 Today was one of those days when I just wanted to take my family out for a long drive without a specific destination and just wing it. Fill up the gas tank, lower the door windows, open the sun roof, turn the volume and just enjoy the ride; so that's what we did! We drove for a while and my wife spotted a dance studio (she's a professional dancer) and asked me if we could stop real quick, to which I replied: "Sure". Of course, I immediately spotted a book store right next to the dance studio and I told her I wanted to check it out afterwards. The books store was independently owned and it looked inviting.
 There were tow male clerks who immediately acknowledge me and my family and were very courteous, something that employees from every field are missing more and more these days! I looked around for a few minutes and they asked me if I needed help, but before I could ask them, I noticed that one of the clerks had a pile of at least 50 comics in front of him! All I could say was "Yes you do!" He looked at me funny and I said "Comics, do you guys carry comic books?" And he said "Yes we do!" He showed me three aisles full of comics ranging from Batman to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to The Mighty Thor to Wildcats! It was a beautiful thing!!!
 As soon as I turned that corner where the clerk told me to, I was suddenly in front of what can only be described as a comic book hidden treasure! Even more so when it's located in Virginia Beach, so to me it felt like I was a pirate, and I discovered an abandoned treasure chest full of comic book gold! I'm talking about hundreds, if not thousands of comic books, and at great prices too! It's too bad that I had just went to my local comic shop and spent a pretty penny there, because I only had so much extra cash to spare. But rest assure, I'll be stopping by this book store on a more regular basis and I'll be getting a bunch of those comics they had in their store.
 So, next time you're in Virginia Beach and get the mood to buy some comic books, visit AFK Books, Music and Movies.
They're located at:
4801 Shore Drive, Suite D
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
(757) 962-1996.
Press Release- Apr. 3, 2013 - OLATHE, Kan.
A new podcast, blog, and sales group, the Nerdvana Network is a new force in the digital geek subculture. The Nerdvana Network is a podcast, blog, and merchant network that releases weekly content aimed at all facets of nerds and geeks under one banner of Nerdvana. Modeled after the immensely successful SModcast Network, pioneered by podcaster and filmmaker Kevin Smith, the Nerdvana Network has recently taken to heart the musings and words of Kevin Smith: "Surround yourself with 'Why Not' people."
The Nerdvana Network is a network of podcasts, blogs, and websites promoting the concept of "Why Not?" The network will be offering advertising network-wide to those interested in reaching a wide demographic of technically savvy, intelligent, creative people of varying ages. The network has launched with the Gamer's Haven Podcast, a staple of internet podcasting for over six years, and the Gamer's Haven Actual Play, an ever-growing collecting of tabletop game recordings and quite possibly the biggest depository of actual play audio online, Confessions of a Movie Snob, a podcast just celebrating its third birthday about film and the irrational love of the medium by the hosts.
Bringing up the blogging front is Project Uncool, a website devoted to the betterment of Aaron, who is Uncool, and Why Not Write, a blog aimed at helping not only the blog's author, Ethan, write more often, but also inspire others to write more.
In the merchant arm of the Nerdvana Network, the shop bring the creative works of Elinor Parker, costume creator and artist to the teeming masses. Offering custom corsets and costumes to all kinds of nerds in all kinds of sizes, the Costume Wrangler's Closet is the place to go for the best costuming for Cosplay, Live Action Role Playing, or just for that extra bit of geeky apparel that is one-of-a-kind in the world.
Hello, fellow geekettes and geeks!
Here is another dose of the book of danger. I originally wrote this nearly two years ago reflecting on the passing of comic book superstar, Micheal Turner around the anniversary of his untimely death. As with the previous entry to the book of danger, it will remain mostly untouched, with just an updated comment here and there.
Here we go:
Tick Tock.
Time is moving.
Recently, I have been thinking over many things, especially in the creativity department. Slowly I had found myself looking at Micheal Turner art on the internet. Then I realized that I had lent my Turner stuff to a friend, and that after Turner's untimely death, I didn't even look at his artwork for a very long time.
Quite a few years back, I was in Bayamon (for you who know not, Bayamon is a pretty populated city here in Puerto Rico, about half an hour away from were I live). There used to be this kiosk in the bus terminal that sold old comics and magazines. I came across Supergirl #1 for 80 cents. It had a Micheal Turner cover on it, he had done the redesign for the character at the time. And it brought back many memories, because of Supergirl pages I drew a long time ago to try and put together a portfolio before my mind imploded (that's material for a different blog post, I guess), I actually was looking at A LOT of his stuff at the time. So, a year after his death, I picked up that issue and bought it, I dunno, it felt like it was a way of coming full circle and coming to terms in a way. Which got me thinking (surprise, surprise).
I thought how amazing something like time is. People live their lives sometimes, stuck in a moment. In a period of time. Either reliving good times, or perpetuating horrid memories that long should have been left behind. As if time has stood still. The earth stopped spinning around the orbit. It's just you, your memories, and thoughts about either how things used to be, or how things should have been, in contrast to how things really are.
You think how time has not moved for you, yet how it seems to move fine with people around you. Friends. Family. "Frienemies". I finally asked back for my Micheal Turner comics a few days after checking his artwork again online. I saw them, and it almost felt like I was looking at it for the first time again because, you guessed it, timed had moved on so fast at the seems since the last time I held them in my hands. Unfortunately, a couple of the Withblades covers had fallen off, and issue #1 of Fathom vol 1 was utterly destroyed in possession of my neighbor. I still have the pieces of that Fathom because I have not the heart to throw it away. Now after a few years, a couple of months ago as a gift, my girlfriend actually spent HOURS in different comic book shops in New York, and got me a TON of Withblade, Fathom, and Soul Fire comics. After the initial shock, I am grown up enough to admit, I cried. I felt like I was looking at his stuff for the first time again, and the emotions that someone took their time to surprise me in such a way. I got to drawing, and it felt like in a sense, times was moving for me again. But then I realized. It wasn't that time had started moving again, it was ME that started moving again. Because time never stops for anyone. It US that stop.
Time is moving.
Tick Tock.
And there you go, I hope you enjoyed it and please look forward to the next blog, stay cool, my friends!~Alvaro "Lance Danger" Cortes Ortiz Jr
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