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Browsing through Waffle Whiffer's Flickr site I came across the cover of Adventures of Big Boy #137 from 1968 which is shown on the left. The first thing that shocked me was that they had already done over a hundred issues by the 60s, but by further hunting around I came across the cover on the right from 1971 — so I sort of assumed that the comic book had come to an end.

However much to my shock I found out that not only is Big Boy still alive and kicking, but his current savior is none other than talented illustrator/toy genius Craig Yoe:

Big Deal on Big Boy Street: An Interview with Craig Yoe

"We’ve tried hard to be inspired by the great comics we read when we were kids—from Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge to John Stanley’s Little Lulu, not to mention the wacky [Superman's Pal] Jimmy Olsen stories of the ’50s and ’60s. Along that line, a couple of years ago I came up with Bob Boy as a superhero: Bigger Boy. We often feature Bigger Boy, and now he’s part of a superhero group with Dolly, his friend Zack, and Nugget, his dog. Assembled, they are the Big League!"

P.S. Full Disclosure: I'm a vegetarian...

Shown above is the French fan film King Kong Suede. I hate to admit it, but I was rooting for the kitty!

Found via zaeega.com.

I've seen it time and time again — everyone since the 60s has been ripping off Roy Lichtenstein ripping off comic book cover sin the name of fine art. But alas Mark Todd has come up with a brilliant twist that breaks the cliché: Instead of painting yet another comic book cover in a pop art style Todd uses a style that's a mix of expressionism and folk art. Instead of cropping in on the artwork like Lichtenstein, Todd embraces the constructs of the comic book by including hand drawn logos, issue numbers and even comics code stamp. I also admire the fact that the work doesn't take itself so seriously and has a childlike yet charming sense of humor.

Shown above is Coil (mixed media on panel 24"x36") and below is Oof (mixed media on panel 9"x12") .

The above clip almost looks more like a parody of a TV show from 1973 than an actual show, but it's the real deal — well almost, it's a failed pilot for a show called Baffled! which would have starred Leonard Nimoy. Here's the description:

"In the role Robert Wagner was born to play, Nimoy stars as All-American race car driver Tom Kovack who tackles mystery and adventure after he is endowed with psychic powers in a racing accident. A failed TV pilot, it is notable for it's fun, kitchy opening and totally kick ass theme song."

Why should Jawas have all the fun? Now you can own your own life sized droids! Shown above is the R2-D2 ($5,450) life sized figure from Sideshow Collectibles. Another $5,950 will get you C-3PO.

As for me I'm waiting for the life sized Millenium Falcon...

It's amazing to think of what's out there: This almost (but might not be) planet is 14 times the mass of Jupiter:

Has the youngest known planet been spotted?

"A team of astronomers says it may have spotted the youngest planet ever found, boasting an age of less than 100,000 years old, and perhaps as young as 1600 years old. They say it bolsters a controversial theory that planets form very quickly, like stars – but other astronomers say the massive object may not be a planet at all but a 'failed' star, which explains its speedy birth."

Shown above are screen shots from RoboCop 2, F-1 Race, Hello Kitty no Ohanabatake and James Bond Jr. which I found at Nintendo8.com an entertaining website which allows you to play dozens of classic 8-bit games online.

Click on the image to view at full size...

Chief Engineer Michaelangelo, First Officer Donatello, Captain Leonard, and Chief Medical Officer Raphael: These are the continuing voyages of the Star Trek Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Shown above is a detail from the back of a Playmates package dating from 1994 (to check out Chief Engineer Michaelangelo go here).

Found via terrible2z.com.

I just like the look of the above tea towels, unlike most fan merchandise they show some good taste at work:

Japanese Star Wars Tea Towels

"Japan's Heart Art Collection, Ltd., who recently graced the world with the irresistible R2-D2 and R4-P17 trash cans, now unveils a set of eight stellar tea towels which may just transcend their modest utilitarian function to qualify as, dare we say, art?

