Dave the Nerd

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Bodie Troll "Bagging a Bodie"

While cruising around Facebook a friend was asking for reviews on his recent comic that he put out. His name is Jay Fosgitt, and he is the writer, artist, letterer, and the man who works the colours. The book is put out by Red 5 Comics. I will review this book in tiers. Starting with the story, the artwork, and finally the overall presentation. I will review it in the same regards as a Nerd Book Club entry. The story line was a cute story. Bodie is trying to prove that he is a big scary troll. While everyone else just thinks he is a cute little guy. He starts by thinking that bunnies are scared of him just to be told that they were probably just playing tag. He is then challenged to a bet that he couldn't eat a living creature. And without giving too much away he does but it is with a twist. The artwork is amazing! The characters seem really lifelike. The colours were muted yet still vivid. It is amazing how the artwork can tell the story, almost as if you don't need dialogue at all. The pairing of the artwork and the story make this an amazing story. It is probably one of a few all ages books that I have read in the past few months. If I had to give it a rating it would easily be a 4.5 out of 5. This would easily be a comic book/series I would let my great nephew read, if he could read. But would totally read it to him. It is a very cute story and I am honoured to be asked to have read and get to review this book. So if you are looking for something to read, that will speak to your inner child. Or you are looking for a book to share with your child. Bodie Troll is totally the book you want to check out.

[dave-the-nerd]

Up the River by Travis McIntire   *Spoilers Ahead*

This was the first outing for Mr. Travis McIntire. With help from other members of the Michigan Comics Collective and Source Point Press. This is just the first issue of a story that has potential to be one of the best indie horror comics of the decade! The story finds a group of individuals who are traveling 'Up the River', when they come upon a tree that is sprawled out across the river. When they finally moved the boat to get around the tree one of the crew get smacked by a tree branch and gets knocked into the water. But the crew quickly armed themselves right before a transformed creature comes out of the water. After the stuck the "creature" who fell back into the water, they pushed off and started traveling back to their intended destination. Once they get to a location they start to scout out the location to make sure everything is ok. And off in the woods the "creature" is following after them. Just as a wolf attempts to attack the "creature", of which they punched the the wolf and punched through the wolf's skull. This is where the story leaves us, a great cliff hanger.

This is an amazing story that I cannot wait to sink my teeth into more of the story. For a first outing Travis really knocked this one out of the park. He set the bar pretty high, but I am sure that he will easily meet this challenge. I give this book a 4.7 out of 5. The art work is amazing, the coloring adds another layer to the story's deep history. I would put an age restriction of NC17, unless a mature 15-16 year old is interested in reading it.

[dave-the-nerd]

New Dave's Nerd Compendium

Today is the day of the newest episode going live! I talk with YouTube star KFace, Keith Allen, about parody music and future video ideas! I also cover some nerdy news. And as an added bonus share a few of KFace's parodies with you!! http://www.podbros.com/podcast/dave's-nerd-compendium/episode-59-kface-rules#.VUC6TSFViko

[dave-the-nerd]

Are you looking for something Nerdy??

I host this little podcast called Dave’s Nerd Compendium. And I have been around for over a year as of right now. I cover a lot of different topics. And will have different guest on and interview or just have open discussions with them. So feel free to check me out here: http://www.podbros.com/podcast/dave's-nerd-compendium#.VT2H9CkXfxc. And you can also find it on iTunes, Stitcher, and TuneIn.

[dave-the-nerd]

Newest Episode of DNC

On the 22nd I released this episode of my show. And I hope you will enjoy the show. http://www.podbros.com/podcast/dave's-nerd-compendium/episode-58-dapf-pod#.VT2G0ikXfxc

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness by Kasey Pierce - Sins of the Father

This story shows a unique look at the struggles of a devout priest. That unless you have read The Thorne Birds, or watched the mini-series that share the same name, you would not understand. This story differs from Thorne Birds with the introduction of the most famous of fallen angels Lucifer. But seriously when dealing with a rouge "Man in Black", as the story calls him, who better to confront him than Lucifer? This is a very interested and twisted story that will have to deep in the pages, and before you know it...it's over! I give this story a 4.7 out of 5. It is a very interesting and twisted story!!

