Our New Section: What We're Playing

What We're Playing: Zack brings a Knight to a Bowfight

The sun shines brightly on the walls of a mighty stronghold, each of it's towers bristling with bowmen.  The farmers and woodcutters go about their business, spending their days working in honest labor under the watchful eyes of their liege lord.  The peace is broken by the ringing of a bell, a warning of imminent attack.  The castle gate is closed, villagers huddle together within the walls of the castle, and Men-At-Arms begin prepare to face the invaders.  Movement is seen in the distance. To the increasing horror of the soldiers on the walls an army of hundreds of half-naked men bearing torches go about putting the surrounding farms to the torch.  This will be a long siege.

Lately I've been replaying a classic game from Firefly Studios Stronghold Series, Stronghold Crusader.  The game is equal parts RTS and City Builder where managing how many peasants you have working farms becomes just as important as the number of units you have manning the walls.  I'm personally a fan of their system of unit recruitment where individual peasants can be converted into soldiers for war or turned into the farmers and laborers that keep your Stronghold's economy running, making prospective Crusaders question whether their burgeoning kingdom can support another ten bowmen with only a few farms to support the growing population.

Stronghold Crusader also gives your newly minted kingdom with a few new units and an interesting way of getting them.  While Crusader kept it's predecessor's system of having certain production buildings convert resources into weapons before you could turn you peasants into bow wielding, sword swinging defenders of the realm, you know also have the option of hiring Arabian-themed mercenaries from your population by paying the cost in gold.  While some of the Arabian units aren't as strong as their European counterparts (I'm looking at you Arabian Swordsmen) they can make an effective early-game harassing force or help your kingdom survive when your enemies come knocking on the gates with a couple battering rams.  I never get tired of sending a handful of horse archers to harass an opponents pastures, lazily shooting off arrows at farmers and picking away at an enemy lord's defenses.  Another addition to the mercenary roster, the Slave, is a cheap cannon fodder unit that's a great deal like a Moth in regards to it's life cycle.  It's born, runs for a bit, and then lights itself on fire while hopefully lighting your opponents buildings with it (DISCLAIMER: moths may not do that last thing, hopefully).

While Crusader doesn’t offer as cohesive a story when it comes to it's Single Player campaign, I can appreciate the amount of content they have available.  Four historical campaigns give you some historical background on the Crusades themselves, putting you in the role of various leaders from both the Crusader States and the Arabian forces in challenging scenarios.  Alongside that you have the option to play the "Crusader's Trail" (a Fifty map campaign with a variety of enemies, allies, and resources available to you), "Warchest Trail" (another Thirty map campaign similar to the aforementioned trail), custom skirmishes, Multiplayer, and the Castle Builder mode for your inner pacifist to create a burgeoning kingdom free from war and strife (but not safe from the occasional mountain lion attack)

I'm a fan of Stronghold Crusader, and for all of it's faults ("I just want to put archers in this tower IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS HARD TO CONNECT WALLS TO TOWERS") it's still a pretty great game.  There's an element of realism to it, and the mechanics are balanced in such a way that the combat and economic gameplay both seem to balance out instead of having one overpower the other (which a lot of RTS titles do).  You can still pick it up for 9.99 on Steam (if your castle's treasury seems a bit full, the Stronghold collection goes for 19.99 and it gets you the original Stronghold, Stronghold 2, Stronghold: Crusader, Stronghold: Crusader EXTREME (really), and Stronghold: Legends) and it retains its status as a fantastic Castle simulator for when you want to get out and enjoy the Knight-life

The Talk Box Plays Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Part 2

The next episode of Harry and Chad's Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel playthrough is out! Join them as they navigate Elpis and take on the jump-pad-loving scav, Deadlift!

Khans of Tarkir Booster Box Unboxing - Part Two

The epic conclusion of Harry and Adam opening the Khans of Tarkir booster box!

The Talk Box Plays Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Part 1

Hey everyone! First episode of our Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Let's Play is out, so go check it out! Come join us as Harry and Chad explore the story behind Elpis, Pandora's moon.

Khans of Tarkir Booster Box Unboxing - Part One

Join Harry and Adam as they open a booster box and explore the new Magic set, Khans of Tarkir!

