Archive for August, 2010

Custom STAR WARS Posters Make Nerdy An Art

Posted by Marty Day on Thursday, August 26th, 2010

If you’ve ever been to Austin, TX, chances are, you’ve heard of the amazing movie theater there, The Alamo Drafthouse.

At the Alamo Drafthouse, you do more than see a movie – you worship film.  Home to the latest hits, early preview screenings, cult classic revivals, and amazing film festival and themed evenings, there’s truly no other moviehouse like it.

But what they do that goes above and beyond the call of duty, is creating custom merchandise via their Mondo store to celebrate the different films they showcase.  Typically, when a movie premieres at their theater, they do a limited edition screenprinted poster for the release, much as they did with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. These posters have become so beloved in the movie fan community, that they’ve started to do custom posters for projects such as Star Trek, but the newest feather in their cap is working with Lucasfilm to create posters for the beloved Star Wars franchise.

That’s what I’m featuring today.  They’ve released a number of posters to date celebrating the Star Wars franchise, but over the past week, they’ve released two to date which are absolutely jaw dropping.

The first is simply titled “Hoth”. Pictured at the top of the article (click for larger), and limited to just 475 pieces, this piece by Dan McCarthy takes the ice planet from Empire Strikes Back and turns it into a sad landscape, traveled by one lone probe droid.

The second released over the past week is the amazing “Great Warrior (Yoda)” by Todd Slater (above, limited to 385 pieces).  Taking an iconic image of beloved jedi master Yoda and creating him out of the underbrush of his native Dagobah, it’s a beautiful piece that properly represents his connection with nature.

Unfortunately, both posters sold out within minutes, so you can’t purchase them…but this does lead to one thought.

This week, the amazing family behind The Charles Theater here in Baltimore gained possession of the historic Senator Theatre. I love the Senator. There’s truly nothing like seeing a highly anticipated movie there at midnight, in a room full of hardcore movie geeks.  I’m sure that Buzz Cusack has his plans for the movie house, but I feel you can imitate from the best.

Lets get amazing projects like this celebrating movies in Baltimore. There’s no reason to be jealous of Texas when we can do the same thing here.

Is IRON FIST The Next Big Marvel Film?

Posted by Marty Day on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Since Marvel and Disney became one giant comic producing, movie making entity at the beginning of this year, rumor and scuttlebutt has been full of wonder about what would be the first big comic franchise to come to film from this powerful combination.

The answer, it seems, will surprise you – Iron Fist.

Disney took the first big step forward towards a theatrical adaptation of Iron Fist today, signing a screenwriter to the project.  Unfortunately, the choice doesn’t give me much hope – Rich Wilkes, best known for being the writer/creator of the sub-par Vin Diesel/Ice Cube extreme sport action franchise, XXX.

You may be wondering – why Iron Fist? Well, unfortunately for Marvel and Disney, most of their bigger heroes are signed to other studios.  Paramount has Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Avengers. Sony has Spider-Man locked up tight. And Fox, despite producing mostly crap adaptations, still has control over the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Daredevil and X-Men franchises in perpetuity, due to a poor deal Marvel made back when they were teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy.

Never the less, I’m very excited at the idea of an Iron Fist movie.  Originally, in the 90′s-early 00′s, when the project was set to star Ray Park (Darth Maul from Star Wars: Episode 1), it sounded like a blah martial arts flick, as it seemed doubtful that the movie would capture the cheesy, 70′s nature of the original Iron Fist comics.  But since the release of the amazing, generations spanning Immortal Iron Fist by writers Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction and artist David Aja, the potential of the universe seemed even more appropriate for the silver screen, balancing different incarnations of Iron Fist in ancient China, World War II and modern day, for a mix of stupendous superheroic action and multi-generational martial arts mayhem.

If they can accurately portray what made Immortal Iron Fist work on screen, I can be very excited for this project.  Heck, I’d even settle for a Black Dynamite style Power Man & Iron Fist movie.  But if they intend to just do a bland, Daredevil style actioner with a lead in a suit, you can count me out. And the choice of writer isn’t making me very optimistic.

