As part of the ongoing Support Local events in Ottawa, tomorrow I'll be helping represent Mirror Comics for a mini-book fair at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library at 120 Metcalfe Street from 11am til 4pm. The library has a really great selection of comics available, from all sorts of diverse creators of all different kinds of genres. So, come out and grab some free comics to borrow, then buy a copy of Zomkeys and some other Mirror offerings while your there too.

I don't know if a single person can take full credit for what's going over at Image Comics, or it's a batch of behind the scenes crew, editors and creators all just hitting their stride at the same time. I think that Image puts out more diverse and high quality books then any publisher in comics. I almost wish that they weren't so on the ball, because I am spending a lot of money on them.

Their latest success story is the supernatural western tale of Death's daughter, Pretty Deadly, from Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios. It's got beautiful art, an original story, and a central character that is sure to have Hollywood salivating to sin up the motion picture rights post haste. Check out issue #1 in anticipation for the soon to be released second issue. Thank you Image Comics. Yet another series to read. Now let's hold back on releasing any more amazing comics for a little while. I'm not made of money.

Robots! Aliens! Swearing! What more could you possibly want from your comic book reading entertainment?! Check out The Robots of Future-Town, amazing fun sci-fi hi-jinks from fellow Josh club member, the tall and talented Joshua Pruner.

Are you watching Louis CK's self-titled, fictionalized bio show Louie? It just keeps getting better and better. I thought this show was going to be another Curb Your Enthusiasm, not a bad thing, but it has become so much more. I just finished up season two, and am looking forward to jump into season three. CK is stretching his legs as a writer and filmmaker with great success. He's being left alone by the teevee powers that be, and producing some of the funniest comedy, bravest drama, and truthful character moments on television. A valuable lesson on how successful programming can and should be produced.

Everyone's seen this incredible mini episode of Doctor Who by now right? The Night of the Doctor took me by complete spoiler free surprise. My girlfriend, who is much more entrenched in Doctor Who lore then I, was lucky to fend off a heart attack or brain explosion. If you aren't a Doctor Who fan, it will mean nothing. If you are a Doctor Who fan, it's pretty big time stuff. Incredible that they could pack in such a big story into an episode that clocks in at less then 7 minutes. Well done BBC.

When I was younger, I loved Adam Sandler and hated Woody Allen. That personal cinematic opinion has flipped-flopped over the years. I'm pretty sure Adam Sandler has given up on caring about his output years ago (see Grown Ups 2). On the other hand, I can't get enough of Woody now-a-days. I love all of his movies, watch documentaries about him, and dream of going to see him play with his jazz band in NYC.

His latest work is Blu Jasmine,it stars Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Louis CK and Andrew Dice Clay (yes! THAT Andrew Dice Clay). It tells the tale of a spoiled rich trophy wife, and how her world crumbles after her husband leaves her for another woman and she is left with no money or distraction or purpose in life. It is more Woody Allen gold. I expect more Oscar nominations in the future for Woody and for his lead.

Blue Jasmine screens at the Mayfair tonight at 6:00pm, Mon Nov 18 and Tues Nov 19 at 7:00pm.

The second issue of Marvel Knights Spider-man is out. My friend Marco drew it, and I don't wanna embarrass him, but I think that it's truly a star making effort on his part. Even if I didn't know him I would be spreading the word of how incredible I think this art is. It's on the shelves of your favourite comic book store or Marvel Comics download-y place right now. It's a completely self contained story arc, you don't have to worry about crossovers or a deep continuity to confuse you. Go buy it.

Thor: The Dark World has already garnered a few hundred million dollars at the box office, so it doesn't need any help from me. It's also at the multiplex, which I usually ignore in favour of watching movies if the much higher quality venue of the Mayfair (of course!).

I do love this run of Marvel movies though. And, I used Visa points to go see it, so my conscious is clear and none of my money went to support the man (and yes...I pay my credit card bills on time, so my money isn't going to that The Man either).

