Comics and Geek Culture Podcast and Blog | Robot Sweatshop

Clifford Screening at 92YTribeca

2011-08-30T22:33:00.001-04:00

Date: Tue, Sep 27, 2011, 9 pm
Venue: 92YTribeca SCREENING ROOM
Location: 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street

“Look at me like a human boy!”

Like all truly great works of film art, Clifford never should have happened. Martin Short, pushing 40, plays the titular brat as a 10-year-old, also narrating his delinquent youth from a bizarre, future-set framing device. Dumped into the care of his uncle Martin (Grodin), a bachelor city planner, Clifford wants nothing more than a trip to Dinosaur World theme park. But when uncle Martin cancels the trip as punishment for bad behavior, the little psychopath ramps up his campaign of terror, systematically setting out to undermine every aspect of his guardian’s life, from personal to professional. Grodin displays more subtle types of exasperation than Eskimos have words for snow.

Programmed by Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold.

Director: Paul Flaherty. 90 min. 1994. 35mm.

Part of the series Overdue. Other Charles Grodin Overdue film screening: Midnight Run (with Charles Grodin in person!) & The Lonely Guy.

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 38: Nice Segway

2010-11-16T23:12:00.002-05:00

Dan & Mike return in a new episode of Robot Sweatshop! Topics of discussion:

- Mike's life

- Dan's life

- The Walking Dead

- Batman Inc.

- Ghostbusters 3

- And more!

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Books Arriving Damaged on Amazon?

2010-08-20T14:08:00.003-04:00

Last month I ordered Michael Kupperman's Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret from my online retailer/credit provider (I have an Amazon credit card). Can you guess? Yes, it was Amazon! You guys are great!

Kupperman is genius and hysterical. This book is no exception. Good luck trying to order it on Amazon though! I received it damaged TWICE. Instead of a third time, I received this email - "I'm sorry to hear the replacement book had the same problem as your first order. This usually doesn't happen. Since it's likely another replacement would arrive damaged, I won't trouble you with another order." Way to give up, Amazon! Way to give it the ol' college try! Except the college would be "Why Bother University" or "Eh A&M."

This may be the 4th order where I have received damaged goods from Amazon but this email is amazing. I really love the commitment to quality. The fact it is written in the first person also really gives a human touch. Ah, Old Man Amazon, what a guy (or lady)! Not wanting to trouble me with more destroyed fully-priced merchandise, man I owe him one. He appreciates that my time is just as valuable as his. Maybe you guys should just LEARN HOW TO PACKAGE STUFF.

Start small. Take a small box and place a semi-fragile item in it and mail it to someone you care about/respect. A loved one, perhaps? Maybe mail a snowglobe to Buy.com with a note saying "no hard feelings?" If the items arrives intact in the exact shape you mailed it in, CONGRATS, you've cracked the code - much like Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie in the fictional movie Hackers or the codebreakers of the Enigma machine in the non-fictional WWII! Over the next few years, work your way up to books and you'll find Amazon just subletted a spacious 1BR on Easy Street! (with 1.5 bath!)

MY FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN MY BOOKCASE

2010-08-16T22:40:00.010-04:00

I tried to think of the creepiest title possible for an action figure showing-off related post. I think I did alright!

The reason for this is really to show off Batman -- it's from DC Direct's "Secret Files" series, which I bought off eBay because of his suit's uncanny resemblance to Bats's new costume (as seen below as well), which I love.

Anyway, here you go. Don't judge. Unless you think it's cool.

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 37: An Interview With Trip Rosen, Mel Gibson's New Comic Book Agent

2010-07-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to another episode of Robot Sweatshop. This one was a huge scoop for us: An interview with Mel Gibson's new agent, Trip Rosen, who discusses Mel's controversies and -- BELIEVE IT -- his new client's entry into the comic book world. A must listen!

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Sweatshop Robot - 36 Episode: Freak Face/Off Friday

2010-07-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is a weird one. Without spoiling anything, consider the title a hint. Either way, it is a MUST LISTEN.

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 35: The Return

2010-06-30T08:00:00.002-04:00

AND WE'RE BACK. The best pop culture themed podcast recorded in Kensington, Brooklyn returns, featuring Dan Brooks, Mike In Manhattan and Frank From Weehawken. What we talk about this episode:

- What we've been up to

- Comics

- Video Games

- The Human Centipede

Enjoy!

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Frank Welker and Peter Cullen BOTH Returning to Transformers

2010-05-25T15:00:00.002-04:00

Briefly, file this under Pretty Fucking Cool: Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, the original voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively, are returning to voice their legendary characters in the new cartoon, "Transformers: Prime." No actual word on what the show is (prequel to the original show, sequel, etc.) -- designs kinda resemble those of the hate-them, hate-them, hate-them Micahel Bay movies -- but it will be fun to hear these guys again.

Celebrate Zombie Awareness Month!

2010-05-04T20:07:00.005-04:00

I did not intentionally try to find a zombie that looked exactly like Dan. It was the first one that came up in my Google search.

Here are some ways you can celebrate:

1. Watch Zombieland (I was actually disappointed. Thought it was good but not as great as everyone made it out to be)

2. Do an IMDB Search for George A. Romero...he kinda likes zombies

3. Watch this 100 times.

Send us your suggestions on how to celebrate Zombie Awareness Month!

P.S. I am serious, May is really Zombie Awareness Month.

Art Adams Personally Signed Print for Sale!

2010-04-19T12:58:00.001-04:00

Email me if interested!

"Tom Scharpling" sketch by Michael Kupperman

2010-04-12T09:50:00.001-04:00

From this weekend's MoCCA comic fest. 'Nuff said.

We're Alive!

2010-03-15T14:04:00.002-04:00

Hey! Thanks for stopping by while this place looks like an abandoned amusement park. Your loyalty will be rewarded: the podcast is relaunching soon. Watch. This. Space.

In the meantime, why not subscribe at iTunes? You will not regret it. That's right -- an internet boast!

Robot Sweatshop's Winter Movie Preview

2009-11-22T20:02:00.044-05:00

As we inch ever so much closer to the holiday season, Hollywood is preparing for one of its busier seasons, second only to summer. While the winter/holiday season usually turns out several profitable movies, this year is extremely unique in the fact that it has already produced one of the most highly anticipated movies ever in New Moon. While everyone predicted that the movie would be huge, I am not so sure they anticipated the third highest grossing weekend ever behind only Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3. New Moon also shattered the record for midnight showings, taking in an estimated $26 million, breaking the record set last summer by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($22 million). Take that nerds! If the swirlies you got throughout high school weren't enough, now teenage girls are putting you to shame!

This type of movie being released at this time of year could have a huge effect on the winter movie season. New Moon has a chance to make a run at Dark Knight and Titanic territory in terms of ticket sales and worldwide box office gross. The entire movie biz has known for a while when New Moon would be coming out and as any good business would do, they have prepared for it when they have given their movies release dates. Any big budget movie that has a genre anywhere close to that of New Moon will either push a release date back or move it well ahead to avoid the huge spotlight cast on the Twilight franchise. With all of this reshuffling going on, any possible competition will be no where in sight, meaning that all of these Twilight psychopaths will see New Moon even more times than they would have anyway. My wife is a huge fan (she won't admit she is a nerd, is there a difference between those 2 words) of the Twilight books and despite admitting that the first Twilight movie was complete garbage, she still saw it 3 times, just think what would happen if this movie is watch-able? All I will say is "God help us all".

