ALEX TOTH PASSES AWAY

Ah, man.... this past saturday, the Comic Community lost one of it's Greats: Alex Toth.

Alex Toth's son, Eric, posted the following on the Alex Toth forum page:

"I am Alex's oldest son Eric. I meant to be the one to let everyone know that my father did pass away this morning drawing/writing at his table.
I do not have any further details other than I will forward an address for those interested in sending cards. We will arrange something appropriate at or around the convention this summer in San Diego....
All of your cards and letters of the recent past were very much appreciated by my father. Only in these last years did he begin to understand and accept the fact that his work had touched so many people's lives. In time, more information will follow."

Toth is perhaps best known for his animation work at Hanna-Barbera, which included Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, Superfriends, Fantastic Four and Herculoids. His work and style HEAVILY influenced the creators of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. Toth was 78 yrs old.

NEW TRANSFORMERS TOYS

Come November, there will be a whole new line of Transformers toys based on the original generation, but tweaked & updated.

Each character in the TRANSFORMERS Classics line will have a more detailed face and body, resulting in a more comparable appearance to the character seen on the original TV show and animated movie. The first wave of the DELUXE CLASS figures will include Bumblebee, Rodimus, Astrotrain, STARSCREAM for about $10. Optimus Prime, and Megatron VOYAGER CLASS figures will be also be available for approx $20 each.

The Starscream and Hot Rod (Rodimus) look freaking awesome!
I may have to pick them up. The others (click here to see) are eh-to-ok. Atleast Megatron is a gun again, albeit a lame "nerf blaster" version. And why is Hot Rod being called Rodimus?
(in super geeky voice): Hel-lo! When he became RODIMUS PRIME at the end of Transformers The Movie, he transformed into a futuristic tractor trailer. CLEARLY he is in his hotrod car mode here, therefore he is HOT ROD.

VILLAIN OF THE DAY: GOBLIN KING

Today's "Villain of the Day" is
JARETH, THE GOBLIN KING!!

(by guest writer, Mr. Legs!!!)

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."

God, I wish I had a nickel for every time I've fallen for that line! Well, perhaps I wouldn't have fallen prey to those words if I hadn't first heard them escape the lips of David Bowie while playing the Goblin King in Labyrinth back in 1986. Oh, my fragile 11 year old ears!

Jareth is the keeper of the Labyrinth, king of the goblins, and master of all he surveys. Although his origins are unclear, what is clear is that he possesses a penchant for riding gear, bedazzled jackets, horse whips, floating orbs, eye shadow, and pubescent American babysitters. What he doesn't have an affinity for?...UNDERWEAR! Get a load of that satchel of magic orbs! Hello!!!

Although Bowie's line reading may feel a bit Botox'd, he commands the screen with a majesty that's un-nerving and completely entertaining. Jareth is a force to be reckoned with. Betray him and he'll tip you head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench before you can blink! Consider yourself warned.

"You have no power over me!"
Well...maybe just a little...(tee hee)

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*Hahaha, thanks Mr. Legs! Well done!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLINT !

Today is Clint Eastwood's birthday. I suggest spending it wisely and watch some of his kickass Westerns!

* Hang 'Em High
* Two Mules for Sister Sara
* Joe Kidd
* High Plains Drifter
* Outlaw Jose Wales
* Pale Rider
* Unforgiven

and of course, the awesome
"Man With No Name" Trilogy:
* Fist Full of Dollars
* A Few Dollars More
* The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A revisit to DIRTY HARRY would work, too, Punk.
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*what other westerns am I missing?......
.... Paint Your Wagon.... The Beguiled....?????

STAR TREK ONLINE

My buddy, Sir Lemon, is working on a new online Star Trek game. It looks pretty nice!

Click here for more info including some still images in the Gallery section.

SUPERMAN VS ALIENS

This dude online makes wallpapers for free download. Most depict odd teamups and versus. Take his SUPERMAN vs ALIENS!! Click here for more. Although they're... well, judge for yourselves. He gets points for intent, though!

Click image to enlarge.

I LOVE LUCY SUPERMAN

Remember when Superman made an appearence on
I LOVE LUCY?

Sweet.

The episode can be found in Season 6. Disc 2 on Netflix, here.

APOCALYPTO POSTER

Check out the first poster for Mel Gibson's upcoming APOCALYPTO. The film is an ancient epic that is set against the turbulent times at the end of the Mayan civilization. Word on the street is that it will be in Latin with English subtitles. Personally, I think that's awesome. I'm so tired of seeing Period Piece movies where the actors have California accents. Look to the pooptastic Alexander for a perfect example! Or even HBO's ROME series, where everyone had British accents. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this. It's set for a december release.

