« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
Here's some news that will make every Forbidden Planet fanboy happy: Slideshow Collectables is going to be producing a life size replica of Robby the Robot! Now only if we could get a working version of this from Japan I'd be 100% happy...
The above shots are from an amazing photo essay that shows all of the step-by=step pre-flight work that goes into getting the space shuttle setup for blast off. Shown above is the engines being attached and the shuttle being lifted into place to attach it to the external tank.
Found via Dvorak.org.
I love to collect (well in the short term sense) examples of Japanese package design. Seen above is "Fujiya Choco Enpitsu", which features four chocolate pencils. The object in the center is a button that has a sticky back so you can put it any where, which is a nice keep sake. However I have to say that I was surprised that the chocolate pencils didn't taste too bad!
This is a rare find, it's a Japanese WWII animated propaganda film designed to educate civilians on how to respond to incendiary bomb attacks from American planes:
Here's a description of what's going on:
"The cartoon characters in this video introduce the concept of incendiary bombing and explain how citizens can extinguish the fire from each bomb. The methods range from simplying putting a bucket of water over the bomb to throwing wet blankets over the fire. After the explanation there is a short cartoon showing the cute animals of Japan responding to an American bomber attack and putting out the fires from bombs before any major damage is done. If you look closely, you can see the evil face of President Roosevelt appear in one of the fires shortly before the Japanese citizens eliminate it."
Found via JapanProbe.com
Here's yet another example of playful product design from Japan, Fujiya Peko Poko Chocolate (click on the image to see it full size). The girl character on the left is can be found on other Fujiya products. My favorite is the little piggie in the middle. The back of the package was designed for an American audience, and you can tell this because it warns you not to let your child consume the small plastic sticks.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will be back on DVD! Poor old Walt lost his pre-Mickey hit to Universal - it's too bad that he never lived to see his company get his character back, but somewhere he must be smiling:
Oswald Unleashed in Walt Disney Treasures Wave VII
"Walt Disney Home Ent. continues the popular Walt Disney Treasures series with three new two-disc DVD sets, available Dec. 11. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, who predates Mickey Mouse, is one of the highlights, having recently returned to the Disney fold. Oswald comes out of the vault for the first time ever on DVD. The silent shorts made from 1926 to 1927, with Walt's personal touch, are revitalized with a brand-new score specifically made for Walt Disney Treasures Wave VII."
Here's a non-restored version of Oswald in "Oh Teacher!" from 1927:
No it's not a prop from a Dr. Seuss story, but a green tea flavored Japanese pastery with a sweet sticky center (click the photo to view it at a larger size). I love how the color of the package design plays off the color of the pastery. Here the description of the treat under the logo:
"Using the fine ingredients, we've arrived at a fantastic harmony of deliciousness."
Wow! I don't know if there will be a plot or even good acting, but the special effects looks fun on this film. To see the above image larger, just click on them.
As a NASA fanboy I'm very envious watching China put so much energy into their space program. Maybe they're playing catchup with us and the Russians, but it's refreshing to see someone who's serious about funding space explortion:
Engineers unveil China moon rover
"Chinese scientists have shown off a prototype Moon rover that could lead to the country's first unmanned mission to the lunar surface in 2012. The 1.5m (5ft) high, 200kg (440lbs) rover should transmit video in real time, dig into and analyse soil, and produce 3D images of the lunar surface. Engineers have unveiled a prototype at the Shanghai institute where work on the six-wheeled vehicle is underway.
Rival rovers are being developed at institutes in Beijing and elsewhere. It is not clear when the successful candidate will be selected. Engineers at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute have created a specialised laboratory that mimics the lunar surface for their rover."
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of his homeland, Cimmeria) is a fictional character often associated with sword & sorcery genre. He is perhaps the most famous fictional barbarian, and indeed one of the best known and most universally recognizable iconic figures in modern popular culture.
Created by Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy pulp stories sold to Weird Tales magazine, Conan has since appeared in books, comics, films, television and video games, contributing to popularity.
Conan the Barbarian is also the name of a Gnome Press collection of stories published in 1954, a comic published by Marvel Comics beginning in 1970, a film and its novelisation in 1982. Conan is a barbarian of the far north. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior who had participated in the destruction of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium. After its destruction, he was struck by wanderlust and began his adventures, encountering skulking monsters, evil wizards, tavern wenches and beautiful princesses.