Source:  Deadline.com

Threadless Monday: August 23, 2010

Posted by Marty Day on Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Giving people an artful reason to stare at your chest, it’s this weeks edition of Threadless Monday!

It’s kind of a slow week from Threadless, at least in terms of new shirts, as they did many great reprints this week to take advantage of their $10 Back to School sale (ending on Thursday), but of the new shirts, two in particular stand out.

AWESOMENESS - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

First is for those who are big fans of internet culture, a culture of in short – all things awesome. Mixing Chuck Norris, Abe Lincoln, a T-Rex and explosions, “AWESOMENESS” by James Gruber lives up to the title and then some.  Can your chest live up to the pressure?

Tyrannosaurus Wrecks - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

Either way, no matter how much awesomeness you celebrate, be careful…especially with the dinosaurs.  What’s the worst that could happen, you ask? “Tyrannosaurus Wrecks” by Mike Rogalski shows us the sad end result when two T-Rexes colide.  And although the end result isn’t pretty…it sure does make for a rad shirt.

Like I said, it’s a slower week this week at Threadless, but by all means, head on over, and get some cheap shirts!

Get Your Rock On: The Full ROCK BAND 3 Track List

Posted by Marty Day on Friday, August 20th, 2010

I highlighted my excitement for the release of Rock Band 3 in an earlier post, but we now know the full listing of songs to appear in the third iteration of what I feel is the best music game franchise going today.

Announced today by developers Harmonix, this listing is full of great tracks, and quite a few I can’t wait to play (One Armed Scissor, In a Big Country, and 25 or 6 to 4, to name a few.)

The full list as follows.

  1. Amy Winehouse – “Rehab”
  2. Anthrax – “Caught in a Mosh”
  3. At the Drive-In – “One Armed Scissor”
  4. Avenged Sevenfold – “Beast And The Harlot”
  5. The B-52s – “Rock Lobster”
  6. The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations” (Live)
  7. Big Country – “In a Big Country”
  8. Blondie – “Heart of Glass”
  9. Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up”
  10. The Bronx – “False Alarm”
  11. Chicago – “25 or 6 to 4″
  12. The Cure – “Just Like Heaven”
  13. David Bowie – “Space Oddity”
  14. Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water”
  15. Def Leppard – “Foolin’”
  16. Devo – “Whip It”
  17. Dio – “Rainbow in the Dark”
  18. Dire Straits – “Walk of Life”
  19. The Doobie Brothers – “China Grove”
  20. The Doors – “Break On Through (To the Other Side)”
  21. Dover – “King George”
  22. Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
  23. Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
  24. Faith No More – “Midlife Crisis”
  25. Filter – “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
  26. The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″
  27. Foreigner – “Cold as Ice”
  28. Golden Earring – “Radar Love”
  29. HIM – “Killing Loneliness”
  30. Huey Lewis and the News – “The Power of Love”
  31. Hypernova – “Viva La Resistance”
  32. Ida Maria – “Oh My God”
  33. INXS – “Need You Tonight”
  34. The J. Geils Band – “Centerfold”
  35. James Brown – “I Got You (I Feel Good)”
  36. Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
  37. The Jimi Hendrix Experience ˆ”Crosstown Traffic”
  38. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”
  39. John Lennon – “Imagine”
  40. Juanes – “Me Enamora”
  41. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird”
  42. Maná – “Oye Mi Amor”
  43. Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
  44. Metric – “Combat Baby”
  45. The Muffs – “Outer Space”
  46. Night Ranger – “Sister Christian”
  47. Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train”
  48. Paramore – “Misery Business”
  49. Phish – “Llama”
  50. Phoenix – “Lasso”
  51. The Police – “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
  52. Poni Hoax – “Antibodies”
  53. Pretty Girls Make Graves – “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
  54. Primus – “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”
  55. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
  56. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows”
  57. Rammstein – “Du Hast”
  58. Ramones – “I Wanna Be Sedated”
  59. Raveonettes – “Last Dance”
  60. Rilo Kiley – “Portions for Foxes”
  61. Riverboat Gamblers – “Don’t Bury Me… I’m Still Not Dead”
  62. Roxette – “The Look”
  63. Slipknot – “Before I Forget”
  64. Smash Mouth – “Walkin’ on the Sun”
  65. The Smiths – “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before”
  66. The Sounds – “Living in America”
  67. Spacehog – “In the Meantime”
  68. Steve Miller Band – “Fly Like an Eagle”
  69. Stone Temple Pilots – “Plush”
  70. Swingin’ Utters – “This Bastard’s Life”
  71. T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
  72. Tears for Fears – “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
  73. Tegan and Sara – “The Con”
  74. Them Crooked Vultures – “Dead End Friends”
  75. Tokio Hotel – “Humanoid”
  76. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – “I Need to Know”
  77. The Vines – “Get Free”
  78. War – “Low Rider”
  79. Warren Zevon – “Werewolves of London”
  80. The White Stripes – “The Hardest Button to Button”
  81. Whitesnake – “Here I Go Again”
  82. The Who – “I Can See for Miles”
  83. Yes – “Roundabout”