Part Two will be coming soon!

The Talk Box Presents: CONSPIRACY! - Part One, Pod Two

If you'd like to listen to the podcast featuring the drafting process, click here!

Pod Number Two: Chad, Matt, Jared and Morgan

In the pod containing Chad, Matt, Jared, and Morgan, the match escalated quickly and never slowed down, with flashy spells and big plays being made all over the place. Chad was playing Orzhov (white-black), Matt was playing Mardu (red-white-black), Jared was playing Jund (black-red-green), and Morgan was playing Izzet (blue-red). And now, decklists!

Chad's Orzhov

Matt's Mardu

 Jared's Jund

(Sadly we didn't get a photo of Jared's deck)

Morgan's Izzet

Before dice could even be rolled to see who went first, Morgan revealed his Power Play conspiracy, making him the player to start the game. The game began tame enough, with a few creatures played and a Tyrant’s Choice from Jared clearing the board early.

Eventually, Chad made the first big move, dropping a 15/15 Lurking Automaton that caused everyone’s chairs to shift unsettlingly towards him. The hidden agenda conspiracy of Secret Summoning allowed him to tutor up another one, and he eventually had two giant Automatons that threatened to end the game within a few turns. Luckily, Jared and Matt both had removal spells to respond to his threat, Jared casting a Tragic Slip and Matt casting an Assassinate.

As the game progressed, Jared kept his hand full with not one, but two Deathreap Rituals, benefiting from the mass amounts of removal getting slung around the table. Eventually, Jared drew enough cards and ramped enough mana to cast Phage the Untouchable, the next big threat to appear. With all combat drawn to a stalemate with Phage out, everyone began bolstering their defenses. Chad played multiple copies of Rousing of Souls, giving his opponents some diplomatic card advantage while he built up an army of 1/1 flying spirits. Matt kept himself protected with multiple defenders such as Vent Sentinel, Cinder Wall, and Pride Guardian, doing what he could to find an answer to this clogged board state.

Morgan was the one to break the silence, first casting a Dack’s Duplicate to copy Jared’s Phage. He immediately began swinging away to force blocks and build up +1/+1 counters with his copy’s dethrone ability. In the following turn, Morgan cast Mana Geyser to amass 16 red mana, all of which he filtered in to a multikicked Deathforge Shaman that instagibbed Chad, dropping him immediately to zero life.

With Chad and his army of spirits out of the way, the focus was now mostly between Jared and Morgan, each with a Phage and ready to strike for lethal. Jared was unable to draw a removal spell for Morgan’s, and Morgan dropped a Marchesa’s Smuggler, making his copied Phage unblockable and killing Jared. Meanwhile, Matt was busy durdling and pinging with his Vent Sentinels, hoping to draw into an answer. In a topdeck of the ages, Matt drew into the Assassinate that he then cast to kill Morgan’s Phage, and proceeded to ping him down with his Sentinels over the next few turns for the victory.

Overall, the game was chaotic and fun, and was finished much quicker than Pod Number One's game. Everyone got the chance to be a supervillain mastermind and make a big flashy play, and the consensus of the group seemed to be that the game was hilariously enjoyable.

Why The Trolls Actually Won: Satire, Offending Material, and The Internet in General

Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to break this to you, but those internet trolls that everyone warns you not feed have actually won. And no, I don't mean those people you see in the comments sections, purposely trying to get a rise out of people. I speak of a new breed of troll, coming out from under their respective bridges. The kind of people who will probably be offended by the fact that I am calling them a troll because it offends troll culture as a whole.
Cheapshot jokes aside, the internet has gave birth to a new and terrifying group of people. Everyone knows one. The grandma on Facebook who links an article not realizing that it's not real. The aunt who believes every rumor they see and pass it along as fact. The people on various who take things out of context and get outraged. The people who make comments on articles and posts that have nothing to do with the original post at all. Everyone knows at least one and sigh with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment for that person.
In my own personal opinion, I believe that it takes almost nothing for people to be offended these days. There are countless amounts of posts about things that get people all riled up over nothing. Before I start digging into these people, let me start by saying this (by putting it in bold so I don't get roflstomped about being just as bad as the people I am talking about): I think that it is great that people have opinions about things. That people are supportive about things. That people have issues they care about. Everyone should have them and spread them if they are supportive and caring in nature. I love people like that. The group of people who I am talking about are the kind of people who don't care or don't bother to do the research or actually read what they are commenting on. It's like a plague on the internet these days. In the age of Google and other search engines, you would think that people would go, "Wait, this doesn't sound right. Let me do a quick internet search on one of 5 devices that have internet access around me before I post about this." But my good people, they do not. No research, no reading, not one thing. It's all headlines, quick skims and rumors with this group. If anything looks offensive or scandalous, they will be the first ones to post about without bothering to see what it is they are talking about. My favorite examples of these include the "original Statue of Liberty the US turned down", the "joke out of context here", and basically the whole anti-vaccine campaign (which baffles me to as why that is an actual thing).
I myself have been a target of this phenomenon. One day, I was just scrolling through Tumblr, minding my own damn business about things. That week, I had been seeing a lot of posts telling people not to listen to Robin Thicke's song Blurred Lines because it was going to be number one on some sort of chart. Being the person that I am, I got upset. Not because I like the song, but because this website prides itself on telling people to stop telling people to not listen to something because they don't like it. So I pointed out the hypocrisy of those posts, telling people to chill. (Quick sidebar: I don't thing anyone on that site was listening to Blurred Lines anyway and the popularity of the song can be contributed to the following: People confusing Robin Thicke for his father, the catchy beat that middle aged white people can dance too, and the other two points combined. End side bar.) No more than five minutes had gone by, when someone re-blogged my post , replying to it "Says someone who has never been sexually harassed," not only missing the point of my post entirely, but starting an argument over something I wasn't even talking about. I can only assume that the person saw the words Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines, listen and to. Luckily, I had a friend reblog the person's response, calling them out on it.
So what does satire have to do with all this? The people I have been talking about do not get it. The point of it is lost to them. As a quick example, some may believe that The Colbert Report is actually for real and not the genius piece of satire that it is. This causes a lot of problems for the rest of us. People are up in arms about offensive jokes that are actually making fun of the people who do the real thing. If anything sounds slightly offensive, they will jump on and start a crusade against the "offensive" person. And then when it's pointed out that it was a joke/satire, they go "Oh yeah. I knew that." NO. NO YOU DIDN'T.
As much as I would like to say that we can stop these...I'm gonna call them trolls again...I fear that we cannot. We can provide links to accurate information. We can show them the wrongs they made in a civil manner. Sometimes they will apologize and correct their mistakes. Sometimes they will spit venom back at us like that dinosaur with the frill thingy in Jurassic Park. As long as there are things to stand for, there will be people who make the other people look bad by screwing up royally and not admitting it.
The trolls won people. We might as well start listening to Gangnam Style and What Does the Fox Say again. Because trends and memes are beautiful things. Right? Right? Guys where are you going.....
-----------------
Adam Bento, The MC of The Talk Box Podcast
Send  me hate mail or love letters to:
@CaptainDadam on Twitter
captaindadam on Tumblr

Deck Tech: Chad's Child of Alara (EDH/Commander)

Hello everyone! Chad here, known by most as CaptainTempest and/or CaptainToaster, and welcome to the second edition of Deck Tech!

Today I'll be going over the Commander deck that I'm notorious for, Child of Alara. Though it isn't one of my oldest Commander decks, it has certainly proved itself worthy to be among the ranks of my top favorites. The other members of the Talk Box like to joke that I'm obsessed with boardwipes and casting spells at instant speed. Well, they're not really joking. It's true. At least with this deck, it's true. I was inspired to build it after discovering a list from rtsands45 on MTGSalvation.

Scary little fella, isn't he?

