Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 17, 2011 in Comic Books
I love charts. Specifically, I love charts about stuff so nerdy that I feel the urge to buy them in poster form. This is one such chart, “The Illustrious Omnibus of Superpowers,” created by Pop Chart Labs. Contained therein you’ll find handy taxonomy for all types of superhero powers, from projecting glue to affecting probability. 200 superheroes and villains are on the chart, a considerable effort, and it’s certainly nice to look at it. If you don’t want to use the site’s magnifier to look at small portions of it, you can always buy it in poster form and hang it on your wall for those moments when you can’t remember who that one guy was who could emit a beam that only melts metal. Read more…
Wait! Don’t go! I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t want to smell like Cheetos and Mountain Dew and body odor!” But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s RPG perfume oil collection. There’s a selection of race-, class-, and alignment-themed scents. Shroud yourself in mystic spices and exotic incense with the Mage scent, or exude holy calm with the Paladin scent’s warm vanilla and frankincense. You can even forewarn your love interest that today’s not the day with the Evil scent. I’ve bought from Black Phoenix before, and the scents really are top-notch, and a bottle lasts for a good long time. They even change a little depending on your skin chemistry. Plus it helps you roll for initiative at the bar. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 16, 2011 in Videogames
I have fond memories of my little handheld electronic games I got for cheap at Radio Shack when I was a kid, back in the days when games for my “real” handheld game system were prohibitively expensive. Hippopotam– clearly a person (or persons) who knows that the very mention of the phrase “Plane & Tank” is enough to send me into a nostalgia seizure — has digitized classic handheld games like the above Plane & Tank, Game & Watch favorites like Legend of Zelda, and even Casio’s Castle Adventure and made them fully playable with mouse or keyboard controls. It’s like going back in time. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 16, 2011 in Star Wars
George Lucas is (and has never been) never shy about the whole merchandising thing when it comes to Star Wars, but sometimes it just goes way over the top. This 80s Underoos commercial is definitely one of those times. It gets even weirder, though — as io9 points out, the C3P0 dancer is actually Erika Eleniak, aka the stripper from Under Siege. Try to be comfortable with that juxtaposition. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 15, 2011 in Videogames
Might and Magic is a pretty old franchise in video game terms, and it only makes sense that current franchise owner Ubisoft would want to inject some new life into it. That new life comes in the form of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes HD, the high-def remake of last year’s critically-acclaimed Nintendo DS title from Capybara Games. The first thing veteran MM players will notice (besides the unique puzzle/strategy gameplay, of course) is the distinctive Saturday morning cartoon art style, with hand-drawn environments and characters. It even ties into the Heroes of Might and Magic storyline, yet still remains accessible to players new to the franchise. If the sound of a different studio getting their hands on your treasured IP makes you nervous, well, just keep two things in mind: first, Clash of Heroes is a legitimately good game, a charming and engrossing single- and multi-player experience. Second, the Clone Wars cartoon was several leagues better than the actual Star Wars prequel trilogy. Clash of Heroes is available now on PSN and Xbox Live for $14.99. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 15, 2011 in Television
If you’re a genre reader, you’ve probably read Neil Gaiman’s work, whether Good Omens, his fan-favorite book with Terry Pratchett, or his recently-a-motion-picture kids’ tale Coraline. And if you’re a fan, as most of his readers are, then the news that HBO is in talks to pick up his bestselling novel American Gods to produce as a TV series will likely excite you to the very core. The source material — a battle between the old gods from various countries and faiths and the new “American gods” of technology, consumption, and celebrity — is perfect for HBO, and even better for a TV show. No worrying about it fitting in a single film or even miniseries. As long as it can avoid the fate of a certain other fantastical HBO show, anyway. Read more…
We really weren’t sure what would happen to our favorite spy after MGM filed for bankruptcy back in November. Thankfully, it seems our worries can be put to rest. Sony Pictures has struck a deal with MGM to co-finance, theatrically market and distribute the Bond films — that is, both Bond 23 and 24, assuming everything goes accordingly. It’s safe to assume production will likely move ahead as soon as possible.Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 14, 2011 in Videogames
Those of you who’ve haven’t had a chance to experience Gearbox Software’s Borderlandsmight be in luck. For a limited time, all Borderlands content is on sale for 75% off via Steam. That means you can pick up the Game of the Year Edition which includes the original game along with all the downloadable content for only $7.50. If you already own a copy of the game, and just want to buy the DLC separately, each pack will only cost you $2.49 — an amazing bargain. There have been some amazing deals on Steam lately but this one definitely takes the cake and trust me, it’s worth every penny.