The eight towels, which measure approximately 15"x35", include some wonderful Japanese-inspired Star Wars imagery, such as R2-D2 jettisoning over a traditional Mount Fuji with ocean waves woodcut, a clone trooper helmet doubling as a Japanese shrine bell, Artoo and Threepio under a cherry blossom tree, Vader and Yoda amid intricate scrollwork patterns, and more."

Surrealism is always more disturbing to me than anything I've ever seen in the horror genre, which I think is due to the lack of conventional storytelling that we see in a typical slasher flick or monster movie. The above animated film Struggle of Love in a Dream (Hypn-eroto-machia —Гипнэротомахия) is a good example of how a lack of coherent structure itself can be somewhat chilling. Andrei Svislotsky was inspired by the paintings of Salvador Dali when he directed this film in 1992, however I also sense the chaos of the post-cold war under the surface the artwork.

One of my favorite childhood toys was a treasured but slightly abused die-cast Yellow Submarine toy made by Corgi. Sadly while it was a high quality toy I recall damaging it at some point, so I was pretty happy to read that Corgi has entered into a licensing agreement for a range of Beatles and Yellow Submarine goodies:

Beatles Vehicles to Die (Cast) For

"Celebrate the Beatles legacy with the album covers die-cast collection, featuring London Taxis and Buses fully decorated with Beatles album covers of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road the Magical Mystery Tour Bus and a range of others. They roll into shops around spring/summer time."

These superheroes are so posed looking in their silly costumes that I find myself rooting for the giant monster who views The Last Defenders as an all-you-can-eat smörgåsbord. Cover art by chef Mike Deodato (this issue will be food courts on April 9th, 2008).

I just found out that Charlton Heston passed away at age 84. While he got his start in films in 1950 and won an Oscar, as a fanboy I'll always associate him with such classic fanboy favorites like Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and The Omega Man.

Here's an amazing scene from Soylent Green, Charlton Heston's tears at Sol's death were real, as Heston was the only cast member who knew that Edward G. Robinson was dying of terminal cancer. This was the 90th and last movie in which Robinson appeared:

I first ran across Maidokuro: The Awesome Corpse-Housemaid on iTunes as a video podcast and I was hooked right away watching episodes on my daily subway ride. Each episode (which only last s a few seconds each) stars a cute corpse maid who kills her client in a new clever way. The show looks better as a podcast but you can always catch episodes at YouTube.

From page ten of the Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog from 1984:

"Meet the Tomy Robots. Omnibot is a sophisticated butler who amazes children and adults alike with his charm and intelligence."

Omnibot is shown above and below, also featured were Verbot which "recognizes his mater's voice" and Dingbot who "always seems a bit confused". Omnibot featured a remote control, alarm clock and an audio cassette player and cost $224 if you order him before December 3rd, 1984.

I always love to come across fanboy inspired LOLcats...

While we have yet to make it to Mars, maybe in my lifetime we'll spot another Earth? So far we've discovered 300 planets outside of our solar system so the odds are in our favor:

Solar System's 'look-alike' found

"Astronomers have discovered a planetary system orbiting a distant star which looks much like our own. They found two planets that were close matches for Jupiter and Saturn orbiting a star about half the size of our Sun. Martin Dominik, from St Andrews University in the UK, said the finding suggested systems like our own could be much more common than we thought.
And he told a major meeting that astronomers were on the brink of finding many more of them."

This week Image Comics is releasing Stupid Comics: Phoenix Edition by Jim Mahfood. The book is filled with his comic strips from the weekly Phoenix New Times newspaper and deal with every theme from sex to politics (two of my favorite topics!). In addition to his sense of humor I just love the look of Mahfood's artwork, it has a sharp sense of style.

UDON Entertainment is publishing an English edition of APPLE, an amazing looking Korean illustration and comics anthology. As a manga snob I've been quite impressed with the quality of comics coming out of Korea recently, and the previews I've seen of this publication are a good example of what I hope is the start of a new trend. APPLE stands for “A Place for People who Love Entertainment” and features many artists who work on video games, so they're also bringing a bit of an outside perspective to comics which is quite refreshing. Volume One comes out in May and you can pre-order at Amazon.com:

Apple Volume 1

Now you're playing with power! This 1985 commercial for Nintendo seems to be inspired by films like Blade Runner and Alien. What's funny about the commercial is that the set design has a very bleak cyberpunk look, yet when the game displays pop up you get the sharp visual contrast of kid friendly candy colored 8 bit graphics.

