Remember our sweet raffle!

Do you like this nifty button?

What about these sweet lanyards???

OH!!  And these AMAZING colab drawing done by our very own Tressa and Justin?!?!

Well...then you need to come over to Collectibles, Etc. off of Richmond Rd here in Lexington tomorrow, October 1, during 24 HOUR COMIC BOOK DAY and participate in our raffle!!!  Tickets are JUST $1.  We'll have these goodies, plus much much more - including movie tickets and gift cards of all shapes and sizes!  AND DO NOT WORRY.  We will get your contact info so when we draw, if you aren't there, you still win!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

PKD Black Box Episode #64: You Want To Make What??? - HHWLOD Podcast Network

Hey Gang! Double your pleasure with BCP this week. Check out our guest spot on the podcast PKD Black Box with our friend Shawn Pryor!!

Check out the episode here:

PKD Black Box Episode #64: You Want To Make What???

Episode Description:

Shawn is joined by Tressa, Kerry and Matt of the Beaucoup Pop podcast as they hop into the Hollywood Simulation Machine and talk about the movies they would make if the had the chance.

The Star Wars Blu-Ray Box Set, Super Pro K.O. by Jarrett Williams, Meanwhile by Jason Shiga, and Tressa and Matt's time spent at DragonCon are also discussed.

Nerds and Blerds, enjoy.

Episode 26 - Disappointments in Pop Culture

The cast of Beaucoup Pop is back, bringing you everything you need to know about whats going on in the pop culture world...and maybe some things that you didn't need to know, BUT WE GIVE IT TO YOU ANYWAY!!!

We all love Pop Culture, right? Hell, that's why BCP is here, our love of popular culture. But every once and a while we're given a big ol' middle finger. That's what we're talking about on this episode, our greatest disappointments in the Pop Culture Universe. We cover a ton of crazy shit on this episode: The Last Airbender, Captain Jack, Heath Ledger, even Einstein's Theory of Relativity!! And that's just the tip of the iceburg.

As an added bonus, we are joined by Miss Pop Culture herself, Jennifer Griffin! Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Jennifer is not only an amazing writer but she is also the creator of chevronone.com a website dedicated to all things pop culture. Jennifer currently writes roughly 6 articles a day for the site (including interviews)...now that's badass!

Will the BCP crew talk about things you've found disappointing too? You'll have to tune in to find out. Post a comment on the blog and that lus know what's your greatest dissappointment in pop culture. Cause let's face it, we ALL love crying over spilled milk!

LCTC Update: Rolling Video Games trailer!

Rolling Video Games of Kentucky will be pulling the 16 player video game trailer into the Lexington Center for the Lexington Comic & Toy Con!

http://lexingtoncomiccon.tumblr.com/post/10715299876/just-added-rolling-video-games

Holy Bandwidth Sucker, Batman!!

We here at BCP are in a bit of a PICKLE! This month we have experienced an increase in our monthly bandwidth use. This means we either have had a SHIT TON of downloads and embed plays this month (which would be awesome!)...OR...PodOmatic is gouging our bandwidth to get us to upgrade...and apparently we're not the only show with this problem (click here)...hmmmmmmm...

SO, we've decided to change host sites. We are moving from PodOmatic to Libsyn!! We'll be going through a transition period over the next few weeks. If you have any trouble streaming the most recent shows please try to download them straight from iTunes...if that's not working then let us know and one of us will send you a copy of the episode you're needing through email. Sorry for any trouble this may cause, we're trying to fix it ASAP!!!

24 Hour Comic Book Day (10/01/11) Schedule

Come join us for 24 Hour Comic Book day on October 1st where we'll be recording LIVE!!! Tressa will actually be taking on the challenge of creating her own 24 hour comic, but the rest of the Beaucoup Pop gang will be at the store from 10:00am-1:00pm then 2:00pm-5:00pm. Not only will we be up to our regular shenanigans, we'll be taking interviews from YOU the costumer as well!!! So if you want to be heard drop by and we'll chat ya up! 

Join the event on Facebook!

 More Beaucoup Pop shenanigans. Enjoy!

A Preview of Tressa on October 1st! ^_^

Episode 25 - Inside The Nostalgia

The cast of Beaucoup Pop is back, bringing you everything you need to know about whats going on in the pop culture world...and maybe some things that you didn't need to know, BUT WE GIVE IT TO YOU ANYWAY!!!

Grab your red bow ties and be prepared for the word of the day Poppers because we're delving into the world of our childhood TV shows.

To kick off the episode we have the pleasure of interviewing Caseen Gaines. Caseen is the author of an upcoming book, Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse, which takes an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the hit television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, as well as the rise, fall, and rise again of the Pee-wee Herman phenomenon. (www.insidetheplayhouse.com)

We also talk about some of OUR OTHER favorite TV shows growing up, so don't change that channel folks because the BCP gang is drudging up warm fuzzies from the past.

