I’ve been thinking a lot about those often (and not unfairly) maligned films known collectively as the Star Wars prequels– episode I (The Phantom Menace), episode II (Attack of the Clones), and episode III (Revenge of the Sith) –due to the subject coming up in a couple of interviews, and I’ve been thinking about the anger and hatred George Lucas receives from a particular set of Star Wars fans. Here’s why he doesn’t deserve it…kind of. Read more…
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Raiders of the Lost Ark, after all, it was the film that introduced us all to one of the most beloved action heroes of all time. I have to admit, it’s been some time since I’ve seen the film but several of the scenes have stuck with me to this day. Of course, there was the swapping of the golden idol for a bag of sand, and the pit of snakes, but more than anything, the image of a nazi’s face melting upon gazing at the contents of one very swank looking ark. It might not be the full-sized model, but this 1/4th scale replica of the Ark of the Covenant looks just as swank as the prop from the film. It’s a bit expensive, coming in at a hefty $249.99, but the details on the ark itself are immaculate. Sideshow Collectibles started taking pre-orders today through their official newsletter, but I can only imagine that they’ll be opening the pre-orders up to everyone else in due time. You’ll want to keep an eye on their website for additional information. In the meantime, you can sign up for the newsletter here.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 24, 2010 in Videogames
Back in 2006, Clover Studios developed one of the most innovative and beautiful titles to have ever graced to the Playstation 2 — Okami. The studio, who had been funded by Capcom Japan, had been riding off the success of their Viewtiful Joe franchise. While their previous games had featured similar cell-shaded graphics, Okami received crtical acclaim for its combination of beautifully rendered visuals and innovative gameplay. Unfortunately the game failed to sell and ended up being a contributing factor in the studio’s subsequent dissolution at the hands of Capcom’s board of directors the following year. As a result many fans who had enjoyed the game were left wondering if a sequel would ever be possible. Read more…
I wasn’t sure what I should title this post, but I was toying with the idea of calling it Abercrombie and Sith. I’m sure some of you are staring at these fantastic water-colored illustrations and wondering what exactly you’re staring at. Believe me when I say that I’m still kind of wondering about it myself. The various illustrations feature a variety of masked villains from the Star Wars Universe — and Jar Jar, regrettably — posing in designer clothing from labels like Viktor & Rolf, A.P.C., Band of Outsiders, Thom Browne. New York and more. The artist responsible, John Woo, not to be confused with the film maker, is actually quite a talented guy. If you want to check out more of his work — and trust me, you do — visit his website. Read more…
We’ll probably never have the opportunity to travel back in time to visit the sets of our favorite Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. However, thanks fanboys like Industrial Light and Magic’s Bill George — who, by the way, has a number of major film credits that including six Star Trek and two Star Wars films — many of the ships and models from those classic series have finally found a home of sorts. George has spent the last several years building a website, the Sci-Fi Airshow, which preserves many of the vehicles and ships designed over the years using a combination of digital photography and photoshop. In addition to some fantastic images, he provides semi-fictional accounts of the whereabouts of each ship since their Hollywood debut. Some of the ships to have been featured include Battlestar Galactica’s Viper and transport shuttle, and 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane. Check out the his site for more information, and if you’d like, you can follow his group on Facebook. Read more…
It might not be the classiest umbrella I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the coolest. This samurai “busho” umbrella features a designed based on the armor and weapon carried by Kanetsugu Naoe, a famous samurai during Japan’s often romanticized Sengoku era. As you can see from in picture above, the Umbrella’s handle is actually a replica of the hilt from Kanetsugu’s blade and the umbrella itself is lined with his family crest. Personally, I could probably see myself taking one of these along with me to Baltimore next month. I usually attend Otakon each year, and I can’t remember a time when it hasn’t rained for at least one day. If you’re interested in picking one of these up, you can head over J-List and order one for roughly $34 plus shipping. Read more…
Last week, famed comic-artist and illustrator Al Williamson passed away at the age of 79. I do find it difficult to sum up my feelings regarding his passing, but perhaps I can provide some perspective for those of you who may not already be familiar with the man. As both an artist and inker, Williamson’s work meant a great deal to both readers and fellow artists alike, and I feel it’s safe to say it has had a tremendous impact on comics as we know them today.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 21, 2010 in Comic Books
I’m always knocked out when ever I see a cover by Felipe Smith! Shown above is a cover from his latest manga which combines an vivid color palette of pinks, yellow and lime green with some very dynamic draftsmanship and composition. Smith of course is an America living in Japan, but I dare say that he’s really earned the right to use the term manga to describe his work.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 21, 2010 in Comic Books
Liquid City, Volume 2 looks like a must read item if you call yourself any kind of manga fanboy (or fangurl). This second volume in the series is due out at the end of September and features the work of a collection of artists from Southeast Asia. The beautiful cover shown above is by Shelly Wan and the book features work by Lat, Sonny Liew, Miel and Charlene Chua: Read more…
Actually that’s not a actual dustbuster but in fact a replica of phaser from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the show had a loyal fan base that’s still active till this day the industrial design of the series wasn’t always that imaginative and had many trappings of the decade. So of course in the politically correct depiction of the future a phaser couldn’t look like a good old fashioned handgun, and thus the phasers from the series earned their infamous dustbuster monikers. Of course this is no mere dustbuster but a collectable prop which will set you back about $500.
