"We are all in the gutter, but some of us..."
Taking Trash Seriously.
"...are looking at the stars."
-- Oscar Wilde
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This site is updated Thursday afternoon with a new article about an artistic pursuit generally considered to be beneath consideration. James Schellenberg probes science-fiction, Carol Borden draws out the best in comics, Chris Szego dallies with romance and Ian Driscoll stares deeply into the screen. Click here for their bios and individual takes on the gutter. Our Guest Stars shine here

While the writers have considerable enthusiasm for their subjects, they don't let it numb their critical faculties. Tossing away the shield of journalistic objectivity and refusing the shovel of fannish boosterism, they write in the hopes of starting honest and intelligent discussions about these oft-enjoyed but rarely examined artforms. Contact us here.


Recent Features


Hammering Away at the Here and Now

mapinternet-small.jpgLet's say you're the newly-sentient internet. How would you decipher the meaning of all the bits and bytes whizzing past you? And what about the real world outside your electronic realm?

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Pilgrim's Progress

Pilgrim 80.jpgFormer Comics Editor, Guy Leshinski has very kindly given us permission to reprint a prophetic interview with Bryan Lee O'Malley in 2005.  Will Bryan Lee O'Malley attain the Holy Grail of cartoonists? As Bryan says, "We'll see..."


There’s a girl sitting on the subway. She’s 16 or so, in a brown corduroy jacket and a pair of faded sneakers, her feet propped on the seat across from her. She’s absently brushing on lipstick, absorbed by Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life: Volume 1.

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Heroine Addict

HAWEE.jpgApparently, once I get started on archetypes, I can’t stop. So having touched on the archtypes found in stories and in heroes, I’m going to have to complete the trifecta.

Theories about the nature of the modern Romance heroine are legion. She’s a placeholder. She’s an expression of modern femininity. She’s an aspect of human personality for the writer to explore. Okay, sure. Those sound good. But the basic truth about the heroine is simple: she’s the point.

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Perhaps you'd like an e-mail notification of our weekly update.

 
 

Notes Archives

Cinema Overdrive

Wicked posters for Raleigh, North Carolina’s Cinema Overdrive film series.

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Women Read Comics in Public

Here are some pictures of the ladies reading comics for Read Comics in Public Day. As Gail Simone writes, “Take note everybody in comics!”  (For the record, Carol read Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 5 on a sidewalk bench, but there’s no photo).

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48 x 61

48 vs. 61 in Rintaro and Katsushiro Otomo’s excellent bicycle racing short where the racers look kinda like Rintaro and Otomo. Also, damn fine music and possible steampunkery.

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-U-

Klingon opera has finally happened. Get an earful at Cinematical. (The musical part begins at about 2:15).

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Satoshi Kon’s Farewell Message

Makiko Itoh has translated Satoshi Kon’s farewell.

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RIP, Kihachiro Kawamoto

It’s a sad week for animation with the passing of Satoshi Kon and now Kihachiro Kawamoto. A student of Jiri Trnka, Kawamoto created beautiful stop motion puppet animation grounded in Japanese bunraku and Noh theater. Here’s his short, “Oni / The Demon.”

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Supervillain Erotica

Evan Munday has been working on a calendar of supervillain erotica. You can get an eyeful here.

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RIP, Satoshi Kon

Creator of Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent and Paprika, Satoshi Kon has died at 46. In memoriam, Midnight Eye’s substantial interview with Kon, here. Updated: Satoshi Kon wrote a farewell.

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Gotham Girls Episodes

Some kind, considerate fan saved and uploaded episodes of the old web series, Gotham Girls. And they’re right here.

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Kung Fu Walls

A kung fu novel was found written of the walls of an abandoned apartment. How outsider art is that?

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Zombies in the News

Seven zombies had their day in court and struck a blow for zombie rights.

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Trock On!

Trock on, Chameleon Circuit, with your songs about Daleks and angelic statues who only move in the dark.

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Comics in Trouble

Both the webcomic Achewood and the comics publisher, Slave Labor Graphics, are seeking donations.

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Great Comics That Never Happened Annual #1

The Comics Alliance has gathered together “The Great Comics That Never Happened” all in one place. Thrill to “Aliens vs. Predator vs. Ted Nugent!” Sigh with “Young M.O.D.O.K. Romance!” Discover the “Crisis in the 36 Chamber” with the JLA and the Wu-Tang Clan!

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Afghan Notebook

Ted Rall documents his travels through Afghanistan in Afghan Notebook. (He also gets himself added to the list of artists like Joe Sacco, Guy Delisle and Emmanuel Guibert).

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Gary Kurtz Strikes Back (by Saying Things)

Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back producer Gary Kurtz is profiled at the L.A. Times. He has some things to say about the franchise and toys.

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Sunday of The Living Dead

A Unitarian minister preaches a sermon with the theme of “zombies.”

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Scott Pilgrim Trailer, recreated.

The Scott Pilgrim vs. The World trailer recreated with panels from the graphic novels.

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Old Timeyness

Travel through pop culture history a premake of Marvel’s Avengers (sneak peek of Emma Peel included), faux 1911 silent animated shorts from Red Dead Redemption and Lando Calrissian as Blackstar Warrior—a Blaxploitation film set in the Star Wars universe.

