The Modern Materialist : Comics

Full Of Pryde

Alex Zalben — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Allow me to nerd out for a second, and by "for a second," I mean the year and a half or so this blog has been in existence:

I love comic books, and my favorite character is easily the phasing X-Man, Kitty Pryde. So I was ecstatic to hear that Floating World Comics was hosting an exhibit of art all featuring the Teen Mutant, from some of my favorite artists. Then I was bummed out, because Floating World is in Portland.

Now, I'm happy again, because they've put most of the pieces of art online, for sale, to benefit the Oregon Hemophilia Treatment Center. So if you want some great comic art, and to support a good cause, then go check out the eBay auctions now.

[eBay]

See Exclusive Natalie Dee Content

Steph Auteri — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:27:00 GMT

I've already mentioned Natalie Dee in the past (I own her cupcake + multivitamin T-Shirt). Since she continues to be awesome, I thought I'd mention that there is now a way to access exclusive content not available on her main site.

The new Sharing Machine Premium Content area of the site is a subscription-only service featuring never-before-seen comics, videos, MP3s, side projects, and b-sides, updated numerous times daily. The service is $2.99 a month.

Or, you can just buy a shirt and be cool like me.

Be Fantastic at Comic-Con

Shaun Seneviratne — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:31:00 GMT

I never cared much for the Fantastic Four; I was always more of an X-Men guy. But until they start making X-Men Caps that reflect the qualities of the characters, these are going to have to do:

Fantastic Four baseball caps from New Era Caps!

The Mr. Fantastic hat is made from stretchy neoprene.
The back of the Invisible Woman cap is made from clear vinyl.
The Thing hat is debossed and made to resemble his body.
The Human Torch hat has "fiery" lining. (This one is kind of whack, but whatever).

Click below for more pics:

[New Era Cap]

[Via High Snobiety]

Winners: Nerd Gifts Under $100

Alex Zalben — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:24:00 GMT

Well, as a review, here were the prizes:

- The Complete Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1-4 + Scott Pilgrim Color Special + Scott Pilgrim T-Shirt , courtesy of Oni Press.

- 2 Good-Bye Elliot T-Shirts, Courtesy of Busted Tees

And I guess I'll just say a LOT of you wanted these prizes, but only four people are our amazing winners:

Derek (jokerzwyldd at yahoo dot com)

AJ (ajvickey at yahoo dot com)

Joshua Strasburg (jistrasburg at gmail dot com)

Ron Janson (ronjanson77 at yahoo dot com)

Congrats, and please shoot an e-mail to modernmaterialist@nerve.com with your full name and physical mailing address, under the subject "Nerd Gifts Under $100." We'll send you back your prizes, hopefully just in time for the holidays. And once again thanks to Oni Press and Busted Tees for providing the gifts.

If you didn't win this time, no worries, you still have a chance to win a free cell phone and service, so go check that out.

Last Chance: Complete Scott Pilgrim Collection + Bonus Gift

Alex Zalben — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:01:00 GMT

[$68, Oni Press]

It's your last chance to one of four prizes, as part of our Nerd Gifts Under $100 giveaway:

- 2 The Complete Scott Pilgrim Sets: Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1-4 + Scott Pilgrim Color Special + Scott Pilgrim T-Shirt , courtesy of Oni Press.

- 2 Good-Bye Elliot T-Shirts, Courtesy of Busted Tees

All you have to do to win is comment on the post linked here by the end of the day today. And, here's another bonus Nerd Gift Under $100:

For The Science Nerd: I just remembered this morning how much I loved my chemistry set growing up, and how much I wish I had one now. And, this set comes with goggles. Everybody loves goggles, right?

[$70, Amazon]

Reminder: Win The Complete Scott Pilgrim Collection!

Alex Zalben — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:01:00 GMT

[$68, Oni Press]

Just a reminder that we're giving away four prizes, as part of our Nerd Gifts Under $100:

- 2 The Complete Scott Pilgrim Sets: Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1-4 + Scott Pilgrim Color Special + Scott Pilgrim T-Shirt , courtesy of Oni Press.

- 2 Good-Bye Elliot T-Shirts, Courtesy of Busted Tees

All you have to do to win is comment on the post linked here by Wednesday, December 17th. And, because we don't want anyone to be empty handed, here's a bonus Nerd Gift Under $100:

For The Hot Topic Nerd: I think this is officially the first thing we've ever posted from Hot Topic, so that's going on. Whatever you might think of Twilight, the series is undeniably a cultural force, and nerds like to stay current with pop culture. So help them bone up with the complete collection, when they're not gettin' boned. Yeah, I don't know.

