Attack of the Sketchbook #4 - Snikt!

Here is another Wolvie. Not sure why I keep drawing him, I guess he's fun to draw. I'm not sure if you could tell but I've been reading HELLBOY lately, Mignola is a genius. Anyway I love how much contrast he uses- something I've been trying lately.

Comic Book Artist Michael Turner Passes Away

In some very sad news, comic book artist Michael Turner, 37, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

I never met Turner, but always liked his art, and he always seemed like a really nice guy in interviews. Here's his variant cover to Wolverine: Origins #1, which is one of my favorite works of Turner's -- so much so, that a framed poster of the drawing is hanging in my living room.

Revenge of the Sketchbook

There is no way in God's green hell that I'm going to be bested by Daniel Brooks. See folks, I'm also a bit of an amateur artist and according to a school teacher 27 years ago, I showed "tremendous promise." Maybe I won't be penning a graphic novel any time soon but at least Old Man Brooks knows there's some competition on the block.

C-murder

Attack of the Sketchbook #3 - Animated Obi-Wan

Here's one I just did of Obi-Wan (in Episode 3 getup) in an animated style. Full disclosure, I based this off of an already published drawing of animated Obi-Wan, but tweaked it to suit the particular costume. Mainly I used it as an exercise to keep working on mastering this style myself.

ELO Video Thursday: Video

Nope, "Video" isn't a typo. In the mid-80s, Jeff Lynne wrote a couple of songs for the soundtrack to a flick called Electric Dreams, including the one featured here, "Video." I've never seen the film (it's probably awful), but Lynne's tunes were solid, with "Video" in particular being really catchy and filled with crazy sound effects and a great rhythm track.

The Red Rings of Death Strike Again!!!!!

2nd Xbox goes belly up! This time it's an Elite system. Elite my ass. Called Xbox repair and I'm currently waiting for my coffin (pre-paid shipping box) to arrive. The console is still covered by the 3 year warranty which only covers hardware failure (red rings o' death). Future updates to come! Including my Metal Gear Solid review!!

Attack of the Sketchbook #2 - Wolverine

Here's a Wolverine I recently did. I used my shiny new Wacom Intuos tablet and Photoshop. I'm still a noob with both these tools, so if anyone has any tips for me I appreciate it. Or if you have any question feel free to post.

By the Gods! "God of War 3" to Debut at E3

So says an article posted on NeoGAF. No confirmation on whether or not it's a trailer or actually playable, but any actual news/visual proof of God of War 3 (for PS3) is reason for excitement. The God of War games are easily two of my favorite games of all time, thus I am seriously considering selling my 360 for PS3 as of...NOW.

George Carlin - 1937-2008

So long, George.

Attack of the Sketchbook #1 - Solid Snake

I used to draw all the time as a kid, but essentially gave it up once I discovered girls, the Beatles and the guitar. But in the last few weeks, I've spent some time with the 'ol pencil and paper, and have been really enjoying it.

I'm trying my hand at developing some sort of an animated style, as it's a look (The Clone Wars, Batman The Animated Series, etc.) I really love.

So in a new feature here at Robot Sweatshop -- Attack of the Sketchbook -- I'll be posting some of my sketches for your perusal. Don't worry, I know I ain't what one would call "good," or say, "talented," but I figure what the hell; let me know whatcha think, so long as you think everything I draw is fucking awesome.

The first entry for Attack of the Sketchbook, in celebration of the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 is none other than the game's hero and all-around video game icon, Solid Snake.

"The Love Guru" Confirmed As Awful

I used to love Mike Myers, but let's keep it real 'cause I'm keeping it real: The guy has not been funny for a long, long time. And from the second I saw the trailer for The Love Guru, my brain was telling me, "This does not look funny. AT ALL." Today, the New York Times review has confirmed what my Spider-Sense was tingling about:

"To say that the movie is not funny is merely to affirm the obvious. The word “unfunny” surely applies to Mr. Myers’s obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, “The Love Guru” is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again."

Yikes!

A Handy Reference Guide

A pet peeve of mine is people who complain about how Van Halen is now considered "classic rock." Big deal. Less of a pet peeve (but still there) is people who complain that the Clash is now considered "classic rock." Quit crying, you goddamn babies. Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown came out in '78! That's thirty years ago. Do you see us crying like a bunch of namby-pambys? No. It's reality. Lesson 1: Things age and die. Lesson 2: You are no exception.

So live fast and leave one hell of a beautiful corpse with all debts unpaid.

