Hey folks, it's Luke, and I've once again taken control of the blog, this time for a bit of shameless self-promotion. If you listened to our show about digital distribution, you might have heard me mention that I started doing a web comic (if you were getting a sandwich at the time, you probably missed it). Dave and I talked about putting some info about the strip up here, so here it is.My comic is called "Moon Freight 3," and is the story of a guy and a robot who live on a space station orbiting one of Mars' moons, where they work as cargo inspectors. The idea for the strip came about when I wanted to do a sci-fi comedy comic strip, and decided to do one about what it would be like for a regular guy in the future. Not a hero, not some destined warrior, but a guy just like us, a guy who has to make his own fun while working a boring job and living a life he didn't really see himself working in.I actually came up with the idea for "Moon Freight 3" about three years ago, but I never thought my art skills were good enough to drawn my own comic. I tried getting other artists in on the action, but that never worked out. So finally, about six or so months ago, I just said "heck with it" and started practicing drawing, something I haven't done seriously in about 15 years. But I finally got it to a point were I'm happy sharing the fruits of my labor with the public.And if you want to actually see it, I should probably tell you where you can find it, eh? The URL is http://moonfreight3.comicgenesis.com.Finally, to wrap it all up, here's a FAQ that I hope will answer any other questions you might have.

Q. So what's this "Moon Freight 3" about, anyway?

A. "Moon Freight 3" is a sci-fi/comedy webcomic about a man named Larry Forrest and a robot named Bolts, who work on a cargo inspection station named "Moon Freight 3." It's my vision about what life will be like for the average Joe in the future.

Q. How often do you update?

A. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Q. How far into the future does this series take place?

A. At this point in our history, humanity has colonized the solar system but hasn't made it farther out than that. They have not made contact with any alien species, if any even exist.

Q. So who are these guys Larry and Bolts, anyway?

A. Larry is your typical guy in his 20s who graduated college and immediately got himself stuck in a job he doesn't particularly care for when he needed a job and couldn't afford to be choosy. He's a smart guy but spends most of his time watching TV and generally being bored and cynical. At the start of the strip he had been on Moon Freight 3 for a year, having moved there right after college. Bolts is a robot built and programmed for work aboard an inspection station. He was turned on about a month before Moon Freight 3 became an active station.

Q. Are there any other characters we should care about?

A. Yeah, but they come and go as the stories dictate. Larry and Bolts are the guys we focus on the most.

Q. Are you one of those cartoonists who makes his main character a thinly-veiled version of himself?

A. No. I consciously designed Larry to be different than me for just that reason.

Q. Oh come on. Even your names sound kind of the same. Luke Foster, Larry Forrest… who are you trying to kid?

A. The similarity between our names is coincidental. I tried to pick a very ordinary-sounding name for Larry to emphasize his everyman aspects. His name was originally Larry Rivers, but then I discovered that's the name of an artist/moviemaker from the 1920s, so it got changed to Forrest because forests and rivers are both part of nature.

Q. So there's no similarity between you and Larry at all?

A. All right, I admit there is one: he and I both agree that Natalie Portman is the most beautiful woman to ever walk the Earth. Other than that, no way.

Q. So is this comic a one-man show?

A. For the most part, yes. The logo was designed by my best friend, and Comic Genesis created the templates for the main page and archives, but I do all the writing and drawing and as much web coding as I understand.

Q. I didn't know you were an artist.

A. That's not a question. But you're not the first person to bring that up. I drew a lot when I was younger, but that fell by the wayside as I got older and focused on writing. But I really wanted to do a comic, so I had to teach myself how to do it again. This has been a rewarding learning process, but the lessons are far from over. So please, be gentle for now.

Q. Science fiction is for nerds and losers. Am I gonna understand this comic even if I don't like science fiction, or am I gonna have to beat you up for being different from me?

A. First of all, lighten up. You have some serious issues left over from high school. Second of all, you should have no problem with this. The comedy is the most important part of the strip. The science fiction is written in as naturally as I can make it fit, and hopefully emphasizes, not detracts from, the comedy.

