My regular readers know, I write about video game design, business, and sometimes the mobile app scene. For Book Week, I decided to read something equally nerdy. That would be the graphic novel Psy-Comm. I have the privilege of knowing the author, Tony Salvaggio. As you’ll see below, he is one of those mad scientist personalities. He is a member of two bands, an author, a video game artist, and if there is any time left, I’m sure he eats and sleeps like the rest of us. So its been one of my blogging goals to score an interview. As for Psy-Comm, this thing is a 188 page graphic novel. But it moves really fast. I think I read the whole thing in about 1.5 hours. Part of that is the quick plot movement, but part of it is that it’s drawn in a very cinematic style. The frames are large and action oriented, with some pages only having about one sentence of text. The experience is more like watching a movie sometimes. Here’s my quick summary, without spoilers. The Psy-Comms are a group of psychic troopers, who each have really unique powers. I’d say it’s like the Matrix meets Harry Potter meets X-Men. But there is an interesting socio-political commentary, in which war is entertainment, and the media is woven into the whole battlefield environment. Somehow, with all this grand fare, the book also has a really tight interpersonal story that deals with young people coping with the loss of their loved ones in wartime. I’m honestly very surprised this isn’t a movie.  I’d see it. To be honest, I’m not a big graphic novel fan, but this one grabbed me. So here we go, the interview with author Tony Salvaggio: Matt: Psy-Comm could...

Well dear readers, it’s Sam the Sham again. Let’s not waste much time with me delving into an esoteric reason as to why I am disgruntled with stuff. Just know it involves summer camp, mononucleosis, Transformers 3, giant spiders, not going to Comic Con, and a can of black olives. There. Now that we got that out of the way… FIERCELY ANTICIPATING Within ten minutes of knowing me, you’ll find out that my birthday is (and has always been) on September 11th. I tell you this not for the pity party, but rather because it explains why I find humor in the absolute bleakest of moments, and it also comes with a good story. The short and sweet version is that a girl in college, on Sept. 11, 2002, asked me if my birthday had always been on 9/11. I said “Yes, since I was born,” which, remarkably, saddened her. When faced with tragedy, rather than weep and moan, I try and find a way to get those around me to laugh. Distract us from the obvious plight. I am the anti-Fox News. So what am I fiercely anticipating, you might ask? (I brought it back. Relax.) The rough road ahead! Some people turn to the bottle in time of trouble. I turn to comedians. With a new season of Louie, I am reminded about the struggle of the day to day minutiae, and how it can be soul-crushing… and yet hysterical from an outsider’s perspective. Patton Oswalt is coming out with a new album to take a few pop shots at the establishment. And a new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (which I have, thankfully, finally come around to watching) is going to remind us all that we are inherently good...

. A bloghum by Clark Perry Getting you properly prepared on Thursday for your date on Friday, Saturday or Sunday If you’re not a nerd, chances are you’ll date someone who is. Relax. I’m here to help. Contrary to popular belief,nerds have always been pretty good at dating. We just had to keep it under the radar until the rest of the world realized they were ready for some of this geek lovin’. If you go to a movie or talk about books or music, every date is gonna have a nerd component. That’s just where pop culture is right now and it’s not gonna chance anytime soon. As a cultural influence, the nerds control the message right now. So welcome to your first nerd date column. Here’s a hot topic that may help you keep the conversation lively while you and your next date size each other up (full back story after the jump): Watching the Watchmen Before dinner arrives, whip out your high-tech pocket gadget of choice and show your date this stunning trailer for Watchmen: Chances are your date saw and loved at least one superhero movie this summer (and it probably wasn’t The Incredible Hulk). The summer’s best efforts in that category were Iron Man, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and, of course, The Dark Knight. Can you imagine a rival studio trying to ban one of these movies? Sounds crazy, it would never work, right? But that’s what may happen next year with one of the most eagerly-anticipated super-flicks of all time. Alan Moore’s acclaimed 1980s graphic novel is the War and Peace of comic books. It posits a world in which superheroes are subject to fascistic government control — Richard Nixon is still president in this retro-fitting of...