Old School Fanboy Rant: Having grown up in the 70s the original Battlestar Galactica was like treasured junk food, so while you craved a high quality meal like Star Wars you were pretty darn happy to find a weekly TV show that spaceships buzzing around and things blowing up. The new series tries to make up for that "original sin" but misses the key selling point which is that Galactica was never trying to be the coolest kid on the block — what made it charming was the cheese! But if you're a new school Galactica fanboy (or fangurl) then you'll have to adorn your hacienda with this poster:

How To Spot a Cylon Poster

"The tin toasters are easy! Those damn Cylons are tricky bastards. I'm not talking about those big walking toasters with the oscillating eye, the big flying models full of gore and guns, or even the so-called "hybrids." I'm talking about the humanoids. The religious zealots who are out to subjugate humanity in any way possible. I hate those guys."

I have my doubts about this official Buffy the Vampire Slayer ouija board because it has this off putting legal disclaimer:

"Game board for entertainment purposes only."

...but if you don't mind that minor defective detail you'll be able to find this little goodie in stores in July from Dark Horse Comics.

This ultra cute video was shot by NHK in Sichuan Province, China. I wish I had a baby Panda as a pet...

What's amazing about this vehicle is that the living quarters being carried around by this lunar robot will weigh 15 tons. What's great about this concept is that the same technology could be used to construct a base on Mars in advance of human explorers reaching the planet:

Giant robots could carry lunar bases on their backs

"NASA engineers are testing out a giant, six-legged robot that could pick up and move a future Moon base thousands of kilometres across the lunar surface, allowing astronauts to explore much more than just the area around their landing site. In a 2005 report about its exploration plans, NASA said it wanted to set up a base at a fixed location on the Moon after initially returning humans there in 2020.

But a gargantuan robotic vehicle called ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) could change that. Measuring about 7.5 metres wide, with legs more than 6 metres long, the robot could act essentially like a turtle, carrying the astronauts' living quarters around on its back. It was designed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, US, who are now testing two small-scale prototypes of the robot."

The above photo of Phobos is just breath taking, to see the all the amazing detail just click on the image to view it as full size. Also the NASA website features a 3D photo if you have those cool red and blue glasses:

NASA Spacecraft Images Mars Moon in Color and in 3D

"A new stereo view of Phobos, the larger and inner of Mars' two tiny moons, has been captured by a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took two images of Phobos 10 minutes apart on March 23. Scientists combined the images for a stereo view.

"Phobos is of great interest because it may be rich in water ice and carbon-rich materials," said Alfred McEwen, HiRISE principal investigator at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "

What happens when you mix Robocop with ummm, well I'm not quite sure! I think the true test of a great B movie is if you can't tell the trailer is real or if it's a parody — and the Demolitionist (from 1995) succeeds!

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Akkanvader - 1995 - Taito

It's no surprise that there are exactly 1,035,648,399 different clones of the original Space Invaders. Today, I'm taking a look at one of them, Taito's Akkanvader from 1995. It's colorful, cute, and best of all, fun!

Being both a Godzilla fanboy and green tea addict I got quite a kick out of the above commercial spot from Singapore.

Found via dekku.blogspot.com and coloribus.com.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Blocken - 1994 - Kid/Visco

Sometimes simply mashing two good ideas together is enough to bring the fun back to otherwise tired modes of play. Take the block breaking action of "Breakout," add the vertical down-scroll of "Tetris," some head-to-head action and sprinkle it with lots of pink and blue glitter and a stereotypical anime school-girl, and you have "Blocken."