More recently being pulished from Dark Horse Comics with great sucess. Dark Horse started their Conan run by re-printing the now classic issues from Marvel Comics. Right from the beginning Conan was an incredible comic book with such great talent in the comics field working on the title such as Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith (one of my fav's), Gil Kane, John Buscema, & Neal Adams just to name a few. All the Marvel comics issues are now availble in trade paper back for a reasonable price.
A clip from the 1965 episode 'The Chase' where the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki watch the Beatles play 'Ticket to Ride' on the Time/Space Visualiser:
...by the way the Beatles were suppose to be on the episode as themselves wearing "aging" makeup representing themselves in the future, however sadly this never came to be due to a schedule conflict.
This makes me wonder why there isn’t a Hello Kitty iPod at this point:
Hello Kitty now in iPod car charger / FM transmitter form
"It looks like Hello Kitty's rampage through the gadget world isn't showing any signs of letting up, with an otherwise unremarkable iPod car charger / FM transmitter the latest device to get its irresistible stamp of approval. Compatible with 3G, 4G, 5G, Photo, Mini, and nano varieties of iPods, the device will plug into your car's cigarette lighter and pump tunes straight to your car's radio at the same time, promising a minimum amount of distortion in the process. We have to say we're a bit skeptical of the stated 3 mile operating range, however -- that seems a stretch even with the mighty Hello Kitty behind it."
The 30th anniversary of Star Wars will leave no merchandising opportunity unturned, and the exclusive Space Slug Enviorama (seen above) is an example of this in action. I mean I love Star Wars as much as the next fanboy, but in all my many years of hanging out at conentions I never heard one person blurt out "Ya know, I wish Lucas would put out a Space Slug model!" The other odd thing is that slug looks oddly, well somewhat, err, I'll say it: somewhat phallic looking:
30th Anniversary Exclusive Space Slug Enviorama
Although I'd have to admit that the tiny Millenium Falcon looks sort of cute...
If you're a true fanboy at heart you'll have to see Grindhouse in a movie theater. Yes I know that the DVD will have all of those extra scenes and the director's comments giving you every reference that will make you want to search IMDB high-and-low. But in a movie theater you'll get that one special thing you won't get at home: audience participation!
Half the fun of watching this film was hearing everyone next to me applauding, cheering, laughing, gasping, or saying "ewwwwww...." in unison. The charm of both films is that they don't take themselves too seriously, and you even get the sense that the actors up on the screen are having as much fun playing their parts as you are watching them. To me the critical test was at the end of three hours I found myself wanting to see several more hours of the film. In fact if there was premium cable channel that showed nothing but Grindhouse 24/7 I dare say that I might never leave my apartment.
The other half of watching this fim for any fanboy will be looking at the wondeful detail that's up on the screen. Every other scene seems to have a reference to some old slasher film or features a character actor that you haven't seen in a few years. By the way while both films owe quite a bit to horror films of the 60s and 70s, there are references to quite a few other things to be found, for example the soundtrack had a bad 80s low budget synth feeling to it. And of course you have that non-stop Rodriguez action and quite a bit of clever Tarantino dialogue to wash down your Pepsi and popcorn with as you watch the film.
I'd rate the film as "a must see, and bring a few friends while you're at it"...
Christian themed Bible video games have been around for a while, but now it looks like the good book is about to get a manga treatment:
The Manga Bible! Raw! Extreme!
"Even as British librarians realize that the average child is more interested in Japanese comics featuring androgynous teenage boys ponderously making out with one another than the doily and crumpet adventures of Jane Austen's Emma, British Publishers Hodder and Stoughton are looking to manga to revive flagging Bible sales. The result? The Manga Bible!
Only two issues have been released so far, but Hodder and Stoughton aren't playing around. This is the Bible, rawer and more extreme than we've ever seen it before! To emphasize the rawness and extremity of Jesus' ass-kicking adventures through Ancient Jerusalem, the first two volumes of The Manga Bible have the subtitles NT Extreme! and NT Raw!"
Easter always makes me think of the classic 1947 Bugs Bunny cartoon Easter Yeggs. What's amazing to me is how well the humor holds up today, almost sixty years later (well as of June). By the way it’s interesting to note that the catch phrase of the Easter Rabbit "Keep Smiling!", is a takeoff of a character actually created by Mel Blanc for George Burns and Gracie Allen's radio show during the 1940s; Mel's character was called "The Happy Postman".
If you want to check out this classic it’s on the web at the Looney Tunes website (gee sometimes big media gets it!).