Update: Since I first wrote this post I went and saw New Moon (Took my Dad to see it for his Birthday). While it was definitely not good, it was much better than the first, werewolves are definitely more interesting than vampires with no fangs that don't bite people.

What kind of movie season are the rest of us in store for you ask? Robot Sweatshop has your guide to some of the other movies coming out this winter that could be worth your ridiculously expensive movie ticket. Most of of what you will read is based off of what I have read or seen on television or the internets, but if any of the Robot Sweatshop team see any of these movies, we will update the post so please check back for this. Feel free to leave your own comments as well about any of these films or ones we missed that are worth seeing.

The Road
Directed by John Hillcoat, starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron
Release Date: November 25
Is it safe to say that whatever Viggo Mortensen attaches his name too has a great chance of being good? With the exception of Hidalgo (which I didn't see) everything he has been in since Lord of the Rings began I have throroughly enjoyed. Director John Hillcoat is a relatively unknown directory which for me isn't a red light, but more of a yellow light.

This movie is based off of the novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote No Country for Old Men, which I felt was a great movie despite my feelings about the ending. The story revolves around Mortensen's character and his son traveling by foot across a post-apocalyptic world in search of survivors, preferably those that have not converted to cannibalism, which apparently is the hip new trend. Think Walking Dead minus the zombies. Since us here at Robot Sweatshop can't get sneak preview press passes to film screenings, I have to get my information off of others and the internet, but I can tell you that from what I have heard so far, this is a truly disturbing film.

Expect an update on this movie soon as I will most likely be giving this one a shot.

Trailer:

Ninja Assassin

Directed by James McTeigue, starring no one you ever heard of
Release Date: November 25
There has been plenty of promotion for this movie for about a month before its release and I will say from what I saw it looks pretty cool. When you are going to see a movie called Ninja Assassin I think looks are all that counts right? The movie's plot (like anyone cares) revolves around an orphan ninja named Raizo who is raised by a secret society of bad ass ninjas, but decides to leave the group after they kill his best friend and decides to become a kick ass philanthropist. That's the whole movie. The end.

I'm just kidding, of course he wants revenge, ninja style!

The movie was directed by James McTeigue, who also did V for Vendetta, which I completely hated but still heard from others who really enjoyed it. The Wachowski Brothers, who you might recognize as the dudes who brought us the Matrix trilogy, produced Ninja Assassin so you can expect plenty of great special effects. I am sure there are plenty of people who felt that the Matrix trilogy would have been way better if they cut out all of the horrible acting and just gave us one movie filled with all action. This movie might make these people feel like the Wachowski's were reading their diary.

There will definitely be an update on this movie, if not from me, it will be from my dad who would skip my wedding to see a flick like this.

Update: My dad saw this and said it was one of the bloodiest movies he has ever seen. He absolutely loved it, but he also loved Wolverine...so take that however you would like.

Trailer:

The Slammin Salmon

Directed by Kevin Hefferman, starring the dudes from Super Troopers
Release Date: December 11

Since their breakout movie Super Troopers in 2001, the guys of Broken Lizard have gone on to make more of their own movies and also do their own things as well. I have watched several interviews with these guys and the way they create their Broken Lizard movies is truly a collaborative effort with all 5 guys (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Paul Soter, contributing with the writing. Until this latest movie, Chandrasekhar has handled the directing duties, but for Slammin Salmon, Kevin Hefferman is in the director's chair.

This time around the guys are all working at a restaurant owned by a former heavyweight boxing champ, played by Michael Clarke Duncan. To motivate his poor waiting staff he starts a contest, whoever can get the most tips gets $10,000 dollars, whoever comes in last he will beat the shit out of. The movie seems like another Waiting, which I loved, just a little more over the top. This is a similar situation when they followed up Super Troopers with Club Dread, a spoof on horror films that may have been better received had it not been for the Scary Movie franchise. Had it not been for Waiting, this movie might have more hype. The trailers I have seen so far have not impressed me.

If anyone ends up seeing this please leave a comment and let us know how you liked it, I will most likely be passing on this and counting the days until Super Troopers 2 comes out, which it being developed by Broken Lizard as we speak.

Trailer:

Avatar
Directed by James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver
Release Date: December 18
One of the most anticipated movies to come out this year, James Cameron is back with hopes of totally reinventing special effects like he has done pretty much every time he puts out a new film. It is hard to imagine that the last movie he directed was Titanic but since then he has been mainly churning out documentaries and writing fairly popular televisions series (Dark Angel, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and one movie which was Terminator 3, easily the worst one so far, but that was most likely because he chose not to direct.

Avatar is the story about a group of humans that are brought to a distant planet called Pandora to fight in a war between humans and the inhabitants of this planet. There have been plenty of trailers circulating and they all look amazing, and from what I have read the film was created with an entirely new approach to 3D with Cameron inventing his own cameras to get what we wants out of the film. Avatar at IMAX sounds like it is going to be amazing.

This is easily going to be the biggest movie other than New Moon and will be the only movie to come out between now and its release date that has a shot at finishing number one at the box office. I will not be surprised to see New Moon on top until this film comes out a week before Christmas, which is sad. It is unfortunate that a filmmaker like Cameron cannot get the same hype and attention that this Twilight crap does. He is truly one of the most revolutionary filmmakers we will ever see in our lifetime, if not the biggest.

I will definitely be seeing this in IMAX, I will update this one for sure.

Trailer:

Sherlock Holmes

Directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Release Date: December 25

I recently just saw a trailer for this movie and I have to say it did not have much of a Guy Ritchie look to it, it looked more like Van Helsing with Robert Downey Jr. instead of Hugh Jackman. I am not surprised however seeing that it's a big budget action movie with plenty of star power and there is probably a hope that this will turn into another huge franchise for Robert Downey Jr. Guy Rithie is probably giving them just another big name rather than a big contribution artistically.

As you already know, the Sherlock Holmes story involves a detective of the same name and his partner Watson who solve mysteries while acting all British-like, tea, crumpets and all the jazz. The trailer included plenty of explosions and action, I am sure the intention is to take the story and reinvent it for the 21st Century but still give it the old timey look, exactly what they did with Van Helsing. We all remember how that movie turned out right? You can probably expect the same, but maybe Downey and Jude can carry it. We'll just have to wait and see, I mean you will have to wait and see, I will not be seeing this.

Trailer:

The Wolfman

Directed by Joe Johnston, starring Benicio Del Toro, Sir Anthony Hopkins
Release Date: February 12

There has been plenty of information circulating about about this movie over the internet, unfortunately it has more about its ever changing release date and not about the actual movie itself. It was originally supposed to be released in the spring of 2009 and it was then pushed back to February 2010. As for the reasons for this pushback is unknown, it could be for reshoots, which is never good, or maybe Universal, who is distributing the film, felt releasing a horror film of this magnitude would be better suited for Valentines day. Apparrently horror movies are pretty popular on this holiday, I'm not kidding.

