pop culture
Modern popular culture topics in the geek sphere.
Evolution of Ant-Man
By now you must have seen Ant-Man, the 2015 summer blockbuster starring Paul Rudd. For those who haven’t seen it, you’re probably wondering how a film surrounding a superhero called Ant-Man can have redeemable qualities and/or special powers. Meanwhile, Ant-Man has a long and storied history in the comic book universe and has, at many points, been the most important character of the Marvel Universe. This is the evolution of Ant-Man. It’s probably wise to first go over which characters have worn the Ant-Man suit.
By Stephen Hamilton8 years ago in Geeks
Why Women Game Developers Matter
If you take a look at the top five games of 2015 according to MetaCritic, you’ll be pressed to find a female name among the credits. You may find names that sound like they should belong to women (here’s looking at you Leslie Benzies), but unfortunately the presence of women is nonexistent with the exception of Undertale’s Temmie Chang and Journey’s Robine Hunicke.
By Patricia Sarkar8 years ago in Geeks
Cosplayer Holly Wolf
Holly Wolf is a Canadian model who juggles her career as a playmate with her passion for geek pop culture and cosplay. The Toronto native is a self-proclaimed Zelda who provides breakdowns of her costumes on her website alongside details of her armor-making skills. She was the first-ever cover model of Geek Fantasy, a men’s magazine, where she cosplayed Captain America. Wolf is an internationally-recognized model who has graced the pages of FHM while appearing on the cover of Playboy Slovakia. Her honors include 2014 Playmate of the Year for the Czech edition of the venerated publication. Cosplayer Holly Wolf symbolizes a new wave of pop culture—it is possible to be a smart, beautiful geek girl.
By Geeks Staff8 years ago in Geeks
Political Walk of Shame
Let's be honest, nobody wants to see our politicians forced to walk through the streets naked. That would be more of a punishment for everyone else than it would be for the over-inflated egos that stalk the halls of Congress and lurk in state government. But sometimes I can't help but wish we could drag most of the people currently making a mockery of themselves in the presidential election through the streets and announce their crimes to the world. Just some guy with a cowbell shouting to an angry crowd—without the typical political media circus. I feel like it might promote some honesty in our election if our candidates had to risk a more visceral form of public shaming rather than just shrug off a few limp-wrested punches from the 24-hour election cycle.
By Patricia Sarkar8 years ago in Geeks
Tricia Helfer Geek Icon
Tricia Helfer has made quite a name for herself in the industry, modeling since 1992 and acting since 2000. But it's her wealth of experience that has gained her recognition within geek entertainment, bringing her to icon status in the world of science fiction. Helfer had a normal upbringing away from the spotlight—until, that is, she turned seventeen and was discovered by a modeling agency at her local movie theatre.
By Stephen Hamilton8 years ago in Geeks
Best Monopoly Special Editions
Within a year of the Monopoly game’s release in the US, 35,000 copies of the game were being made evert week. Their momentum hasn't slowed, as the game continues to sell at a rapid fire pace and make millions each year. The popular board game is so well known that it has been transformed into unique editions, and with games based on A Christmas Story, Star Wars, and World of Warcraft, there is one for fans of every genre. The current iteration of the traditional version of the game was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935. Subtitled "The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game," the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity.
By Geeks Staff8 years ago in Geeks
The Walking Dead’s Best Comic Book Characters
Adaptation from print to live action often results in changes. Sometimes those changes happen because elements in the source don’t translate well to the new, faster-paced medium. Other times, it’s a creative choice from the new creatives such as the screenwriters, directors, or the producers.
By Tara Edwards8 years ago in Geeks
History of Deadpool
Captain America is as American as apple pie and hand guns. Captain America is the favorite superhero of every goody two-shoes out there. Yet for those that are a little more badass, Captain America is nothing compared to antihero Deadpool. Born as Wade Winston Wilson, he is a normal person with a highly dysfunctional family who was once a volunteer test subject of the Weapon X program. You might ask yourself, did he really volunteer? But, when you have cancer, and the government promised to give you a regenerative healing factor, then it must sound like a good idea. I mean, not to any sane person, but when you are wild and mentally unstable like Wade, sure. Deadpool's powers and personality traits combine to make him an unpredictable mercenary, the merc with a mouf. M-O-U-F. Two fists, two swords, four guns, and a number of other weapons that seem to appear from his "magic satchel." In other words, a total badass.
By Stephen Hamilton8 years ago in Geeks
Best Post Apocalyptic TV Shows
Portrayals of what life may be like after a world catastrophe have always been present in art. However, after the creation of nuclear weapons, the possibilities for the end of the world likely became much more interesting to writers and creators. After all, it’s much easier to think about the apocalypse when one wrong conversation between world leaders could lead to a nuclear end for the rest of us. Such appears to have been the case in entertainment for the past 20 years, where various post apocalyptic TV shows, movies, comic books, and novels appear every few months. Below is a list of some of our favorite post apocalyptic TV shows.
By Stephen Hamilton8 years ago in Geeks
History of She-Hulk
I think it’s fair to say that everyone has heard of The Hulk. In fact, I’m pretty certain that even people who have never touched a comic book in their lives or have never seen one of the very many superhero movies coming out every year now still know who The Hulk is. Why is that?
By Geeks Staff8 years ago in Geeks
Insane Superhero Crossovers
There’s a sacred trend in the media: the holy crossover. It doesn’t happen often but when a crossover does happen you can be sure that everyone and their mothers will be made aware of it. You need only look at Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice or The Avengers to demonstrate my point. People go crazy over the crossover. There’s just something inherently fun in seeing two things come together and share the same screen space, whether it’s on the pages of a comic book or on the big screen. Perhaps it’s because we don’t usually imagine different characters interacting with each other, so seeing two of our favorite people come together is a special treat, like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup bringing together peanut butter and chocolate. With the Marvel cinematic universe turning superhero crossovers and a shared universe into the norm, we figured now would be the best time to go back and look at some of the best and weirdest superhero crossovers. Let's have a look at some of the best comic and TV superhero crossovers ever created.
By Stephen Hamilton8 years ago in Geeks
Best 'Star Wars' Shirts
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, wearing geeky Star Wars t-shirts was a surefire way to get yourself a wedgie. Star Wars super fans were ostracized and mocked. But now J.J. Abrams and Disney have transformed Star Wars into one of the most relevant cultural properties on the planet. With The Force Awakens earning over $2 billion at the box office and becoming the third highest grossing film of all time, all of the people who used to beat up Star Wars are fighting over each other tooth and nail to get their hands on the coolest Star Wars merch. But you know in your heart of hearts that they’re all just a bunch of posers who couldn’t tell the difference between a BB-8 and a C-3PO. But maybe you’ve spent so much time being a self-hating Star Wars fan you don’t know where to begin your hunt for the best Star Wars shirts. Well don’t worry about making the kessel run in 12 parsecs or less, because we’ve got you covered.
By Isaac Shapiro8 years ago in Geeks