RANDOM FIND: sssSUPERMAN

"What a backwards planet this is, where the men where ribbons and jewelry!.... I told you this was a puny planet.... Enough of this! If the whole planet is watching, can we not show them something more interesting?"

--Ursa, Superman II

Click to enlarge.
er, I should have rephrased that.

VES FESTIVAL LOVES ALIENS (AND ME!)

HOLY CRAP!!!
This year's Festival of Visual Effects is going to be sportin' a panel on ALIENS!!!!

A Look Back at “Aliens” – 20 Years Later / 7 :30 - 9:00 pm
"Is this gonna’ be a stand up fight or a bug hunt?" In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the release of the science fiction action classic “Aliens,” this retrospective panel will look back at the ground breaking visual effects and animatronic creations for the James Cameron sequel to Ridley Scott's “Alien.” The unique look and style of the film's creations are even more astonishing when you consider the limited budget and resources the artists were given. Undaunted, Cameron's team created some of the most startling imagery seen in a genre film in the last 20 years. The visual effects team, headed by Robert and Dennis Skotak and creature supervisor Stan Winston received an Academy Award for their work on the film in 1987. Panelists: Alec Gillis, Creature Fabricator, Stan Winston Studio; Shane Mahan, Shop Foreman, Stan Winston Studio; Pat McClung, VFX Miniature Supervisor; Dennis Skotak, VFX Co-Supervisor and DP; and Robert Skotak, VFX Supervisor.

It's a pretty safe bet that my ass is going to be there. Look for me in the News for rushing the stage. Perhaps this is the Holy Alien Queen Mother shining her xenomorphic biomechanical love down upon me since I missed the ALIEN/ALIENS screenings a couple weeks ago!
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*thanks, Melchy!!

TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE 20th ANNIV

We watched TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE again this weekend. Boy, what a great movie!! Sure the best parts reside in the first 1/3 with the Original Gen transformers, but the rest of the film is still fun as hell! And what balls the writer had with this film! For the first time, transformer characters DIED!! And MAJOR characters to boot! The slaughter on the Autobot ship in route to Earth is fan-tastic!
"Such heroic nonsense" --Megatron.
I remember vividly just freaking out with excitement in the theater at that part!!! Anyway, I'll spare you all my long geeky rant on all the fun moments of this film and get to the point of this post....

This Holiday Season, Sony BMG is rereleasing Transformers: The Movie as a 20th Anniversary DVD Edition! Woo Hoo!! Some xtra goodies will include behind-the-scenes extras, exclusive interviews and new footage!!

Even better news: The launch is set to coincide with Hasbro's re-release of the Transformers Classic line of figures, also in November. Sweet.

"You got the Touch! You got the POW-ERRRR!!!!"
(Transformers: The Movie - Greatest cheezie soundtrack EV-ER!)

3 ARMED BABY DESTINED TO SAVE US ALL

A Chinese baby was recently born with 3 arms!! Doctors in Shanghai today are considering surgery options. Um, hel-lo?! This baby is destined to be a freaking SUPERHERO!!!




Click here for more.

VILLAIN OF THE DAY: THE CENOBITES

Today's "Villain of the Day" are THE CENOBITES

(from Clive Barker's Hellraiser Series)

The Cenobites.
Demons to some.
Angels to others.
Surgeons from Beyond.
Loyal Enforcers to Leviathan, Lord of Hell.
Fans of FishHooks on Chains.

The Cenobites are presented as distorted humanoid beings, "explorers of the further regions of experience", from a parallel existence where death either can be suspended indefinitely or simply does not occur. Their existence is an eternal exploration of all that the body and mind can experience. Their world is a realm of endless sensuous experience, though this takes the form of endless experiments in pleasure and pain without the possibility of death as a release. The Cenobites ministrations may seem like torture to those on the outside but they exist in a world beyond such opposing notions of pleasure and pain, where all sensation is indivisible.

The Cenobites are charged with retrieving anyone who solves the Lament Configuration, aka The Lemarchand Box, a 3"x3"x3" puzzle box, which if solved opens a gateway between our world and Hell; something highly sought after by the greatest of hedonists for its promise of unparalleled pleasures. Once retrieved, the Cenobite(s) are then directly responsible for the pleasure/pain torture of said individual. Originally believed to have always been Cenobites since the creation of Hell, it has been revealed that each of the four original Cenobites (top pic) had once been human, who had themselves

unlocked the Lament Configuration.

The most notorious Cenobite is the High Dark Priest, Pinhead. Like all Cenobites, Pinhead has horrific mutilations and/or body piercings. His mutilations consists of pins that have been hammered through his flesh into his skull in a grid pattern and six open wounds on his lower torso with the flesh peeled back. Many other Cenobites' mutilation are much, much worse.

