'Game of Thrones' Season 2 Summarized in a 8-bit RPG

We here at Comics & Dakine absolutely love Game of Thrones. Many of us also love gaming, so of course we can't help but share this gem. College Humor really outdid themselves with the first season 8-bit RPG recap and their back again with the recap of season 2.

It makes us wonder why there isn't a real 8-bit RPG game for Game of Thrones. 

SPOILER ALERT: definitely don't watch the video if you have not finished watching Season 2!

Check it out below:



There are so many lol-worthy moments that should have animated gifs, but in order to avoid spoilers, here's just one from the video:

Perfect, no?


This post was written by:
Crystal

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if you don't know, now you know- Halloween Cosplay Edition 2011

Cosplay Day for everyone is coming next month and the question is what the hell will you be going as on Hallow's Eve?  Last year I was pretty spot on with some of the predictions of what costumes will be rocked. Tons of parties through the month and if you don't got a clue on who or what to roll as...here are some ideas that will turn heads and give you some geek cred.

5   Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
The successful book /graphic novel and upcoming movie (now listed on IMDB for 2013) brings together a marriage of two popular themes- Victorian style meets Zombie. This could obviously be a great choice for a group of friends that are dressing up to start the night Jane Austen-ish sharp, clean, pre-zombie then to end the night as wrangled, meat-eating zombies. 

Pro-tip:  Bring extra makeup (grey and black paint, fake blood, ripped clothes) in case you run into friends or others that aren't dressed up and want to join you on your mauling of the party/city.

4    Superhero Gender Benders

Captain America, Green Lantern, Thor-- all the rage from this years blockbuster flicks and sure to find your way onto shelves of racks at a Spirit/Halloween shop near you.  With the right fit and physique I give props to the brothas busting their cosplay likeness but just about everything is always better on a lady. 


Still plenty of time to make your own fit or customize the over-the-counter piece that will give you a more personalized, distinctive look.  

3    The Flaming C
Conan O'Brien came to Comiccon this year with his very own COCO Museum in the Gaslamp and unsure

whether it was planned or not-- he crashed a WB Animation panel to show off his next big new thing-- an animation of his superhero likeness, The Flaming C.  Yeah it was basically a bunch of Young Justice clips with The Flaming C put in but it was still epic.  Besides having to wear pantyhose this is the ultimate, guaranteed-to-get-some action for Hallows Eve.  The ladies love Conan.  Good luck with the male camel-toe fellas!

2    Game of Thrones

 

Where last years most visible TV-inspired theme across different cities and parties on Halloween seemed to be zombies thanks to The Walking Dead, it looks like this year many will dress medievil.  I tend to look at the various cons through the year as a radar for what will be hot and GoT is looking to take over the zombie trend.  One of the more incredible cosplay I have seen was via the nerdybird rocking her version of Daenerys Targaryen who even caught the eye of George RR. Martin! 

I am just hoping to see at least a few doods rocking it as Tyrion Lannister surrounded with a harem of half-clad hotties.  You know you do too!!

1   Star Wars Mashup
What better way to show your love for George Lucas and his redick, non-nonsensical changes to the orginal Star Wars trilogy by creating a mashup of your own on the most recognizable icons from his films.


With the new Muppet-flick coming around the corner its timely to go as a Gonzo (hey look its Rizzo in his E-11 holster), Kermit or as Miss Piggy Trooper (better mashup would be Piggy the Hut with Salacious Kermit).  And the Bat-Vader concept as time-intensive as it probably is, could be worth it for those of you that have the ABS-crafting skills.

What are some other dope Halloween cosplay ideas that you  have seen or heard about??!! 


This post was written by:
big O

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SDCC 2011 is Bananas!!

With Preview Day and official day one under the belt I got to say that my thoughts and sentiments on the all-mighty-Comiccon is that damn you are one massive mofo. Every year since 2009 for me at least has meant longer lines, more bumpin and grinding and everything else that for most would cause frustration and anxiety.  But like many of my nerd brethren I have found ways to cope and make the most of taking in the best of geek mecha despite the thousands of sweaty, freaky humans that we gotta max with.


