What if Lucky Star was Live Action?

This may be the best cosplay version of the Lucky Star opening titles that I’ve seen yet!

Experiment Jack

Shown above is Experiment Jack, one of the creatures you’ll find featured in the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas: Series 6 Figures’ set by NECA. Also included in this series is Mr. Hyde, the Corpse Mom and the Corpse Kid, and of course Melting Guy and Spider-Haired Monster. The set is due to be released in September 2007.

Found via Toy News International.

R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid

At long last fanboys (and fangurls) everywhere can not only own their own robot, but they can own an authentic Star Wars robot:

R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid

“Direct from Industrial Automaton comes this scaled down version of the Astromech droid made famous by the documentaries collectively known on Earth as “Star Wars.” This little R2 unit is ready to obey your commands – voice commands, that is! Just like the larger version of R2 you know from the flickers, this R2 needs nothing but some tender words and he’ll do what you command.

Without a doubt, this has to be the coolest Star Wars toy ever created. Artoo really will listen. You can talk to him and he’ll chirp back. You can ask him about different characters and he’ll have amusing reactions. Artoo will even play games with you (Spin the Droid is our favorite!) He’ll guard your room; let you plot a course for him to execute; carry your Juri juice around; and if you are really lucky, he’ll play a message for you from a certain Princess.”

Dig this video which shows this R2 unit in action:

The Motorcycle from Akira

Shown above is cool concept model of Kanada’s bike from the famous old school anime film Akira. Sadly it’s just a model so it doesn’t quite work, although I wouldn’t mind having it to show off to my fellow anime fanboys. This amazing bit of work was created by BSU, a custom motorcycle shop in Japan. And of course they’ve been showing it off to to local otaku at local conventions.

Found via Adam Frucci at SciFi.com.

The Hello Kitty LaVie

This laptop is sooo bling-bling meow-meow purrrrrrr:

The Hello Kitty LaVie: is this really “the life” NEC?

“Egads NEC, show some pride… a Hello Kitty LaVie? Say it ain’t so! Your LaVie series of laptops were already totin’ some serious Alice-the-housekeeper frump, and now this? What can we say, that puss dominates Japan like a pink, mouthless Godzilla… really, what could poor NEC do. Available now for ¥199,500 or about $1,645 with plenty of pasted-on Swarovski nuggets destined for the recessed folds at the pit of your man-bag. Sure, you’ll buy it for your daughter but we know who’ll use it… sissy.”

Found via Engadget and Impress.

Let the 3D Backlash Begin…

Walking home last night I came across two posters, one for Ratatouille and the other for Surf’s Up. I have to say that on the merits both films look alright and I’m very much the fanboy when it comes to all things Pixar, however I find myself wanting to ignore these films because they’re “yet another 3D animated flick”.

I don’t blame Pixar in fact I think what pushed me over the edge was the dreck that’s Shrek 3, or perhaps the announcement that there will be a Shrek 4 and a Shrek 5. Things are looking grim for American cinema when Grindhouse bombs but we can churn out some more Shrek. I’d like to see a day in the near future when the 3D backlash begins. I don’t when this will hit a tipping point but I hope it’s sooner than later.

I’m not saying that 3D is bad or will die, but I’d like to see a good old fashioned 2D cartoon epic every now and then. Perhaps that’s the reason why I love anime so much? They use 3D for the spaceships but in the end it’s all about the characters, even if they’re 2D drawings. In fact I love the fact that Bleach makes the animation look like a manga drawing when they draw shadows on someone’s face.

So let the countdown begin…

I am Legend

Shown above is the trailer for I am Legend which will hit theaters this December. This will be the third film based on the 1954 horror novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in Los Angeles, California. Although I’m pleased to see this new version seems to take place in my hometown New York City!

So for the historical fanboy record here’s the trailer for the 1964 version of the film which was titled The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price:

And here’s the trailer for the 1971 version of the film which was titled The Omega Man and features none other than Charlton Heston:

Cat’s Eye and Orguss: The 80s Anime is Back!

Two of my favorite anime shows from the mid-80s were Cat’s Eye and Orguss (seen above), of course I had to enjoy them on 5th generation VHS tapes. Well I’ll no longer have to dust off my collection as both classic titles are heading for DVD thanks to Imaginasian which will be selling the titles through RightStuf.com.