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No to Zombie Apocalypse!

Katie Doyle doesn’t want there to be a zombie apocalypse….

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8 Bit Girl

Attention chiptune, electronica and nerdcore fans, Geek Girl Violet reviews equinoxe’s “Evolution (8 Bit Girl)” and provides tracks.

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The Snake and the Magician

Scans of “The Snake and the Magician” from Mike Mignola’s upcoming collection, The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects. (Thanks, Dustin!)

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Venture Bros. 4-II

Adult Swim has a trailer for the new season of Venture Bros. (If you’re having trouble seeing it, try using Hotspot Shield).

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“Me and Taxes Gone Fight.”

Kanye West’s tweets as New Yorker cartoon captions. With New Yorker cartoons.

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Shaft vs. Scarface

Shaft vs. Scarface, and other comics based on (mostly 80s) movies that should be.

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More from Hometree Wisconsin

Hometree Wisconsin tries to reach you through Chat Roulette.

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Frankenstein Roams the Fairgrounds

The ever-excellent Frankensteinia looks at a time when Frankenstein’s creation roamed the fairgrounds.

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L.A.R.P. (Live Avatar Role Playing)

Video footage of the Na’vi People of Hometree, Wisconsin.

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The Pond

Before the CIA there was The Pond, and it seems like something Warren Ellis made up: “The head of the Pond was Col. John V. Grombach, a radio producer, businessman and ex-Olympic boxer who kept a small black poodle under his desk.”

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“One Never Mentions Fight Club”

“The first rule of Fight Club is that one never mentions Fight Club.” Jane Austen’s Fight Club.

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Toys and Their Boys

Moises Chiullan has a lovely piece about mortality and Toy Story 3.

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Ecstasy

Ennio Morricone conducts an orchestra, choir and two soloists in a hair-raising, in a good way, performance of “Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

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Chewbacca’s Fierce Mount

Chewbacca rides a squirrel into battle against the Nazis. It’s a painting. Really.

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Yokai by Gojin Ishihara

The ever-wondrous Pink Tentacle is waving around creepy children’s book illustrations by Gojin Ishihara. They’re like the little lure on an angler fish and I’m totally going for it.

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Cthulhurotica

Share your most tentacular and… tentual?… erotica with Cthulhurotica. I bet they’d even take your H.P. Lovecraft/August Derleth slash fiction…

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Watch Your Head

Bladewood provides us all a much needed timeline of the events in the Doctor Who season/series 5 finale. Watch your head, please.

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Sharktopus Trailer

Sharktopus is now a film, but my heart is still with Bearsharktopus.

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Cthulkhulele

Swank up all your cultic rites with the Cthulkhulele.

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Exquisite Project

Sketchkrieg! has created a kind of exquisite corpse with each member doing a panel in a continuing story. You can see the madness here.

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Guild Season 4 Has Begun

The new season of The Guild has begun with two new episodes. Watch them at Wil Wheaton’s blog and then give evil Wil Wheaton guff.

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Gallant Past, Gallant Future

‎Keith at Teleport City reviews Gallants, the new kung fu film starring several old Shaw Bros. regulars and finds “a film that looks to the past without pandering to it or being trapped by it, resulting in a movie that is uplifting and bittersweet, and ultimately, a refreshingly honest meditation on growing old, feeling obsolete, and rediscovering your spirit and a place in the modern world.”

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Even More Fewdio

Our friends at Fewdio are at it again with some new horror shorts, including “The Cellar” (“Vampires don’t sparkle, they burn”) and gangsters robbing a disabled old man in, “The Prey.”

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Comically Vintage

“Meanwhile… a hideous group of subversive paleocomicologists plotted plotted schemes in the dark!!” Those schemes come to fruition in panels scanned at Comically Vintage!!!

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Press Start

Press Start is a Montreal show dedicated to art based on old videogames.  Game Set Watch has pictures and links to pictures and to an associated store.

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One Genre Icon Interviews Another

Ian Fleming interviews Raymond Chandler. Yes, Ian “James Bond” Fleming and Raymond “Philip Marlow” Chandler.

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The Greatest Summer Movie of All Time

The Empire Strikes Back vs. Raiders of the Lost Ark—which is the greatest summer movie of all time?  Make your voice heard.

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NES Groove

Do you enjoy the music of NES games? Well, there’s a show just for you. This time, the music of “Fester’s Quest.”

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RIP, Harvey Pekar

Famous curmudgeon and writer of the comic, American Splendor, Harvey Pekar has died. The Cleveland Plain Dealer blog has more information.

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The Difficulty of Loving Jackie Chan

Keith from Teleport City writes a heartfelt piece about finding Hong Kong movies through Jackie Chan, the difficulties of being a Jackie fan and the vindication of Little Big Soldier.

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Exhorting Japan!

1930s Japan gets with the Social Realist program with exhortational posters!

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Retrofit Consumer Electronics

What if a time traveler took technology from today back to 1977?  Enjoy your Pocket HiFi. (thanks, Humash!)

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Wonder Woman in Pants

Wonder Woman would’ve also had pants in Joss Whedon’s version. But if she has to have spurs, I’m a sucker for this cowgirl version with invisible pony. (And, following Chris Sims, could go with a Fistful of Dollars poncho).

