What is Fangasm? Well, the theories and speculations have been buzzing about since the show first gave us teasers. Many of us at Girls of Geek12, had their own theories, and well, I know I was way off.

As it turns out, the show is about seven interns who come to work for Stan Lee's Comickaze Con. This week's episode was about introducing the interns and getting them to work. While Stan couldn't meet with them in person, he skyped with them on their very first meeting.

Andrew, Dani, Mike, Kristen, Sal, Molly, and Paul, are the lucky interns who get to work for the Generalisimo himself. This week they were tasked with getting a petition signed to have "Geek Pride Day" made into an official holiday!

But, of course, things never go smoothly. On their way to the event, the interns forget the petition papers and have to improvise. Which, they do, with notebooks! Regina, the head of the interns, decides that this is better than nothing, but she'd prefer they not mess that up, again. And all is well.

Or is it? What!? More drama!? Of course, a show's not complete without a little drama now and again. While out and about, Mike, Paul and Sal, come across a flyer at a local comic shop. With a price of meeting George Takei, Dani, Mike, Paul, Sal, and Andrew head off to the comic shop to compete for the chance to meet a huge Sci-fi star, and Andrew's personal hero.

In the end, it's Paul who wins the dinner (not through some awesomeness from Sal!) and boy does he have an amazing dinner with George Takei. After, Takei asks to see this apartment and if he can meet the other interns. Paul, being the awesome guy that he is, is more than happy to bring George Takei back to the interns apartment.

There's a lot of hugging. a lot of squeeing, and a lot of tears. Andrew is not quite star struck, as he's more in utter shock at meeting his hero. After Takei leaves, there are tears from all, (even me) and a giant group bonding moment.

With all these warm and fuzzies, its no wonder why this show's already stolen my heart. I'm excited to see where it goes. And any excuse to make my besets friend in the world (Mattie) watch a new show, never hurts!

My favorite part of the evening, however, was getting to tweet with Paul (@realpaulperkins) while watching Fangasm. He actually tweeted back! I'm still nerding out about the utter awesomeness of that experience. Paul, darling, you made my whole week!

Tonight has been a night in the making. I've personally been waiting for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the first announcement about this shortly after The Avengers stopped being in theaters. And, let me tell ya, tonight did not disappoint! 

Phil lives! But of course, we have all known this for some time. It doesn't take away from the over all, utter geek-moment, that happens when he first appears on screen. Agent Phil Coulson is one of my personal, absolute, favorite Marvel characters in the history of ever. Ever since his small role in Iron Man, Phil has been a character that has grown near and dear to my heart. It's only fitting he gets his own show. I forgive Joss for killing him in The Avengers, which totally made me cry.

So how did Phil survive? Well, good question. Maria Hill certainly knows, as does some other agents, but we, do not. Not yet, anyway. But the first episode offer's us promise in finding out. Phil makes his awesome entrance and we get to see Melinda May jump back into action along side Grant Ward, (just the best spy since the Black Widow, according to Coulson) Leo Fitz, and Jemma Simmons.

This half hazard team put together by Phil has to find the computer hacker, Skye, who's helping a 'superhero' Michael. All to uncover the 'Centipede Project'. Which combines all the wonderful things in Marvel's Avengerverse, by making mock superhuman abilities in people. With a nasty side effect….subjects eventually blow up. Literally, BOOM.

All of course, ends well. They stop Michael from exploding, Skye is convinced by Phil to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and we're stuck waiting an entire week for another episode!

How cruel is that!?

So far, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is offering a lot of promise for a strong first season. I'm absolutely stoked to get to watch this show. The only problem I'm having is waiting for Mattie to get off work so I can geek out with her!

The second part of Kansas City Comic Con a.k.a. Planet ComiCon finishes off the season finale of Heroes of Cosplay. There's a strange sadness that accompanies tonight's show. As if the show is leaving an empty slot in Tuesday nights. Or the lack of random TV drama about Cosplayers. But hey! There'll be more…

So! Tonight we start out with the heart warming-est proposal of all times. Victoria's boyfriend of seven years pops the question with the help of Peter Mayhew. It was nerdy. They were in costume. I totally may have wibbled just a little bit. 

