On July 13, lucky fans at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con were able to enjoy the Nerd HQ panel, hosted by Zachery Levi (“Chuck” (2007), ‘Tangled’ (2010), starring geek god Nathan Fillion (“Firefly“ (2002), “Castle“ (2009) and fan favorite Adam Baldwin (“Firefly,” “Chuck”). The panel was also streamed live online to be enjoyed from coast to coast.

The format of the panel is similar to other ones at San Diego Comic Con. Fillion and Baldwin sat down and selected questions from audience members and answered them with plenty of jokes and interesting anecdotes. The fans’ questions ranged from personal to work-related and were delightfully diverse rather than simply focusing on the actors’ work on Joss Whedon’s “Firefly,” which incidentally had a reunion panel earlier that day. The highlights of the panel are below.

One fan asked Fillion and Baldwin what they considered to be the best lines from “Firefly” and ‘Serenity’ (2005), and if they could act them out. Baldwin did the infamous “we get paid” line from the pilot episode and then Fillion did Jayne’s line about his “very favorite gun” from “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” and then closed out the reenactment with the famous, “I’ll be in my bunk” quote that all fans know and love.

Another fan asked about what kind of pranks went on during the filming of ‘Serenity.’ Fillion was eager to tell them about how he copied some photos of a teenaged, goofy looking Alan Tudyk and then plastered the pictures all over the back of the bar scene in ‘Serenity’, which utterly confused Tudyk when he saw them and caused the crew to crack up when Tudyk confronted him.

Someone asked Fillion what his thoughts were on George R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones,” both the novels and the HBO series, and Fillion was excited to share how he got into it and demonstrated the many range of emotions he goes through while watching an episode. He noted that he is particularly fond of Tyrion Lannister.

A “Castle” fan asked if “Castle” season five would deal with Castle’s father, whom he does not know but was suggested to be involved with the CIA, and Fillion confirmed that it would be addressed later on in some capacity.

Fillion also pointed out a few “Castle” cast members he would like to see return like Adam Baldwin’s character, Ethan Slaughter, who appeared in season four, Michael Trucco’s character Det. Demming, who appeared in season two, and Fillion even said he’d love to see Zachary Levi join the cast in the future. Levi eagerly accepted the invitation.

Speaking of Levi, Fillion also said he has dreamt of being able to voice a character in a Disney/Pixar film, which amused Levi as he voiced the roguish thief Flynn Rider in Disney’s ‘Tangled.’

A young boy named Connor asked Fillion if he was excited about voicing Hal Jordan, aka the Green Lantern, in two DC Animated Original films, and the actor confirmed this by revealing how he wore his Green Lantern shirt in the recording booth each time he went in. He then started to say the oath, but then changed it into a hilarious little parody poem instead.

One of the “Firefly” fans asked where Fillion and Baldwin thought Mal and Inara would be five years after the events of ‘Serenity’ and both men agreed that by then, the pair would have consummated their relationship, but would not have settled down for a normal life.

The panel was topped off by a fan donating $1000 to charity in order to see Fillion and Baldwin give Zachary Levi a smooch each. Both men tossed down their own cash and planted big wet ones on Zachary, who sheepishly complied to the request, which set the room ablaze with laughter and applause. The panel could not have ended on a better note.

San Diego Comic Con 2012 is still underway so more news of the “Firefly” veterans will be coming in over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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Dark Horse Digital reaches a new landmark, turning one year old this Friday. To thank our loyal fans, Dark Horse announces an anniversary appreciation discount.

This weekend, Dark Horse Digital is offering 10% off all titles in the web store, with an additional coupon to newsletter subscribers and new subscribers who have signed up by this Thursday. And yes, the coupon stacks with an even greater discount off your order!

The sale starts this Friday (April 27) and ends Sunday (April 29) at midnight PST—so head over to Dark Horse Digital and sign up for the Digital Newsletter to maximize your discount on some incredible comics.

Dark Horse Comics launched its standalone comic-reader app and digital store on April 27, 2011 and has received incredible support from the continuously growing digital-comics fan base.

Since then, Dark Horse Digital has grown significantly in numbers and readership featuring it’s most popular, best selling titles including Star Wars, Buffy, Serenity, Hellboy, Conan and Mass Effect as well as exclusive digital only comics such as Falling Skies, Prototype 2 & Dragon Age. Dark Horse Digital also provides sales and discounts for its reader base on a weekly basis. We currently offer thousands of comics and are continuing to increase the digital availability of the Dark Horse back catalog.

Dark Horse Digital is available through all modern web browsers and features cloud storage in both the Android (beta) and iOS apps.

In the meantime, the creator of The Escapist’s Zero Punctuation Reviews (TM) and author of 2010’s runaway hit novel Mogworld is back with his hilarious follow-up. Jam takes the prophecies of the Mayans and turns them on their ear, with a twist on the apocalypse that no one could have expected. The first chapter will run in the newly released digital edition of Mogworld, available today for Nook and Kobo eReaders.

Since 2007, Croshaw’s animated Zero Punctuation reviews have packaged prescient criticism with frenetic animation, off-color humor, and rapid-fire delivery, making him a household name in the gaming community. Mogworld was his first foray into published fiction and has sold through multiple printings! Now, the debut novel finally makes it’s way to tablet readers, marking the beginning of Dark Horse’s foray into digital prose!