Star Wars Mimobot Thumb Drives

These cute little storage devices are now available through ThinkGeek.com:

“Mimobots are a cute mashup of designer toys and USB storage devices. We originally carried these nifty monster-style thumb drives a couple of years ago at ThinkGeek, but when we heard that Mimoco (the somewhat insane creators of Mimobots) had secured an official Star Wars license we really perked up. It turns out that Mimobots + Star Wars = Some pretty sweet collectable USB Thumb Drives. Choose from Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, or Stormtrooper. All are cute, limited edition, and can store up to 2GB of data while protecting it with the force.”

…speaking of things geeky: You know what’s sad? It’s that were living in the the 2007 and I’m now using these thumbdrives ala my early sneakernet days in the late 80s.

Otaku Arrested for Illegal Manga Sharing

Shown Above: Manga series like Lupin III glamourize international jewel thieves, but a poor bunch of deodorant-free otaku upload some manga scans and it’s a major criminal matter…

This is amazing, these otaku were so dedicated that they got their hands on the manga magazine before it went on sale:

Men charged over illegal distribution of manga on Net

“KYOTO: Two men who distributed comics from a magazine through the file-sharing software Winny before the magazine officially went on sale have been charged with copyright law violations, public prosecutors said. The Kyoto District Public Prosecutors office indicted the men, Mitsukazu Tamashiro, 29, and Kenji Kodama, 26, for violating the Copyright Law by distributing comics from the magazine “Shukan Shonen Sunday,” published by Shogakukan.

On Friday last week, public prosecutors also sent a 17-year-old technical college student from Tokyo’s Adachi-ku to a family court in connection with the case, recommending that he face criminal charges as an adult. Public prosecutors said that Tamashiro distributed three works from “Shukan Shonen Sunday” on three occasions between January and April, illegally allowing an unspecified number of people to view the comics through the file-sharing software Winny. Kodama allegedly distributed six works from the same comic magazine between February and April.”

Catwoman: When in Rome

I love the above cover artwork for the graphic novel Catwoman: When in Rome for it’s bold graphic quality. However sadly I looked at the final design and they ruined it by putting too muh type on it. This cover was illustrated by Tim Sale, who has a nice flair for cheesecake and cartoony illustrations with a sense of wit and humor.

Thundercats the Motion Picture

Warner purrs for Thundercats
’80s animated series heading to bigscreen

“It’s Thundercats, ho! at Warner Bros. Studio has optioned a script by tyro scribe Paul Sopocy to turn the popular 1980s animated series and toy line into a live action feature. Warner-based Paula Weinstein will produce through her Spring Creek Prods. banner, along with Dick Robertson and Lew Korman.

Property revolves around a group of humanoid cats (with feline names like Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro and Cheetara) who must flee their planet of Thundera after it’s destroyed. Once crash-landing on another planet, Third Earth, they must thwart Mumm-Ra, an evil sorcerer, bent on killing them off.

Sopocy has written the script as an origin story expanding on the major heroes and villains from the animated series, with the plot focusing on Lion-O coming of age as the leader of the Thundercats. Project was brought to Warner by Palek Patel, VP at Spring Creek. Dan Lin is overseeing the pic for Warners.”

Gottu Five Rangers

Show above is episode one of Gottu Five Rangers was a Japanese TV comedy program from back in 1990’s. They make fun of the Power Rangers called Goranger (Go means 5), but what I love about the comedy here is that you don’t need to be a Power Rangers expert or even speak Japanese to get a kick out of the humor here.

Read more…

Kill Bill in 5 Seconds

PX! A Girl and Her Panda

PX! stands for PandaXpress has been a webcomic that’s been around since January 2005, and is set to come out in print this August. Except for Inuyasha it’s pretty rare to see a Panda in a starring role in a comic book which gives PX! a pretty unique sensibility. Manny Trembley who’s the artist behind the PX! features a rich and wonderful candy colored palette on his panels. The story (which is by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson) is about a young girl named Dahlia who – with the help of her giant and trusty Panda sidekick – sets off on an epic journey around the globe to save her missing father. 

If you like what you see more work by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson you’d be well advised to also check out Sam Noir: Samurai Detective which is a bit darker but also features a off-kilter sense of humor.

PX!A Girl and Her Panda will be out in August and published by Image Comics.

Speed Racer’s Car Revealed

I almost missed this story, I love that the Mach 5 still has that vintage 60s sports car look:

Speed Racer’s Car Revealed

“As you’re almost certainly aware, the Wachowski brothers are back back back with an adaptation of Speed Racer, the cult anime where all the characters mouths stopped moving several seconds after their dialogue stopped. And, as the title might have clued you into, the series was a little bit car-centric, following a wide-eyed boy racer as he seeks to become world champion with the help of his faithful monkey (because why wouldn’t a driver have a monkey?). And today USA, er, Today offer the first look at his car. And very faithful it is to the cartoon. They also have a few other snippets, like the fact that the monkey will be real and not CG and is actually a chimp.