Marvel is just getting everything right. They are producing big, fun, action packed motion pictures that almost everyone seems to enjoy, that most critics seem pretty kind too, and that are making boat-loads of profit. Along the way and against all odds, they've built up a crossing-over universe akin to their comic book roots. Non of this should have worked to this degree, but success keeps coming their way. The simple key to their good turn is that everyone involved actually cares. I listened to a podcast with head honcho Kevin Feige, and it was clearly evident that he's not just in this for the money. He wants these to be the highest quality nerd entertainment...and it's working.

DC has had some financial success with their movies too, but they have all left me unimpressed as of the last few years. Green Lantern was a giant let-down, but I wasn't even all impressed with Chris Nolan's Bat stuff. It was all just so dreary and heavy and filled with death. On top of that there were gaping plot holes and nonsensical character twists and turns. And don't get me started on Man of Steel. I can't imagine a single lil kid watching that movie and then running home to play with Superman action figures or read a stack of Superman comics.

On the other hand, now-a-days I see nothing but kids with Marvel backpacks and lunch boxes being toted around by kids. Halloween had way more Avengers walking around then Bat or Super-kids. Marvel has me wanting more at every post credit sequence tease. DC movies make me wish that they had different creators behind the scenes getting their product up onto the silver screen.

Marvel got it right again with Thor: The Dark World...and I am looking very much forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The next Superman / Batman movie...meh. And a world where I was neutral to the thought of a Superman / Batman movie is a world I never thought could possibly exist.

The new Damian mini-series is being described as "a possible future that may never be" by DC Comics. The first issue didn't blow me away. Grant Morrison's literary shoes are pretty big ones to fill, even though the writing gig on this series goes to its artist and Damian co-creator Andy Kubert. I will continue to support this mini-series none-the-less. I very much want this character brought back to life and put back into main DC continuity. Hence, I will gladly give my tiny bit of financial support towards anything that makes Damian look like a popular character to DC Comics.

The latest page from Kelly Tindall's awesome fun online comic Strangebeard. I want a Strawberry Sam with Dorado action figure set. Get on that selling out career path asap Tindall!

Tonight is your last chance to catch Escape From Tomorrow at the Mayfair. It may be your last chance to see it on a big screen ever, considering that at any moment the Disney lawyers might wake up their team of high priced lawyers and unleash the vengeance. This movie simply should not exist. Or, since exit does exist, it shouldn't be available to be seen. Considering that Disney has been known to sue daycare centres that have their characters painted on their walls, but they have not put a stop to this movie, is very peculiar.

The film is a dissent into madness / midlife crisis indie dark comedy that just happens to be set in Disney World. Meaning that, for this guerrilla style black & white indie style endeavor, they actually snuck into the fabled theme park to shoot their story. There are countless Disney images caught on film. The Disney name, Disney princesses, and characters like Buzz Lightyear are integral to the plot. If the undertaking of shooting this production under the Orwellian eyes of the Disney theme park over-lord's wasn't enough, the fascinating part at this point in the game is that there have been no lawsuits from the Disney camp.

Some have speculated that Disney is looking the other way in order to not bring the movie attention. From what I understand though, that can't be the case. If they don't step in, it could set a precedent for all those other punk artists and filmmakers to point at when they make their own un-approved Disney themed media. "Escape From Tomorrow did it and you didn't care! So we can do stuff too!"

Gimmick aside, I actually liked the film too. Very weird, very creepy, and doesn't pull any punches when events start to get really bizarre and go horribly wrong. Having said all that though, byt the time the credits rolled, I still really wanted to go to Disney World.

Take part in the phenomenon that is Escape From Tomorrow, at join us at the Mayfair tonight at 9:30pm.

I have read very few comics with Nova in them over the years. I know that he has a cool helmet, that there have been a number of different people under that helmet, and that the Nova Corps is a rip-off of the Green Lantern Corps. Nova # 13 (which also has a # 1 on it, 'cause Marvel loves to keep things confusing) has Beta Ray Bill in it. Beta Ray Bill is one of my favourite characters of all time, which means that I will buy this. Whatever I can do to make Beta Ray Bill a successful and viable character to the Marvel Universe will get my investment. Then maybe my dreams will come true and he'll show up on the big screen in the next Thor movie.