The story is based off of the classic tale of a dude turning into a werewolf when the moon is full, Benicio Del Toro plays the dude and Mac Tonight plays the moon, not sure anyone will get that joke. From the few trailers I have seen there is plenty of action and CGI special effects, which for most werewolf movies might be a bad thing. I think the true fans wish that thing's could go back to when actors and actresses had to spend 3 days getting their makeup put on before they would do a scene. While I don't see this happening ever again, it would be nice to meet somewhere in the middle, similar to what Guillermo Del Toro has done with his Hellboy movies. Hopefully for everyone's sake The Wolfman will try to accomplish this as well. We will have to wait and see.

An update on this will probably be coming as I am looking forward to seeing this one.

Trailer:

The best of the rest:

Shutter Island
Directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo

Release Date: February 19
Scorcese's first film since winning the Oscar for The Departed, expect another nomination.

Trailer:

Alice in Wonderland

Directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp
Release Date: March 5
Tim Burton teaming up with Johnny Depp, why haven't these guys teamed up before? Oh wait

Trailer:

Clash of the Titans

Directed by Louis Leterrier, starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
Release Date: March 26
Another huge movie starring Sam Worthington. Has anyone ever burst onto the scene like this with 3 100 mil plus blockbusters in less than a year with really no previously well known films? Crazy.

Trailer:

Hot Tub Time Machine
Directed by Steve Pink, starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry)

Release Date: March 26

Yes you read this movie title right, look up the trailer, there is no need to explain it, the title explains everything and is all I need to see.

Trailer (Restricted so look out for a few curse words!):

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 34: To Catch a Podcaster

2009-11-15T18:38:00.000-05:00

A new episode of the world-famous podcast, Robot Sweatshop, featuring:

- a new cast member
- Walking Dead talk
- videogame talk
- weird tangents (thanks, Mike!)

Enjoy!*

*This is a Skypecast, so the sound quality is so-so. But enjoyable nonetheless!

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 33: An Interview With Ben Morse of Marvel

2009-11-09T08:20:00.000-05:00

Hello, Internet! Boy, do I have a podcast for you.

In this very exciting episode of Robot Sweatshop, Dan talks one-on-one with Ben Morse -- formerly of Wizard, and current Assistant Editor of Marvel.com -- about Ben's first-ever published comics work in the new MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR, current goings-on at Marvel.com, and tons more. A must listen. Do it to it.

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 32: Halloween Spooktacular 2009

2009-10-30T08:15:00.000-04:00

Hello, Robot Sweatshoppers! Welcome to our Halloween Spooktacular 2009, filled with talk about SCARY STUFF, from comics to movies. Give it a listen...if you dare!

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Robot Sweatshop's Guide to Finding the Ultimate Halloween Costume!

2009-10-29T21:07:00.016-04:00

What's up, loyal Robot Sweatshopaholics! We are coming up on the last week of October and the most popular question running through many people's minds is....

"What the @#$% am I going to be for Halloween?"

Here are some rules to follow when you use your noodle to come up with the perfect costume:

1. If you are happy with it, screw what other people think.
In a world full of opinions, the most important one is your own. Do not to worry about how your costume will be perceived by everyone who will sees it. If you are passionate about a particular movie, comic book, video game or music group then by all means use it as an idea. If you love the movie Timecop, go get that pompadour/mullet wig; if you are a big fan of the comic Silver Surfer, go get that silver bodysuit and genital stuffing; and if you are obsessed with the band Limp Biscuit, you are not allowed anywhere near me on Halloween.

2. Going random is good, but try to be aware of where the line is.
Being unique is definitely appreciated on Halloween, but you also run the risk of looking like a complete goon. You shouldn't expect everyone to know what you are trying to be, but you should be able to explain it and get a few "Oh yeah!" responses throughout the night. If you tell someone who you are supposed to be and you get an "O......K" reaction, you may have tried too hard to stand out.

Here are some examples of what I am talking about:
Good: The blue dude from Watchmen who shows his dong the whole movie (Dong optional).
Bad: The dude from the shitty Wolverine movie that is in the Black Eyed Peas. Who the f was that anyway?

Good: Any guitarist or lead singer from any popular band.
Bad: Any bassist that has ever lived with the exception of Flea, Les Claypool and Lemmy. (And Paul McCartney. -- Dan)

3. Go big or go home...or just stay home and pass out candy to kids.
If you aren't into Halloween and you just go with the plainest thing you can think of...you will come across like a lame-o or Halloween version of Scrooge. Not wanting to dress up and wear something fun is like not wanting presents on Christmas, not wanting turkey on Thanksgiving, or not wanting your parents to draw fake bunny tracks on your front walkway on Easter. (Is my buddy Greg's parents the only ones who did that?) What I am trying to get at is you should just stay home with that kind of attitude and pass out candy to the next generation of Halloween lovers. Look at it as your penalty for being such a buzzkill. You boring jerk.

4. Popular culture is always a good idea as long as you remember to keep it POPULAR.
There are plenty of stories in the news that you can use as inspiration to put together a costume, but you need to make sure people will remember what the story is. I would avoid going back more than 2-3 months when thinking of your idea. I am sure we will see plenty of balloon boys out on Halloween; hopefully we will not see too many Octo-moms.

5. Buying a costume at a Halloween store. Ugh.*
Like every holiday, there is plenty of money to be made by commercializing the celebration. There are plenty of party stores out there that for one month each year sell pre-made costumes to those who are too lazy to put in some actual effort. Occasionally you can strike gold going with this option, but the odds of seeing someone else with the same costume you thought was awesome is pretty high. Most of the costumes are so boring they are the equivalent of you wearing a sign that says “What's the point?". I would also like to add that if I see one more couple dressed up as a plug and a socket I will double-clothesline them.

* I have only one reason to ever go to a Halloween store and it is only if you absolutely cannot think of any solid ideas, which leads to my next tip.

6. When all else fails, you can always take an overdone idea and turn it on its ass.
I understand it's not always easy to find the perfect idea, especially if you wait until the last minute. So if you are scrapped for time, go to one of these Halloween stores, buy something you’ve seen before and add some kind of comedic element to it. For example adding a zombie element to any costume idea gives it instant credibility, like a celebrity you hate with a passion. What better way to say you wish someone were dead than to go out as them for Halloween, only in zombie form?

Zombie Spencer Pratt? Cha-ching!

Zombie Britney Spears for the ladies? Jackpot!
Zombie Patrick Swayze? What’s wrong with you? Too soon!

7. Comfort is key.
Halloween usually involves drinking, dancing, and the occasional 5 minute breather. You want to be able to accomplish these feats without your own costume getting in the way. As fun as it would be to make your own Optimus Prime costume, you are not that talented to make it work, and drinks will be spilled. Do not sacrifice your own comfort to try and stand out; there are plenty of ways to make a costume that will allow you to pull off the sickest of dance moves.

8. Hatred can also inspire greatness.
It does not always have to be movies you love; despising a movie to the point where the only thing that can come out of your mouth is laughter is a great way to create a costume. Seems like everyone these days won't shut up about this Twilight movie. I'll admit it, I saw that piece of shit and while I would love to go on about how awful it was, instead I will tell you that creating a costume to look like the douche-bag lead actor would be hilarious and pretty easy to accomplish.

9. Play-on-words costumes, while not my style, if done right can be GREAT SUCCESS!
Being as immature as a 29-year-old can be, I have heard it all when it comes to dirty words and phrases, and if you can translate this into your Halloween outfit, then you have my blessing.This task will require you to most likely explain your costume often because people love to ask you "What the hell are you supposed to be?”. If you have the patience for the possible dull reaction some people will give you, then you are the right person to take a shot at pulling this off. Some examples of dirty phrases I am referring to are the following:

Dirty Sanchez
Donkey Punch
Abe Lincoln (Don't ask)
Cincinnati Bowtie
Tony Danza

10. Anything involving a mustache, real or fake, is the tits.
That sentence is pretty self-explanatory; I do not need to say anymore.

