“The Life-size Cylon figure, as seen in the reimagined Sci-Fi series ‘Battlestar Galactica’, is manufactured exclusively by Fred Barton Productions, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, and licensed through Universal Studios. Each Cylon is hand-made using only the finest materials and overseen by the ‘Robot Man’ himself, Fred Barton.”
He first made waves in the U.S. with his series Master Keaton, whose anime adaptation was released in English by Pioneer/Geneon in 2003. But Naoki Urasawa’s best-known works these days are the Fugitive-esque drama Monster and the extremely popular and still-running 20th Century Boys.
In Monster, Kenzo Tenma is a Japanese doctor living in Germany when he makes the decision to operate on a young boy who arrived at the hospital first instead of a prominent politician who arrived later, displeasing his superiors. Shortly thereafter, his superiors— and the boy, along with his twin sister —all disappear. Nine years later, he runs into the boy, Johan, again, now a man and a mass murderer. When Tenma becomes the suspect for Johan’s crimes, the doctor takes matters into his own hands. He saved the monster; he will put him away. The series is widely acclaimed for its slow yet intense pacing, thrilling and suspenseful action, and particularly its phenomenal characterizations. No character is thrown away; each has his or her own back story, and there are many of them.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 20, 2008 in Japanese TV
The above commercial stars Japanese comedian Miyuki Torii — I just love how she’s talking to a Black Jack (a well known Tezuka manga character) cardboard cut out. And as with all clever advertising I have no idea what they’re selling…
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 19, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Gammarauders
Released by TSR in 1987, Gammarauders is a crazy hodgepodge of post-apocalypticism, table-top role-playing and sci-fi comedy. From the game’s World Book:
“It was a time of peace and plenty. Men flew in multicolored suits. Women worked magic by wiggling their noses. Vehicles talked. Blond genies lived in bottles. Hillbillies invaded a land called Beverly…”
And it goes on like that. For twenty pages.
The game is played with large cardboard hexagonal areas á la Settlers of Catan, much smaller cardboard token pieces representing troops, various action cards and, the main attraction, sheets featuring the Bioborgs. Bioborgs are huge mutated animals ranging from a t-rex to a kangaroo to a penguin and more, all massive and outfitted with lethal weaponry. The players assume the role of one of the various wacky groups and gangs ranging from hippies to gangsters to samurai. The whole thing has a very over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek tone, but in fact little of the back story has much effect on the actual game play. The main appeal is the ever changing battlefield and the crazy visuals. For example, the weapon cards all feature unique designs and crazy names like the Helio-Conic Slugger, Neonuclear Flamer and Omni-Ionized Gas Emissions.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 19, 2008 in Star Trek
Shown above is a full-size replica of the classic Star Trek Communicator which was just released. While it won’t replace your iPhone this collectible features blinking lights, a moving moire pattern to impress your hippy friends, and over twenty sound effects and phrases including “Scotty here, Captain!” Star Trek fanboys (and fangurls) can order it now at Amazon.com for about $25 (transporter fees not included):
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 19, 2008 in Comic Books
“Stop right there. I have here the only working phaser ever built. It was fired only once, to keep William Shatner from making another album!” If you identify with Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, you’ll love this site!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 18, 2008 in Pulp Fiction
Today Arthur C. Clarke passed away: What I always admired about Clarke was that he started life as a fanboy reading science fiction pulp magazines, in fact he got his first few stories published in fanzines between 1937 and 1945 (he didn’t turn pro until after WW II at the age of 29). Also for him science fiction wasn’t some far off fantasy, but rather a reality waiting to happen — the proof of this was his love of science and astronomy, which gave his fiction a sense of credibility. Here is video of Clarke reflecting on his 90th birthday from last December:
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 18, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Solarquest
It is a rare thing to find a game that is not only a ton of fun, but also quietly educational. Built on Monopoly’s core mechanics, Solarquest adds a bit of depth as well as a lot of polish and eye candy to the otherwise dry franchise.
The basic idea is that you’re zooming around the solar system buying up every major rock (mostly moons) you can find. Instead of moving in a fixed path, players may choose to orbit around the home planets for as long as they wish, building up fuel and cash. Once a player has bought up a planet’s surrounding moons they essentially have a monopoly and gain more money for rent and fuel when another player lands there. There are also special rules to allow cutthroat laser battles that are sure to end friendships and destroy marriages.
