Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 27, 2008 in Animation
It seems there’s a boom in Czech animation going on right now: Above is a clip of Alois Nebel which is based on a graphic novel set in World War II. Variety has a great article on the what’s going on there:
“Whether weird, provocative or simply a national calling card, animation Czech-style is undergoing a renaissance, with at least 10 features slated to bow throughout the next year. “Czech filmmakers were always ready to take off in terms of creativity and stories, but were held back by a lack of sufficient funding,” says the center’s Jana Cernikova. But with the Czech Film Fund now granting $18.5 million in support, four times the level from just two years ago, filmmakers are finally free to delve into more expensive genres such as animation.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 27, 2008 in Comic Books
I get a real kick out of seeing the work of Jim Mahfood — above is a detail from the cover of Kick Drum Comix #1 which will be published by Image Comics this September. It’s part one of a two part series:
“Kick Drum Comix is an over the top full color two-issue miniseries from fan-favorite Jim Mahfood! All-new material here, including the exciting stories “Coltrane’s Reed” and “Death of the Popmaster.” Great stories, beautiful artwork, all in a full color package! ”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 26, 2008 in Comic Books
Anthony Lister is Brooklyn based painter who was born in Australia — many of his subjects are superheroes. The above painting is wonderwoman1 and below is fat bat man. His work reminds me of a deconstructed Richard Linder who became well known for his pop art during the 60s.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 26, 2008 in Dr. Who
It’s funny how all fanboys think alike! In the 70s before I had a VCR I recorded tons of audio tapes of TV show (anything that was science fiction from Twilight Zone episodes to Space:1999). Well it seems some Dr. Who fanboys in England are now using their audio tapes to bring back to life the early lost episodes of the series:
Regenerate! Fans revive 60s Doctor Who An army of enthusiasts is recreating lost instalments of the Doctor’s adventures with hand-drawn and computer animations
“The BBC lists 108 episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960s as officially “missing” from its archive. That’s because the original videotapes were either erased or destroyed by the BBC in the 1970s, to make shelf space for newer programming. A catastrophe for fans. But Doctor Who – as fans of the show will know – is luckier than most.
The programme has always had a very loyal, and often talented, fanbase. It was its dedicated fans who in the 1960s weren’t hiding behind the sofa, but holding microphones up to their televisions week after week, that meant that all of the missing 108 instalments still exist as audio recordings; and it has been today’s fans who have, over the past few years, been working on bringing these “lost” recordings back to life through animation.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 26, 2008 in Comic Books
Tite Kubo will celebrate his 31st birthday today, and I have to say that I’m very happy to admit to being a Bleach fanboy: I first heard about Bleach when the Anime Pulse Podcast first started out: They were hardcore fanboys when it came to the show. But the first thing that struck me was that it seemed like too much of a soap opera to invest the time in. Man was I wrong!
I managed to hold out held out until they started showing translated episodes on Adult Swim and I was hooked right away. At first it seemed that the show had pretty much everything I’m not crazy about in anime: I’m a science fiction fan at heart so fantasy driven stories with Samurai outfits just aren’t my thing.
But I got hooked into the clever world that Tite Kubo had constructed. At its heart Bleach is one of the most elaborately constructed soap operas that I’ve ever been hooked on. My friends will yammer on about Battlestar Galactica, but Bleach seems to be keeping me si fi free these days. As crazy as work becomes to me I always manage to DVR the show and find that golden half hour during the week to escape the world of the living and hangout with the soul reapers. Thank you Tite Kubo…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 25, 2008 in Animation
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.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 25, 2008 in Comic Books
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 artistClaire Wendling and will be appearing in comic book shops this week (kudos to Marvel Comics for their good taste).
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 24, 2008 in Comic Books
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.
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):
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.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 22, 2008 in Comic Books
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:
“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. ”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 22, 2008 in Pulp Fiction
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:
“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.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 21, 2008 in Science
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):
“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.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 20, 2008 in Pulp Fiction
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:
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:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 19, 2008 in Comic Books
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:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 19, 2008 in Star Wars
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.
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:
“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.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 19, 2008 in Science
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:
“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.”
