This is video footage from the CEATEC conference in Japan which ends today: The show has a focus on cutting edge digital and electronics work. Shown above is a very eerie looking cosplay attired robot which uses Vocaloid software. What’s odd about this robot is that she blinks her eyes; In fact when I first looked at this video below it took me a bit to figure out (out of context of course) that I wasn’t looking at an actual human doing cosplay at an anime con: Read more…
On this day in 1968 the French erotic science fiction film Barbarella was released in the United States. The film failed on pretty much every level as the critics hated it and it made no money at the box office, however thanks to the wonders of home video Barbarella became a cult hit in 1977 when it was re-released. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 9, 2009 in Comic Books
Mike Peters
What better way to celebrate the birthday of cartoonist Mike Peters than to show off his ten best farewell editorial cartoons? Peters is better known as the comic strip artist behind Mother Goose and Grimm, however his editorial work is quite clever and deserves a closer look if you’re a fan of cartooning. These obituary illustrations are tough assignments as they have to show a certain amount of respect to the life of the subject while having that little touch of humor that makes you smile. Above is his tribute to movie critic Gene Siskel and below is a cartoon that celebrates astronaut Alan Shepard: Read more…
If this was a straight out comedy I think I’d appreciate it, but sadly Me and Orson Welles has chick flick written all over it. On one hand the subject matter is so very rich, but on the other hand Zac Efron seems so very shallow. Why can’t Hollywood get anything right?Read more…
Hollywood thinks we’re idiots, and sadly for the most part they’re right. Oh sure some great films will do well from time to time but sadly it’s stuff like Transformers 3 that makes the big bucks. If we want Hollywood to make great films we’ve got to vote with our dollars. Shown above is the latest trailer for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and I don’t have to tell you how much grief Gilliam went through to make it. Send a message to the schlockmeisters and the bean counters that creativity counts for something.
I always love how in japan they’re willing to go that extra mile to promote a anime series in some special way! In this case the show Usavich (ウサビッチ) which features computer animated rabbits on MTV Japan was featured on an automobile: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 8, 2009 in Comic Books
Part of what I like about reading a good manga is that the artist is able to engage you with the simple power of a well inked black and white drawing. When an artist does this there’s no place to hide on the page, no Photoshop filters to cover up a multiple of sins — just you and the power of the inkers line. However the Japanese don’t own the market on this, so it was very pleasant for me to come across Salt Water Taffy Vol. 3: The Truth About Dr. True by Matthew Loux which is published by Oni Press. Read more…
Eventually life imitates art, or is it the other way around? The first issue of Forgetless by Image Comics features Twittertweets on the first page intermixed with the rest of the action. This ties into the story which starts out at a nightclub in New York City and features a struggling model turned professional killer (although that sounds more like the type of stalker you’d meet on MySpace). Here’s the page from the issue: Read more…
The old school Alien Facehugger was a nasty creature: A nasty parasitoid that makes contact with the hosts mouth and wraps its tail around the victims throat. However this cuter version of the Alien Facehugger is made out of plush and just wants to be your friend (and to amuse your friends at parties): Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
If you grew up loving Star Blazers the good news is that the website for the live action Space Battleship Yamato film is now live! The bad news? There’s very little detail on this film on the website at all. There’s a listing of the crew which stars Takuya Kimura, a launch date of December 2010 and a tiny visual of the Yamato stuck in the mud: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Mobile Suit Gundam fanboys can now enjoy Char Aznable’s Spicy Curry Noodles from Nissin Foods which features a special reusable glass cup which features the infamous red Zaku suit. The instant soup is also colored red and features spicy and red peppers contrasted with just a hint of cheddar cheese flavor. Nissin is also selling refill sets, although my guess is that most Gundam fans won’t dare open the package. Here are some other shots of the product: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Weighing in at about 50 tons and costing $1.5 million dollars the now famous Gigantor (原寸大鉄人28号) statute is the hit of Kobe, Japan. I figured at this point that everyone has seen all the photos of this 60 foot tall wonder, however some amazing videos are just starting to flood YouTube. Here are some of the coolest that I’ve come across so far that can give you a sense of scale: Read more…
Lauren Gregg is an illustrator/animator from Athens, Georgia who has created a wonderful series of paintings which pay tribute to several genres of nerds in a cartoony style. All of these illustrations are available on Etsy as limited edition prints, shown above is Trekkie Nerd, and what follows below are just a few nerds from her collection: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 5, 2009 in Television