Neil Marshall Writer/Director of the Descent and Dog Soldiers returns to the big screen with Doomsday. In 2008 the Reaper virus lays siege to Scotland, killing people by the thousands. In response the British government puts up a 30 foot wall around Scotland, separating it from the rest of the world and trapping those infected within. Anarchy ensues as people rape, loot and kill in a lawless land while the rest of the world looks on.
Fast forward thirty years. The rest of the world has turned their back on England, London has become a third world haven for the downtrodden who live on the streets because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. It is among the masses that victims of the returning Reaper Virus are found. Martial Law is declared by Prime Minister Hatcher (Alexander Siddig a.k.a Dr. Bashir from Star Trek:Deep Space 9) and a plan is drawn up to find out why some people survived within the quarantine zone of Scotland and to find the cure for the Reaper virus.
Eden Sinclair played by Rhona Mitra ( Shooter, The Number 23, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ) is chosen to lead a team back into the wasteland to find a survivor and the cure. The team, of course, is filled with throw away good guys who’s only job is to get slaughtered and make Eden look all the more bad ass.
Shown above is Neptune’s Sandcastle, the largest sandcastle in the world, which was sculpted for the 2006 Virginia Beach Neptune Festival. It’s from this fun article I came across:
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 17, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Text Adventure
First off, no, I never got the Babel Fish. At least not on my own.
The text-adventure version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the most evil games ever created. It’s also, as most inherently evil things tend to be, a huge amount of fun. Not surprising since the source material is brilliant and the game was adapted by author Douglas Adams himself. The game follows the plot of the book just about as much as the books themselves follow any sort of plot. Much like the book, the player is simply called to react to the events transpiring around him. From the bulldozing of the house to the trip to space and the travels of the Heart of Gold, everything just sort of happens. Naturally there are a lot of new bits and a lot of missing bits, but collectively all of the bits make for a great experience.
Shown above are two samples from an amazing gallery that features posters from classic Bollywood horror films. On the left is the poster for Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan and on the right is Gumnaam from 1965. The website is here:
“EXTRA-TERRESTRIALS will probably never phone Earth in a way we can understand because they are unlikely to have evolved human-like intelligence. Australian National University astronomer Charley Lineweaver said no other organism on Earth had evolved with intelligence matching that of humans, so it was highly improbable an extra-terrestrial lifeform would think like we do or have built technologies like ours.
“If human-like intelligence were so useful, we should see many independent examples of it in biology and we could cite many creatures who had involved on independent continents to inhabit the intelligence niche,” Dr Lineweaver said. “But we can’t. Human-like intelligence seems to be what its name implies – species specific.” Although he was sure there was other life beyond Earth, he doubted there was intelligent life, such as that, pictured, from the film ET.”
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 16, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Mighty Men & Monster Maker
It has been said before, but memory is an odd thing. You can be minding your own business, idly cruising through the nether-regions of the intertoobes, when all-of-a-sudden you see something that instantly sends you through the looking glass. You’re two feet shorter and [redacted] years younger. The light looks oddly diffuse, the walls tower over you at strange angles and you’re laying on your grandmother’s living room floor forming weird creatures and mental dreamscapes with Tomy’s Mighty Men & Monster Maker.
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 15, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Simon
Sure, it would be easy to wonder why this simple little kid’s game of follow-the-leader should make it onto this list. To you, all I have to say is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Simon is obviously a pan-dimensional communications device sent to test the evolutionary progress of civilizations across the universe. To the casual observer it may seem like a simple match game. While most people think that “winning” is simply hitting every candy-colored note at the right time, most fail to realize that the way we lose is just as important. Our behavior is very closely monitored during this “play,” while all of our vital statistics and higher brain functions are sent out at light speed every time our fingers touch the pads.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 15, 2008 in Comic Books
Shown above is Drawing Superheroes which features well known comic book artists in action at their studio. Part one features John Romita and Joe Kubert, while part two (below) has John Buscema and Bill Sienkiewicz:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 15, 2008 in Japanese TV
Shown above is an episode of Saku Saku from a while ago which featured Sailor Moon as a guest, well not the animated one but an actress playing an incredible simulation. Being a talk show I never have any idea what’s going on, but for some reason I can’t help but keep watching (they always seem to have quite a bit of fun). Speaking of Sailor Moon, it seems like there will be a live action version of the show. But for your immediate entertainmenthere is part two of our faux Sailor Moon interview on Saku Saku:
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 14, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Metroid
Barren landscapes. Strange alien life-forms. A mysterious civilization. A harsh and minimal soundtrack. Absolutely no dialog. All of these things combined to make Nintendo’s Metroid an immediate sci-fi stand-out on the system.
