Tony DiGerolamo has been on the comics scene for years now in print (Jersey Devil and The Simpsons comic among others) but is now more widely known for his webcomic projects.

As co-creator of comic strip Super Frat and writer and co-founder of the a href=”http://www.thewebcomicfactory.com/”>Webcomic Factory web site, Tony has embraced the digital age of comics. Residing just minutes outside Philly, I was able to talk to Tony about his work, Philadelphia and he geek tendencies.

You have a full boat so to speak, with many projects going on simultaneously. Let’s start with Super Frat – how did that get started?

I actually wrote the script as a pitch for a print comic in 1999. Chris Moreno did some pin ups and I pitched it to some companies. Most of them said it was too dirty and vulgar and that no one wanted to read about superheroes that didn’t have costumes or use their powers very often. Then I was at a convention with Chris Moreno promoting the Travelers and we saw the guys from Penny Arcade selling $20 t-shirts all day. When I complimented them on their amazing sales, they said something like, “This was the worst show we’ve ever done. We’re never coming back.” I was just floored. I turned to Chris and said, “We have to do a webcomic. Now.”

Christian Beranek, who was still running Silent Devil with his brother, was very supportive. We started webcomics on the Silent Devil site and got some great hits.

And to follow the webcomic phenomenon, what about Webcomic Factory?

After working for a few years trying to get the Super Frat movie rolling in Hollywood, Christian Beranek, who had been working with me back since the Silent Devil days, left L.A. for greener pastures. I had been pushing the webcomic angle at Silent Devil for years, but he hadn’t quite been sold. Now, with a potential for a whole new project, he embraced the idea of The Webcomic Factory. (more…)

Here at Geekadelphia, we are all about new, digital, and future. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get a bit wistful about old, analog, and outdated every once in a while. The cool thing about digital media is that everything is searchable, instantly categorized, and indexed. Nothing ever gets lost. Unfortunately, that means that nothing gets found either, and that’s kind of a shame.

From 1967-1975 a Swedish TV crew traveled to the US, shooting footage for a documentary on Angela Davies, Stokely Carmichael, and the Black Power movement. At some point after they got home, the footage went into storage at a public television station and was promptly forgotten. Fast forward 30 years, and the footage is discovered and The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 is created. The silent film footage is accompanied by current commentary and music from the people whose lives have been influenced and formed by those who walked before them, including Philadelphia’s own ?uestlove (!)

Tomorrow, Thursday, September 8th at 7pm, the Philadelphia premiere of this documentary will be screened at the Piazza at Schmidt’s as part of the Awesome Fest. Immediately afterwards there will be a discussion panel featuring Dr. Molefi Asante (Temple University), Chill Moody (hip-hop artist), Gregory Walker (founder, The Brothers Network), Michael Dennis (ReelBlack), and will be moderated by Nicole Gilles (Multicultural Director, GPFO).

This film is a must see. For more information, check out Awesome Fest’s official website.

Calling all artists! A unique opportunity from the folks at Breadboard and muraLab gives local artists are chance to explore the intersection between technology, science, and mural arts — and how it all relates to Philly.

Up to four individual artists, or four two-person teams, will receive a five-month artist residency at Breadboard’s NextFab Studio from November through March, using the time to create cutting-edge public art projects using high-tech equipment and ideas.

Breadboard, which hails from the University City Science Center, explores “creative uses of technology,” along with scientific concepts, contemporary art and design to fabricate amazing new ideas (they’re the ones working on a city-wide augmented reality project to place 30 virtual sculptures around town).

They’ve partnered with NextFab Studios, a membership-based high text workspace and prototyping center, where artists get a chance to use equipment like 3-D printing technology, CAD-controlled lasers, a vinyl print-cut system, a computer controlled router, plasma cutters and milling machines. The studios also have fully-staffed workshop spaces for hackers, designers, mad scientists and the like; think of it like IndyHall but with blowtorches. (more…)

Full Disclosure: Geekadelphia contributor Jo Pincushion appears in this Fringe Festival show, and we are super proud of her. If you think writing about the show is a conflict of interest, please go someplace else.

You are invited to meet the Meat Man, a simple vendor of carnivorous delights, and the small American town of meat eaters whose lives are rocked by the unexpected influx of vegan neighbors. Meat Man is an action packed comic musical that is set at just under and hour and makes its Fringe Fest debut at the Adrienne Theater main stage on September 6th (today!) with three additional shows throughout the festival.

