The trade collects issues 8 through 11 of the series, again written by Raven Gregory. Here he takes the story of the Little Mermaid, which Grimm Fairy Tales has already visited in issues 25 and 26 of that series (both included in this collection) and takes it to the next level. We meet Erica, a young girl who knows nothing about her past and has lots of questions. When she falls into a pool at her 18th birthday and is transformed into a mermaid, a chain of events are put into motion that will involve The Dark One, Esmeralda the Sea Witch and the future of the Grimm Universe itself.

Gregory is still one of the best, if not the best, writer Zenescope currently has working for them. He can take something like The Little Mermaid and give it a completely new spin that you just don’t see coming. The book is tightly plotted and provides a ton of background on some of the more important characters in the Grimm Universe, especially The Sea Witch. Gregory does a lot to make her more sympathetic in the eyes of the reader, but still maintain that bitchy exterior Zenescope readers know so well. It’s a tough balancing act that Gregory somehow makes work.

As for the art, much like other Zenescope books, it is handled by a group of Zenescope regulars, each very talented and with their own strengths. The best of the bunch by far though is Matt Triano; his style is perfect for a book like this that features the ocean and underwater creatures. I would have loved to see him draw the entire story arc and I think this might be something Zenescope might want to look at. I understand having different artists for each issue provides variety, but a single artist on an arc gives a book a sense of continuity and flow that using a different artist each issue just doesn’t. Just a thought.

Myths & Legends vol.2 is another well done, entertaining book that gives the reader a glimpse into possible future events in the Grimm Universe. If you’re a fan, I don’t need to tell you how good it is. But if you are looking for something new and different, Myths & Legends could be right up your alley.

Lucky for you, Zenescope was nice enough to provide us a copy of Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends Volume 2 to give away to one Geekadelphia reader! Just leave a comment about which Zenescope title is you favorite and we’ll pick a random winner at the end of next week. Please make sure to leave an e-mail address with your comment and books can only be sent to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The Chernobyl Diaries is yet another entry in the ever expanding reality horror sub-genre. This time the set-up is almost a mash-up of Hostel and Paranormal Activity with a group of 6 young American tourists going to Chernobyl for an “extreme tour” of the devastated post meltdown city. Things go wrong, of course.

The film is the directing debut of Bradley Parker who worked as a visual effects artist on films like Fight Club and Let Me In. The film writer’s have credits ranging from the original Paranormal Activity and the classic Titanic 2.

We have 50 passes for two to check this film out this Thursday, May 24^th at 9:00pm at the Ritz East Theater. Want to go? Simply go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter the code GEEKADNYTQ. It’s first come, first served. Once they are gone they are gone. In the meantime, check out the trailer below!

Be aware you will not be allowed to bring in cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices into screening, so leave them in the car. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. So please show up and line up early, this is a highly anticipated film and the screening will be packed so be warned.

YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!

If you’re a fan of bad cinema like me, you have probably heard of the insanity that is Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. The film is the story of a happy-go-lucky banker (Wiseau) that sees his world fall apart when his friends begin to betray him one-by-one. It’s one of those films that is simply so bad it’s good, that you have got to see for yourself to understand why.

It’s no surprise that the film by one of the most eccentric writer/director/actors around has turned into a midnight movie cult phenomenon. Folks show up in costume to not only interact with the film, but recreate their favorite scenes as the film plays as well. You can read more about that here.

I bring this all up because the film will be screening at the Colonial Theater on Friday, May 18^th at 9:45pm, sponsored by the folks at the You’ve Got Geek On You podcast.

I have 10 passes to give away to the screening courtesy of You’ve Got Geek. Want to win one? Just leave a comment with your favorite line from The Room with YOUR FULL NAME and 10 folks will be picked at random this Thursday night to be put on the guest list for a free ticket!

On Tuesday May 15th, The Awesome Fest is teaming up with the folks over at the Trocadero for a screening of Father’s Day, hosted by Mr. Troma himself Lloyd Kaufman. Father’s Day is the deranged tale of a serial killer/urban legend known as the Father’s Day Killer, that you guessed it kills exclusively fathers.  I will admit it’s a lot more sick and twisted then that, but coming from Troma I think you kind of expect it.

While the film is not for everyone, if you’re into exploitation throwbacks you might enjoy it. We’re giving away 2 pairs of tickets to check out the movie. Simply comment with your favorite Troma film by May 13th and two folks will picked at random thanks to Josh Goldbloom over at The Awesome Fest. Check out the trailer below.

The second annual Philadelphia Geek Awards are coming up this August and this year, instead of begging folks to enter into our new awards ceremony, I’m putting out an open call for entries.

After our first awardw show, I had quite a few folks ask how could they could enter next year. Well here is your chance to enter your film to be judged by the Geekadelphia Film Committee.

Want to submit your film for a chance to be nominated? Simply drop me a line at dan@geekadelphia.com with “Geekadelphia Film Submission” in the subject line and we will work out logistics and format. There is no charge (and there never will be) for entering your film.

Films do have to have a minimum length of 50 minutes, and be filmed/produced independently in Philadelphia. Those are the only rules.

Good luck!

Dark Shadows is the newest film by Hot Topic auteur Tim Burton, starring his ever-present whipping boy Johnny Depp. This time the source material is the beloved gothic soap opera that featured the likes of zombies, werewolves, witches, warlocks and even time-travel.