Last year I was an exclusive-pimpin whore, so I gave some tips and pointers to one of my homegirls in attaining her glorious prize-- a Star Wars Death Star: Revenge of the Jedi 12 pack from Hasbro-- well all it required was a lot of time on her part.  She made the most of being in line from 9:30am to 1pm by grabbing a 2:00pm guaranteed ticket to wait in line yet again to drop that skrill for her eventual throne room centerpiece.  Betty looks happy yeah?! 

So my plan for today was to take in more of the showfloor hijinks, peep my fave writer Grant Morrison and hit up the first ever Game of Thrones panel.   First, met up with Trey at my regular watering hole thru the con-- Whiskey Girls and grabbed some brews and grub and made way back to the con. On the way I saw a crazy, surreal believe it only when you see it Dragon dance parade but at the head of the dragon was a cartman ala Southpark.  You gotta always keep your eyes open for shit like this.  Amazing!

After hanging out on the floor with my homie who got deets on Olly Moss being a late add-in to the show and had some tight ass exclusive prints, not bad for an SDCC first-timer huh?!  Trey got a nice print of The Moon flick and I got sucked in by this wicked print.  We met some cool peeps promoting Conan the Barbarian and got savage with em for some cool snappys (tho mine kinda suck I hope his shots are better). 

Then cruised over to the Adult Swim booth and got hooked up with tix for tonight's premiere party with music by Kid Koala.  Yes, yes ya'll!!!

So I missed out on Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage in GoT panel that I needed at least another 3 hours to get into but I think I am having a blast yeah?! 

SDCC 1.5 down and 3 more days to go! 



This post was written by:
big O

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Missed Connections- Game of Thrones

To say that HBO's Game of Thrones freshman season was a massive success would be an understatement on how well received the show has been amongst longtime Westeros trubies (readers of George R.R. Martin's books) and newbs like myself.  Whether its in comicshops, cafes, at the water-cooler, lurking forums or while hoopin with homies-- everyone that have watched an episode have been hooked into the phenomenon that brings em to the source material or just quoting off lines from their fave characters.  After two episodes in, I plunged into reading A Game of Thrones and am just nearing the end of book two,
 A Clash of Kings.  Though I have been reading the book in tandem with the series I gotta say that due to the outstanding level of production & acting-- when I read it is like my imagination now matches a face/voice with someone I haven't met before.  

With the amazing cliffhanger that we all got to rejoice in last night-- I thought it was time to sound off on everything that I have loved about the series, how it does or doesn't connect with the books and all else that comes to mind...including some SPOILERS (so don't read on if you haven't read past book 2 yet, you have been warned!)  Will be honing in on the characters that I have enjoyed most in the past 10 episodes- just talkin story and recounting some of their greatest hits. 

Daenerys Targaryen
The last dragon, (well, almost if we don't count her Uncle Aemon Targaryen, aka Maester Aemon of the Night's Watch), Khaleesi, played by the spectacular Emilia Clarke- has been enough for me to keep tuned in.  And yes, it was a visual, vivrant thing but as more of her talent and depth was shone well you know how that goes.  Season one has been on point with imagining the books from the start seeing how Dany starts off as a submissive, naive 13 yr old (thank Buddha they didn't try to cast younger) pawn to her ambitious older brother, Viserys.  And through her own experiences that made her grow up quick, channeling her inner-strength and commanding voice as Khalessi and soon after as Mother of Dragons.

The books tended to be more explicit on the "relations" between Daenerys and Viserys-- with her assuming she would be marrying her brother like the Targaryens do-- but keeping this plot point minute made the incestuous dynamic between Cersei and Jaime more powerful.  Glad that HBO went that route.  Khal Drogo and Dany were written for the series to have connected much faster than it is paced by Martin-- I suppose this is more mechanical to push the story as they were able to cram all 700+ pages of Book one in 10 episodes.  So guess that point is moot.