It’s been nearly two years, but fans of Peter David’s on-going series Star Trek: New Frontier may finally get their hands on his latest novel in the series. The book, entitled Blind Man’s Bluff, had originally been announced back in 2009 and initially scheduled for publication around June of 2010. By January, the book had been removed from the schedule entirely sparking fears that the series may have been cancelled entirely before being rescheduled for January 2011. Delayed yet again, the book is currently scheduled for release at the end of April and this time, it looks like it’s happening.
Like many of you, I had some fond memories of the X-Men animated series which aired on Fox during the mid-’90s. It wasn’t nearly as good as Batman: the Animated Series, but at the time there really wasn’t much on the air in the way of comic-based cartoons. With the announcement of the upcoming X-Men anime which will be airing in Japan, I made the mistake of watching a few of these “classic” episodes. Read more…
As some of you may be aware, Hot Toys is known for their stunningly detailed collectibles. True to form, their upcoming 1/6th scale Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow is no exception. The figure is the latest addition to the Movie Masterpiece Deluxe line — each one bearing a striking resemblance to the actors that portray the characters they’re based on. As you can see here, they’ve done an amazing job of capturing Johnny Depp’s visage.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 12, 2011 in Dr. Who, Lost
Dr.Who Lost crossover t-shirt
I can’t really say this would make for an awesome t-shirt but I really can’t pass up a chance to comment on this nifty work by artist and designer FFTKrazee. A clever little crossover between two of our fanboy favorites, Lost and Dr. Who, the design depicts Desmond, Faraday leaning up against a DHARMA-brand TARDIS. I never really thought about it until someone mentioned it in the comments for the shirt, but Jeremy Davies always looked like a sad Keanu Reeves. Read more…
Anime and Manga Fans have been recently, and still consistently aware of what has been happening over in Japan. So when the there was a 24-hour podcast marathon, Tony Yao was part of the line up. Recently I got the opportunity to conduct an e-mail interview with Tony Yao of Manga Therapy: Where Psychology & Manga Meet. He was upfront about his experiences, so this interview may or may not have been what you have experienced. He is a fan as well as a multi-site blogger to keep an eye out for. Read more…
Cats, cats, cats… you can be allergic to them in real life, but what about an animated or a drawn version cats, either in the form of mascots or characters? Take a look at this selection of cats, and be prepared to be a gooey puddle at the end. Shown above is Nekobus from My Neighbor Totoro — and here are a few of our other favorites: Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 10, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
If you’re reading this site, you’re probably comfortably familiar with the old trope of dragons hoarding treasure, given that it’s been present in almost every fantasy setting ever. But have you ever given much thought to how much some of those hoards would be worth in real dollars? Probably not. Forbes did, though! In fact, they’ve compiled a list of the 15 wealthiest fictional characters, and Smaug’s hoard, calculated with lots of easy-to-understand math formulae, puts him squarely in the 7th position on the list. For an explanation as to how the total value of his hoard ($8.6 billion) was estimated, check out Michael Noer’s very entertaining Forbes article. Read more…
You’d think with the sudden re-popularity of the Star Trek series that someone would be rushing to put the series back on the airwaves after a six-year absence, but not so, according to Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker on The Next Generation. He said he developed a new Trek series for TV, but the suits at Paramount turned it down, along with previous ideas from William Shatner and Pushing Daisies‘ Bryan Fuller, saying that they didn’t want to oversaturate the media with it like they had in the past. Honestly, it’s probably a good thing that they think that way now, since it’ll let the movies breathe a little and reestablish the fandom. Not that I wouldn’t love a new (and this is important, good) Trek series on the tube, of course.