With just under 2 months to go until the games release for PS3, 360 and Wii on October 26th, I’m officially counting down the days.

What tracks have you excited?

Source: Joystiq.

Star Wars CLONE WARS Season 3 Coming September 17th!

Posted by Marty Day on Friday, August 20th, 2010

Without getting into the arguments  about what parts of the Star Wars sequels succeeded and failed, I think it’s safe to say, the Clone Wars cartoons have been a tremendous success.

From the original animated shorts to the newer CG animated series, it’s always delivered.  And with the CG series entering it’s third season starting on September 17th on Cartoon Network, I think it’s truly swinging for the fences.

With the latest trailer unveiled at Celebration V this past weekend, the series ups the scale, with sequences in Kamino (last seen in Episode 2), a larger scale to the series, more dynamic animation, and yes, even a new big bad.

The new baddie? Savage Opress (pictured above).  From the same alien species which birthed Darth Maul, he looks to be an imposing figure.

But don’t let me ramble about it all and ruin the fun for you – the full trailer is embedded below – it gave me goosebumps, and hopefully it has you excited too.

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Superheroes Meet Minimalism With Mark Grambau

Posted by Marty Day on Thursday, August 19th, 2010

There are few things in the world that I love more than superheroes…

…and one of those things is really striking, minimalist design.

Having had played around a bit with graphic design in my high school years, and having many friends who are graphic designers, there are few things I appreciate more than clean design work which can evoke so much emotion and feeling from very little.

This amazing series of superhero posters by Mark Grambau take these two tastes I love so much, and mix them together.

Featuring a mix of Marvel and DC characters and reducing them to their iconic looks and shapes, along with key phrases that define them, these are stunning posters.  I especially love the Spider-Man one, which takes my favorite comic character of all time, and just reduces him to his essence.

The only real shame? He’s not selling them. For now.

Here’s hoping he does a run of these posters sometime soon.  In the meantime, click around the gallery and fall in love, just as I have.

Source: Mark Grambau Illustration & Design.

The Beginning of the End: HARRY POTTER 7 Stills

Posted by Marty Day on Thursday, August 19th, 2010

I think it’s safe to say the most anticipated film this fall might just be November’s release of the lengthily titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I.

The first “half” of the final film in the wildly popular Harry Potter series, it brings to a close ten years of unmatched theatrical popularity, and with the latest batch of stills from the film released by Warner Bros this week, I can’t help but find myself starting to get wistful.

We’ve seen this film series grow, from just an innocent family romp to a dark, fantasy journey full of death and anguish (hell, look at that shot of Harry & Ron, it could be from an indie film).  And as the films have grown up, so too have the actors, I mean – Harry has stubble in one still, for goodness sakes!

So it’s with a bit of sadness we enter this final stage of hype for the Harry Potter films…but if these stills are any indication, it’s quite the adventure ahead.  It’s going to be good to wrap it up.

…until they greenlight the remakes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I hits theaters on November 19th.

Source:  /Film.

All images can be clicked for a high resolution version.

Giving the Internet An INTERVENTION: A Q&A With Onezumi

Posted by Marty Day on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably into comics, art, music, blogging and the internet.  And, also just as likely, you’re living in Maryland.