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Alien vs. Ninja

400 years ago ninjas fought an alien, or possibly aliens. Alien vs. Ninja.

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Beasts of Burden preview

Read it now—a 22 page, Dark Horse authorized preview of Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s gritty, animal comic, Beasts of Burden.

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1:1 Gundam

1:1 Gundam almost done in Shizuoka, Japan.

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Nightmare Detective II

We could say something clever about “what things dreams are made of,” but Nightmare Detective just doesn’t lend itself to the cute. It looks like Nightmare Detective II doesn’t either.

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“And I don’t understand all your references / like what a TARDIS is…”

“I Have Never Watched An Episode of Doctor Who In My Life,” a hip hop confession by Adam WarRock / Eugene Ahn.

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Knock, Knock

Who’s there? Why it’s the trailer for Let Me In, the American remake of Let The Right One In.

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FantAsia 2010

Dread Central has the schedule for FantAsia 2010 in Montreal. This year has a special focus on organized religion with a screening of Ken Russell’s The Devils and Serbian genre films with a screening of A Serbian Film. which people have found hard-going.

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The RZA Directs

The Playlist has the first trailers for the RZA’s first film, Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix.

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A Little Busier Thinking about Comics

In fact, how about another piece by Colin. This one suggests that Warren Ellis’ The Authority has a lot in common with SuperFriends., writing that it is “the last true heir of the Silver Age.” That boom you hear is Warren Ellis’ head.

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Too Busy Reading About The Secret Six.

Too Busy Thinking About My Comics has some excellent analysis of The Secret Six. In fact, the blog has plenty of excellent analysis of plenty of comics. And, as the mission statement reads, “It’s not the reading of comic books that can threaten friendships and derail marriages. It’s the unintended, casual babbling about comic books that does.”

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Gutter Art!

You know there’s a Cultural Gutter book coming out, right? Well, there is. And artist EJ Lee is illustrating. You can see her section overview illustrations at our Facebook page.  They’re infographtastic!

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“I Have Brain Cancer”

You know what doesn’t go good in porn? Dialog like “I have brain cancer.” Cracked has more counterproductive porn dialog.

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Sammo at NYAFF

Can’t be in NYC to see Sammo Hung at the New York Asian Film Festival? Here’s footage of Grady Hendrix introducing Sammo Hung and Simon Yam before a screening of Ip Man 2.

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“Girls Suck at Video Games”

Stéphanie Mercier uses gameplay to make a point in her short, “Girls Suck at Video Games.”

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What’s the Matter with Comics?

Comics at the Big Two are in rough shape. Greg Burgas and Chris Sims see similar problems (nostalgia, Kurt Busiek) creating more problems (blandness, resistance to change, retcons, killing of heroes of color to replace them with white heroes of the Silver Age…). We noted Chris’ article before, but it’s worth reading with Greg’s.

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Iron Sky Trailer

Secret. Nazi. Moon. Base. Here’s the trailer.

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Bruce Lee’s Kato

Kato was the star of the old Green Hornet. Cinematical has Bruce Lee’s screen test for the role in the original 1960s tv series. And you can enjoy Batman and Robin vs. Kato and the Green Hornet in the Batman live action series. (via Shelf Life Clothing Company).

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Interview with Jonathan Coulton

Is “internet famous,” famous? Big Think interviews geeky singer-songwriter and internet superstar, Jonathan Coulton.

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Collect’em All!

Ed Wood, Jr. trading cards. Includes starlet Dolores Fuller, Bunny Breckenridge, Lyle Talbot, Vampira and Tor Johnson!

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Genre on TV: Fantasy, Zombies

HBO has a teaser up for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones.  Meanwhile, AMC has a clip up of actors learning to act like zombies for its upcoming The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman’s comic.

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Spooky Squid Games

Check out Night of the Cephalopods, Guerilla Gardening: Seeds of Revolution, Balloonists and more fun by Spooky Squid Games.

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Bassoforte

An instrument hack that Tom Waits would love.

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Technotise

Technotise looks like Japanese anime, but it’s Serbian. And it’s getting a live action remake. Here’s hoping Tecnhotise survives and we all get to see the animated version.

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DJ Pogo’s Toyz Noize

To celebrate the release of Toy Story 3, DJ Pogo has done a special remix of Toy Story with a nice groove.

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Silent Hill 8 Trailer

Silent Hill continues to trouble travelers in this trailer for Silent Hill 8. Seriously, a prison bus is about the only way anyone would go there now.

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Quien es La Pantera Negra?

La Pantera Negra is on the prowl in this trailer for Iyari Werrta’s stylish tribute to 1950s and 1960s Mexican films. Catsuits! Fedoras! Flying saucers! Suspenso! (via SF Signal).

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Illustrated Wonder

An illustrated gallery of 1950s rayguns and a lovely, sweet and kinda steam punk illustrated marriage proposal by Joel Kimmel. (thanks, Humash!)

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Kraken, released.

Kraken rum has some nice little videos about Krakens. Is it a new age of artsy-fartsy corporate patronage? Is it just us or does the narrator sound like the guy from Deadliest Warrior? The videos are fun.

