James

Fusionater likes The Lone Ranger. No, not the old radio show. No, no, not the television show either. …Whats that? No, I’m not referring to the critically acclaimed comic book from a decade ago. No, afraid not. No, good ol’ Fus likes the big screen version from last year. …Yes, that one.
Read the rest of this entry →

For anyone who might dismiss Manic Expression, who might say we’re not that big a site or we don’t get the huge hits of other sites, I’ve got a Second Opinion for you.

…Do you see what I did there? …Because his name, is, uh, Second Opinion…and I want them to also reconsider their opinion…and form a second one. Yep. Read the rest of this entry →

When the trolls try to start trouble with Manic Expression, there is often a go-to “criticism.” We’re the autistic site. Many of our most prominent members fall somewhere on the spectrum, with both Patricia and Jashykins talking openly about living with the condition in Creative Chaos. Trolls are…well…trolls are stupid. They lack imagination, and throwing out the number of our members with autism and aspergers as if it were something we should be ashamed of is them grasping at straws.
Read the rest of this entry →

6. Twilight Zone

Read the rest of this entry →

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – knowing a celebrity is weird. Decker Shado, the guys at ComicBook Cast, Oliver Harper – these people are huge! Some might say, “Now wait a minute, James, these guys aren’t that big. Calling them celebrities is a little misleading. After all, they aren’t Tom Cruise.” Tom Cruise…? What decade do you live in?

The fact of the matter is, in a recent survey done on people 30 and younger, Internet celebrities ranked higher that movie or TV stars. The times aren’t a’changin’, they’re already changed. The world is a different place. It used to be you had to make it big in Hollywood to become a big star. Now the big stars are people who make videos where they talk about movies, politics, or…comic strips. Read the rest of this entry →

I love you guy, I really do. Making Bloodshot has reinforced that feeling. The cast is filled with talented members of this site like Alexthed, Lady Dandy, Gregg, Decker, Mr. Aspiring Actor, Hedonistic Actor, and many more. All of whom have been a joy to work with, turned their lines in early and, if they needed to redo anything, did so without any fuss. Yep, working with Expressionists on a Podcast Play is a joy. Read the rest of this entry →

The entertainment world is in a rapid state of decline. One could argue this is due to the quality of film and television, though that is all a matter of opinion and not mathematical fact. The problem is, frankly, that movies and TV cost more to produce because everyone involved, from the producers to the stars to the FX folks, want more and more money to do their jobs. There’s only one way to pay for that…pass it on to us.

I used to go to a movie almost every week. So far this year I’ve only been to two, Avengers and Prometheus, and there are only a few more I have any desire to see. Why? Yes, there’s the quality issue. I have no desire to see Spider-man get bit again, or to see Will Smith do the Men in Black schtick yet again. But the real reason is money. Taking my whole family to a matinee – a matinee – costs me nearly $30. For Prometheus it was just my girlfriend and I. There were no matinees available. It cost me $25 for two tickets. Not for 3D or IMAX, for regular old 2D on an average screen. We didn’t get popcorn. We didn’t get soda. Those are Minnesota prices by the way. When I took my whole family to go see The Dark Knight we lived in California, and it cost me $60…again, no IMAX, no popcorn, no soda, and that was back in 2008.
Read the rest of this entry →

You guys may not know who Elspeth Weingarten is yet, but you will soon. She joined the site in late December and, since then, hasn’t posted a single blog or video. She hasn’t appeared on Digression Session, she wasn’t interviewed for Creative Chaos. But believe me when I say that she has been invaluable. Read the rest of this entry →

Not every project we undertake at Manic Expression works out. We always give it our best try, but sometimes things just don’t get off the ground. For instance – “The Couch.” This was a support group we tried to get off the ground a while back to help the many members at Manic who suffered from depression or were going through hard times. I asked our expert on all things 80s and 90s (and student of psychology) richb to lead the group. We set up a chat room for him to use, and while a couple people did show up the group folded within the first month. We gave it the old college try, but things don’t always work out.
Read the rest of this entry →

This site thrives on both the old guard and the new blood to survive. I talk about our founding members often. What would Manic Expression be without the FanFic Critic, BigBlackHatMan, Timdiana, Whyboy, Ratin8tor, Fusionator, Kyle, Patricia, Jockerlee, and on and on?

But every now and then someone shows up at this site and shows such enthusiasm and energy that they instantly feel like a member of the family. That’s how I feel about Moderately Annoyed Canadian.

From day one I knew there was something special about this guy. When he signed up I asked him if he needed anything, like a channel or whatever. He was so excited to be a part of this community that his enthusiasm was infectious. At a time when my energy was low and my tank felt empty, his excitement got me excited again.