Kerry's Korner 9/7/11

Alright Poppers!!  I have my potted plant so here we go!  It's a blog post this week because I'm not psychic, sadly...so I couldn't report future news when we recorded part 2 of our innovations in gaming episode haha.  But that's okay!  I bring it to you now!

The Oscars
Stuff has been flying around about who was going to be the host for the 84th Oscars.  Ricky Gervais even said that he was asked back - which was not true, haha.  But it's now official!  It looks like our next host is going to be Eddie Murphy.  Color me intrigued.


Wolverine 2
This movie is...just a hot mess.  The more that gets reported about it, the more I dread its' existence.  So it was revealed a mere TWO WEEKS after the Vancouver Sun said production was going to launch by next March that Mark Bomback has been brought in for some rewrites in the screenplay.
-_-
I'm just...done. *sigh*


Expendables 2

What started out as just speculation has finally been confirmed.  Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger will be there, and both will have "substantial" roles opposite of Sylvester Stallone.  Hmm... Interesting...

Eh...

Josh Brolin has signed on to play the lead role in Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy... 

X-Files news - what?

In an interview with Australian television presenter Kylie Speer, Gillian Anderson mentioned that a new movie was in the works, and that she hopes it would be out in 2012.  David Duchovny has also mentioned this before, but without any sort of statement from Chris Carter I'm skeptical about it's existence.

Blu-ray goodness!

Guess what's finally gonna be coming out on blu-ray on December 13?!  Why...none other than THE ROCKETEER!  It's going to be a 20th Anniversary Edition set, but there are no specs for it yet.  You can already pre-order it on amazon.com for a mere $18.49  So hop to it.

Oh Warner Bros...

David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith of KatzSmith Productions have signed a two-year producing deal at WB.  One of their first projects that is expected is a sequel to the 1988 Tim Burton-directed amazing film Beetlejuice.  This is not confirmed in the least, as details of their contract are still being worked out, but there is a distinct possibility that Beetlejuice 2 will be one of the first scripts this deal brings into fruition.

Like a lot of things in this regard, I'm wary.. :/ Don't like the idea of a sequel to a great movie being made MANY years later (*cough*Kingdom of the Crystal Skull*cough*) but whatever.

Do not pass GO and do not collect $200

Ridley Scott's Monopoly project has been dropped by Universal, but it isn't quite dead yet.  Scott and Hasbro have gone ahead and hired Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to write the script.  These guys have worked on Ed Wood, People vs. Larry Flynt, and 1408 (to name a few) so it seems a pretty solid choice.  Check out the link below for details on the premise of the movie.  It sounds pretty sweet, especially with Ridley Scott at the helm.

http://geektyrant.com/news/2009/11/11/tons-of-story-details-on-ridley-scotts-monopoly-movie.html?currentPage=7

Vin Diesel's 'Riddick'

We have storyboard art!!!  Check this shit out.

Pretty awesome!  I'm personally looking forward to Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking.  I've enjoyed the other ones, and love Vin Diesel.  On his Facebook page, Diesel revealed that it IS getting an R-rating, and says he's felt like a kid in a candy shop getting to work on the world and style of this picture shown above, as well as all other storyboards and concept art being shelled out.  He also said that the first stop in production is going to be in Canada, where a large part of Chronicles was filmed.  Exciting!!

Well kiddies, that's about all I've got for this week!!  I'm gonna water my plant, and pop out of my corner until next time. :)

Artist of the Month: Martheus Wade

It's September! And you know what that means Poppers. It's time for our Artist of the Month!!

Martheus Wade (Creator / Writer / Artist)

Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa was created in 1985 by Martheus Antone Wade, a graduate of the University of Memphis. Martheus’ love for martial arts, along with his talent as a graphic artist, was a natural fit for creating the characters and storyline. He then began his carrier as an intern at Signature Advertising. After completing his internship, Martheus worked as graphic designer. After two years, Martheus struck out on his own as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator working with companies such as the Radison Hotel, Trust Marketing and Senior Services.



He has illustrated for Maximum CNG, Bloodstream for Image Comics, Shooting Star Comics, Chaos Campus for Approbation Comics and Andrew Dabb’s Slices just to name a few. Recently, he has worked on such titles as Action Man and Nanovor for IDW, Marvel Comics Masterpiece card series, and illustrated, wrote, and produced a comic book crossover with his character, Jetta, and William Tucci’s, Shi. His work has been used for the movie Role Models from Paramount Pictures as well as for the instructional DVD and book, Hi-Fi Digital Color for comics available from IMPACT Publishing. He has illustrated for the Star Wars franchise for Topps Card Company as well.His creation, Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa has been option for a motion picture and is currently in production. Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa - Full Circle (The fifth graphic novel in the series) was released in June 2011 and his spinoff title, Turra: Gun Angel, will be released in August 2011. His next works will be seen in Titanium Rain from Archaia Studio Press and as penciler for Bad Girls Club which debuted at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con International and published by IDW.

His website, www.toshigawa.com, has tons of samples of his work, from graphic novels to webcomics, as well as TONS of info.  It's also a great way to keep up with all news related stuff, keeping you nice and up to date on everything.  Be sure to head on over and check everything out!!