The animation fanboy in me has always respected Winsor McCay (September 26, 1867 – July 26, 1934) for his ground breaking work on Gertie the Dinosaur back in 1914, however his work on the newspaper comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland is a cornerstone to the world of comic books. What shocks me when I look at his work is that even though he was a pioneer, his comics looks very sophisticated in terms of draftsmanship and sorytelling. Years before the fine art world began to explore themes like surrealism and dadism, McCay’s strips show an ordinary world turned upside down.
So with the above in mind I was pretty happy to read that the Checker Book Publishing Group will be publishing a series of books showing all of McCay’s comics. I have a few examples of his work in a few books on the history of cartoons, but having a full collection of his work will be on the Christmas list this year for many a fanboy like myself. Here’s the full press release:
The comic strip B.C. has been running in newspapers since 1958, and the man behind that was Johnny Heart, who has sadly just passed away. I grew up reading B.C. in the Sunday funnies and was always touched by it's gentle and philosophical humor.
Heart became a born again Christian in 1977, but while his strips sometimes featured religious themes I would never say that they were heavy handed. In fact looking back at many of those strips I've always thought that they were poking fun at religion, or perhaps our human take on the subject.
Heart got his start in Stars and Stripes while he was serving in Korea, and then went on to do work for magazines like the Saturday Evening Post when he retured from the war in 1953. It's also important to note that he co-created The Wizard of Id with Brant Parker in 1964. And being a true cartoonist's cartoonist he died at his storyboard this past weekend.
What's sweet about this story is the couple who did this will use the car to make money for charity:
Truly scrumptious - The man who turned his Land Rover into Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
"She's watched the movie hundreds of times, seen the West End show and even has a lunchbox featuring the magical flying car. Now, thanks to her husband and four years of oil, sweat and tears, Carolyn Pointing has her own full-size Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The 42-year-old police constable, who fell in love with the film as a three-year-old, said: "It's a dream come true."
Husband Nick, 41, a manager for Marks & Spencer, spent every spare minute building his creation using the chassis of an old Land Rover. Now the couple, from Sandown, Isle of Wight, plan to take a 12-month career break and tour the world with the car raising money for charity."
The above video from Japanese TV is a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into designing a plastic Mobile Suit Gundam model.
Found via JapanProbe.com.
I recently came across a series of well done DC Comic covers for Rush City (the cover of issue #6 is above) which were simply credited "Cover by Jock". It took me a bit of creative googling, but it turns out Jock is the pseudonym of British comics artist Mark Simpson, known for his work with Andy Diggle on the science fiction comic book 2000 AD and on The Losers. His website is well worth a visit:
This is an amazing find:
First sign of water found on an alien world
"Water has been detected in the atmosphere of an alien world for the first time, a new analysis of Hubble Space Telescope data suggests. Water was widely believed to exist on the planet, but previous observations with other telescopes had failed to find it.
The planet, called HD 209458b, is about 70% as massive as Jupiter and is scorched by the heat of its parent star, which it orbits 9 times as close as Mercury does to the Sun.
Because it is one of a small number of extrasolar planets observed to pass directly in front of and behind their parent stars as seen from Earth, astronomers have been able to glean a lot of information – such as its size and mass – about the distant world."
It's the Hello Kitty ummmm, I think you already got the idea! What more can I say?
Found via blog.thisnext.com.
I have to say that I love the retro look! There's some nice steampunk design work in that suit, I can't wait to see more images...
Found via aintitcool.com.
I owned that paperback copy of "Sirens of Titan" above, what was great about Kurt Vonnegut was that he played a role in making science fiction respectable:
Kurt Vonnegut Is Dead at 84; Caught Imagination of His Age
"Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark comic talent and urgent moral vision in novels like “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Cat’s Cradle” and “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” caught the temper of his times and the imagination of a generation, died last night in Manhattan. He was 84 and had homes in Manhattan and in Sagaponack on Long Island.
Mr. Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction. But it was his novels that became classics of the American counterculture, making him a literary idol, particularly to students in the 1960s and ’70s. Dog-eared paperback copies of his books could be found in the back pockets of blue jeans and in dorm rooms on campuses throughout the United States.
His novels — 14 in all — were alternate universes, filled with topsy-turvy images and populated by races of his own creation, like the Tralfamadorians and the Mercurian Harmoniums. He invented phenomena like chrono-synclastic infundibula (places in the universe where all truths fit neatly together) as well as religions, like the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent and Bokononism (based on the books of a black British Episcopalian from Tobago “filled with bittersweet lies,” a narrator says)."
