And Now... The Second Best Show Ever Made!

I got my first set of discs from Blockbuster yesterday and I'm enjoying watching John Steed and Emma Peel fight exotic crime.

If you've never seen the show before it's a treat. It's a '60s spy thriller with witty dialogue and some far-fetched plots. A precursor to shows like Moonlighting and Remington Steele, the Avengers was made during the hey-day of 007, cold war and strange gadgets.

Just like The Prisoner, here is a bunch of links to get you caught up.

Avengers Forever
Encyclopædia of the cult British TV classic. Has the best episode guide, too.

The Avengers at IMDB
Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, Photos, Showtimes, Link to Official Site, Fan Sites.

OriginalAvengers.com
Official site of TV series, featuring video clips, character and actor biographies, and message boards.

The Avengers at Wikipedia
Need we say more?

Westray.org
An informational site for the program.

The Quite Quite Fantastic Avengers Website
The most attractive and stylish Avengers review site on the internet!

The Avengers.tv
Even more links pertaining to Steed and Peel (and King).

Avengers Screencaps
Lots of images from the show.

Mrs. Peel... We're Needed!
Another great site, with episode guide and screen caps.

Cult TV Programmes
Has real media video clips of intros to a bunch of cult shows, including The Prisoner and The Avengers.

Comic Resources

Posting these to make them easier for me to find.
Here are the solicitations for DC Comics since the beginning of IDENTITY/INFINITE CRISIS.

June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004

January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005

January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006

RPG Heaven

The first pen & paper RPG I ever played was the original Marvel Super-Heroes Role-Playing Game from TSR ( the first D&D people).

I have been ecstatic to find almost all the books available for download here.

Also worth noting is that TSR ran a series of articles in their Dragon Magazine that further expanded the rules and gave stats for characters not appearing in the supplements. You can find all of those here.

For more recent information, Ty States is still updating his MSH site with more current info here.

At one time I even had my own MSH focused site which is still up here.

My Movie Sub Line-Up

My Netflix Queue:
The Avengers '67
The Avengers '68
Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive
Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars (Ep. 82)
Doctor Who: Talons of Weng-Chiang
Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara
Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor
Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet
Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll
Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation
Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood
Doctor Who: The Ark in Space
Doctor Who: The Robots of Death
Dark Shadows: Vol. 1
Star Trek: The Original Series

My Blockbuster Queue:
Avengers '65
Avengers '66
Saint: The Early Episodes, Set 1
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC)
Danger Man: The Complete First Season
Persuaders: set 1
Persuaders: Set 2
Monty Python's Flying Circus
And Now for Something Completely Different
Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Comparing the two services:
They both have the same deal and free shipping.
I started both on Thursday night and Blockbuster sent my first three discs Friday/Saturday while Netflix is currently saying that they'll be sending the movies Monday (previously it had said Friday).

However, Blockbuster sent the second and third discs of Avengers on Friday and the the first on Saturday. Go figure.

So at the moment Blockbuster's doing better, despite the shipping gufaw. Unfortunately, they don't have all the sets of Avengers. Neither does Netflix. You have to use both services to see the whole series.

UPDATE: It appears that the Blockbuster movies have arrived today (Monday). That's a day earlier than expected.

Back from the Con

Well... that was... hmmm... alright.

The con this year was pretty lacking. I didn't even bother paying the $20 to get a pass as there was nothing going on that interested me. I just went straight to the dealer's room which was only 50 cents to enter.

However, the dealer's room was pretty disappointing, too. There was only about two or three comic sellers there and quite a few booths were empty.

I was also told about how someone had tried to sign up for a booth but could never get in touch with anyone and their messages were never replied to. What a shame.

I honestly don't see next year's con making it if this one is any indication. They'll have to really put some work into it to get people to come back.

I spent a lot of time going through the comics, though. And not because there was a lot to choose from. On the contrary... I had a hard time finding anything to get.

I was looking for the first ONE YEAR LATER books. None there.

