Evangelion Mini Refrigerator

If you’re a hardcore Evangelion fanboy you’re going to want to own your own Evangelion Miniature Refrigerator which comes in either Rei Ayanami Blue or Asuka Langley Red. What’s strange about this fridge is that you can also use it as a food warmer too, but my guess is that this time of year you’d use it to keep your sake cool.

Tags: Anime, Evangelion

Alice in Wonderland with a Touch of Anime

I love how the cover for Avengers Fairy Tales #3 combines both that classic Victorian look with just a little dab of anime thrown in for good measure. This cover illustration is by French comic book artist Claire Wendling and will be appearing in comic book shops this week (kudos to Marvel Comics for their good taste).

Parody Preview: Wolverine: First Class #4

Paging Dr. Freud! Yes I know that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but this cover art is still quite silly: Although it’s so over the top that there’s a sort of lovable quality to it. The above illustration is by Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, and Paul Mounts and will storm into comic book stores today thanks to Marvel Comics.

Summer Fun: Sno-Cones for Fanboys

The Summer heat got me to thinking of the wonderful tradition of Sno-Cone toys. Shown above is a commercial for the Frosty the Sno-Man Sno-Cone maker which Hasbro first debuted in the 60s. Later in the 70s Kenner introduced their twist which was the IceBird:

So in 1979 Hasbro stuck back at Kenner with the Snoopy Sno-Come Machine (you can buy a reissued version here):

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Esther Pearl Watson’s UFO Inspired Folk Art

I came across some amazing paintings by Esther Pearl Watson, her style evokes the tradition of American folk art — however the twist is that many of her paintings feature a UFO theme which caught my fanboy eye. Shown above is Rudimentary Design and below is The Future. It turns out that Esther’s father was a fanboy hobbyist at heart, which is what inspires her artwork:

“Esther Pearl Watson grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Her family moved often, since her father’s hobby of building huge flying saucers out of scrap metal and car engines didn’t always sit well with the neighbors.”

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Dalek Masterpiece Theatre

The Daleks perform Shakespeare.

Dr. Who meets the Spanish Inquisition.

A Dalek Apple computer commercial parody.

Inspired via comicmix.com.

The Spirit: Femmes Fatale

I think one of the nice side effects of The Spirit movie hitting theaters in Christmas will be that it might just introduce an entire new generation of fanboys and fangurls the genius of Will Eisner. This upcoming book from DC Comics which is due in out in October looks promising:

The Spirit: Femmes Fatales (The Spirit)

“With Frank Miller’s movie version of Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT set to hit theatres in December, DC Comics collects some of the most memorable stories pitting The Spirit against his most sultry opponents! Featuring 23 selected tales of mystery originally published between 1940 and 1949, these stories star P’Gell, Sand Saref, Saree, Silk Satin, Thorne Strand, Autumn Mews and many others. ”

Children of Tomorrow: Illustration by Bruce Pennington

What’s great about this cover us that the couple in the foreground seem to be oblivious to the giant spacecraft above — the proof of this is that they’re running to the spaceship rather than from it:

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Lost in Space: Giant Pez

This is for all of you Lost in Space fanboys who want to pop your Pez in style:

Lost in Space: Giant Pez

“The adventure fourty years in the making is now here at last! The Jupiter 2 finally reaches its original destination, Alpha Centauri…and the space family Robinson will never be the same again! Join the trusty B-9 Robot and the Robinson’s as they land, at long last, on the elusive Alpha Centauri. Theirs is a mission of peace, scientific exploration and the survival of the human race! The Lost in Space Giant Pez B-9 Robot is over 12″ tall and plays custom authentic B-9 Robot Dialogue and Sound Effects. Includes: three 1.5 volt batteries.”

Japanese Astronomers Hunt Space Aliens

So far we’ve discovered over 300 planets outside of our solar system, it makes one start to wonder if we might find alien life forms sooner than later (or at least a planet that might support life):

Life in outer space? Astronomers hunt aliens
Japan’s project involves astronomers filming one star over several nights

“Japan’s biggest astronomical observatories are teaming up for an unprecedented quest to find out whether there is life in outer space. The project, led by Japanese astronomers, will bring together a dozen or more observatories from all over the country to study one star that researchers see as a potential home to an extraterrestrial civilization.”

Pokemon vs. Haruhi Suzumiya

I always preferred the Lucky Star opening to the Haruhi Dance, but I got quite a kick out of the work put into this fan made video.

Found via kotaku.com.

