The Nicktoon series Iron Man: Armored Adventures has become a great gateway into the Marvel Universe for children since it debuted three years ago. Viewers over the age of ten should skip it and check out the more mature cartoon The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on Disney XD, but tweens will certainly dig how Iron Man chronicles the exploits of a teenaged Tony Stark/Iron Man as well as his pals James “War Machine” Rhodes and Pepper Potts as they try to keep the world safe from a legion of baddies.

Make no mistake. This is a series that, like the similar Ultimate Spider-Man, is proudly geared towards kids. There’s no shortage of action to be found here for young ones, even if their older siblings and parents may quickly tire of the Poochie-style “in your face” aesthetic of the show and CGI animation that alternates between looking interesting and taking viewers deep inside the Uncanny Valley. (It is worth mentioning though while the show has younger fanboys and girls in mind, it never condescends to the point that it feels like Iron Man Babies) Led by Adrian Petriw as Tony Stark and his superheroic counterpart, the able voiceover cast is terrific. Their enthusiasm as their respective characters goes a long way towards making these adventures appealing. Continue Reading…

So we had a great time this year at the Philly Geek Awards, and we hope you all did too! Over the next few days, we’ll have some recaps regarding the ceremony, including some photos and videos.

First up, the winners and nominees this year.

Congrats to all the winners and nominees, and a huge thank you to our sponsors and presenters for joining us for our second show. We’re already looking forward to year three.

Here we go!

Continue Reading…

Image via Djpmapleferryman

Prior to Saturday, August 25, the only recent reptile activity seen in the halls of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks had been in the form of Ninja Turtle cosplayers at Zenkaikon and/or Too Many Games!

Such a streak will come to an end once the East Coast Reptile Super Expo slithers its way onto the premises. The day-long event promises the display and sale of numerous reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids. Additionally, vendors will also be offering supplies, cages, food, and other amenities necessary to care for your own critters at home. The atmosphere is family-friendly, with certain areas being kept at specific climates for the non-human attendees.

State law prohibits members of the public from bringing in their own animals or supplies, so unfortunately, the East Coast Reptile Super Expo cannot serve as a singles event for your pet iguana. Located just off of Route 422, the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks sports plenty of free parking and is also accessible via SEPTA Bus Route 99. Visit the event’s own website or the Expo Center’s event page for additional information.

The Expo is set to return to Oaks on Saturday, September 29 and Saturday, November 10.

Last year, self-proclaimed music nerd Eric Eberhardt gained instant acclaim for his You Are Listening To websites that mix ambient music from SoundCloud with local police scanner feeds.

An amazing idea, right? The resulting cacophony is a bizarre-yet-wondrous soundscape that makes it feel as if you are living inside of a David Lynch film.

The Oakland, California-based Eberhardt currently oversees 17 different “stations,” including the recently launched You Are Listening To Philadelphia. While tuning in recently on an otherwise uneventful Monday morning, I overheard ominous police reports about a heavy-set male taking pictures of the Philly skyline from I-676 soundtracked by Meadowlands’ droning “Half Moon Lake,” and a report of a bank robbery on Market Street fused with Ion Driver’s “In the Beginning” that was oddly unnerving.

Just another day in the City of Brotherly Love, really.

Like recordings of old numbers stations, checking out the various You Are Listening To offerings is for those seeking visceral audio experiences. The sonic dissonance of these websites takes some getting used to at first, but soon enough you’ll realize that they are full of beauty that appeals equally to aural voyeurs and those just looking to relax to some strange sounds.

You Are Listening to Philadelphia

When the original Darksiders came out, it was something of a revelation.

It was a beautiful, visceral homage to the Zelda gameplay and style that we’d all grown up with, but wrapped in the incredible art and direction of Joe Madureira, the guy behind Battle Chasers and the best Uncanny X-Men artist since Jim Lee. The story focused on War, one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, and its closing moments (as well as strong sales and a positive critical reception) left no doubt about the fact that a sequel was on the horizon.

After two long years, that sequel is upon us. Darksiders 2 is set during the same time period as the original, only this time players take the role of Death as he attempts to resurrect humanity. Trust me, it makes sense. Continue Reading…

Well, they are here. The Philly Geek Awards are tomorrow, and we can’t wait to see all 500 of you at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

As the Geekadelphia and Academy crew prepare for the evening, we want to make sure you are ready as well. So, here’s a quick recap of things you need to know.

Getting There With Uber: As you know, attendees of the Philly Geek Awards will be given free rides to and from the event thanks to Uber. We sent an email with details to everyone who purchased tickets via the Eventbrite page. If you didn’t get it, let us know, and we will forward it to you.

Win an iPad: Aw yes. Susquehanna International Group, one of the sponsors of the Philly Geek Awards, will be giving away a free iPad during the cocktail hour. Make sure you stop by their booth to enter. The winner will be announced right before the awards start.

Meet the Sponsors: Speaking of sponsors, check out who helped make the awards happen this year.

The After Party: The official after party for the Philly Geek Awards is at National Mechanics right after the ceremony. See you there!

Black Tie: Don’t forget, the ceremony is a black tie event. Come dressed up! We’ll have a Photobot 3000 set up, and you’re going to want to take some cute photos.

