NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Spider-Man, Lootcrates, and new comics
Aug 21, 2019, 7:37 am
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Half way through, how we looking world?
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week I found a very odd thing that I want to point everyone's attention towards, it's this Saturday's James Harden & Friend's Charity Concert w/ Secret Special Guests. It's at Revention Music Center and it's at 6 p.m. on Saturday and tickets are on sale. That's literally ALL of the info. I don't know yet who it benefits or who is performing, but I do love a good mystery. Check it out!
FALL OF THE LOOTCRATE
Many moons ago on my show Nerd Thug Radio, I told people that the rumors circulating were that Loot Crate was having trouble paying their bills. Which is always bad news but honestly not always the end. So after some time passed I honestly thought they had figured some stuff out because they still existed, until suddenly influencers weren't getting their free boxes and people were complaining about repeat items in their boxes from previous boxes. Suddenly boxes started slipping behind on their schedule also, later and later until, not at all. So now Lootcrate it slowly winding down, they've announced bankruptcy and are trying to take care of open orders and owed boxes but are also doing layoffs and winding down things. It's unclear if they'll be able to honor all the open orders still remaining but they sound like they're going to try. Quote of the whole story, a former employee was on reddit saying they knew it was bad when their boss was sending job postings to apply at while at work.
BIG FIRST STEP
Comixology announced they are debuting four original series in September. They had mentioned before they were going to shift from media distributor to content creator as well, awhile back and this appears to be the first big stab in that direction. Comixology has a strong indy scene and they have an open submission process they work through with anyone, allegedly. This is their first genuine attempt to launch what seems to be content they had a hand in also producing. One of the books is by friend of the show Vita Ayala. Her first comic book was a Nerd Thug Radio favorite and we spent some time talking to her at Comicpalooza two years ago and since that time she has exploded all over comic books! You need to make you check her out give her new book Quarter Killer a looksie on September 26th!
SONY'S TANGLED WEB
Disturbing news out of Hollywood, Sony and Disney are going to cancel their deal and Spider-man will no longer be a part of the MCU moving forward. This is an absolute moron of a move by Sony, who hasn't gotten Spider-Man right on their own either time they tried it. Tom Holland has one more solo Sony film on his contract and it's unclear what direction he'll take from there, but this is obviously a huge blow. The root of the conflict stems from Disney wanting some of that box office cheddar that Marvel left on the table the first go round. In the first deal, Disney got all the merchandising and Sony got 95% of the box office money with Disney getting 5% of the first weekend sales. In the new deal it seems like Disney was asking for 50% of the box office haul, Sony has a mixed bag with the Spider-Man rights as their other Spider projects have gone OK but Disney had much more success with Spidey than Sony ever did alone. This is a bad move on their part.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Got new pages in for issue #2 of Another Day at the Office and I love them!! They're gorgeous!! So pumped guys, so pumped!
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Winning consecutive series over last place teams does not mean all is well again in Astroworld, but taking five of seven games from the Orioles and Rockies stopped the bleeding which saw the Astros stumble through an awful 14-23 stretch. The regular season is now in its final month, the Astros are in the middle of three different playoff races. The high-end goal is finishing with one of the two best records in the American League to secure a bye past the two out of three lightning round Major League Baseball calls the Wild Card Series. Entering the holiday weekend the Astros sit four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half back of the Detroit Tigers. If the Astros can’t overtake either the Jays or Tigers, they at least want to hold off Seattle to win the American League West. Winning the division for an eighth consecutive full season would be its own accomplishment, for the postseason it would at least assure the Astros of homefield advantage in a best-of-three. The race the Astros hope to need to pay little attention to is holding off Kansas City for the final wild card spot. That would be necessary should the Astros lose out on the division title to the Mariners, and finish behind both the second and third place finishers in the AL East in the wild card race, presently the Red Sox and Yankees. The M’s, Bosox, and Yanks all finishing ahead of the Astros is a clear possibility. The good news on that front is the Astros holding a five game lead over the Royals with 28 games to go, though Kansas City does win the tiebreaker should it come to that. The Astros have a significantly easier closing schedule than do the Royals. The Astros have just six games left against teams that would currently qualify for the postseason. The Royals have 12. So to miss the playoffs entirely the Astros basically have to fold, and/or the Royals need to play four weeks of spectacular baseball.
Yordan Alvarez’s looooong awaited return is a big boost to the lineup. Even if he isn't peak Yordan, his presence matters. His missile of a home run to centerfield was the wow moment of his return series, but Alvarez drawing five walks in nine plate appearances speaks to what opponents think of him. Still, offense remains an Astro struggle all too often. The Rockies have the worst pitching staff in MLB. The Astros managed nine runs in three games against it. At least that was enough to win two out of three. 67 times this season the Astros have scored three or fewer runs, equaling their three or fewer total of the entire 2024 season. For a good while this year the Astros were winning an amazing percentage of their games where the offense did little. At one point the Astros were 19-27 when scoring three or fewer, which was stunning success and as I wrote at the time, wholly unsustainable. Since then, the Astros have lost 20 of the last 21 games in which they failed to score four.
Christian Walker’s power surge has been a boon, of late helping offset Jose Altuve’s slump (just 10 hits in his last 60 at bats heading into the Angels series) and Carlos Correa’s lack of thump (just two extra base hits and a sub-.700 OPS over his last 15 games). Over 46 games played from July 1 through Thursday, Walker has been very good hitting .279 with an .859 OPS. That doesn't undo his being wretched through June, but credit where credit is due.
Alvarez is the big bopper (remember the ex-Astro who had that nickname?) addition to Joe Espada's lineup cards, but Jake Meyers could be a lower key big return as well next week. To call Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton poor offensive players this season would be an understatement along the lines of saying Yao Ming is above average in height. When Meyers blew out his right calf it short-circuited what was his breakout big league season. Even if Meyers can't regain that form, by accident he'll still be better than what McCormick and Melton have provided.
After finishing up with the Angels on Labor Day, the Astros get the Yankees for three big games at Daikin Park starting Tuesday. Hunter Brown starting Sunday means he will not pitch against the Yankees. That's not a mistake, it's just how the rotation falls. It will be a mistake if the Astros' brain trust doesn't properly map out starting pitching ahead of the massive matchups against the Mariners September 19, 20, 21 and make sure both Brown and Framber Valdez start games in that series. After this homestand wraps, the Astro have only six home games remaining versus 15 on the road.
Oh yeah. Glenn Davis was "The Big Bopper."
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!