Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 8, 2010 in Comic Books
The second issue of X-Force: Sex and Violence will be out this Wednesday and I have to say that the artwork by Gabrielle Del’otto is some of the best work that Marvel is producing lately. Gabrielle has broken away from the pen-and-ink outline tradition of comics and every panel of this book is an action packed painting. The added realism also breaks up the absurd look of superheroes prancing around in their tights which makes so many Marvel and DC titles look laughable. In additional to that Gabrielle has taken the Japanese manga layout of pane placement to heart making each page a treat to look at: Read more…
I’m always happy for a geeky excuse to talk about Glee. And last time, I demanded that the writers of the show plug in a Rocky Horror Picture Show number. But now that it’s actually happening, I find myself a little skeptical about how the show that is essentially High School Musical for a slightly older set will manage to pull it off. Read more…
Okay, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popular line from Predators isn’t used in this clip, but hey, “chopper” kind of rhymes with “father,” right? An enterprising Star Wars fan decided to attach some of the Terminator’s dialogue from a variety of his films, from Twins to End of Days, which puts a nice and remarkably different spin on Vader. Read more…
How often do you see those little fish emblems on cars? You know which ones I’m talking about — the fish used to tell everyone else that they’re Christian and proud of it. Why? I’m not so sure myself, but I guess they feel its important that we know. Hell, I’ve counted at least 4 or 5 of them today, but I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly going out of my way to look. Now, I’m well aware that modifying that emblem to fit our needs isn’t exactly a new idea. In fact, I’m getting a bit tired of seeing the little feet attached — it was funny the first 1,000 times. Why not show your love for Star Trek instead? Well, thanks to ThinkGeek, you can share your love for Shatner and Stewart with other unsuspecting motorists. Better yet, it doesn’t have poor Darwin’s name smushed inside and is still slightly clever. Besides, it has warp nacelles — awesome, right? Read more…
Lionhead studios, in conjunction with Microsoft Game Studios, have released the opening cinematic for their upcoming installment of Fable. The third title to date, Fable 3 tells the tail of a kingdom on brink of revolution, its subjects the victim of a tyrannical ruler. This opening cinematic tells that tale in an interesting way — through the eyes of a chicken, doomed to be a served at a royal dinner. While it might show little in the way of potential gameplay, the cinematic certainly doesn’t lack the dark humor found through out the series. Instead, it provides us with an explanation of the plot via a rather clever set of metaphors — in addition to painting a clear picture of the setting itself. The game is currently set to ship for Xbox 360 on October 26th. Read more…
If you’re into comics, or even only writer Neil Gaiman’s brilliant series Sandman, you may be aware that Gaiman just came out of a legal battle with Image Comics and Todd McFarlane over what royalties he’s owed from sales based on characters derived from Spawn, which Gaiman originally co-created. The jury ruled in Gaiman’s favor, and while McFarlane took the classy way out by not saying anything mean about anyone, Larsen has managed to spread some vitriol via Twitter. Read more…
If you’re a fanperson, you’ve probably hung out on geeky forums, and as such you either are, have been, or have dealt with…the troll. For those unaware of the nomenclature, the troll is the user who starts or continues a fight intentionally, often by espousing a position they may or may not actually subscribe to in reality. Trolls can come in all shapes and sizes, but rarely does one see a troll out in the open, away from the safe confines of Internet anonymity.
While Japanese roleplaying games seem to be declining in popularity, there are a number of series that seem timeless. Chrono Trigger is definitely one such series. With Akira Toriyama’s signature character designs and Masato Kato’s innovative script, the game has remained a fan favorite for over 15 years. With that in mind, Square Enix and Bird Studio have taken it upon themselves to recreate some of the most memorable scenes from the game with their Chrono Trigger Formation Arts, available now at Hobby Search. Each of these six figures are sure to bring about a sense of nostalgia for anyone who loved the original game — now if only Square Enix would make a proper sequel.
It was only a matter of time before someone decided to print the Empire’s precious Death Star floorplans. Available via ThinkGeek, this set of 5 double-sided posters will provide you with some of the highest detailed diagrams from the series to date. Ever wonder what Vader had going on under that suit? How about a hyperdrive? That’s right, it has all of that and more. While I can’t personally vouch for the validity of these diagrams — I hear the Death Star plans were actually found on the floor of Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood, California — I’d like to think the novelty of claiming you own them should be worth the purchase. Besides, you never know when you’ll have to make a trench run.
When I first heard about the upcoming Gatachman film back in 2008, I was excited. The series, known as G-Force here in the states, is in part responsible for my love of anime today. Alongside series like Robotech, Speed Racer and Voltron, it was one of the many anime that somehow managed to make its way to network television in the 80’s. Of course, the series was re-aired in the mid-90’s thanks to Cartoon Network’s Toonami, but was never shown unedited. The upcoming film should stay true to the original Japanese, though I have to admit this teaser has me a bit worried — not that the plot or visuals will be toned down for a younger audience, so much as that the animation itself might be a bit lacking. I guess we all have to understand that Imagi isn’t Pixar, and with their various financial issues — some of which are responsible for the film being delayed until 2011, instead of being released back in 2009 as planned — we should be happy the film is even happening. Until then, we’ll be left wanting a bit more. Read more…
Japan has always had a very structured and linear approach to game development, especially in regards to the role playing genre. Stereotypical Japanese roleplaying titles, or JRPGs as they’ve become known, often follow set storylines, limiting replayability and the freedom that’s usually associated with western titles. While I’ve personally found those titles to be enjoyable, it’s easy for some to liken them to reading a book, or watching a movie — a simple interactive, yet aesthetically pleasing script.