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Unlimited Fear, Limited Controls

Michael Thomson talks about the traps and dangers of survival horror and gaming: “There’s no limit to fear of the unknown, but as soon as an enemy is quantifiable the boundaries are drawn. Fear will eventually become supplanted with frustration or, worse, tedium.”

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Less Submarine, More Filthy Pirate Ship?

6 reasons space travel will always suck.

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RIP, Al Williamson

EC Comic artist Al Williamson has died. He’s probably best known now for his work on the Star Wars strip. Comics Beat has an overview of his career and tributes from other artists. (thanks, Denis!)

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Locating Hong Kong

Hong Kong Cinemagic will help you locate film sites in Hong Kong’s ever shifting landscape. Meanwhile, Webs of Significance takes a look at Cheung Chau’s cinema, once featured in Just One Look and now disused.

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Robot Hater!

It is the year 2000 and you are Vincent Latimer, “Robot Hater!” (Or you are a reader of a comic in the second person).

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RIP, Kazuo Ohno

Kazuo Ohno has died at 103. He was a great performer of Butoh, a Japanese dance drama form, and even if dance is not your thing, Japanese horror movies and possibly contemporary supernatural horror wouldn’t be the same without him.

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The Lost Thing

Tor.com has a trailer for the animated version of Shaun Tan’s children’s book, The Lost Thing. There are both rivets and tentacles.

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What Girls Want From Comics

Hope Larson knows what girls like. She knows what girls want in comics—because she asked.

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Stranded in the Jungle

Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill! was stranded in the jungle for the month of May. Enjoy Todd’s reviews of jungle adventure movies, including a lot of South Asian films and guys dressed up as gorillas.

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Distant Hours, Made of Paper

Andersen M Studio’s have made an evocative gothic animated cut-paper short as a book trailer for The Distant Hours. Music by Mikkel H. Eriksen and the Instrument Studio.

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LEGO Harry Potter Trailer

Gamers and Harry Potter fans rejoice! It’s the LEGO Harry Potter trailer! (thanks, Dan!)

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Happy Birthday, Pam Grier!

It’s Pam Grier’s birthday. Celebrate with this interview by NPR.

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It’s a feature, not a bug.

The small pleasures of gaming: Red Dead Redemption and Q*bert.

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NYAFF 2010

The New York Asian Film Festival is coming up and actors Sammo Hung and Simon Yam will be in attending their films Kung Fu Chefs, Bodyguards and Assassins, Echoes of the Rainbow and Eastern Condors. But even if you can’t make it, it’s worth checking out the films and trailers for the Hong Kong/China and Korea/Thailand/Indonesia line-ups. Yes, Merantau will be playing. Plus, giant killer pig!

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Yokai, Dissected.

In the interest of Science: gallery of anatomical drawings of yokai, Japanese folk monsters. Hopefully, no actual yokai were harmed in making these drawings.

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Art, Geometry and Superheroes

They look a little Social Realist and a little inspiring: Geometric portraits of superheroes.

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Picking It Apart

Another reason to love This American Life. Joss Whedon performs part of the commentary track for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. (via Film School Rejects)

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Messages in Lovecraftian Horror

There are two clear messages in this Lovecraftian short film about a small bookstore clerk going mad. 1. Don’t take your job too seriously. Just do the time. 2. Don’t read old books.

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Batman XXX Trailers

Two Batman XXX trailers. Looks like the movie will have all the style and flair of the 1960s tv show, with nice production values, dutch angling, plus porn. Strangely, [SFW].

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Building Blocks of Horror

Iä Ftaghn! Cthulhu for kids with this Cthulhu LEGO set’s building blocks of unspeakable horror! (Thanks, Denis!)

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Romance in Aisle 7

The Smart Bitches and their readers talk about some people who aren’t there, behind their back even, readers who buy romance—and other books—without going online, but based on the covers at the grocery store, etc. The comment thread about how and where people find books is particularly worthwhile.

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Get’em All!

An exhaustive and illustrated guide to every video game reference in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim. Get’em all.

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Another Interview With Joe R. Lansdale

Spinetingle has an interview with Champion Mojo Storyteller, Joe R. Lansdale:  “I don’t mind a stimulus for a story-do something noir, etc., but I like to play with those expectations. Genre has its place…. But I don’t like genre to rule my reading. If I had, I’d have never discovered how many different kinds of writing and reading I like.”

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“This Pie’s So Good It Is A Crime”

MC Chris’s song, “Twin Peaks”: “This pie’s so good it is a crime.”

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Hit Restart.

After ending his excellent gaming blog Hit Self Destruct, Duncan Fyfe has a new literary project, “Life Starts Here is a series of twelve stories inspired by the culture of video games.”

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BUY THIS SHOW!!!

The original pitch for The Muppet Show. In memoriam, Jim Henson.

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Lost And Heroes, Compared.

James Poniewozik on Lost and Heroes: “Put another way: you have to be willing to suck if you ever want to be great. ‘Awesome’ and ‘awful’ are actually closer to each other on the continuum of quality than either is to ‘meh.’”

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Connected

Connected is a Danish postapocalyptic short film. It’s kinda like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, at least it’s an allegory about greed. (thanks, DimSumWesterns!)

