The Geekdom Fancast

It's the return of Critical Entertainment to The Geekdom Fancast! Writer and Co-Founder Christopher Reda comes back to the Fancastle to talk about Critical Entertainment's FIRST Kickstarter campaign. Chris speaks about why they wanted to launch their first Kickstarter, the  catalog of their library they are offering for sale, and he breaks down all the origins and details about each one of their exciting titles! Plus we get a little bit of filmtalk about some of the movies he liked in 2024. Checkout their page below and see how you can get in on the rewards before time runs out.  https://t.co/4ErsylUtAl

That's right we're back with another year of the biggest collection of geek culture there is: San Diego Comic-Con! Derek is joined by everyone's favorite foodie geek Greg Mucino as they reminisce about the four (and a half) day annual event that brings over 100K geeks to one location. They talk about their favorite panels, activations, celeb sightings, comic artists, swag, More Panels, and too much shopping. It took over 90 minutes but you all deserve as much as we can deliver!

It's better late than never! With SDCC coming back we're doing the full embrace of con season  with good friend Albert of the Stuff/Junk show for Wondercon 2024! We cover how it was with a post strike WC and the difference of what to see, hear, and do.  Plus how that damn rain as messing with the weekend! 

Derek sits down with fellow TV fans Bobby Bexar (A Toy Kinda Mood) and Greg Mucino (Burger and TV Lord) to discuss their favorites from the small screen in 2023. At almost three hours this is for all you hardcore couch potatoes!  

Before the year ends Derek was able to get one last episode out! Joining Derek on this episode is Robert Bexar (A Toy Kinda Mood) and they go over NYCC 2023, GenV vs. Loki and a little sports talk.  If you are NOT interested in the sports part just skip ahead to the 5:00 mark.  Happy New Year!

On this episode Derek is joined by comic book pulishers/writers Mason Mendoza & Christopher Reda from Critical Entertainment. They take us back to their adolescent roots and talk about what pop culture properties made them fall into the geek world and the road that eventually led them to start their own comic book company Critical Entertainment llc! Now they're a part of Diamond Distributors and everyone can order their books to enjoy.  Find out more about their library of selections at: https://www.criticalentertainmentla.com/

It's that time of year again! All of the Geeks flood to the mothership that is San Diego Comic-Con. Derek is joined by SDCC veteran Greg Mucino to talk about all  the Pop Culture delights that were there for their taking. Panels, activations, swag, fanboy moments, and more! If you weren't able to make it out to San Diego I hope our coverage gives you all the info on what was going on for the four days of Geekness.  Check out the YouTube Channel for the video version of the episode with our nerdy faces.  Just use: Geekdom Fancast Youtube

When two great pieces of entertainment come out at the same time it's just the perfect Pop Culture sandwhich that has to devoured & discussed. Derek is joined by Bobby Bexar (A Toy Kinda Mood) to go over all their favorite moments from the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Season Three of the TV show Ted Lasso.  Hope you all enjoy the tasty meal. 

We have a bonus film review for you all. Derek is joined by Jason Avalos (Schoolhouse Pictures) to talk about the new film AIR from Amazon Studios! Starring Matt Damon, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, and Ben Affleck. Also directed by Ben Affleck. This film is the true story of how Nike took a chance and made a big pursuit of the great Michael Jordan which would lead to them becoming the biggest company in basketball shoes.  In theaters Wednesday, April 5th!

Yes, it's already February and we're just now wrapping up 2022. But at least it's a fat episode for you all! Derek is joined by Robert Bexar ( A Toy Kinda Mood) and Burger Lord Greg Mucino to give their top picks of the small screen. 

When the highest grossing film of all time makes a sequel it might as well be a requirement to record an episode about it! Derek and Bobby Bexar (A Toy Kinda Mood) take the trip to Pandora again and have quite a lenghty discussion to go over the three hour plus blockbuster.

Derek is joined by Bobby Bexar from A Toy Kinda Mood on the show to talk about the pop culture bonanza that was New York Comic Con 2022. The big reunion panels, new shows and movies, celebrities, cosplay, and that Massive Artist's Alley! It's a long episode but we tried to cover it all. Enjoy all you Fanboys and Fangirls!

Wrapping up the Lumpia Movie series with Part 3: creator/writer/director/ Patricio Ginelsa! Pat takes us down the timeline of the birth of the Deep Fried Universe.  He digs into his memories and shares about the original Lumpia movie, using Kickstarter to help fund Lumpia with a Vengeance, and those wonderfully fun line of Lumpia comic books! Find more info at: www.lumpiamovie.com

It's the second part of our Lumpia Movie Week (month) series! Derek sits down with artist Gerald Pilare to talk about being a storyboard artist for the film, working on the Lumpia comics, and his secret love of robots. 

