COLBERT LOVES JIMSMASH

Did you see on the COLBERT REPORT where Stephen called out CONAN O'BRIEN for swiping the credit for Huckabee getting a boost? It was pretty funny.

Well, now I'm calling COLBERT out! This week he had Marvel Editor-In-Chief JOE QUESADA on as a guest again. Quesada said that Colbert is still a presidential candidate within the Marvel Universe, to which Colbert brought out campaign bumper stickers like "Colbert/Hulk '08", "Colbert/Iron Man '08" and "Colbert/Quesada '08". He then said he had a campaign slogan - "COLBERT SMASH!" to which the audience went bat shit.I think we all know where he got that idea from. No, it wasn't from the pages of HULK - that's where I got it from. We all know he got it from your favorite blog, JIMSMASH!!!!! I know this because my Inbox has been flooded with emails ever since the episode aired.

So email Colbert and let him know you're not fooled!

See? The Writers' Strike DOES effect JimSmash! Jab!

SORRY FOR THE LACK OF POSTS. . .

I'm slammed with work this week....
15-plus hour days.....
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But have no fear!
You can take this time to revisit old posts
in the JimSmash ARCHIVES!!!

ART OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT TCG

Never played it before, but I dig Fantasy imagery. I also love coffee table books. Which is why I shall be picking up the new book "ART OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT TRADING CARD GAME"!! It's 288 pages, 300 full-color images of pure nerdness and I want it!

JimSmash reader Jason already picked it up and said, "I dig it lots. Makes me want to paint stuff." Sweet. I'm sold!
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*thanks, Jason!

COOL CUSTOM SCI-FI MODELS

Check out this guy's Photobucket page where he shows off some of his kickass models, including the NOSTROMO and SUCLACO!!!
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*thanks, Andrew!

CHEESEBURGER IN A CAN ! ! !

You know you want to try one!

Click HERE!

FANTASTIC 4 REMOVAL

snagged from Andrew's blog!

MORE GIJOE CASTING . . .

Some more GIJOE movie casting news...

GENERAL HAWK = DENNIS QUAID
DUKE = CHANNING TATUM (who?)
DESTRO = DAVID MURRAY ("unknown" theatrical actor)
ZARTAN = ARNOLD "The Mummy" VOSLOO

Overall, whatever. Some work, some don't. Tatum as Duke? Based on visuals alone, I don't see it. While I want this to be the ultimate GIJoe movie I've been envisioning since my youth, I have to remind myself that they are not making "My GIJoe Movie" nor are they adapting the COMIC, which was the "source material" and kicked ass. Instead, they are adapting the [somewhat crappy & silly] CARTOON and various incarnations that have come since; new toys, new cartoons, new comics. Much like how TRANSFORMERS was a new approach and envisioning, I assume this will be, too, for a new generation.

The other Cast, thus far:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

I picked up AMAZING SPIDER-MAN post-"One More Day" to see if Marvel was doing it "right". While I hated HOW they transitioned into this "new/old" feel, I was happy they did - Spiderman has sucked for almost 20years now. I read the first 3 issues last night (the first story arc, by writer Dan Slott).

DAN SLOTT, I love you.

While not the best Spiderman comic ever, it actually felt like a Spider-Man comic again. I quite enjoyed it and was gleeful for these reasons:

1) The Return of Thought Balloons!!!

2) The Return of Editor's Notes!!!

3) The Return of Web Shooters!!!

4) The Return of Narration Boxes!!!

5) The Return of Sound Effects!!!

6) The Return of Spidey talking like Spidey!!!

Plus it had kickass art by STEVE McNIVEN (Civil War), who has become one of my all-time favorite Spider-Man artist. He was only onboard for these 3 isssues, which makes Jimmy sad. But I was thankful for the 3 he gave me! For the first time in nearly 20 years, I felt like I was reading a Spider-Man comic again. Spider-Man's tone, feel, and overall world changed in the 90s and has been blah since. This felt like a return to what made the character & comic great in the first place, during the 60s, 70s and 80s. It was like seeing an old friend again.

Guide to "New" Spider-Man, post-One More Day:

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Amazing Spider-Man is now being published 3 times a month. Each month/3-issue arc is by a different team, and there will be 4 teams.

Team 1: Dan Slott/Steve McNiven. Just reviewed, they kick ass.

