating it’s own cubs. Well, the Hunters explained that when they got hungry…they ate their own children!

Thank the sweet Lord Jesus that the television show didn’t share comic story because my heart couldn’t deal.

The Walking Dead #14

6. The suicide pact of issue #14. It didn’t take many issues for The Walking Dead to establish that it was going to oft-times be an emotionally difficult read. In fact, I’ll share three such moments in rapid succession, none of which made it into the television show.

The television show features Tyrese’s sister, Sasha, very prominently. The comic featured Tyrese’s daughter and her troubled boyfriend, Chris.

During the time that the gang was staying at the prison, Julie and Chris were having sex, and committed to shooting each other in a suicide pact. After hearing a gunshot, Rick runs in to find Tyrese cradling his dead daughter’s body as Chris confessed that they were supposed to kill each other at the same time!

Julie then turns and tries to bite her father. Tyrese, in a fit of rage, chokes Chris to death and they realize that they don’t need to be bitten to turn.

5. The Greene Girls are shown headless in issue #15. The big reveal of season two of the television show was the emergence of Sophia out of the barn as a walker. Maggie and Beth are Hershel’s daughters on the TV show, while they were Maggie, Susie, and Rachel in the comics.

Glenn and Maggie find a barbershop in the prison. So they have sex and give themselves a little haircut, as one does. Later, Susie and Rachel go to the barbershop to cut their hair too, which is in no way a euphemism.

Hershel goes to search for Susie and Rachel, finding the horror of the decapitated heads of his twin daughters. They had been murdered by one of the old prison inmates.

The Walking Dead #16

4. Carol requests a threesome in Walking Dead #16. The television show has shied away from depicting the sexual acts that are in the comic. Carol is also a wildly different character in the comic.

Carol and Tyreese are a couple in the comic, but things go awry when Michonne is introduced. Carol tries to brush off Tyreese and Michonne’s friendship until she witnesses Michonne and Tyreese in a sexual act.

Soon after Carol’s break-up with Tyrese, her mental instability escalated to the point where she cut her wrist in front of her terrified daughter Sophia. Soon after this incident, Carol became desperate for companionship and she felt that the Grimes’ were the only ones in the survivor group who offered her comfort.

So she passionately kisses Rick when he was only trying to console her, then proposes the idea of a threesome between him, Lori, and herself. He rejects her idea and she goes to Lori, only be to shot down a second time.

The Walking Dead #28.

3. The sexual assault of Michonne in issues #28-32. In issue #28, the Governor cuts Rick’s hand off with a knife, which is a very shocking development that isn’t on the television show. But the reason is that the special effects of removing the hand of a television show’s main character is too expensive and inconvenient.

But other developments from that comic arc also weren’t depicted on the television show, presumably because they’d push the line of what is permissible on TV. In the closing panels of the comic, the Governor has Michonne locked in a cell. He comes in and tells one of his flunkies to take off her pants, then tells him to leave.

In the television show, the Governor uses the threat of sexual assault to torture Maggie, but it was only a bluff. This was uncomfortable enough, but the comics has some truly gut-wrenchingly bleak stuff with Michonne over the next few issues.

The Walking Dead #43.

2. The Governor’s toothless kiss of issue #43. Michonne had her revenge on the Governor, but not before comic readers came to find how further deranged he was. The television show showed the Governor’s fishtanks full of severed heads, as well has his turned daughter, Penny.

The comic takes this further. The Governor is shown pulling out the zombified Penny’s teeth and proceeds to give her a kiss on the mouth. He then throws up and says that he will get used to the taste.

Yeah, the whole thing was yucky on so many levels, so I’m glad they spared us on the television show.

 

1. The death of Judith in issue #48. In issue #48, the Governor has overrun the prison and Rick and Carl are running for their lives with Lori, who is holding baby Judith.

One of the Woodbury soldiers is commanded by The Governor to execute them. She obeys and shoots Lori in the back, not knowing she is carrying a baby. The gunshot kills Judith too, and Rick looks at his wife and daughter in shock. He then turns and yells at Carl to not look back and to just keep running.

Lilly then realizes that she has killed a baby and turns on the Governor, shooting him and tossing him toward approaching zombies.

After escaping the prison, Carl asks where his mother and Judith are. Rick starts to cry and tries to explain but he is overcome with grief.

The television show is typically over-the-line violent, but there is something about the death of a baby that I think they understand would bring a rightfully negative reaction from viewers.