Lumpia with a Vengeance is the independant action film that has been created, written, and performed by an entire Filipino-American ensemble. In Part One of this series Derek sits down with father and son duo Lawrence & Diego Iriarte to discuss working on the film, their love of comic books/ film, and what it's like sharing the same goals of being artists.  In theatres September 30th!

It is summertime and that brings the heat plus Con Season. We made our trip back to the original mothership that is SDCC 2022! Derek is joined by Bobby Bexar from A Toy Kind of Mood and the Burger Lord, Greg Mucino to give their take on four (and a half) days of the Geektastic Wonderland. We dive into panels, offsites, signings, comics, toys, and embracing the feeling of being back after so many years. Geeeeekkkkssss.

With SDCC upon us what a perfect time to look back on all the fun we had at Wondercon 2022! Derek is joined by Ana Mendoza as they reminisce about all their favorite highlights from the convention and how great it was to be back in Anaheim. Plus we add a bonus segment of Derek and Ana's appearance on The Stuff & Junk Show. And if that's not quite enough, Derek got to sit in on a Press junket for Amazon Prime's show Undone! So whether you were there or wish you had been hope you enjoy our recap. 

We've always been late with our DC film reviews so why would things change any in the P.M. era?! Derek is joined by three of Gotham City's finest: Ana Mendoza, Greg Mucino, and Jason Avalos to weigh in on the three hour epic movie. 

We are BACK! This is the first show in the new time era of P.M. (Post-Myke) so I had to bring in some solid folks to begin our next phase of TGF. Ana Mendoza and Greg Mucino joined to share their toughts on HBO's Euphoria Season 2. This is a spoiler filled review so if you haven't seen Euphoria stop at (23:40) but jump back in at (1:01:45). We talk what other shows that keep our butts on the couch.  

A little over eight years to the day we started it is time to say goodbye to one half of the founding members of the podcast - it's Myke's last episode and all we do is reminsice about starting the podcast, our favorite memories and guests, and where Derek is going to go from here! Don't worry though, Myke will eventually come back as a guest - and he'll also be @onemyke on Twitter and Instagram.

Great friend of the pod Albert recently had Derek on The Stuff and Junk show to talk about this year's Comic Con Special Edition - featuring our other great friend Ana from PopPrismPower. Albert so graciously allowed us to cross-post the episode on this feed so our subscribers don't miss it! As always, listen to The Stuff and Junk show wherever you find our podcast, and check out Albert's other shows and blogs at https://www.whowhatwhereswhy.com/ Here's the more detailed description of the episode via Stuff and Junk: Episode 515 (53 mins 58 secs) Still more to say about Comic-Con Special Edition, including Scott Shaw's commentary about the show. Albert is joined by Derek of the Geekdom Fancast, and Ana of Pop Prism Power, to share their thoughts and experience from this scaled down Comic-Con. Was it a pop-up convention? cartoonist and co-founder of Comic-Con Scott Shaw claims that Comic-Con Special Edition was the best San Diego Comic-Con in decades  Pac-Man To Squid Game, A Few Shots Of San Diego Comic-Con Day One  John Cena's Peacemaker visits Comic-Con Special Edition  You're Spider-Man?  No One Told Us We Couldn't - The Founders Of San Diego Comic-Con ——- Tender Greens   Yellow Jackets - watch it on Showtime  Wild Bill's Craft Beverage Co. - Premium Olde Fashioned Soda Pop  

Yeesh, if you think the episode title was a mouthful, wait until you hear the episode! But in a good way! In Myke's penultimate episode we wanted to catch up with all our favorite guests who haven't been on in awhile and see what they've been watching, reading, and playing in general! It's a round robin conference call with people who've been with us from almost the very beginning to our newest and most favoritest humans. First we talk with our Texans Ryan and Robert, then our south of LA peeps from other podcasts: Albert, Jiaming, and Ana, and finally with some of our most frequent guests and good friends Dana, Sherice, and Greg!  If for some reason you want to skip to different people, here's some time stamps! Ryan and Robert @ 00:09:07 Jiaming, Albert, Ana @ 00:57:40 Greg, Sherice, Dana @ 1:31:30    

In honor of this year's Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month we had the honor of talking to TWO amazing Filipino artists in the fields of illustration, graphic design, and more! Since we can't go to Artist's Alley at SDCC, or any other con, for awhile - we decided to bring it to you! We sat down with Patrick Ballesteros to talk about his con experiences, combining his nerd fandoms with his art, and the upcoming LUMPIA Movie comic book!  Then we talk to Leah Abucayan about how she was inspired by the Sistine Chapel AND the Disney Channel, what it's like to work as a professional graphic designer for CNN, and how she's getting into puppets!    Patrick's Carpenter Kids Piece Buy Patrick's prints, stickers, and more here.  Find Patrick on Instagram @patrickballesteros   Check out Leah's Instagram. Find out more about here.    