A pair of friends got married at the Mayfair this-afternoon. I was the male maid-of-honour. Everything went off without a hitch, a choked up, Ramones soundtrack walk down the aisle, good time was had by one and all. If you are planning on getting married, I highly recommend that you do so with us at the Mayfair. Churches don't provide popcorn and don't have an Alien over-looking the ceremony.

Look at the awesome Raphael piece that my friend Kelly drew while at Hal-Con! I wish I was in Halifax right now so I could find out who now owns this awesome pic of TMNT art so that I could steal it from them. Hal-Con is up and running through-out the weekend. If I were out in the far off land of East Coast Canada, I would definitely be in attendance.

I got the blu-ray 4k edition of Ghostbusters in the mail. I hardly ever watch movies at home anymore. I watch a ton of movies at the Mayfair, so home entertainment intake is reserved almost completely to catch up on never ending teevee shows that I wanna watch. I love Ghostbusters though, and it was super cheap, so I could not resist.

Years ago, I remember joking that the VHS pan & scan version of the film was racist because Ernie Hudson was pushed out of frame through much of the movie. When a rectangle got cropped into a square, the fourth Ghostbusters gets left just outside of frame on more then one group shot.

The unforgivable treatment of Ernie Hudson / Winston Zeddmore sadly continues into the blu-ray era of at home movie watching. On the blu-ray Ghostbusters case, there isn't one mention, credit, or photo of either the actor or the very important to the film, every-man, voice-of-the-audience character. How can the character who spoke the line "Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" be ignored in such a manner? I hate to throw a word like racist around...but I think this blu-ray box is a racist.

If you missed out on the recent Killer63 short horror film festival at the Mayfair, here's one of the great short films you missed seeing up on the big screen. This dark winters night tale is titled The Offering, was directed by Ryan Path and written by Michael Koehler.

I'm very much looking forward to checking out the second Bugs Bunny Symphony event, that hits the NAC in Ottawa tomorrow night. I love the pop culture nerd / high-brow entertainment mash-up trend.

Stopped in at The Comic Book Shoppe to pick up a birthday gift of the second volume of Saga. Also picked up a blind box Doctor Who toy. Best of all though, is kind of forgetting that they carry Zomkeys, and then walking past it on display right there below the likes of Sandman, Powerpuff Girls, Thor, and beside a few different X-Men offerings. It still hasn't sunk in 100% that I wrote a comic book that can be bought in a store. A tip to other comic book writers - only write books that start with a Z. Makes for the best placement on the new release section.

Looking for a kid friendly comic book and don't mind the younglings reading about demons and monsters and using the word hell? Then, Itty Bitty Hellboy is the perfect book for you! The five issue mini-series (currently three issues are available via paper or digital format) came to fruition when Hellboy creator realized that he really didn't have anything kid friendly to offer up while at comic cons. The comic comes from the brilliant creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco, the masterminds behind Tiny Titans. Comic books of interest to kids continue to be the unfortunate minority in comic book stores, so a fun book like this one is always a welcome addition. Hellboy has never been so adorable.

It took weeks, but I finally got my hands on a copy of Marvel Knights Spider-man #1. A self contained five issue mini-series that sees Spidey put up against pretty much every villain he's ever battled. It's especially horrible that it took me so long to buy one, 'cause it's drawn by my talented pal Marco Rudy. And I'm not just saying this because I know and like him, but holy cow, is he ever knocking this assignment out of the park. I think this is the gig that gets him secured as a big-shot fan-favourite comic artist extraordinaire. Great stuff. Go buy it.

Have I mentioned how much I love this Hawkeye comic? Oh yeah, I think I do pretty much every single time I read a new issue. I hope this creative team stays on this book for a really long time.

When I first heard about this new Sleepy Hollow teevee series on Fox, I didn't give it much thought. I am already back-logged with a ton of television programs to watch, and thought that it might be the caliber of something the like of Charmed. I wasn't paying attention, and did not realize that th show comes from the director of Underworld, and the writer / producer team who have worked on Xena, Jack of All Trades, Fringe, and the last two Star Trek movies. I like all of those things. And I'm totally hooked on this show now.

The latest incarnation seems silly on paper, Ichabod Crane wakes up in 2013 and helps a cop fight off monsters in an X-Files like manner. Actually, scratch that, that sounds awesome. I don't know what I wasn't on board with this from day one.