He’s superpowered! He’s weird-looking! He’s completely insane! He’s Deadpool, and his movie may finally have a director. The LA Times reports that Tim Miller, a visual effects wunderkind, has been given his first shot at the director’s chair for Deadpool. Miller, perhaps most well-known for this visual effects work in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is the latest in a long line of possible Deadpool directors, including Robert Rodriguez and Adam Berg. Ryan Reynolds, who despite his busy schedule is still attached to the project, had high praise for the film’s fourth-wall-breaking script several months back. If you’re concerned about the choice of director, just remember that Zack Snyder directed commercials before he directed comic book movies. Take that how you will. Read more…
It’s been hinted at for a while, but now we can finally confirm that Hawkeye makes an appearance in the Thor movie via this puzzlingly context-free clip from Marvel. Why’s the dude just hangin’ out on the crane? Why doesn’t he shoot Thor? Does he shoot Thor after the clip ends? Why is this fight scene so important? I probably shouldn’t be so glib. They’re obviously just trying to toss us a little Avengers bone here, get the ol’ word-of-mouth machine rolling to get people hyped. It’s working! By the way, if you missed Hawkeye, he’s at about 24 seconds in, and shows for less than a second. Hopefully he’ll be in the full film for a little bit longer.
Cosplay isn’t a new phenomenon — for pretty much as long as there’s been fandom, there’s been cosplay. These retro cosplay photos, posted on 4chan’s cosplay board, prove it! We’ve compiled the best here for your perusal, from events ranging from WonderCon to WorldCon from the 70s to the 80s. You’ll notice some patterns — Red Sonja was a very popular cosplay choice for ladies back then, and Vulcans and Elric of Melnibone were popular for men. You can even see cosplay mainstays like Orion slave girls. It’s almost comforting to know that people have been dressing themselves up like fantasy and scifi characters for this long — it means that there have always been incredibly nerdy people in the world. Read more…
Those of you who were waiting for the various Star Trek television series to hit Netflix this month will be disappointed to know that they’ll have to wait a little longer. Trek Movie recently confirmed that the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star TrekVoyager and Enterprise won’t be available for instant streaming until July 1st. Deep Space Nine fans will have to wait till October. Why? Don’t ask me — the wait seems rather arbitrary, but I’m sure there’s a reason. Unfortunately, most of these series won’t be available in HD. Enterprise was shot more recently, and the original series has also been remastered, so both of those will be.
With its simplistic controls and straight-forward gameplay, the original Pac-Man has cemented itself in many of our hearts. We’ve seen several attempts at Pac-Man platformers in the past, most recently with the Pac-Man World series, and so far none have really captured the charm of the arcade classic. Namco is looking to give it one more try with their latest Pac-Man title, Pac’N-Jump for the iOS. Read more…
When it comes to PVC figurines, Yamato Co. is among Japan’s best. It’s no wonder that famed-artist Luis Royo trusts them to produce these stunning PVC recreations based on his art. Many of you may recognize Royo’s work from the covers of the 90’s Pocket Books Star Trek novels, Ultra X-Men, Heavy Metal magazine and more. In order to accurately capture the unique aspects of his dark, wonderous, and often exotic creations, few studios would be able to produce a sculpt with such detail, and Yamato certainly fits that bill.
Hallmark’s official Star Wars Darth Vader pinata is quite possibly the coolest pinata money can buy. It’s not quite the Deathstar, but you’d have to make one yourself. This bad boy measures 10.5 inches in width and hight while being nearly a foot deep — plenty of room for candy. If, on the other hand, you want to pull a fast one on your friend, you might be able to hide his picture behind the mask to freak him out when he knocks it open just to freak him out a little. Worked for Yoda, didn’t it? The pinata should run you about $22 on Amazon and comes packed with safety strings in case you’re not fond of swinging a lightsaber around. Read more…
If you want a blast from the past, the official Star Blazers website has posted scans of the original Star Blazers fanzine from the early 80’s. Over 30 years ago, our Fanboy.com founder Michael Pinto started the fanzine in an attempt to see the series renewed after networks had dropped the show in New York. With the series returning to television later this month, these newsletters give us an opportunity to see the passion that fuled Star Blazers’ fandom. It’s a shame that they’ve had to wait three decades, but for those of us who were late to that party, we’ll be able to catch the series the second time around when it airs on SyFy starting April 21st.