Future Fighters is in the early stages as a film, but as a mecha fanboy who is obsessed with robots and spacecraft I really like what I see so far. This international project is being produced by British movie producer Guy Orlebar who is teaming up Korean director Nelson Shin (who was behind the 1986 animated Transformers film) and will star Japanese actress Rina Takeda of High-Kick Girl fame. But what I really love about what I see so far is the colorful anime inspired pre-production art which makes my inner geek happy: Read more…
These vintage Peanuts toys come straight from the pages of the 1968 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. You could get two of the characters for $5.30 or the entire set for $12.90 and as you can see you had your pick of Charlie Brown, Schroeder (sporting a Beethoven sweater), Lucy, Snoopy and Linus clutching his trademark blanket. On the same page there was also a selection of Huckleberry Hound and Pogo toys: Read more…
Frankly it’s not an authentic Godzilla film unless you have a maser cannon! Although the cannons have a mixed track record at best as sometimes they stop the giant monster in question — however sometimes those who operate the maser cannons wind up as stomping victims. This beautifully created Maser Cannon reproduction is from the Sci-Fi Revoltech series which is by Kaiyodo: Read more…
Oh sure anybody can read a zombie novel or watch a film — but how many zombie fanboys (and fangurls) are will to take their love of the undead up to the next level? Well if you want to let all your neighbors know that you’re pro-zombie a great way to get started is with the Garden Zombie which is much more entertaining than one of those sappy happy-go-lucky looking garden gnomes: Read more…
What you’re looking at above may be the beginning of the end of a manned space exploration program for the United States — what you see is the last shuttle external tank arriving at Kennedy Space Center. That’s right! There’s only one more shuttle launch left and after that NASA will be out sourcing to Russia until we have a “replacement”. I’ve placed quotes around the word replacement as there is currently no replacement being worked on. And why is this? Read more…
I think what I like about the design of the new Galactica is that the exterior reminds me much more of Blade Runner than Star Wars. This Battlestar Galactica Model Kit won’t be out until September, but given the nice detailing on it I think it’d be worth the wait as it features moveable hanger bays and is huge (over 14 inches long). Read more…
This nifty gadget is the Thanko USB Microscope Lite which sports a CMOS sensor 1.3 million pixels — which sounds impressive but I’m not quite sure wouldn’t cut it for an actual scientist. The software is Windows only and the manual is in Japanese, although it looks like one might have hours of fun just trying to get started: Read more…
Being an manga fanboy Daomu caught my attention: It’s a upcoming graphic novel which is based on a series of Chinese novels and will be released by Image Comics. The adaption into English is being done by Concept Art House and the series has already done well in China. Manga has done well in the United States, but this may be a chance or Chinese manhua to gain a foothold. Here’s a preview of the book: Read more…
What’s great about this Space Invaders couch design by Igor Chak is that not only does it appeal to my inner videogame, but its modernist look makes my inner design geek happy as well: Read more…
A while ago The New York Times has declared that poor Hello Kitty is out of style — however I think the fact that she’s out of style makes her even cooler as it eliminates the wannabes: Not only that but I think this now allows kitty to graduate to being a mere cult feline to a timeless classic icon. So to show your good taste I wouldn’t be ashamed to be spotted with this Hello Kitty Ball Bento Box which comes with a cute little red carrying case.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2010 in Animation
This very cute short film by Hiroki Mori should serve as proof to many a fanboy that anime doesn’t always have to look like anime (or feature ladies running around in maid outfits chasing giant robots). This film also illustrates what I love about animation itself which is that for really good animation you don’t need a translation as what’s going on the screen quickly communicates the story. Read more…
I recently read about some new Street Fighter sneakers from Nike, only to be disappointed by how little the shoes seem to resemble the characters they’re supposedly “inspired” by. I can understand Nike’s desire to aim for subtlety rather than an out-and-out declaration of geekdom, since they could sell plenty of these shoes by “accident” and still probably hit a few sales among the Street Fighter fans, but that Chun Li shoe looks like it could have been sold by them for years and just decided to slap Chun Li’s name on the tag. BORING.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 30, 2010 in Star Wars
As publisher of Fanboy.com I’m the eternal marketing target of every entertainment company from small one man indie comic book publishers to major Hollywood studios and after many years I’ve come to see that the master of the industry is George Lucas. While everyone in the entertainment trade can learn something from him I think there are broader lessons that he can teach anyone in business about salesmanship. Here are the lessons I’ve been able to draw from one of the most financially successful independent producers of all time: Read more…