One dealer did have the OMAC PROJECT mini-series as a set for $25. I snatched that one up since I'm considering picking up CHECKMATE. I also picked up the Sacrifice storyline, with a first print of WONDER WOMAN ($20 for the set). The guy was pretty cool, too, and threw in the second printing and a copy of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (Max Lord's first appearance) in for free. Now I have three copies of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1!

I considered getting VILLAINS UNITED and DAY OF VENGEANCE since I haven't bothered with them, yet. But they only had one issue of VILLAINS and no VENGEANCE.

I picked up the Mayfair Games' Batman Role-Playing Game book and a Bounty Hunter sourcebook for Traveller, also.

Afterwards, we went to the comic shop there in College Station and browsed through their (very limited) selection. I got the RANN/THANAGAR WAR SPECIAL and the OYL issue of GREEN ARROW (the only OYL book they had).

Stopping at both Hastings and Waldenbooks, I managed to find the OYL OUTSIDERS and went ahead and got a copy of INFINITE CRISIS #5.

I read the OMACS and Sacrifice at the con while my friends played in Magic the Gathering tournaments. I was impressed. Blue Beetle's death is starting to settle with me and Rucka is really good at writing espionage agencies.
Maxwell Lord's motivations still didn't come through very clear and I could have done without some of the Omac-related stuff (like Sasha's connection), but the writing redeemed all the things I didn't care much for.
And it was good to see that Fire does have a brain. Especially the fact that she was the first to draw the Max Lord involvement.

Sacrifice, essential reading for the OMAC book, was much better than I had expected. The first issue started off rather blandly but by the end of the book I was intrigued. The death in WONDER WOMAN, while already spoiled, still was shocking as it was very convincingly done.

I give both OMAC PROJECT and Sacrifice a B rating. OMAC would have been better (a)if there was more characterization for Midnight and Sasha, (b)if it didn't switch gears halfway through and (c)if it didn't end with a lead-in to INFINITE CRISIS.

One would think that Max orchaestrated the whole thing that resulted from his death. But he's dead. What would he gain from it after he died?

I am looking forward to CHECKMATE, regardless, and I hope to see Rucka focus more on the espionage elements of the organization.

As for the OYL books...

I read OUTSIDERS. It started off reasonably well, even though I didn't care much for the art. But once the team popped up near the end it went flat. And the awkward posing on the last page? What did that accomplish? I gave OUTSIDERS a C-.

I haven't read GREEN ARROW, yet, but I will soon. I will definitely be posting my reactions to it up here as soon as I do.

Meanwhile, I'm going to put in the next disc of Prisoner and chill out for the evening.

Be seeing you.

Leave a Message at the Beep

Gone to Aggie Con!
Will return Sunday evening.

New PSP Goodies

What I bought today...

Capcom Collection Remix
Metal Gear Acid 2

And I still haven't finished the first MGA. Almost halfway there...

Only the best show ever made...

Today I'm gonna dust off my Prisoner boxed set and get into some surreal entertainment.

Meanwhile, here's some links to enjoy if you are (or aren't) familiar with The Village...

RetroWeb Classic Television: The Prisoner
Includes several unique publicity images as well as aerial photos of The Village.

Prisoner at IMDB
Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, Photos, Showtimes, Link to Official Site, Fan Sites

Six of One Info: The Prisoner Appreciation Society, Six of One Information
Official Fan Club

Number Six
Extensive guide to The Prisoner.

Prisoner at Wikipedia
'Nuff said!

Joe Brae's Ultimate Prisoner Resource
Many pictures and GIFs taken from the show.

Another Prisoner site
Rick Ojo McGrath reviews The Prisoner DVD set.

The Prisoner FAQ
A FAQ with no spoilers.

More Prisoner Links
If these aren't enough for you.

And a late addition:
Cult TV Programmes
Has real media video clips of intros to a bunch of cult shows, including The Prisoner and The Avengers.

Be seeing you...

The Extremists #1 Preview

I've started working on my first PSP comic, The Extremists. The first few pages are re-lettered panels from an original comic that I had previously begun work on a while back.

