To continue with the Borderlands theme that we seem to have going, this week Adam and Shawn attend the monthly Borderlands Geek Triva Night at Fitzpatrick’s Irish Pub. How did they do? You’ll have to listen to find out. In short, not well.
Runtime 28 minutes 52 seconds
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 Filed in Audio, Discussions, Events 
Who knew there were so many comics about bears attacking people?Adam and Shawn (drinking the Adagio tea of Cara McGee) attended the annual Borderlands Comics and Games sale in Greenville, SC. Like the years before it in stock were thousands and thousands of 3 for $1 comics. As a special bonus this year Borderlands’ owner Rob Young dropped prices for the last hour to 10 for $1. It looks like it pays to dig all day as long as you can overlook the back pain and sinus damage.
Runtime 1 hour 32 minutes 17 seconds
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Filed in Audio, Discussions 
Art Stolen From Chris SchweizerJoin Adam and Shawn as they discuss the nominees for the 2012 Dollar Bin Awards. Afterward we get to know Dollar Bin contributor Brian a little better by discussing with him his favorite character.
Runtime 44 minutes 30 seconds
adam, discussion, shawn 
Image from Heroes Aren’t Hard to FindThis week the Dollar Bin meets up for the first time in a few and it’s all thanks to Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find’s not so Minicon. This year we dug the boxes, hit up the artists, rained the money, and didn’t record any of it. What we bring you instead is the mind of Jason Wheatley.
Runtime 50 minutes 4 seconds
Friday, December 28, 2012 Filed in Review 
I love a good anthology but the problem is publishers rarely do them these days. The idea of bringing
together a variety of writers and artists to contribute variations on a central theme guided by the singular vision of a central editor means that there will always be something for everyone and if you don’t like one story don’t worry; another story by a different writer/artist combination will be coming up shortly. The newest 400+ page anthology by Dark Horse is that rare book where you won’t be skipping over certain stories as each one of the over 25 different tales is a wonderful little reading experience all on its own. I firmly believe that this collection of stories will help to solidify Dark Horse Comic’s reputation as one of the most important producers of comics literature today.
The original intent of fairy tales was to impart values or lessons upon young children in a way that is entertaining for them by using characters the young listeners can relate to. Why else are the main characters all so young in the stories? What is the story of Pinocchio if not a way to remind young boys of the importance of being good wrapped in an entertaining package? That version might have been fine 200 years ago but what child now has ever seen a wooden toy much less played with one? What if, instead of a wooden boy, Pinocchio were a computer program learning how to interact with 
He wants to be a real little boy.humans and what would he need to learn to be a good son to his “father”? Now THAT is a version of Pinocchio that children today can read and enjoy. These are the types of questions editor Andrew Carl and producer Chris Stevens have charged this gathering of over 90+ writers and artists to answer.
Some of these stories are just plain silly while others will leave you pondering what it means to be human. Some will cause you to put down the book and think about how hard it can be to go forward another day for someone else despite your own pain or how your story might not be about you at all. The majority of the stories are just too short and I wanted more, but that’s a good problem to have. When you leave the reader wanting more that means you’ve done something right.
Unfortunately I do have two major problems with the book. First off a lot of the entries are single
Come on, just TELL me you don’t want to know more about this story. page splashes that are incredibly cool but that’s all we get. How can you tease me with something as awesome as a Humpty Dumpty pin up by Ryan Ottley and leave me hanging? I can only hope that if there is a volume two these pin ups serve as a spring board for the next round of tales.
My second problem with this collection is that there is no back story. And by that I mean: How were the writers and artists chosen? How were the assignments handed out? What was the genesis of the project? If you do an anthology like this I think the back story, the in between, and the thoughts of the editors is every bit as vital as the stories themselves and without it this volume only feels mostly completed.
Should you buy this then? Well it is $25.00 but for that price you get over 400 pages of story none of which wear out their welcome and in my opinion comics needs a break from the endless parade of meaningless mega crossovers that happen every other year and need to get back to doing what they can do better than any other medium: give adult and children both a wonderful reading experience. And if the promotional video found here doesn’t make you want to read it nothing I say can change your mind
Anthology, dark horse comics, once upon a time machine Monday, December 24, 2012 Filed in Lists ;)
Sadly the holiday season is upon us and that means gatherings, shopping and gift giving for a variety of friends, co-workers and family. If you are lucky, you have some nerds on your list so you can buy some fun stuff and not just suffer in stores you don’t like all season. With that in mind, here is a helpful list of some fun items featuring or inspired by Marvel Comics characters for the Avenger on your list in escalating price order.
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12) Everybody loves candy!
Well not everybody, for some people it can even be a health concern, but I’m sure you have someone on your list that likes it. Everyone also has people on their list they want or need to get something for but cheaply. Something like character based Pez dispensers are cheap and even somewhat thoughtful if you pick an appropriate character. It says “hey I like you enough to know you love Iron Man but not enough to spend more than $5”, and there is nothing wrong with saying that.