Happy Halloween!

Did you know that The Rocky Horror Picture Show had its world premiere in Ottawa? Truthiness!

There is nothing better you could do on tomorrow night on Halloween then attend an Absent Friends shadow-cast hosted screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Mayfair. I am about 99% sure that both the 7:00pm and 9:45pm shows will be sold out, and 100% sure that it will be a great time.

It's time again for one of the Mayfair Theatre's most favorite of traditions. The eighth annual Killer63 short horror film festival makes its annual return to our screen on the night before Halloween! This year we have a dozen offerings from Montreal, New York, L.A., and lands as far off as Argentina and Australia. We will also of course showcase a batch of locally produced work from Ottawa's own homegrown filmmaking talent. You'll see all sorts of frightful horror sub-genres...ghosts, zombies, werewolves, cannibals, demons, aliens and even clowns!

Killer63 screens Wednesday October 30th at 9:00pm at the Mayfair.

When I was at Fan Expo in Toronto a couple months back, there were dozens of people walking around with creepy animal masks...maybe even hundreds. That fearful happening happened in promotion of this movie.

The Mayfair Halloween festivities continue with You're Next, the 2011 indie horror from ABCs of Death, V/H/S and V/H/S/2 director Adam Wingard. As often happens with indie fare, it took a little while for this effort to make it's way to the big screen. The trailer seemed rather generic to me, but I've heard nothing but praise from some very reliable sources for this home invasion, guys-in-masks scare-fest. I've made it this far without having any of the surprises spoiler-ed. There have been some negative comments, but I always feel like complaining about plot or characters in these kinds of horror movies is like complaining about loops on a roller coaster or flashing lights and noise coming from a pinball machine. These things follow rules, and I'm looking forward to seeing You're Next to see what it does with those blood and guts cinematic traditions.

Rest up before trick or treating in a couple days with You're Next at the Mayfair, tonight and tomorrow (Monday October 28th and Tuesday October 29th) at 9:30pm.

For thousands of years man has enslaved the ape, now the tables are about to turn! The Zomkeys release weekend concludes tonight at the Mayfair Theatre as Mirror Comics presents an experiment in terror in the form of the award winning (a Special Jury Prize from the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival) murderous super-intelligent orangutan 1986 classic, Link!

Doors will open at 8:00pm, and the rare 35mm print will screen at 8:30pm. There will be copies of the hot off the presses Zomkeys available, along with other Mirror Comics offerings. There will also be limited edition prints and original comic book pages available for purchase! There will be time for comic book related mingling and such after the movie.

See you tonight at the Mayfair for all manner of monkey related chaos!

Off to The Comic Book Shoppe for the grand Zomkeys comic release! If you live in Ottawa, I hope to see you there. Fun filled evil rampaging monkey times will be had by one and all.

This is what a geek looks like when a dream comes true! Digital and Print-on-Demand copies are available right now...or if you are in Ottawa, drop by The Comic Book Shoppe on Saturday or The Mayfair Theatre on Sunday to grab a copy of Zomkeys.

Just what are these guys up to? I betcha it's no good. Find out when Mirror Comics releases Zomkeys this weekend!

Only a few more short days until Mirror Comics unleashes the Zomkeys onslaught upon us! Saturday October 26th at The Comic Book Shoppe and Sunday October 27th at The Mayfair Theatre! Brave the army of ferocious rampaging evil monkeys and get to the store and / or theatre this weekend!

The powers that be have clearly fired whoever did that horrible poster for The Avengers. It's no painted Drew Struzan masterpiece...but a good job none-the-less. I am looking forward to watching Cap and Black Widow fight some bad guys in 2014.

The World's End lived up to all expectations, and Edgar Wright's directorial track record of perfection remains intact. You will laugh, you will get choked up, you will see amazing fight scenes.

You've got two more Mayfair chances to see The World's End, Wed Oct 23 and Thurs Oct 24 at 9:00pm

Finally got around to watching this years Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror. It has an opening sequence directed by Guillermo Del Toro. See if you can catch the plethora of geeky references crammed into not even three minutes. It is incredible.