Meet the Presenters: Curious about who is presenting this year? Check out the list.

Meet the Nominees: No idea who is nominated? What’s wrong with you. Here’s a list.

See you there, geeks of Philly.

Universal has been celebrating their centennial with some truly great Blu-ray releases. But the one the fans, myself included have been clamoring for is their release of the newly restored Jaws, which finally comes out today August 14^th.

Jaws is the film about a giant great white shark terrorizing a small New England town that in 1975 invented the summer blockbuster as we know it. The film premiered on June 20^th  and ran all summer long in cinemas across the US and was the first film to hit the $100 million dollar mark.

It was also a blockbuster in the sense that folks waited in lines around the block for the next viewing. This was thanks to a shrewd marketing tactic of releasing it into a limited amount of theaters then expanding later. The film also benefited from most folks going to see the film sometimes 2 or 3 times.

Jaws has since become a pop culture staple and Universal decided that in honor of their 100^th anniversary they would restore this classic so a new generation can discover this horror classic the way it should be. Here is a short video on just what went into restoring Jaws. Continue Reading…

Today’s Geek(s) of the Week are the wonderful Shannon Collins and Pete Schuster.

Shannon’s a content manager at Generocity, Peter builds websites over at O3 World, and they are probably the most adorably geeky engaged couple ever.

Read on to learn more about these two.  Continue Reading…

Photo by Jack Delano

Jay Schwartz over at The Secret Cinema will be presenting two rarely seen documentaries about New York at the IHPAugust 24th at 7pm.

The two films George Plimpton’s New York (1978) and Only One New York (1964) will both be screened on FILM and are both very different looks at New York from two different time periods.

Admission will be $9 for general admission and $5.00 members of the iHouse more info here.

Check out complete descriptions for both films below: Continue Reading…

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The folks over at Susquehanna International Group, that’s SIG to you and me, are going to be raffling off a new iPad to one lucky attendee. No longer will you be stuck tapping out pithy tweets to Technically Philly from your iPhone or Android tablet (that’s a thing, right?). This is “lean back” computing at its finest, people.

Just remember the little people when you’re rocking out with Pulse and working your way through the Zenescope catalogue on ComiXology on your new future-machine.

Full specs:

• 3rd Generation iPad
• 32 gig
• 4G (carrier of your choice)

This Friday, be sure to keep your eye peeled for the SIG sponsor table at the Awards (hint: mezzanine level at the Academy of Natural Sciences). Be sure to have a biz card handy to enter their contest. They’ll be contacting a winner following the weekend.

Curious to know more about SIG? Sure you are. After all, who else do you know that considers having “Magic: the Gathering World Champion” or “8:1 Kill-to-Death Ratio in CoD” on your resume a good thing? Check out their website, or fire away with question when you see ‘em at the Awards.

A big thank you to the team over at SIG, and to all of our sponsors. We’ll see you on Friday!

Photo by John Athayde

Three more days til the Philadelphia Geek Awards.

Last night, we had a rehearsal at the Academy of Natural Sciences with our presenters and the museum staff. As long as Christopher Wink from Technically Philly doesn’t leak our secrets (he’s a presenter, a mistake I realized too late), I think we’re going to be okay on Friday.

But what about after the awards?

We’d like you all to hop in your Uber cars (remember, attendees get free rides!) and report straight to National Mechanics in Old City. You’ll have nibbled on their food all evening (they are a sponsor), and now, it’s time to get your drink on and celebrate.

At National, you’ll find:

• $1 off draft pints/$3 off draft pitchers
• $2 off special drinks
• $6 house red and white wines and champagne

Make sure you hold onto your tickets to get your drink specials. See you there. For directions, visit National Mechanics’ official website.

While the annual Wizard World East may be our area’s largest comic book convention, few realize that it is not the city’s longest-running such event. Nope, that honor belongs to the aptly-named “Philadelphia Comic-Con,” which will be returning to southern Delaware County on Sunday, August 19th.

The Ramada Philadelphia Airport, located on Route 291 in Essington, will once again see 4500 square feet of its property committed to the convention, which is held multiple times each year. From 10AM until 4PM, 60+ vendors from six states will sell attendees everything from comic books to manga to toys to DVDs. In fact, the only thing folks will not be able to find for sale at the Philadelphia Comic-Con is sports cards or sport-related memorabilia.

The event’s website makes an ironclad promise of this, one which they even carry over onto their eBay store. This is a unique admission, as the comics community has historically welcomed representatives from wrestling and baseball to its gatherings.

In addition to the vendors, “Incredible Hulk” artist Herb Trimpe will be making an appearance. Attendees also have a chance to win an hourly (beginning at 11AM) $100 cash door prize, provided they are present when their name is drawn. As is the case with any fan convention, costumes are not required but are encouraged.

Admission to Philadelphia Comic-Con is a very affordable $3. The Ramada Philadelphia Airport and its oversized free parking lot are easily accessible via Exit 9A off of I-95. SEPTA’s Route 37 bus also services the property. If you miss the August 19 show, you will have to wait  until Sunday, November 18 for its return.