There couldn't be a more appropriate movie for the last DC Boys appearance on this version of the podcast than Zack Snyder's Justice League. DJ, James, and Gabe return to tackle The Snyder Cut in its full form, beat by beat, chapter by chapter. We actually go into so many tangents, there isn't really the threat of any real spoilers, not that you haven't had 4 years to watch either cut of this movie. BUT, have no fear, most of the discussion is born from the Snyder cut, but goes into comics, other movies (a random segue into BvS again for some reason), video games and more.  As referenced in the episode: Snyder's Plans for Justice League Sequel Luthor

While Zack Snyder has just delivered his cut of 'Justice League' this weekend, we decided to spare ourselves 2 more hours (for now - we will be doing a ZS JL episode in the future) and check out Benedict Cumberbatch delivering film of his own - as a businessman turn spy in his new film 'The Courier'. We get into how this differs from a lot of other Cold War thrillers, the surprises of Cumberbatch's performance, and how 'The Courier' turns the spy thriller on its head in subtle ways. 

After our heroes' zany antics with the dastardly villain Thanos, Wanda and Vision find themselves in the most unlikely place - our television sets!  Comic book fan, artist, writer, and old geek friend Guy Copes join us to recap the madcap antics of the soon to be Scarlet Witch. Listeners beware, spoilers abound as we break down how most of the fan theories wouldn't work and how the weekly release schedule whipped us all into a frenzy.  Follow Guy on Twitter @GuyCopes3 and check out his art here. 

...or how to survive a pandemic as a geek.  Even though we didn't get to see half of the movies promised to us in 2020, we did end up watching a lot of television! It wouldn't be a 2020 wrap up episode if we didn't get into the random binges that we got into during the pandemic, and whatever else we did to fill the time being stuck inside (more than usual). 

Through an unprecedented rift in the major motion picture studio system, we were able to transport back into the DCEU during a global pandemic in order to catch up with Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984, which was mostly cool because it gave us a chance to reunite with our Metasquid Studios bros, the DC Boys! Gabe, DJ, and James return to navigate the cloudy return of the Trinity's demi-god. We also discover which DC boy is which member of the Justice League, unwrap how Geoff John's could do us like this, and James yells!!! Check out Gamesters Pairofdice, and our eventual appearance on Jamesflix at Metasquid Studios on your podcast feed!

In an episode that was a long time coming, we finally get to sit down with the founders of the Pod Clubhouse, Paul Daley and Caroline Kupstas Daley to talk about meeting Derek at the ATX Festival, starting a podcast to save their family, and the television that really got them into television media. We hear about them raising children with special needs while seeing various successes on different tv shows about their same situation, how certain geek communities can be bad for your mental health, and also nerd out with us about all the shows we watched in 2020!  Find their show, and the other PCH crew at podclubhouse.com!

It's good to know that even a pandemic can't stop a certain Mandalorian from his quest to deliver a certain Child to the sorcerer's known as the Jedi, because it was almost a year without a Marvel and/or a Star War! Greg Mucino and Lance Paul return to show to talk about the adventures of Grogu and his metal dad! Most specifically we wax poetic about the (as of recording) latest, Robert Rodriguez episode, but we spare no time getting into the entire season itself. SPOILER WARNING!!!!

What better way to distract yourself from the current events than by listening to us talk about the newest political courtroom drama from Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7. In a movie that no way mirrors the exact issues we're going through right now, Robert Bexar joins us to talk about the themes of this newest effort from the guy who brought you The American President, The West Wing, and The Newsroom. We're not a political podcast and we would never do anything like give you a live look into the moment where four swing states were in the balance. 

A real life pandemic was apparently not enough to derail the release of the sequel to the cult-favorite Korean horror-action zombie flick Train to Busan: Peninsula so we decided to brave the outbreak in order to watch another one! Not only that, but in preparation Derek and our guest watched the original Train to Busan for the first time (finally)! Of course this particular set of movies gave us the perfect excuse to bring back our friend from MAActionCinema.com - David Vo! We get into their impression of the first movie, then dive into a spoiler free review of Peninsula! 