Dark Shadows ran for 1,225 episodes and really didn’t hit its stride till about a year into its run when it introduced the vampire Barnabas Collins and a cult classic was born. There was already a film adaptation of the show made back in 1970 titled House of Dark Shadows, which featured most of the original television cast and was more of a stand alone condensed version of the Barnabas storyline.

Now Tim Burton is giving us his interpretation of the series. While I am looking forward to it, I am definitely cautiously optimistic.

We have 25 passes for 2 to a screening Monday, May 7^th at the Ritz East, want a chance to win? Simply comment with your favorite Johnny Depp film by May 4^th and 25 folks will be picked at random. Passes will go out digitally that Sunday, in the meantime check out the trailer below!

No cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices permitted in screening. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. (So please show up early!) Theater is not responsible for overbooking. Ticket holder and guest must enter theater together.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol hit Blu-ray and DVD last week, and our pals over at Redbox were kind enough to hook us up with a copy to giveaway here on the blog. Thanks guys!

Unfamiliar with the film? Shame on you. Here’s the summary.

No plan. No backup. No choice. Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his elite team (Jeremy Renner, The Avengers and Simon Pegg, Star Trek) go underground after a bombing of the Kremlin implicates the IMF as international terrorists. While trying to clear the agency’s name, the team uncovers a plot to start a nuclear war. Now, to save the world, they must use every high-tech trick in the book. The mission has never been more real, more dangerous, or more impossible.

Get it? More impossible?

MI: Ghost Protocol was easily the best action flick I saw last year, and I was fortunate enough to catch it at the Franklin Institute. If you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance.

To enter, just leave a comment about your favorite moment in the Mission Impossible film series. I’ll choose a random one of you at the end of next week, and you’ll score a copy of the DVD, as well as a poster from Redbox.

Curious about where you can score rentals via Redbox? You can search for a Philadelphia location near you right on their website.

Meeting Evil, which opens Friday, May the 4th, is the new film starring Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Wilson. The official synopsis goes something like this:

When John Fleton, a depressed suburban family man and recently fired realtor, offers to help a stranger, Richie, with his car, John is sucked into a surreal, nightmarish murder spree that forces him to question everything about his life, his mode of behavior, and the very nature of evil…

We have 25 pairs of passes to the film that will screen 7:30pm on Monday, April 30^th  at the Ritz East. Want a chance to see Meeting Evil ahead of everyone else? Simply comment with your favorite Sam Jackson line by Sunday the 29^th and 25 of you will be picked at random to check the film out.

Just be sure to put your REAL name in the fields so I can add you and a guest to the guest list. Good luck and enjoy the trailer!

Its been a while since we have had an unboxing of a special edition anything, so I thought I would bring that tradition back. The kind folks over at Dark Sky Films were nice enough to send me one of the limited editions of Innkeepers on Blu-rays to check out for Geekadelphia. How limited is this edition you ask? They made 500. Pretty damn limited if you ask me.

Look at these to hit eBay and surpass The House of the Devil VHS, Ti’s previous limited edition which is going for about $100 when it shows up from time to time. Where The House of the Devil VHS invoked one retro format The Innkeepers invokes another and is reminiscent of a record or a laser disc.

Check out the photos and thanks to Dark Sky films, we have not one but two copies of The Innkeepers regular edition Blu-ray to giveaway to two lucky readers. If you want to check out the film on the big screen, check out The Innkeepers DVD release party on Wednesday,  April 25th at 8pm.

Awesome Fest will be screening the film and probably giving away some great prizes! They might even have one of these to give away, you never know.

Want to win a copy? Simply comment with your favorite ghost film  by Sunday, April 29th and why and two readers will be picked at random to win The Innkeepers on Blu-ray!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

CONTEST OVER! Okay geeks, the film we have been waiting for since it was announced back in 2008 is finally about to hit our screens Friday, May 4th. Marvel’s The Avengers. The ultimate culmination of Marvel’s rebooting of its super hero franchises is finally seeing the light of day, and I can’t wait.

If you haven’t seen Thor, Ironman 1+2, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Incredible Hulk I think you have some homework to do. Marvel’s The Avengers is the endgame those films have been working towards since Iron Man hit and reinvigorated the Marvel superhero film franchise.

Without going into too much detail (I personally have been trying to avoid spoilers) we do know Loki is one of the villains and he is trying to take over the Earth with an unknown army. Now it is up to Marvel’s The Avengers, known for not getting along well with others, to unite and attempt to stop him.

We have 25 passes to an advance screening of the film May 1st, 4 days before the film opens to the public at the AMC Neshaminy Mall. Want a chance to win?  Simply comment by Friday the 20th with who your favorite Avenger is and why. The best/funniest answers will get a pass for 2 to see the film.

These passes will be going out snail mail so I will be contacting winners Saturday for mailing addresses, fail to get back to me by Saturday at midnight and the passes will be forfeited. In the meantime check out the trailer below.

No cameras, camera phones, or other recording devices permitted in screening. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Theatre capacity is limited and passes won do not guarantee seating. (So please show up early!) Theater is not responsible for overbooking. Ticket holder and guest must enter theater together.