A rare lazy day of catching up on some teevee - Agents of SHIELD, New Girl, Bob's Burgers, and a binge of Parks & Recreation episodes. It for some reason totally wares me out taking in that much teevee in one day. Even though I didn't do anything, it felt like an accomplishment.

Hardly ever watch movies at home anymore, I watch everything at the Mayfair or the occasional multiplex visit for a free preview screening. On these days when I have a spare moment to do so, trying to catch up on non-theatrical movie watching too. Especially during the Halloween season, there are a ton of theme appropriate movies that even a movie geek of my stature hasn't gotten around to seeing just yet.

Tonight's Halloween themed offering was Burke and Hare, the latest telling of the 19th century Scottish murderous grave-robbers. It was a lot of morbid Hammer Films style fun. It stars a pair of greats in the title rolls, Simon Peg and Andy Serkis. It was finely directed by John Landis, who has directed such classics as The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London. And yet, this movie couldn't find wide North American distribution, and hence very few people got to see it. We weren't even allowed to screen it at the Mayfair. It was going to be my birthday movie! It's a shame that that happens to these kind of well worth seeing movies. I blame Michael Bay.

I'm hoping that the announcement of the Muppet teevee special featuring Lady Gaga, coming out next month, is a step in the right direction to getting a Muppet Show back on in a regular basis. Everyone be sure to watch, stream, download, buy this in as many ways possible on American Thanksgiving - November 28th.

I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed Red 2. On the heels of his sleep-walk of a performance through the terrible fifth Die Hard film, I thought that maybe Bruce Willis had just given up. Luckily, under the direction of Dean Parisot (who also directed the hilarious sci-fi cult classic Galaxy Quest), this comic book sequel attains the rare achievement of being even better than the original. Red 2 is a real crowd-pleaser, and received lots of laughs and even a round of applause at its end from the crowd. Maybe there is still hop for Mr. Willis after all. At this point I would much rather see a Red 3 then a Die Hard 6.

Red 2 screens one last time at the Mayfair, tonight at 7:00pm

Never say never, especially in this geeky age of entertainment, but I can't imagine that we're ever going to get more teevee episodes or a movie set within the Buffy universe starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, and Alyson Hannigan and all the Scooby Gang. Hence, these Joss Whedon supervised comic book adventures are the next best thing. If you are a Buffy fan and haven't checked out these comics, you really should. They are conveniently available in collected editions at your local comic shop, book store, or library. Or you can download them from the Dark Hose Comics website. I am very excited for the upcoming Buffy Season 10.

It's nice having talented friends. It's even nicer when you can collaborate with them on comic books that you wrote. My pal Kelly Tindall was kind enough to offer up a pin-up for Zomkeys. The powers-that-be loved it just as much as I did, and now its become a variant cover. Which of course means that now you have an excellent excuse to buy two copies of the book.

Big screen promotion for the Mirror Comics publication Zomkeys. Even though my involvement with the Mayfair means that making such a thing happen isn't all that difficult, I still think it's pretty awesome.

Out of non-meat eating curiosity, I had Tofurky for the first time ever this Thanksgiving. It was overwhelmingly and shockingly not only eatable, but actually really good. From what I understand, the product has improved in leaps and bounds since its creation, but they have the recipe down pat now. Even some of the carnivores around the table gave it a try and were impressed. Good job crazy hippy food scientists.

Today I am thankful that I am able to share this full page preview from the upcoming book Zomkeys from Mirror Comics.

A preview of the guns a blazing action from the upcoming book Zomkeys from Mirror Comics!

A preview of some of the terrifying creatures drawn by Barb Felix that the characters will have to survive in the upcoming book Zomkeys from Mirror Comics.

It's not hard to top the train-wrecks that were X-Men: The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The third X-Men film dropped the ball on what could have been a great trilogy. It didn't help matters that the scond X-Men film ended with such an amazing emotional cliffhanger, only to be followed up with a jumbled mess of a conclusion. Then, Hugh Jackman was left with a mess of a script and a movie overloaded with unneeded characters and subplots in his characters previous attempt at solo-ing in an adventure.