Team 2: Marc Guggenheim/Salvador Larroca. Not too thrilled about, but will give a chance. Guggenheim's WOLVERINE was atrocious, and Larroca's art is semi-hit or miss.

Team 3: Zam Wells/Chris Bachalo. Not too familiar with Wells, but I like Bachalo when he's in his game.

Team 4: Bob Gale/Phil Jimenez. Gale wrote Back to the Future, which is awesome. But his DAREDEVIL several years back was terrible!!!! Jimenez is great and I'm interested to see his Spidey.

I'm not sure what happens after this 4-month/12-issue push. Will they continue to rotate teams? The same teams? I dunno. I'm not thrilled with any of the other writers and wish Dan Slott/McNiven just stayed on putting out an issue once a month. But alas. Anyway, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546-548 was alot of fun! Pick em up!!!

Previous Brand New Day post.

IMAGINATION ! ! ! !

I'm not an active participant of RPG, but I do like me some cool Star Wars and D&D minis. These are the set based on the game STAR WARS UNLEASHED. Let's check em out, ok?!! Let's see.... I see an Urukai-Rancor, Mechanical Dana-Gargoyle of Zuul, Starship Trooper spider, various Mech-Warrior machines and... oh god... is that...is that a fucking TIE-Fighter TANK???!!!How do such unimaginative, scruffy-looking nerf hearders get the cool jobs like this?

Ok, on a positive note... TIE-FIGHTER TANK?! REALLY?!!.... sorry, where was I?..., on a positive note, the Tauntaun, Carbonite Han, Amanaman, Snowspeeder and Dagobah Luke w/Yoda look awesome! WANTIE!!!

The Imagination Song:

*UPDATE: Melchy has informed me that the "TIE-Tank" is actually a "TIE-CRAWLER" which made its debut in the comic STAR WARS: DARK EMPIRE. It's still stupid, though.

NEW BAT-POSTER

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BAT FASHION:

LEGO TURNS 50

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEGO!!!!!
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Some Lego Maniac thrown at ya:

HANCOCK COSTUME IS ORIGINAL

Did you see Will Smith's costume for his upcoming superhero spoof HANCOCK? I couldn't help notice the uncanny similarities to the X-MEN [movie] uniforms.... which in turn were boring ripoffs from PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. I understand Hancock is a spoof (and ripoff of the comic MAJOR BUMMER), but come on... could they have atleast TRIED to come up with something original? Homage does not mean COPY. Oh where has all the talent and imagination gone?
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*Planet of the Vampires! 1965 Italian Sci-Fi movie which rocks! ALIEN is weirdly similar at moments! Ridley Scott and writer Dan O'Bannon have said they never heard of PotV, let alone seen it, when making ALIEN. Rent it today!

NAUTILUS TV ROOM

Check out this cool home theater, based on the NAUTILUS!! I dig it! I think I'd personally go with the Bat Cave theater I posted earlier, though. Still freaking cool, though! More info HERE.

GUILLERMO TO DO HOBBITS ? ! ? !

YES! The Hollywood Reporter is saying GUILLERMO DEL TORO is in talks to helm both upcoming THE HOBBIT movies (produced by Peter Jackson)! 12 months ago, after seeing PAN'S LABYRINTH, I posted that Guillermo was my choice! Thankfully New Line Cinema and MGM are JimSmash readers!

RESTROOM SIGN OF THE DAY

er...........

CUSTOM CHRISTOPHER REEVE SUPERMAN

Les Walker does gorgeous custom figure work. His ALIENS stuff is heavenly, but that's another post. This post is to spotlight his custom CHRISTOPHER REEVE SUPERMAN! Man, just look at it! I said LOOK AT IT!!! I want one. Reeve will forever be Superman for me. *sniffle* I'm not crying... its just been raining on my face. Great work, Les!

WATCHMEN MOVIE STORYBOARDS ARE NEATO

Ack! I meant to post this last week, but in my haste to get my ass to Vegas as quickly as possible, I forgot to post the draft! Last friday, Zack Snyder posted on the WATCHMEN movie website some sweet storyboards, showing off some of the comparisons to their comic book source material. Check it out!