Good luck this year, if you would like your awesome costume recognized, send a picture to RobotSweatshop@gmail.com and we will put it up on the site!

Mike, Frank, and Family Fun (the band) on Morning Court TV Show

2009-10-23T15:19:00.006-04:00

A rift when Mike McGillicuddy intelligently and thoughtfully invests the band's money with respected talent mogul/record producer Frank from Weehawken CEO/CFO/CMO of Dream Factory Records... Paul, being the short-fused pennypincher that he is, cannot put faith in Mike's huge caring heart or Mike's brilliant forward-thinking/initiative and decides to air out his grievances on a morning court TV show rather than solve them live civilized adults... Sparks fly as Paul reveals his true feelings about Mike McGillicuddy. Frank from Weehawken gives expert testimony - an expert on experts! See Doob make looming sexy!

Family Fun also has a new EP coming out on Dream Factory Records - check local listings for exclusive resellers!

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 31: Live From Outer Space, Brooklyn

2009-10-20T20:56:00.000-04:00

And we're back! Again! Lovable scamps Dan (who sounds like he's calling in from a space station), Mike and Frank (who sounds like he's calling in from the bottom of a well) discuss the making of their appearance on STREET COURT, as well as Beatles Rock Band, Beatles remasters, and lots more. Another great one!

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 30: Hello Jude

2009-09-14T09:00:00.003-04:00

In this installment of Robot Sweatshop: Dan, Chris and Frank talk RiffTrax live, DC's recent and upcoming animated flicks, the new PS3, The Beatles: Rock Band and lots more. Plus, we record on Dan's new kitchen table, which forces him to hunch like Larry King! Dig it!

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New Episode Coming, Swearsies

2009-09-09T20:08:00.003-04:00

Oh, howdy. Didn't see ya shufflin' up the walkway there.

Ok enough, I'm even annoying myself with that. Anyways, we have a new episode of RS -- a panel show! -- recorded and ready to go, but I'm having big time issues with my computer and have not been able to get it up onto the internetssss.

But it will be up this week. Promise. In the meantime, why not check out something from the archives?

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 29: Yellow Hat Guy Exclusive Interview

2009-08-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

After a brief break, we're back with a huge new episode: a one-on-one, exclusive interview with the controversial Yellow Hat Guy. This is a must listen for those wanting to learn more about the man and his infamous encounter with comics creator Rob Liefeld.

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Marvel.com Interview with Tom Scharpling - Part 2!

2009-08-24T13:31:00.003-04:00

In case anyone missed it, here's part 2 of my interview with the great Tom Scharpling for Marvel.com!

"Yellow Hat Guy" Is An Asshole

2009-08-12T13:41:00.001-04:00

As is evidenced by this nonsense.

Marvel.com Interview with Tom Scharpling

2009-08-06T17:39:00.002-04:00

Hello all! I'm very proud to present part 1 of my two-part interview with Tom Scharpling -- an executive producer and writer for "Monk," as well as host of the awesome "Best Show" on WFMU -- for Marvel.com. This was a real honor for me and Tom was the greatest. I'll post a link for part 2 when it goes live. Enjoy!

Holy Moly!

2009-08-03T12:16:00.001-04:00

This is awesome, awesome news. I will tell it to you in one sentence below:

Ridley Scott is set to direct an Alien prequel.

Awesome.

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 28: The Dan Show Part 2 With Live Calls!

2009-07-31T08:18:00.003-04:00

In a brand new episode of The Dan Show -- streamed live over the internetssss! -- Dan talks "The Shield," "The Goon," "Ghostbusters," and best of all, takes live calls from listeners, including the owner of the famous Brooklyn comic book shop, Bags & Boards. A great show!

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 27: The Dan Show

2009-07-24T09:00:00.001-04:00

A brand new episode of Robot Sweatshop featuring just Dan! This is Robot Sweatshop as you've never heard it: Listen as Dan discusses Paul McCartney live at Citi Field, a new form of pan-handling he saw on the NYC subway, talks Batman and Robin and Wednesday Comics, RiffTrax Live, AND takes some phone calls. A must listen -- AGAIN!

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We're Still Alive

2009-07-22T23:27:00.004-04:00

Hey folks -- I know it's been quite 'round these parts but I wanted to let you know we're still alive. Sure, I've had to institute a 3-day GChat ban on Frank to teach him a lesson on how it's wrong to be mean to friends, but that's besides the point. We will return with a new (special) episode on Friday morning!

Bambi meets Godzilla

2009-07-14T10:39:00.004-04:00

Wait for it...

Special thanks to a Poly Sci prof at UNC!

Ryan Reynolds IS Green Lantern

2009-07-13T13:24:00.002-04:00

As has been reported everywhere, Ryan Reynolds has been cast as Green Lantern in the upcoming flick. While it's a little...odd...that the dude who played Deadpool is now going to be playing GL, I think this is a pretty good choice. He definitely looks the part; my only hope is that Reynolds dampens his trademark wise-ass-ness, as that's not what Hal is really like.

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 26: Say Say Say "Transformers 2" Sucked

2009-07-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

The grand Skype experiment continues! Only this time it's coherent! Join Dan, Mike, Chris and occasionally Frank as we discuss Transformers 2, X-Men Forever, Michael Jackson, and lots more. A MUST LISTEN. And remember: iTunes reviews, please!

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Top 5 Games To Watch Other People Play

2009-06-30T13:03:00.004-04:00

In the interest of stirring things up, what games are the most fun to watch other people play?

Back in the day, nothing frustrated me more then watching other people play videogames. I thought such strong feelings would subside with age but alas, no. Now I'm frustrated watching other people play pool, eat, fill out forms, wait in line, type, and yet I actually can sit on a couch now and watch someone else play COD4 or Little Big Planet for about an hour (until I reign blows upon them, take the controller, and finish the game with 100% superhuman accuracy with which they have never seen).

And nowadays there's a whole line of programs totally dedicated to streaming videogames live. Livestream is one. Who knew? What a majestic time to be alive. Here's my top 5 list at the moment. Fight me on it. I dare you.

1. COD4 - Any multiplayer for that matter. Even Mariokart. But the more grenades and childish name-calling, the better.

2. Street Fighter 2 - Obvious. Should this be #1?

3. River Raid - Watching other people play this infuriates me, but in the way old people complain about kids with facial piercings. They don't like it but without them they'd have nothing to complain about.

4. Wii Sports

5. Zelda - Ocarina of Time - Wonder! Merriment! Flutes!

What say you, Internet? Have you a voice?

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 25: Violence in Comics and Other Fun Stuff

2009-06-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Another brand new episode of Robot Sweatshop! The main topic of discussion in this installment is Violence in Comics, but there's also lots of talk on Futurama, Movies That Make Us Cry, Batman and Robin #1, and tons more. So give a listen, subscribe at iTunes, and leave us an iTunes review. We'll be your friend forever. Swearsies.