Additionally, readers will have a chance to get their first look at Jam, which is set for release later this year. Jam, a dark comedy pitting a handful of twenty-something slackers against a singularly sticky apocalypse, which is set for release later this year.

“You asked for it – by Christ have you been asking for it – and it’s finally here, the Mogworld eBook” said writer, Yahtzee Croshaw. “Now I just have to stop procrastinating on the audiobook version.”

Mogworld is available today for both Barnes & Noble’s NOOK™, as well as the Kobo Vox eReader.

Jam arrives on sale on October 10, in print as well as digitally.

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“You think you know the story.”

This is the tagline to ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, a film directed by Drew Goddard (‘Cloverfield’) which he also co-wrote with Joss Whedon (‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘The Avengers’).

It stars Kristen Connolly (‘As the World Turns’), Jesse Williams (‘Grey’s Anatomy’) and Bradley Whitford (‘The West Wing’), as well as familiar Whedon collaborators Amy Acker (‘Angel’), Fran Kranz (‘Dollhouse’) and Tom Lenk (‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’). The film’s basic set-up is one you have seen one hundred times before in horror films: a group of attractive, mismatched young college students travel to a remote area, stay in a mysterious location, and soon realise that there is more to the cabin in the woods than meets the eye.

Here enters the tagline. “You think you know the story.”

Last year, Wes Craven attempted to reinvigorate the horror genre with ‘Scream 4′ in the same way that he did with the original ‘Scream’ in 1996. However, for all its strengths, ‘Scream 4′ was basically a re-tread of the same meta-textual style that Craven had already mastered in the franchise’s three previous installments.

Now, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard? They have created a true gem of the genre with ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, a film which was filmed in 2009 and has sat on the shelf ever since distributor MGM filed for bankruptcy. Lionsgate eventually bought the film last year, and now its delayed big-screen life can begin.

Spoiler alert!

The first and most important strength of the film is its script. Goddard’s familiarity with Whedon’s voice – Goddard wrote 5 episodes of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ – results in an effortlessly snappy piece and several hilarious, not to mention ironic, interactions, primarily caused by Whitford’s and Kranz’s characters.

The script is never afraid to go for the comedy or the surreality of the situation, and it is this which allows the film to pull of its main conceit of being – SPOILER WARNING – about a ritual sacrifice for the ancient Gods, who are appeased through a ‘Big Brother’-type reality show where bets are made and outcomes are fixed as an array of undead creatures begin hunting down the five young college students to satiate the tempers of the Gods.

The script also thrives on its eagerness to play out every horror narrative cliché in the first half of the film, as Whedon and Goddard blow through gratuitous deaths and yawn-inducing twists, allowing the second half of the film to develop like a filmmaker’s playing ground.

Visually speaking, the second half of the film is when Godddard’s direction can be more fully appreciated, as it becomes more apparent that he assimilated the conventional look of a horror film early on so that he could subvert and deconstruct it piece by piece as each scene goes on. The chances he takes in the script are brought to life marvellously onscreen, while the final shot of the film is something which can only be appreciated in the context of everything that has gone before.

As for the cast, there are no issues. Whedon and Goddard have worked on enough ensemble projects to know how to cast well, and Whedon in particular is known for drawing from his own pool of actors from past projects and putting them into his new ones.

The pay-off here is a fantastic one, as Whedon fans (‘Whedonites’, for the uninitiated) get to see an underrated television performer like Amy Acker going toe-to-toe in scenes with Emmy-winner Bradley Whitford, and get to revel in ‘Dollhouse’-alum Fran Kranz facing off with – SPOILER WARNING - “The Sci-Fi Queen” Sigourney Weaver in the film’s captivating final minutes.

To say any more about the film is unnecessary. This is a delightfully fearless offering, and the most entertaining thing to happen to the horror genre in a very long time. Whedon has a busy year ahead of him, mainly with this summer’s blockbuster ‘The Avengers’, and ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ gets him off to a roaring start.

Image Courtesy of    The Cabin in the Woods

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Dark Horse rolls out the announcement of all four titles that will be featured in two different comics to be given away to thousands of fans on May 5, 2012.

First comes a special flip book featuring both Felicia Day’s gaming web series turned comic, The Guild, and Dark Horse’s best-selling comics continuation of Joss Whedon’s iconic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Buffy has never needed a vacation as badly as she does now, with the world overrun with zompires and other fallout from Season 8.

After an old friend suggests arelaxing getaway from all things that go bump in the night, it turns out to be harder than she could ever expect for a Slayer to get a day off!

Felicia Day, creator of The Guild, continues to bring on the funny with high jinks from her diverse group of gamers when the Guildies struggle to find a meeting place they can all agree on. A little in-game battle becomes the deciding factor, and the circle follows the decree of the winner: the beach?!

Next up is one of the biggest flip books we’ve ever published, when Zack Whedon brings you tales of the coolest guy in the galaxy and the most charming rebel in the ’verse! That’s right; we’ve paired Star Wars with Joss Whedon’s Serenity.

Han Solo and Chewbacca have a falling-out after a deal with their slickest—and shadiest—customer goes bad. But when the client gets designs on the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewie present a united front that can’t be beat.

Meanwhile, Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds is no stranger to jobs gone wrong himself. But when the chips are down, he’s able to rely on the amazing, odd, and diversely talented crew of Serenity.

Dark Horse Free Comic Book Day 2012: Four great stories for the price of, well, none!

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