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11) Everyone loves toys!
There are many different levels of toy lovers or toy collectors. Let’s just talk basic for now, and say that everyone likes toys and everyone sees how much better they seem to get the older you get. A thoughtful or cool gift can always be a small toy for someone’s desk at home or work, their keyring or where ever the “action” in action figure takes them. Hasbro’s line of small Marvel Universe figures are an awesome way to give the geek on your list a tiny hero or villain to hang-out with. You can find these things at any Wal-mart, Target, toy store or even hunt them on E-bay. There have been hundreds of these released by now, plus they aren’t just limited to the comic versions either, you can buy them styled like many of the Marvel movie universe characters too.
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10) Everybody drinks something!
Not everyone drinks coffee but everyone seems to have coffee mugs. Or perhaps a beer mug, shot glass or for the healthier types a fancy water bottle is more their speed. Which ever beverage direction you choose to travel, the point is you can be geeky about it. Your choices here might be limited to major characters with a gift like this, but if you have a lover of beverages on your list that loves a Marvel movie you can probably find them something.
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9) If they be worthy!
Why not buy them Thor’s hammer? Well at least the toy version, I don’t think Odin is selling the real deal at the Asgardian flea-market. You can buy a Nerf version for softly smiting foes or a plastic one that makes “battle noises”. There are Mjölnir bottle openers, key rings, paper weights and even one filled with candy! I have one of the Nerf-ish versions and have won many glorious battles with it.
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8) Some of us love toys more than others…
If you have someone really into toys on your list, Marvel really has a lot to offer in their Marvel Legends and Marvel Select lines. These are going to be a bit (or a lot) more expensive than the smaller toys we recommended earlier, but they are bigger “fancier” figures. And again for fans of the movies more than the comics you’ll have the option of buying them “movie Thor” instead of “comic Thor” if you need to make that sort of distinction.
7) Support their favorite comic shop!
Gift certificates are not bad gifts, because even gift certificates can be thoughtful. Giving someone a gift card to their favorite restaurant or in this case their favorite comic shop means you want to treat them to something you know they’d really enjoy. Plus it can be really difficult to buy a comic fan a book or trade that they don’t have, so giving them the funds to do that themselves is a good present.
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6) The Avengers! Available now on Blu-Ray & DVD!
If you have someone on your list that loved this movie and does not own it, and your price range for them is $20-30, just go ahead and buy this. Seriously it was great, every geek should own it and maybe they’ll even watch it with you.
5) Everybody needs clothes right?
You can skip this one if you are shopping for a Spider-man fan living at a nudist colony. However for most people clothes are something we need to have, so they might as well fit our personality right? Buying comic related clothing used to be a lot harder, but the hardest part now is remembering what size the people on your list wear. But remember to try to fit the clothing item to the person not only in size but if the nerd level of the clothing matches their personal level of in public geek level.
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4) Help them join the Avengers!
Do you know one of those “active” gamer types with a Wii or X-Box Kinect? Have they ever wondered how tired Chris Evans got of pretending to throw a shield for movie fight scenes? If so they are in luck because thanks to the motion gaming craze they can help save the world in the new Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth video game! Sadly if they are a PS3 owner and or lazy like myself you’ll be left out of this adventure, but perhaps there is an alternative…
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3) Deadpool…the video game?!?
Marvel’s very own merc with a mouth gets his own video game this year and it’s kind of a big deal. To the best of my knowledge this will be the first Marvel character not named Spider-man to get his own solo game that is not a movie tie-in. With the character’s propensity towards over the top comedy and violence he is a good choice or his own game. And who knows? If it sells and reviews well, it could lead to a slew of new Marvel games. So if you’ve got a comic loving gamer on your list in the $60 price range, hopefully this will be a game worth giving.
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2) For the Sam Jackson or David Hasselhoff fan on your list…
Besides being a BMF, Samuel L Jackson has been in more Marvel films than anyone not named Stan Lee. So what better gift to give your favorite fan of those mighty Marvel movies than a Nick Fury related replica? You could go the cheap and funny route by just giving them an eye-patch or you could cough up $150 or so and give them his gun!
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1) Who doesn’t want to be Tony Stark?
Well I don’t actually have a recommendation for a gift that will turn someone into Tony Stark but you can buy someone his helmet. Thanks to Sideshow Collectibles you can buy this life sized Iron Man bust display that look like a movie prop and even lights up. Obviously the price really jumps up for something this swanky but if you’ve got $800 or more available to spend on your favorite shell-head fan these are really freaking cool.
So there you have it, a holiday and Marvel themed edition of the Dollar Bin’s Nerdy Dozen. Remember that during this celebrated season it is a time of sharing so please share this article or anything on our site with others. Also try to remember that it is better to give than to receive, so if possible when you’re out buying toys for your favorite geeks, remember to donate to organizations like Toys for Tots!