But! The ever happy beginning was not meant to last. Everyone comes together for a group get together. And by everyone, it's Team LA and Team Atlanta who go out for some fun hang out time. Jessica and Holly comfort Monika on her being rude to Becky over the whole 'partners' thing. And in a matter of seconds, everyone jumps on Monika about being an Elitist jerk. Monika does apologize (in an interview) about how she made Becky feel. For once, the group comes together to defend everyones right to cosplay which is a bit ironic given some of what had been said on previous episodes.

Later we come to find that Becky slept with her costume contacts in and Rikki is sick with the flu. Jessica and Holly haven't finished their costumes; we meet Yaya's fiancé (who is a complete surprise) and that's…about it…or is it? 

Becky heads to the hospital to get the contacts out and fix her eyes, hopefully. Yaya threatens to call the whole thing off as Rikki locks herself in the bathroom and loses everything in her stomach (if there was anything to begin with) and it's a mad scramble to figure everything out.

As luck would have it, Becky returns just before the prejudging ends. Rikki pulls herself together for their pre-judging and it looks like everything is all set. Competitions start and it's a whirl wind of amazing costumes. Team Atlanta (Yaya, Rikki, and Monika) make a splash with their skit. Even though Yaya's crown falls off halfway through, they manage to pull a win.

Team LA, not to be outdone, however, did an amazing job. But just before they get the chance to go on stage, more drama strikes. Random audience members yell at the out-of-towners; telling them to 'go home'. Which causes some drama with other competitors back stage. The confrontation leaves Becky in tears, just before their skit starts. Infuriating Jess and Holly more than anything. As, to them, cosplay is about community, coming together, dressing up, and having fun. There's no need to cut others down.

Granted there are two sides to every story. What's shown on camera is not always the full truth. The message still stands. No need to hate. Doesn't matter where you're from, who you are, or what your cosplay skill level is. It's all about having a good time and being with your fellow nerds.

And that is the note the show ends on. Which is awesome and sad all at the same time. Without the weekly drama of backstabbing crap talk, unfinished costumes, and the rushed time lines, what will our Tuesday nights be filled with?

Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find something to hold us off until season 2.  At least, I hope there is a season 2.

The con so big, they split it into two episodes. That's right, Heroes of Cosplay this week was the first of a two parter. That just meant twice the drama right? Probably. Let's begin! 



First off we have two teams. L.A. VS Atlanta (more like Hotlanta!), that's right, we have Team L.A.: Jessica, Holly, and Becky. They're doing a How to Train Your Dragon cosplay skit for Planet ComiCon in Kansas City. Becky tackles being Astrid, while Jessica and Holly take on, none other than the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Plus a dragon boat…thing. They have yet to finish said dragon, so it's hard to tell what it will be, just yet. 

Team Hotlanta is tackling Alice in Wonderland based off the Alice game. Yaya's decided this will be her debut back into competition, and thus, she must be the Red Queen. Monika takes on the role of a feminized (nice way of saying 'sexy') version of the Cheshire Cat. Leaving Riki with Alice and her infamous meat dress. Yes, that's what they're calling it; meat dress. This, does not sit well with the aspiring prop master; but she's decided to quietly (unless interviewed about it) take one for the team.

Jesse decides to take the individual rout, determined to actually win this con. Being the ever clever craftsman he is, Jesse decides he needs to do something not seen before. So he decides to go in the form of Edward Kenway from the long awaited Assassin's Creed 4. As it is pirate themed, and he was feeling very pirate-y this episode. Also, Jesse seems overly attacked to his facial hair and wanted a costume where he didn't have to shave.

Always the master costumer, Victoria decides to make a dress out of comic book pages. Yep; because Victoria wanted to take the 'comic book hero' literally….Her Wonder Woman like design, made from nothing but the comic book pages, will surely make a splash. It may even be finished on time!  But don't hold your breath….no seriously…don't.

Chloe makes her triumphant return! (It's triumphant because she's my favorite!) with her costume, Gaige from Borderlands 2 and Death trap, the robot! We also find out that her dad worked on the props for the original Star Wars films, which makes her twice as cool as anyone else on the show.

Meanwhile Becky--wait, didn't we cover Becky? Oh, we did briefly but there's more.

Planet ComiCon is so large and awesome, it has two costume contests. Day 1, individuals. Day 2, groups. Becky pulls out her Elisabeth costume from Bioshock Infinite and spruces it up. Her boyfriend makes a podium that shoots out rose petals. Why? I haven't a clue why Becky does what she does.

