Last weekend was a pretty amazing one for geeks. Friday was May the Fourth Be With You, The Avengers was released and smashed box office records, and Saturday brought Free Comic Book Day. The annual event takes place on the first Saturday of May, and it’s been going strong for ten years. Impressive, huh? Especially considering that free actually means free. It’s a day for comic book shops to dress to impress and attract new customers, a day when comic book creators are even bigger rock stars, and a day to introduce your non-comic book reading friends to the fun that is comics.
I visited three spots for the geek holiday this year, and as I expected, each location handled the day a little differently. I go to more than one store mostly because I’m curious to see what they all do to celebrate, and I don’t mind getting a variety of the available free comics. Speaking of that, I picked up seven free comics (including Archaia’s free hardcover) in my travels, and I devoured the stack as soon as I could.
Read about my experience along with a run-down of the stand-outs among the comics I picked up after the break.
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New in the Nerd Approved Shop—Lego 8831 Minifigures Series 7 10-Pack!
Are you ready for a fun surprise? These exciting LEGO figures come randomly boxed, just like trading cards! Each one is a unique surprise. Each minifigure comes in a sealed mystery bag, so you never know which minifigure you might get. Each character has its own special accessories, display plate, and collector’s leaflet. Collect them all, and use their parts to customize your very own figures! Age 5 and up.
Inspired by movies, sports, history, and everyday life, Series 7 includes 16 different characters: Nerd, Punk Girl, Bride, Warrior, Viking Woman, Space Pirate, Bagpipes Man, Aztec Warrior, Ape Man, Hippie, Bunny Suit Man, Swimmer, Black Knight, Red Riding Hood, Tennis Player, Sea King. Which ones will you get?
The 10-pack sold out within minutes of arriving in the store, but you can still pre-order and they will ship as soon as stock is replenished. You can also pre-order the figures individually in a random blind pack set to ship later this month.
LEGO 8831 Minifigures Series 7 10-Pack—$29.99
LEGO 8831 Minifigures Series 7 Random Blind Packed Figure—$2.99
When I was a kid, my room was adorned with Star Wars posters and action figures. I also had some pretty awesome Transformers sheets if I do say so myself. Not bad, but some people choose to go the extra mile and make more elaborate themed rooms and beds. Just imagine the kinds of dreams you would have sleeping in places like these.
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These awesome Star Wars and Pirates of The Caribbean-themed LEGO Minifig alarm clocks of Vader, Yoda and Jack Sparrow are on sale for a limited time at $23.99. That’s 20% off the list price.
Features include moveable arms and legs, alarm, snooze button, backlight display and 24/12-hour time functions.
Darth Vader / Yoda / Jack Sparrow—$29.99 $23.99 (20% off)
For today only, Pirates of the Caribbean fans can score the four movie collection on Blu-ray/Digital Copy for only $76.49. That’s 55% off the list price (with free shipping).
Set sail with Captain Jack Sparrow for more adventures than ever before with this Pirates of the Caribbean Four-Movie Collection. Inside you’ll find an authentic replica Pirate’s Chest, a collectible map and an iconic skull disc case that holds the Blu-ray discs and digital copies of all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Blu-ray 3D disc and DVD of On Stranger Tides. It’s a fortune in gold worthy of any swashbuckler – alive or dead.
Pirates of the Caribbean Four-Movie Collection (Blu-ray/Digital Copy)—$169.99 $76.49 (55% off)
Lego has brought its style to many of our favorite franchises. They’ve pulled scenes from settings such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Now they have the license to create figures and playsets from The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit films.
“Only Lego, with their expertise in the construction category, is capable of doing justice to the incredibly imaginative environments depicted in the world of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the two films based on ‘The Hobbit,’” said Karen McTier, executive VP, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “These films give life to amazing worlds and characters and we are thrilled to bring fans these products that deliver an imaginative play experience befitting of these beloved properties.”
This means there could be tiny Wraiths, a Lego Shire, orc minifigs, Ents! The possibilities are dazzling. I’m just going to go ahead and clear shelf space for all of the sets now. Yes, my precious. We will haves them all. The first toys are expected to arrive to stores in June, and the kits will be released closer to the December 14 2012 release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
(via Variety / Thanks Nicholas!)
Series 1 and 2 of the Femme Fatales Minimates series is now available for pre-order!
The tiny but deadly ladies in series 1 include “the Dark Diva herself, Lady Death, Randy Queen’s Darkchylde, Joseph Michael Linsner’s Dawn, and the bodacious Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose from Jim Balent.”
Series 2 includes “the aquatic warrior Medusa, pirate Anne Bonny, and fairy tale characters Little Red and Alice”.
Product Page: Series 1 / Series 2 ($15.99/Ships in November)
What do you get for the man that has everything? Usually I get him a gift certificate to the local golf store. Seriously, my father is the hardest person on Earth to buy for. However, if money was no object I might buy something from the list below. Though, I have to admit that, in my case, the Mobile Beer Bar and the VirtualGT racing simulator are more like gifts that you get someone that are really for yourself. My father doesn’t drink beer, he couldn’t make a bowl of cereal to save his life and he drives conservatively. Meanwhile, I would cook meat and drink beer while virtual racing.
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There was a time when 3D was new and exciting with people wearing cute little cardboard glasses. They ate their popcorn and waited for things to pop out of the screen and scare them so badly they’d spill it into their laps. Fast forward a few years, okay more than a few, all the way to Avatar. Now 3D isn’t a gimmick, they say, it’s an experience. They even give it a cooler name, RealD, which seems to be merely an excuse to make me wear horribly uncomfortable glasses and charge me a few extra bucks. I find it distracting and cringe when I see movies released only this way. I still see them, rubbing behind my ears and adjusting those stupid glass for half the movie, but I’d much rather just see things in good old 2D. This weekend my dislike of 3D reached new heights when it became partly to blame for me not getting to see the movie I wanted to see. It officially became my nemesis.
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The pics are only renders at this point, but a mega-rich client in Florida has paid Elite Home Theater Seating $2.5 million to create this elaborate Pirates of the Caribbean-themed home theater. When completed, it will include a ticket booth entrance, tavern and ship deck.
Check out more pics after the break.
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