Monday, March 26, 2012

Suckerpunch German Soldier Zombie



Remember the cool German soldiers from Suckerpunch? Gentle Giant does & has sculpted a new statue that stands 17" tall & is sculpted in high detail!



This sculpt catches all the eeriness of the undead German soldiers, from the sewn on gas masks, to the bayonettes. The release date for these will be in the third quarter of this year. So probably September. Entertainment Earth has a release date of October. The price is listed at $269.99 from Entertainment Earth & $300.00 on the Gentle Giant site. Both are taking pre-orders right now. This is limited edition, so if you really want it, get in on it now!



Even if you aren't a Suckerpunch fan, this would go great with any Steampunk collection.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Ravenclaw Shirt



Ravenclaw. I never read all the Harry Potter books, but I have made up fabulous stories in my head about Ravenclaw.

Ravenclaw has always been the house that I would hope that hat would sort me into.

Why? Well, as I said, I have made up my own little stories about Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw, in my mind, is the place all the artists hang out. If you have any artistic skill, that hat is going to put you into Ravenclaw.

Ravenclaw is the house that you sneak out of at night & go around behind the "dorms" and smoke. Someone in Ravenclaw has a hookah pipe in their room. Some Ravenclaws ride motorcycles. All the misfits, most mudbloods, and the weird kids would get sorted into Ravenclaw.

Of course, that's all in my head. None of that was ever in the stories. However, I myself, do own a Ravenclaw shirt. Now Thinkgeek has another one! $19.99 & the shirt that appears in this post is all yours. Well, plus the shipping & stuff. Head over to Thinkgeek & snag one!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Epic Awesome Album Cover

I'm working on an album cover for a Kiwi that I think rocks. I hope I can get it done by the deadline of April 17th. It's going to look epic. Magical. Fantastical.

Monday, March 19, 2012

A Little Robot I'm Working On.



Sketched with a blue papermate pen, scanned & using GIMP to color it in.

The Sami Sisters



I love good, fun, pop music. The world has gotten way to serious for my tastes. I blame the 90's. And Hipsters. And the religious reicht.

So, when I find something that seems to capture the essence of just good music & fun rhythms, I like to share. Seems like I really like what is coming out of New Zealand. You've heard me mention Ladyhawke before, and these gals, of Irish & Indian descent, were born & raised as kiwis as well.

They write songs & play their own instruments. That's enough to blow a religious reicht republicans head right off! Women who can play instruments & write songs!? Luckily they are in New Zealand where women are still free to do that sort of thing.

Here they are live:



and in a Red Bull thing here:



They have a webpage here: Sami Sisters Home

They have a Facebook here: Sami Sisters

Youtube here: Sami Sisters Youtube

No Twitter yet though.

Go check them out. Some fun cool tunes to relax & enjoy!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

If you haven't, you should...


Twenty Years ago, which was eight years after I walked out of the theater after having watched Return of the Jedi on the big screen, a series of books started hitting book shelves all over the country. The first book was called "Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zahn.

There had been other Star Wars books. I had read them. They were...meh. I was hesitant to pick this new one up. I flipped through it & was hooked.

There was never a Star Wars book like this. Quite honestly, there hasn't been one to match it since. Other than the other two books in the trilogy.

If you love Star Wars, like Star Wars or are even slightly curious about what happened after Return of the Jedi, to Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2, C-3PO & the gang, you should read this. It is so good.

I think part of my disappointment with the prequels is directly related to how absolutely fantastic the storytelling was in this trilogy. Timothy Zahn captures the essence & feel of the characters & the galaxy perfectly.

So, if you haven't ever delved into this one, you should. Here's a link to the 20th Anniversary Edition on Amazon.

Notice, it's also on Kindle.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Go See John Carter of Mars



Above is a ten minute clip of the film. According to ticket sales this weekend, the industry is looking at this film as a flop. It cost $250 million to make this film & opening weekend only saw a return of $30.6 million. If you include overseas ticket sales it broke $100 million.

Here's a short clip with the adorable martian dog:



This film shouldn't be a flop. There hasn't been a movie like this in a long time. With all the bitching & whining & moaning I hear about Hollywood remakes, why the hell has everyone skipped this film? It's an original. Sure, it's based on Edgar Rice Burroughs stories, but no one has ever made John Carter come alive on the big screen before.

The film is beautiful & fun & exciting & full of adventure with some laughs & some tears. It is a wonderful adaptation of the original source material.

Do you like Firefly & Serenity? Do you like Star Wars? How about Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers? Then go see John Carter.

Many people have complained that they have no idea what it is about from the trailers. Is THIS the reason YOU haven't gone to see it? Okay then, here's a plot synopsis. John Carter is from Virginia, USA in the late 1800's. He stumbles across something that inadvertently transports him (well, a copy of him) to Mars. On Mars he stumbles into a war between Helium (a city on Mars) and it's rival city. He has to make choices & fun things happen & adventure & wow! & go see the movie! I don't want to spoil it for you!