Although there isn't going to be a DC movie out for awhile (if those rumors about Wonder Woman being pushed back are to be believed), DC made a big enough splash in the news with their huge media event DC Fandome that happened a week after an unfortunate round of layoffs. It was a one two punch that made us reach out to our DC Boys from Metasquid Studios - DJ, Gabe, and James - for an emergency episode to unpack it all. Gabe brings us the industry insider perspective, James seeks compensation for his ideas, and DJ saves the day by steering the ship as usual. We specifically touch on all the major trailers, the DC shows DJ has been watching (Harley Quinn and Doom Patrol), and the two blockbuster DC games that were announced.  Check out their shows Jamesflix and the Gamesters Pairofdice wherever you get your podcasts by searching 'Metasquid Studios'.

It's a Gareth Evans triple feature! Earlier this year the acclaimed action director made his television series showrunner and directorial debut with the hit Sky Atlantic show 'Gangs of London' (which will premiere in the US on October 1st) and Derek was hooked from the very beginning! After much prodding he finally got Myke to check out the show. In this special episode we talk (without spoilers) about the entire first season of Gangs of London - then as an added bonus - get into spoiler thoughts at the end. But first Derek finally caught up with, and we finally review The Raid Redemption & The Raid 2: Berandal! If you want to just skip to the 'Gangs of London' review it starts at exactly 54 minutes into the podcast.   

FULL SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LAST OF US PART II We may have not gotten any big movie blockbusters this year, but in video games it has been a huge year - and this might be at the top list. That's right, Fancast and Gamescast friend of the show Dana Keels and our new, but now regular, Gamescast guest Dee Assassina join Myke to talk about the entire experience that is The Last of Us Part II. This is a full spoiler episode from the get-go, and because of the polish of a game this caliber, we mainly talk about the artistic merits of the game: the narrative, the themes, the characters, and the overall story. 

We continue catching up with our friends over Zoom this week with our old pal, and new writer for ScreenRant, JL. We find out what he's been filling the time with (Bond, of course), his thoughts on what he's caught on SDCC @ Home this year, and we finally get into our thoughts about the Emmy nominations!

We've all done crazy things in this COVID Quarantine, the least crazy of which is Myke reuniting with his old brothers Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! As a special treat to himself he enlisted the help of his fellow SDCC Scooter Gang member Kevin Palma, #1 TMNT fan and huge comic book aficionado. Together they talk about EVERYTHING green from the 1990 live action movie to Kevin Eastman's 2012 IDW run and everything in between and ever since! It's a shell of a time!

We continue our Safer-At-Home check-ins with our favorite guests with one of the first friend's of show, Greg Mucino, and one of our busiest pals Jason Avalos! Greg and Derek talk about their recent trip to the Mooby's Pop-Up in West Hollywood, we find out how Jason is coping with Hollywood on lockdown, get into our feelings about this year's SDCC, and get into what we've been consuming in the meantime! 

There may be nothing but takes flying around on the internet during the pandemic, about all sorts of geek things, but the one thing that most geeks (who have seen it) tend to agree upon is that the second season of 'What We Do in the Shadows' is really good, so we brought two of our most vocal friends, and favorite guests, Dana and Sherice on to talk about it!  We also get into what everyone has been up to since we've been on hiatus, and since we've seen Dana and Sherice last!

As Derek continues his discovery of Mr. Bong Joon-Ho, TBS has finally premiered its long gestated TV show adaptation of his 2013 cult-hit Snowpiercer and what an appropriate time to ingest a movie about class warfare and the end of the world! We first get into Derek's thoughts on the movie (after 7 years), the changes made to the show, and our thoughts on the show in general. SPOILERS THROUGHOUT - mostly for the movie, but if you wanted to watch the show completely fresh, beware! 

Longtime friend, and past guest, of the podcast Robert Bexar (of Bayou City Geeks) for some reason didn't watch Westworld season's one and two when they first came out - weird, especially for someone who we knew would have LOVED it. After a years long campaign by Derek we're here! Robert joins us to talk about his first watch of Westworld all the way through to the season finale!  Be sure to check out www.bayoucitygeeks.com if you want to see more of Robert Bexar and/or watch our zoom recording of this episode!

Tigertail is the feature film directorial debut of 'Master of None's' Alan Yang and our non-spoiler review episode of it features the return of our friends from The Stuff & Junk Show, Albert Patrick and Jiaming Liou! We go over how this film hits our own experiences in the various different ways, why people choose to immigrate, and how this film works - or for some of us - didn't.   Check out Albert and Jiaming on The Stuff & Junk Show at whowhatwhereswhy.com! 