All this recap, where's the drama? Monika and Riki bash on Becky's inability to do decent costumes while shopping with Yaya. Yaya is greatly displeased with the lack of effort Monika and Riki seem to be putting into their skit (which has her not complaining about Monika's slutty versions of characters). While Riki complains about the costume she chose to do and how it's not 'portfolio worthy'. Yaya spends a great deal of her time lamenting about possibly not winning the contest. As, apparently, a lot of people would like to see her fail. Holly and Jess have a 'prop building' party in order to help get the 'dragon boat' finished in time. Becky seems stretched thin in making the two costumes. Jesse whines about not winning his last two cons, and decides to go all out for this costume. And Victoria…is Victoria; who in, classic Victoria style, doesn't finish her costume in time.  See, I told you not to hold your breath.

First day of custom contests kicks off with the individuals. With little drama but remember, this is just part one! Chloe wins first place in the video game category, Jesse wins third, and Becky and Victoria walk away with nothing. But in a heart warming turn of events (boo, we want drama!) Victoria decides that winning isn't as important as having fun. Jesse on the other hand, is stoked that he finally won something. His purpose being validated he can now have a good convention.

Part one leaves us with warm and fuzzies…and a craving for everything to fall apart. Part two offers just that. According to the sneak peak of next weeks drama.

Which brings me to some exciting news! In honor of the second half of Planet ComiCon (the con so big, they broke it into two parts) I will be LIVE next week, 8pm (mountain time!) on Twitter! So come join me, @Soralostsoul, in the first ever Girls of Geek, Heroes of Cosplay Tweet event! Though, without any more costumes to not finish, Victoria may not even be in the episode there will still be plenty of drama to tweet about!

Will Yaya fail? Will team L.A. win!? Will Victoria EVER finish a costume before con? We can only hope for these questions and more to be answered…on next weeks show.

Star Trek was one of the first science fiction franchises I was introduced to as a child and of all of them it has stayed with me the longest.  In fact I cannot remember the last time I missed the opportunity to watch the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the big screen and this year was no exception with the release of Star Trek Into Darkness and well, I loved it.  The Blu-ray will soon be mine but I was stunned to learn the other day that I am clearly in the minority on this one.  I just read many an article on how fans voted this one the worst Star Trek film of them all and quite frankly I'm stunned.  By no means is Into Darkness a perfect Trek but I don't think it's the worst. 

Now I can understand the ire of fans when it comes to the fact that this movie is in essence a remake of The Wrath of Khan, but I don't think that is the only issue at hand when it comes to this film because that is what it is.  We can't change that fact and I find it interesting no one seems to throw up their arms in disgust that Star Trek 2009 is in and of itself a remake of the whole damn franchise.  

But I digress.  I don't think the core issue is Khan.  I think that this goes deeper.  In fact I think that the real issue at hand here is that Into Darkness in many ways abandons the Roddenberry Edict of the entire series that the 23rd Century must be full of harmony and peace and the Federation and Starfleet can do no wrong.  

I'm glad the film decided to go against that grain.  Yes Star Trek as a show shows us an incredible future free of the worst parts of humanity and yes the best episodes speak to the times but the utopia vision does not fit the times and it has not for many years.  We have seen our society evolve in ways we never expected through technology and in ideology.  We cling to what we believe in now more than I have ever seen before.  We hold those ideals so close to the chest that it leads to conflict that is almost mind boggling and the film picks up on that.  Admiral Marcus is the embodiment of that as is Starfleet's decision to make use of Khan, along with the role of Section 31, Starfleet's version of the C.I.A., and to build the U.S.S. Vengeance are moves so out of line with what we have come to expect from Star Trek that I think it caught every single fan off guard to see the vaunted United Federation of Planets allowing this kind of behavior.   

This is not the vision of the future we were introduced to so many years ago.  No, instead this is a future that reflects who we are today.  

As much as I want to see a world just like The Original Series portrays it won't ever quite be like that in two centuries.  I'm sure there will be progress and I'm sure the world will indeed be a better place and I hope we are among the stars.  But it won't be perfect, it will take many more years after that to remove the hate and foolishness from mankind.   But we can certainly head toward it and as I mentioned in my original review of the movie, that's what makes the film work.  The fact that Kirk and Company stand up to Admiral Marcus' twisted vision of abandoning exploration for war and the trials they have to go through to get it all in the name of a better tomorrow.   