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness by Kasey Pierce - Dollface

This is the shortest of the five stories presented in this anthology. And in my humble opinion probably the best. If you are a fan of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, this is the story you will gravitate to. Starts off one way just to have a giant plot twist at the end. This story gets the rarest of all grades from Dave the Nerd, this story gets a 5 out of 5!!!! You must read it to believe it!!

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness by Kasey Pierce - His Majesty I  & II

This being a two part story, that counts as one story in the anthology. I felt it was worth it to put both reviews in one post. Part I This story is about a woman who's husband, a skilled Taxidermist, is comatose on the the couch watching the television. While she is reliving memories of their first date, their engagement, their wedding, and other major events in their joint life. In order for their kids to act as kids the main character Linda has an agreement with her mother-in-law to take the kids for the night. While on the way back she is haunted with voices saying her husband Richard had left her. And she comes up with an ingenious idea that will have him always by her side. Part II This continues the story of how Linda's idea to use her novice skills, with the advise of her dying husband (if only in her mind) to make him last forever by stuffing him. She does everything she can to keep the truth from coming out until the mother-in-law brings the kids back. But I do not want to spoil too much for you. Just know that this is probably tied for the creepiest story in this anthology. I give this book a 4.9 out of 5. It is a well written must read story!

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness by Kasey Pierce - Bestia

This story start off sorta in the same vein as Luke, in a psychiatric's office. Yet in this story we follow Tom Malcom, a recent ex-con, who is looking to start a new life with his lovely wife Becca. He is at the psychiatric's office to finger out why he is having such vivid nightmares. Maybe it is due to most everyone in the small town giving his the cold shoulder and doing everything within their power to outcast Tom. This all changes when he meets Father McLaughlin, who is the local priest. They start having a friendly conversation and when the two go their separate ways, the priest give him the advise to not drink the water. Later on that afternoon he has more nightmares. And days and nights merge to where he doesn't know what time it is. Without giving too much away the story ends in a major cliffhanger that leaves a few questions unanswered. I give the story a solid 4 out of 5. The open ending was slightly unsettling, yet understanding as the old adage say "Leave them wanting more!"

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness by Kasey Pierce - Luke

This is a review on the first of the five stories in Kasey Pierce's debut book Pieces of Madness. The title of the story is 'Luke'. I will say that this story is amazing! Without getting too much into it and giving out spoilers, this story is awesome! It shows a unique look at the power of an imaginary friend. The story starts and end in a psychiatrist's office. The story focuses on a young girl and her best friend, who come up with a detailed story about the future of a yet to be born Luke. Yet due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. With this being the first outing for Kasey, outside her personal Kosmic Kasey persona. I give this story alone a 4.7 out of 5, and highly recommend anyone to read this. And in her first venture out to promote the book, which is put out by Rocket Ink Studio, she sold out! And by sell out I mean in the most awesome and positive way ever. I will be finishing the book this book this weekend. It is a quick read and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the rest of this book. If you are looking are looking for this book you can find it on Amazon. And you can check out her science fiction writing on www.kosmickasey.com.

[dave-the-nerd]

Pieces of Madness - a horror anthology by Kasey Pierce

This anthology is the first printed work of Kasey Pierce. More commonly known in the comic con and nerd arena as Kosmic Kasey. With the help of Rocket Ink Studio brings this collection of five short stories to life. With a prominent forward written by horror comic author Dirk Manning, he gives a intellectual look at what horror is. He also claims that Ms. Pierce's writing is in the same vein as Clive Barker, the genius behind Hellraiser (The Damnation Game) and Nightbreed (Cabal) to name a few. I will honestly say he is dead on. Some story it does seem like she is pulling from the Barker reservoir for ideas. While other stories have a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits feel to them. No matter how you look at it, or which story you read, it comes out to 'Pieces of Madness' is an amazing book that is a complete page turner. I have reviewed each of the stories as individual entries, and try (probably not the best at times) to hide any spoilers. But Ms. Pierce must be doing something right with this anthology. Being that at her first convention doing a signing, Gem City Comic Con, she sold out of her books within hours of the second day. And she is currently, at the time of me writing this, at C2E2 in Chicago doing another signing. And if you want to read the book you can always buy it on Amazon. The overall rating for the book is a 4.66(6) out of 5.

