Opinions May Vary

There's a certain question that always has a slightly different answer regardless of who you ask.

"What is Steampunk?"

To some it's simply "like, you know....old stuff with gears and rayguns and goggles." And techincally they're not wrong. A bit vague, maybe. But it's a sufficient answer for some people.

To others, however, it's far more than that. Some see it as a way to escape the normal day-in, day-out routines that we're all so accustomed to. Some see it as a business opportunity and are able to make a career out of creating/selling various Steampunk accessories and whatnot. Then there's people like myself who see it as a vessel for experiencing new and different things. Some of my favorite bands and most memorable performances came out of Steampunk events and it frightens me to think about all the things I could have missed out on had I just decided to stay home.

What is Steampunk? The truth is I don't really care. What I care about is having a good time with my friends, meeting new people, and watching incredible performances. That sounds like a suitable definition to me.

-Jr.

If I were to try to count how many times Joe has saved our asses while doing this show I'd probably need around 30 extra limbs.

Maybe 40.

So when it was announced that a local theater group Joe is a part of launched a Kickstarter for their production of "Evil Dead: The Musical" it was an absolute no brainer that we had to have him come on and talk about it. See, we here at OMV are no strangers to shameless promotion. Hell, anyone who has been on our show will tell you that we encourage it. One of our pre-show rituals is "ok so we'll make sure to leave some time for you to plug anything and everything you're doing." At the end of the day we're just two dudes who are on a mission to tell you all about the neat shit we encounter.

Evil Dead: The Musical is neat shit.

Take a look at the Kickstarter promo video and see for yourself:

I mean seriously.

I practically hurled my wallet through my computer. You don't necessarily have to do the same thing but even throwing a couple bucks their way would be a huge help. Check out the episode. Listen to Joe talk all about shredding Deadites with chainsaws. Then click  and maybe help a group of people far more talented than me put on their dream show. 

Hail to the King, Baby.

-Jr.

Before you spend the next hour of your life listening to three dudes talk about professional wrestling you should go back and listen to Matt's first appearance from episode 151. Click to do that. 

Done?

Fantastic.

Now you get to do it again! Despite still not knowing hardly anything about the current state of professional wrestling these episodes are quickly turning into some of my favorite ones we've ever produced. It's just fun. I used to shit on anyone over the age of 17 who was into wrestling and I'm quickly realizing how much of a douche I was for all those years. I spend hundreds of dollars every year on paper books full of people in spandex fighting bad guys. Really it's not much different only in wrestling it's real people putting their real bodies on the line on a weekly basis in front of thousands of real screaming people.

Anyway, join us this week as Matt updates us on all things wrestling both professional and independent. Be sure to stick around to the end to hear a really rad story about a legend taking someone to school. You won't want to miss this one.

-Jr.

Our annual trip to The Steampunk World's Fair is but a week away. If you're new to the show you'll quickly realize this is one of the key events of the year for us...probably in the Top 3.

Don't believe me?

You'll find some evidence when we interviewed Nicole of The Devil's Darkroom. Or when we had a quick chat with Jeff Mach himself (the man who runs the event).

Still not sold?

Hopefully this week's episode will fix that problem. Our guest is none other than Babette Daniels aka Babs Who Takes Pictures. She's the official photographer of The Steampunk World's Fair and is the woman responsible for taking some of the most captivating steampunk photos you'll ever see. (Like . Look at that guy. He's just a big ball of fantastic. He's also Brett Kelley so I'm kind of biased.)

Click to take a look at some of Babs' work and click to check out her Facebook page. Also, if you plan on attending SPWF 2015 you'll be able to see Babs during her panel or you can even schedule some time with her to do a personal photo shoot. Don't delay! Time is running out!

Hopefully we'll see you all in Jersey next weekend.

-Jr.

I mean...does it get any better? I can't think of many things that make me happier than the concept of free comic books. Never heard of FCBD, you say? Well good news: Jon joined us this week to help us educate you on some Do's and Don'ts of this yearly celebration.

I still remember my first Free Comic Book Day like it was yesterday...From the outside my local shop looked like it did on any other business day. But when I entered I was greeted by words like "free" and "comics"...both in the same sentence! Free comics? Comics that cost $0? What joy! There must be a catch...this must be too good to be true. But no! I was directed to a special display full of a variety of comics...all free...and was told I could have one of each. You know that phrase "Kid in a candy shop"? Yeah. Imagine that only it's a Twenty-something year old with little to no dignity when it comes to discounted comic merch. A short while later (after browsing the discounted trade section) I emerged from the shop with an armful of merch ready to spend the rest of my day diving into worlds both new and familiar. And it was glorious.

If you're not sure your local comic shop is participating you can go  to find out or to find other local retailers that might be willing to give you some free stuff, too. It's fun. It's free. Go support a local business on a (hopefully) beautiful Saturday afternoon.

-Jr.