I wasn't too thrilled with the later scenes so I won't be using much more of it. These pages serve well as a little intro, however.

The Extremists is basically a mercenary group consisting of four characters: J'Kara, Smith, Carbon and The General. Think of it as a cross between Mission Impossible and The A-Team. With a lil' Doom Patrol thrown in.

Anyway, here are the first four pages:






I'm not too excited about the lettering as I couldn't find a font I liked that had italics. The finished product will most likely be lettered differently.

(BTW... this work is copyright 2006 Lee Stone -that's me...)

PSP Library Update

Sold Clerks today.

So now my PSP collection consists of:

Games-
The Con
Hustle: Detroit Streets
Metal Gear Acid
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
World Championship Poker 2
Midway Arcade Classics
Namco Museum

Movies-
Alien
Ghost in the Shell
Serenity

I started playing Metal Gear again today, hoping to finish it before MGA 2 comes out.

PSP Teasers...

From IGN:

-- The PSP userbase is 96% male and Sony views this as a problem. Ideally, the company would like more women to play PSP and Sony looks to widen the system's appeal to various demographics.

--The PSP will get its own version of the EyeToy in September and the peripheral will feature motion-tracking games like EyeToy Play, as well as add functions such as video chat. (Curiously, though, no confirmation on a still photo snap function like on cellphones.) The camera is sliver and it attaches to the USB port.

-- Starting this fall, the PSP will receive some key new features. Video and voice-over-IP features will launch in October in "motion jpg" format, allowing PSP owners to use their PSPs as a virtual phone and even, with that new EyeToy, a portable video phone.

-- The PSP will also include a GPS receiver with an update rate of once every second with a 40-second fix time from a cold start. Minna no Golf (Hot Shots Golf) will be one of the first games supported. Interestingly enough, SCE lists that GPS support is already out there, that the "Library has already released partially" ... what titles could those be?

-- Macromedia Flash will be included with a spring Network update, along with improved RSS support for playback and saving of net-broadcast radio and video.

The e-Distribution in the last pic refers to how sony's going to make available select Playstation games from the past available for download to play on the PSP straight from a memory stick.

Also, the retail price for the PSP is dropping to $199.99 starting March 22nd.

100 Bullets, June 2006

100 BULLETS #73
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso
Cover by Dave Johnson

"A Wake," Part 3. While two Midwestern brothers deal with the horrible fate that comes with every "gift" from Agent Graves, Augustus Medici, Megan Dietrich and Lono have plans of their own that will shake The Trust to its very core.
On sale June 14 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o MATURE READERS

This is one of those books that I need to catch up on. The Rann/Thanagar War and Seven Soldiers distracted me for a while from it. But that's actually not a bad thing as the series reads better in large chunks.

Entertainment Weekly: OYL

Entertainment Weekly caught up with DC Comics' One Year Later launches.
Here's what they had to say...

Books that got the high grades:
Superman
Aquaman
Detective Comics

Marvel Comics For June 2006

Here are the highlights from Marvel Comic's Solicitations for June 2006.



It's Ultimate Blade vs. Ultimate Morbius in an ultimate vampire fest in Ultimate Spider-Man #96... Ultimate Dr. Doom has to save the world in Ultimate Fantastic Four #31... Every character in the Ultimate Universe pitches in to free the United states in Ultimates 2 #12, the last issue (for now)... The Ultimate X-Men wonder if Jean Grey is the Phoenix in #71... Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk Director's Cut gives us the Ultimate confrontation with a bunch of extras thrown in...

The Hobgoblin of 2211 strikes in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #9... Iron Spider, Black Cat and the Puma help prevent de-evolution in Sensational Spider-Man #27... Last Planet Standing #3-4 brings Galactus to town... Spider-Girl fights Hobgoblin in #99... In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #7 M.J. tells her version of Spidey's origin...