I understand we want the utopia.  I understand we want these movies to feel like they did growing up.  But they don't and they won't and that's a good thing.  They have grown with us and with the world around us and that's what Star Trek was always about, the struggle to hold on to the greatest parts of our humanity and the sacrifices we must make to keep them.  Star Trek Into Darkness is a dreary film in many ways and at the same time it speaks to a world that we will someday enjoy, but most importantly it speaks volumes about the human adventure and speaks to the fact that we are still afraid of tomorrow, of what's out there and of the unknown.  But that we are also afraid of seeing all that we have worked for disappear into the night and that there are so many of us out there willing to fight to the end to make sure that never happens.   

That is as noble a vision as any for our future and it holds true to the ideals of the franchise.  Time will be the final test for Star Trek Into Darkness and I can only hope that eventually the ire toward the film dies down and it can be viewed objectively and appreciated for doing what Star Trek does best...challenging us. 

This week,  Heroes of Cosplay goes to Anime Matsuri in Houston, Texas! It's one of the biggest Anime conventions around, and not just because it's in Texas!  This week the fun Heroes suit up, anime style! Okay, almost all of them…..okay, all of them except for Jessica and Holly. They catsuit it up! Only…as cats….modeled after Cats, the musical!

Yaya the Han-ificant, having worked on her action figure last week, takes to a photo shoot for her 2014, Yaya-tastic calendar. Why? Because sex sells….and she makes sure to show off her amazing cosplays….and cosplay 'accessories.' After that she gets ready to be this year's guest judge at Matsuri Con!

But she's not the only guest judge. Matsuri has more than one costume competition. Before the big competition; Marvel has their own costume contest. This year, Becky was asked to be their guest judge by Matsuri. She pulls together a sexy Black Widow to do that judging.

But wait, this all seems relatively drama free?

Don't worry. The drama is coming.

Jessica and Holly decide that working together is better than working apart. However, just two weeks before Anime Matsuri, they were asked by Guillermo del Toro to do a human sized monster for a viral YouTube video for Pacific Rim. Their company, Crabcat Industries, worked tirelessly to get the perfect monster for the video. Holly and Jess personally attended the shoot and made sure everything was spot on. And immediately after it was done, they flew out to Texas for the con.

Victoria and Monika team up for a Fushigiyugi (say that three times fast) cosplay. However, nothing ever goes smoothly for Victoria. Just two weeks before Matsuri (because everything happens just two weeks before) she's asked by WizardWorld to come work for their con, which is a week before Matsuri. She, of course, says yes. Which leaves a very paranoid Monika wondering if pairing up with Victoria was the right choice. Monika spends 90% of the episode worrying and criticizing Victoria for her constant inability to get a cosplay done on time. Victoria assures her she'll have the costume ready before the con starts.

Fast forward to first day of the convention and low and behold, Victoria is finishing her costume, in the room. Which, maybe if we started it, you know, earlier; say, not 2 weeks before the con, we might have a fully finished costume…haha, that's not true! Costumes are almost always finished in con rooms!

The building drama and tension between the two climbs! Monika finds out Becky is a guest judge for the Marvel Costume Contest. This doesn't sit well, as she bashes Becky's craftsmanship to Victoria. Later Becky stops by to see the pair, only to ask if Monika would team up with her for Planet Comic Con. Monika tells her exactly what she told Victoria. Leaving Becky to storm out of the room, almost in tears.

Meanwhile, Jess and Holly drive on little/no sleep, finish their Cats inspired meme cosplays, and hit the contest. Turns out, Jess is allergic to wool. Which is what she make their cat wig…head…ears?…….things with! As the day goes on, she gets sicker and sicker. Until finally, she's throwing up in the costume contest line.

None of them place, however Victoria and Monika pull a dance/skit out of their butts at the last second, to showcase their pretty costumes. Jess powers through her bad allergic reaction to perform their really weird meme-cat-inspired interpretive dance routine (which has Yaya and the audience confused) and Becky doesn't participate.  But she does stop by after the contest that nobody placed in to see how Jess is doing. Holly offers for her to join them for their group cosplay for Planet Comic Con in Kansas City. Dun, dun, DUNNNNNN!!!!

Jesse returns next week (supposedly) and at least Holly, Jessica, Becky and Monika will be there. Yaya maybe, but Victoria? at this point it's all up in the air. Maybe Riki and Chloe will make a return! Bring back Chloe! she's my favorite!

The drama continues! Until next week!