[dave-the-nerd]

'Tick Tock Girl' teaser trailer

Hey I know I haven't been active. But I am looking to start changing that. So what better way then to share a video for the upcoming Jack Wallen release 'Tick Tock Girl' the second book to his Klockwerk Movement series. Check this out!!! https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=eWn3aT4gyXI

[dave-the-nerd]

Justin Furstenfeld's 'Songs from an Open Book'

I have always been a fan of going to concerts to hear music played live. But more than that I love hearing the stores behind some of the songs. I remember back when VH-1 and M-TV use to play music videos. And when VH-1 had a show called Storytellers. This was back before the major explosion of channels expanding and splitting off. Now there is like 14 different M-TVs and 10 different VH-1s. I use to watch the Storytellers mini-concerts, it did not matter who the artist was. I just like hearing the stories of what inspired them to write their hits.  I will also admit that I have been a fan of the group Blue October for many years. Back before their mainstream hit "Hate Me." I always thought that whoever wrote their songs, Justin Furstenfeld who is Blue October's lead vocalist, always had a connection to my conscience thoughts. I recently picked up the band's live concert albums 'Argue with a Tree' and 'Ugly Side' and it was like listening to an audio version of Storytellers. Last year, back in May of last year to be exact, I ordered an autographed copy of the book 'Crazy Making' which detailed some of the thoughts behind all the songs on all their albums, along with the lyrics to the albums. This included up to their penultimate album 'Any Man in America.' But recently I have read that Justin Furstenfeld was coming out with an acoustic album called 'Songs from an Open Book' in which he would play select songs and tell stories about them.  About three weeks ago I picked up the album. I quickly started to listen to it and dug the sound. It reminded me of Blue October's album 'The Ugly Side' but with more heart. It was one of those albums you have to listen to it multiple times to get the full feel of the album. I eagerly listened to it three or four times the first day. I honestly could not get enough. This is an album that makes me remember the days when I would watch Storytellers and laugh at some of the anecdotes that the artists would say. This album is uncut, unplugged, and raw, it is what most modern artists are missing in their music. I know this is just my opinion on the matter, but this album is probably the best money I have spent in a while. I know different people will like different styles and tastes of music. But I strongly believe that 'Songs from an Open Book' has a little bit of everything for everyone. 

[dave-the-nerd]

John Barrowman's latest album 'You Raise Me Up'

I am a person that is always willing to give different musicians or bands the benefit of the doubt when it comes to music. And most of the time I am right in my gut feeling about the music. Now I will start off by saying I knew NOTHING of Mr. John Barroman other than his role of Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and Tourchwood. I saw on social media that he was releasing a new album and was thinking how it was going to be. So being the questioning type of person I am I bought a few of his other albums that are on iTunes. And I was amazed at the set of pipes he has.  So while I was at the MotorCity Comic Con, standing in line to get John Barrowman's autograph, he mentioned this new album and to pre-order it. So when I got home I did just that. And you got a teaser track, what that means is one track was released early to give you a taste of what was to come. The teaser track was the title track from the album, a cover of Josh Groban's 'You Raise Me Up.' I listened to it and I will honestly say that chills ran over my body. He covered the song to no end and made it his own. This made me want the rest of the album even more. When the album was finally released I listened to it and was moved by how good the songs were. He covered 'A Thousand Years', 'Listen to the Music', 'Skyscraper', 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', 'This is the Moment', 'That's the Way it is', and the Barry Manilow classic 'Mandy'. These are just some of the songs featured on this ablum. Now I do not want to spend your money. But if you are looking for a new album of pop songs that will make you feel chills, than I strongly

[dave-the-nerd]

Clive Barker's Nightbreed comic book (series published by Boom! Studios)

When I was growing up the one movie I remember watching around Halloween every year since I was like 9 years old was Nightbreed. This movie was a Clive Barker film, the same director that did the Hellraiser series. Well years later I found out that the movie of Nightbreed was based on a book that Clive Barker wrote called Cabal. It was to my surprise that about a month ago when I walked into my local comic book shop, Big Ben's Comic Oasis, that in the new comic section I found a Nightbreed comic. At the time they had two issues out. I quickly grabed them up, since it looks like they are part of a mini-series arch. It is being published by the same company that was doing the Sons of Anarchy comic series Boom! Studio.  So last night I was laying in bed and picked up the first and second issue and started to read them. I will first say that it was not what I expected. It did not extend the story of Nightbreed to bring it to current date. But instead it shows some of the history to a few of the creatures of Midian. After I read the first issues I had to read the next issue. It was that much of a cliffhanger at the end of the first issue. And when I got done with the second issue I am strongly looking forward to the new issue that is due out tomorrow.  One thing I am unsure of is that this is only suppose to be a six issues arch. But that is what they said about the Sons of Anarchy arch, but they are currently on issue 11 of that series. So I am really interested in see where and how this series arch is going to mature over the next few issues. I will say that the comic is for a more mature audience due to language, nudity, and violence. But If you are a fan of either the cult classic movie that is Nightbreed or the book Cabal. Then I think you would really like the Clive Barker's Nightbreed comic book series.