I can't believe you haven't gone to see this film! If you don't, I really feel like you are missing out. I, also, will be missing out. Missing out on studios taking more chances like this. More studios making bold, beautiful, epic films! Why should they? Despite all the whining, remakes pull in far more money than original films.

Don't make the studios right. Go see John Carter.

Green Lantern Fleece Bath Robe


Hey there Lantern fans! Look at this! A sweet bath robe to show off your love for all things green & lanterny! It's 44-inch long & will fit most adults, except for the Hutt Family. They have to special order from the slug & tall stores.

Now, as cool as it looks, do be aware that it's not really going to be so awesome if you really intend to use it as a bath robe. It's 100% polyester & polyester does NOT soak up wet like terry cloth does. In fact, polyester on a wet body feels pretty icky. How do I know this? I lived in the 70's. 5 years of it. I know polyester.

So, keep that in mind before you shell out the $39.99 they want to have one of your very own.

Entertainment Earth has them available for pre-order with the delivery to be sometime this month.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

New Doctor Who For You


Doctor Who TARDIS Playset from BifBangPow!

This TARDIS Playset has interior features from the Tom Baker Era. Comes with one of my favorite Doctor companions of all time! K-9! Constructed of thick cardboard like old dollhouses of the 1970s.

It is 11-inches tall x 5 1/2-inches wide x 5 1/2-inches long when closed. The door opens & the transparent time rotor moves up & down. The detailed Master Control Console features authentic controls shown in the series and readout displays that any true Whovian will recognize.

Right now, you can Pre-order from Entertainment Earth for an October release & a price of $49.99.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Magic, Novelty & Jesus Bandages



When I was a kid, my Dad decided he wanted to be a Magician. He studied Blackstone & eventually the rise of David Copperfield. Magic specials were on television it seemed every weekend. Dad was very passionate in his pursuit of the great illusion.

Because of this quest to become a Magician, my Brother & I got to travel all over the place & go to some of the coolest places you never knew existed. I don't know how Dad managed to find out about these places. There was no Google search back then. There was no internet, period.

The places we ended up were amazing places to be as a kid. If you have ever watched the movie "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" & remember the novelty shop he walked into, you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. The places we found were so much bigger or smaller, darker, and in weird parts of wherever we went. From warehouses to small little holes in the wall in the back of an alley. Most of them were typical Novelty shops. They had trick gum, fake poo, fake puke, exploding cigars, hand buzzers, Groucho glasses, rubber chickens & all sorts of bizarre items. They generally also had magic kits. I freaking loved these places.



Some of the places though, were weirder & a little spooky. They were magic shops. Some of them were run by, what I deemed to be, REAL wizards or oracles or something. These places...I can't even begin to describe them. They smelled of incense, and were decorated in old tapestries, were often dark, & had new age type music playing before anyone even knew what the hell new age was. There were trinkets everywhere. Skulls, pentacles, pentagrams, horns, taxidermy animals, shrunken heads (which back then might have been real), pickled animals. Almost anything you can imagine. Some of them even offered fortune telling. They housed the secret magic tricks. The illusions only shared from Magician to Magician. You had to know someone that was a REAL Magician to get your hands on these. Sometimes there were even contracts to sign, swearing that you would not share the secrets given to you.

I often wonder if places like this still exist. I hope so because they really were magic & lit my young imagination. However, the art of illusion seems to have faded into simpler times. People have outgrown illusions. You can Google anything & learn how it's done, thus destroying the "magic" of it all.

Accoutrements is a company that has held on to the long standing tradition of being a Novelty Shop. All the things I marveled at as a kid, still in place, right down to the rubber chicken. they produce new Novelties every year, & have quite a line of Bacon related items.

Here is one I stumbled across that make me LOL:



Classic.

Monday, March 05, 2012

Babydoll Premium Format Figure



Suckerpunch might be a failure as far as Hollywood executives are concerned, but to those of us who know better, it will be a long lasting cult favorite that people will still be talking about 50 years from now.

Zack Snyder gave this fangirl everything she'd ever wanted in one film & made it incredibly beautiful as well. I can't wait to see what he does with Superman. If they let him. I hope the producers don't force changes that make it NOT feel like a Zack Snyder film because they get too scared, have no spine & tiny little...balls. Let the guy do what he does. He's a genius.

Now Sideshow Collectibles is offering another Suckerpunch item that is really exceptional. It's Babydoll from their Premium Format Figure line. The Figure stands 19" high, weighs in at around 7 Lbs. and has a real fabric costume. The sculpt on this figure is dead on. Perfect.

The price to own this fabulous piece of cult classic idolatry? $349.99. Ouch. Wait though! Don't give up just yet. Sideshow recently took the economy into consideration & has created new payment plans that are even more affordable than before. You can pay $35 up front & then $43.75 a month until she is paid off. She doesn't actually get released until November, so that gives you plenty of time!

If you love Suckerpunch, this Babydoll is a must have!

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Firefly Malcolm's Gun



Malcolm Reynold's Pistol Replica available at QMx

This company produces some top of the line seriously limited stuff, so if you want in on this you better get it now. It's a 1:1 scale replica. $79.95.