Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 28, 2010 in Comic Books
I’ve seen Camilla D’Errico everywhere these last few years, and she’s been doing quite well for herself. Aside from simply being an amazing artist, she’s been marketing everything from plushies and clothing, to iPhone cases, and more. While I had been more familiar with her own creations, such as the Tanpopo and Burn, it hasn’t surprised me that her latest work, Sky Pirates of Neo Terra, has managed to turn a few heads. With her Japanese-inspired aesthetic, Camilla’s art is a perfect fit for the series, captured in the upcoming graphic novel. If you’re curious, it’ll contain the first five issues. The release date has yet to be announced, but you can pre-order a copy from Amazon by clicking here, and check her official site for updates.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 28, 2010 in Videogames
I had heard about this awhile back, and I can’t believe I had forgotten about it until recently, but one of our favorite starship captains will be lending his voice to the upcoming Castlevania title, Lords of Shadow, that should be hitting stores next week. It’s not Shatner — though that’d probably be just as awesome — but rather, Patrick Stewart will be joined by Robert Carlyle and Jason Issacs and a host of other well-known stars. In recent years, Stewart has provided voice work for a variety of media, often causing me to pause and wonder just how awesome his life must be. Needless to say, I doubt he’ll ever be unemployed. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 27, 2010 in Comic Books
On thing you can say about manga is that it hasn’t gone to the dogs — I’ve recently caught three cat items that got my attention in the manga world. Shown above is the cover of volume of On Thursday Furutto which is a cat gag manga that was just released. Below is another kawaii girl and her cute but slightly oversized kitty which is from a new manga series that will appear in IKKI magazine: Read more…
On the big screen the Wampa seems such a terrifying creature from the ice planet Hoth— but alas as a throw rug I sort of feel sorry for this fella. Although as a true fanboy critic I’ve got to say that the rug reminds me more of muppet version of this guy than anything else: Read more…
So I made the tragic mistake this weekend of starting to watch Sharktopus on the SyFy channel — and while I enjoyed laughing at the screen I somehow don’t think that’s the “executives” at the SyFy channel quite imagined that they were quickly transforming their network into the Comedy Channel. In case you missed Sharktopus was sort of a cross between Bay Watch and a low budget 50s horror film. The unintentional result of this combo is that you quickly find yourself rooting for Sharktopus instead of the boring superficial actors who seem even more boring than what you’d find in a bad soap opera. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 26, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
The tech fanboy in me loves this: Tta me! is a four-frame comic that’s been published as a proper full volume. The manga isn’t so much a Twitter how-to book but rather focuses on the social media service as a comedic/romantic plot device. Tta me! is written by Kawamura Kazuhiro and illustrated by Ajiko Kozima — and it’s available at Amazon.jp here. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 26, 2010 in Star Wars
The above photo was actually taken at a local Starbucks this past week — it’s one of ten silly Star Wars themed images that we found this week thanks to searching hard on Twitter: Read more…
The funny thing about horror films is that they are by nature B pictures — so when you’re looking at a new horror flick you have no idea that you may in fact be looking at a future classic film — and such was the case when I first got to see A Nightmare on Elm Street back in the day. Of course every great horror needs a gimmick to make it stand out from the crowd and for Elm Street this was Freddy Krueger’s nasty metal glove. And looking at this Deluxe Freddy Krueger Metal Glove with fresh eyes I’ve now come to see that the glove design was in fact a brilliant unrecognized early example of cinema steampunk if you think about it. Read more…
The amount of loving detail on this Sailor Moon bento box is mind numbing! While the box features all the major characters my favorite touch is the inclusion of Luna the cat: Read more…
The above film titled The Electronic Coach was produced in 1959 by IBM to show off their IBM 650. My favorite part of the film is when the coach pulls out reams of paper in the middle of the game to figure out who to send out next on to the basketball court. Although while the technology looks awkward it’s important to keep in mind that the IBM 650 was one of the first mass computers ever made with over 2,000 shipping between 1954 and 1962. Read more…
The popular chain Lawson in Japan will be taking orders for Evangelion Chocolate Cakes which will be shipped right before Christmas! The cake (shown above) also comes packed with an Rei Ayanami figurine holding the “Spear of Longinus” (which as it turns out is a reference to the holy lance in the Bible). The cake is being produced by Bandi which apparently has quite a large business making anime themed cake and candy. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 24, 2010 in Comic Books
Not so long ago New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger admitted that the New York Timesmay stop publishing a printed version in the near future. Of course the newspaper of record is an exception to the rule, so one should expect other publication formats to follow suite — and that very much will include comic books. My gut feeling tells me that while coffee table collector editions will be here for eons that the bread-and-butter comic book that you see published by Marvel and DC won’t be around in a few years. Read more…
It’s usually hard to spot a ninja, but the minute I looked at the Uglydoll ninja themed t-shirt it was love at first sight. The t-shirt is part of a larger line that’s put out by Mighty Fine which feature the ever so kawaii monsters who do everything from pose in sunglasses to offering you a unicorn jumping over a rainbow: Read more…
I can’t help but feel that the guys over at ThinkGeek are traveling back in time and asking our teenage selves for ideas on how to create awesome products. Either that, or they’ve been actively reading our minds since we were kids and waiting for just the right moment to introduce these awesome inventions knowing full well that we’ll end up buying each every one of them. Case and point? This fantastic pizza cutter modeled after none other than Kirk’s original Enterprise.