[dave-the-nerd]

CruZader (a graphic novel by Omar Morales)

I will admit that I just got back into reading comics maybe a month or two ago. I have always been a fan and would look at them. But recently I have got back into having a pull list and reading/collecting comics. I was approached by someone on Twitter that asked if I could review his graphic novel. I agreed and was sent an email that contained The CruZader. I want to start by saying that normally this is not the type of comic that I read, because it is a quasi-historical/modern time period piece. However, it was an addictive read. I started reading it while I was at work and I was just glad we were slow. I was drawn into the book and it surrounded me. The detail to character in the art work was amazing. And in my opinion you could easily read the comic just from the art work, of cource just adding in the actual dialog bubbles.  The graphic novel is broken into six parts, just like most trade paperbacks takes 6-13 single issues to make a collection book. We have a total of 6 different enemies we deal with in the book. The first part the CruZader battles the Ku Klux Klan, as requested by the Pope and the Vatican. In the second part, CruZader battles black magic, Satanism, and exorcism. The third part is the CruZader against aliens. The forth part is the CruZader battling inner demons. The fifth part is the CruZader battling his family history. And the sixth part is the New CruZader (the last CruZader's son) fighting for family, love, and his independence. This is by far one of the best graphic novels that I have read in some time. These six issues leave opening for a story to be added at either the ending, carring on with the new CruZader and his son and so on. Or it could be a prequel of the CruZader's father, or grandfather, or even going back to the original Knights Templar and the Crusades for the Holy Grail!  So if you are looking for something new to read I strongly suggest you go to your local comic book shop and ask them to order JUL141266 from Diamond Distrubtion. Or keep an eye out on ComiXology. You will not be disappointed. And if you are like me and like autographs, if you order the book from Diamond each book is signed and numbered by Omar (the creator) himself. And if you order them from his personal website you can buy the book and have a personalized message for $20. And that $20 is just for the book, the personalization is FREE!!!

[dave-the-nerd]

I, Zombie I (Book 1 of Jack Wallen's I Zombie series)

Back in October I picked up this book on Amazon, because it was a special for a group I belong to. And fast forward to a few months ago, I interview Jack Wallen about Zombie Radio (his podcast) and mention his I, Zombie series. I was taken aback when I realized some days after the interview that I actually had the book on my Amazon Kindle app.  I started reading the book back around the 4th of July, and due to my dyslexia and A.D.D. I just recently finished it as of this week. I will say it was a totally different take on the whole zombie origin story. It gives it a fresh and up-to-date look. The main character Jacob feels like someone you might know in your real life. And each of the members of the motley crew, not to be confused with the band Motley Crue, has a real human feel to them. I know what you are porbably thinking, "Duh Dave, they are written as humans so why should they not feel like humans?" In some of the books I have read, some authors tend to write people more abstract and in more vague in regards to showing feelings and emotions. Jack Wallen makes these characters come alive in your mind with his details.  The story starts with Jacob and covers his exploits in Germany trying to figure out what happened to the human race and trying to find a cure. He is joined by fellow survivors Susan, Bethany, and Dr. Godwin at first. Then later joined by Sally, and I'm blanking on the name of the train conductor at this moment (mental note to edit the name in. lol) This story has some humorous moments in it but like any good book has those near tear jerking moments. You are able to connect with these character and relate them to people you know in your own personal life. After reading this book I quickly went and hit Amazon up and picked up every solo book written by Jack Wallen. And can credit him with being in my top 10 favorit authors. So if you are looking for some good books to read, head over to Amazon and pick up I Zombie I, the first book of Jack Wallen's I Zombie series. Paperback is under $12 or Kindle Edition is $3.49. I give this book rave reviews and will be posting a review on Amazon sometime this weekend. After reading this book, I understand why Jack Wallen is called "The Zombie King!"