Annihilation: Nova #3 returns Quasar to the fold... Annihilation: Ronan #3 finds the warrior in conflict with Gamora... Thanos and Galactus make appearances in Annihilation: Silver Surfer #3... The wave heats up in Annihilation: Super-Skrull #3...

A lot of characters get updates in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A To Z #6... In Avengers and Power Pack Assemble! #3 the kids hit the big time... Storm and Black Panther get their groove on in #17... Captain America and Union Jack hope to protect London in #19... Neil Gaiman returns to Marvel to recycle an old race in Eternals #1... And the Eternals Sketchbook will tell you how he and John Romita Jr. conceived the new series...

Fantastic Four: First Family #4 revisits the team's early days... The samurai shenanigans and afro action come to a close in Daughters of the Dragon #6, guest-starring Iron Fist... The New Avengers help out Iron Man in #9... The Punisher makes an appearance as Daredevil seeks revenge for a friend's death in #86... Angel, Ice-Man, Ghost Rider, Black Widow and Hercules reunite in Giant-Size Hulk #1...

A new hero debuts in Marvel Team-Up #21... The Marvel Spotlight shines on Neil Gaiman and Salvador Larroca in June... The past comes back to haunt Marc Spector in Moon Knight #3... Dr. Strange is making house calls in Ms. Marvel #4... The New Avengers take a trip to Genosha in #20...

There's more absurdity from the mind of Warren Ellis in Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #6... It's the Runaways vs. Pride in #17... She-Hulk #9 finds our heroine dealing with the effects of Civil War... The gritty Underworld comes to a dramatic end in #5... It's the Marvel Super-Heroes Championship Poker as the Thing hosts the game of all games in #8... The Squadron Supreme gets their act together in #4...

The Krees and the Skrulls are at it again in Young Avengers #12... Marvel Milestones presents two cowboys from the swingin' '60s: Rawhide Kid and Two-Gun Kid... Marvel Romance Redux: Love is a Four Letter Word presents less super-heroic works by some name talent... Things heat up in Civil War #2...

Reporters Sally Floyd and Ben Urich take center stage in Civil War: Front Line #1 & 2... Peter Parker's made a big decision in Amazing Spider-Man #533... Someone could be making a return in Fantastic Four #538... Howard Chaykin drops in on New Avengers #21... The Civil War continues in Thunderbolts #103... Quicksilver returns to X-Factor as the team deals with the Civil War in #8... Wolverine takes the War personal in #43...

More World War II action ensues in Fury: Peacemaker #5... Marvel Westerns: The Two-Gun Kid brings another classic western character back as drawn by Eduardo Barreto... And get all the info you need on Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid and all those other cowboys, gay and otherwise, in Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files... Citizen V takes on Cable & Deadpool in #29... The World Tour comes to a grinding halt in Exiles #82... And in Exiles #83, Tony Bedard takes his leave...

Joss Whedon presents his take on the Hellfire Club in Astonishing X-Men #15... Dazzler gets all existential in New Excalibur #8... The New X-Men struggle to defeat Rev. Stryker in #27... Storm #5 finds Ororo and Black Panther fighting to stay alive while keeping the fire burning... Things come to a head in Uncanny X-Men #474...

There's more passion with the weather goddess, Storm, and the feral Black Panther in Uncanny X-Men Annual #1... X-Men: Fairy Tales #2 presents a more classical tale of X-Men adventure... X-Men: The End- Men and X-Men draws to a close in #6... The X-Men pick up the pieces after their fight with Apocalypse in #187... Discover more you didn't know about Logan in Wolverine: Origins #3... And the Punisher faces the Barracuda in #34.
Okay... Who's in?

Nextwave, Behind the Scenes...

Here's some info you might not have known about Elsa Bloodstone, the girl who uses guitars like baseball bats.

And what's up with that realistic art?
Don't they know this is comics?

Sex Sells, Doesn't It?

Here's another before and after shot of Shanna the She-Devil, by Frank Cho.
Don't know how I missed it the first time.

DC Comics For June 2006

Here are the highlights from DC Comic's Solicitations for June 2006.