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Hands Across The Water, Heads Across the Sky

2009-06-14T17:52:00.003-04:00

While perusing YouTube for Paul McCartney and Beatles clips some time ago, I discovered a dude who goes by the name of PENNYWHO: a Japanese musician who can seemingly play everything Paul and Beatles related. You can tell from his charming performances -- which usually feature one or more of his kids scampering around or singing along -- that he really loves this music. Here's his rendition of the great "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" from the colossal Ram album:

Robert Crenshaw Reviews His Brother Marshall's New Record

2009-06-12T15:59:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite musicians on the planet, Marshall Crenshaw, just came out with a new album called "Jaggedland." I hadn't gotten around to picking it up, but just placed my order with Amazon after reading a review written on Marshall's message boards by his brother, Robert. Robert is a fantastic drummer who played on many of Marshall's best albums; he didn't play on "Jaggedland," but the guy who did ain't half bad either -- Traveling Wilburys drummer Jim Keltner. Here were Robert's thoughts:

I have a very complicated relationship with Marshall's records. For that matter, I have a very complicated relationship with my brother Marshall.
When we were kids we used to play in our basement sometimes. When we got older and he started writing songs, occasionally I would played on his demos. Those are memories and experiences I will forever treasure as times we shared being creative together.
When I was 17 and still in High School, I had a gig where I could play at night, sleep in my own bed, and make as much money as a line worker at GM. Marshall was working on the road and really having to work a lot harder for much less.
When I think of bringing Marshall (MC) as an offering to an Oldies band, it's kind of like bringing a wheelbarrow full of diamonds to a small business. It was pretty hard for people to even grasp what they had, but they did understand, it was something very special.
Some of you know that we ended up doing lots of stuff together for a decade of so. When we made records, we tried to have fun and make records that reflected the image that MC had in his mind for the song.
As an artist (and I know many of you are artists), you start out with the raw materials of the piece, but once you start the process, the journey has its own environmental considerations that can (and sometimes magically) shape the outcome dramatically.
Talking to MC, I know he had literally a wonderful time making this record. It was a real life experience with all of the twists and turns, joy and sorrow you’d expect from a high risk, potentially lucrative endeavor.
When I hear MCs voice on this record, I know that he was being as true to his Art as a person can be.
It's like if you went to someone's house for dinner and they baked the bread, served you vegetables from their garden, and hand- made all of the furniture in the room; all with the help of the most world renowned crafts persons and chefs they could engage.
The beauty of a well crafted song is that it reflects a shared human experience in a way that pulls you in, but it makes you ponder the experience in a way that adds depth to the reflection.
I think this writing is honest and clever. This is not music for people who think or wish that life is a linear path. This is Art with dissonance and release, this is Art that reflects the simple joys and life, but understands as well the fruits of life’s sorrows.
Jaggedland is the product of a real life complicated person, making a substantive effort to bring something worthwhile to fruition.
I’ve spent a lot of time driving long distances this week, and it has afforded me the luxury of listening to a lot of music while traveling long stretches of Interstate Highway.
I love the new record, and I enjoy taking in the nuance of the lyric as well as breathing in the sophisticated yet accessible auditory cornucopia. ( I apologize for the wine-like description)
It reminds me how much I love records and music. And it reminds me how much I love that complicated, talented person who is my brother Marshall. For anyone who has complicated loving feelings for their brother and sisters, you know that in itself is like a wheelbarrow full of diamonds.

Spew into this: 100 Best Movie Lines in 200 Seconds

2009-06-12T15:31:00.002-04:00

Just made my Friday... Any favorites missing? I thought "inconceivable" from Princess Bride would definitely be on there...

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 24a: Stars & Skype

2009-06-01T12:26:00.002-04:00

Another episode from those lovable scamps who are too lazy to travel out to Kensington, Brooklyn. Or as Frank thought it was called, “Netherlands, Brooklyn.”

Please note: We tried doing this one over Skype and rather than edit it all, we purposely went for a Waholian approach and left it all in for all those flies on the wall. Download it now because it will probably end up on the Robot Sweatshop chopping block/atom smasher in a week or so when we realize how jury-rigged it all is. Special appearance by Road Rally Ali.

Discussed: Mike’s lack of age, Dan’s wedding, Frank’s weekend - excited yet? Then some small pondering on Terminator:Salvation, Let The Right One In, Great Adventure, Indian caste system, Wolverine, Star Trek, and plenty of false endings. But mostly, it’s a fun mess of a show.

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Next Podcast Topic: Movie "Huhs?"

2009-05-27T22:53:00.006-04:00

When I heard about this months ago I thought it was a joke. It just got a whole lot funnier. What's that in the air? I SMELL OSCAR!

Marvel.com Article: Wolverine at MoCCA

2009-05-12T12:27:00.002-04:00

'Sup, yo? I have a new article up on Marvel.com: coverage of a Wolverine panel discussion at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art featuring Chris Claremont and Matthew K. Manning. Enjoy, bub(s).

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 24: I Don't Have to Do Anything

2009-05-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

And we're back! Dan, Mike and Frank talk All Hail Megatron, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (spoiler-free!), and Movies (Mostly Bad) We Want to Own on Blu-ray. Plus, we have details on a new contest. It's a must listen, if I say so myself. And I say so!

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Podcast Update: Where the Hell Have We Been?

2009-05-04T12:54:00.002-04:00

So as you might've noticed, we haven't had a new episode in a couple of weeks. This is mainly due to scheduling conflicts and one panelist's drug problems. But I won't mention any names. Anyway, fear not: we will have a new episode later this week and DEFINITELY next Monday. Good day to you.

Marvel.com Article: Wolverine Costume Guide

2009-04-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Excited about that new Wolverine flick coming out? Well, Marvel.com has a ton of great Wolverine content these days, including my (shameless plug) new article: a guide to many of Wolverine's costumes over the years. It's a fun, informative read, methinks. I hope you like it!

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 23: Biggest Show Ever

2009-04-20T09:00:00.003-04:00

Hello, faithful listeners. As can be seen by the title of this episode, this is a huge one. The awesome Ali Aron and Caroline Carr make their Robot Sweatshop debuts. The topic is our best ever: Movie Flops We Love (or "Flops to Love," as we ended up calling it), featuring talk about Ghostbusters 2, Clifford, and tons more. Plus, some comic book discussion as usual. This is a great episode to jump onboard. Tell everyone you know, enemies included!

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Here Comes the Sun...

2009-04-17T16:05:00.006-04:00

NEW JACK CITY IS SO BEAUTIFUL TODAY!!

I just can't wait to get on my bike and ride!

I have no idea what happened to The Snugs. I felt it was mildly appropriate to post one of their songs as it's the Snuggie Pub Crawl in NYC and Chicago today. If you know the whereabouts of this band, please let me know.

In any case, I'm cranking this up and getting ready for a good weekend.

Enjoy!!

TheSnugs-TryingFeatLittleHannahCollins.mp3

Be My Cellmate: Phil Spector is Going to Jail

2009-04-14T13:02:00.003-04:00

The brilliant/insane Phil Spector was found guilty of second degree murder today and is facing 15 years-to-life. According to Rolling Stone:

The jury hearing Phil Spector’s murder retrial found the music producer guilty today of charges of second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. Clarkson died of a gunshot wound at Spector’s Los Angeles mansion in February 2003 under dubious circumstances. Spector’s first trial began in April 2007 and concluded in September 2007 when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Deliberations for Spector’s second murder trial stretched 32 hours over nine days. The 69-year-old Spector faces a minimum of 18 years of prison; he’ll be sentenced on May 29th.

