Ever imagine what Star Wars would look like through the eyes of Dr. Seuss? Me neither, but cartoonist Adam Watson has. Recently, he posted a few pieces of this brilliant mash-up on his blog and frankly, they’re nothing short of amazing. While he claims that these pieces started as doodles for the most the part, he apparently has a few more planned. I’d love to see him strike a deal with Lucas Arts to publish a book, but I imagine there’d be all kind of legal hurdles involved. Either way, I think I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for more. Also, wouldn’t some of these make for a nifty t-shirt? Read more…
As an anime fanboy I think one of my most bitter lessons one year was waiting until the last minute to order my new year’s calendar — sadly every one was grabbed up. Part of the reason for this is that often the Japanese fans will grab them quite a bit in advance leaving the sad crumbs for poor gaijin otaku like myself. Well I learned my lesson and I started to plan my wall decor well in advance. Shown here are my top suggested picks for 2011 starting with the beautiful Bleach (B) 2011 Calendar shown above. Here are my other favorites: Read more…
The animation isn’t exactly Pixar, but the humor in Warriors of the Unknown will bring a smile to any gamers face. This video (which is available on DVD) was created by the Cosmic Radicals, a team of online gamers who know their subject perhaps a bit too well. Watching the videos I loved the juxtaposition of romantic fantasy elements set against conversations about dog food: Read more…
I’m in a total state of shock: It seems like just yesterday that I was watching every episode of Bleach — so I was blown away to just read the it’s almost the 10th anniversary of the franchise. Of course that marks the 10th anniversary of the manga which was first published in August of 2001 and is now up to 48 volumes and over 300 episodes of the anime series which went on the air in 2004. Shown here are a set of coasters which have been created for the occasion in Japan which feature illustrations by Noriaki “Tite” Kubo: Read more…
By chance I was watching the Bloomberg TV show Game Changers and they had an interesting biography of Larry Ellison. Honestly not being a database guy I thought it was going to be dull, but then there was an amazing segment of the show which which explored Ellison’s lost project from the mid-90s: The Network Computer. Read more…
Ever since Heath Ledger’s untimely death prior to the release of The Dark Knight, there’s been questions as to the fate of The Joker in the Batman film series. There’s even been rumors lately that director Christopher Nolan would bring Ledger’s Joker back in digital form for The Dark Knight Rises, using CGI and deleted scenes from The Dark Knight. IndieWire reports that they’ve spoken with Nolan and the rumors are not true — he says that Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight is singular and he won’t be “imported” into The Dark Knight in any way. Good call. Read more…
Telltale Games, the studio behind the new Sam and Max games, acquired the rights to make two awesome IPs — Jurassic Park and Back to the Future — into their classic point-and-click adventure style. Ever since we heard that Christopher Lloyd would be returning to voice Doc Brown, we’ve been pumped to hear Marty McFly and see the game in action, and now Telltale has given us the first teaser trailer for much-anticipated game. Is it me, or is the Marty McFly voice actor eerily accurate? Heavy. Read more…
Classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato, a.k.a. Star Blazers in the US, is gearing up for its theatrical release in Japan, along with a limited US release. And now you can watch five whole minutes of it! It looks like a certain other show with “Battle” in it that takes place in space, and the action is pretty 70s, but it’s a pretty neat adaptation. And, for the ladies, the super-hunky lead singer of SMAP, Kimura Takuya, is playing one of the main characters, Susumu Kodai. That’s Derek Wildstar for you 80s kids out there. Read more…
If you’re like many people, you’ve probably enjoyed The Walking Dead’s first season on AMC, likely due in no small part to its strong writing. If that’s the case, you might be just as confused with the news that showrunner Frank Darabont has fired his entire writing staff as we were. Word is that Darabont wants to replace them all with freelancers, which isn’t uncommon in television, but it is a bit strange for a show as high-profile as The Walking Dead, and one based on an established IP, too. Read more…
I actually can’t remember the last time this has happened, but it looks like the upcoming live-action adapation of Hiroya Oku’s action-packed manga, Gantz, will be hitting US theaters a week ahead of Japan. Unfortunately, if you’re one of those people who can’t take dubs, you may be out of luck. While the film will show on over 300 screens nationwide, none of them are currently scheduled to be subtitled. Still, it looks amazing and might be worth checking out. The film centers around a boy and his friend who end up dying, only to be revived for the sole-purpose of hunting hostile aliens. While there was an anime, the film itself will be based on the original manga and is currently set for release on January 20th.
Last month I mentioned the latest Trek mini-series to hit book shelves, Star Trek: Typhon Pact. Following its monthly release schedule, the second book in the series, Michael A. Martin’s Seize the Fire, continues the story arc focusing on the crew of the USS Titan, and their brush with the Gorn in an attempt to secure an ancient terraforming technology similar to Project Genesis, ala Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. While I doubt the book contains any poorly choreographed fight scenes involving rock wielding men in lizard suits — hey, it was awesome for its time — it definitely gives us a better understanding of the Gorn’s social hierarchy. I honestly didn’t even know they had one. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 1, 2010 in Star Trek
I just ran across this sadly under-viewed interview with William Shatner, and I have to say that for man who will be 80 years old in just a few months he looks great! The interviewer from Time magazine asks him just one Star trek Question: “Have you put the Captain Kirk stereotype behind you?” to which Shatner answers “Probably not but it was a great show…” I hope J.J. Abrams finds it in his heart to include him in the next Star Trek film: Read more…
This is probably the coolest ice sculpture I’ve ever seen. In case it’s difficult to make out — it is ice, after all — you’re looking at a 28 foot tall Optimus Prime ice sculpture by Antti Pedrozo and Michel de Kok of Switzerland. While he doesn’t transform into a truck, I’m told frozen autobot makes a mean snow cone. I’m pretty confident than these guys won’t be outdone any time soon, but if someone wants to build an SDF-1, or a Valkyrie from Macross that’d probably do it for me. Until then, you can check out more photos below. And, if you like this work, follow Antti on Twitter.
I love Katamari Damacy, so I couldn’t resist sharing this t-shirt with you guys. While I’m sure the designer didn’t intend to make a statement with his doodle — he admitted to doing it in class shortly after one of the games had been released — it’s actually quite profound. I can’t imagine the King of All Cosmos putting his prince at the short end of the evolutionary chain, I can see the young prince representing the concept of natural selection. Of course, I could be way off base, but who cares. It’s a neat design and it’s only available for the next 24 hours, so if you want one of these sweet t-shirts, head over to TeeFury and order yours while supplies last.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 30, 2010 in Comic Books
I’m really excited about The Li’l Depressed Boy #1 for two reasons: First it’s just nice to see a book that looks different and secondly this comic is yet another example of how a web comic can become “discovered” and make its way to print. Featuring a story by S. Steven Struble and art by Sina Grace this book will be coming out in February 9th, 2011. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 30, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
So you want to be a bald space marine? If that’s the case, you’ll need one of these — that, and the $900 it’ll cost you to buy it. Sounds like a bit much, but when it comes to faithful replicas of our favorite hollywood props, it usually is. This particular prop happens to be a replica of the M41-A pulse rifle from the sci-fi classic Aliens. Of course, you won’t stand a chance against a real alien, let alone one that bleeds acid, but at least you’d look pretty awesome carrying one of these around. Weighing in at a solid 15 pounds, it features a collapsible shoulder stock, pump action underbarrel, and a working LCD ammo display that requires some AA batteries. You’d think for $900 they’d make it a lithium battery, but I guess that’d be asking too much. At least it comes with a nice mount and plaque for when you’re done playing with it. If you’re crazy enough to drop the cash for this, ThinkGeek currently has them in stock.
Last week I posted some of the character sheets from the upcoming Supernatural anime. While I liked the designs, I wasn’t quite sure how well they’d translate to the animation. Thankfully, there’s a short trailer that’ll illustrate it for us. Again, the series will be covering the first two seasons of its American live-action counterpart, and follows the story of two brothers bent on revenge against the demon responsible for their mother’s death. While the trailer has me a little worried — the animation certainly isn’t the best I’ve seen — they seem to have hit everything else about the show on the mark. Needless to say, I’m still excited and I’m looking forward to seeing what Madhouse and Warner Brothers have in store for us when the series hits shelves next year.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 29, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
Pity us poor anime and manga fans who have to settle for mere Facebook for in Japan the social media service Mixi will be rolling out a series of premium manga themed new year’s cards for 2011. Included in the series is Nodame Cantabile (shown above) and Moyashimon (shown below). By the way sadly for us Gaijin signing up Mixi requires a Japanese cell phone.
I was saddened to hear that Leslie Nielsen had passed away: While he was a brilliant comedic actor being a sci fi fanboy I’ve always loved his work in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. Even fifty years later the craftsmanship on this film is quite amazing even if the special effects are no longer cutting edge. In fact I’d also dare say that in may ways Nielsen helped pave the way for Star Trek which hit television a bit over a decade later. Read more…
We tend to forget just how quickly things can change in the tech world. For example once upon a time Palm was a dominant player in the space, and by all rights they should still be there. What happened? Well you can blame it on any number of things (poor engineering, marketing, cash flow, etc.) but the reality is that it comes down to good old fashioned hubris. Read more…
When a character is ingrained in our heads well enough, we can recognize their color and shape even after they’ve been simplified many times over. 4×4 Pixels is out to prove this, with a growing gallery of 16-pixel renditions of pop culture heroes, like Legend of Zelda’s Link, shown above. I personally loved their interpretation of Jaws (yes, the shark) and Chewbacca — both instantly recognizable despite being little more than blocks of color. It really is amazing the gaps that our brain can fill. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Nov 28, 2010 in Star Trek
Prior to the original Star Trek series, there were never any real science fiction hits on television, or any kind of science fiction television, for that matter. Gene Roddenberry, the show’s creator, seemed to to understand the unique position that he was in as possibly spearheading the mainstreaming of sci-fi, and that’s clearly indicated in this letter unearthed by Letters of Note. In it, Roddenberry instructs his sales agent, who was in charge of pitching the Trek pilot to networks, not to make concessions or adjustments that would compromise the creative vision of the show. It’s almost alarming how candid he is in this letter; as he puts it, “Maybe it’s catharsis. But I think it’s more.” It certainly was. He was successful, though in a roundabout way — NBC rejected the first pilot, “The Cage,” but immediately requested a second pilot. This was the famous “Where No Man Has Gone Before” that kicked off the series right. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Nov 27, 2010 in Star Wars
House of Mouse on Etsy created these incredibly adorable Star Wars mice, in varieties including the above Chewbacca, Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Vader, and even C3PO! They even manage to make Jabba disarmingly cute. Of course, Chewbacca wins out a little here, having been huggable in the first place. Look at that fuzzy mug and tell me that you wouldn’t let the wookiee win. Read more…