Superman and the Justice League of America make an appearance in All-Star Batman and Robin #6 as Frank Miller renders up a post-modernist '80s Madonna-inspired Batgirl for the cover... Simone Bianchi (Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight) delivers two more fantastic covers for Detective Comics #820 and Batman #654...

Catwoman #56 guest-stars the JSA's Wildcat as Selina's successor seeks to better herself... Jason Todd and Dick Grayson butt heads in Nightwing #121... Freddie E. Williams (Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle) is on art chores as Robin gets a proposition he won't want to refuse from the League of Assassins in #151... There's more self-discovery in Man-Bat #3... Batman's softer side puts a crimp on things in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #207, which begins a new five-part story arc...
Batman gets himself analyzed by the Joker in Batman: Journey into Knight #11... Joker and Batman then play truth or dare in Sam Keith's Batman: Secrets #4...
Batman: City of Crime collects David Lapham (Stray Bullets) interpretation of Gotham City from Detective Comics #800-808...
Batman Chronicles #2 is released, featuring Detective Comics #39-45, Batman #2-3, and New York World's Fair Comics #2...

Superman Returns gets four specials in June: Krypton to Earth, Ma Kent, Lex Luthor and Lois Lane...
Superman #653 and Action Comics #840 finds the Man of Steel returning to Metropolis... Superman/Batman #27, drawn by Kevin Maguire (Justice League International) features Power Girl and Huntress out to save the World's Finest heroes... Power Girl then squares off (again) with the Girl of Steel in Supergirl #8...
Superman/Batman Vol. 4: Vengeance (hardcover) reprints Superman/Batman #20-25...
Superman: Infinite Crisis chronicles the return of Earth 2's Superman from Superman #226, Action Comics #836, Adventures of Superman #649 and Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006...
Superman/Doomsday Omnibus brings us more of the thrilling tale...
Superman: Our Worlds at War Complete Edition collects both of the previous editions...

Hal Jordan and Major Force get reacquainted in Crisis Aftermath: Battle for Bludhaven #5... Crispus Allen learns what it's like to be the Ghost of DC Future in Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2... 52 hits Weeks 5-8 with the spotlight turning on Hal Jordan, Booster Gold and Steel... There's war under the sea in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #43 when Aquaman learns his father is dead... Oracle gives the new Blue Beetle a little advice in #4... It's Shiva vs. Black Canary as they squawk over names in Birds of Prey #95... John Byrne continues to blaze a trail in Hell with Blood of the Demon #16...

DCU: Brave New World serves as a prelude to six new books launching later this summer: Martian Manhunter, OMAC, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters (featuring art by Daniel Acuña!), The Creeper, The All-New Atom and The Trials of Shazam!... Find out who the new Flash is in The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1, written by the creators of the cult television series... Cliff Richards sits in on Checkmate #3... Firestorm and Firehawk get to learn more about each other as they attempt to save Pofessor Stein in Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #26... It's "Attack of the Zombies" in Green Arrow #63 as the citizens of Star City turn into flesh-eating monsters...

Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner face off against the Manhunters in Green Lantern #13, which also sports a nice Simone Bianchi cover... Green Lantern Corps #1 picks up a year after where Green Lantern Corps: Recharge left off as the new group tests their strength... Jim Krueger and Alex Ross continue their JLA adventure in Justice #6... Hard Time Season Two comes to an end with #7... Hawkgirl practices claw-claw-bite-bite with an ancient evil of St. Roch in #53... Kyle and Mogo have a man to planet talk in Ion #3... Jonah Hex meets an old friend in #8... Vixen, Vibe, Gypsy and Steel show that they weren't wannabees in JLA Classified #24... Alan Scott and Vandal Savage come to terms in JSA Classified #13... Meanwhile, in JSA #86, more of Gentleman Ghost's past is brought to light...

