Four Day Geekend 2022: Apocalyptic?

Mathew Borrett, HYPNAGOGIC_CITY_II

In the wake of our successful trip to England last month, I've decided to double down with a four day trip to Toronto over the Easter weekend. (My workplace is conveniently closed on both the Friday and the Monday.)  It's a bit of a gamble: because it's Easter, there's a chance that not all the places that I want to go will be open, but I'm reasonably certain that I won't have any trouble filling the time no matter what happens.

In addition to spending some time with my friend Colin (the pretty Campbell Brother) I'm hoping to visit my traditional shopping favourites: the Silver Snail, newly returned to Queen Street West, for comics, graphic novels and action figures; Bakka-Phoenix Books for, well, books; and whatever other shopping opportunities offer themselves.  I'm travelling light, with just carry-on luggage and my shoulder bag, so if for some reason I should hit the jackpot for shopping, I could always buy a cheap bag and check in my purchases, although I doubt that things will get that far out of control.

However, it's been over two years since I last visited Toronto, and let's not forget that there's been a near-apocalyptic pandemic event since then.  Maybe an extra bag for books is the least of my concerns - it's possible that I should be planning for the traditional post-apocalyptic challenges of finding clean water and evading roving bands of cannibals.  Or even without that, it may just be a very different place...

- Sid

Infinite.

When I saw a press release announcing that DC Comics was finally expanding their DC Infinite online comic books subscription service on a limited international basis, with the service finally going live in Canada on March 28, I was instantly interested.  Marvel Unlimited has been a frequently visited addition to my iPad apps, and DC's decision to let other countries access Infinite is somewhat overdue.

In order to pull in subscribers, DC Infinite is priced at $59.99 Canadian for an annual subscription* if you sign up within 30 days of the launch date, after which it will jump to $99.99.  By comparison, the Marvel Unlimited service runs at $69.99 USD annually (about $80 CAD), although there's also an exclusive option at $99.99 USD with some additional perks.

Five dollars a month seemed like a reasonable price point - I think it's fair to say that most people spend more than on a daily basis for Starbucks - so I signed up immediately to lock in the introductory price, downloaded the app, and took a look around to see how it compared to Marvel's offering.

The app formats are slightly different, but not in any major way - after all, there are only so many ways to read a comic book on an iPad.  Both companies offer the reader the option of full page or panel-by-panel reading, both have event/storyline reading guides, and so on.  Interestingly, DC's home page defaults to a gallery view of all the available comics, which I found to be a browser's paradise in terms of seeing comics that I had long forgotten and never would have thought to search for.  I'd love it if Marvel took a similar approach, it's just such a great way to find hidden treasures.

As with Marvel , the quality on DC Infinite is excellent, even with old comics like Jack Kirby's original Kamandi series from 1972, the classic Murphy Anderson Superman comics from the 1960s, or Alex Ross' painterly take on Batman.  

Surprisingly, both apps suffer from similar problems in terms of navigating out of comics and managing full page versus panel viewing - perhaps they hired the same programming company.

Regardless of minor navigation issues, I'm very pleased to have added DC Infinite to my subscriptions.  Unlike my mild collector's mania regarding vintage science fiction (Ace Doubles and so on) my interest in comics has always been primarily as a reader, and as such I'm quite happy with virtual access to DC's catalogue of content.

Now I just need someone to digitize all the First! comics from the 80s.  Until then I'll just make sure to take very good care of my Grimjack and American Flagg! comics. Speaking of which, I wonder where that box of comics ended up after the move last year?  Ah well, just another reason for switching to online comics...

- Sid

*Monthly memberships are $9.99.

01.04.2277

This year, WestJet chose April 1st to proudly announce WestJetX, its new affordable orbital passenger service, on Twitter™:  "Taking payloads without making you pay loads."

It's quite elaborate and fairly clever, featuring videos and stills with quite high production values featuring space planes, floating pretzels, and a convincing looking spacesuit, along with some well-written copy regarding pressurized cabins ("for breathability and comfort") and the option of one-way tickets to "cut the cost of spaceflight in half".  

However, I can't quite give it full points as an April Fools event, because it ultimately just becomes a commercial for WestJet, albeit a somewhat tongue-in-cheek one.

By comparison, Ian McCollum's video review of Fallout 3 weaponry has that perfect combination of absolute seriousness and complete randomness that makes for a good April Fools gag.

McCollum, aka "Gun Jesus", is a gun collector, researcher, author, and the genial host of Forgotten Weapons, a YouTube™ channel where he knowledgeably discusses rare and unusual firearms as well as historically significant weapons.  This odd niche has been ridiculously successful, accumulating almost 2.5 millions followers on YouTube.

For April 1st, Forgotten Weapons took its usual detailed look at the Type 93 Chinese Assault Rifle, familiar to anyone who served in the campaign against the Chinese invasion of Alaska and Operation Anchorage, which freed Alaska's capital from Chinese occupation.

I'm just a little disappointed that he didn't feature something more exotic like the Fallout 4 plasma pistol or the M42 "Fat Man" mini-nuke catapult launcher, but I can see how choosing the Type 93, which is in the style of a conventional automatic weapon, makes it less obvious that it's a joke. The casual viewer might not notice at all, although the additional of radiation signage in the background is probably a strong hint. 

I have to give Mr. McCollum full points for earnestly delivering the same degree of scholarly historical detail and in-depth analysis for the Type 93 that he provides for any of the weaponry that he profiles on his channel.  He glibly explains how the Type 93 probably first sees production during the mid 2020s, looks at modifications for enhanced hand to hand combat due to reduced ammunition availability during the Resource Wars of the 2050s, 60s, and 70s that precede the global thermonuclear exchange between the US and the PRC, and even discusses the different versions of the Type 93 that are chambered for 7.62x39mm, for domestic Chinese use, and the 5.56 version covertly smuggled into the United States as part of the planned Chinese infiltration of the Washington DC area.*

The most surprising part of the video is that the sample weapon appears to be a fully functional rifle (supplied to Ian by Elder Alex of the Brotherhood of Steel) to the point that Ian is able to break the weapon down and apparently try it out on the shooting range.  Wow - now I REALLY want to see him do a feature on the mini-nuke launcher.

- Sid

* And the resulting need to modify the original curved magazine to accommodate the straight-walled 5.56 cartridge as opposed to the tapered 7.62 - it really is impressively detailed.