It's really pretty sad that someone died because of this guy's nutbar tendencies, but thankfully, the LA legal system finally came through for something.

Go home tonight, put on "Let It Be...Naked" and stick it to this guy. But just for tonight -- then you can go back to listening to all his amazing work with the Ronettes, Darlene Love, John Lennon, Dion, etc.

Heart Breaking News: No New Podcast This Week

2009-04-13T12:24:00.003-04:00

That's right. Sorry people, but since some of us here at Robot Sweatshop celebrate Passover, some of us celebrate Easter, and a couple of us celebrate both, we could not get together for a new episode this week. Check back on Monday for Episode 23. And Happy Easter Monday!

Get back, Jojo. Go home

2009-04-10T12:33:00.004-04:00

A buddy of mine in Toronto decided to brighten my Friday with this number. I'm normally not a fan of anyone touching the Beatles, but I find this to be done quite well. One of my favorite Beatles songs (Get Back) mixed with LCD Soundsystem (Daft Punk is Playing at My House) & the Kinks (You Really Got Me). !!!!!!

Happy Friday, and enjoy!

Billy Bob Thornton Has a Meltdown

2009-04-09T12:36:00.001-04:00

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 22: A Spicy Meat-a-ball!

2009-04-08T08:40:00.000-04:00

This is a very exciting episode of Robot Sweatshop: we welcome new panelist Frank Caratozzolo (from the internet's Best Game Ever), discuss vintage game systems, Street Fighter 4 (yet again), Hulk Vs., and Scrabble.

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Episode 22 Update

2009-04-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

According to the Libsyn gods, we've overrun our allotted server space since the relaunch, which is why I could not upload today's podcast. But the good news is that the server space will be reset and cleaned up on Wednesday, so look for the new episode on Wednesday morning.

Two of Us: Paul & Ringo!

2009-04-06T12:42:00.005-04:00

Only the most cynical would find something to complain about here, but for those of us who still really love the Beatles, what happened Saturday night was pretty exciting: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited at David Lynch's “Change Begins Within,” a benefit to bring transcendental meditation to troubled public schools. While they each had their own sets and only played three songs together at the show's end -- "With A Little Help From My Friends," Paul's 1968 ode to TM, "Cosmically Conscious," and "I Saw Her Standing There" -- it sounds like it was an amazing show.

Day 1 purchase on DVD!

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 22: Coming Tomorrow (Hopefully)

2009-04-06T12:05:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

Thanks to some technical @#$%ing difficulties this morning, I could not post the new podcast episode to the internetsssssss. But I assure you, it is recorded, and hopefully I can figure out what's going on with this here thing tonight and make it available for your listening pleasure tomorrow morning.

Kisses,
Dan

FREE MANGA!!! (The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service)

2009-04-04T11:51:00.011-04:00

In a confined, shared living environment, there comes a point when you have to choose between beloved comics as "only a few" can hold their own on the shared bookshelf. I also confess to purchasing copious amounts of comics. I've decided today, dear readers, to generously (yet, slowly) start gifting them to the public, should you be so interested.

Today's present hails from the land of Japan, a Dark Horse translated version of 黒鷺死体宅配便 (Kurosagi Shitai Takuhaibin) or The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It's written by one of the coolest writers...Eiji Otsuka (Maho no Rouge Lipstick, MPD Psycho) . He graduated with degrees in anthropology, women's folklore, human sacrifice and post-war manga. !!!! Housui Yamazaki (Mail) is the illustrator - and, not going to lie, he has made some of the creepiest drawings I've ever seen.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, it's a horror comic that follows five university students running a company to fulfill the final wishes of the dead (and figure out what to do with their bodies)... BUT their determination to find out the desires of the dead often turn into Scooby-Doo-like adventures. Hey nowwwww.

So even if you haven't read earlier volumes, you can pick up the idea pretty quickly. Volume 8 follows the group as they undercover a group advertising meikonshiki (an ancient, hillbilly afterlife marriage ceremony!!!!!) to wealthy families of the deceased who want their loved ones to live happily "ever after". In true manga fashion, most of the ugly dead are married to well-endowed, beautiful naifs. In order for the marriage to be consecrated, the innocents must be drawn into a marriage image (think wedding photo). This drawing curses them to be haunted, and eventually killed by their undead bethrothed! Of course one of the Scooby gang is drawn into a marriage, and all hell breaks loose!

The book also contains a section called "Disjecta Membra: Sound FX Glossary and notes on Kurosagi V.8 by Toshifumi Yoshida." At first I thought this was some "Manga for beginngers" by Dark Horse, but it actually is pretty funny and informative.

Anyway, let us know if you would like me to ship it (S&H free!) to you. Although I've read it - I don't break bindings. It's pretty much brand new.

FIRST PERSON to email us at
robotsweatshop@gmail.com
gets it. Thanks for reading!

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 21: The Pop Culture Gauntlet

2009-03-30T09:00:00.002-04:00

In this new episode of Robot Sweatshop, Dan and Chris discuss pretty much all things pop culture: music (The Gaslight Anthem, The Killers), video games (OnLive, Street Fighter 4, Pikmin for Wii), TV (Mystery Science Theater 3000, Cinematic Titanic), and comics (Batman: Battle for the Cowl). If it's nerdy and niche, we talk about it here!

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No More Consoles?

2009-03-26T12:43:00.003-04:00

Recently unveiled at the Game Developers Conference, OnLive may actually have what it takes to end the console war forever behind a unified games delivery system. What exactly is OnLive? According to Newsarama:

First, the basics of OnLive have been laid out this week at the Game Developer’s Conference, and it initially looks like a too-good-to-be-true model. The service works either through your computer or your TV. If you’re on your computer (Mac OSX, Windows XP, Vista), you’ll simply download a very small client browser plugin, use a mouse/keyboard, generic USB controller, or their proprietary wireless controllers (which look suspiciously like Xbox 360 controllers), and access any game from the OnLive library through the client. No advanced graphics card is needed, very little ram and processing speed is used on your own computer. All the heavy lifting is done through cloud computing on OnLive’s server farm.

That means if you have a MacBook, a high end Alienware desktop, or a $200 Dell, you can play the latest games in all their glory. This possibility is especially enticing to oft-plagued Mac gamers, who will be able to play new releases day-and-date with their PC counterparts.

The TV option requires OnLive’s “MicroConsole”, slightly larger than a USB hub, which then plugs into your TV via HDMI. It can also take keyboard, mouse, and generic USB controllers (two wired), or support four wireless controllers and wireless headsets simultaneously. Plug in to your router via the Ethernet port, and the same simple grid interface you access on your computer can be brought up on your TV.

So that’s it, with a downloaded plugin, or a device easy to plug in, you have access to any of the games on OnLive’s service. There’s nothing else to download or install, as the games run entirely on OnLive’s servers, and even in the current internal beta, games like HAWX and Prince of Persia (the December, 2008 release) are taking less than ten seconds to launch.

I'm amazed to say it, but this might actually work. Ease of use, low price, and games are all integral to success in the videogames industry, and OnLive has them all. My guess is that Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have to be worried about this. It just makes too much sense.