Podcast Episode 15 - The Return (Again)

Robot Sweatshop makes yet another comeback. Join Dan, Mike and Chris as we talk about that new flick about a giant green hulking dude. I forget the name, but I think it's called "Sex and the City." We also talk video games, comics, and more of the usual crap. This is a short one, cause it was late and we're wimps.

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"The Happening" Review/GChat Discussion

Robot Sweatshop superfan Amanda and yours truly had a quick discussion about what I'd been not-so-secretly hoping is Sir M. Night Shyamalan’s latest debacle, The Happening. (The Lady in the Water, M.'s last movie, is probably the worst thing ever.) Amanda, who'd just come back from seeing the flick, spoke with me about her thoughts on the film, the audience reaction, and more:

amanda: m night shamalamadingdong
dont see it!

me: man
did u see it?

amanda: yes i just got back
i want my 12 dollars back

me: it's funny you say that

amanda: acutally no. im not a shamalamading fan
so i wasnt expecting much
but i went with fans
and they were pissed
i thought it was hysterical

me: here, from my more well-known blog: http://kungfurodeo.com/2008/06/12/the-happening-can-it-be-as-bad-as-im-hoping/
see i want it to be as bad as Lady in the Water, which was one of the worst things I've ever seen

amanda: hahahahaha
i never saw lady in the water
but the guys i was with said it was worse
it was so funny man
it was so bad

me: wow

amanda: usually im the only one that laughs in horror/thrillers
and i get yelled at by my friends

me: see you're only making me want to see it more!

amanda: but this time they couldnt yell at me
because the whole theater was laughing

me: wow
holy crap

amanda: yessir
i dont want to spoil anything
so my detes stop there

me: please don't!
let me just say that in Lady in the Water, M. Night casts himself as a misunderstood genius writer destined to write something that will change the world

amanda: hahahahaha
yes the guys i was with said they didnt see him in it
but im sure he was there in the crowd killing himself somewhere

me: ugh

amanda: all i have to say is mark wahlberg wears a mood ring
enough material right there

me: haha awesome

me: you have a good weekend my friend. and trust me, netflix m. night shaymalsn's lady in the water, or as i call it, MNSLITW

amanda: done and done

New Podcast Coming on Monday!

That's right, we got off our lazy asses and finally recorded a new episode. Come back Monday for Episode 15 of Robot Sweatshop. We talk comics, video games, that new Hulk movie all the kidz (I spelled it that way on purpose) are talking about, and more.

"Planet Hulk," "Gamma Corps," and Wolverine Animated Movies Coming

Because we asked for it just two days ago! That's right, Newsarama reports that a Planet Hulk animated flick is coming, as well as second Hulk animated called Gamma Corps and Marvel Extreme: Wolverine, whatever the hell that will be.

Planet Hulk is perfect for an animated adaptation, with its great action, monsters, and epic feel. Here's hoping they don't screw it up.

1UP's "Metal Gear Solid 4" Review

Yep, the game destined to make me regret getting a 360 over a PS3 is here. 1UP has posted their review, giving it an A- overall:

The million or so geeks who've followed Snake's tale for the past decade (or two) will find absolute satisfaction in the resolution MGS4 brings. Every plot thread is tied up; every bizarre supernatural impossibility is explained; every character is allowed some form of closure. The stakes rise to epic heights, and not every ending is happy, but the bittersweet moments make the gestalt all the more fulfilling. It's an astounding feat, especially given how immense the cast has grown and just how far "out there" some of Metal Gear's pulpier plot points can be. The identities of the Patriots, the final fate of Big Boss, the reason Snake looks decrepit while his companions are still fresh-faced and vigorous, the means by which the villain exists as a talking hand grafted to an old man's arm -- it's all here. You'll even learn what "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo" means, if you pay attention.

ELO Video Thursday: Twilight

Here's "Twilight," a fantastic '80s pop song, filled with crazy synthesizers, vocoders, fantastic harmonies, and is altogether insanely catchy.

Halloween gift ideas in June...

Just saw these in the spring catalog of Entertainment Earth. And besides, you don't have to wait for Halloween to get something cool for your special guy or ghoul.

Awesome animated version of Jason Voorhees for about $90.

A transforming lumberjack werewolf for about $30.

This Sucks Dept: "Office Rage" Not Real!

As I feared, the Office Rage video I posted last week has been confirmed as not real. Nope, it's yet another effing viral marketing campaign, this time for a Russian film called Wanted by director Timur Bekmambetov. Well played, Mr. Bekmambetov. Well played.

Thanks to Tina for the depressing heads up and link.