[$83, Hot Topic]

Gifts Under $100 For Giant Nerds + Contest!

Alex Zalben — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:29:00 GMT

[$68, Oni Press]

We've already told you about cool gifts for nerds under $25; and gifts for nerds under $50; so let's jump it up a notch. And to help kick things off, we're giving away TWO complete collections of Scott Pilgrim, the best damn comic book series of the past decade (no joke):

- The Complete Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1-4 + Scott Pilgrim Color Special + Scott Pilgrim T-Shirt , courtesy of Oni Press.

If that wasn't enough, we're also throwing in TWO stocking (or menorah, if you prefer) stuffers, courtesy of Busted Tees:

[$20, Busted Tees]

- 2 Good-Bye Elliot T-Shirts, Courtesy of Busted Tees

So that's four winners, total. All you have to do is comment on this post (*See below for official rules) by Wednesday, December 17th, and you'll be able to win one of the above gifts, absolutely free.

Now, in case you DON'T win, check out several more nerdtastic gift ideas:

For The Star Wars Nerd: It's an R2-D2 trash-can, because we all need a good reason to say, "What an incredible smell you've discovered!" You either know what I'm talking about here, or you're not reading this post anyway.

[$99.99, Think Geek]

For The Violent Nerd: You've got to be a particular type of geek to want a 12" action figure of two of the most violent characters in comics (Punisher and Venom) mixed together, and I may actually know a geek just like that.

[$99.99, Sideshow Toys]

For The Nerd With a Family: Little Big Planet isn't just a super cute game, it's also a great bonding game for parents and little ones. Or so I'm told.

[$60, Amazon]

For The Games Nerd: I used to have a set like this as a kid... It was my absolute favorite thing ever. I used to play chess against myself. Sob.

[$97, Amazon]

*Official Rules for MM Contests:

- You can comment as many times as you want, as long as there's at least one comment between you and the previous commenter.

- Please leave some way of contacting you, whether a link to your Nerve account, an e-mail, or otherwise.

- The end of the contest will be announced in the comment section, and winner(s) will be announced in a separate post on the following business day.

Future Investment: Batman Throws In The Towel

Shaun Seneviratne — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:45:00 GMT

The "Batman R.I.P." storyline concludes today in Batman #681. Bruce Wayne is hanging up the cowl; a big day in comic history!

Sure this already happened in the early 90s when Bane broke his back and Bruce Wayne reemerged as Batman a few months later. And Bruce Wayne will probably come back as Batman yet again. Regardless, this issue is bound to be a collector's item. Buy two copies: one to read and one to seal forever.

[$4, DC Comics, available at all comic book shops]

Geek Out: Marvel vs. DC Custom Air Force Ones

Alex Zalben — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:30:00 GMT

How do you take shoes that used to be super cool, and strip all the cool out of them? Why cover them with graffiti-esque pictures of super heroes, of course! Don’t get me wrong… They’re totally awesome, and with New York Comic-Con hitting tomorrow here in the city, I’d be the awesomest kid in town if I snagged a pair of these.

If you want to wear a pair, then you’ll have to head over to eBay quick, as the auction ends tomorrow. A few more shots:

[$200 Reserve, eBay]

[Via Geekologie]

“It’s a Magical World, Hobbes, ‘ol Buddy… Let’s Go Exploring”

Alex Zalben — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:30:00 GMT

And with the above phrase, Bill Watterson said goodbye to the best comic strip ever created… Forever.

Since I’m reveling in nerdery in all its forms today, I thought I’d spend at least a little bit of that energy talking about comic strips, one of the most reviled and misunderstood forms of pop culture. Comic strips, on a whole, are disappearing*, and I think a large part of that has to do with the end of The Far Side, and Calvin & Hobbes, which were like a one-two punch for the strip format.

Calvin & Hobbes, at least, got a beautiful send-off a few years ago with the Complete Collection which, as the title implies, contains every single bit of Calvin and Hobbes ever made. Except for that one strip where Calvin is pissing on a Ford logo, or getting drunk at a keg party. You know the ones I’m talking about.

Anyway, from the first crude strip to the last, beautiful elegy, Calvin & Hobbes was a genius work of art, and deserves to be on every shelf in America. If for no other reason than that I get choked up every single time I read the one posted above.

[$95, Amazon]

*This is not quite true, as the future of comic strips is moving to online web strips… However, web strips are still essentially printed strips, online. As The Streets might say, “Let’s push things forward.”