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Doctor Who Comic Maker

Hey, the BBC has a Doctor Who Comic Maker. Make your own comics—with Doctor Who! (Thanks, Rebecca!)

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Duel of Cats

Cat chanbara (i.e., kitties with katanas) at Cat’s Head Theatre.

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Death in Games

Narrative Death, Game Mechanics Death (aka, screwing up and dying), No Death, Permadeath and Rewind: Alistair Doulin writes about death in video games.

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Ben Gardner’s Head

Nice shots from Jaws, including some behind the scene pics and Ben Gardner’s special effects dead head and a mechanical shark dock. Thanks, Rakshasa!  (via )

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Do Superhero Movies Suck? Does It Matter?

Salon talks about Iron Man 2 and superhero movies in general.  Andrew O’Herir says Iron Man 2 doesn’t jump the shark, “it is the shark.” Matt Zoller Seitz says filmmakers take less chances with superhero movies than with zombie movies. Both agree Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash “has the right idea.”

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Kirkbride, Castles of the Midwest.

Kirkbride Buildings are the castles of the American Midwest. They’re also 19th century State Hospitals.

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LEGO: Machete

Another version of the Machete trailer. This time, it’s Lego.

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RIP Frank Frazetta

Fantasy and comic artist Frank Frazetta has died. The world of fantasy art with ladies in metal bikinis and gentleman in fur speedos will be much the poorer. We say that with great affection. (via SFSignal)

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Navigating the Mores of Fan Fiction

Hal Duncan navigates the mores of fan fiction. With stops at the kerfuffled shoals of Diana Gabaldon and George R. R. Martin’s blogs.

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“Book’em, Brontës!”

Brontë Sisters Power Dolls. They’re not action figures, they’re Power Dolls! “Book’em, Brontës!” (thanks, Denis!)

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“Tresspassing on Sacred Ground”

As part of TCM’s Race & Hollyood: Native American Images on Film” festival, Movie Morlocks has posted part 1 of an essay on Native Americans in horror movies from The Werewolf a 1913 Canadian silent to J.T. Petty’s The Burrowers and Twilight: New Moon: “The inclusion of Native Americans into actual horror movies boils down to a scattering of reliable formulas: Whites Trespassing on Sacred Grounds, Vengeful Redskins, Ecology and Racism.” (via GCDB)

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“A Cosmic-Scale Meta-Textual Ghetto”

Chris Sims writes a thought-provoking article about how DC’s universe reboots are fueled by fan nostalgia that shoves characters of color aside in favor of white “legacy” characters and unintentionally builds “a cosmic-scale meta-textual ghetto.” Read it.(And this little addition to it).

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¡More Cinco de Mayo Celebration!

¡Comics Alliance celebrates Cinco de Mayo with el Santo comics and a roundtable discussion of Hellboy in Mexico—including at least one poster from an el Santo movie!

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Machete Trailer, Cinco de Mayo Edition

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Danny Trejo, Robert Rodriguez and Machete with this special edition trailer for Machete. Includes Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson and Steven Segal, plus special greetings for the state government of Arizona!

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Evan Munday in the News!

Gutter friend and Quarter-Life Crisis writer/artist Evan Munday answers The National Post’s questionnaire for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. His advice? Learn to ink early. (If you want more Evan, Carol’s interview with him is here).

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The Gutter Makes Good!

If you’re in Toronto May 6, there’s a book launch for the Gutter’s own Jim Munroe and Shannon Gerrard’s graphic novel about post-Rapture Detroit, Sword of My Mouth. If you’re not in Toronto, you can catch Jim and Shannon at their Detroit launch May 10. More info on the launches and promotions here.

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Ming Doyle Gallery

Artist Ming Doyle has posted a gallery of her Free Comic Book Day sketches. You can see a selection here. (via the ISB).

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Terry Pratchett Talks About Doctor Who

Terry Pratchett talks a little trash about Doctor Who: “The unexpected, unadvertised solution which kisses it all better is  known as a deus ex machina - literally, a god from the machine. And a god from the machine is what the Doctor now is… And yet, I will watch again next week because it is pure professionally-written entertainment[.]” (via SFSignal)

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Christopher Lee is the King of Metal

Christopher Lee conquers Symphonic Metal. Survey his Holy Metal Empire with two promos for Charlemagne, a message from Christopher Lee about the project and some track teasers.

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The Temptation of the Unspeakable Groove

Unspeakable horror + Unspeakable groove. Animation with art by Dan Hillier and music by Losers. (via Dan Hillier)

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Core Competencies

Microsoft Education: Core compentencies: Humor. What is your proficiency level? (via @Hodgman)

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“Let’s Play A Game”

“Welcome, Mr. Pacman. Let’s play a game.” Pac-Man in the style of Saw. (via Geekologie)

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Learn to Write the Nicholas Sparks Way!

Learn to write the Nicholas Sparks way! The Nicholas Sparks formula is fully analyzed with multimedia illustrations in this fine comedic article.  Bonus: Nicholas Sparks quotes!
(via the Smart Bitches)

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Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Old Abe bears a terrible burden in the Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter book trailer

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Odienator Sizes Up Uncle Remus

Odienator answers two pressing questions in his piece about Song of the South:  “1. Should Disney release this movie on DVD in America? Absolutely. 2. Is Song of the South as racist as its rep indicates? Well…keep reading. (You didn’t think I’d just give you my goodies without dinner and foreplay, did you?)”

