2 in 1 Showcase Episode 288: Free Comic Book Day 2013 Preview

Next week is Free Comic Book Day 2013, and once again, Blake and Erin are here to walk you through the books being offered. What are this year’s can’t-miss titles? What are books you’ve never heard of that may be worth your time? And what special treat has Blake cooked up for you guys? Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 288: Free Comic Book Day Preview 2013

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 287: Summer Movie Preview 2013

The temperatures are rising and it’s almost time to seek refuge in a nice, air-conditioned movie theater. This week, Blake and Erin walk you through all the big releases of Summer 2013 — what we’re excited about, what we couldn’t care less about, and a heck of a lot in-between. In the picks, Erin is getting into the BBC’s Sherlock, and Blake’s favorite new comic of 2012 Danger Club, returns from hiatus. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 287: Summer Movie Preview 2013

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 264: Free Comic Book Day Preview

With just five days left before Geek Christmas, it’s time to gear up for Free Comic Book Day! Blake and Erin go through this year’s list of offerings and talk about which books they’re anticipating, which ones may not be to their taste, and whether or not there’s any reptile as awesome as Doctor Dinosaur. (Answer: No.) In the picks, Erin is absorbed in Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies series, and Blake urges you to watch Young Justice on Cartoon Network. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 264: Free Comic Book Day Preview

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 231: Cowboys and Aliens and Movies (Oh My!)

The guys reunite this week to give their thoughts on the new Harrison Ford/Daniel Craig picture, Cowboys and Aliens! After, the take the time to chat about some of the movie and TV news from San Diego that was left out last week, such as a new Jurassic Park film and a Voltron reboot. Kenny reviews the new Thundercats TV show, and Blake takes the time to chat with Rebecca Marshall Ferris about her new documentary film Miller’s Tale, about the life of actor/writer Jason Miller. In the picks, Kenny goes with 50 Girls 50 #2 and Blake selects the new nonfiction tome from Grant Morrison, Supergods. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 231: Cowboys and Aliens and Movies (Oh My!)

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 220: Free Comic Book Day 2011

It’s Free Comic Book Day 2011, and the boys are back at BSI Comics! Blake, Kenny and Mike chat with our old friends Vernon Smith, Kurt Amaker of Immortal 60 and Monty and the Mongoose of Flying Zombies fame. PLUS: Your old buddy Chase is back with his inimitable brand of freewheeling movie and pop culture commentary. In the picks, Chase gives a shout out to Captain America: The Captain, Blake was into Avengers Academy #13 and Kenny dug DC Comics Presents: Son of Superman #1. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 220: Free Comic Book Day 2011

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 219: Thor and Free Comics

The boys are back this week to talk about the big movie coming to theaters this Friday. The guys discuss the coming Thor motion picture, the character’s history, and favorite runs with the Mighty Avenger. Then, it’s time for our annual Free Comic Book Day preview, where we run down all of the books available at a shop near you next Saturday! In the picks, Mike liked Captain America: The Captain Saga, Blake is down with Super Dinosaur #1, and Kenny digs Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #8. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 219: The Mighty Thor

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 218: Summer Movie Preview

Blake and Kenny are back together this week to run down all the movies hitting your theaters in the summer of 2011! From the big comic summer of Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America to the latest Harry Potter and TransFormers, offerings for the kids, movies for the gals, indie stuff you’ve never heard of, and REMAKES! REMAKES! REMAKES! Lots of remakes in August, is what we’re sayin’. In the picks this week, Kenny goes with Justice League: Generation Lost #23 and Blake was into Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #1. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 218: Summer Movie Preview 2011

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The 180 Days of Christmas

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I’m a big fan of Christmas music. Just ask Erin — the day after Thanksgiving we got in the car only for her to discover that my iPod had already been thoroughly Kringled. I’ve got a pretty substantial library of Christmas music saved up on the computer, and when that happens, there are bound to be several versions of the same song. I’ve got lots of Rudolphs, several Frosties, a good number of O Holy Nights… but the song I seem to have more variations of than any other is that perennial classic, The 12 Days of Christmas.

After a quick perusal of my iTunes library I count no less than 15 variations of this song, and I thought it’d be interesting to run them down today in the Christmas Party. First of all, let me point out that the “12 Days” in question actually refer to the Liturgical calendar — the 12 days of the Church’s Christmas Season. It actually begins on December 25 and counts down to the celebration of the Epiphany (a.k.a. “Twelfth Night”) on January 6. Which is also the day St. Nicholas and his helpers make visits to a number of countries — he doesn’t actually do it all on Christmas Eve. But I’m getting off topic.

I think I know why this song gets recorded (seemingly) more than any other. It’s easy. All you’ve got to do is come up with different “gifts” for the twelve days and, BAM, you’ve got a Christmas novelty song. And in fact, none of the variations of the song I have on iTunes are a “straight” version. Because let’s face it, the “straight” version of the song is unbearably boring. The only versions I have that actually use the original lyrics are performed by the Chipmunks, the Looney Tunes, and John Denver with the Muppets (the last of those being my favorite).

Changing the gifts, of course, is a common theme to create variety in the song. Versions I have that do this include:

• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the Turtles apparently gave Splinter “a pizza with pepper-o-ni.”)
• The Smurfs (“a star on top of my tree”).
• Kay DeKalb Smith from the album Humbug! Christmas Songs For the Scrooge in Your Life (in which Ebenezer Scrooge gave “a Partridge Family LP”.)
• Bob and Doug McKenzie‘s version — one of my favorites for this line only: “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… a beer.” They don’t even try to fit the rhyme scheme.
• Redneck 12 Days of Christmas, courtesy of Jeff Foxworthy, in which he got “some parts to a Mustang GT.”
• Firefly’s 12 Days of Christmas, in which Julesong pays tribute to one of the greatest dead science fiction TV shows by wishing for “a big damn trilogy.”
• Heavy Metal Christmas, courtesy of Twisted Sister, which features someone receiving “A tattoo of Ozzy.” (Which Erin and I had to listen to through day eight to understand.)

Then there are the ones that abandon the “gift” concept and just go crazy.

• The 12 Yats of Christmas, by Benny Grunch and the Bunch, is a New Orleans-area perennial. It starts with “a crawfish they caught in Arabie” and moves down to an increasingly intoxicated singer with his “Six pack of Dixie [beer]” and an increasingly frustrated house decorator trying to put up the tree “before you drive me nuts.”
• The 12 Pains of Christmas, a classic by Bob Rivers, documents Yuletide headaches from “finding a Christmas tree” to “singing Christmas carols.” This one just gets funnier with every verse.
• The 12 Gifts of Christmas by Alan Sherman is in a similar vein, beginning with “A Japanese transistor radio” and counting out 11 more gifts no one in their right mind would ever want.
• The 12 Days of Clonemas is a parody by JC Hutchins based on his epic 7th Son  novel series, which is very funny, but probably only if you’ve listened to the book.

And finally, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has the 12 Tips of Christmas, which isn’t actually a song, but uses the 12 days conceit, so I’ll count it. Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor and Matthew Croake offer such tips as trying to get David Cassidy as your Partridge in your Pear Tree and picking up Ishtar as your Christmas turkey.

So I’m counting 180 Days of Christmas just on my iPod alone. Which versions have I forgotten, friends?