A Gallery of Kenner Star Wars Action Figures

Looking through Jason’s Flickr account I came across an amazing set of Kenner Star Wars Action Figures from the early 80s — what’s amazing is that they’re all in their original boxes. I think my favorite is the IG-88 assassin droid at the very end:

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The Patchwork Girl of Oz: Illustrated by John R. Neill

There’s something very innocent yet creepy about this 1913 cover illustration by John R. Neill for the book The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. If you look closer at the artwork what’s interesting is that the little girl doesn’t seem the least bit disturbed by this doll that has come to life and I also love the little touch of the multichromatic creature grabbing the typography of the book’s title:

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Batman & Robin Bat Coders

I’ve got the signal, let’s go! The Batman & Robin Bat Coders are authentic walkie talkies, there are two in the set — one for Batman and one for Robin of course. The best unique feature of this toy was the switch for sending either an alarm or danger signal as shown here in a commercial from the late 70s:

9 volt battery not included!

Photo via toysfortheages.

Fables #76: Cover by James Jean

Shown above is a detail of the cover of Fables #76 by James Jean. I love his use of candy colored hues, and if you look closely you’ll see quite a bit of nice detail in his illustration as well like the stickers on base of the streetlight. Below is the full cover which is due out in September from DC Comics:

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Oh No: It’s the Star Wars Dance Off!

OMFG! How can Lucas let this happen to his prized characters? This footage was shot by ParkSleuth and the dance competition is part of a Star Wars Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Found via Kara Swisher whose name rhymes with Carrie Fisher!

Battlestar Galactica: Mark II Viper Statue

I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan when it comes to the new Galactica, but I did get a kick out of the old show (well until it jumped the shark with Galactica: 1980). So I got a kick out of seeing this worn looking viper from the old show:

Battlestar Galactica: Mark II Viper Statue

“This eight-inch statue features the classic Mark II Viper design complete with display base and removable cockpit shield! Based on the original digital effects files taken right from the hit series, each interstellar ship is limited to 2,007 pieces and features a hand-numbered base with matching box and Certificate of Authenticity.”

Earth-like Planets May Be Common

It’s amazing to think in just a few short years we’ve discovered over 300 planets outside of this solar system, it’s only a matter of time until we come across Earth-like which are known as “Class M Planets” to us Star Trek fanboys:

Trio of super-Earths found around Milky Way star

“European researchers said on Monday they discovered a batch of three “super-Earths” orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well. They said their findings, presented at a conference in France, suggest that Earth-like planets may be very common.”

Animated Peter Max Anti-Smoking Commercial

It’s funny to see this vintage early 70s animated commercial with features the work of psychedelic artist Peter Max encouraging folks to stop smoking cigarettes. While his work was very associated with hippy drug culture to my surprise it seems that Max was willing to speak out and urge folks to not smoke:

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Kabuki: Reflections #11 by David Mack

I was looking at what Marvel has coming out for September and I came across the above gem by David Mack which is a wonderful homage to Gustav Klimt:

“This square-bound art book acts as a tie-in to the DVD documentary on Mack’s work, THE ALCHEMY OF ART: DAVID MACK from Herovideoproductions.com. REFLECTIONS #11 includes details and commentary on never-before-seen art and stories – including Mack’s new children’s book THE SHY CREATURES, handmade books and paintings from the DVD. Also featuring step-by-step art techniques, loads of art and extras you’ve never seen before, figure drawings, new paintings, sketches and art for Tori Amos’ new Comic Book Tattoo story, album cover art, large art, live art shows, original scripts and more!”

Billy Batson and The Magic of Shazam: Cover by Mike Kunkel

I love comic book covers when they’re less serious and more cartoony and this cover of Billy Batson and The Magic of Shazam #3 by Mike Kunkel does the trick! The above issue hits the streets on September 24th from DC Comics.

Vintage Animated Japanese Commercials

This first risque soap commercial from 1970 does a nice job of combing live action with animated characters. I love the design of the character with her smiling mouth touching her eyes.

Not only is the stop motion animation in this advert great, but the music it catchy too!

This hipsteresque spot is for Suntory Torys Whisky.

And this last spot is for Vicks cough drops.

Soviet City of the Future from 1969

The funny thing is that although this Soviet city of the future seems utopian, it’s very repressive under the surface: Every building in site looks exactly alike! It’s as if in this vision of the future there is only one architect who designed just one building and then they figured out to leave well enough alone after that point. Also notice how all the vehicles carry multiple parties — clearly mass transit rules the day, but if you want to own a private car jet that’s too bad! The illustration is scanned from a 1969 copy of Teknika Molodezhi (Techniques of Youth) magazine which was a Russian Popular Mechanics magazine of sorts.

Found via darkroastedblend.com.

Panda-Z: The Robonimation

The minute I spotted the above photo I fell in love with the toy! The toy is from the 2004 kids anime series Panda-Z: The Robonimation which is a bit of a parody of giant robot cartoons from the 70s like Mazinger Z. Even though the show is no longer on the air Bandai is still pumping out toys and other goodies based on the series which you can find at the official Panda-Z website. Below is an official shot from their Panda-Z Goods section of their website of the toy that caught my eye:

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