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The Best Thing Is The Worst Thing, Too

And more comics with Ask Chris. The Invincible Super Blog’s Chris Sims explains what the best thing and what the worst thing about comics culture are: fans. He also has pictures of a Bat-Monster Truck. 

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Superhero Fashion with Tim Gunn and Crazy Sexy Geeks

Tim Gunn thinks the Hulk should wear a suit all the time.  “It mitigates all that mass.” Part 2 of Crazy Sexy Geeks’ discussion of superhero fashion with Tim Gunn.

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Go Team Lovecraft!

At The Times Online, Stephen Hawking says contacting aliens could be dangerous. Lord Rees says aliens are possibly beyond any human’s ability to comprehend. We say, Go Team Lovecraft!

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Pencak Silat!

In Merantau a young Minangkabau man goes to Jakarta, where he uses pencak silat for the power of good.

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Blade Runner: Designing the Future

In its awesomeness, The Curated Object also has pieces from “Blade Runner: Designing the Future,” including Syd Mead’s conceptual paintings and a promotional, luminescent umbrella.

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More Utagawa Kuniyoshi

A Doppelganger. A Giant Carp. A Tengu. The Curated Object has more images from “Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.”

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Interview with Tony Jaa

Tony Jaa talks about his dharma martial art Nattayut, working with elephants, filming during a territorial dispute and his post-Ong Bak 3 future, including Donnie Yen.  (via Wise Kwai)

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Christopher Lee Is Metal.

Christopher Lee is Metal. “I have been metal for many years,” he says in a review of his new CD, Charlemagne:  By the Sword and the Cross.

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“Can Comics Be Scary?”

The Groovy Age of Horror asks, “Can comics be scary?” Josh Simmons, Kimberly Lindbergs, CRWM, Karswell, Richard Sala and Sean T. Collins answer.

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RIP Carl Macek

Carl Macek has died: “Carl had his critics. But one thing is certain: the popularity of anime in the North America would not be where it is today without Macek’s groundbreaking work on Robotech and his efforts on behalf of Streamline Pictures.”  More at Cartoon Brew.

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Der Teufelspakt

Solve the mystery of the cursed Mercy Booth in the clickable picture/text adventure, “Der Teufelspakt.” You don’t need to speak German to play, but it helps. (via The Horror?!)

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Ray Harryhausen, April 2010

Stopmotion and special effects master, Ray Harryhausen is interviewed at The Telegraph and discusses the Science Fiction League meetings he attended with Ray Bradbury, special effects now and Avatar.

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Kerfuffled Fans

Oh, such a kerfuffle about Roger Ebert’s review of Kick-Ass and his blog piece, “Videogames Can Never Be Art.”

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Tim Gunn Critiques Superhero Fashion

Tim Gunn is crazy about Spider-Man’s costume, not so much with Star Sapphire.

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Drew Daywalt’s Bad Cruise

Camera Obscura writer/director Drew Daywalt spent 3 nights on California’s Queen Mary and took a camera with him. Here’s what he shot. 

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The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking

Did you like Pitch Black but weren’t so sure about the mad, operatic The Chronicles of Riddick? Worried that Riddick is just gonna be stuck on that Necromonger throne for eternity? Apparently, he won’t. Dread Central has links to a new Riddick script review and concept art that’s more PB than TCoR.

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The Fog (1980) vs The Fog (2005)

October has an extensive and exquisite analysis of The Fog (1980) and The Fog (2005), ranging from the implications of the changes to the original, some tangents relating to John Carpenter’s other films and “alienation vs. connection.”  (via The Horror?!)

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Ong Bak 3 Trailer

There’s a teaser out for Ong-Bak 3 and it’s chock full of “Holy Shit!” (Including the Ong Bak Buddha statue, but I really don’t think that’s what’ll make you say, “Holy Shit!”)

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Cantopop Covers

Did you know that the theme to “For a Few Dollars More” had lyrics? Cantonese pop star Josephine Siao did. You can hear it and her version of “Goldfinger,” too, thanks to Soft Film. (via 4DK)

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Peering at The Sword of My Mouth

The digital edition of Jim Munroe and Shannon Gerrard’s, Sword of My Mouth is up with some lovely preview pages. You can stare straight down the blade, if you want.

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The Human Centipede Trailer

The Human Centipede trailer is squicksome indeed. The human centipede vs. human chicken fight in Last Hero in China is a lovely palette-cleanser.

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Twittering in the Gutter

Yes, it’s 2010 and the Cultural Gutter is finally tweeting in the gutter, or twittering in the gutter. It sounds unsanitary, but what it means is you can follow us on Twitter now.  (You can also fan us on Facebook).

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Giant Golem vs. Nazi Robot Dinosaur

Giant Golem vs. Giant Nazi Robot Dinosaur. There are scans

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Dr. Evermore’s Forevertron

Dr. Evermore’s Forevertron gives hope to humankind. (thanks, Edie!)