This added to the crazy-insane accurate comic-to-screen detail I've seen, plus loving Snyder's previous work (Dawn of the Dead remake and 300) actually has me pumped for this flick! So far it looks like a very truthful adaption of not just the story, but of the comic book itself... much like 300 was. Cool, let's hope it works successfully!!

Buy and read Watchmen before the movie comes out, now!

Watchmen movie/comic comparisons
Watchmen casting
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*this post is dedicated to JimSmash readers Maker and Scott, who are not Watchmen (the comic) fans, and therefore are poopie. Love ya!

REAL LIFE SUPERHEROES

Behold THE EYE, GEIST, CITIZEN PRIME, BLACK ARROW, ZEAT MAN, HARD WIRE, and er SUPERHERO!!! Real-life superhero operating in cities world wide! In fact, based on eye-witness accounts, there's about 50-200 real-life superheroes operating in the U.S., with another 50 or so internationally!!

Click HERE for more info on real-life superheroes! And click HERE to see some footage!

We have a superhero here in Los Angeles... he rollerblades around the West Side in full black gear; hockey helmet, football shoulder pads, arm & leg guards, the works. I don't know if he's an actual superhero... he's probably one of the many nutjobs here.... but Maker and I have dubbed him "THE VENETIAN!!!!", who patrols the West Side for Justice! You laugh now, but when a giant radioactive crustacean emerges from the ocean and starts attacking Venice Beach, you'll be yelping in joy when you see The Venetian rollerblade off a rooftop and fight off the beast back to the deep depths from which it came forth! "GO VENETIAN, GO!!!!"
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*thanks, Mr Legs!

SPIDER-MAN MARRIAGE NO MORE ! !

Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada (boo, hisss) has recently pulled a Dallas J.R. and made it so the Peter Parker/MJ marriage never happened (ugh). So check out this great retconned cover of the Spidey Marriage! "Special Suit Issue!" ha! The original cover is here.

I snagged the above pic from Scott's KINGFILM. He received the pic from a random email, so I'm unable to give credit to its creator. Great find, Scott!

Previous JimSmash post on the Spidey Marriage

X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX

The final chapter of the latest X-Men crossover "MESSIAH COMPLEX" came out this week. Overall I really enjoyed it! While it still suffers from the current Marvel way of storytelling -ots of buildup with dud climax, merely setting things up for the NEXT event- I still think its the best the X-Men have been in atleast a decade if not more.

The gist of the storyline goes something like this: After the "HOUSE OF M" event, the Mutant gene no longer exists. Less than 200 mutants are in the world now, with their numbers falling. In addition, because of the lack of the x-gene, there will be no more NEW mutants ever. The Mutant race is officially an endangered species with no hope of survival. Until the MESSIAH COMPLEX one-shot, where a single mutant birth appears. Now its a race to get to the child who represents the survival of Mutantkind. It's Mr Sinister & his Marauders vs The Purifers vs Exodus & the Acolytes vs The X-Men, with solo/double agents in the mix, too!!!

If you bailed on the X-Men during the 90s or the last 7years, pick this crossover up. Its essentially putting the House of X back in order and back onto a path that's worth your time and money. All 13 issues are out now, with the Hardcover collection being released this April.Its the beginning of a new era for The X-Men and the various X-Men books. Some titles are going away while some are tranforming into something new. The adjectiveless X-MEN book is being renamed as "X-MEN: LEGACY" beginning with #208. Here are the sweet linking covers for X-MEN: LEGACY #208-210.

NESSIE IN TOKYO

Holy crap! Using very large water screens and timed water fountains, Tokyo got a rad promotional light show for the movie "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep". Awesome!
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*thanks, Jason!

RANDOM FIND: SURVIVAL TRACKING GUIDE

MEDUSA GEAR

Check out this "Medussa" hat and goggles, by Oakley!
Perfect for any aspiring urban-villain to battle Spiderman 2099!
The hat is $500, the goggles $250 HERE.

AVP-R: R IS FOR RAZZIE

Ha! AVP-R has been nominated for 2 RAZZIE AWARDS; "Worst Excuse for a Horror Film" and "Worst Prequel or Sequel". While I'm pleased for the much deserved Razzie nominations, I'm shocked it didn't receive more! Like say for Directing, Acting, Editing and Writing..... May both franchises finally be dead and rest in peace.

The Razzies.
JimSmash AVP-R movie review.