Child of Alara commands the helm of a ramp deck that plays a grindy control game, using the titular card as a consistent way to reset the board when things get too cluttered, or when I don't have as stable of a board state compared to other players. Since he's also a sturdy 6/6 with trample, it's not uncommon for me to swing into the red zone with him to rack up damage, though to this date, he hasn't killed someone by dealing 21. Child specifically has to be sent to the graveyard in order for its built-in boardwipe ability to work, which means that it wouldn't be sent back to the command zone for recasting, so I require ways to recur it. In addition, nonland permanents do not stick around with Child constantly clearing the field, so most permanents that are in the deck are either a.) indestructible, b.) benefit from dying, or c.) don't need to be on the field that long to be effective. I back this up with a lot of spells that draw cards and spells that 'X-for-1' in some way to provide card advantage. The biggest con to playing this deck is that if Child gets tucked or shuffled into my library somehow, the deck loses a majority of its staying power and is usually neutralized for the remainder of the game.

Here's the full list.

Now that you've gotten a basic picture, let's dive in and see some details about the 99.

LANDS:

Lands are the most important part of this deck. They're the only permanent Child of Alara doesn't destroy when it boardwipes, and as such provides great opportunities for utility lands to shine. Since I'm running all five colors, getting access to all five of them is vital. As such, I run a lot of nonbasic lands that can tap for multiple colors of mana. This is rather budgeted compared to most five-color decklists I've seen. I don't have the luxury to acquire sets of original duals and fetches, but I haven't had any issues with this current setup.

1-10: Hallowed Fountain, Watery Grave, Blood Crypt, Stomping Ground, Temple Garden, Godless Shrine, Steam Vents, Overgrown Tomb, Sacred Foundry, Breeding Pool

Since their reprinting in Return to Ravnica block, the ten shocklands became much easier to acquire. Thus, I was easily able to trade for a set of them to include in this deck. The fact that they have basic land types is vital, as they become searchable with my ramp spells.

11-16: Seaside Citadel, Arcane Sanctum, Crumbling Necropolis, Savage Lands, Jungle Shrine, Murmuring Bosk

Similarly to the shocklands, the tri-lands also seemed like an auto-include. People tend to forget the "sixth tri-land" Murmuring Bosk. Even if we're not running Treefolk, it still gets the job done. And its a Forest, so its searchable with some of my ramp spells.

17-21: Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Reflecting Pool, Rupture Spire, Transguild Promenade

These lands are included since they can tap for mana of any color.

22-23: High Market, Miren, the Moaning Well

These allow us to sacrifice Child at the drop of a hat. They won't be destroyed from the ensuing boardwipe, and they also can be used to sac creatures that would otherwise be stolen or targeted.

24: Volrath's Stronghold

The best reusable way to reclaim Child from the graveyard, and generally one of the top lands in EDH. Sacrifice Child to either High Market or Miren, place it back on top of your library before your draw step through the Stronghold, then draw him, cast, and repeat as necessary.

25-26: Kor Haven, Prahv, Spires of Order

For those pesky Voltron generals and otherwise troublesome creatures, Kor Haven and Prahv do an excellent job of nullifying them.

27-30: Alchemist's Refuge, Bojuka Bog, Krosan Verge, Reliquary Tower

These four round off the remainder of my utility lands. Alchemist's Refuge is a superior Winding Canyons that allows me to cast anything I want at instant speed, Bojuka Bog is an EDH staple that can deal with problematic graveyard recursion, Krosan Verge is the only real "fetch" that I run in this deck, and Reliquary Tower is another useful EDH staple.

31-40: 2x Plains, 3x Island, 1x Swamp, 1x Mountain, 3x Forest

The last ten slots in my land count are basics, included in the increments that I need based on the majority colors of my spells.

SPELLS:

41-54: Coiling Oracle, Cultivate, Darksteel Ingot, Explosive Vegetation, Kodama's Reach, Mana Reflection, Mirari's Wake, Oracle of Mul Daya, Reap and Sow, Recross the Paths, Skyshroud Claim, Solemn Simulacrum, Urban Evolution, Wood Elves

The ramp package. Pretty standard in terms of spells, allowing me to get my basics out quickly and drop multiple lands a turn. Darksteel Ingot persists through Child's destruction. Oracle of Mul Daya allow me to "dig" through my library when paired with top-card manipulation like Darksteel Pendant and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Skyshroud Claim and Wood Elves get some mileage, as they can hit shocklands. Mana Reflection and Mirari's Wake, despite being permanents and thus weak to Child, can fuel some backbreaking plays if left unchecked.