As usual Pixar does a good job...
Setting to prove that there is no intelligent life in the universe (or no new ideas) the Sci Fi channel will be doing it's take on Flash Gordon. Now let me be clear on something, Flash Gordon has has always been a silly pulp concept. However the orginal film serials from the 1930s starring Buster Crabbe are beloved classics in their own campy way.
The last time someone tried to update the series was with the 1980 film which was produced by Dino De Laurentiis. I was never a big fan of this film, but in many ways it was sort of so bad it was good! The acting was slightly worse than a porno movie, but the costumes and theme song by Queen made up for it.
But now I've just read that the Scoi Fi channel filled with their Galactica gusto is set to ruin Flash Gordon:
Johnson rockets with Sci Fi 'Flash'
"Smallville alum Eric Johnson has landed the title role in Sci Fi Channel's upcoming series "Flash Gordon." The 22-hour series, a contemporary take on the popular comic strip franchise, is slated for an August premiere. It will feature Johnson as space traveler Flash Gordon embarking on all-new adventures.
Peter Hume penned the first two episodes, which will be directed by Rick Rosenthal ("Smallville"). Production is to begin May 1 in Vancouver. "Flash" is being produced by Reunion Pictures under an agreement with property owner King Features Syndicate. RHI Entertainment is distributing the series internationally. RHI's Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr., who recently worked with Sci Fi on the miniseries "Legend of Earthsea," are executive producing, with Hume also expected to exec produce. Casting is under way for the other roles, including Flash Gordon's fellow space travelers Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov."
...well to bring you campers back to the good old days of the early 80s here's a neat poster I found that's from the Japanese release of the Dino De Laurentiis film:
I admit it, I'm a huge fan when it comes to Star Blazers also known as Space Cruiser Yamato for your hardcore anime fanboys. Tonight I was very surprised while channel surfing to see that Nova on PBS did an amazing special on the final voyage of World War II battleship Yamato. The special showed some footage of the ruins of the Yamato underwater, along with some nice computer animation and some very touching interviews with actual survivors. The website for the show is well worth checking out:
Sinking of the Supership
The tragic WWII story of the Yamato
"The final phase of the Pacific war during World War II saw a terrible new tactic: massed kamikaze attacks on American ships by Japanese planes. But the biggest kamikaze attack of all was the suicidal mission of the super battleship Yamato, the largest, most advanced warship of the day. In this program, NOVA joins an international team exploring the grave of this magnificent vessel to learn the secrets of her design, her final mission, and the violent events that brought her down.
Yamato lies on the floor of the East China Sea, 200 miles north of Okinawa, blown apart by one of the most massive explosions ever to occur at sea. Altogether, more than 2,700 men went down with the ship or drowned after it sank, making the loss of the Yamato one of the greatest naval disasters of all time. Despite the destruction, the majesty of the ship is unmistakable, symbolized by a six-foot-wide chrysanthemum crest, icon of the Japanese imperial family, still gracing Yamato's prow like a figurehead."
I got a kick out of seeing the guy dressed up as Tarantino!
Found via JapanProbe.com.
I guess to me Corinne Orr wil always be the true voice of Trixie! That said Christina Ricci has done some nice work, but I hope they cast Trixie more in a cute light than make her too sexy:
Ricci scores date with 'Speed'
"Christina Ricci is joining Larry and Andy Wachowski's live-action adaptation of the 1960s cartoon "Speed Racer" for Warner Bros. Pictures and producer Joel Silver. Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman already have boarded the high-octane project, which is based on the anime series created by Tatsuo Yoshida for Japanese audiences and later imported to the U.S.
"Speed" centers on a young race car driver, Speed (Hirsch), and his quest for glory in his thundering, gadget-laden vehicle Mach 5. Ricci will star as Speed's girlfriend Trixie, his formidable ally on and off the track. The show revolved around Speed's family. In the big-screen adaptation, Goodman will play Pops, a race car owner and builder. Sarandon is on board as Pops' wife, the backbone of the family as well as the Mach 5 Go Racing Team. The Wachowskis, who are writing and directing, are eyeing a summer shoot in Berlin with a summer 2008 release."
...you know it would show some class if the brothers Wachowski gave bit parts to Corinne Orr and Peter Fernandez. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they keep the fanboys like myself happy.