I love Calvin and Hobbes, and I’m sure by now you’ve probably seen every Calvin and Hobbes crossover your mind could dream up, but none of the ones I’ve seen to date have really felt as perfect as this illustration, and t-shirt by artist Chris Wahl. Not to imply that Chewbacca’s a devious prankster who takes pleasure in occasionally tormenting Han, at least, as far as I know, but they certainly share a friendship that only the two of them really understand. Either way, it’s easily one of the coolest crossover t-shirts I’ve seen in a long time. If you’re interested in picking one up, head over to Redbubble and order yours for a mere $22.
Much like Eddie LeBron with his recent MegaMan film, a fan has taken it upon himself to create his own live-action adaption of one of their favorite video games having been failed repeatedly by Hollywood. This time, it’s none other than Nintendo’s kid-friendly Pokémon, entitled Pokémon Apokélypse. Natrually, you’d expect the film to share much of that same aesthetic, however this time, that’s not the case. Instead, we’re given a gritty — almost humorously so — realistic depiction of the original story complete with over-the-top villains, torture, violence, and more. Of course, I can only speculate on just how gritty the film is based on the trailer above, but I’m sure you’ll probably agree when I say that it was probably the last thing I would expect from a Pokémon film — fan-made or otherwise. For more information, including an interview with the film’s creators, click here.
Like so many of you, I spent a good portion of my youth collecting Lego sets. While the little blocks once allowed me fancy myself an amateur architect — though, I realize now that I was far from one — it wasn’t until recently that I discovered my love for photography. Of course, it wasn’t simply that I came across a lovely photo, I had to introduced to field it by a friend who shoots professionally. It was very much a case of “Where has this been my whole life?” and “Why couldn’t something bring it to my attention sooner?” Well, it would seem Pentax has a unique idea that might help solve that problem.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 21, 2010 in Videogames
Sega’s Yakuza series — known in Japan as Ryu Ga Gotoku — has had a rather interesting history in terms of localization. While the first game was given the full treatment, complete with English voice acting and uncut content, its sequels were released with mere subtitles and lacking much of the content the game had become infamous for — Japanese host clubs, mahjong parlors, and the like. That said, I absolutely loved every minute of the series. The characters were easy to relate with, while the story was entertaining, and provided a interesting look at the every day life of Yakuza, from their hardships to their more recreational ventures. So why would Sega finally decide to end the series as we know it?
It might seem a bit unwieldy, or dare I say a tad cartoonish — if that’s even a word — but I’m pretty sure this is probably one of the coolest plush backpacks a kid could ever want. Modeled after Boba Fett’s original jet pack, as seen in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, this plush bag comes complete with multiple pockets and adjustable straps that fit both kids and adults alike. There’s even multiple pockets for documents such as Death Star plans, thermal detonators, and more. If you’re interested, you can pick one up from ThinkGeek for roughly $50, though if given the choice, I think I’d rather have C-3PO myself . Still, no kid in their right mind would ever want to haul a protocol droid around school if they could have a rocket pack instead, right?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 21, 2010 in Comic Books
This amazing set of beautiful posters were designed to celebrate the work of manga artist Takashi Yanase (by the way he’s over 90 years old!). His best known work is Anpanman which has never really caught on in United States, but I’d dare say it’s one of the best know manga (and anime) kids series in Japan. If you’re lucky enough to be in Japan there will be an exhibition of his work at the Kyoto International Manga Museum which starts on October 2. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 21, 2010 in Videogames
This wonderfully creepy Mario sculpture was done by Jason Freeny who studied industrial design at Pratt Institute once upon a time. His website features a nice selection of shocking pop culture themed illustrations many of which deal with the inner workings of cute cartoon characters. Read more…
Posted by Guest Author on Sep 21, 2010 in Animation
The Art of UP by Tim Hauser
You are only old once, so why don’t you have an adventure before you loose mobility and energy to do so. That is what Carl Fredricksen did, as he escaped with his flying home. The plot of Up is clearly as seen in the movie version, and what better way to relive the movie again than with reading The Art of UP. Though there are some differences in the book, even the behind the scenes program that they have on the DVD won’t get as in depth as this book did. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 20, 2010 in Comic Books
Cowboy Ninja Viking #9 will be hitting your local comic book shop this Wednesday, and if you haven’t been following this series it’s well worth checking out. While the title is gimmicky (the only two words missing are zombie and vampire) this book has a nice stripped down art style with a limited color palette that shows off the draftsmanship of Riley Rossmo: Read more…