Dany's characterization is very similar to Ned Stark where they have a genuine sense of purity amongst the truly horrific, tainted environments-- but where Ned gets consumed by it all to his demise-- Dany adapts and becomes something far beyond what we even expect.  Like the pressurization that makes diamonds, Daenerys truly becomes a dragon born from fire and with the loss of her husband and child gives birth to three actual dragons-- long thought extinct.  Like the Starks' discovery of Direwolves-- she actualizes the 3-headed dragon sigil of House Targaryen.

How imaginative was the final sequence of Dany entering the inferno, only to be found after everything was ashes and smolder the next morning.  I felt that Ser. Jorah would have actually put up more of a fight in letting his infatuation throw her life away-- and I appreciated that they kept her hair nearly unscathed to show that she truly is the Unburnt.  I can't wait to see how well HBO visions her further travels East, especially with the labyrinth during her meeting with the Undying of Qarth.

Jon Snow
Like Dany, Tyrion and so many other popular characters- Jon is another "underdog" role that we want to succeed which is a struggle being the only bastard child of the noble House Stark.  Kinda a twerp standing next to his younger brother and now King of the North, Robb-- Jon finds a new family as a brother of the Night's Watch.   And within that role he learns that his position within the social strata is not as lowly as he believed  now living amongst sons of cooks, farmers, accused rapers and other riffraff.    

Besides maybe Bran, Jon seems to have the closest connection with his Direwolf, Ghost.  And like the once runty, albino pup he has found-- it is now the biggest and most fearsome of the pack, similar to Snow within the Night's Watch becoming squire to the Lord Commander of the Watch, Mormont.  Kit Harrington like many of the other young actors have solid foundations in theatre which meshes well with the calm yet at times erratic persona of Jon. 

The levels of symbolism and foreshadowing in the books that are especially harnessed with Snow are layered in well with sleight of hand cinematography and immaculate dialogue.  Speaking of bastards-- I missed completely in the books that Robert Barratheon's own bastard-- Gendry, took to the Black just like Snow.  Looking forward to the meetup there if he ever gets out of Harrenhal.  My insides are telling me that there is a lot more to Snow that we don't know about like his mysterious mother..could she have ties to what lies beyond the Wall? 

Bran Stark
Bran attempted murder (twice) was the major lynchpin starting the bloody feud between the Starks and Lannisters that rips the North and South in half.  The young Lord of Winterfell gets a lot more shine in the series as he embraces more of his dreamstate visions that hint at his potential for fusing his mind with other beings, first it is a three-eyed crow and later it is with his direwolf, Summer.

You need to read Clash of Kings or just wait next season to see the cool developments of Arya (also dreams that she is Nymeria, leading a pack of wolves through the war on her way to the Wall) and Bran's characters.  When Robb leaves Winterfell for war, leaving young Bran as the head of the Stark fam its some fun shit as we see how smart and instinctive he is in playing the role, though at times being fed lines and cues from Maester Luwin-- Bran begins to embrace some of the noble courtesies and practices as the head of House Stark.

It's really not until Bran gets closer to Osha and meets with Meera and Jojen of House Reed that I started to get more into just how awesome Bran is. 


Theon Greyjoy
Initially we see Theon as the brash, outspoken ward of Eddard Stark with a sibling-like bond to Robb.  Despite being raised by the Starks, sure in captivity...and giving oath for his sword and life to Robb when he is made King of the North-- once he is released to return back as a King to the Iron Islands, we see how truly conniving the guy is.  Like Jaime and Cersei, he is a failed character that you just love to hate.  His father Balon is displeased with the "soft" nature that his only son has grown into living amongst his enemies of House Stark.

The transformation that takes place with Theon displays his loyalty to his House and adds to even further conflict amonst the Seven Kingdoms.

So anticipating the glorious introduction of Asha Greyjoy and the Greyjoy Rebellion 2.0.  Ah why can't season 2 just start in the Winter of 2011, oh well guess the new saying will be Spring is Coming.



