We stopped by Pop Culture Paradise on Tuesday, May 1, just 11 days before the comic store’s grand re-opening to check in on how things are coming along. Let me just say, this new location is amazing! Much more space which seems to have allowed for more product as well. The boys at Oddity Commodity are working on a geek themed mural for the game/video room, there’s a room for card/table top gaming, and of course there are rows and rows of awesome geekery. Marco Regalado, the store’s owner, has …

Anabel Martinez is a digital artist and graphic designer who specializes in creating sci-fi and fantasy art inspired by video games and other genre related material. She has been a featured artist in the Scottsdale Public Art Boardroom and has over eight years of professional marketing, graphics and web design experience.
Anabel is a multi-faceted artist who also loves creating (and wearing) detailed and functional costumes. She recently wrapped up a working trip to New Zealand and she shared some of her adventures in the “land down under” with Nerdvana …

Ignite Phoenix #12 is one of the valley’s premier community themed events and is happening this Friday, May 4, 2012, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Virginia G. Piper Theater at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Out of over 90 submissions, 18 different speakers from the local creative, technical, and business communities were selected to give a 5-minute presentation (with a maximum 20 slides) on projects or topics that they are passionate about.
The show has sold-out, but you can follow Ignite Phoenix on FACEBOOK where announcements will be …

On April 28th, AZ ASSIST (Autism Spectrum Support, Information & Strategies for Transition) had their very 1st Gaming Day to celebrate 2012′s Autism Awareness & Acceptance month. There were several people on hand running all types of games from video games to card games to board games and even a LARP (live action role playing game). There was anime playing in one room, boffers being made in another room, and karaoke out front. All the fun things you would expect at a gaming convention, including prizes, all wrapped up in …

This weekend GateWorld reported on some developments that could move the defunct Stargate SG-1 franchise forward. It sounds like there is an app-based game in the works for smartphones and tablets, but there are hints of a further announcement at Comic-Con that would involve a larger revival.
Last year about this time we saw the end of 14 consecutive years of Stargate being on TV in some form when Stargate Universe ended, a victim of Syfy’s infamous penchant for canceling scripted sci-fi shows in favor of “reality” programming. We’ve also borne witness to …

If you have been to a comic convention west of the Mississippi in the past 5 years then you have probably seen Daniel and Dawna Davis of Steam Crow and Monster Commute fame. With Daniel’s trademark handlebar mustache, their brand-savvy Steam Crow booth set-up and their eccentrically adorable original art and steampunk-themed merchandise, this dynamic-duo stands out and is hard to miss.
Not only has the locally-based Steam Crow team created one of the coolest collections of art and effects that you are likely to see at a pop culture convention …

AZ ASSIST, a Tempe-based nonprofit organization that helps teens and young adults with autism, will host a Gaming Day event this Saturday in connection with Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month. Among the attractions, Amazing Arizona Comics creator and Nerdvana contributor Russ Kazmierczak Jr. will be doing sketches from noon to 2 p.m. The first person to mention Nerdvana will get an exclusive, oversized Amazing Arizona Comics framed page!

New Super Mario Bros. 2 will be available as a digital download go.ign.com/IVutoV
— IGN (@IGN) April 27, 2012
 

Nintendo sinks into loss on weak sales bit.ly/ITVXLq
— Nerdvana (@nerdvana) April 26, 2012
 

Security breach for Cryptic Studios’ Star Trek Online and Champions online: bit.ly/IoZX50
— Nerdvana (@nerdvana) April 25, 2012