"It is not hands that summon us. It is desire........We have such sights to show you! ......But please, feel free, explore. We have eternity to know your flesh.......Your suffering will be legendary, even in Hell!.......We will tear your soul apart!!!"

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*Apologies for Friday's lame Villain.

SHOW & TELL: NEW TOY

Dig this sweet Hooded Cobra Commander Mini-Statue M bought me!!

Thanks, M!!!

COMIC CONVENTION BUSTED

Whoa!
At the Motor City Comic Book Convention (May 19th), several "DVD Pirates" were busted for selling bootlegged geek material. If you've ever been to a con, you've seen these guys selling TV shows, movies, etc - often times of material not yet available for sale. A con is where I got my bootlegged Star Wars Holiday Special dvd. Looks like the Motion Picture Association of America got fed up and sent in the men in blue to take em out! Now where am I going to get my 1994 Fantastic Four movie?!!
(All you comic geeks should get that joke).

More here.

MOVIE REVIEW: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE III

Saw MI:III this weekend.
Here's my quick 2-cents:

THE GOOD:
* Leagues better than MI:II (but that's not saying much).
* Philip Seymour Hoffman was amazing, as usual. Not enough screen time, but sometimes less is more. He was awesome.
* The action scenes are fantastic! At times it was like watching a Captain America and/or S.H.I.E.L.D movie!

THE BAD:
* The love interest thread, which unfortunately was weaved throughout the whole movie. The 12 minute "look at how perfect we are and how much in love we're in" made me want to walk out.... and vomit. Seriously, I contemplated it. It was forced, gross and completely unbelievable. Plus the woman they cast was annoyingly cute - just put Denis Richards in there and be done with it. Ugh.
* The 4th time they used the "Getting into this place is more than impossible" then within 10seconds figure out how to get in.... that got old.
* Ving Rhames' presence in this movie served no purpose whatsoever.

Overall, I'd give it a B- rating.
Take the villain and action of 3, apply it to the story of the first one and you have one helluva movie!

MUSIC TO GET ANGRY TO

Did everyone have a good Holiday weekend? I sure did. When my alarm went off this morning I wanted to cry. Although, I do that every work morning....

Anyway, check out this awesome album! It's the INCREDIBLE HULK Soundtrack, from the 70s TV Series! Apparently its a rare promo album. I want it!

In honor of said soundtrack and the return to work, click here to watch the awesome classic INTRO of the Hulk Show!
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*thanks, Rod Renegade!

HAVE A GREAT & SAFE HOLIDAY WEEKEND !

VILLAIN OF THE DAY: DR. CLAW

Today's "Villain of the Day" is DR. CLAW!

Dr. Claw.
Criminal Nemesis to Inspector Gadget.
Evil.Genius.
Fond of cats.

Dr. Claw runs the criminal syndicate called "M.A.D.", whose mascot is an evil cat named "MAD Cat" (which he keeps by his side). Unfortunately for him, Dr. Claw's plans tend to always be foiled, forcing him to flee in his versatile black and red vehicle called the Clawmobile (which could fire missiles and change into a car, jet, or submarine). But he would have the last laugh! While escaping he would yell his catch-phrase: "I'll get you next time, Gadget!...NEXT TIME!" — which was followed by MAD Cat's signature yowl and hiss.

Though we often see Dr. Claw's metallic hands and arms, his face is always just out of shot, which makes him oh-so mysterious. Of course, you cannot talk about Dr. Claw without mentioning his great, low, ominous voice! So yeah... talk about his voice....

Dr. Claw comes from a broken home; career-criminal parents (Marilyn and Gordon Claw) and his equally evil brother, Dr. Thaw. Later, Dr Claw got some evil booty with his evil girlfriend Miss Molly. Also equally evil and cunning as he was, she was given the task of keeping the agents in check.

This post is weak and sucks. Sorry, I'm busy today.

MATTHEW CLARK HEART ATTACK

Outsiders penciller Matthew Clark suffered a minor heart attack Tuesday evening in his hometown of Portland, OR. He was hospitalized for three days, and came home earlier today. He's expected to make a relatively full recovery.

He's 35. Man, I sure am glad I ate Panda Express for lunch today!

Side note, Clark's penils have really grown lately! His Nightwing is da Bomb!

WEINER MOBILE SITING

Guess who was cruisin' around San Gabriel last night?





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*thanks, Neely!

BLADERUNNER: DIRECTOR'S CUT: SPECIAL EDITION

1982: Bladerunner hits theaters. It rocks.

1992: Ridley Scott releases his Director's Cut - more to his vision and without the Studio's meddling (voiceover, Shining footage happy ending, etc).