Ever wonder what it's like to hear 3 grown-ups talk about Daredevil for an hour and a half?

Today is your lucky day.

Oh, it gets pretty spoilery right away. If you don't want anything ruined it's best to watch all 13 episodes of Daredevil first.

-Jr.

Our guest this week is the man responsible for putting on one of the The one and only Jeff Mach.

For those that might not know; Jeff and his company  are the people behind gatherings such as The Steampunk World's Fair, Wicked Faire, Voltaire's Necrocomiccon and many more. Seriously. The amout of events JME runs per year is nothing short of mind blowing.

You'd think someone with that amout of pressure to consistently raise the bar when it comes to running events would have to be one hard bastard...but it's quite the contrary. Jeff is a soft spoken, humble person who just wants to give people a place to be entertained and have a good time. And as a three-time veteran of various JME shows I can say without a doubt that they pull it off beautifully.

I owe Jeff and his crew a huge thanks not only for running great shows but for introducing me to so many new things like:

Frenchy & The Punk

The Folks Below/HUMANWINE

Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band

Nicole and The Devil's Darkoom

Professor Mark P. Donnelly

Super Art Fight

Just to name a few. Seriously. If you're ever in the New York/New Jersey area and you hear of a JME show coming to town...check it out. The worst that can happen is you'll see a gigantic robot or two standing guard as people engage in parasol duels.

-Jr.

The last time I had been to Anime Boston I was in an entirely different time in my life. It was 2005, and I was a lowly high school student. At that point, I was obsessed with anime and all things Japanese. Endlessly watching shows and picking up manga at the nearest Barnes & Noble. When I had gone then, it was with my closest group of friends. And we had all cosplayed for the occasion. We were obsessed from the get-go. Seeing waves of characters we had loved being cosplayed and coming up to us and the photo shoots and the merchandise and the panels and events and celebrities - all of it was overwhelming in the most perfect sense of the word. Now it's years later. I see only half of that group of friends, and even them sporadically. But when I made my triumphant return to Anime Boston, I was immediately brought back to that time. I was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. And though I wasn't with my best friends, it certainly felt like I was coming home after a long respite. I hope to make it back to that beautiful chaos again next year. This time with a new batch of friends. And we can laugh and wax poetic over Gundams and Zoids until we all collapse under pocky and wall scrolls. Yosh - Colin

Disclaimer: Before listening to this episode you should probably watch the trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road.

Click  to take care of that.

If you're concerned that we talked about Mad Max: Fury Road for an hour I wouldn't blame you. No worries, though, as we actually managed to talk about other things this week in addition to Mad Max: Fury Road. Some of the things were even somewhat serious with facts and opinions supporting them. We did eventually talk about Mad Max: Fury Road, though. So if you're just tuning in to hear us discuss Mad Max: Fury Road you might want to skip to about 40 minutes in. The Mad Max: Fury Road good-ness is ready and waiting for you.

-Jr.

I think there have been a total of three times where I've gone to my local comic shop on new comic book day and walked out empty handed. I read enough different stories that on any given week I'll usually walk out with 3-7 solid books.....last week, however, was one of those rare and horrible times. After greeting my comic provider with a chipper "...hey man" I walked over to my pull file to find a few books eager for me to purchase them. Sadly, both books that had been set aside for me were stories that I'd recently dropped yet it had slipped my mind to actually remove them from my pull list. "No worries" I thought. There will be a few random titles waiting for me on the new racks. Alas. This was not the case. The racks provided only disappointment. Every "New This Week" sign was displaying titles I don't read, don't recognize, or don't like. With depression beginning to set in I turned to the trade racks in hopes that I'd find something to hold me over for at least a few days. It only took but a minute...but I soon found the perfect one:  Where do I start with this? This book is just. Friggin'. Awesome. Most people already know the premise and whenever I try to pitch the book to someone I always get the same response: "Oh yeah that's where they like bang and stop time or whatever." And they're not wrong. But they kinda are...because there's so much more to the book than that. It's like if you were trying to describe Batman and stopped at "He's a rich kid with dead parents" without ever mentioning him dressing up like a bat.Yeah the book is full of sex and sex jokes and sex innuendo and sexual imagery (making it perfect for someone with a juvenile sense of humor like myself) but it's also about love and being a fucked up person dealing with being in love. What really impresses me is how well the book transitions back and forth between a serious story of two people dealing with crippling dilemmas and dick jokes. If you asked me the balance is perfect. The issues the main characters face are problems that most of us can relate to: financial stress, hating the workplace, etc. So when you're reading Sex Criminals you might start to feel a bit of anxiety when the book hits close to home then *bam*

While I realize this book might not be everyone's cup of tea I urge you to at least give it a shot. Matt Fraction has proven time and again he knows how to write a good story and Chip Zdarsky provides spectacular visuals on the page. Together they've created one hell of a book and now they have the Eisner and Harvey awards to prove it (Along with a shining review from yours truly).

-Jr.