“Think how you could enjoy life if you earned a hundred or more dollars every week! Our long list of successful students that are now earning big money proves that we can teach you no matter how you draw now! OUR NEW MASTER CARTOON DRAWING COURSES cover COMIC STRIPS, ANIMATED CARTOONS, BIG FULL PAGE SUNDAY COMICS IN COLORS, SPORT CARTOONS, COMIC ILLUSTRATIONS, POLITICAL CARTOONS AND ALL OTHER KINDS. If you have never studied drawing before we have courses especially for you! We also have advanced instruction on Animated or Newspaper Cartooning for anyone who draws well. Courses on easy monthly payments.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2007 in Videogames
This hand woven Pac Man carpet can be added to your fanboy collection for just $2031. The carpet was designed by the Swedish design company Our Children’s Gorilla. I was also impressed with their vintage robot which had a nice sene of whimsy to it.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2007 in Animation
Shown above is a clip from the British kids show Hickory House from 1974. The show was aimed at the pre-school and usually hosted by a pair of presenters. The show caught my eye due to the use of puppetsala Sesame Street.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2007 in Comic Books
I admit it: I’m so burned out on Batman that at this point, and as a knee joint reaction I often quickly look the other way. However I spotted the above cover and was quite impressed with the free flowing style that you don’t often associate with the dark knight. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the cover art for Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious is illustrated by none other than Sam Kieth, who was the chief creative talent behind the Maxx, which was one of my 90s favorites on MTV (back when MTV showed animation once upon a time).
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2007 in Television
You know when the Sci Fi channel is at it’s best? Not when it’s churning out remakes of old shows, but when it’s showing them. Right now I’m enjoying a healthy bit of early 70s nastolgia thanks to a reshowing of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. My childhood seems to be filled with tons of Apes related memories, everything from the spin-off TV show (which was pretty much Starsky and Hutch with a bunch of apes) and even record albums.
Reading up on the movie it was the first sequal of the series, or the first step from being a cool 60s art film to a schlockmeister 70s sequel. Although the film has everything a fanboy could want: apes on the war path, mutant humans, the ruins of New York City, a few minutes with Charlton Heston, some gun action and horses, and the world blowing up at the end with a left over atomic bomb from the 20th century. And as with any apes flick the music is half the fun!
I think what makes this film work (and why it stuck in my head) is that they were willing to tell a story that would keep you going. Also not only were they willing to kill of the main character, but also blow up the entire planet. Of course this didn’t stop them from making prequals to bring back the apes for more entertainment. Besides how can’t you love a film that ends with:
“In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead.”
The industrial design of the above radio is sheer Simpsons genius! You control the volume and station tuning controlled by turning Homer’s eyes. Press Homer’s right ear and he will give you one of the six phrases, such as “That tickles!” and “Okay, quit admiring yourself and towel off”:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 21, 2007 in Comic Books
I love the graphic style of the above cover for Hellblazer #238 which is titled “The Smoke” by illustrator Lee Bermejo. Here’s a description of the book which is coming out in November:
“London becomes a veritable Hell on Earth for John Constantine when smoking is outlawed in pubs! But nicotine withdrawal is the least of his problems when he finds himself hunting a group of “urban explorers” who have disappeared into a shadowy parallel London where every urban myth is true. And they’d better pray he finds them before the Chelsea Smilers do… ”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 20, 2007 in Comic Books
The more I see examples of Skott Young’s artwork the more I’m impressed with his style. For the last few weeks I’ve been looking for covers to feature here at fanboy.com and frankly I haven’t seen much that impresses me, but the minute I saw this cover I knew it was a winner. What also impresses me is that Skott (or Skottie) doesn’t stick to any single style, but his work always has a very animated and fluid feeling to it.
This photo made me smile because I loved playing with G.I. Joe and watching Godzilla flicks as a child. Photo by Jason, around the web as TCM Hitchhiker.