2007: Apparently Ridley was rushed putting together his Director's Cut, so he is now releasing ANOTHER director's cut - the FINAL CUT. It will be released in theaters and then made available on dvd for 4 months. Quickly thereafter, a special editon dvd will be released that will include the THREE previous versions of the movie: Theatrical, Expanded International Theatrical Cut & Director's Cut

Interesting.
Click here to read about it.--------------------------
*thanks, Eric!

X3 REVIEWS

X-MEN 3 opened today. I haven't seen it. Dylan did. How was it, Dylan?
It currently has a rating of 58% on RottenTomatoes.
Here are my favorite critiques thus far:

* "I'll probably enjoy it better than the potentially disastrous Superman Returns in June."

* "This is the third film in the series, which means that on three occasions now we've been presented with the same story, featuring the same conflict, leading to the same false resolution, a smiley-happy joining of hands at the edge of an abyss."

and my absolute favorite of the batch:
* "Michael Bay's Schindler's List."

ROBOCOP vs NEO!!!

Click here to watch
ROBOCOP vs NEO!!!

(Total copout at the end, tho....
get it? COPout? I funny.)

I,ROBOT VODKA ?

Has anyone seen the ad campaign for Svedka Vodka?

I saw a billboard the other day which caused me to do a double-take. The robot looks an awful lot like the I,Robot NS-5 model!!

What the hell? I mean, I know Sonny may not have been the most original design (A.I., Bjork video), but come on... this looks like a total ripoff.

Sure, the IRobots looked gorgeous....
...(pat myself on back. heheh)...

Anyway, thought I'd share.

VILLAIN OF THE DAY: PRINCE LOTOR !

Today's "Villain of the Day" is PRINCE LOTOR!

(from Voltron)

Prince Lotor is the evil son of the Drule King Zarkon. He dislikes his father greatly yet often tries to impress him. However, Lotor wishes to take over his father's empire and rule along with Princess Allura (Pink Voltron pilot), to whom he's developed a strong and obsessive attraction. This infaturation often causes him to forfeit victory.

In addition, his obsession with Allura is due to the fact that she reminds him of his mother whom, unknown to him, Emperor Daibazar had killed. Hel-lo, Oedipus Complex! Lotor is a very sly, smart, smooth, overly sexed, powerful man who exudes force and emanates pure evil. And he hates Voltron.

"That statue, it's so beautiful, so fitting. It towers above everything as though I were a god."

audio link of diabolical laughter.

TAKARA STARSCREAM !

Man, check out Takara's upcoming STARSCREAM toy!!

It's approx 13" tall & transforms!
Oh my my my!!!
That thing freaking ROCKS!!!
"Dear Santa....." haha

"Victory is made of the ashes of one's enemies." --Starscream.




If its anything like Takara's Optimus Prime fig they came out with a couple years ago, then I'm all over this bad mofo! Next, gimmie a Megatron and Soundwave!
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*thanks, Melchy!

DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN

Fantasy Nerds rejoice! Looks like the DragonRiders of Pern are finally making it to the Big Screen. Never read any myself, but I hear they're cool.

Copperheart Entertainment has optioned the 19-book series which began with Dragonflight in 1968. In the books, humans ride dragons by telepathically bonding with them.

"I decided that 'Pern' had to be done right, and I wouldn't let it go to someone unless I was certain that they were committed to excellence," author McCaffrey said.

The books almost became a 2001 TV series with Battlestar Galactica remake creator Ronald D. Moore at the helm, but the project fell through.

When are we going to get a GOOD Dungeons & Dragons movie, damnit?!

THE ANCHORPOINT ESSAYS

I'll let you all in on a little secret: I love the ALIEN movies.

For those of you who know me longer than say 15minutes, you know full well that I am obsessed with the ALIEN series. Statues, toys, comics, movies, posters, you name it - I have it. My Thesis back in Graduate School was on and about ALIEN(s) for crying out loud! haha My love for Star Wars pales in comparison. It's almost a religion for me.

The design of the Alien itself, by Swiss Surrealist Artist H.R. Giger (and later tweaked by James Cameron & Stan Winston in the sequel "ALIENS"), is the absolute perfect, most beautiful design EVER!!! And the life cycle is just cooler than cool; from the Queen to egg to facehugger to chestburster to adult Alien warrior/drone/sentry - absolute badass!! And who can forget the "Derelict Space Jockey"?!! I can go on and on and on and on.....

So join in with me today to celebrate ALIEN!
Click here to visit the Anchorpoint Essays - a neat webpage that goes over the life cycle and biology of the Alien. Navigate on the left side; About the Essays, Egg, Stage 1-3, Queen.... Blood. Run your mouse over the images to see them in color.

Note: Anything dealing with ALIEN 3 and especially ALIEN: Resurrection is debatable and not official Alien fact (ie the Newborn is stupid and doesn't exist, ok?). heh
Enjoy!