__

Even though the television show sometimes skirted all around some of the above situations from the comics, they never quite took them to the line the comic book did. Honestly, I’m thankful for that.

Even as I was researching this last and remembering back the the comic stories I had read so many years ago, I realized that I didn’t recall any of them fondly. In fact, I with 100% certainty didn’t like how I felt after I read any of them, even if I very much enjoy The Walking Dead comic as a rule.

I guess that goes to show you there are lines we simply shouldn’t cross, even if it’s a comic book. Honestly, I don’t know how Robert Kirkman sleeps at night.

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Friday 5: Highlights from this Week’s Nerd News https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/01/friday-5-highlights-from-this-weeks-nerd-news/ Fri, 20 Jan 2017 15:09:17 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=11815

Nerds on Earth has this week's news highlights form televise comics, and movies.

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Friday 5 collects bits of news, fun, and updates on the week’s best nerdy things. Five quick links and your mana pool is replenished for the week. You’re welcome. Now, to the links!

Nerd Culture Highlights for the Week of January 15, 2017

1.  My friends, this looks sooooo good…

 

2. A second trailer released this week. 

The trailer for the Power Rangers movie released this week as well. I was in a theater when a preview trailer popped up. It elicited immediately laughter from the audience, despite the fact that it wasn’t trying to be funny. So, it seems like we’ll have to wait and see how the Power Rangers movie will be received. Judge for yourself. Here’s the official trailer:

 

3. There was even a trailer for a television show this week. 

Say what you will about the DC movies, but they are committed to television. here’s the trailer for ‘Powerless’, DC’s latest TV offering that premieres February 2 on NBC:

 

walking dead4. Can they make up their mind?

One executive producer for the Walking Dead said the toned down the gore after considerable fan outrage over the season 7 premiere, while another said they didn’t take that into consideration at all. Regardless, ratings are down so they are looking for a bounce back in the back half of season 7. Full story is at IGN.

via IGN

 

5. Epic Nerd Camp

Several of us Nerds on Earth writers have directed summer camps for teenagers, so this news is of particular interest to us. Check out Epic Nerd Camp, a summer camp for grown up nerds to have a week doing all the nerdy things they love. It features gaming, wizard duels, quiddich matches, and more. How can that not be good news for us nerds?!!?


That’s it for this week’s big nerd news. See you next week with 5 more highlights. Until then, keep it nerdy.

 

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Friday 5: Nerd Culture Highlights of the Week https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/10/friday-5-nerd-culture-highlights-week-25/ Fri, 28 Oct 2016 12:00:11 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=10148

Nerd culture highlights for the week of October 23, 2016.

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Friday 5 collects bits of news, fun, and updates on the week’s best nerdy things. Five quick links and your mana pool is replenished for the week. You’re welcome. Now, to the links!

Nerd Culture Highlights for the Week of October 23, 2016.

1. Wired.com is already on Cape Watch: 2017.

They survey, speculate, and weigh in on 2017’s super hero movies including DeadpoolWonder Woman, and Aquaman.  We can only expect to see one of these movies next year at this point (Wonder Woman) as the rest are only in the writing stages (if that), but it is fun to keep an eye on these franchises as they mature from scripts to screen.

 

2.  Benedict Cumberbatch diagnoses The Avengers’ injuries in a fun promo for Doctor Strange.

We love it when marketing for movies gets creative – like that time Marvel told us what Thor was up to during Civil War.  So watching Doctor Strange explain various injuries and how to fix them made us chuckle so we couldn’t rob you of this one!

via Geek Tyrant

 

3.  Ramp up your DnD games with custom Magic The Gathering styled cards for items and spells.createcard-php

This is a neat and extremely quick tool you can use to generate reference cards for your PCs when they stumble across new spells or items – including magical ones.  A little cooler than just having them write down what they’ve found and what the items do.

It is free to generate the cards and save the images (right click -> save as), but a quick registration will allow you to save cards for use or reprinting later.  The card to the right is one I made in literally 20 seconds for my Goliath Barbarian’s Bear Shawl of Protection.