ALIEN STAPLER

Heh, nice... IronicSans says,

"I recently rewatched the ALIEN movies. I must still have Aliens on my mind because today I got a little creeped out by my stapler. This leads me to the thought: They should make a stapler shaped like the Alien. And it should have one of those staple trays that reloads by extending outward, instead of having to open the top."

Awesome. I'd buy one!!!

BATMAN B&W STATUE: GEORGE PEREZ

2 Weeks ago I posted about the cool BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE series of statues, each based on an Artist's artwork. Today DC released an image of a new one coming out based on GEORGE PEREZ!!! Pretty sweet.
However, I don't think it looks like his art.... its a bit chunkier than his usual figure. This one looks more like an Ed Mcguinness than a Perez. The bottom/left pic is the McGuinness action figure. Weird. Maybe if the Perez' legs were slightly longer, it would look more like a Perez?????

Previous Batman Black & White post.

HEATH LEDGER RIP

Oh man! I just heard the terrible news that HEATH LEDGER has been found dead in his home! I really liked Ledger as an actor and was intrigued (nervous, but intrigued) to see his take on THE JOKER. Very sad news and a tragic loss to cinema.. He was 28. My condolensces to his Family, friends and fans.

CLICHE VILLAIN T-SHIRT

This is a t-shirt being sold on Threadless. While the idea is great, the execution is blah. I think it lacks some creative imagination and knowledge of source materials. I suppose its made by-and-for those who are AWARE of comics, but are not INTO them.

The more I look at it, the more I dislike it.

Why the hell did I even post this thing?

MACHETE POSTER

Dunno anything about this flick, but the poster made me grin.

2008 OSCAR NOMINATIONS: VISUAL FX

PIRATES 3
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
TRANSFORMERS
(come on P3 or TGC!!!)

FUNCTIONING A BIT SLOW TODAY . . .

Back from 3-Day Bachelor Party in Vegas.....

.....sleepy.....

BOOTLEG TEASER....

Check it out before its taken down.
(And no, I did not record it.)
High rez officially being released on the web MONDAY.

BAT THEATER

Sweet! Last night we wrapped up the final touches on our BAT-Home Theater! Check it out!

Ok, its not mine, but one day.... one day....

(source)

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*thanks, FiveFingers!

5 MOST HORRIFYING BUGS

Oh the horror! Check out HERE (or here) for the Top 5 Most Horrifying Bugs! I'm not talking about nasties on Ceti Alpha VI. "Botany Bay? Botnay Bay?!?!?!!!!". ahem, sorry. Anyway, be sure to read and watch the clips! Terrifying! Hahaha!

Here's a taste... the JAPANESE GIANT HORNET:

"Behold the hornets systematically seize [the smaller bees] with huge, wicked jaws and literally fucking cut them apart, one by one by one by fucking one. In three hours, there are piles of limbs and heads and just fucking bits of things that could possibly have been alive at one point, and the hornets have stormed the hive and flown away with all the bee's children. Who will then be eaten."

The Horror!!!!!!!

and even MORE related links:
Snail Zombiesss!!!
Hornet cooked by bees
Bot Fly in human head!
Brainwashed by parasite

GIANT LEGO INVISIBLE HAND

Mark Kelso has completed his custom Lego "Invisible Hand" model! For non-super geeks, that's General Grevious' ship from EPIII
(its ok, I didn't know either). Anyway, this mutha is 73-inches long and freaking 30lbs!!! Click HERE to see more pics!
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*this post dedicated to SpaceJase, Legomaniac!

HELL RIDE POSTER IS HELLA COOL

I haven't heard about this movie until now, but boy did the poster grab my attention! Awesome!!! Its not the most original, but it harkens back to an era of kickass poster design!

Here's what the film's about, according to ComingSoon.net:

Bishop stars as bad-ass biker Pistolero, who along with his brother The Gent (Michael Madsen) and Comanche (Eric Balfour), hit the road to avenge the death of Pistolero’s old lady Cherokee Kisum (Julia Jones), by the 666ers, a rival motorcycle gang. Vinnie Jones, David Carradine and Dennis Hopper co-star.

*apologies for the lame subject heading

MACHO MACHO MAAAAN ! ! !

(snagged from CasualSlack!)

LIGHTSABER LAMP FOR A MORE CIVILIZED ROOM

Wow, those are incredibly dorky. Too much for me, even.
You can buy yours HERE, tho!