Tyrion Lannister
The overwhelming favorite for an individual Emmy this year has to go to Peter Dinklage for his XXL performance of the scintillating, nympho, dwarf son of Tywin Lannister.  Tyrion's quotables are like a medievil standup comedy show:



When being accused for attempted murder by the crazed Lysa Arryn, Tyrion confesses that...
When I was seven, I saw a servant girl bathing in the river. I stole her robe and she was forced to return to the castle naked and in tears. I closed my eyes, but I could still see her tits bouncing. When I was 10, I stuffed my uncle's boots with goat sh*t. When confronted with my crime, I blamed a squire. Poor boy was flogged, and I escaped justice. When I was 12 I milked my eel into a pot of turtle stew. I flogged the one-eyed snake, I skinned my sausage. I made the bald men cry into the turtle stew, which I believe my sister ate. At least I hope she did.

The Hound says I didn't pick you for a hunter...
The greatest in the land. My spear never misses


When asked how he wants to die by eventual sellsword Shagga...
In my own bed, at the age of 80, with a belly full of wine and a girls mouth around my c**k.

When Bran tells Tyrion he is not a cripple, he responds with...
Then I'm not a dwarf. My father will be rejoiced to hear it.


Imping ain't easy.  But if you find yourself in San Diego this July be sure to catch the recently announced HBO panel where not only will the creator and famed writer of the books be avail but also some of the talented cast and crew!  See you there!!

SDCC 2011:  Thursday, July 21
Game of Thrones:  Author George R.R. Martin will moderate the panel with attendees including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Jason Momoa and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The panel marks the freshman series first time at Comic-Con.



This post was written by:
big O

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Life Imitates Art- Game of Thrones

It wasn't before Wondercon that I learned about the phenomenon of George R.R. Martin's The Song of Ice and Fire novels being brought to life by HBO as a new series The Game of Thrones.  After being jaw-dropped Sunday night in it's world premiere I was salivating at finding out more into the origins of the story as I was a bit lost being this was my first introduction to The Game of Thrones.  After spending sometime on twitter and the rest of the interwebs-- I realized just how vast of a world that Martin has created along with the huge fanbase of everything Westeros.   I get that this is a more gritty, racy and grounded telling of the fantasy
genre in comparison to J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece-- and for that and more I was utterly hooked.

Like last year's hot, new TV sensation, The Walking Dead-- I came in blind with knowledge of any of the source material-- and again, I lose some of my already sparse nerd cred.

But don't get it twisted, I am very much in touch with this fantasy genre -- in large part to my big bro-- that had exposed me as a youth to the genius works of Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest and Wing Shing Ma's numerous Manhua (Chinese comics).  And of course my allegiance to Squaresoft and the Final Fantasy brand from FFVII to X. 

As watching on and taken through the various families/houses of the Seven Kingdoms & the mind-numbing, talented ensemble cast that was a lot to take in as a newb-- I naturally went to what I knew and saw shades of the potential for future "Wolf-Riders" in the sons of Stark when they found the 5 direwolf cubs.  Which based on some fanart I have found comes along, at least in the books.

Daenerys Targaryen played by my new crush (along with millions of others I am sure) Emilia Clarke, made me immediately think of Final Fantasy icon-- Rinoa Heartlilly.  For they both share an innocence and naive quality that
is admirable, but you know they also carry an inner-strength / powers that can be straight frightening (as a Dragon-summoner perhaps).  Along with the Princess of the House of Targaryen, I was drawn to the bastard

son of Lord Stark- Jon Snow (Kit Harrington).  Though not accepted fully by the rest of the House and clearly carrying a chip on his shoulder, Snow has a sense of wisdom and depth that surpasses his other brothers and is perhaps only fully appreciated by his father.  That is shown when they take in the pride of direwolves.

Hawaiian product, Jason Momoa gets to hone his inner-Conan as the horse-lord of the Dothraki, Khal Drogo.  Though practicing in what others would deem as uncivil acts eating blood-drenched, raw carcass and busting a crazy death-orgy-- it's obvious the true savage beasts of the show is the House of Lannisters.  Whether it be the incestuous, plotting twins looking to usurp the Iron Throne or their brilliant, calculating imp /nympho/ brother- Tyrion. 

Like you may have already read or seen (if you caught the first episode) Game of Thrones is filled with enough T&A to make you think the channel is on Cinemax After Dark, but don't worry ladies-- plenty of eye-candy for you too.

Ep. 2: The Kingsroad - Preview

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big O

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