 

4.  A fan managed to have his Glenn Rhee obituary published in a newspaper.

Lots of memes have been spawned in response to The Walking Dead‘s season 7 opener, but this obituary was one of my favorites.

via comicbook.com

 

5.  What happens when three artists try to design a Mondo poster in an hour…LIVE?mondocon-mondo-live-25-700x525

At MondoCon 2016, this question gets answered in a panel and the process is really interesting.  They field a movie suggestion from the audience (Goldfinger) and off they go!  The process involved researching previous posters to avoid replication, deciding on an overall design, and then executing several elements individually before combining them for the finished product seen on your right.

From the article:

The final step was to invite Rob Jones, one of Mondo’s key creative leads, on stage to inspect their work. Considering that this was a group collaboration created in an hour, he was impressed. It’s not the kind of rough version you’d ever send to a studio or a client, but it is the kind of rough version an artist would send to Mondo for initial feedback.

Mondo posters make fantastic gifts, by the way!

via SlashFilm

And we’re out of here, leaving you with 5 nerdy links. Hopefully they get you caught up on the big stories from nerd culture that you may have missed this week.

 

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Why Nerds on Earth is Walking Away from The Walking Dead https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/10/walking-away-from-the-walking-dead/ Mon, 24 Oct 2016 11:30:19 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=10065

Here at Nerds on Earth, we have talked about some of the various issues that surround the current world that we live in. We have talked about it being peak nerd, about how we will never be able to consume all the awesome nerdy things that are being created now, much less the beautiful things […]

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Here at Nerds on Earth, we have talked about some of the various issues that surround the current world that we live in. We have talked about it being peak nerd, about how we will never be able to consume all the awesome nerdy things that are being created now, much less the beautiful things from days and generations gone by.

But tonight, I personally hit a spot and space that I haven’t hit in a long way: the time to walk away. As a nerd, you have to know your own limits.

Season 7 of The Walking Dead began. It is well known that I was not a fan of the terrible cliffhanger nature of the end of last season, where someone is killed in such a way that we are unsure about who it is, because it was told from an odd perspective. Tonight, in the new season, we see that not one major character but two major characters are killed and because of a hallucination of Rick, we see other characters hit and presumably killed by the baseball bat as well. (Which furthers my personal take that they filmed ALL of them being hit with the bat and then used it as leverage in terms of contracts for this season. And if you don’t think the show and AMC are capable of that, you haven’t read the Frank Darabont lawsuit information.)

And halfway through the episode, I knew I had reached my limit. And I am pretty sure I am walking away from this show that I have liked mostly and loved occasionally. I have reached my limit with it for a variety of reasons. The storytelling isn’t compelling to me. There are deep flaws in the mechanics of the show; that guy hanging on the chain off the overpass? He has been there for 4-6 hours. No way his head should pop off like that! The gore level is now even more gratuitous and pointless; it has moved into the realm of horror porn and I am just not interested in that kind of story or storytelling.

And I hate that the show is now written in such a way that the episodes don’t stand alone. They are meant to be consumed alongside the 60 minute interpretation of the show that happens on The Talking Dead. So they get an hour to tell a story and an hour to justify that said story is good, even when it isn’t.  The mechanics of the empire are out of control.

Need more proof? They tried to ask critics to embargo the episode, meaning that they cannot talk about it until a certain point. It is a standard practice when a show provides screeners to preview episodes. So why is that so bad in this case? AMC wasn’t providing screeners. They tried to embargo critics who were watching the show at the same time and place as you and me.

So, for all of those reasons, I am at my limit. It happens. In the 1990s, I walked away from the X-men; the truth is that it got sideways with itself and I wasn’t gaining any joy from reading comics anymore. So I left. I even missed out on the 90s cartoon because of that. I have given up on film franchises, books series and more when I have reached the end of it for me. You have to know your limit. It is okay to be a fan of something, even for a long time, and then not be after a certain point.

And personally, I want to follow and watch things that give me great joy. That has been an abiding principle of our site since we started it: we want to enthusiastically cover things that are nerdy and bring us joy. Now, there are certainly times when we here at the site disagree on those things. Something that Clave loves may elicit a “meh” from me. And Clave and I both have yet to understand Adkins Dragonball Z fascination. But, we write, share and promote things that give us joy. And for me to keep writing about The Walking Dead would violate that principle.

When Fear the Walking Dead started, I covered it because it was coming out of The Walking Dead, which I loved greatly at that time. And I powered through the first season, writing weekly recaps. And I regret it. About midway through that season, I was simply hatewatching the show, watching it to shred it apart and post a scathing recap. Others liked the show. I didn’t and I wish I had walked away then; I had hit my limit but I just didn’t realize it.