Update: Here's a video interview with Christina talking about playing Trixie:
If you're an anime fanboy like me you'll want to set your DVR to catch Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar winning film Spirited Away on June 3rd at 9:45 p.m. ET playing on Turner Classic Movies.
What do you get when you take two of the greatest writer/directors in the world and let them do whatever the hell they want? You get the movie Grindhouse. Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, From Dusk Til Dawn, The El Miriachi Trilogy) join forces once more to take you through a tour de force of the classic Grindhouse exploitation movies of the Seventies. The film features two full length movies back to back that include evrerything you would find in an old seventies exploitation flick. Noise pops, scratches on the film even missing reels and skips.
Things start out with a 'fake' trailer for the movie Machete. Danny Trejo stars as the mad Mexican killer Machete and in joined by his priest/brother Cheech Marrin (Cheech and Chong). After the two minute trailer the first movie, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror begins.
Set in Texas Planet Terror is an over the top gorefest that slaps you in the face with it's rediculous plot and stereotyping of women as sluts and lesbians...Except for Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan). She's got a chip on her shoulder and doesn't like much of anyone. Our Heroine set we meet the rest of the cast. Freddy Rodriguez as El Wray, Micheal Biehn as the Sheriff and Jeff Fahey as his brother J.T.
The story really cranks when Naveen Andrews (TV's LOST) and Bruce Willis (Do I even need to mention what HE's been in?) Show the audiance that there's a mysterious gas that turns people into flesh eating zombies. Without giving too much of the plot away things go sideways and the gas is released. Mayhem ensuses (Including Fergie getting eaten by Zombies). Things spin quickly out of control and people are attacked left and right as the gas spreads. It all comes down to El Wray and Cherrie Darling to save the day and yes this does include Cherry sporting a new leg that happens to be a machine gun. It sounds corny as hell but while you watch it everything just seems to make sense.
With roles from actors of past and present by the likes of Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead), Josh Brolin and Marlie Shelton Planet Terror was an in your face visceral blow shit up fest that keeps you bouncing back and forth from lauging to going COOOOOL!
Shown above is the cover (click to see at full size) of 'The Science Fiction Book: An Illustrated History' by Franz Rottensteiner, featuring an illustrated layout by Thames and Hudson. In the mid-70s I was very much a Star Trek fanboy (and later a Space: 1999 fanboy), so my parents purchased this little treasure for me.
The book was published in 1975 and gives a detailed look at every theme to be found in science fiction from that era, however it doesn't have the Star Wars photos since the film hadn't come out yet.
Now that I live in the 21st Century the book cover looks rather charming and dated with it's disco typography. And the irony is that the book explores what it views as the charming retro look of 1950s pulp magazines and the like. I find it somewhat ironic that in the year 2007 I loving look back at my dog eared version of a book about the future I live in. Now that I live in the 21st Century my only regret that I have is the fact that manned space exploration hasn't advanced much since the 70s.
A side note on Franz Rottensteiner: I did a quick google and Mr. Rottensteiner is still very much alive and kicking in Austria. He did another book on Fantasy in 1978 and is the publisher of a liteary magazine.
The first rule of Hulk club is:
Norton to star in 'Hulk'
Marvel sequel to be released in 2008
"Edward Norton has been set by Marvel Studios to play Bruce Banner in "The Incredible Hulk." The Louis Leterrier-directed drama will be distributed by Universal Pictures, with an opening set for June 13, 2008.
It is a decided return to the mainstream for Norton, who recently has starred in such indies as "Down in the Valley," "The Painted Veil," and "The Illusionist." Pic will shoot this summer in Toronto. Norton takes over a role played in the Ang Lee-directed "Hulk" by Eric Bana. Though that film opened strongly, it didn’t fare as well as other Marvel efforts, including "Spider-Man," "X-Men," "Fantastic Four" and, most recently, "Ghost Rider."
Marvel Studios, which has a $525 million credit facility obtained through Merrill Lynch, made "The Incredible Hulk" its second film under that arrangement, and seeks to make a sequel that is less self-serious and more in line with the comic series and TV show. Leterrier directed the action-filled "Transporter 2," and "Unleashed." The new pic begins with Banner on the run, trying to avoid capture long enough to cure the condition that turns him into a misunderstood green menace."
I love this silly short film, in it the director has a plastic Godzilla model roaming the halls of a school making Beavis and Buttheadesque comments:
So after watching this mini Godilla epic, I had to do a quickie interview with the director!
First question, who are you?