55-63: Aeon Chronicler, Conflux, Deep Analysis, Fact or Fiction, Mulldrifter, Sphinx of Uthuun, Steam Augury, Time Spiral, Wheel of Fortune

Drawing cards is another key piece of this deck. Aeon Chronicler is a great consistent engine while he's suspended. Conflux allows me to tutor up pretty much anything and everything I need. Everything else is just standard issue.

64-80: Annihilate, Bind, Decree of Justice, Decree of Pain, Dismantling Blow, Dismiss, Exclude, Into the Roil, Nihil Spellbomb, Overwhelming Intellect, Resounding Silence, Resounding Wave, Second Thoughts, Slice in Twain, Squelch, Teferi's Response, Twisted Justice

Cantrips! This is what I was really impressed by in rtsands45's build, and what inspired me to make my own. These cards can cycle and draw cards in addition to being awesome spells. Decree of Justice can win games just by cycling for X at the end of someone's turn, especially if I happen to have Mirari's Wake out. Resounding Silence and Resounding Wave can be used under effects that limit casting spells (I'm looking at you Teferi) via cycling, and can also be near uncounterable when cycled. Bind, Dismiss, Exclude, Overwhelming Intellect, and Squelch are all great counterspells, albeit situational ones. Teferi's Response in particular is really specific, but I guarantee you'll see some form of land destruction in a game from cards like Terastodon or Sylvan Primordial. I might consider including Scatter Arc if I can find room for it. Twisted Justice can also be used to sacrifice Child in the event that one of the sac lands is not available.

81-99: Akroma's Vengeance, Bound // Determined, Colossus of Akros, Constant Mists, Creepy Doll, Cyclonic Rift, Darksteel Colossus, Darksteel Pendant, Eternal Witness, Fracturing Gust, Gift of Immortality, Invulnerability, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Progenitus, Reiterate, Stuffy Doll, Time Stop, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Wurmcoil Engine

Rounding off the rest of my spells are finishers, utility spells, and backup boardwipes. Darksteel Pendant is my budget replacement for Sensei's Divining Top, though I prefer the Pendant thanks to it being indestructible. Cyclonic Rift and Fracturing Gust are boardwipes that provide some advantageous virtual card advantage, and Akroma's Vengeance is a classic. Constant Mists and Invulnerability can protect me in combat situations similarly to Kor Haven and Prahv. Gift of Immortality is dirty in combination with Child, and Bound can be both a sacrifice outlet for Child as well as a way to return him to my hand. Big goofy creatures like Colossus of Akros, Darksteel Colossus, Progenitus, Ulamog, and Wurmcoil Engine stick around after Child clears the field. Creepy Doll and Stuffy Doll are the only creatures that I'm iffy about, but I haven't come across anything in my collection that can replace them as of yet. If I can get my hands on a Blightsteel Colossus, I guarantee that will replace one of them.

And that's the deck! It can a force to be reckoned with once it gets going, though it does have its downsides if it gets focused early or loses access to Child. I've certainly caused my share of headaches with this deck, and I imagine I'll only continue to do so as time goes on. Thanks for reading my first deck tech! I'm open to suggestions if there's a card you think could synergize well with my particular build. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

---

Chad Dominique
CaptainTempest of the Talk Box Podcast
Twitter: @cmdominique
Steam: CaptainTempest

Talk Box Comic: Winter Fun

Happy Holidays!

Deck Tech: Adam's Selesnya Aggro (Standard)

 Hey guys! Welcome to the first edition of Deck Tech. This time we'll be looking at my Selesnya Aggro standard deck. Here is the list:

This is a pretty straight forward aggro deck I put together. The goal of the deck is to get enough creatures out to over run my opponent with damage. Using cards such as Phytoburst, Unflinching Courage and the two Ordeal cars allow me to pump up my creatures for more damage, as well as the Slaighterhorn for Bloodrush. Being a Selesnya deck, I have tokens, which Trostani, Call of the Conclave and Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage help me create. This is the second version of the deck, the first version doing pretty ok in a causal setting. I haven't played it at an FNM yet, so I'm not to sure how this works. I might take a few cards out for my UG deck, but we'll see. The great thing about being aggro, is the relative low mana cost of the cards, hopefully allowing me to get the upper hand.