When I'm looking for inspiration (or just for a cool gift) I always find myself wandering over to the MoMA giftshop here in Soho, New York. This is always a dangerous activity as in their basement they have an amazing mini-book store which is crammed with all sorts of goodies — which are mostly oversized expensive art books. However I was recently pleased to come across this cute little book put out by Spanish publisher (or maybe they're a design firm?) Pepe Gimeno:

Las Chicas son Raras / Girls are Weird by Vane

I did some searching on the net, but sadly I couldn't find out anything more about the illustrator of the book who is just credited as Vane. I wish I could find out more becuse while the artwork had that typical hipster feel on the surface, the sense of surrealism reminded me of a Fellini film:

Nothing in the world beats kitty waffles and heart shaped biscuits! Unless you're a calorie counting fanboy like myself...

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Capcom - 1992

Even before you know anything about the game, the title Cadillacs and Dinosaurs makes an impact. It screams B-movie hokeyness, two extremes that should never be combined.

Vampz is a entertaining short animated student film from France. This movie is the work of three students of the EESA school: Adrien Barbier Lambert, Adrien Annesley and Lâm Le Thanh. Collaborating on music was Olivier Michelot, and the sound design is by Tamara Demicheli.

Found via dekku.blogspot.com.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Chiller - 1986 - Exidy Inc.

Brought to us by the team that did similar light-gun shooters like "Crossbow" and "Crackshot", "Chiller" takes a major right-turn down the path to hell. Set in the bowels of some sort of castle/mansion/yermom'sbasement environment, "Chiller" runs through four stages featuring various degrees of torture and man's inhumanity to man...and woman.

I hate to shamelessly plug myself, but Tim Eldred has an interview with myself and long time partner-in-crime Brian Cirulnick:

The Star Blazers Chronicles: The Superfans

"One sure measure of a great anime series (or any great work for that matter) is the creative energy it imparts to its viewers and the lengths to which they go to express their dedication. Over the last three decades, a great many Star Blazers fans have elevated themselves to the level of Superfan; those who take their creative energy so far that they add new dimensions to the experience, expanding it beyond its original scope. This was certainly the case with two of the show's earliest superfans: Michael Pinto and Brian Cirulnick."

Also if you can please Digg the story as well!

The Third Relay Space Station: Tokio is a new Japanese point-and-click game created by Bianco-Bianco, who is also created Dreamland and Ranch Escape. The game is set in the space station Tokio where you play the chef of the Casablanca Restaurant. When you wake up, you realize that you are locked in your room and have to escape by solving a series of puzzles.

Found via zaeega.com and escapegames24.com.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Dangun Feveron - 1998 - Cave

I sometimes find it interesting to see what lengths a developer will go to in order to get a gamer to play the same old games over and over again. Usually it's just something like tacking a 2 or III at the end of a popular name and sprucing up the old graphics. Sometime it's adding a new character or plot line. It's not often that it's disco:

As part of our ongoing campaign to support the destruction of superheroes I've decided to shine some light on publisher :01 First Second books. What I like about these folks is that they've done an amazing job bringing high quality yet quirky graphic novels to a world that's been lost to the epic battle of comic book clichés. So here's a title from their back catalog which I think is worth checking out:

A.L.I.E.E.E.N.: Archives of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions
of Extraterrestrial Novelties by Lewis Trondheim

Lewis Trondheim is the pen name for Laurent Chabosy, a well known French cartoonist whose previous work has made the jump to animation in Europe. The first thing I liked about this book is that sort of reminds me a great deal of Krazy Kat in that you have a set of silent characters wandering around a surrealist (and somewhat alien) landscape:

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom - 1993 - Capcom

While the table-top pen and paper world of Dungeons & Dragons has certainly seen a successful adaptation in the world of computer gaming, it's had a much tougher time making it into the arcades. It should be obvious but the slow moving, story drivin gaming system just can't keep up with the quarter swallowing demands of the arcade. That doesn't mean people haven't tried.

Shown above is a 1963 painting of a space station by German illustrator and futurist Klaus Bürgle. Bürgle was born in 1926 in Stuttgart and started illustrating magazines in 1953. He focused on technical and scientific illustrations and did quite a bit of work for the publication Das Neue Universum.

Below is an illustration of a future subway system from 1967 and a 1959 painting showing traffic of the future: