If Watchmen Was a Saturday Morning TV Show…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 6, 2009 in Comic Books
This Watchmen parody is a perfect tribute to bad 80s Saturday morning cartoons. My favorite reference is to Jem and the Holograms…
Third Trek Trailer: Kirk Takes the Helm of the Enterprise
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 6, 2009 in Star Trek
FIRE EVERYTHING! It’s hard to go wrong with a line like that? This latest trailer starts to flesh out the story — clearly it’s a coming of age tale ala the first Star Wars movie which would be an ironic but a good reboot for one of my favorite space opera franchises. This new trailer has all sorts of new footage that looks cool like bar fights (this brings me back to what made the original series cool — no drinking Earl Gray tea!) and some cooling looking Starfleet cadet training exercises that involve doing space jumps in orbit above Mars. But I’d say the most interesting thing is that we see Kirk taking the helm of the Enterprise. Read more…
Manga Guides for Geek Topics
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 6, 2009 in Comic Books
Back in the day the gold standard of computer programming books were the O’Reilly books which featured distinctive woodcuts of various animals on the covers — well look out O’Reilly because a publisher in Japan has introduced a series of of mangas on an entire range of geek topics! If you don’t speak Japanese No Starch Press is starting to translate this line of mangas into English. The first title in the series which is already out is The Manga Guide to Databases
“Princess Ruruna is stressed out. With the king and queen away, she has to manage the Kingdom of Kod’s humongous fruit-selling empire. Overseas departments, scads of inventory, conflicting prices, and so many customers! It’s all such a confusing mess. But a mysterious book and a helpful fairy promise to solve her organizational problems—with the practical magic of databases.”
If Gerry Anderson Directed Star Trek…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 5, 2009 in Star Trek
As both a fan of the original Star Trek and Space:1999 I love this re-edited opening title which was put together by Rick Kelvington.
Watch out, Watchmen! This Film is Fanboy Approved…
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 5, 2009 in Cinema, Comic Books
Editor’s Note: In this column animation critic Joe Strike gives us our first review of the Watchmen film.
They got it right – they didn’t fuck it up too bad.
That only begins to describe my reaction to Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. On the ‘faithful-to-the-source-material-in-terms-of-capturing-its spirit’ scale I give the film 4.95 stars out of five. I credit the film to Snyder because it’s definitely his version of A____ M____ and Dave Gibbons’ ‘unfilmable’ graphic novel. It’s also a paraphrase of what Snyder said back in 2007 when he was starting work on the project: “I hope some rainy afternoon in England A___ M____ will watch the movie and say ‘they didn’t fuck it up too bad.'”
Since you’re reading this on a site called fanboy.com, you know A___ M____ removed his name from the film (and turned down the zillions of $ of booty it will generate, handing it over to Gibbons) because of his distaste for what Hollywood’s done to his books; you also know the book inside-out, the way its themes echo through its huge cast and various subplots, or the counterpoint between the main story and the pirate comic ‘within the comic.’ (I don’t intend to review the movie here, plenty of people are already covering that end of it, but even so, plenty of spoilers ahead – you’ve been warned…) Read more…
Star Trek XI New Toys: Design Critique
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Trek
The new Star Trek film will be hitting theaters in May, but early signs of merchandising are already appearing. Playmates has just introduced a line of toys which will be hitting the streets this month. So far we’ve only seen a trailer for this film, but these toys give us a first real glimpse into the look-and-feel of the film. It’s important to remember that the original Star Trek series was a real breakthrough in terms of production art — a spacecraft no longer had to look like a rocket or a flying saucer, so there’s a real tradition that’s at stake here. That and frankly if Paramount wants to reinvent the franchise they’ll have to top the amazing work Lucas has been doing these past couple of years with Star Wars. Read more…
The Original Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
This is a commercial for Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head from the early 60s or late 50s, you’ll notice that unlike later editions that the original toy kit assumed that you’d be playing with an actual live potato. The toy was invented in 1949 by George Lerner and early versions of the toy were controversial as people viewed it as wasting food (this was just after World War II when food rationing was common). The toy began life as a premium in breakfast cereal boxes, but in 1951 for a mere $5,000 Lerner sold the idea to the company that would later become Hasbro. By 1952 over a million kits were sold, in 1953 Mrs. Potato head was added who was later also joined by Brother Spud and Sister Yam. And alas sadly in 1964 the kit switched to plastic potatoes…
Found via vintagetvcommercials.com.
Relakkuma Embraces Solar Power
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 3, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
At the recent Toy Fair in New York I was almost depressed at the sheer number of green themed toys that seemed to be destined for landfills. The trouble with most of these toys is that they were plain old plush dolls with some connection to an endangered animal — which on the surface isn’t bad but doesn’t really engage your imagination on any level. That’s why I’m drawn to this Japanese toy which is based on the popular bear mascot Relakkuma: This novelty item features Relakkuma (also known as Relaxuma) and his honey-colored friend Korilakkuma are enjoying the soothing effects of a faux hot tub. When you place the toy in sunlight their wobble as if they’re relaxing in the faux water. You can pre-order the Relakkuma Onsen Solar Mascot from National Console Support.
Ryu ga Gotoku 3: Never Mind the Yakuza, I Want to Go Shopping!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 3, 2009 in Videogames
This is the latest preview of Sega’s Ryu ga Gotoku 3 game for the Playstation 3: This series of games follows waring factions of Yakuza and this specific title is set in “the southern Okinawa Tokyo Kamuro town city that never sleeps”. What’s funny is that while the fighting action in the later part of the trailer looks average the footage of wandering around the shopping center of the city looks like much more fun: Read more…
Hollywood Hates Terry Gilliam (and Smart Moviegoers)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 2, 2009 in Cinema
You’d think that the Hollywood distribution companies would kill to get their hands on The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus — you’ve got Terry Gilliam one of the best directors of all time, then you have the final performance of Oscar winning Heath Ledger and add to that additional performances by Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp. The film only cost $20 million to make, yet distribution companies are afraid to touch it because the plot is too complex. These industry types point to the complexity of recent Gilliam efforts like Tideland and The Brothers Grimm, but to be blunt about it the marketing campaigns on those films were pretty non-existent. Sadly if a deal can’t be reached it looks like the film will go to DVD — now perhaps it’s not ready for the cineplex at the mall, but you’d think that this film at least deserves an art house run.
Transformers: More than Meets the Mouse (and a Mickey in Disguise)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 2, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
From a quick glance I wasn’t too impressed with the mecha design of this Transformers Disney Label Mickey Mouse — the problem was that it just wasn’t cute enough! But of course the devil is in the details: If you look closely at the top you’ll see the classic Mickey Mouse enjoying being at the controls of his very own giant robot.
Star Trek Collections: Live Long and Acquire, err I Mean Prosper…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 1, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Trek
Shown above is the wonderful collection of Leonard F. Krieger. There’s a small but growing movement of fanboys who are making videos of their Star Trek collections and sharing them on YouTube. I have to admit that while such an endeavor sounds geeky that it’s a very positive use of technology. You see back in the days fans would acquire amazing collections of memorabilia but sadly with rare exception these gems would just sit on a shelf gathering dust only to be admired by a few. But putting these goodies on he web (and not just with video but on other sites like Flickr) fans are building a virtual museum and giving a free visitors pass to the rest of us. Here are a few wings of virtual Trek museum: Read more…
Would You Take a Chance Casting This Actor in a Cyberspace Themed Film?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 28, 2009 in Cinema
Johnny Mnemonic was THE nerd film event of 1995. Based on the short stories of William Gibson this mega budget flick was the talk of every geek. So why has this film been forgotten? Frankly it’s because Keanu Reeves was such a bad actor! Granted that this may be the partial fault of artist/director Robert Longo but in the scene above makes a William Shatner performance look subtle by comparison. So how were so many smart fanboys fooled? Well the marketing for the film was stellar — for example this trailer gives no hint of the uneven nature of the film: Read more…
Phoenix Five: A Groovy 70s Low Budget Aussie Space Opera
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 27, 2009 in Television
“The year: 2500 AD. The ‘Phoenix Five’. The crew: Captain Roke, Ensign Adam Hargreaves, Cadet Tina Kulbrick, and their computeroid Karl. Their mission: to patrol the outer galaxies for Earth Space Control, to maintain peace, and to capture Zodian the humanoid, who with the aid of his computers Alpha and Zeta endeavours to become dictator of outer space.” Read more…
Philip José Farmer, 1918-2009: A Paperback Gallery Tribute
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 26, 2009 in Pulp Fiction
Flesh by by Philip Jose Farmer, 1960 first printing, illustration by Gerald McConnell
The book that would put him on the map was the novel Flesh which was published in 1960. When it first came out the book received a rather lukewarm review, but a revised expanded edition eight years later won him more praise — and today the book is acclaimed as a landmark novel of the genre. Later Farmer would go onto write the Riverworld series of books which would inspire a role-playing game, a television series and a PC computer game. Read more…
Vinyl Toys Come to Life: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Making of Organ Donors
Posted by Guest Author on Feb 25, 2009 in Design, Hobbies and Collections
Editor’s Note: As a creative person I’ve been watching the urban toys scene in awe — and the first question that pops into my head is always “What’s the process of making these cool art objects into reality?” Long time artist David Foox has just introduced a line of toys called Organ Donors, so I asked him as a favor to write up an article giving his start-to-finish experience as a first time creative tackling the world of designer toys.
Step #1 Concept
The most important aspect of any custom vinyl toy is CONCEPT. “If your concept is solid, your toy is a success.” – Erick Scarecrow, friend. While this is the first step of the project, it is actually the most important step – and the one that is most often neglected. People are typically in a hurry to get to the other steps and fail to adequately delve into the concept that is being developed. In order to best develop a concept, I would advise people to first create an inhabitable environment, world, universe, or cause. Read more…
Singing Spiderman Swings into a Broadway Musical
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 24, 2009 in Comic Books
On February 2010 we’ll find out what happens when you mix up Spiderman, Bono and a Broadway musical together. The website for Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark has gone live and come June you’ll be able to sign up for tickets for a show that promises a new take on the story of Peter Parker, whose life is turned upside down when he’s bitten by a genetically altered spider. Read more…
The Mainframe that Revolutionized Software Project Management
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 24, 2009 in Tech
Introduced in 1964 the IBM System/360 was THE most popular computer of that era when such devices were the exclusive domain of big business and government. Each computer supported floating-point calculations and ran with up to 8 megs of memory! Sadly there are very few of these gems still in existence today — in fact the Smithsonian owns a 360 but sadly it isn’t even on display.
But the real story behind this computer is the project manager — who was Fred Brooks. As fate would have it in addition to the hardware Brooks also had to manage the development of the operating system for the 360 which was System/360. Luckily for all of us the project was a disaster going over budget and over time. However Brooks turned lemons into lemonade by writing the book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering
which was first published in 1975: Read more…
Beware the Wrath of the Fetts! Kubrick’s Boba Fett Collection
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 23, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars
Kubrick has put put out a collection of toys based upon everybody’s favorite bounty hunter. The collection includes six versions of Boba Fett including a vintage toy and holiday special look! Read more…
Vincent Price Presents the Agatha Christie Collection
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 23, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Pulp Fiction
My guess is that this commercial dates from the very late 70s or early 80s — I tend to associate Vincent Price more with the horror than the mystery genre although there is a bit of an overlap. By the way it should be noted that the Franklin Library wasn’t a serious book publisher but an arm of the Franklin Mint which was more in the business of selling collectables than literature. From my own point of view these ornately bound books lack the charm that one would find in the cover illustration of low brow mystery paperback.
Update: Nick Kent has pointed out to me the missing Vincent Price mystery connection! Price was host of the PBS series Mystery in the 80s: Read more…
Yamato Pachinko Machine Features First-Rate CGI Animation
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 22, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
When I first came across this commercial my first thoughts were “this has got to be an upcoming CGI Star Blazers movie that I’ve been waiting for my entire life!” But then I noticed at the end of the advert that there seemed to be some sort of box — I figured then that it had to be some sort of amazing videogame:
Well after a minuter or two of googling the subject it turns out that this amazing animation is for a new Space Battleship Yamato Pachinko machine! By you’ve got to check out the website — it’s all in Japanese but the interface with make any old school Star Blazers fan weep with joy: Read more…
It’s Criminal that the Space Shuttle Discovery Should Be Allowed to Take Off
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 21, 2009 in Science
The planned February launch of the Discovery has been delayed for the forth time due to potential faulty fuel valves. But that’s not the real story here: The fact of the matter is that the Discovery first flight was in August of 1984. Think about that for a minute — that’s just a few months shy of 25 years ago! In that time we’ve had five Presidents in office spanning three generations — and when Discovery first launched geeks were first discovering dial up bulletin boards. Read more…
Leonardo’s Presentation: Could Dr. Who Have Saved Xerox?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 20, 2009 in Tech
I came across this commercial for the Xerox Publishing System from 1986 and it got me to thinking: It’s commonly accepted wisdom that Xerox did too little too late with the innovations that were generated at their PARC research facility (user interface, ethernet and laser printing) which is why Apple was able to have their breakthrough. Looking back on it that’s true, but I think the missing lesson is price point as much as speed to market. Read more…
Returning to Their Roots: Once Upon a Time Apple was a Killer Gaming Platform
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 19, 2009 in Tech, Videogames
The latest Apple commercial featuring 20 hot games on the iPod Touch brought a smile to my eye as it represents Apple getting back their pre-Macintosh roots of the Apple ][. The hidden secret to the success of any operating system is games. Now these don’t have to be games aimed at hardcore gamers, in fact what will sell a platform are casual games that you can drop in and out of easily. Read more…