Any comments, suggestions or praise for the deck? Let me know below. 

Will Over Fear: How The Green Lantern Saved My Life

For those people who know me well, the Green Lantern is my all time favorite superhero. Sure, I get part of my nickname from Captain America, but Cap will never shine the light (pun intended) that Hal Jordan and company have shone in my general direction.
I remember my first encounter with my budding love for the comic. I was at Six Flags with some friends, looking at the capes they had, trying to pick one out for my girlfriend. After deciding to get a little something for myself, my eyes wandered over to some hats on a table. Being a lover of hats, I decided to get one. I reached for a Flash or Batman one (can't recall) when a green snap-back with a black brim caught my eye. The words "Green Lantern" where written across the front in white lettering. Instinct told me to pick it up and purchase it. As fate would have it, I had also started to watch the Green Lantern animated series online, so the fit seemed natural.
Fast forward a month or two. I was at the mall with my girlfriend and her roommate. After aimlessly wandering around Lids for a while, we moved on to Newberry Comics, a favorite store of mine. While there are a billion things in that store I could have purchased, something drew me over to the graphic novels. My eyes scanned the shelves, looking to buy something to start a comic collection. And there it was. Geoff John's 2009 masterpiece of a mini series collected in one book. Blackest Night. I was itching to read it since hearing about it on the internet. I quickly snatched it up and headed to the counter with my purchase. As fate would have it, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights was on sale at FYE, and such began my obsession with the man called Hal Jordan.
There are four main Green Lanterns I could have been drawn to: John Stewart, Kyle Radner, Guy Garner and Hal Jordan. But something about Hal Jordan, The Man Without Fear, drew me to reading his stories. Tales of love and lost, betrayal and defeat, sacrifice and victory flew by my eyes as I read Blackest Night. Something about this man, this fictional character, connected with me on an emotional level. But what was it. Then it clicked. The Man Without Fear. The man who showed tremendous will power, enough to be the first Green Lantern from Earth. The man who lost everything multiple times, only to rise back to his feet and stare evil in the face. The man who looked death in the face multiple times and said "Come and get me". The man, despite all this, still fears for the ones he loves and has moments of self-doubt. The Man Without Fear who was still afraid.
"How could this be?" I thought. "How can the so called Man Without Fear be afraid?" I knew that all superheroes had a flaw, but fear is the natural opposite of will, the core power of the Green Lantern Corps. Then I made the realization that started to change my life. Hal Jordan could overcome fear because of his will power. He took on the emotion that should have been his weakness and turned it into his greatest strength. "If a fictional character could do that," I thought to myself, "why can't I?"
To the people I trust and care about, they know that I struggle with anxiety and some minor depression. It has hindered me in the past, caused me to lose all control and fail miserably at school and some aspects of life. When I made the realization that Hal Jordan and I weren't so different, I had already been kicked out of school the second time, this time for good. I was really down and out, disappointed with myself, looking for someone to blame. I didn't want to continue feeling like a failure. So I made myself a promise. A promise that would help whenever I was feel depressed or anxious, whenever my mind went full throttle and would send me into panic attack. It stated "If Hal Jordan can do what he did, you can accomplish whatever you want." Sure, I still have my major set backs. I haven't accomplished everything I wanted to by now. But I started. With my anxiety acting up at the stupidest things, its a miracle I got done what few things I did. I'm proud of myself for it.
It may be weird that I'm comparing my life to a fictional character, but it works. Whenever I'm down for the count, I put on some music or pick up a book, yet my mind wanders to the Green Lantern. Like him, I am afraid. Afraid of failing again. Afraid of letting my friends and family down. Afraid of letting myself slip into a dark place. My eyes wander over to my book shelf as I write this, knowing that in the many pages that are stored there is a man. A man who can overcome fear and loss. A man who I am glad to say is a hero to me and many other people. I can't say when I will, but one day I will become just like him. A man without fear. A man who can turn his greatest weakness into his greatest strength.
I am Adam Bento. The Green Lantern known as Hal Jordan saved my life. I was pulled out of the darkest period of my life and into the light. I do not know when I will fully come out of it. But when I do, I can say that a fictional man in one of the most influential comic books of the past ten years saved me with one important lesson:

Will Over Fear

Talk Box Comic: Betrayal The Finale

The gang finally beat the scenario...to disappointing results.