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A Two-Headed Hydra Of Opinion

Entertainment Weekly is a veritable hydra with one head talking shit about stopmotion and fx master Ray Harryhausen and another defending Ray Harryhausen and handmade special effects.  A hydra of two-heads, that would probably look pretty sick in a Harryhausen movie.

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Excellent Stopmotion Horror

Critters are in the darkness, waiting.  Stopmotion freaky horror critters. (via Curiomira)

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The Sound of Our Impending Future!

Teleport City is preparing the way for the future and/or retro-future we’ve all been waiting for. Pack your go-bag to “Music for Departure Lounges” and taxi your way on out with “Music for Espionage and Space Defense.”

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They Were Explodable!

The Expendables. It’s hard to believe it’s real: Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Stone Cold Steve Austin and, presumably, drug lords are explodable and exploded.

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Les Aventures de Madame Merveille

Cecil Castellucci, Minx comic artist and Canadian nerdcore icon, has cut the middle brow out with her fusion of low and high art, the comics opera,  Les Aventures de Madame Merveille.  See it in Montreal with art from Pascal Girard, Michael Cho, Scott Hepburn and Cameron Stewart.

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Hal Jordan’s Package Flying Through Space

There’s always controversy in comics fandom around how female characters are drawn or sculpted. Karen equalizes things with some equivalently fan service covers, featuring Hal Jordan’s package flying through space, for the ladies and gentlemen who prefer gentlemen. (via Paiwingz)

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Nak Prok’s Shadow

Wise Kwai reviews, Shadow of the Naga / Nak Prok, and talks a little about the film’s legal problems and the fear of a Buddhist backlash.

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Ia Ftaghn! It’s the Cult of Cthulhu!

Venger Satanis discusses spreading the green ichor of the Cult of Cthulhu throughout the world.

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There’s a cephalopod with a naginata.

The Japan City in New York City has posted a gallery of images from their current exhibition, “Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters:  prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.”  There’s a cephalopod with what looks like a naginata.  There are samurai and a giant skeleton. If you can’t make it to the exhibit, see some of it here.  (via Subway Cinema).

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All True Golden Age Romance

The Golden Age Romance Comics Archive has complete issues of pre-code comics—oh, swoon!

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10 Things That Are Creepy, Not Romantic

Linda Holmes brings all her expertise in movies with kissing and banter in them to list ten things that that are more creepy than romantic in romantic comedy.

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Even More Project: Rooftop Projects

Just as Project Runway has Models of the Runway, so too Project: Rooftop has spin-offs. Now there’s features like: “All Ages All-Stars,” redesigning superheroes for all ages (for example, Martian Manhunter); “How It’s Done,”  spotlighting official superhero redesigns (like the Iron Man briefcase armor); and “Retrofix,” giving Golden and Silver age comic characters a new look.

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More from Champion Mojo Storyteller, Joe R. Lansdale

Mojo Champion Storyteller talks about his pulp classic, The Drive-In, including its influences, low-budget 1980s horror movies, East Texas tall tales, television and American politics.

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Two Geeks Enter, One Geek Leaves

John Hodgman and Patton Oswalt face off in an epic geek-off for WFMU. Bester’ed, Bova’ed— two geeks enter, one geek leaves.

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Camera Obscura

A young woman releases demons and then has to trap them up again with her grandfather’s camera in the webseries, Camera Obscura. The trailer looks promising.

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Symbol

Symbol. It’s a metaphysical, lucha-loving film by Hitoshi Matsumoto. It’s especially funny if you’ve seen art films with a someone sitting in a plain white room.

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Kathryn Bigelow Retrospective

Kathryn Bigelow won a best directing Oscar for The Hurt Locker. Time for a retrospective. Here’s the trailer for Near Dark and some clips. Point Break (i.e. Keeanu Reeves best movie). Jamie Lee Curtis in the cop thriller, Blue Steel. The premillennial tension of Strange Days. The Pirelli ad, Mission Zero. And her sub movie, possible the manliest of genres, K-19: The Widowmaker. She also wrote an episode of The Equalizer.

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Milestone!

So much Milestone going on! Milestone creator Dwayne McDuffie talks with The Atlantic about “reinventing personal mythologies, pop-cultural representations of race and an investigation of what shapes our moral frameworks” and how much he likes writing romance.  Meanwhile, Evan Narcisse shares his memories of Milestone Comics—with pictures.

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The Muppets Present: The Wicker Man

The Muppets’ The Wicker Man. It’s way better than Muppets from Space. (thanks, weed!)

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Baba O’Geeky (LOL)

The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” performed with Think Geek gadgets. Yeah, it’s marketing but it’s also neat.(via Wil Wheaton)

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Guild’d

What happens when a young woman named Felicia Day decides to make a webseries about online gamers and their socially maladjusted SoCal hijinx? Log on and get Guild’d. (and occasionally, Wil Wheaton’d). Here’s season 3.

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Hollow Victory

The Artful Gamer writes about the hollow victory of playing a good character in many roleplaying videogames: “Yet, days later, I feel like Conan the Barbarian, sitting on his throne at the end of the first film like a king who has done it all yet feels ultimately unfulfilled. This is when the spiritual hollowness of traditional RPGs grates at me.”