In the game, the player is thrust directly into a foreign land with very little explanation. The seemingly unending caves twist and turn like a maze, going both vertically as well as horizontally. The confusion is pushed even further with the several impenetrable doors and other seemingly impossible to reach areas. This was something new to many gamers. The idea of backtracking and unlocking secret areas all the way back where you started from was still a relatively new one for home-consoles. While these days it has come to be more of an annoyance to some gamers than a special feature, it certainly made for interesting, if not laborious, secret hunting as well as serving to extend the life of the game greatly.
Shown above is the Tokidoki “Kaiten Sushi” Journal by artists Simone Legno which will be released on July 2nd from Dark Horse Comics:
“Back by popular demand! You cannot stop the popularity of adorable Tokidoki. Our first journal and stationery set sold more than any other sets, so we’re extremely excited to present a second journal, designed by Italian-born artist Simone Legno. The image speaks for itself. This journal will be sought after and treasured by many!”
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 13, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Space Invaders
One of the great things about certain types of sci-fi is that they leave a lot up to your own imagination. Sometime the things that are left unexplained are the most intriguing. You can select the things you think are interesting and build them up in any way you see fit. I mean, this is exactly what the fan-fiction industry [community] is built upon.
Space Invaders is one of those less-is-more sorts of situations. The basic premise, heck, the only premise, is that the aliens are coming and they want us dead. Where are they from? How far have they traveled? What is it about us that they find so offensive as to throw literally everything they have at us? It’s enough to paralyze even the most iron-clad ego. Fortunately, the game gives you exactly zero chance to ponder the finer points of pan-galactic diplomacy. Before you can even survey the playing field, the electric disintegrator rays are raining from the sky and it’s time to boogie. You can try and hide behind your shields, but eventually those space bugs are going to crush you, so shut up and pull the trigger.
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 12, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Star Wars (Arcade)
No list of great sci-fi anything could possibly be complete without the inclusion of something Star Wars related. Video games are no exception. While there have been loads of games bearing the distinctive logo, perhaps the best is also the first.
1983 saw an explosion of Star Wars video games across the board, but few would argue against the original arcade “cockpit” style cabinet being the best. First of all, the second you crawled in and sat down, you became Luke Skywalker. Visually cut off from the outside world, it was suddenly long ago and far away and you are flying around in space. Shot from a first person perspective, you could just see your X-Wing’s blasters pointing in from the edges of the screen. TIE fighters screamed toward you from all angles. The yoke controller was a dream to use and soon disappeared in your hands. And that wasn’t even the best part.
How can we get the kids to eat more pasta? A single serving of Macaroni Twiki only contained 12 grams of protein, but if you’re a Buck Rogers fanboy (or fangurl) in 1979 this was the pasta you’d prefer. The late 70s series always reminded me of Battlestar Galactica with just that extra touch of disco. I’m surprised the producers of the show never used the character “the Hawk” (who had the worst costume in the world) to sell eggs. But getting back to the robot character Twiki who inspired this carb creation, it’s interesting to note that the voice acting was supplied by uber talented Mel Blanc.
And now if you’re still left wondering just what that pasta looked like, here it is:
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 11, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past:
Robotron: 2084
If there is one iron-clad sci-fi rule, it’s that robots will always turn on their makers. It’s “the fall” reduced to more mortal confines. If you build something in your image, it will eventually pitch a fit, take its ball and try and kill you with it.
In Robotron: 2084 (released in 1982), you are the last hope for human civilization. The title explains all you need to know about the setting; it’s the year 2084 and robots with some twisted AI have overrun the word and are now killing and mutating the few remaining humans. For rather vague reasons (something about being a mutant yourself) you are the only person with any sort of retaliatory firepower. As usual, the human “family” is totally useless in trying to save itself and walks around aimlessly while hordes of boxy ‘bots, flashing violent shades of oh-so-futuristic neon, seek them out. With the only motivation to save them being a few extra points, it may be tempting to just sit back and watch these idiots stagger to their doom, but then we wouldn’t have a game then would we?