Okay, This Looks Amazing: "Punch Out" Wii Trailer

2009-03-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Punch-Out 'GDC 2009' trailer

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 20: The Stephen Zisner Interview

2009-03-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

In this episode of Robot Sweatshop, Dan interviews famous comics blogger Stephen Zisner about his blog, reviewing comics, and the brilliance of Uncanny X-Men #282.

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Revenge Movies A-Go-Go!

2009-03-19T14:39:00.008-04:00

With the unfortunate Last House On The Left remake hitting theaters like a flu it's given me time to pause and ponder about my favorite revenge movies that have fostered my own insatiable bloodlust and seething need for justice. Some you might recognize as classics but there a few down there that fly off the average Amazon listmaker's radar. Enjoy and watch your back.

Death Wish - In the flagship installment of justice-dealing Paul Kersey, Bronson birthed the term "bronsoning," which meant to punish mercilessly, and then say some 1-3 words. NYC crime-weary audiences cheered for Bronson wiping out goon after goon, and then art imitated life when nerd-turned-vigilante Bernie Goetz shot four men allegedly in self-defense, leaving one paraplegic. Bronson himself had to tell audiences not to take the law into their own hands. Too bad I didn't hear him! (sawing off shotgun)...

The Vengeance Trilogy: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - On the RS podcast I claimed Oldboy had some of the best first 40 minutes of a movie I had ever seen, and I still stand by it. Upon seeing Oldboy I had to chew gum not to crack a molar. SMV and SLV are terrific in their own rite but Oldboy truly distills the essence of vengeance as one person versus the world, less a human and more an unstoppable force, that is, until the end of the film, when there's more twists than a barrel of pretzels.

Dead Man's Shoes - Directed by Shaun Meadows (also director of the flawless This Is England), this film made a surprising entry into the revenge canon. Paddy Considine gives a ridiculously convincing performance as ex-soldier Richard who returns to his sleepy town to unflinchingly reprimand the baddies who tormented his mentally disabled brother Anthony. What ensues is a gripping slow-boiling quest for merciless revenge - easily one of my favorite flavors of revenge (right next to fire and brimstone from above).

I Spit On Your Grave - This movie is just so hard to watch that I have to recommend it just as a reference point. There's just something so terrible about this film, the use of rape, the subsequent murders of said rapists. Sure, it's bad 70s grindhouse b-movie schlock at its worst, but still, it's like watching 45 car accidents for 90 minutes (and the cars were driven by awful, awful people). And while we're at it, let's throw Ms. 45 and Thriller - A Cruel Picture in here - it's the same stuff, equally grimy and just not fun to watch with people you care about. Play Super Mario Bros. 2 instead.

Clifford - Now I have seen my share of creepy revenge movies, and there's just something so much more sinister about Martin Short playing a ten-year-old in the first place that shoots it right up the list. While the crime "perpetrated" against this little bastard is small: his architect uncle, expertly played by Charles Grodin, can't take him to Dinosaur World (which he designed) because he has to redesign the LA metro system (a clever ploy by boss Dabney Coleman to get closer to Grodin's li'l lady Mary Steenburgen), nothing downplays the eeriness of Martin Short pretending to be a child. In fact, the combination of shapes created by Martin Short's body will cause bats to fly into your house and crash into your television. Just imagine giving Martin Short a gun in this movie and you'd have the creepiest revenge movie ever made. I'd like to think there's a final scene in the director's cut with Martin Short emerging from a crypt, his mouth covered in blood, saying "more flesh..." I have a lot to say about Clifford. It truly is for lovers.

Once Upon A Time In The West - Westerns make for awesome revenge movies. I think because everyone carried a gun back then and all it took for a bloody firefight was an extra ace on the table, a hat not tipped to a lady, a table flipped over, or someone's horse groped. OUATITW is no exception: Henry Fonda plays a black-hatted bad guy for a change (western law: black hat = bad man), and Charles Bronson makes another appearance on this list as the man of few words Harmonica (such a better name than Slide-Whistle). Sergio Leone must have been paid by the squib because he cooked up a sanguinary six-gun stew with thirty sides of buckshot and boy, am I famished. This movie delivers on all fronts: Perfect casting, a great story, and some of the best western devices ever used. Also great: Hang 'Em High, The Searchers, Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia. What say you, Bobby Internet?

Revenge Of The Nerds - Clap your hands everybody, and everybody clap your hands. We're Lambda Lambda Lambda and Omega Mu. We come here on stage tonight to do our show for you. We got a rockin' rhythm and a hi-tech sound that'll make you move your body down to the ground. We got Poindexter on the violin, and Lewis and Gilbert will be joining in. We got Booger Presley on the mean guitar and a rap by little ol' me Lamar. We got Takashi beating on his gong, the boys and the Mu's are clapping along. And just when you thought, ya seen it all, along comes a Lambda four foot tall. So Wormser come on out here on the floor, so we can move our bodies, like never before. Break!

The Limey: Terrence Stamp dishing out swift Cockney justice? Luis Guzmán as the sidekick? Shit yeah. This Steven Soderbergh-directed revenge pic goes down smooth at a mere 89 minutes but it packs a wallop. It's a retribution amusement park ride where every five minutes you're asking yourself something like "Did Terrence Stamp just throw some jerk off a roof?" and "Did Terrence Stamp just ice three dudes in a warehouse?" The answer to both questions: a resounding and gratifying "yes."

And of course there's the popular others: Sleepers, Count of Monte Cristo, Carrie, Kill Bill I & II, Mad Max and Payback (starring everyone's favorite anti-Semite/weirdo Mel Gibson, and as much as I'd love to leave him off the list for already being on another list of mine (Top 10 Biggest Jerkoffs), someone will inevitably ask why these films were left off the list), and The FIRST Punisher (that's right I'll stake my film cred on it right now, lose it, and get me some of that bailout money!)

And a bonus! Roger Ebert's 1994 Review of Clifford-

Clifford (1994) - Siskel & Ebert's Review
Uploaded by joecool85

Show O' The Eve... Naughty By Nature (NXN) In Brooklyn

2009-03-18T14:37:00.006-04:00

While there are few songs from the early '90... meh, eff this- there are ONLY songs from the early 90s I like, and everything else is fodder for car commercials. So in between my rambunctious vocal stylings of Technotronic, CeCe Peniston, and Snap I sometimes like to give the one-man-party a thick delicious coat of Naughty By Nature - maybe O.P.P., maybe Ghetto Bastard, maybe Feel Me Flow, maybe even a little Uptown Anthem for good measure. Sure, it could be raining pretty hard, you're late for work, and you're sandwiched on the B67 bus next to an elderly woman playing Handheld Tiger Electronic Football and a guy that smells like a hot dog wearing a dogshit wedding dress, but Naughty By Nature is sure to liven up the morning spirits. Moreover Naughty By Nature is one of the only hip-hop acts that achieved massive mainstream success without defaulting on their street-cred. Also, these guys trumped Sid Vicious by wearing an even bigger lock around their necks- no luggage lock for these East Orange MCs, but a masterlock, the kind you'd lock your toolshed with so meth addicts wouldn't steal your belt sander.

They're playing at Southpaw in Brooklyn and it's a Women-In-Prison benefit though it probably will have very little to do with the movie Canned Heat. Have fun anyway!