MST3K Reunion at SDCC

Okay, this could be pretty amazing. According to Satellite News, the entire cast and writing team of the great Mystery Science Theater 3000 -- Trace Beaulieu, Paul Chaplin, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy, Bridget Nelson, Mike Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein -- will hold a panel discussion moderated by the awesome Patton Oswalt at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con. This just might be enough to get me on a plane and over to SDCC for the first time.

Must Listen: Tom Scharpling Eviscerates Kevin Smith

Me and Mikey Boy Civins are pretty big fans of Tom Scharpling, host of The Best Show on WFMU. Tom is a really funny, nice guy, who essentially pretends to be a bully for three hours, hanging up on callers randomly when he wants (but always in a funny way), being nice to other callers randomly, and always seemingly honest about the music, movies, TV, and comics he likes.

One of the show's best moments came after Tom, who is an avowed Kevin Smith hater (much like myself), saw the god-awful Clerks II and ripped into Smith for about an hour. It's some of the best radio I've ever heard. Check it out here at the Best Show Archives: the July 25, 2006 episode, about 1 hour, 59 minutes in.

Superdrag Video: "Way Down Here Without You"

I don't think I've really mentioned them on the show or here on the site, but Superdrag has always been one of my favorite bands -- they bring the rock and the melody better than anyone, IMO -- and they recently got back together after a 5-year-hiatus. Here's a video I just found of one of their best songs, a live version of the acoustic ballad, "Way Down Here Without You."

New Cinematic Titanic Trailers for "Doomsday Machine"

The long awaited second episode of Cinematic Titanic (MST3K creator Joel Hodgson's new movie-riffing vehicle), an awful looking 70s sci-fi flick called Doomsday Machine, is set to debut on DVD and digital download on June 19th. The fine folks of CT have released two trailers; check 'em out below. (The new episode looks pretty awesome -- I was a little underwhelmed with the first CT episode, The Oozing Skull.)

"Planet Hulk" review

I finally got around to reading the trade of Planet Hulk, a book I'd heard was criminally underrated and better than most recent mediocre comic epics (cough, Civil War and Infinite Crisis, cough). And it's true -- from beginning to end, this is a joy.

Fun, action-packed, smart, and featuring the most likable Hulk I've read in a long time, as well as a great new supporting cast, Planet Hulk was definitely one of the great comics of 2007. It's not entirely original -- "Hulk meets Gladiator" is a pretty accurate description -- but in the end, a story like this works so well, it's a wonder it wasn't made sooner. Kudos to Greg Pak for crafting what is probably the best epic tragedy in Hulk history.

Now to you readers: How was World War Hulk? Is it a worthy sequel?

Wii Opinion Update

Just to let everyone know, I'm pretty much back on the Wii bandwagon after a brief period of disappointment. The system seems to be hitting a real stride. Three terrific games -- Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Boom Blox (which I have yet to play but is supposed to be fantastic) -- were all released within weeks of each other, and I think we're in for some surprises come E3 (can you say Kid Icarus 2?). I've even gone back to finish Zelda, which for some reason I dropped, but is a pretty amazing game. (And as I've always said, Super Mario Galaxy is one of the best games of all time.) Anyways, I've always been a Nintendo fan, so I'm excited to see the Wii living up to its potential.

Weezer "The Red Album": 4-Songs-In Review

So I'm listening to the new Weezer record as I write this, with song #4 having just ended. Everyone can bitch and moan all they want about these guys, but so far I'm really digging it (especially the McCartney/Queen-esque "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived", song #2) and I'm pretty amazed that Rivers and the gang have managed to crank out a 6th unique album.

ELO Video Thursday: The Making of Livin' Thing

OK, I know it ain't Thursday, but I've missed the last couple of weeks and felt I needed to get one of these up to let you know we're still alive.

Here's an interview clip of Jeff Lynne explaining how he wrote "Livin' Thing." Pretty interesting!

Office Rage!

Here's GChat commentary by myself and Sir Britt Schramm:

Britt: Haha too funny

me: i know it's insane
I don't know why 3 guys didn't pounce on him after he threw the monitor

Britt: No kidding. he almost cracked that worman's head with it
and the broom to the copier was pure Office Space

me: haha yeah

Britt: Then the WWE takedown from the desktop was sweet.

me: yeah i think the spanish announcing table was destroyed

Britt: And you gotta love the lemmings, I mean workers, moving away from the guy but yet can't leave the office

me: haha yes

Britt: almost herd like
Haha, just saw the spanish table comment

Barack!

It's a little bit out of this site's purview, and I'm not quite sure the RS gang supports him, but what the hell, I do. Barack Obama has won the Democratic presidential nomination, beating the Clintons, no less, and I am seriously excited.