Well, I'm Jeremy Eugene Jones, you may also remember me from my really bad Elimidate appearance or, more likely, as one of the writers and voice actors of "Zinwrath: the Movie." (I wrote the dialogue for the Burakubuu character and also the crazy gnome speech in the middle, and did the voice for Burakubuu, along with some general script editing) I'm currently going to film school in San Francisco and working on film sets whenever I can.
I like ocelots and the musical stylings of Bruce Willis.
...and what inspired you to make this short film?
Well, that's an odd question. I started making Godzilla videos when I was bored one night and wanted to re-enact the death of two of my friends who weren't, in fact, dead. But there was a banana, and a toy tractor, and some GI Joes and then, Godzilla. Given my lack of social wazoo, I later used Godzilla as a personal spokesperson to say to girls what I could not, myself, being a simple sterile ninja.
Shown above is an editorial spread (click to see at full size) from 'The Science Fiction Book: An Illustrated History' by Franz Rottensteiner, published in 1975. The book went into great detail on almost every major theme that could be found in science fiction, including sex (or a lack there of). I love caption they have in the lower right hand corner:
"SF authors may generally avoid sex in their plots, but the details on these pages make it clear that science fiction illustrators do not feel the same reticence."
Above are two new posters for 28 Weeks Later, the first one is for the domestic market while the second one is aimed at an international market. I don't know how good this follow up film can be, but let the hype begin...
Found via If It's Movies.
I'm sad to say that Wizard of Id co-creator Brant Parker has passed away. As a kid growing up in the 70s I always loved his work because it was very approachable, and yet the humor had a nice sophistication to it. Sadly Parker joins his Id co-creator Johnny Hart who passed away recently. Although I think both gentlemen would be pleased to know that their kids have taken up the torch for a shabby beloved medieval kingdom called Id:
'Id' cartoon wizard Brant Parker dies
"Brant Parker, the co-creator of the comic "The Wizard of Id," who portrayed medieval kingdom for more than 30 years, died in Lynchburg, Va. He was 86. Parker, who died Sunday of complications from Alzheimer's disease and a previous stroke, passed away eight days after longtime "Wizard" collaborator Johnny Hart died of a stroke, the Los Angeles Times said Tuesday. "Id" and its quirky inhabitants appears in more than 1,000 newspapers worldwide since its launch in 1964.
Hart was drawing the Stone Age strip "B.C." when he sought out Parker, whom he'd known for several years, to help coax humor from the Middle Ages. The collaboration lasted until 1997, when Parker turned over "Wizard" drawing duties to his son, Jeff.
Creators Syndicate, the strip's distributor, said "The Wizard of Id" would continue as a collaboration between the Parker and Hart families. Parker said a two-year stint at Walt Disney Studios in the late 1940s was his main cartoon-drawing classroom. He worked on several Donald Duck shorts and the 30-minute "Mickey and the Beanstalk"."
Everyone thinks of the Jane Fonda film when they first hear Barbarella, but for me the name always reminds me of the French comic books which have held up better over time. I just found out that it's now looking like Kate Beckinsale has been cast as for the lead role in the remake of Barbarella, which would be a pretty good choice.
If this new film is good or bad will ride on the script and then the director, but I think Beckinsale has a good shot at making the role her own as long as they try to do something new (i.e. by going back to comic books rather than the film).
My favorite film with Beckinsale is Haunted from 1995, which i think is an under rated gem of a film, and one of the best haunted house movies that I've watched in a long time.
Update: Sorry folks! This turned out to be a rumor...
I just discovered this interesting animated film via Drawn, what's interesting is that it's not from Japan but from Korea and it came out last year (so it slipped under my radar some how). It looks like it's got some nice quality character design and animation directed by Jo Beom-jin. By doing a bit of research I found that you can buy it on DVD at yesasia.com. Here's the trailer from the film:
And here's a quick plot summary from the New York Times:
"A futuristic city that is literally fueled by excrement provides the setting for this animated comedy concerning two dangerous delinquents who become inexorably tied to a deadly power struggle within the methane-laden metropolis. Soon after it's discovered just how much power can be generated by fecal waste, the government installs special sensors on citizen's anuses as a means of monitoring the production of the valuable natural resource.
Meanwhile, as the public becomes addicted to hallucinogenic and highly-addictive popsicles designed to keep them in line and stimulate even greater bowel movements, street thugs Aachi and Ssipak cross paths with a tough-talking porno star and incur the wrath of a dreaded group of outcasts known as The Diaper Gang."