There was a glimmer of hope in Wolverine's cameo in X-Men: First Class (a movie that I was so so on). As a young Charles Xavier and Magneto attempt to recruit Logan, only to be answered with a growl of a curse word, one quickly remembers that Hugh Jackman is this character.

So, with word that Wolverine was being given another shot at starring in a film, there were mixed feelings from media and fans alike. I am happy to report that under the direction of James Mangold (Cop Land, Walk the Line, 3:10 TO Yuma) and more involvement from producer Hugh Jackman, Wolverine is back in true form.

The plot is slimmed down, the character is it's loner samurai forced into being a hero best, and there's a sense that everyone involved actually had a love and respect for the task at hand. It's not hard to top the last couple of X-Men efforts, but The Wolverine succeeds in bringing everyone's favourite mutant Canadian back in true form. I love Wolverine, and I think this movie got it right. And (somewhat of a spoiler alert) the after the credits epilogue got my very excited of what is to come...and maybe even a little geekily choked up.

The Wolverine screens at the Mayfair tonight and tomorrow at 7:00pm.

I don't think there is anything better then a movie directed by Edgar Wright, starring his friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Simon and Nick are an incredibly talented duo, and Edgar Wright is on an impressive run of directing a great teevee series (Spaced) followed up by four great movies.

Tonight at the Mayfair we kick off the Halloween season in style with Shaun of the Dead , everyone's favourite zom rom com, at 7:00pm. If that's not enough bang for your buck, we're making things a double-bill with Hot Fuzz , the guys follow-up action-packed cop epic, at 9:00PM.

After watching the first two thirds of the Cornetto Trilogy, you'll be all good to go for The World's End, which hits the Mayfair on October 21, 23 and 24.

If you don't love these movies, you probably don't love movies.

This acclaimed Chinese drama has cops & crooks, back-stabbing and double-crossing, some riveting gun-play, an insanely explosive and brutally action-packed climax, and one of the most memorable endings you'll see in a movie. You should see it before the inevitable Hollywood remake happens.

You're last chance to catch the Ottawa Premiere of Drug War at the Mayfair is tonight at 9:15pm.

Got my latest delivery of comic books this morning. It included 4 comics from Image, 3 from Dark Horse, 1 from IDW, and 1 from Valiant. Nothing from the big two of Marvel and DC. And in my library book reading I've stumbled into just reading Archie Comics most the time it seems. A very different comic book reading world then my childhood or high school days.

It's evolving and changing reading habits such as this that always have me point out to folks who don't read comics 'cause they don't like super-hero's, that there is plenty of diversity of selections out there. If you don't like cop shows, that doesn't mean that there's nothing for you to watch on teevee. If you don't like Fast & Furious movies, that doesn't mean that there aren't cinematic offerings out there for you to take in. You can easily find a comic to read in any genre that might be on interst to you at a comic shop, bookstore, library or online.

One of the comics that I just got was the off-kilter super-hero comedic adventures of the third issue of Quantum & Woody from Valiant. My friend Tom drew it, which means that you should go and buy it.

Luckily, the poor Photoshop quality of a theatrical poster does not necessarily reflect the quality of the film. The Way Way Back is the follow-up project from Jim Rash & Nat Faxon, after their Oscar winning screenplay success of The Descendants. The film also marks the pairs directorial debut.

This summer vacation coming of age tale features engrossing characters, tense drama, and numerous scenes of laugh out loud comedy. The amazing cast of comedians with dramatic chops features Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, an evil Steve Carell, and a Bill Murray channeling scene-stealing virtuoso performance from Sam Rockwell.

Plus, Jim Rash (who if you don't know and love from Community...you should) does the Snoopy dance.

You've got three more chances to catch The Way Way Back at the Mayfair, tonight at 6:30pm, Sunday October 6th at 6:00pm and it's final night on Monday the 7th at 7:00pm.

I will not play spoiler by revealing what is about to happen to this character in the upcoming Zomkeys comic that I wrote. I'm sure it all turns out fine for him.

Jeff Smith announced a new ongoing web-comic called Tuki. It's the runner up for the most excited upcoming comic release for me...right after Zomkeys.

I'm a vegan. I'm allowed to write about dead pandas in a comic book. It balances out.

That there is one pissed off Zomkey.