The iTunes Top 20

First of all, Atomic Robo V3 #1 FINALLY arrives in stores this week. So get thee to the comic shop and buy it.

From Nerd Dads: It’s a free sample, so I’m not sure how well this is translating into sales for the creators, but indie comic darling ATOMIC ROBO’s first issue ranked #20 in ebooks in the iTunes App Store, as of this writing. At the very least, I suppose it’s raising public awareness of the series and characters, which will hopefully result in some sort of increased monetary gain for the book’s creators, Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. [ EDITORS NOTE: Not a fucking penny yet. Thanks for wishing us well though.]

While it’s low, low price of “Free” certainly helps, the fact that the issue was made available on the iTunes store back in December of 2008 makes it’s Top 20 position pretty impressive. Even better, it’s ranked higher than any other comic, free or not, even with some of them getting bigger marketing pushes. I firmly believe that for 99 cents, companies need to offer more than your standard single issue of story in order for the iPhone/iPod touch comic format to really become popular enough for skads of people to buy them, but this placement shows that the base interest is surely there for when the perfect ration of content/price is sussed out.

Seeing Atomic Robo in the company of  Shakespeare, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, JK Rowling, Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, Hans Cristian Anderson, and the Bible is quite nice. Sales of #2-#5 (#6 isn’t out yet) have been very good. Not the crazy numbers of the free issues of course, but it would be insane to expect that.  iVerse, tells me it is the best selling comic not associated with the upcoming Star Trek movie. I guess I can be satisfied playing second fiddle to a franchise with over 40 years of history and millions of psychotic fans around the world.

I was really excited for the new Star Trek movie until I discovered that I can’t take my 8yr old daughter to see it. I’m not sure what the rating is, but the trailer makes it more than clear that it’s not appropriate for little kids. Unless you’re one of those parents who has already desensitized your children to the point that they could watch you butcher a hog in front of them and they wouldn’t flinch.

That’s kind of sad. For one thing it means I probably won’t be seeing it at all -not until it hits Netflix anyway. Because no movie is worth the $60 it will cost me in babysitters and popcorn. But also it’s sad because I was a kid when my dad introduced me to things like Star Wars, Outer Limits, Slip Stream, Outlander, etc. He never did like Star Trek much, so I found that myself. But the point is, it was safe for a kid to watch. And it’s when we are children that the seeds of interest which develop into lifelong passions are planted.

Granted, I’m a pretty mild Star Trek fan at best, and George Lucas went to far in the other direction when he made the prequels so unimaginably stupid that only a small child could enjoy them. So I’m not entirely sure what I’m saying. Oh well, thank you BBC for Doctor Who.

Speaking of BBC, I am in love with All Creatures Big and Small. I have seen more men shoulder deep in cow vaginas this week than most farmers will in a year. I’m not sure if that’s why I like the show, or if I like it despite the bovine vag. Seriously though, it’s a show that revolves around the daily happenings of a country veterinary clinic in the late 1930’s and into the 1940’s. I know that part of my love for the show is how it reminds me of my grandparents. But mostly is just the story of the human condition done right. It is utterly (udderly?) charming. I think I will have to pick up the books once I start travelling again for conventions this summer.

KoD appeared on CBS’s shitty sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Just watch the shelves over the shoulder of the show’s generically-hot lady character, Penny. It’s been years since I had TV in the house for anything more than DVD’s and xBox. So I did some internet hunting and took a random sample of sit-coms currently on the air. My GOD! What sort of lobotomized potato watches this bullshit? Obviously someone does or the advertisers would bolt. And can someone pass a law to remove the “Comedy” from sit-com? Maybe just call them situational train wrecks. If the RNC can be childish enough to waste time and energy on trying to force the DNC to chance it’s name, surely someone can devote themselves to this equally important issue. Frankly, I will support the DNC name chance as long as the RNC is renamed the “Self-Serving, Small-Minded,Nascar-Watching,  Bible-Thumping Fucktards of America Party”. That way both sides are clear and honest about what they are. (Canada, are your doors still open?)

RANDOM SPLENDOR

-Robot News. News by robots, for robots.

-Give Wolverine a Hummer.

-Unfortunate Plot Summaries.

-CLOSE RANGE -what you wish video games were all about.

God I love the ISB