This post has been a long time coming, but – as you may have noticed with the site in general as of late – it has taken awhile to get anything posted. I’m not really sure how to start this other than to say it is with great regret that I report the death of one of this site’s co-founders, Dan Braun, who died Oct. 3 at the age of 35.

Dan was the second writer to take up with me when I started a video games feature for AMP Magazine, and when we shifted to Pads & Panels, he was one of four who helped found the site. Because of other obligations, he did not stay active in the site in the last year or two, but he remained a good friend to many of us. We will miss him dearly. (more…)

Matt’s Double Fine Adventure

By Matt Peters

This past weekend, the folks at Double Fine Productions were kind enough to give me a tour of their San Francisco studio. Hard at work on several new projects (including the Kickstarted Double Fine Adventure), the entire team still took the time to make me feel welcome. There were a couple things that I was sworn to secrecy about, but I will say this: Be excited! The following gallery depicts the tour my wife and I received at the studio. (more…)

Comedy Central Round-Up No. 1
Jo Koy, J.B. Smoove, Patton Oswalt

Reviews by: Bill Jones

When it comes to stand-up comedy on television, Comedy Central more or less has the market cornered. And the network’s DVD and CD departments have been pushing out plenty of the television specials in the uncensored and uncut format (really, the right way to watch a comedian’s set) for home consumption. Pads & Panels decided to help its readers wade through some of Comedy Central’s latest offerings.

The Comedian: Jo Koy

The DVD: Lights Out

Rating:

Many may recognize Jo Koy from his roundtable appearances on Chelsea Lately, which may also tell a lot of people whether or not this is a guy they want to check out. But don’t be deterred. Despite that background and some over-animated box shots, Lights Out proves to be an entertaining show. The comedy comes in a decidedly traditional formula, with Koy tackling topics like fatherhood, growing up with Filipino women and sleep apnea. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time watching this one-hour special. The DVD also contains two special features, one of which sees Koy’s mother interviewing him for the radio, which is a fun little twist. (more…)

Interview with WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes

WWE Extreme Rules Preview

Interview by Bill Jones – Images courtesy of WWE

Cody Runnels, better known by his ring name Cody Rhodes, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, a fact he played into with the multi-generational stable The Legacy. Cody Rhodes cut his teeth in the WWE in tag team competition with Ted DiBiase, but in recent years, Rhodes has made a name for himself as a singles competitor poised to be a main eventer. He has had great feuds and even better matches with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Booker T. But his current feud sees him up against the 7-foot 441-pound Big Show, upholding the time-honored pro wrestling tradition of fighting a giant, in this case a giant who beat him Sunday, April 1, for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

Rhodes will get his rematch Sunday, April 29, at the Extreme Rules pay per view, held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago). Rhodes was kind enough to take 15 minutes out of his busy travel schedule Thursday, April 26, to chat on the phone about the upcoming show and his career, delving into his mask, video games, his father, Chicago, twitter, the return of Attitude Era Superstars, dream matches, mystery stipulations and, of course, the Big Show. (more…)

Best Comic Books of 2011

Matt’s Picks

Ducktales/Darkwing Duck Series’ Finale Crossover — Imagine being a kid and watching the Disney Afternoon cartoon block when you get home from school. For thirty seconds, you’d see Uncle Scrooge having a snowball fight with his nephews when suddenly Goselyn walks up. You think “Hey, isn’t Goselyn on Darkwing Duck? What’s she doing in Duckberg?” Then, Darkwing walks up and shoots a snowball out of his gas gun. Sure, it’s just a “Happy Holidays from Disney” commercial, but you wish there was a full episode featuring a teamup of your favorite ducks. Wish no more, because Kaboom made that happen with the final issues of Ducktales and Darkwing Duck (respectively). With a captivating story by Epic Mickey‘s Warren Spector and illustration by cartoon veteran James Silvani, this story is sure to entertain and leave you with a smile on your face. (more…)

12 Things to be Excited About in 2012

By Matt Peters

This year is scheduled to be one of the biggest of note in the world of comics, video games, and all-around geekiness. We here at Pads & Panels would like to give you twelve reasons that 2012 will be awesome. Let’s hope our Mayan overlords don’t return from outer space until we get to experience most of it. Take a look below for some of the highlights:

*WARNING, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

(more…)

Hello, folks. We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. While you’ve been sipping on spiked eggnog, opening copious amounts of gifts and bickering with relatives you see just a few times a year, we’ve been…well…we’ve been doing exactly the same. But we’ve also been getting together and compiling some of our favorite things from 2011. We’re kind of like Orpah, except multiple people instead of one big person, and infinitely less rich. (more…)

Title: Green Lantern

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Studio: Warner Bros.

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

For the original review of the theatrical release of Green Lantern, click padsandpanels.com/?p=13877

The Blu-ray

Green Lantern has landed among the lower echelon of superhero films in recent years, reverting back to cheesy humor, overreliance on special effects and so forth. And the additional Blu-ray content does very little to add substance to the formula. (more…)

31 Horror Films in 31 Days

By Jon DePaolis, Contributor

Halloween is truly a magical time.

It’s a day that brings people together, dressed as princesses and pirates, or, as seems to be the recent trend, extras from The Walking Dead.

I have loved Halloween since I was a little kid, watching a VHS of The Exorcist alone in my room during summer vacation. While other kids were being raised on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin or The Lion King, I was watching Laurie Strode somehow walk away from Michael Myers and asking myself why Sydney Prescott continued to answer phone calls after what happened the first go-around.

Obviously, I am in love with horror movies as much as I am in love with celebrating Halloween. That is why this October I decided to embark on a mission to watch a horror movie for every day in October. For those math majors out there, that equated to 31 horror movies of my own choosing.

Now, all cards on the table, I am a full-time writer and, because of that, I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to watch a movie a day, so I chose to go with doubling — or sometimes, tripling — movie selections on certain days. (more…)

“8-Bit Religion”

By Bill Jones

I wrote a poem once. Actually, I’ve written several, but the one in question is called “8-Bit Religion.” I wrote it for a contest. I did not win, but I was still pretty happy with the way it turned out. We don’t regularly post poetry on Pads & Panels, but maybe we should. And either way, we are today. It just sort of seemed like a good day to post poetry. This is a poem about religion, or more accurately it’s a poem about forming a cool religion based on awesome, old games. Enjoy it. (more…)