NEW ENTERPRISE GLIMPSE

A new Star Trek teaser is to be shown tomorrow in front of CLOVERFIELD. The teaser itself will be released to the masses online this Monday, January 21. Here is a pic of the new ENTERPRISE in the next Trek outing by JJAbrams.

Dark Horizons described the teaser with, "the short clip shows construction workers welding something big whilst excerpts from the Apollo 11 mission are heard. It eventually pulls back to show the saucer section with the name USS Enterprise emblazoned on it in big letters (rather than the registry number) held in giant construction scaffolding as Leonard Nimoy says "Space...Where No Man Has Gone Before". Dissolve to the Federation symbol glowing in blue outline whilst the original series transporter effect sound is heard and the title cards 'Under Construction' and 'Christmas 2008' are shown - no title." (more description)

From what I've read and heard, Paramount insisted the ship stay pretty much the same in the reinvisioning. Cool. Can't wait to see it from different angles. My fingers are crossed xtra tight on this movie.

SCI-FI THEATER

Ha, nice! This is from an online contest over at Worth1000 where they asked people to add sci-fi elements into other movie images. This one is ALIEN into JUNO.

Click HERE for some more!
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*thanks, Meghan!

FUN WITH MONEY

Snagged from Casual Slack,
you can see more at the source or over here.

COMICS I SURPRISINGLY DUG

Instead of spotlighting my current favorite comics, I thought I'd shine some light on a few books that caught me by surprise, leaving me wanting the next issue immediately:

NOVA (ongoing)
I can't quite decide if this book is eh-ok, or one of the best books Marvel has put out since the 80s! It really depends on my mood, I suppose. My friends love this book, so I think its just me. Ha!

DETECTIVE COMICS (ongoing)
Just when I was considering dropping this book, they bring DUSTIN NGUYEN on as artist with #840! I've been a fan of Nguyen for awhile now, especially his Wildcats 3.0 and recent Superman/Batman run. His art is just getting better and better is rad in this issue! That added to PAUL DINI's story (who was the brainchild of the Batman Animated Series back when) has moved Detective to the top of my reading pile. Check out #840!!!

WHAT IF..? ANNIHILATION (one-shot)
Like most What If's, it falls a bit short. However, the art is killer to look at with every page and panel full of goodies and detail. It's a fun read and when I finished the issue I caught myself grinning a bit in comic satisfaction. Always a good thing.

IRON FIST (ongoing)
Similar to Mova and Detective... was thinking of dropping, but now I'm hooked again! Its just good ole fashioned kung fu fun!! Yes, Kung Fu is played out plus some, but its working in this book. This last issue had artist DAVID AJA who rocks! I hope he stays on board full-time! I'd also like to note that Iron Fist is co-written by Ed Brubaker, who's kicking ass right now with DAREDEVIL, CAPTAIN AMERICA, UNCANNY X-MEN and CRIMINAL.

BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGES (mini-series)
Ok, I wasn't surprised with this one, but it is under the radar with many fans. Geoff Johns made Black Adam one of my favorite characters in the pages of JSA years back and BA keeps getting better. His tale in the pages of 52 was awesome and this series continues Teth Adams' story. It also has awesome art by DOUG MAHNKE, always a delight!

UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE (mini-series)
I didn't want to like this book, but I do. I like the world, the characters, the story and the art by Gabriel Ba (which is Mignola-esque in flavor). I think I've actually mentioned this book in previous comic posts, but I felt the need to mention againhere. The end of #4 was awesome!

ULTIMATE IRON MAN II (mini-series)
I'm as shocked and apalled as you. I HATED the first series. HATED. Yet this outing worked for me. The first issue was interesting and entertaining and had some killer art by PASQUAL FERRY, who has really been shining the past few years. In general, I do not like the Ultimate books and wish they would go away. Life can be so complicated.

PENANCE: RELENTLESS (mini-series)
Penance is growing to become one of my favorite new Marvel characters and this mini fleshes out the enigmatic character, delving further into his disturbed mind! Plus the mini-series is sporting killer art by veteran PAUL GULACY.

DISENTEGRATOR

This custom made nerd-weapon shoots 288 rubber bands 22 feet with a rate of 40 per second!! Check out the video!