At Spike TV’s 2011 Scream Awards, iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader won the Ultimate Villain award. But even someone as villainous as the Dark Lord of the Sith has fears — of his creator George Lucas and his tendency to digitally revise cinematic history.

As the heavy-breathing black-cloaked Sith lord came out to accept his award, he expressed his worry about Lucas, saying he could “digitally enhanced you in the DVD release.” [...]

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #1
“The Dunwich Horror“
Written by Joe R. Lansdale
Art by Peter Bergting
Letters by Shawn Lee

“The Hound“
Script by Robert Weinberg
Art by menton3
Letters by menton3
Covers by Nick Percival, menton3
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 19, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

I chose H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #1 to review just because I’m a fan of Lovecraft. I was quite happy to find that Joe R. Lansdale had written the script for the first story in this comic. I’ve met him several times since he lives in the same small Texas town as I do. Both the stories were entertaining and as dark as you would expect from a Lovecraftian piece.

The first story, the self titled The Dunwich Horror is obviously just the beginning to a great horror story. The first few pages contain no dialogue but are there to set the mood. Ambiguously suspenseful dialogue between the characters really does little to assist the reader in understanding what is going on, but it lends itself to the mystery and makes you flip the pages that much faster to try to find out what’s next…just like a good story should.  Peter Bergting‘s art is almost like it was done with watercolors in that he blends features and colors to create a lot of dusk-like panels. The near dark atmosphere is one that always works in horror movies and it seems to do just fine in comics, too. Not much can be said to spoil the story here but it really is one that you need to read to get a sense of the ambiance that Lansdale and Bergting present to the reader. [...]

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
XBOX 360 | PS3 | PC
THQ Games
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Price: $49.99

A few weeks back I wrote this article when the demo of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was released. Well, now that I’ve finally gotten myself waist-deep in the full version of the game, consider this to be the ‘Extended Edition’ of that article.

Everything I said before still stands true so I won’t waste our time here re-telling you how visceral the gaming experience felt to me then. I also won’t flood you with adjectives and verbs about how bad-ass it felt to slay millions of Orks using your ChainSword, Bolter Rilfe, and more.

It still does. It still is [...]

When you enter the New York Comic Con 2011 showroom floor, you expect to see a lot of super-heroes and sci-fi characters alike. The Javits Center in New York City probably has never seen this many crossovers and the crowds were something else.

Here are a few images captured on the Thursday’s Preview Night and the opening day on Friday. More to come, dear readers. Stay tuned for photo round-ups for the rest of the weekend. For now, Enjoy!

Oh – and as always, if you see yourself in any of these photos, be sure to shout out and let us know! [...]

The Lion King
4–Disc Blu–ray/3D/DVD/Digital Combo
2-Disc Blu–ray/DVD Combo
Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Rowan Atkinson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Madge Sinclair, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Guillaume, Moira Kelly, Jim Cummings, Niketa Calame
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release date: October 4, 2011

You can’t really review The Lion King. It’s one of the crown jewels of Disney’s line of timeless hand–drawn animated classics, and my own personal favorite of the bunch.

It’s jam–packed with a great cast of voice actors, gorgeous and vibrant environments, settings, and colors, and some of the most unforgettable songs any movie has ever had. Not to mention the wonderful story of a young lion cub who’s tricked into leaving the lands he was to one day become king of after an incident involving his stoic father–king and his deviously evil uncle [...]

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor
Hardcover | Kindle
By Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga
Hardcover
St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: October 11, 2011

In The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, the reader gets a previously untold back story on one of the greatest villains from the Walking Dead universe: The Governor. In this first of three prequel novels from St Martin’s Press, fans of the Walking Dead comics and television show get a treat and learn about the origins of The Governor and how he became the vicious psychopath that we meet later in the comic book series.

I’ve been a fan of the Walking Dead for a very long time. When a new issue of the comic is released, it’s the first thing I read on my weekly stack of comics. When St. Martin’s Press announced that they were releasing a trilogy of prequel novels, I was excited and hesitant at the same time. I wanted the novels to have the same level of excitement as the comic series and the television series [...]

Conan: The Road of Kings #9
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Dan Panosian
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings
Cover by Aleksi Briclot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 19, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Roy Thomas on Conan. What more could you want? This is classic Conan the Barbarian. Swords, sorcery, and everything that make up the genre. Except, there is a serious lack of scantily clad ladies in this issue. But, I’ll forgive you, Roy.