Well, you’re in luck, as there’s an upcoming convention that is aiming for you, dear reader! That convention is called Intervention, and it is set for it’s debut event September 10th through 12th at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville.

To get to the nuts and bolts of Intervention, and how it came to be, I recently interviewed the convention’s head, Onezumi Hartstein about the inaugural show, what she expects to deliver to fans, and what she feels about the rumored “clash” between Intervention and the like-minded Small Press Expo, also in Rockville that weekend.  I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Onezumi for a number of years now, and I can say her work ethic and want to bring only the best to fans is second to none, and I feel like it will be especially on display at Intervention.

Before you read, a full disclosure – one of the featured events for Intervention is Super Art Fight, a show/organization I am a member of.

Q: First things first – for our readers unfamiliar with you and your works, what is your name, and what do you do?

I’m Onezumi Hartstein. You can call me Oni because it’s easier. I write and draw Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos at Onezumi.com , I blog at Onezumiverse.com, and I just started my own creator-focused art and technology convention called Intervention.
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Threadless Monday: August 16, 2010

Posted by Marty Day on Monday, August 16th, 2010

Covering your naked chest with all sorts of artistic awesomeness, it’s this weeks Threadless Monday!

Once again, everyone’s crowd-sourced t-shirt site has delivered us new tees, but it’s a special week, as Threadless is running their annual Back to School Sale.  This means all these awesome shirts are just $10, with hoodies going for $30.  Considering their shirts go for $18 (hoodies $45) normally, this is a sweet deal.

So what looks good this week? Let’s have a look.

Vitruvianspector - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

No one would ever confuse 80′s cartoon classic Inspector Gadget with high art, but with “Vitruvianspector” by Steven Lefcourt, you certainly can mix the two!  Mixing the Vitruvian Man with one of Don Adams greatest roles, it’s a shirt that will certainly have people doing double and triple takes.

Those Damn Birds! - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

I think it’s safe to say that one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films is The Birds. But I can also imagine that after making that movie, Hitchcock never wanted to work with animals again.  Why do I say that?  Let me just say, I think that the design of “Those Damn Birds!” by Alvaro Arteaga Sabaini may just be based on truth, and not just a great visual gag.

A Day in the Life of Frank - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

Last, but far from least, is a tee for the horror fans.  I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had enough zombie shirts, and that vampires are probably ruined for decades to come (thanks, Twilight!), but what ever happened to good ol’ Frankenstein?  It seems he’s been keeping busy, as “A Day in the Life of Frank” by David Soames shows us. I particularly enjoy the bullfighting.

All and all, I’d say, that’s three great shirts, making for another fine Threadless Monday!  Of course, as I said before, all these designs are on sale through August 26th (so next week’s designs will be cheap, too!), and so are the shirts I’ve featured the past few weeks, provided they haven’t sold out.

So what are you waiting for? Get to Threadless, and get your new wardrobe going!

STAR WARS Saga To Hit Blu-Ray In 2011

Posted by Marty Day on Monday, August 16th, 2010

Argue the merits of high definition and the Special Editions all you like, but I think it’s clear this is big news in the world of nerd.

This past weekend at Celebration V, George Lucas (and his waddle) announced the news many fans have been waiting for – the complete Star Wars Saga will be hitting blu-ray in 2011.

Not only featuring remastered editions of all six films, but a series of new supplements including never before seen deleted scenes, it’s sure to be a huge hit when it arrives just in time for Christmas next year.

Unfortunately for purists, only the Special Edition versions of the flicks will be available in this set. George Lucas says it would be too expensive to restore the original versions of the Original Trilogy.  I have a hunch that maybe the sales of a certain blu-ray set this story is about may suddenly make a remaster affordable, so don’t be surprised if this is the first set of many.

To mark the occasion, Lucas also revealed a lost scene from Return of the Jedi, which is only available around the web in bootleg form.  Here’s the scene shown, which is of Luke building his green lightsaber.  If this footage is any indication, at least one dude is super excited for this set – and I’ll make number two.

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Source: StarWars.com.