Write For Us!

Interested in writing a one-shot article or maybe more? Have an idea for a podcast or a video you want recorded? Or are you the visual arts type and have artwork you want to show off?

SEND IT TO US!

You can send us a message on our Facebook Page or send us an email at talkboxpodcast@gmail.com and we'll get back to you! In the meantime, we have a TON of new stuff planned for the fall, new team members and our second birthday in October! So here's a gif to describe what's going on with the Talk Box:

 

See? Everything is ok!

Talk Box Comic: Betrayal Part 3

Part 3 of our Betrayal Series! Pat has a personal disappointment

Talk Box Comic: Betrayal Part 2

Here's the second chapter of our Betrayal Series!

Man of Steel: Good News For DC

SPOILERS
Let's start with the reaction my inner nerd had: ASGAGSDJAGJKGAKFGAF SOOOO GOOD. Now that's done and over with, let's get serious. Man Of Steel, the latest DC Universe movie, was a great movie. Directed by Zack Snyder, it exceeded my expectations for what I expected. With a great cast this movie is great from start to finish. Sure there are flaws in it, but not big enough ones to take away from the movie. Henry Cavill stars as the title character, with Russell Crowe playing Jor-El, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathon Kent, with Christopher Meloni and Laurence Fishburne  in supporting roles. General Zod, the villain, was played brilliantly by actor Micheal Shannon.
The movie itself was quite jumpy in the beginning. Instead following things chronologically, Snyder kind of jumped around a bit, explaining certain parts of Clark Kent's life through flashbacks. The opening sequence on Krypton was great. The small amount of screen time Crowe and Shannon shared was great. The tension between Zod and Jor-El was very suspenseful, and both their pain was felt. The basic plot-line of the movie was basically given away through the Zod trailer that was released a little before the official one.

So it's clear Zod is looking for Kal-El (Clark). Without giving to much away plotwise, there is a big huge fight, Superman gets the girl, Zod loses and life goes on. The story sticks close to the comics, which is always good and leads to a great movie. I'll give it a B+.
"Why a B+?" you ask. Well there were some issues. Here are where the SPOILERS come in. I felt Lois Lane was too involved with what was going on. Usually she's on the outskirts, panicking with the rest of the city. Also, Lois didn't know Clark was Superman until much later. She found out pretty fast. The biggest problem I had was with the fight. This was the first time I've seen a majority of a city destroyed in a movie. Like wiped off the map kind of destroyed. And Superman does something that I'd never thought I'd see him do. You'll have to figure out what that is yourself.
But this movie is great news for DC. With the success of the Dark Knight trilogy with the success this movie is having, the Justice League movie doesn't seem far off. In fact, I spotted some things in the movie that were actually pointed out the JL movie will most likely happen. While not really spoilers, if you don't want to know, skip past this list:

• There were whales shown waking Superman up= Aquaman
• Wayne Enterprises Satellite= Batman
• Air Force female captain with the name tag "Ferris"= Green Lantern

So these signs are great news for the JL movie. Sure they'll have to reboot Green Lantern, but if Snyder and Dark Knight director Chirstopher Nolan get involved, I see a great Justice League movie to compete with Marvel's Avengers.

All in all, Man of Steel is worth seeing. With a great cast, a riveting plot and enough action to keep you entertained, it's a must see of the summer. Hell, I thought it was better than Iron Man 3. But that's my opinion. Party on kids!

Check out our friend Filmiest's review here
Check out our friend Cinemanja's review here

Talk Box Comic: Betrayal Part 1

Here's Part 1 of our Betrayal series, based on the board game Betrayal In The House on The Hill!

Talk Box Comic: Minecraft with Harry and Adam

Don't be an Adam, be a Harry!

Talk Box Comic: Health Bar

Apparently the guys have health bars, and Ted tries some drastic.

Talk Box Comic: The Life of Harry

Harry can't catch a break.