I haven’t watched Toy Story 3 yet, so I don’t know what all of the little cameo toy appearances are– but here are some of my favorite childhood toys (which may date me as a child born in the mid-’80s) that definitely deserve some Toy Story screen time. Read more…
No, I’m not talking about Left 4 Dead 4 Wii– I’m talking about ZombieFit, a new program at a gym in St. Charles, IL where you basically learn how to be a movie badass by assigning yourself an even harder target: be able to survive a zombie apocalypse. Read more…
It’s so rare for me to come across wearable Otaku-oriented clothing. I use the term wearable in that I’ve seen more than my fair share of lounge shirts plastered with gaudy designs — be it the choice of the color or the anime inspired prints themselves. These jeans, however, are hardly an eye-sore. With the words of Monkey D. Luffy gracing your rear-end, you too can aspire to rule the high seas and collect the ultimate treasure — that is, if you can manage to fit in them. Read more…
Ever wonder what Data would look like if he were built in Japan? Well, now we know thanks to Dragon Models’ upcoming line of Star Trek: The Next Generation 1/6th scale action figures. The android is joined by Captain Picard and what appears to be Lieutenant Worf circa season 3 — you can obviously tell by the uniform and hair. To be honest, I’m not loving what they did with Worf, but they managed to capture Sir Patrick Stewart’s visage quite nicely. As for Data himself? Well, the tilt of his head was a nice touch. Read more…
I really can’t get behind massive multiplayer gaming, at least when it requires large portions of my free time and an exorbitant monthly fee. Occasionally, however, a title catches my eye long enough for me reconsider that stance, and it would seem Electronic Arts and BioWare may have accomplished that very feat here. Their upcoming installment of the Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic saga, Star Wars: The Old Republic, will be the first MMORPG in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first game — I wish I could say the same for Obsidian Entertainment’s second installment of the franchise — and this recently released E3 trailer definitely looks promising, but now I’m left wanting more. Until then, I can only the game ends up being as good as its cinematics might lead us to believe.
Sure it’s not Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, or even IDW, but if you haven’t read any of Boom! Studios’ comics since its inception back in 2005, you’ve really missed out on some amazing work. With licensed works based on films like Die Hard and 28 Days Later you really can’t go wrong — not to mention their outstanding line-up of original content that spans a variety of different genres. However, missing out can be easily remedied thanks to their recently released iPad app which promises to deliver roughly 50 titles straight to your iPad for a reasonable price. The app itself is built on the comiXology engine, the same engine used by other publishers such as Marvel and IDW. To download the app, or to learn more, check out the app store website.Read more…
The coolest thing about about the Star Wars Light Saber Hikaru Ballpoint Pen is that not only does it light up — but the possibles for office antics are endless! Although my fear that most fanboys will afraid to embrace their inner Jedi and instead leave these magical writing instruments in their original packaging where no doubt they’ll sadly catch dust on a bookshelf.
This interesting panel discussion talks about the idea of consumer electronic appliances being able to connect to the cloud. What I found interesting about this discussion is that this idea isn’t 100% new, but in fact is the latest chapter in the ongoing evolution of an idea of a “smart house” which has been an old dream of the computer industry. A good example of this was the AT&T commercials from 1993 which had the theme “You Will” — take a look at the commercial at the one minute mark where your voice opens up doors: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 17, 2010 in Comic Books
Dark Horse is reprinting The Goon Volume 4: Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof which would normally be a non-event for yours truly. However they’ve gone the extra stretch and had Eric Powell do a new cover (shown above) which just looks brilliant. What makes Powell so unique is that he’s able to combine pull off a combination of an pulp magazine cover that you might have seen back in the day with just the right touch of cartoonishness.
I secretly suspect that Avatar will be seen as a future classic film when this next generation of fanboys comes of age: And this very clever Avatar Stormtrooper Helmet proves the point! The artist behind the amazing helmet is fangurl Denise Vasquez who created it for the 501st Legion: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 16, 2010 in Videogames
Sonic the Hedgehog is now almost twenty years old! His first appearance was in 1991 and he has gone on to become the real mascot of Sega — which back then also made hardware. Shown above is the Sonic Colors trailer which just came out for E3 this week: The game will be available around Christmas this year.
I really feel for Lord Of The Rings, here they are waiting for the Hobbit film to come out in 2012 and the director then quits! That means that if Tolkien fanboys (and fangurls!) are lucky they will only have waited nine years since The Return of the King came out in 2003. Well if it’s any consolation prize sad Rings enthusiasts can cuddle up with these official Lord of the Rings plushies which are now available for pre-order: Included are Frodo, Gandalf, Legolas and Orc. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 15, 2010 in Videogames
This is Space Invaders: Infinity Gene — Square-Enix and Taito’s latest attempt to revive the Space Invaders franchise. In all fairness, I haven’t actually had a chance to play this yet — though I might at this week’s E3 — and my first impressions are based on the video above. Still, I find myself completely confused by everything I saw. Sure it’s neat, and innovative, at least by comparison to the classic Space Invaders I knew and loved, but it’s as if the designers simply refused to draw a line. As a result, we’re left with a mess of lines and shapes which I really had trouble making heads and tails of. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the formula work — Geometry Wars was a great example — but until I really get a hands on with it, I’m simply not sold on this and I’m left wondering if I’m the only one who feels that way. Read more…
This is probably the largest stormtrooper toy I’ve ever seeen. At 24 inches, Super7’s two-foot-tall take on the Imperial stormtrooper comes complete with a spring loaded rocket propelled fist, and wheels. Why it would even need those is beyond me, but I’m not one to complain about the extras. Still, it’s not like it really needed them. It’s a two foot tall storm trooper wielding an E-11 blaster rifle, and that’s more than enough reason to want one if you ask me. Here’s the kicker, though — it’ll cost you about $299. Crazy, right? At least the details are pretty stunning up close. If you’re still willing to empty your wallet or bank account, you can order one online via the Super7 website. For more info on the toy itself, check out the mini-site here. Read more…