Q. What else should I know?

A. I think you know enough to get started. If you like the strip, tell your friends. If you hate it, tell your enemies.

Updated! Updated! Updated!

Haven’t done an update in sometime, and a lot has happened.
So here we go…
We had NPN’s first anniversary show at the end of August and Luke, Cross, Chae, Lita, Marc, and Scott found their way to the headquarters/production facilities of Nine Panel Nerds, my condo, and we recorded two shows that have already been posted.
Here the description on both episodes 45 and 46….

The Anniversary is here!
We've been doing NPN for a full year now and in celebration of that year we reminisce about our favorite show's
We recorded this episode at Dave house and as you'll hear the whole cast had a great time.
Join us next week for the second part of the anniversary special as we regale you with our second store stories episode!

and....

The second part of our first year anniversary finds the panel loaded with store stories.
We had a great time with the first store stories we'd thought we would bring it back for a second time round.
What's happened at Buried Under Comic since the last time we regaled you with our adventures in comic book retail?
You'll just have to listen.
Oh yes most of us were a little inebriated when we recorded this.

Since we’ve posted those, in between them, we also posted Luke’s special episode with writer Dwight Macpherson. Description time…

In this special episode, Luke sits down with comic book writer Dwight MacPherson, the writer of a number of small press titles including "Archibald Saves Christmas," "The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poe," and "M-Theory." They talk about writing, the comics business, Hollywood, mullets, and anything else that might occur to them at the time.

Plus we’ve posted another episode. Man I said I was behind updating this blog!
Here’s the lowdown on episode 47.…

Why are comic books so serious today?
All kinds of dark, edgy, comics populate your LCS shelves and, for some, the fun has seemingly gone out of them.
So the panel sat down and discusses the subject and tries to nail why comics have become what they are now,
but first are monthly picks from the new Preview book for September.

….and there is much more coming. We already have a show on digital comics, Luke has another interview, with who, for know, I’m leaving as a surprise. Also Brian, Scott and I did a show about their trip to the Diamond retailers expo in Vegas. Speaking of conventions, there is a chance that we might be at ComicCon in NYC next Febuary. Don’t know if it will happen, either way I believe we’ll be there in one form or another.

Still it’s been over a full year of NPN, and I’m at a point where I’m more than happy how the show has turned out. Mostly it’s come from the people I do it with. I remember when I brought this up as a potential idea to promote Buried Under Comics and thought they‘d think I was nuts. But that’s not how it turned out, still when we recorded the first time I was nervous as hell thinking that the guys, again, thought I was crazy. Truth be told they we’re worried about screwing it up for me!
I’m lucky to have a great crew along for the ride. Weather it has helped bring any business though the door all I hope is that Brian, the owner of BUC, is happy with it, as I hope all the listeners are.
I hope you have fun listening to it as much as we do making it.
Later!

Episode 44 and year one

Hey everyone!
After a wild weekend of drinking and debauchery at Cross’ super secret surprise birthday party the panel sat down to give you their impressions of The Dark Knight
Here’s the show description.

With almost 500 million in one month domestically Dark Knight is hands down THE summer movie.
Hail by critics and fan alike the film has become a monster sized hit.
But is it worth all the hype?
The panel dives in and gives you their thoughts on The Dark Knight!
Also join us next week for our first year anniversary show!

Yup! 1 year of Nine Panel Nerds is upon us! 52 shows! (That's the 44 regular episodes and our 8 specials.)
I'm setting up for a swanky shindig here at Casa del 9PNerds.
The Panel and a special guest (hopfully) will be recording in my living room this coming weekend and there will be a load of reminiscing about the show’s from the past year.
Which, by the way, will be a special two part episode!
So please e-mail us let us what you liked or disliked over the past year!
Sorry about the delay of an update, as you can tell there where two episodes posted with no update here.
I'm sorry.
Later.

Luke has the Con!

Hey everyone.
Luke Foster is one of the Panel members and he's got control of the Blog.
I'll have an update on the new show later today.
Till then...