My one major complaint about the comic (and the Conan books in general) is that if by chance you’re picking up Conan on a whim, you might find yourself a little lost. Although there is a recap on the inside of each cover, with the Hyborian names, and all the political intrigue going on, it’s quite easy to become confused as to who’s who. But, still, Roy Thomas tells a fantastic Conan story. He hasn’t missed a beat [...]

Cold War #1
Created, written & drawn by John Byrne
Colors by Rhonda Pattison
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by John Byrne
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 19th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

WARNING!!!! Do NOT buy this comic unless you want to have FUN! I’m not sure just what I was expecting from this comic, but it went far beyond any and all expectations that I had for it. In spades.

Cold War #1 opens with an incredible 11-page sequence that is really fascinating. The great thing about this book is that, while it’s clearly a spy genre, James Bond-type of comic, it doesn’t beat you over the head with it. It’s not a direct homage to the genre, like Crossgen’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but it has the spirit of the genre without blatantly ripping off James Bond trademarks like gadgets, scandalously named women, and witty one liners. It’s almost an undercover spy book. A covert undercover spy book. Good Lord, I feel like I’m in the “in-famous” scene in The Three Amigos movie [...]

The Sarah Jane Adventures continues, with a new adventure that’s become considered to be as good as a Doctor Who episode. An odd meteorological occurance leads Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) and her team into investigating a strange totem pole on display in a museum. While examining the exhibit, Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony) gets cut by a splinter from the totem, causing an unnerving series of events.

Following his blood being spilt by the totem, Clyde’s name becomes cursed… turning everyone around him to hate and despise him after the mention of his name. Disowned and kicked out from home, Langer finds himself on the streets alone, homeless, and without hope… until a homeless girl he had previously helped callled Ellie (Lily Loveless) enters his life, and helps him adjust to the street life. […]

For over 40 years bass player Tony Levin has been one of the very best in the business. He has played with King Crimson, released a number of solo albums, and has recorded and played with countless artists including Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Brian “Head” Welch, and Alice Cooper to name a few. Recently he teemed up with guitarist David Torn and Yes drummer Alan White on the fantastic new album, Levin Torn White.

The original blogger (he was doing it before it even had a name) gave me some great answers to my email questions, and explains just what in the name of prog ‘funk fingers’ is.

Geeks of Doom: Hello Tony, how are you?

Tony Levin: Quite well. Writing from the tour van, on a 7-hour drive from Atlanta, GA to Carrboro, NC – doing what I love to do (well, not driving in the van…) bringing my music to people.

Geeks of Doom: How did your latest band Levin Torn White come together? [...]

Aloha From Hell
Hardcover | Kindle
A Sandman Slim Novel
Written by Richard Kadrey
HarperCollins Voyager
Release date October 18, 2011

Aloha from Hell is the third book in the Sandman Slim series from Richard Kadrey and it is one hell of a ride. Wise cracking antihero and nephilim (that’s half human, half angel to you) Jim Stark, A.K.A. Sandman Slim, has been to Hell before. In fact, he spent eleven years down there as a killing machine. He hasn’t been back in Los Angeles for very long before he’s called upon to help find a missing boy who’s possessed by an unknown demon, which is odd because Stark and his friends thought they knew all the demons already. He really doesn’t want the job, but when all signs in the case start pointing toward a personal vendetta against Stark, he knows who’s behind it and fully intends to put that guy out of business permanently with the help of the Kissi, another particularly fierce species which doesn’t quite belong anywhere and stink like vinegar [...]

Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been hired to write a script for Micronauts, a movie based on the popular Hasbro toy for producer J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures.

Paramount struck a deal with Hasbro for the property recently, and it’s considered a priority project behind the planned Transformers 4. Abrams will produce through his Bad Robot Productions.

Wernick and Reese broke out with Zombieland and have since worked on G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, the planned Deadpool spinoff from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the expected Zombieland 2.

Micronauts is the American version of Japan’s Microman toy line. They first showed up in the States in 1976 through Mego Corporation who ended the line in 1980. The toys had a revival in 2002-2003 through Palisades Toys and then again when Hasbro announced plans to launch a new line of Micronauts, which also coincided with the news that Abrams was developing the movie that’s now set up at Paramount. [...]