Tonight, I have hit my limit with a franchise and I know it. So I am walking away from The Walking Dead. I may come back to it at some point and realize I have made a mistake. (Hello? Season 2 of Friday Night Lights everyone!) But for now, I’d rather find new things that I do love and nerd out about them here and share that with you.

So, what’s next? Help me find the thing that has slipped through that I should be reading, watching or listening to that will bring me joy and I can share about here!

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Friday 5: This Week’s Nerd Culture Highlights! https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/10/friday-5-weeks-nerd-culture-highlights/ Fri, 21 Oct 2016 12:15:27 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=10006

The 5 biggest news items from this week in geek culture

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Friday 5 collects bits of news, fun, and updates on the week’s best nerdy things. Five quick links and your mana pool is replenished for the week. You’re welcome. Now, to the links!

Nerd Culture Highlights for the Week of October 16, 2016.

1.  John Cleese recaps The Walking Dead

John Cleese is a comedy legend. Needless to say, this video where he recaps the current seasons of The Walking Dead is great stuff.

via Nerdist

 

2.  A 100-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien book is being released in 2017.

Tolkien TombstoneBeren and Luthien, a book by the fantasy author, will be available next year as a standalone novel for the first time since its writing in 1917. It tells the story of a mortal man and an immortal elf, and Tolkien acknowledges that it was written to echo to real life love of Tolkien and his dear wife, Edith.

Our own Joseph Robinson has been nerdsplaining Tolkien’s work, so we’re sure this release gets him excited.

via GeekTyrant

 

3.  The first trailer for Logan dropped yesterday.

Old Man Logan was a great storyline in the comics. We wrote about it here. Certainly the movie will deviate, but it’s promising nonetheless. And the first trailer is amazing.

 

 

4.  Promo pictures hint to the appearance of the Reavers in Logan

xmen-reavers-comics-700x324While the Reavers were rumored to appear in Logan, Hugh Jackman’s last Wolverine film, the first trailer confirms the cybernetic baddies.

We’ve written extensively on the Reavers, so this is an exciting addition to the movie.

via SlashFilm

 

 

5. The first teaser trailer dropped for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

I’m just going to leave this right here.


And we’re out of here, leaving you with 5 nerdy links. Hopefully they get you caught up on the big stories from nerd culture that you may have missed this week.

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7 Nerdy Things You Need in Your Life https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/10/7-nerdy-things-need-life/ Thu, 20 Oct 2016 12:52:16 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=9763

A look at the nerdy bookshelf of one Nerds on Earth writer. Odds are you'll find a recommendation that is right for you!

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Sometimes I get a little stuck on what to write about. Then I’ll glance at my shelves, looking for ideas. But nearly every time I talk myself out of that option because I have some deep cuts over there on my shelves.

“Who would be interested in that?”, I think to myself. But screw it, my stuff is STRAIGHT PURE JOY MAN! So I’m hitting you with it.

Here are 7 random things from my nerdy little bookshelf that you might not be aware of, but you need in your life:

Blood Rage

playing board gamesWhat it is. Blood Rage is a miniatures-based board game of Viking conquest. It’s a board game that is an absolute blast. It’s fast paced and relative easy to play once you have it down. We did a full review here.

Why you might like it. Blood Rage goes great with beer, pretzels, and hoots and hollers. In other words, it’s perfect for game night.

Where you can get your hands on it. Well, keep your hands off mine (that sounded dirtier than I intended it to; not gonna change it though)! I’ve started to paint some of my minis, so you’ll need to get your own copy. You can get it here for a nice price.

 

My Dice

Copper DIceWhat it is. I have a cool set of metal dice from Easy Roller. It’s the Copper Polyhedral Dice set, to be specific. We’ve reviewed Easy Roller dice before, and they actually have a full line of trays, bags, and mats to add to your gaming.

Why you might like it. I love them. Even though we know it’s silly, us nerds have an emotional connection with our dice. It’s superstition, but why the heck not go ahead and get a great set of metal dice that sound great when you roll them for that important saving throw?

Where you can get your hands on them. Go here. That’s Easy Roller website and has their full product line. But you can get them via Amazon as well, if that’s more convenient for you.

 

Walking Dead Compendiums

walking-dead-compendium-1What it is. There are currently 3 honkin’ huge books that collect the Walking Dead comics. These compendiums collect around 40 issues of the comic each.