Hey there, everyone in Internet Land. It's your old pal Luke here, taking the reins of the blog for a moment to give Dave a break from all that typing. It hurts his delicate fingers, you see, and he needs those for his needlepoint work. As I'm sure you all know by now (since I won't let you forget), I have a big love of all things British. As you may have guessed from the "Doctor Who" and "Red Dwarf" shows, I could talk about that sort of stuff for hours. But rather than do that and send Marc into a coma, I decided to take the written path instead. Many of you (I assume) have thought to yourselves, "I've always wanted to watch some British comedy, but I don't know where to start. I wish someone would help me make the right choice!" Well worry no more, my friends, I'm here to help. Here's a list of stuff I like (in other words, all the British sitcoms I happen to own), and why.

Red Dwarf: Do I really need to talk any more about this show? Seriously, just go watch it. (also the episode topic of NPN#42! Dave.)

Blackadder: You guys have heard of Mr. Bean, right? The friendly guy who rarely talks and gets himself into all sorts of wacky adventures? What if the guy who played Mr. Bean played a character that was a manipulative, conniving bastard instead? Well, that's just what happened in the early 1980s, when Rowan Atkinson starred as the titular character. The show ran four seasons, each taking place in a different time in history, starting in the Dark Ages and ending in World War I. There was also a TV movie that took place in 1999 that wrapped the whole thing up. Atkinson played Edmund Blackadder (or Prince Edmund, the Black Adder in the first series), all descendents in the same family. All were men who craved money and power, and would lie, cheat, steal or whatever they had to do to get it. Blackadder's loyal sidekick was Baldrick, aiding in or, in many cases, the unwilling subject of one of Blackadder's schemes. Also, check out seasons three and four when Hugh Laurie, of "House" fame, co-starred as George, a moronic prince in season three and a moronic lieutenant in season four. It's a really funny show, and it's fun to root for the bad guy, even though more often than not his plans fail utterly.

Mr. Bean: I suppose I should talk about this one, since I mentioned it earlier and some of you might not have heard of it. Mr. Bean is, like I said, a friendly guy who rarely talks and gets himself into all sorts of wacky adventures, even if its something as seemingly mundane as making a sandwich or buying Christmas presents. Atkinson's pantomime ability is fantastic, telling a story and making us laugh the whole time, most of the time without uttering a word. There were only 14 episodes of Bean, and you can get them all in one convenient DVD pack.

Monty Python's Flying Circus: Come on, do I need to explain this one? Everyone's heard of Python. If they haven't, they're commies.

Fawlty Towers: Probably the best-known member of the Python troupe was John Cleese. Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth co-created "Fawlty Towers," about a completely unpleasant hotel manager, his wife, their staff, and the many and varied guests they have. This show ran only two seasons, but is considered to be a hallmark of television comedy for its great acting and solid, hilarious, and sometimes edgy writing.

The Office: You may have seen the show on American TV starring Steve Carrell, but the British one is better, because it's British. Ricky Gervais co-created (with Stephen Merchant) and starred in this show about life at a mid-level paper merchant in the city of Slough. It's filmed like a documentary and the humor comes from a combination of the bleakness that comes from working in an office as well as the almost horrifyingly embarrassing situations the main characters, particularly Gervais', get themselves in to. It is not only hysterical but also therapeutic for anybody who's worked in an office, if for no other reason than it lets you know you're truly not alone in the world. This series ran only two seasons, with a two-part special to wrap everything up, proving it's better to burn out than fade away.

Spaced: At last, a sitcom that speaks to me. Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson co-created, co-wrote, and starred in this show about two twentysomethings who pretend to be a couple so they can rent a flat (that's English for "apartment) together. Together with their friends Mike, Brian, Twist, and Marsha, they have all sorts of adventures, often bordering on the surreal. This show is a lot like "Friends," only instead of a bunch of pretentious rich people in boring situations, they're a bunch of artists and geeks with stories chock-full of pop culture references and surreal moments a la "Scrubs." "Spaced" only went two seasons before Pegg decided he needed a break and wrote "Shaun of the Dead," which propelled many of them to stardom. Fans clamor for a third season or a special – or anything, really – more than for any other show I've seen.