DC releases a new Absolute Kingdom Come hardcover in June to celebrate it's 10th anniversary...
Manhunter does some soul searching in #23...
The Metal Men get their own Archives in June...
Monsieur Mallah and the Brain are caught up in the flames of love as they seek to destroy the Outsiders in #37... Gail Simone's still pretty hush-hush on the secrets of the Secret Six but some get revealed in #2... An entire town is held hostage in Shadowpact #2... Solo #11 features the work of Sergio Aragonés as he takes on the DC Universe... Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #19 finds the team investigating a murder mystery...

Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol. 4 finishes the trade paperback collection of Grant Morrison's epic story, featuring Frankenstein #2-4, Mister Miracle #3-4, Bulleteer #3-4, and Seven Soldiers of Victory #1...
Joe Kubert's Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy comes to a conclusion with #6... Showcase Presents The Elongated Man Vol. 1 brings us a more light-hearted Ralph Dibny from years passed... The Doom Patrol appears in Teen Titans #37 as the two teams take on the Brotherhood of Evil... Teen Titans: Life and Death represents Teen Titans #29-33, Teen Titans Annual #1 and Robin #146-147... Travis Morgan pisses some people off in Warlord #5...
Wonder Woman: Mission's End collects Wonder Woman #218-226 into one handy volume... Meanwhile, check out the new direction with Wonder Woman #1 which promises to satisfy every fan's expectations.Awww... Sweet monkey love!

Mutants Really ARE Zombies!

New Mutants #38


New X-Men #27

New PSP By Christmas?

Ain't it Cool News reports that we'll be seeing a new PSP by the end of the year.

Seems Sony’s current internal plans call for a release of a refitted PSP around Christmas this year. The device will, indeed, be streamlined (thinner), lighter, boast 4 gigs of memory and a camera. Proteus indicated Sony is having a hell of a time with PlayStation 3 on several fronts (between PS3’s Cell processor and its built-in Blu-ray DVD, cost effectiveness has pretty much gone out the window). Seems the ever-phantasmic PS3 may well be delayed until next year, with Sony’s reworked PSP being positioned as a lead-in to its release (in the same way Nintendo’s release of the oh-so-sexy DS Lite heralds the coming of Revolution).

I've had mine since November and I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm sure the Christmas release will be in Japan, so it'll probably hit stateside in January or February. Which means I'll still have my current PSP for quite a while.

Meanwhile, I've been eye-ing a 4GB Harddrive for my PSP. Don't know if I wanna plop down the $200 for it, though.

In other PSP news, Untold Legends 2 and Metal Gear Acid 2 both come out this month and I still need to finish the first ones. I got so busy at work, pool and playing The Con, Hustle and World Champ Poker that I haven't even put them in my system. I think I need to spend some quality time with them.

Also, Atom Films, the well-known indie shorts web-site has a new "to go menu". These are shorts that are available for download to your computer, iPod or PSP!
I've checked out Streets of Pain (okay...) and Consent (funny) so far.
I just hope they continue updating it on a regular basis. I just received an e-mail from them stating that they've added two more clips this week so that's a good sign.

Donde esta Psych?

It appears that Psychbloke, one of the few souls who actually reads my blog, is gone.

No explosions, no splashy scene. Just poof.
Well, not even a poof...

He just ceased to be.

Perhaps if we try hard enough we can make him return from the void. Let's everyone join hands.
Now focus and repeat after me:

Return to us oh Great One of the Cyberpeople!

Six Pack #5

Track listing:

1. Zero 7 - "Destiny" (free download from Epitonic)
2. Thievery Corporation - "Resolution" (Richest Man in Babylon)
3. Dinah Washington - "Baby, Did You Hear? (Danger Mouse Remix)" (Verve Remixed 3)
4. Gus Gus - "Chocolate" (Gus Gus)
5. Broadway Project - "Life of a Refugee" (Compassion)
6. Cal Tjader - "Soul Sauce (Fila Brazillia Remix)" (Verve Remixed 2)
(23:08)

Click here to download MP3.

I think with Ninja Tune putting a bulk of their music up on E-Music, I'll be adding them to my collection. I already have one cd, The Shadow Years, which will now be in the playlist.

