Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 23, 2010 in Comic Books
I was reviewing all of the Marvel titles that are set to be released next week and as usual the the one cover artist who always seems to be standing out is Skottie Young. Usually marvel takes itself so seriously so it’s nice to see Skottie injecting his humor and cartoony style into the stiff world of superheroes. At first I would say that Marvel is limiting him to comic books aimed at kids, but frankly these are turning into the best publications that Marvel is producing. Shown above is the cover for X-Babies #4, and below are the covers for The Marvelous Land of Oz #3 and Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #59: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 22, 2010 in Science
This video shows an interesting interview with Evan Thomas works for NASA on “water recovery systems” which means converting urine to drinkable water. Although it should be pointed out that similar systems are already used on here on planet earth. What I found interesting about this interview is that the NASA technology can also be applied to helping folks who are living through a drought.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 22, 2010 in Animation
Thank you Tokyopop — I had no idea that Tsuneo Goda, creator of Domo came to the United States and did an interview! It’s amazing to think that Domo-kun was created all the way back in 1998, he’s really taken on a life of his own these past few years. From my own point of view the thing I’ve always liked about Domo is that he’s a stop-motion character which sets him apart from anime yet gives him a quirky quality that you can’t quite capture in computer animation.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 21, 2010 in Comic Books
I love how this cover for King City #9 by Brandon Graham harkens back to the great tradition of paper cut out dolls: Frankly it’s highly refreshing to see a cover take chances like this for a change. Sadly I’ve overlooked this series in the past, but having unearthed these other covers from the series I have to say that I’m impressed with Graham’s style: Read more…
We come in peace — shoot to kill! It’s not powerful enough to kill Klingons but this modified Playmates brand Star Trek Phaser (from 1994) is strong enough to pop balloons: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 20, 2010 in Star Trek
90 years ago today in the town of Toccoa, Georgia the wife of a local Baptist minister gave birth to Jackson DeForest Kelley. Foreshadowing his science fiction and television future DeForest was named after pioneering electronics engineer Lee De Forest who played a major role pioneering both radio and sound-on-film. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 20, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
The latest issue of Player vs. Player features the epic quest for the Apple iPhone. Being an Apple fanboy I love it when geeky tech things find their way into comic books, and Scott Kurtz has scored a hit in my nerd zone: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 19, 2010 in Japanese TV
There’s something just freaky about this Japanese commercial for Aflac which stars Aoi Miyazaki (宮崎 あおい) sharing the screen with a creepy look animatronic duck and kitty. The odd kids song being performed is Song of the Duck Beckoning Cat and is featured in this very cute animated music video which Aflac has also put out: Read more…
Dear Mattel it’s the year 2010 and every little girl in America has known for generations that Ken is gay: So why do you continue to keep him in the closet? As we can see with the Barbie Harley-Davidson Barbie and Ken Dolls Gift Set poor Ken is cast playing a role that he clearly isn’t. Ken is obviously suppose to have that dangerous Harley biker look, but instead he comes off looking like George Michael after the break up of Wham! in the 80s. Read more…
Above: The painting Dennis Hopper 1971 by Andy Warhol.
It’s with great sadness that I was just reading that Dennis Hopper is struggling with cancer and may be on the brink of death. Sadly the gossip hounds are focused on his announced divorce — but instead of doing that I’d rather pay tribute to an iconic actor who has dominated so many films with his larger-than-life personality. Although I should add that in addition to be an actor that Hopper is also a gifted photographer — here’s an amazing shot he took in the 60s of Andy Warhol and crew hanging out at the Factory : Read more…