I was handed the novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl on a Sunday afternoon. By Sunday night, I was halfway into it. I could not put the book down. I took a nap while reading the book, and upon waking up from the nap, instead of doing my usual – namely napping some more, I reached for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl so that I could keep reading it. If it wasn’t for my job getting in the way, I would have had the book finished by Monday. Instead, I completed it on Wednesday.  I then immediately wanted to see the movie. If you are a film student, have ever been a film student or just have a passing interest in film making, I think that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will speak to you. A major part of the story is about two friends trying to make movies that don’t suck. In the book, the suck factor is definitely there, but in the movie, it seems that the suckiness of their projects is all in their heads. The biggest change from book to movie may be the quality of Greg and Earl’s movies. In the books, they’re legitimately bad. In the movie, they’re legitimately good, just with the punniest names ever (another good thing in my opinion). Someone told me that an entire second team created these 40-something shorts at the same time that the main movie was being shot. It’s amazing how well the movies come together. I loved them so much. I hope that when the DVD of the movie is released, we’ll have a special feature that shows us extended versions of all of these snippets. They were fantastic. Which brings me back to...

Like the Silver Surfer heralding the approach of Galactus, the Brooklyn Defender Launch Party heralds the return of New York Comic Con to New York City. Arriving a month before New York Comic Con, the Brooklyn Defender Launch Party is a celebration at Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg. For the past four years, NYCC and Brooklyn Brewery have teamed up to create the Brooklyn Defender, a limited edition beer whose recipe changes every year. They also enlist a comic book artist to create logo for the beer. In 2013, it was Tony Millionaire. In 2014, it was Cliff Chiang. In 2015, it was Amy Reeder. And this year, it’s Khary Randolph. Khary did an absolutely awesome job on this design, evoking the Super Powers action figure card backs of the 1980s. I’ve gone to the Brooklyn Defender Launch Party every year, and the only bad one was the first one, when a Batman had too much to drink and puked near me and my friends. Bat-splatter is gross! But the past years there have been awesome, and I expect this year to be too. Attendees get a pint glass with the Brooklyn Defender logo, and everyone gets a chance to win NYCC tickets in a raffle. Plus, free cake from Rock Candy Cakes! A change to this year’s event is that the event listing says that every attendee will get a ticket for one free beer. In the three previous years, it was free beer all night. It would be disappointing if they are going to restrict the free drink to only one. I’m hoping that’s a typo. Don’t be cheapskates, Brooklyn Brewery! The Brooklyn Defender wants you to provide free beer to the people! If you’d like to attend the party, it’s 100% FREE...

Jurassic World managed to pull off a rare feat in remake and reboot heavy Hollywood, and that is to feel 100% fresh. Too many remakes and reboots seem like mere revisions and retreads. Not Jurassic World. It captures all the magic of Jurassic Park without feeling like it was just walking through the paces of the original. I found myself as wowed by the special effect dinosaurs here as I did as a teenager watching Jurassic Park, and found myself caring for the characters just as much, if not more, than I did with the original. Jurassic World was obviously inspired most by Jurassic Park, but there are definitely tones of Blackfish in there as well. The entire scene with the water dinosaur jumping out of the pool to attack the assistant had me thinking that director Colin Trevorrow had recently watched Blackfish. Or maybe it’s because I recently watched Blackfish. Either way, as I was watching that scene, all I think of was, “This is shades of Blackfish.” Side note: If you haven’t already, watch Blackfish. I think it’s great that Jurassic World is building on the story first told in Jurassic Park. The original movie isn’t swept under the rug, but at the same time, you don’t need to have seen the original to enjoy this movie. There are subtle nods to the original movie interspersed throughout the film, but for the most part, they’re little Easter Eggs for fans of the original. None of the plot hinges on you having already watched Jurassic Park. There seemed to be no mention of The Lost World or Jurassic Park III. I’m not complaining. If I have any quibble with the movie, it’s that for a large portion of the film, Bryce Dallas Howard’s...

Welcome to episode 86 of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast! Billy and Dave give you their picks for new comics coming out on Wednesday, 8/26/15, review Secret Wars: Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies #3, Justice League #34 and Phonogram Volume 1. Plus, the latest news on DC and Marvel’s TV shows. http://ia601500.us.archive.org/22/items/TuesdayNightComics86/Tuesday%20Night%20Comics%2086.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android |...

On the new episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast: People agree with Dave that Fantastic Four isn’t THAT bad. New comic book previews for Wednesday, August 19, 2015 Reviews of recent comics, including Secret Wars #5 Billy and Dave reminisce about the Looney Tunes DC superhero Happy Meal toys http://ia801502.us.archive.org/21/items/TuesdayNightComics85_201508/Tuesday%20Night%20Comics%2085.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android |...

In the newest episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast, Dave reviews the new Fantastic Four movie. You might be surprised by what he has to say. Plus, the guys discuss the latest Arrow, Flash and Legends of the DC Universe DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (seriously, what’s up with that title?) casting news. You’ll also hear how Billy and Dave would each spend $20 at the comic book store this week, and a slew of recent comic book reviews. Face front, True Believer! The new Tuesday Night Podcast is here! Okay, we guess it really doesn’t matter which way you face, as long as you listen. http://ia801505.us.archive.org/10/items/TuesdayNightComics84/Tuesday%20Night%20Comics%2084.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android |...

Billy and Dave preview new comics coming out on Wednesday, 8/5/15, review Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies #2, Veil by Greg Rucka, Convergence: Booster Gold, Batgirl Annual #3, Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2 and a bunch of more comics, and talk about the casting of Hawkman on Arrow.   http://ia601503.us.archive.org/15/items/TuesdayNightComics83Fixed/Tuesday%20Night%20Comics%2083%20fixed.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android |...