Meat Man is a collaboration between local filmmaker Erin Davis and writer Eric Zrinsky. They have been creating this unique and hilarious world of meat and vegan separatism for over a year now, being inspired by musicals such as Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Newsies and West Side Story. I had the chance to chat with Eric and Erin about Meat Man and their recent geek obsessions. (more…)

If you’re a regular reader of the site, you’ve probably noticed by now that we have a few really, really talented photographers on staff and in the city at large. The Philly art scene is incredibly robust and an important part of the city’s culture, geek or otherwise. For a weekend dabbler like myself who’s more comfortable with instagram than a DSLR it can be a little overwhelming at times, especially if you just want to show a few friends pics of what you ate or cool shots of the Comcast building in the rain.

Well, good news everyone! The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center is giving you a chance to have a photo displayed in a real live art exhibit. Each and every photo submitted will be printed and hung in an exhibition celebrating a day in the life of Philadelphia. Sounds awesome, right? Sure it does, but to make that kind of thing a reality they need a bit of help. Here’s the deets:

Pictures can be of any subject and can be taken with any kind of camera, even a cell phone! From point and shoot users to professionals, we want everyone!

Philly Photo Day is free and open to the public. In its inaugural year in 2010, PPAC received nearly 350 pictures. We plan to double that number this year through media sponsorship, advertisements, social media platforms and through word-of-mouth.

While Philly Photo Day is free to participate in, it is far from free to execute. What we are asking for in this Kickstarter campaign is just a small portion of the overall cost of the event. Specifically, these funds will get the show up on the wall. $3,500 covers the cost of ink, photo paper and space rental for the whole run of this show.

What are you waiting for? Get your donation in, and then get out there and take some pictures!

The Project: Philly Photo Day

Creators: Philadelphia Photo Arts Center

The Sweet Spot: $10 will get you warm fuzzies and a sweet pin, but for $100 you’ll actually get an 8 x 10 print of the picture of your choice.

Funding Deadline: September 25th, 2011

More Info: The Kickstarter page has all the info you need along with a comprehensive FAQ addressing tax deductions and the exhibition itself. Check out the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center website to learn more about the organization.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by local Philadelphians. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact geekadelphia@gmail.com

Today marks the closing of the National Constitution Center’s latest acclaimed exhibit, Discover the Real George Washington: New Views from Mount Vernon. The exhibit, which ran all Summer, gave visitors a fresh look at our country’s first president. Not just as a leader, but as a family man, farmer, and entrepreneur.

To wrap up his stay in Philadelphia, the NCC sent George around town, snapping pictures at historic landmarks, posing with statues, and treating himself to a cheesesteak and beer.

The folks at the museum were kind enough to share these hilarious pictures with us. So scope them out after the jump, and stay tuned for the next great exhibit at the National Constitution Center. I can’t wait.

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If you are a fan of robots, death rays and silly science fiction be sure to check out The Speed of Surprise!

The Groundswell Players are bringing vintage science fiction to the Philly Fringe Festival this year with their production The Speed of Surprise, set to appear at the MacGuffin Theatre. Their unique combination of comedic improv and physical theater is inspired this year by classic sci-fi serials such as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers that is sure to entertain any fan of the genre. Word on the street is that there might even be some zombies in the mix!

This year The Groundswell Players are teaming up with The Hacktory who will be assisting with the entire look of the production. Donating materials from their vast collection (more…)

Tucked away in an innocuous-looking strip mall in the heart of Northeast Philadelphia is the type of retail destination that nerds dream about. The name of this geeky Mecca? The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Although comics take up most of the space in the deceptively large two-level store, there are also plenty of other collectibles about–everything from action figures and old wrestling magazines. The store, owned and operated by Chuck Feldman, originally began life back in 1977 at a location on Castor Avenue as an ice cream parlor. After the initial decision was made to sell comics along side of sundaes, Feldman — who cites Superman as his favorite comic character — began to focus his business more on collectibles than frozen treats. By the 1990s, the store was dedicated to comics, coins, sport/non-sport cards and collectible gaming cards like the eternally popular Magic the Gathering.

Since moving to its present location seven years ago, Feldman has started the Garden’s $10-a-year club membership that offers deep discount on all store items. It is part of a commitment to keeping prices reasonable, which rewards return customers.

“We continue to buy both new and older books, as well as older sports cards, books and comics,” Feldman says, so if you have some old comics lying about, give him a call and maybe he will take them off your hands. (more…)

With a cast the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter and more, how can you go wrong?