“Eye in the Sky is an eye-catching masterpiece which urgently reminds us that the Hong Kong Cinema is not dead yet. This vibrant crime thriller casts a ray of hope onto the struggling film industry over there, telling us there are still some new, daring filmmakers working with passion and creative ideas in Hong Kong.
The movie is about an inconspicuous yet important unit of Police Force — the Surveillance Unit. The officers working in this unit mostly spend their time on endlessly waiting for their targets, following the suspects, setting up eavesdropping bugs and preparing tracking devices. They usually don’t need to participate in any action or use their guns. So how can a movie about people doing these boring jobs be so interesting? It’s because we have ignored the very nature of their job — they can only do things in secret and cannot afford any minor mistake. Once their covers are blown, so is the whole operation. To spice up the dramatic elements, the villains in the movie are not stupid at all — they also counter-surveillance to get away from the police. It’s a deadly cat-and-mouse game that is not only about physical strength but also about quick wit, patience and focus.”
“Back in 1976, Fireside published the above book under an agreement with Marvel and featured 128 pages of exercises and workouts. The program was designed by Ann Picardo and showed various Marvel characters demonstrating the techniques through the illustrative talents of Joe Geilla. (Stan Lee also added some character dialogue, which is why his name’s on the book too).”
For me the hallmark of a cool anime goodie is that it looks good to mundanes even if they know nothing about the show that the goodie is associated with, so the Misa Amane Mascot Cell Phone Strap (shown above) caught my attention right away. It has that wonderful goth feeling to the mascot, yet that smile gives it that nice sense of humor. If you want to adopt mascot Misa if you go here:
“Canned noodles are emerging as a hit product across Japan following last year’s rising popularity of canned oden in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. Kyoto-based vending machine manufacturer Fujitaka was the first company to come out with canned ramen. In May this year it began selling Sapporo-style noodles, which gained huge popularity, mainly in the Akihabara district.
In June, the company added hiyashi-men (chilled noodles) to its lineup of canned products. The noodles are made from konnyaku to prevent them from going soggy when they soak up the noodle soup. Since no hot water is needed they can be eaten straight away.”
“Tehran (CHN) — An animated piece on an earthen goblet that belongs to 5000 years ago was found in Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchestan province, south-eastern Iran. On this ancient piece that can be called the first animation of the world, the artist has portrayed a goat that jumps towards a tree and eats its leaves.
The earthenware found in Burnt City, one of the most developed civilisations dating back to 5000 years ago, show the images of goats and fish more than any other subject. It seems these animals were used more than any other by the people of this city.”
“To celebrate Bender’s awesomeness, we bring you this tiny, shiny version of the future’s favorite robot. At just slightly over 3″ tall, this effigy is just like Bender – all metal! In fact, he’s die cast and nickel plated. His head turns around (full 360 °) so he can look at, glare at, or target anything you want him to. Everyone needs a little Bender now and again. So grab one now, and celebrate the secret desire to become a folk singer in all of us. Each Bender is just over 3″ tall, made of all metal (nickel plated!), and has a rotatable head.”
“Just in time for the show’s off-net syndication launch, the cast behind “Family Guy” is taking it back out on the road. “Family Guy Live” will travel to Chicago for the first time Sept. 15, performing two shows at the Chicago Theater. Location was chosen because Windy City-based Tribune will launch the “Family Guy” syndie strip on its O&Os (including KTLA, Los Angeles; WPIX, New York; and WGN, Chicago) next month.
In the stage show, creator and star Seth MacFarlane leads the cast, including Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green and Mike Henry, in musical numbers from the show. Event includes a table read of an episode, a Q&A with the cast, and a preview of the “Star Wars”-themed season premiere.”
“The latest FX lightsaber is an exact replica of Master Yoda’s. Its illuminating blade features a power up/power down effect thanks to sequentially lighting LEDs. Lightsaber sound effects have been recorded from the film and are activated by moving the saber or by impacting the blade.”