Why you might like it. With the insane popularity of the Walking Dead television show, too many people overlook the comics. They are simply excellent.

The compendiums are the best way to binge large runs of the comics for the best price. And you will want to binge it, as the comic is so engrossing, you won’t be able to wait to read what happens in the next issue.

Where you can get your hands on them. If you get them via Amazon, they are typically just over $30. For a book that collects over 40 comics, that’s a absolute steal. Here’s the link.

 

Marvel Legends Figures

Marvel Legends Mojo Build-a-figure
My Mojo, assembled by collecting 8 separate Marvel Legends figures.

What it is. Marvel partners with Hasbro to release 6″ action figures of just about every Marvel comic book or MCU character you can imagine. They have a few waves per year. What’s fun it that each figure contains an additional piece of a larger figure. A wave of 8 can be collected together and the extra pieces assembled together to form a separate build-a-figure.

Why you might like it. At this point there are hundreds of the figures, making it a lot of fun to try and collect the characters you enjoy. The figures are typically well sculpted and articulated well.

Where you can get your hands on them. Target, Amazon…wherever. Some are rare or exclusive, so if you get deep into collecting them, you might have to hit up eBay or sales at cons. That’s part of the fun of being a collector though.

My Marvel Legends figures. Notice my Luke Cage and Misty night. As I binged the Netflix sho, I held the actions figures in my hands and made fighting moves with them.
My Marvel Legends figures. Notice my Luke Cage and Misty Knight figures. As I binged the Netflix show, I held the actions figures in my hands and made fighting moves with them. Not really, but I wouldn’t judge someone who did.

D&D 5e Player’s Handbook

Different edition of Dungeons and Dragons – 5e Players HandbookWhat it is. It’s Dungeons and Dragons, baby! The latest (5th edition) of D&D is excellent. The Player’s Handbook is what you need to create a character and get to playing. (Here’s a primer on the history of D&D editions.)

Why you might like it. D&D has never been more popular, as groups of nerds are gathering together to roll dice and roleplay fun characters. It’s old school analog creativity in a digital world. Besides, 5th edition is the best edition yet.

Where you can get your hands on it. Amazon has the PHB for a great price. But make a visit to your friendly local game shop is one is available to you. And if this feels intimidating to you, watch others play D&D to get the feel for it. Really.

 

Painted Stormtroopers

Click to embiggen. Stormtroopers with the shade added. Notice one has been lightened back up, but maintains highlights.
Click to embiggen. Stormtroopers with the shade added. Notice one has been lightened back up, but maintains highlights.

What it is. Imperial Assault is a great miniatures-based board game from Fantasy Flight games. It’s a Star Wars themed skirmish game where you set up your troops and run through different scenarios that are created via interlocking cardboard tiles.

Why you might like it. Board games are great; Star Wars is great. What’s more, Imperial Assault is full of awesome minis.

If you want to take it 2nd level, you pull out those miniature Stormtroopers from the Imperial Assault game and you are ready to get started with hobby painting! It’s meditation for nerds. If you are interested in starting, here are some general tips, then some specific for painting the Stormtroopers.

Where you can get your hands on it. While Imperial Assault might seem expensive, you get a ton of game, plus pounds of awesome Star Wars minis. Get it here.

 

Pathfinder Tales

Pathfinder tales Beyond the Pool of StarsWhat it is. Pathfinder Tales is a line of fantasy novels that are based in Golarion, the setting of the Pathfinder roleplaying game. The line is consistently solid. I’ve written a primer for the Pathfinder Tales line. Read that if you want to learn more and get a few recommendations.

Why you might like it. The Pathfinder Tales line is consistently enjoyable. They are light reads that make them great for some entertaining and relaxing stories that feature magic, elves, monsters, and all the other fantasy trappings that are so fun.

The best thing is that Pathfinder Tales books are standalone. While they are all set in the world of the Pathfinder RPG, you don’t need to read the books in order to keep up with a convoluted continuity. Jump in and out, picking up only the books that look interesting to you.

Where you can get your hands on it. I hear Amazon sells books. Plus, Pathfinder Tales is now being published by Tor, so distribution is pretty darned wide in most brick and mortar book stores.


There you go. If you want to be a nerd in my mold, then these are a few of my favorite things. If you want to share some pictures of your collections, please jump over to our Facebook page.

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