Since 1927 over 200 legends of Hollywood have been honored by the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre by imprinting their hands, feet, or other notable traits in the cement outside, solidifying their cinematic and celebrity legacy for all time.

Just looking over the list of greats who have been given the honor (check them all out here), you can see how significant the honor is. Looking over the very same list, you will then understand why it’s so sickening to hear the news that Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Robert Pattinson, stars of The Twilight Saga, will now be immortalized with their own hand and footprints in the cement.

For the Twi–Hards of the world this will be an exciting event (one you can watch a live stream of on the Grauman’s site on November 3rd at 10am PT/1pm ET), but for everyone else out there it’s a sad, dark, and depressing day indeed. [...]

The deal of the day over at Things From Another World today is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 1 trade paperback edition for only $16.24 (that’s 35% off the list price of $24.99).

Note – This deal is valid only for today, Tuesday, October 18, 2011, til 11:59PM PST while supplies last.

This 320-page full-color omnibus from Dark Horse Comics is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series created by Joss Whedon and is from the creative team of Whedon, Fabian Nicieza, Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton, Scott Lobdell, Paul Lee, Eric Powell, Joe Bennett, Cliff Richards, Hector Gomez, and Will Conrad.

Visit the TFAW’s Deal of the Day page to view the hours left in the sale as well as quantities remaining of the item [...]

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is the video game Spider-Man: Edge of Time for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for only $39.99 each (that’s 33% off the list price of $59.99), and for Nintendo Wii for only $29.99 (that’s 40% off the list price of $49.99)

Note, this deal is valid only for today, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 until 11:59pm PST while supplies last [...]

One of science fiction’s most beloved sons, Zachary Quinto, who starred as the Vulcan Spock in 2009′s Star Trek, has publicly announced that he’s gay, and his declaration is hitting a positive note with fans, inspiring others to come out as well.

The actor, who also had a major role on NBC’s Heroes and is currently on FX’s American Horror Story, revealed his homosexuality to New York magazine in an article published this weekend. While Quinto previously avoided talking about his sexual orientation in the press, the actor made a conscious decision to refer to himself as “a gay man” several times during the NY Mag interview [...]

Did you know they were making a Hostel: Part III? Probably not. Those who do haven’t spoken much of it, as the movie is getting the straight–to–DVD treatment and most folks don’t care much for those types of films unless you’re a revival–in–the–making Futurama movie or a little gem called Trick ‘r Treat.

But for those of you who do have interest in the movie, this time being directed by Scott Spiegel who takes over for Eli Roth, you can see the first trailer below now.

Spiegel is a close friend of Sam Raimi, having gone to high school with him and Bruce Campbell as well as sharing a house with him, Joel and Ethan Coen, Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand, and Kathy Bates once upon a time. Imagine game night at that house. Spiegel hasn’t directed much worth note (From Dusk Till Dawn 2), but he wrote Evil Dead II with Raimi and produced the first two Hostel movies. He’s also acted in various movies in small parts. [...]

The latest trailer for the upcoming The Muppets has been released and you can watch it here below.

Since the marketing campaign for the first Muppets movie to hit theaters since 1996 kicked off back in May there have been several trailers released that either parodied various movies in released or awaiting release like Green Lantern and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which opens a month after The Muppets) or put more emphasis on the movie’s human stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams. The new trailer features more of the Muppets in action (including new character Walter), lots of hilarious gags (I love the “travel by map” goof), and a few celebrity cameos (Ooh, Neil Patrick Harris!) [...]

Relativity Media’s long-in-development reboot of The Crow, based on James O’Barr‘s 1989 independent comic book miniseries, has seen its fair share of talent attach and detach from this troubled project since it was first announced nearly three years ago.

First Stephen Norrington, the director of Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, was given the directing reigns with screenwriter/musician Nick Cave (The Proposition) on scripting duty, but both left the project when the development stalled [...]

When you have a $1 billion-plus franchise on your hands, the idea of letting that go just doesn’t seem in the cards. Hasbro knows this, and isn’t about to let Transformers sit there on the shelf.

THR is reporting that Hasbro is currently chatting with both Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay to return as producer and director respectively for a fourth film in the long running, much maligned film franchise [...]