Speed Racer is released next August and has a cracker of a cast, including Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. And a monkey. Sorry, a chimp.”

Debut Enterprise

Seen above is the ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ Enterprise is based on the debut episode of the classic Star Trek series from 1966 (shown below the model are two shots from that episode – seeing your name on a grave stone on an arid alien planet is always a good excuse for a fight!).

Anyway this classic collectable is put out by Diamond Select and is part of their Starship Legends series. The best part is that it will feature light and sound effects including the voice James T. Kirk. But sadly the headstone and 3D chess set won’t be included…

Found via Toy News International.

Cute Korean Tigers

I found the above video via Japan Probe:

“A group of bengal tiger cubs recently born at a zoo in Seoul have made TV news in Japan (for being cute). Don’t worry folks, they still aren’t old enough to eat meat, so those little chicks aren’t going to be eaten!”

…I feel so cheated about my childhood when I watch that video! How come I never got to play with baby tigers when I was growing up? Just look at those kids, when they grow up they’ll think that it’s perfectly normal to play with baby tigers. The closest I got to that as a child was watching the Adventures of Waldo Kitty.

Stray Toasters Returns

Stray Toasters will be back in print! What’s great about Bill Sienkiewicz is that his artwork moves between comics, illustration with just the right added dash of abstract fine art thrown in for fun. The above cover for Stray Toasters reminds me of the illustrator Marshall Arisman with it’s underlying sense of violence and chaos. I’m surprised that with all of the attention that Frank Miller is getting in Hollywood that Sienkiewicz (who was the visual force behind Elektra: Assassin with Miller as the writer) hasn’t been exploited by the suits at this point. In fact Stray Toasters was suppose to come out as a film in 2005, so perhaps this re-release of Toasters which is due out at the end of August will give the film a push in the right direction.

Mode Gakuen Goes Goth

I love the creepy goth look of the animated commercial above which features a nice contrasting upbeat pop tune underneath it. The commercials is for Mode Gakuen which is a vocational school in Japan for fashion, makeup, hair, graphic, and interior design. I wonder if they have courses in designing goth lolita couture?

Read more…

24seven: Robot Heaven

Seen above is the cover for the second volume of 24seven by Austrailian illustrator Ashley Wood. I love Wood’s sketchy quality on the cover which features a decaying Blade Runner looking architecture as a backdrop. Also his use of bold black strokes with little touches of pink and cyan make for a striking contrast.

For those of you who missed the first volume (which will be re-issued) the comic is a group effort of artists telling multiple stories with the common theme of robots. Here’s an insightful quote from 24seven editor from an interview telling how the project got started:

“’24seven’ came about in a bunch of random conversations at conventions and so on with like-minded creators who showed me there was the potential there for a hell of a book,” explained Brandon. “’24seven’ is, for me, somewhat like a smaller record imprint at a major studio. A lot of the creation of work for hire comics is the equivalent of playing session guitars on someone else’s album, whereas in the path to creating ’24seven,’ this quickly became an opportunity to let some of the best minds in comics finally cut loose on their own songs, unfettered by continuity or any of the other bits of the business that hinder free creativity. The result will be obvious, the fans will get to see their favorite creators doing some of their most amazing and creative work.”

24seven Volume Two is published by Image Comics and will be out on August 1st.

Au by KDDI Animated Commercial

The above animated commercial is for a mobile phone service in Japan, I love the look of the character designs and cream toned palette. The commercial doesn’t look like your typical anime show with a love of detailed complexity, but instead has a bit of a graphic hipster feeling to it that you might find in a poster for a band.

The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo

Ah yes there’s nothing better than looking at good old Edgar Allan Poe sitting at the pub and enjoying a tasty brew with an oversized anthropomorphized rodent creature (I would say a rat but I don’t want to make a negative judgement).

What I love about what I’ve seen of this graphic novel is that while the cover art by David Hartman is great (I just love those monsters!), the interior pages by Thomas Boatwright have nice sense of humor to them. In fact Boatwright’s work sort of reminds me a bit of the early comics by Phil Foglio. There’s a several page preview of the book is here which is well worth checking out. Credit for the story inside of Edgar Allan Poo goes to Dwight L. Macpherson who you can tell has a clear love of comic books and tales of horror. Edgar Allan Poo will be haunting your local comic book shop’s shelves on August 15th (published by Image Comics).