Martheus Wade

The Official Podcast of the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention

Great news Popers! Beaucoup Pop is now the official podcast the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention*!! ^_^

We'll be promoting the con on our blog and keeping you all updated with guests and event as Jarrod makes them available.

Check us out under this lists of sponsors on http://www.lexingtoncomiccon.com/ :3

If you are an artist or vendor, the Lexington Toy & Comic Con has some of most affordable table prices in the business. Tables for vendors** are only $50.00 and only $25.00 for exhibitors*** as long as they are booked before January 1st 2012. Check out the website above for more details.


We'll need your help Poppers to spread the word about this con. We want this con to be successful, because it's about time cons started coming to US! ;-) Online ticket sales are now open via the website (currently $8)  and VIP tickets are only $20. Only 200 VIP tickets will be sold.

Any suggestions on cool swag we can provide them for their VIP bag? What kind of free stuff do you all like get when you go to con? Post a comment and let us know.


*Lexington Convention Center / Heritage Hall East / 430 W Vine Street / Lexington, KY 40507 / Saturday, March 24, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (ET)
**A "vendor" is defined as anyone or any company who purchases product for resell.
***An "exhibitor" is any person or company who sells ONLY products that he/she produces themselves!

Sexuality In Video Games

My friend Burley asked a question on Facebook the other day that got me thinking about sexuality in video games. He asked, "Aren’t we far enough along to have openly gay video game protagonists?" We as consumers constantly asking video game developers for better graphics, more control, deeper stories and more characters development. But what about sexuality? Is a video game character's sexuality important if it's not relevant to the story?

As to Burley's questions, I believe that, considering the large number of Gaymers out there, society SHOULD be progressive enough to have openly gay protagonists, However, I do believe it will be a WHILE before a game developer is brave enough to make a [serious] game with a main protagonist who is openly gay and is advertised as such. I believe the exception to this would be a Lesbian protagonist...let’s face it, that'll happen first. ;) Part of me feels that Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII could be a Lesbian and that Fang is DEFINITELY a Lesbian (with a love interest in Vanille), however, the latter could be because Fang was originally scripted to be male. These are only speculations because the subject never came up in the game. But that's why i asked the questions, is a video game character's sexuality important if it's not relevant to the story?

On the surface, most commercial video games are not about sex, or the exploration of sexuality, so having a main character be openly gay seems as relevant as the character's favorite color. In Halo, would it matter if Master Chief is gay? What if Luigi is gay? What about Samus? If sexuality isn't relevant to the overall gameplay, then should we know, or care about it?

In most games, you are playing a distinct character in their own world with their own story that you are experiencing with them, but with RPG style games (and a few other genes) there is a heavy emphasis on experiencing the game AS the character. Game designers have gone to great lengths to allow players to create their own in-game avatars so that they can truly have a personalized experience within the game. But in games like these where the focus is on character development, heroic journeys and role playing, can the player truly have a personalized experience when their character’s sexuality is not taken into consideration. In these games, there is usually a love interest driving the plot, be it kidnapped royalty, a murdered loved one or someone you meet during your journey, who the character now wants to protect. When that love interest is geared towards the opposite sex, it potentially disconnects gay gamers from the character they have personalized/customized.

Here is a scenarios to consider. A young lad, leaves his village, which has been destroyed by a band of goblins. When traveling to a neighboring kingdom, he discovers the Kings son has been kidnapped by an evil wizard and is being held ransom. The young lad is charged by the king (for WHATEVER reason) to liberate the young prince from his captor. The lad seeing a portrait of the handsome prince sets off on his quest. 5 hours of leveling and grinding later the lad finds the prince. After a tough fight with the wizard the lad rescues the prince. Instead of remaining at home, the prince decides to join the lad on his journey. Throughout the next several hours of cut scenes and in game conversations (or arguments) the two characters begin to fall in love with each other. Speed forward through disaster and an quest to save the world (we all know how these go) and the lad and the young prince live happily ever after…or not, if there’s a twist death right before the final boss fight.

We’ve all played this game…probably MANY games like it. Take the same situation and make the lad a lass and the prince a princess. It’s the same story, falling in love and saving the world from destruction. If the player change choose their face, hair, name, job class, fighting style…why not let them decide who their character falls in love with?

But times they are a changing. Sexuality options within modern RPG/Character building type games are starting to become more and more progressive. Some games now allow gay players to flirt and explore relationships with same sex partners. Games like Dragon Age, Fable, Mass Effect and The Sims have crossed that line and more games probably will in the future. Again, it goes back to whether sexuality is important to the game or not. I would like to see future developers approach sexuality like the approach a games difficulty level, let the play choose. "Is your character Male or Female?" "Are they Gay or Straight?" This way the player has the option make a character that best represents them. That’s not asking too much, is it?

Post a comment and give your perspective. Dialogue equals change!

This picture was too funny not to include. I mean, REALLY?

For a listing of current LGBT characters in video games check out this LINK.

This is just the world as I see it.