Save the Day Productions brings Superheroes Who Are Super to the Fringe Festival with 2 different Justice League offerings. In case you haven’t seen their plays before, Superheroes… is a staged reading of a comic book in its entirety, giving the audience a radio serial type of experience.

Being performed for the festival will be Justice League issues #1 and #2. JL #1 (Sept. 3rd, 4th, and 11th), entitled “The World of New Return,” finds the Justice League pitted against the villain Despero in a deadly game of chess which ends in an epic fail on the League’s part, transporting them to strange planets where they must find their way back.

“Secret of Sinister Sorcerers” (#2, being performed Sept. 10th, 17th and 18th) centers around Earth being changed into “The Magic Land” and vice versa. The leaguers team up with Merlin to locate the 3 villains behind this sinister plot and find the mystical parchment that will change the earth back.

Superheroes Who Are Super will be performed Sept. 3rd through the 18th at Plays and Players Theater. Performances take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 7 and 9pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livearts-fringe.org or by calling 215.413.1318.

As anyone who has been to 30th Street Station in University City can tell you, the area immediately around the station will make you think of a combination of Mad Max and a scene from the post-apocalyptic film The Day After.

Yeah, it’s that bad.

Well, all that is about to change. Thanks to the hard work of groups such as the Planning Commission, the Streets Department, Amtrak, University City institutions and many more, a plan is afoot to transform this area into a place where you would actually want to hang out and stay awhile.

It is all going to begin by PennDOT reclaiming the outer parking lane along Market Street and transforming it into a 40 foot wide sidewalk that will include seating, sun, shade and trees. And that is only the first part of a much broader plan. But here’s the coolest part; we get to give this new public space a name.

That’s right, we, the people of Philadelphia, will give this new public area its name. The University City District has decided that it’s important that the residents be involved in this significant transformation of one of Philly’s most vital areas. To enter your suggestion, send the following to newpublicspace@universitycity.org.

Suggested Name for Public Space:
Reasons for the suggested name (no more than 150 words):
Your Name:
Phone Number:
Email:

One person’s idea will be selected and will get a $500 gift certificate to Amtrak and, more important, bragging rights.

So put on those thinking caps and get to it. I just hope no one thought of Geekadelphia Lane yet.

University City District
www.universitycity.org
facebook.com/universitycity

With Dugout Phunnies, writer Jon Goff and artist David Jablow have done the impossible… they’ve made a comic book about sports that is massively entertaining to read.

As anyone who ever had the misfortune to read NFL Superpro or The Dallas Cowboys and Spider-Man will tell you this is no small feat. Each issue of the zine-sized comic features members of the Phillies organization get into the type of adventures that would never be tolerated by the MLB.

When the first issue was released earlier this Spring, it featured two tales: one in which Charlie Manuel’s hair became evil and another that documented the chaos that resulted when the Fightins embarked on a camping trip. (Without giving too much of the plot away, let’s just say that there are antics involving Joe Blanton and a bear suit).

The just released second issue ups the ante by featuring one lengthy story about what happens when “Chuckles” Manuel and Shane Victorino get transported Tron-style into various video games. Amongst the nuggets of information revealed in this adventure is that Charlie can’t surf and Jimmy Rollins can play a mean game of Dig Dug. (more…)

Mercury Radio Theater, is one of the geekier bands in Philly, fueled by comic books, animation, and sci-fi. Their shows are presented as episodes, and they have compiled different “episodes” over the years through their “Monster Trilogy”. Their new album Kilroy is set to release on September 3rd, and I had the pleasure of listening to it before fans could get their hands on it.

This album is a unique option for music fans in Philadelphia. The sound is chaotic, yet–while listening to it—you can tell that every decision is delicately made. Mercury Radio Theater’s music defiantly has a “theatric” feel to it. Imagine being thrown onto Coney Island in 1945, and all of the music is being amplified by guitar and sped up into a post punk paradise. Throw in some darker Tim Burton and Stolen Babies elements, and you’ve got a killer album. In other words, you’ve got Kilroy.

One brave choice that Mercury Radio Theater makes is that there are no vocals in their album. Yes, Kilroy is mostly music, but it is so strongly structured so that you don’t need lyrics understand what’s happening. You hear it through the music, but this also makes me want to check out a live show! The animation used in their live shows illustrate alongside Mercury Radio Theater’s music.

I was able to sit down with Mercury Radio Theater to ask them a few things about the band and Kilroy. They were very enthusiastic about sharing their musical vision. (more…)