One of our favorite things about doing this podcast is getting to have in depth conversations with our friends in ways we normally don't get to, about things they've really geeked out about. This time we have Derek's old theater buddy Patrick Croghan! He talks about going from wanting to do a drunken cable access show with his friends to getting into gritty theatrical dramas. Then we get into everything we've been consuming lately! 

The Geekdom Gamescast is a monthly video game bonus episode in collaboration with God Hates Geeks hosted by Myke and God Hates Geek's own Travis Moody.  Moody and Myke have set off on two very different paths when it comes to their quarantine gaming. While Myke is getting sweaty with Doom Eternal (which Moody got a little into), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and intense sessions of Warzone; Moody has taken the more chilled out JRPG approach playing Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and Persona 5. We also get into the latest console reveals for the Xbox Series X and the PS5, trailers for upcoming games, and Myke's Gamespass backlog. If you want to skip to a certain section here's some timecodes: Intro and the PS5 Dual Sense News (Start - 11:53) Final Fantasy VII Remake Review Roundup (11:54 - 21:44) Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Remake and RE VIII Rumors (21:55 - 35:31) Doom Eternal (35:32 - 56:12) Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (56:27 - 1:10:50) Inside Xbox and Myke's Quarantine Games (1:11:00 - 1:35:24) Persona 5 Royal (1:35:25 - End)  

As we continue to self isolate and stay at home as much as we can we check out a movie that was supposed to come to theaters that has thankfully been made available to everyone On Demand - The Hunt, but before we get into our non-spoiler review of that Derek talks about how he's catching up on last year's coming-of-age comedy PEN15 and Myke scratches the surface of the intriguing Devs. 

The Geekdom Gamescast is a monthly video game bonus episode in collaboration with God Hates Geeks hosted by Myke and God Hates Geek's own Travis Moody.  With the pandemic we're facing, big changes are happening everywhere - including the gaming industry. Moody and Myke get into E3 being cancelled and what that means. We then look forward to the releases this month, talk about the Geekdom Gamescast's GVO fighting tournament and then Myke gets into Call of Duty's new Free-to-Play Battle Royale mode: Warzone. 

Social distance with us as we get into Derek's recent trip to Portland, the crazy situation the world is in today, and then a full episode of a TV show?! That's right, we're doing a FULL SPOILERS episode review of the Westworld Season 3's Premiere! We finally reunite with Delores and Bernard and meet new characters outside the park. Derek and Myke theorize about the show, talk about the world building of the future, and how LA still kinda looks like LA! 

Damian Holbrook, one of our favorite con panel moderators, TV Guide Network hosts, TV Insider writers, and TCA Board members, returns to the podcast just in time to help you set your DVRs for the upcoming year. We talk to him about the 2020 TCAs, the big television press tour for the Television Critics Association where networks, streaming channels, and premium cable channels show off what they've got going on! This year Damian surprises himself with how much he loves the upcoming Alex Garland thriller Devs, speculates about the new Paris Hilton doc, and discusses the monumental experience of having Hillary Clinton show up for a visit! Follow Damian on Twitter @damianholbrook and find all his coverage there!

Once again we've sent out our Batsignal to summon our favorite DC BoiZ, DJ and James from Gamesters Pairofdice, and we got a bonus guest in the process! Their co-host, and one of our first guests, Gabe joins us to get into the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn and her adventures with the Birds of Prey! Of course the show goes off the rails and is as long as the movie, and of course it's a load of laughs throughout, but we also really get into the movie. Gabe defines the distinction between a comic book movie and a comic book movie, we get into what makes the action work, the virtue of killing off villains in superhero movies, and DC's watering down of their characters. Check out DJ, James, and Game on their shows Gamesters Pairofdice and Jamesflix, on the MetaSquid Studios feed on your favorite podcast app! 

Thanks to Derek's intrepid work, we were able to see two of the more under the radar movies that came out last week and we're here with host-only, non-spoiler reviews! First we have the new movie starring Zoey Deutch 'Buffaloed' about debt collectors and the American Dream. Then we talk about the new Nat Faxon & Jim Rash movie 'Downhill' starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell about the American family! 

The first Oscar's of the decade and history is already made. Great friend of the podcast Sherice joins us to talk about the ceremony that was still infected by a Parasite even though there was no host. We get into all of it. The weird speeches, random musical performances, huge upsets, and the TRIUMP OF BONG JOON-HO!