New Pulp Author Mark Ellis talks about his Kickstarter project The Justice Machine with The Book Cave’s hosts Ric Croxton and Art Sippo.

Listen to The Book Cave Episode 221: Mark Ellis now at http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/the-book-cave-episode-221-mark-ellis

Okay, so Wesley and Fred are getting romantic advice from Agent Coulson, while Captain Mal Reynolds, Detective Kellerman, and Garfunkel lurk around in the background, in Joss Whedon’s latest iteration of the Avengers… oh, just watch. It’s Shakespeare, it’s good for you.

…wind down through the labyrinthine passage to the farthest depth of the cavern and there find a wire, and from the wire will come a spark, and from the spark a flame and from the flame a light that will illuminate the truth…

Well, sometime, maybe. But not today. Today is for blobbing – or, if you prefer a slightly classier and more contemporary work that I learned just this afternoon, chillaxing. Yesterday was the ordeal of being pulled for hours through a tube that’s a teeny bit narrower than I am while breathing sulfur or, as some would call it, airline travel.

I’ve been doing it pretty regularly for almost half-a-century and so you’d think I’d be used to it by now. Okay, I’m resigned to it, but that’s not exactly the same as being used to it.

The occasion, this brisk and, in some areas, snowy March, was a visit to a comics convention in a city I have fond memories of, Seattle. Now, some of you who are my age and have retained the ability to read and thus are reading this, may recall the early fanzines: generally produced on mimeograph machines on cheapish paper; these were not slick and often not very professional, but they had the charm of work done for the love of it, with no hope of gain other than the satisfaction of indulging in a cherished hobby. These publications often featured “convention reports,” accounts of visits to science fiction or comic book gatherings, written by the zine’s publisher or one of that person’s friends. About those conventions: some fans, a professional or two, maybe a movie, maybe – a real treat! – a reel of outtakes from film or television. And maybe…even the appearance of an actor from film or tv. (The first con I attended featured Buster Crabbe.)

Them days is gone forever, Clem. Any convention report would have to be quite lengthy to do justice to its subject. There were, give or take, 75,000 attendees in Seattle and a whole roster of show biz celebrities topped by Patrick Stewart or, as those of you adverse to reading credits might know him, Jean Luc Picard, captain of the starship Enterprise. This mammoth gathering is not the biggest convention – the ones held in New York City and San Diego are bigger – but its still pretty awesome and, I was told, has doubled in size since last year, so…watch your backs, New York and San Diego!

What can I bitch about? Not much. The accommodations bordered on luxurious and everyone we encountered – I’m talking everyone – was friendly and courteous.

What did I like? Well, let’s skip the women – hordes of lovely human beings in costumes, many with interesting tattoos and didn’t my dirty old man merit badge almost burn a hole through my vest! Let’s skip them and remark on how the idea of a convocation devoted to good ol’ comic books didn’t seem to be lost among all the show biz glitter and bling.

Yeah, I’d go back, even if I had to be pulled through a tube while breathing sulfur.

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

After losing a show runner and being off the air for month, NBC;’s COMMUNITY is back and now the questions are out there. Is it the same show without creator Dan Harmon, and can it last? Series regulars Allison Brie and Danny Pudy weigh in on where things stand in the middle of the show’s fourth season, plus Red Sonja gets a new creator and Robert Kirkman has something new for both comics and television.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

PULPED! Returns with a fantastic episode looking at another side of New Pulp- Biographies!

 Tommy Hancock welcomes Mystery and Pulp Biographer Jeffery Marks to this episode of PULPED!  Considering academic works part of New Pulp, Jeffery discusses his work on his upcoming Erle Stanley Gardner biography.  Listen to anecdotes, explanations, and origins of some of the best known Gardner creations, including a certain well known attorney!  Join Jeffery Marks as he gets PULPED!

Check out the latest episode of PULPED! HERE!

Solidly castigated for being in bad taste, Seth MacFarlane announced he was not interested in hosting the Oscars again. Watching his reception in horror, Tina Fey said “Hell, no.” So producers announced next year’s host will be Gilbert Gottfried.

To be fair, when it comes to MacFarlane I’m not necessarily your go-to guy. I thought Ted was good fun, but I have a hard time watching an entire episode of Family Guy. If I surf past it ten minutes in, I’m fine. If I watch it from the beginning but the phone rings and I actually decide to take the call, I don’t hit the TiVo button. American Dad doesn’t work for me, but it’s better than The Cleveland Show. Robot Chicken might be the finest show in the history of the medium. I loved him on Star Trek: Enterprise.

But I really enjoy MacFarlane when he’s on a talk show like Craig Ferguson or Jimmy Kimmel. Humor is in the eye of the beholder and I never, ever use the phrase “that’s not funny” without the tag “to me.” I think he’s funny, I think he’s clever, I think he might be the closest thing we’ve got in America to Ricky Gervais – except, of course, for Ricky Gervais. Who I also like. Who also was chastised for bad taste humor while hosting an awards show.

But here’s the thing. If you don’t want some bad taste on your teevee plate, don’t hire Seth MacFarlane. He’s not going to bow before the great Oscar god. That’s not what he does. He’s not Bob Hope, he’s not Johnny Carson. He’s not Billy Crystal either, although his Oscar ratings last month were 10% higher than Crystal’s the year before.

I don’t always watch the Oscars. I enjoy watching the show with my daughter because she does a fashion commentary that would make MacFarlane sound like Loretta Young. Come to think of it, that’s true of every woman with whom I’ve watched the show. Adriane wasn’t around this year, but I watched it because I like MacFarlane and, mostly, because I was hoping Ben Affleck would knock it out of the park. I might have wandered away had Christoph Waltz not copped the first award and, no, don’t blame MacFarlane or the show’s producers for Waltz’s nomination in the supporting actor category. They didn’t have anything to do with it. Grow up.

Hmmm. “Grow up.” Isn’t that Joan Rivers’ catch-phrase? Maybe she can be Gottfried’s co-host next year.

Hell, I’d watch that.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

To celebrate the release of the steampunk kung fu epic Tai Chi Zero, being released  on Blu-ray and DVD, Comicmix. will be giving away two DVDs and two Blu-Rays of this fantastic film.

About the film:

“From the creators of IP MAN and DETECTIVE DEE, featuring Martial Arts choreography by the legendary Sammo Hung, TAI CHI 0 is the first of a planned Steampunk Martial Arts trilogy. TAI CHI 0 tells the story of Yang Luchan, a young genius who, tired of being picked on, travels to Chen Village to learn the art of Tai Chi. Luchan finds out the hard way that it is forbidden for a villager to teach an outsider. But when a frightening army of steampunk soliders bearing strange machines shows up, the villagers must trust this strange outsider with the knowledge of Tai Chi.“

If you want your chance to win a copy of Tai Chi Zero, entering is simple: you must comment on this post. We will announce the winners picked at random from those who comment!

Now on to the rules…

• There will be only four winners.
• You must comment on this post to win.
• One comment per user.
• Contest is over at midnight (EST) on March 10th
• Winners will be announced the following day and have 5 days to contact us with shipping info.

We would like to thank Variance Films for letting us give our readers this opportunity to pick up this wonderful film.