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Science Determines the Best and Worst Genres

Science analyzes the best and worst types of genre movies. Results listed here.

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Predator: Down Time

Ever wonder what predators do on their own time?  Here ya go.

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Roofed!

Jim Munroe’s been working on a new movie, Ghosts with Shit Jobs. It’s not even out and he has  a spin-off game—“Roofed!”

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“You Asked For It—Cried For It—Demanded It!”

“You asked for it—Cried for it—Demanded it!”  Yes, dear reader, Sequential Crush, a blog dedicated to romance comics from the 1960s and 1970s. Check out “Black + White = Heartbreak,” a story about interracial romance in the early 1970s and scans of the first three issues of Night Nurse.  (via The Groovy Age of Horror)

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Comics Misunderstanding, Well, Argument Really

The comics misunderstanding (i.e. respectful critical discussion) continues at The Groovy Age of Horror as Scott McCloud responds, a commenter gets in a dig and Curt Purcell writes more about homeostasis and how human brains process information. Geek fight! C’mon, fight! Fight?

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The Return of the Sea King

Aquaman’s alive. He was dead, if you hadn’t heard. Glen Weldon writes about the Sea King’s re-ascening his throne and how hard it is to be an Aqua-fan.

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Just Say, “No” to Black Magic

The upcoming Malaysian film, Niyang Rapik warns of the dangers of picking up stuff that doesn’t belong to you and black magic. But if the kids weren’t scared straight by Indonesia’s Léak / Mystics of Bali, I don’t what would. (Trailer available under video).

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Black History Mumf

It’s Black History Mumf at Big Media Vandalism and the Odienator provides a recap of his film reviews here.

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It’s Free, and It Will Change Your Life

The Necronomicon, brought to you by the Esoteric Order of the Old Ones and Cthulhu Cultists: “If knowing the unknowable is crazy, I don’t wanna be sane.” (thanks, victoria!)

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A Social Theory of Burn Notice

Grant McCracken posits an “enmeshed male” theory of Burn Notice and a few of the other entertaining shows on the USA Network.

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Wars, Etc.

“A pretty harrowing movie, realistic in an emotional way that most war movies don’t catch” - Joe Haldeman, on The Hurt Locker.

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Great Videogame or Greatest Videogame?

System Shock, a great videogame from 1994, gets a mod to make it easier to play for modern videogamers (with lots of tips in the comments on how to get the game running).

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Black Panther Animated Series

Marvel’s animating my childhood with their upcoming Black Panther series for BET. (No, I wasn’t T’Challa, the King of Wakanda. I just loved Black Panther). Animated Superheroes has the theme song as well as screen shots of characters and the voice-acting credits. (via Black SuperHero Blog).

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Passive-Aggressive Man

Passive-Aggressive Man, a superhero powered by his self-hatred over his inability to confront assholes.

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A HK Poster A Day

Colin at Kung Fu Fridays is posting a Hong Kong movie poster/day. Wild Search (starring Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung Cho-Hung) is gorgeous.

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Monks with Guns

There are no bulletproof monks in Nak Prok/Shadow of the Naga. In fact there are some remarkably violent novices who’ve hidden stolen money in a monastery and have to get it out again. Wise Kwai has the trailer and a discussion of Nak Prok and the new Thai ratings system.

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Chinese Ghost Story: The Animation

“Nothing is easy when a man loves a ghost woman.” Not even for animated men in Tsui Harks Chinese Ghost Story: The Animation. (Keith’s piece also has a pretty thorough retrospective of Tsui Hark’s career).

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I Can See Forever

It’s like the 1980s are a black hole and the event horizon reaches forever: The A-Team, The Karate Kid, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tron, Ghostbusters, Conan The Barbarian, Red Dawn, Short Circuit and Wall Street.

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Smiting the Wicked in The Book of Eli

In the Hughes Brothers’ fourth film, The Book of Eli, Nick Pinkerton writes, “Our hero is mostly an Old Testament smiter of the wicked, finally—unless I forget when Christ said, ‘You lay that hand on me again and you will not get it back” at the Garden of Gethsemane.’”

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RIP Zelda Rubinstein

Actress Zelda Rubinstein has died after being taken off life support in L.A. last month. Most Gutter readers probably know her best as the psychic in Poltergeist, but she also starred in movies like Anguish, Sixteen Candles and Southland Tales. She was a human rights activist and also a lab tech, so pour 1L for a righteous sister.

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Investigating Lois

Kelly Thompson never much liked reporters or Lois Lane, now she’s giving Lois a second chance with a review of Mindy Newell’s Lois Lane miniseries. (The discussion in the comments is excellent, too).

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LEGO MMO

LEGO still clicking with their new “LEGO Universe” MMO game. The trailer’s here. Meanwhile, Unreality tries to understand the appeal.

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More Bohemian Rhapsody

A while ago, we posted “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed by old computer parts. Now the meme continues with “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed by puppets and a Japanese comedian.

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The Windrow-Ravenswood Deck

Play unimaginable games staked on innocent souls or divine the unholy, maddening fate that awaits you (and perhaps how to save yourself) with the recently rediscovered Windrow-Ravenswood Deck.

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