Initially Kotobukiya had limited their Bishoujo line to the Marvel license, featuring popular superheros and mutants like Rogue, Psylocke, and Black Widow. Eventually they expanded their offerings to include heroines from the DC universe, and now it seems like they’re taking it in a whole new direction. Several months ago, they debuted a sketch by artist Shunya Yamashita depicting an original character dressed in Ghostbusters attire. It had a few people scratching their heads since it appeared to be an original design, but shortly after, Kotobukiya confirmed the design is being produced as the latest entry in their Bishoujo line, “Ghostbusters Lucy.” Amazing, right?
IGN’s given us the first good look at Batman: Arkham City, the follow-up to 2009’s critically acclaimed Arkham Asylum. Until now, we’ve only seen a live-action teaser introducing Dr.Hugo Strange, however this new trailer features quite a bit more. Not only do we get a glimpse at the actual gameplay, but we’ve been given our first look at Catwoman, and Two-Face. I’m also pleased to see The Joker — Mark Hamil – making his return after having been the focus of the last game. In recent weeks the developer has stated that they’ve opted to avoid an online mode — a feature that has been heavily requested for whatever reason — in favor of focusing on the single player aspect, and making sure it’s nicely polished when the game hits stores later this year. Personally, I can’t wait.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Mar 15, 2011 in Videogames
This probably isn’t welcome news to any of you who play Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, but Square-Enix has decided to suspended their online services for the next week. The decision was made as an effort to conserve energy following the recent earthquakes. I’m actually not surprised that they’d be willing to shut down operations. Many Japanese publishers have also been making sacrafices by delaying their releases – one even going as far as to cancel a disaster-themed game. Others have been donating their proceeds to relief efforts. It should be noted that Square-Enix will be allowing Final Fantasy XI users free play for the month of April in appreciation for their understanding. Read more…
As far as toy makers go, Hots Toys has a reputation of being among the best. The company may charge us an arm and a leg, but their attention to detail is second to none. Each figure they produce is painstaking crafted with photorealism in mind, making them frighteningly accurate. One could easily find themselves confusing a photo of a toy for the real thing — their 2009 The Dark Knight Joker comes to mind. They recently unveiled two new designs for their Bruce Lee line, and both are absolutely stunning. One features Lee in casual attire, the other in a suit. While neither figure are available for preorder quite yet — they’re scheduled for Fall — the Enter the Dragonversion will available for preorder on April 1st.
Prior to the availability of Youtube, there is little to no chance that viewers can see foreign commercials that well known people can be involved in. Certainly in the United States, unless with a right fee, you really wouldn’t catch popular and established celebrities selling commercials. However if you are in a country like Japan, you’ll see many celebrities selling Japanese products. Like Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation. You can see Arnold Schwarzenegger selling instant cup ramen, Leonardo DiCaprio selling a car, Brad Pitt selling a cell phone, with enough money, the choice is clear. Consider these following commercials starring George Lucas. Read more…
Posted by Linda Yau on Mar 14, 2011 in Comic Books
Given the stress on the market, it’s been hard times for the manga publishing industry here in the States. Firstly you now have am established discerning generation of fans who want the latest; secondly you have more competition than ever to grab the best licenses from Japan; and lastly many chain stores which use to be booming are now closing their doors. Yet one publisher has met all of these challenges the old fashioned way — by focusing on quality, quality and oh yes quality. It’s for the reason that Vertical, Inc. while many other publishers have faded from the scene. If you’re new to manga (or want to introduce a friend) here is a selection of our favorites from Vertical: Read more…
You may think you’re a sci-fi expert, but can you navigate this fittingly tentacular map of the history of the genre? Artist Ward Shelley created it for Places and Spaces: Mapping Science. Almost every important event or genre piece is here, though you may find that your pet series or favorite novel isn’t on there if you look hard enough. Click on the image for a super-huge version, well worth the few seconds to download. Read more…
Fresh on the heels of the news that Universal passed on Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness,” we’re now hearing that the studio is pushing forward a $150 million 3D film reboot of Doom. That’s right, the first-person shooter that’s about a million years old. There was a pretty bad Doom movie just a few years ago, with Karl Urban and The Rock, and after that one I’m not sure anybody was really clamoring for another one. At least in 3D they can make another incredibly dumb first-person camera sequence even more gimmicky. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 12, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
We consider the genre a staple nowadays, but back in the 30s, science fiction was still a relatively new thing. It hadn’t even been coined “science fiction” yet — “science romance” was a popular term, along with “pseudo-scientific” and “scientifiction” (which sounds like some kind of chemical reaction). Time Magazine reported on the very first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, and now, thanks to the miracle of the internet, you can read the original article. It’s a doozy, an openly condescending take on the “shamo-scientifics” that were so popular in the pulp fiction world at the time. It directly refers to the venerable Hugo Gernsback as a “shrewd, fat old man.” Don’t miss it. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 11, 2011 in Star Wars
If there’s one truism of good hardware modders, it’s that they never stop with just one awesome mod. To prove it, Mark of Major League Mods followed up his far-out Millenium Falcon Xbox mod with this: an almost life-size R2-D2 that’s also an Xbox 360 and projector. Artoo projects the 360’s video output from the lens on his forehead on surfaces up to fifty inches diagonal. But that’s not all — he also has auxiliary ports for all the other game consoles as well. Even the controllers received the droid’s paint job. That’s one cool robot. You might say he’s the droid you’re looking for. Read more…
Prior to the availability of Youtube, there is little to no chance that viewers can see foreign commercials that well known people can be involved in. Certainly in the United States, unless with a right fee, you really wouldn’t catch popular and established celebrities selling commercials. However if you are in a country like Japan, you’ll see many celebrities selling Japanese products. Like Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation. You can see Arnold Schwarzenegger selling instant cup ramen, Leonardo DiCaprio selling a car, Brad Pitt selling a cell phone, with enough money, the choice is clear. Consider these following commercials starring George Lucas. 