Extras: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's second show, this time about a film extra's desperate attempts to make it to the big time, and what happens when he finally does. This show is a bit different than "The Office," since it's not done in a documentary style and the humor is a bit darker. Also, look for at least one celebrity cameo per episode. This show followed the "two seasons and a special" format of "The Office," proving the maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The Thin Blue Line: Rowan Atkinson's other, and far more traditional, sitcom, centering around a squad of police officers. This one was much more formulaic than his other shows, with the typical stories about unrequited love, rivalries among coworkers, misunderstandings leading to wacky situations, etc. Still and all, it's not a bad show, and got a lot done in its two seasons. Two seasons? Am I the only one starting to notice a pattern here?

Episode 41 and other things.

Episode 41 is now up and it’s all about one of our favorite shows, Doctor Who.
Here’s the lowdown….

Ever Watch Doctor Who?
Well many of us on the panel do! (With exception of Marc and Lita, who are on vacaton for this one.)
So Scott, Cross, Luke, and Dave sit down to talk about classic and new Who. Favortie villains, favortie Doctors and best episodes. It's all here as the panel takes on the timelord we all love!

So we finally sat down and talk about this show. We’ve been wanting to do this for awhile now.
Marc and Lita were still on vacation when we recorded the latest batch of show’s.
I know he’s heart broken! (Yeah right!)
Luke and I have recorded a show about another great British show…Red Dwarf.
That will be up later this week.

So I FINALLY saw The Dark Knight and let me tell you it was beyond fantastic! I won’t say any more because we’ll be recording on Sunday the 10th , ( also my 45th birthday) and the whole panel will be together to give you their impressions on what looks like the movie of the summer.

I bought Scud: The Whole Shebang collection this week. I always loved Rob Schrabs Scud: The Disposable Assassin so now I have all of them in one neat hardcover book.

Those Best Buy exclusive double-feature DVDs came out.
The films were all priced to own at 16 bucks a pop.
The titles are:
World Without End/Satellite in the Sky,
Moon Zero Two/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
Battle Beneath the Earth/The Ultimate Warrior
So far I’ve only watch Moon Zero Two and Battle Beneath the Earth.

Battle was a little film I caught on cable TV back in the early 80s off channel 9 WOR from NYC.
A Chinese military madman tunnels under the U.S. from across the pacific to plant A-bombs under our cities, blow them up, and take over in the aftermath as it’s absolute ruler.
I’m pretty fond of this film only because it’s so bats shit crazy and that why I can’t help but like it.
After watching it again after over 25 years since last time I saw it, I was surprised that it held up like the finely aged cheese that it is.
Believe me, if your into pulpy, campy films from the 60’s you can’t go wrong with this little gem.

Also author and friend of the show Tom Sniegoski has a new book out. It’s called The Brimstone Network.
So please if your looking for a fun read check it out. The panel read his last book A Kiss Before the Apocalypse and we all recommend it highly!

So there you have it. Check out the new show and I’ll let you know when the next show is up
Take care!

Episode 39 update is so late!

Wow how’s about this for a heads up?
Episode 39 is up but I posted it on Monday!
Nice.
Anyway, the new show is all about music. We’ve been thinking about doing this show for sometime now and, finally we did it.
Here’s the description…

It's a special show as we depart from our usual format of comic books and movies.
This pod cast is about the kinds of music the Panel loves.
From punk, heavy metal, alterative to first concerts, and everything in between the panel shares their love of music and why.

So there you have it.

We’ll be recording this week at Lukes and Cross' apartment, and the show topics will be video games and Doctor Who.
Unfortunately Marc and Lita will not be with us for two weeks due to the fact they are on vacation.
Hope you enjoy the show’s and we’ll update you soon.

Later.

Oh and one other thing: I have NOT seen The Dark Knight yet. I tried to go Tuesday night but it was sold out. Yup! On a fucking Tuesday night! This film looks like it'll be THE big summer film.

I just hope I get to see the damn thing!