Metal Gear Solid Gets PSP Comic

Konami has plans to release a digital (PSP) comic for Metal Gear Solid, their highly popular covert-ops video game series. It will feature art by the very talented Ashley Wood, who has also done art for the Metal Gear comic books.
Preview pics as well as more info here.

Please Be Better Than Paycheck...

The movie that I'm most looking forward to see this year is Scanner Darkly. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, the film (starring Kaanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Winona Ryder) incorporates a unique camera style that helps convey the strange mental angst going on.
I actually found it humorous that it stars Downey and Ryder, considering their real life dramas.


The movie is set in suburban Orange County, California in a future where America has lost the war on drugs. When one reluctant undercover cop is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode. It is a cautionary tale of drug use based on the novel by Philip K. Dick and his own experiences.

Like a graphic novel come to life, "A Scanner Darkly" will use live action photography overlaid with an advanced animation process (interpolated rotoscoping) to create a haunting, highly stylized vision of the future. The technology, first employed in Richard Linklater’s 2001 film "Waking Life," has evolved to produce even more emotional impact and detail.

To get a glimpse of this slick looking flick, check out the two previews that can be found here.
I'm really liking the whole artistic approach to the film. Damn sweet!

Could It Be..?

Could the good Doctor be returning to his roots? It appears he'll be starring in a six-issue mini-series by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin.
The ad says it starts in June, but word from Marvel is later in the fall.
Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada has described the series as "Ditko-eque."
That alone has my interest.

I wasn't too keen on the recent Strange mini-series that J.M. Straczynski did. It was too stripped down for my tastes. Give me psychadelic escapdes through shapeless dimensions fighting evil embodiments of human nature any day.

Click on the pics below to see character sketches for the book.

New Podcast To Check Out

I discovered a podcast last night called "Out of the Past: Investigating Film Noir".
Apparently, it's been going since July 2005.

I've been trying to catch up with it. They take a look at both classic noir films and more recent flicks that owe a lot to the genre. Each episode focuses on one specific movie and they're updated every two weeks.

Go here to give them a try. They even have an episode devoted to Bladerunner. Shweet!

And Just Because I Have A Camera Now

Here's a pic of me at work.
Happy, happy.

Tumblin' Tumbleweeds

I bought me a cheap digital camera today and thought I'd grab a picture of a baby tumbleweed.

We don't usually get these here because it's not normally this dry. This one was sitting outside the store.

Six Pack #4

It's been over a month since my last Six Pack and I've added several more albums to the playlist.

Six Pack #4 track listing:

1. Ursula 1000 - "Kinda' Kinky" (Kinda' Kinky)
2. Sarah Vaughan - "Peter Gunn (Max Sedgley Remix)" (Verve Remixed 3)
3. Blossom Dearie - "Just One Of Those Things (Brazilian Girls Remix)" (Verve Remixed 3)
4. Crazy Penis - "3 Play It Cool" (The Outernational Sound)
5. Gus Gus - "Northern Light" (Gus Gus Vs. T-World)
6. Chris Joss - "Discotheque Dancing" (free download from C-Net)
(26:12)

Click here to download MP3.

I've discontinued the intros and outros. Too lazy.
If you like any of the songs in this set be sure to check out the artists by clicking the links provided. Thanks.

BTW... Eighteenth Street Lounge has the video for "Kinda' Kinky" here. Pretty snazzy!

PSP Comics Update

At the moment there's only two PSP comics worth note. And before anybody here get's uncomfortable because they don't know what a PSP comic is or don't have a PSP, don't worry- both of these can be read (easily) from your computer.


NYC2123: Dayender
The series has reached #5. Only one more issue to go.
This work has been monumental in terms of showing what comics on the PSP can be. Great sory and art.
Website link.



SuperSpy
Matt Kindt's indie comic SuperSpy has reached #7 as it's gone ongoing.
Website link.


Meanwhile, I need to get off my ass, stop spending so much of my free time at the bar and start working on my own comic. Ground floor opportunity here.