What you’re about to watch is a pitch for a wild experiment: In 1969 television producer Joan Ganz Cooney took a crazy chance and came up with a show that would change history. Forty years later Sesame Street has educated two generations and reached every corner of the globe. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 4, 2009 in Comic Books
X-Babies #1 just came out this week and the minute that I spotted the cover by Skottie Young I knew I was in for a treat! The interiors by Jacb Chabot are almost worthy of the golden age of Mad magazine. Marvel is claiming that this title is aimed at kids but I think slightly older fanboys (and fangurls) of all ages will get a kick out of it: Read more…
While wandering through the streets of Manhattan today I came across this brilliant Simpsons themed poster making fun of the current race for Mayor which features Charles Montgomery “Monty” Burns. Behind this humorous campaign (official website here) is a serious message: That despite how good of a mayor Bloomberg may be, many folks are quite upset (including yours truly) that he eliminated term limits without a public vote. Adding to this irony is also the fact that Bloomberg came in as a result of terms which drove Rudy Giuliani from office right after 9/11. Read more…
I always wrongly credited George Lucas with introducing that infamous Princess Leia hairstyle but alas it looks like I was wrong! Shown above is a clip from the Gene Roddenberry television series Planet Earth which aired as a pilot in 1974 and it looks like the population of post-apocalyptic really likes to put their hair in a bun.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 3, 2009 in Comic Books
ForaTV has a great show out on Comic Book Heroines: Sex, Violence and Objectification which features Supergirls author Mike Madrid. What i find amazing about this segment is that he explores how during the 90s adult entertainment merged with mainstream media and then crept into comic books.
Not so long ago I had a friend who’s a modern anime fan hunker down with a copy of the now vintage manga Black Jack, and to make a long story short he couldn’t quite grok the cartoony style of early 70s Tezuka. In fact to him the cartoony style look dated which spilled over into a twitter debate with Ed Chavez of Vertical which re-published the manga. As I have an art school background I’d thought I’d try to explain this via a little art history lesson so that we can put Black Jack (which got started in 1973) into perspective: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 2, 2009 in Comic Books
Strange Tales #2 hits the streets next week and I’m surprised that I missed the first issue. Marvel is at their very best when they don’t takes themselves so seriously and this little gem is proof of this: You’ve got some very talented artists going to town with the Marvel characters and having a ball with them. The cover above by Peter Bagge made me smile, but the Iron man story below by Tony Millionaire had me laughing with joy: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 1, 2009 in Animation
Some humorous fanboy has edited together highlights from the Roger Corman produced New World Pictures dub of the Galaxy Express 999 movie. By the way this isn’t the worst dubbing of that era, in fact this is even a notch above some of the VHS stuff I remember seeing in the early 90s where the voice talent was usually the intern or immediate family of the producer. There were of course exceptions to the rule (for example Star Blazers had some great voice acting) however I’m glad that the good old days are over.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 1, 2009 in Animation
I so want it to be good: Wes Andrson is brilliant and stop motion animation is an amazing medium. But alas the more I see of Fantastic Mr. Fox the less I like it — and the rave review my Rolling Stone convinces me that print is dead too when it comes to film reviews. The first thing you notice with this trailer is that the voice actors are indeed famous movie starts, but that doesn’t mean that they can voice act. And next there is the quality of the animation; if you want to see A+ stop motion animation look at Wallace and Gromit and then tell me what you think of this Mr. Rolling Stone film critic…
What shown above is both wonderful and terrifying if you’re a fan of NASA. On one hand any successful launch of a spacecraft is a good thing — and in this case the September 30th launch of the Soyuz Expedition 21 is a vital link to the International Space Station. On the other hand with the upcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet this might be the only way for Americans to get into orbit. In a sense we’re lucky that Russia still has a decently funded space program, but on the other hand not having a backup plan is always a bad idea. Read more…
Eventually life imitates art, or is it the other way around? The first issue of Forgetless by Image Comics features Twitter 
Weighing in at about 50 tons and costing $1.5 million dollars the now famous Gigantor (原寸大鉄人28号) statute is the hit of Kobe, Japan. I figured at this point that everyone has seen all the photos of this 60 foot tall wonder, however some amazing videos are just starting to flood YouTube. Here are some of the coolest that I’ve come across so far that can give you a sense of scale: 