Since he signed up here, MAC (ha! Just realized those were the initials) and I have stayed in touch regularly. He started coming to me with ideas to help the site. He wanted to pass out fliers at a festival he’d be attending. He planned on proudly wearing some Manic Expression gear. He kept throwing out ideas on how to get our name out there, and every time I received an email from him I knew that when I opened it I’d feel the way I did the day I started this site: Filled with hope and convinced that the potential of this place was unlimited.

When MAC asked to become a moderator I gladly granted his request. On a team like ours you need people who believe in the cause, and it was clear that MAC did. He recognized what we strive for here at Manic Expression: A site where everyone has a voice and can express themselves without fear or being trolled and bullied. He believed in what we were doing, and he wanted to be a part of it.

I’ve seen a lot of hate out there in The Web. I’ve seen it directed at strangers, at friends, at myself. I see it and I always wonder, “Why?” Why can’t every site be like Manic Expression? Why must so many sites be overrun by those who thrive on anger and the torment of others?

MAC asks this same question, and I’m glad to say that he doesn’t have an answer. He doesn’t understand that kind of cruelty because he doesn’t possess an ounce of it himself. That’s why I’m so proud to count him among our members.

You’re a good man, Moderately Annoyed Canadian.

Everyone should support MAC’s website, which we are proud to call a partner.

One of the main tenets of Manic Expression has always been “no stars.” If you’re someone whose work gets a thousand hits or none, you’re treated equal here.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have stars though. Oliver Harper gets tons of hits on YouTube. Decker Shado is the Internet personality with the best hair…the best. Patricia just interviewed April friggin’ O’Neil! We’ve got stars here, big stars. Anyone said hi to Nica Noelle yet? She writes for the Huffington Post and is an award winning porn actress.
Hold it! Wait! You can email her later. We’ve got someone else here we need to honor first.
When it comes to star power here at Manic Expression, few can compare to the crew at ComicBook Cast. This month we salute Armin, their fearless leader. CBC has nearly 30,000 subscribers on YouTube. Their videos get tens of thousands of hits. When YouTube star ComicBookGirl19 did her review of Man of Steel, she included clips from a other reviews. Among the heavy hitters there were the Red Letter Media guys, the Schmoes, Turner Classic Movie’s Ben Mankiewicz…and Armin. Armin was in there too. The dude is a rock star.
Armin has a reputation as kind of a prickly guy (a word of warning: don’t mention Dark Knight Rises to him). He has his opinions and he lets them be known. Should you be on the wrong side of that opinion, you may not like what he has to say. He won’t care. His opinion does not require your approval, and he’ll let you know it.
However, some people dismiss Armin’s criticism without hearing him out. Most think he loathed Man of Steel, while in reality he gave it a fairly high rating. Most think he’s taking interviews with assassins so he can rid the world of Christopher Nolan. Actually he’s a big fan of the man, just not of the man’s fans. Most dismiss him as a Marvel fanboy who hates all things DC. Wrong. His favorite superhero is Aquaman.

Armin doesn’t sugarcoat his opinions, and while he may get heated in his videos he’ll always do his best to back up what he’s saying. Most trolls see him as an easy target because he’s passionate, and if there is one thing trolls don’t understand it’s passion. They see passion as blind hatred, like what they feel, and they long to start a flame war. If they’d listened to the whole video they would have known better. Armin isn’t spewing hatred, he’s expressing his love of comics and the mythology they’ve spawned.

As you all know by now, Manic Expression is launching a YouTube channel today. This was not my idea, this was Armin’s. I went to him and asked him for advice. I wanted to know how he made CBC what it was. Honestly, I never expected to hear back from the man. “He’s busy,” I thought.

Busy? Yes. Too busy for me? No.

We met on Skype. He laid out a pathway to bring a bigger audience to Manic Expression, as well as the possibility of finally turning a profit. Not only was he prepared to help by offering me advice, he said he’d promote Manic Expression through CBC, and even better he offered to be a part of our YouTube channel. He even edited the channel’s trailer.

Becoming successful on the Internet has the same drawbacks as becoming successful anywhere else. It’s easy to forget who you are and where you came from. It’s easy to forget that not that long ago you were just like everyone else, making videos no one watched or writing blogs no one read. When tens of thousands of people are watching every video you post, I can imagine it would be easy for that to go to your head.

I knew Armin before ComicBook Cast blew up, and I can honestly say he’s the same guy. Busier, but the same guy. When I asked for help he didn’t see me as some pissant to be ignored. Many people, when they walk through the doors of success, want to lock that door behind them. Armin wanted to help. He wanted to help me. He wanted to help this site. He wanted to help you. He’s a hell of a nice guy.

…Seriously though, don’t mention Dark Knight Rises to him.