NAUGHTY BY NATURE
DJ's D-NICE and CASSIDY
18+
$25
8 pm doors/9 pm show
A WOMAN'S WORK- BENEFIT SHOW FOR WOMEN'S PRISON ASSOCIATION

First Images from "The Goon" Animated Movie

2009-03-18T12:44:00.003-04:00

Geeks of Doom has posted pics from the upcoming Goon animated movie, a.k.a. The Best Movie of All Time. It looks as if they're staying very true to the comic and Eric Powell's art. Man, these whet my appetite something fierce:

Marvel.com Interview with Tom DeFalco

2009-03-17T17:17:00.003-04:00

In shameless-self-plugging department, I recently interviewed the great Tom DeFalco, creator of Spider-Girl and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, for Marvel.com. Check it out here!

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 19: Street Fighter 4, Green Lantern, and Chris Has a Meltdown

2009-03-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

In this episode of Robot Sweatshop, join Dan and Chris as they discuss Street Fighter 4, Green Lantern comics, All Star Superman and Batman RIP.

But be sure to stick around until the very end. (See the title of this episode.)

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Robot Sweatshop - Episode 18: The Barry Ludtnik Interview

2009-03-13T09:00:00.004-04:00

In this special Friday edition of Robot Sweatshop, Dan gives a one-on-one interview with forgotten comics legend Barry Ludtnik. Ludtnik tells the story behind the creation of some of his better known characters, his pitch for Superman, his time with other comic greats, including Will Eisner, Stan Lee, and more.

Be sure to tune back in Monday for yet another new episode. ROBOT SWEATSHOP IS BACK!

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Grant Morrison on "Batman and Robin"

2009-03-12T12:38:00.002-04:00

In an update to yesterday's story, it has indeed been confirmed that Grant Morrison is writing the upcoming Batman and Robin, with long-time collaborator Frank Quitely handling the pencils. IGN caught up with Morrison and picked up some details on the story, including the fact that this Batman is not Bruce Wayne, and this Robin is not Time Drake. My guess: Dick Grayson is Batman, and brat-child Damien is Robin. Anyways:

IGN Comics: The most obvious question is perhaps the most routine – what can you tell us about your plans for the new Batman & Robin series? How would you describe the tone and feel of the book compared to your previous Batman arcs like "Batman & Son" or "R.I.P"?

Grant Morrison: 'Batman and Robin', which opens with the 3-part 'Batman Reborn' arc, is maybe more poppy, and more colourful, but it's also creepier. It's like David Lynch doing the Batman TV show. The story arcs are 4 short 3-part 'events', which combine to tell a longer, 12 part mystery.

IGN Comics: With the June relaunch of the Batman franchise comes a new Batman and a new Robin. DC will kill us for revealing their identities, but can you describe, as much as you can, the new relationship/chemistry between this Batman and Robin and how it would relate to previous Dynamic Duos?

Morrison: It's much more…contentious. This is a very different Batman and Robin team from any that we've seen before. It's almost a reverse of the traditional dynamic, with a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin. Expect fireworks and violence.

IGN Comics: We've chatted at length with you in the past about your plans for Batman and how you view your work on the series as a long novel. Despite this being a new series, do you view this as a direct continuation of the previous work or would you consider this the beginning of a new novel?

Morrison: This is the next book in what will be a 5-volume series beginning 'Batman & Son' but it can be read on its own too. 'Batman and Robin' welcomes new readers!

IGN Comics: Do you consider Batman & Robin, despite featuring new people under the mask, yet another lens on the life of Bruce Wayne?

Morrison: No, this isn't about Bruce Wayne at all, except in as much as it deals with his absence.

"The Expendables... WHAT?"

2009-03-11T17:03:00.009-04:00

My eyes popped out of my head today (sorry for the photo error, teh internets be damned).

1) Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker, and The Stath IN ONE MOVIE?
2) How have you Rourke lovers (Dan, Mike) not said anything yet?
3) Plot on imdb: A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.
4) ARNOLD is back!!!!!!!!!!!

From Empire's website:

"It is now official. With a cast including Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker and The Stath, Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables was sure to be one of the best action films ever made. But now, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed on to join the testosterone party, which seals the deal - that this will be the biggest and best movie to hit our screens in 2010.

Lest we forget that the ubiquitous mustachioed one, Danny Trejo is also rumoured to have signed on, no doubt as one of the South American drug cartel the band of mercenaries are sent in to quash. But Sir Ben Kingsley has apparently dropped out as their CIA contact - due to a feeling of comparative physical weediness perhaps? - with The Dark Knight's Eric Roberts taking his place.

The shoot will only take Governor Arnie away from his duties for one day, and he will of course be playing himself, so the political world can rest assured that their action hero won't be wandering too far into the undergrowth.
And that means we are now missing just three more names from our action hero tick list of fame. So, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal - get hold of Sly's number and join the gang. The Expendables needs you!"

Sister Anne - Free Show in NYC - March 13, 2009

2009-03-11T16:11:00.008-04:00

So many moons ago I went to see those lovable ne'er-do-wells The Dwarves in Brooklyn, New York City, whose songs like "I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend,"Fuck You Up and Get High," "Everybody's Girl," and "Gash Wagon" have entertained the seamier side of society for years. The surprising opener happened to be Sister Anne, a highly energetic female-fronted soul/punk/old-school R&B/rock outfit from Brooklyn, New York. Now maybe it was the prevalent Detroit sound soaking up the walls with steamy sassy rock 'n' roll goodness, or maybe it was their name paying homage to Detroit punk grandfathers The MC5, but the only word to describe this band (which has two bassists (hey, remember Ned's Atomic Dustbin?)) is "hi-octane." Seriously, vocalist Kitana evoked the spirit of Tina Turner but when she materialized she spit in my face, stomped my already broken foot with a stiletto heel, and then checked herself in the nearest mirror making sure her tri-hawk was untouched. Now maybe it's because I'll sign anything after one gin and tonic, but I somehow ended up on the band's mailing and list and lucky for me/bully for you, I was informed by electropost that the band is playing for free this Friday in Manhattan (a.k.a. where Ghostbusters was filmed). Moreover, there's an open bar from 9-10pm so don't be surprised if you end up on thirty mailing lists like yours truly.

A link to show...
A link to the band...

Dreams Do Come True: Frank Quitely on "Batman and Robin"

2009-03-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Batman and Robin, one of DC's new titles in the upcoming all-things-Batman relaunch, officially has an artist: the amazing Frank Quitely. And while it's not confirmed, it looks like his longtime collaborator and Robot Sweatshop favorite Gran Morrison will be writing. So says Newsarama:

In this week's Action Comics #875, early copies of which have already reached some reviewers, there are a couple of interesting revelations. First, the true identities of Nightwing and Flamebird are made clear, and there will be plenty of talk about that revelation to be sure, but on the last page of the issue, on the "DC Nation" page, the piece of art at right is shown. The art has since been identified as a page from issue #1 of a new title - Batman & Robin.

Clearly, the picture is by Frank Quitely and clearly, it shows Batman and Robin.

Dan DiDio's comments at the bottom of the image say, "We interrupt this week's DC Nation page to showcase some very special art for a very special new comic series....And for the title and the team, as we like to say in every DC Nation page...to be continued."

Rumors have been floating for a while that Frank Quitely, along with Grant Morrison will be returning to Batman in the coming months, with Morrison himself telling Newsarama that he would be returning to the character "in June," and DiDio saying that another Morrison/Quitely pairing would be a very nice thing to see, indeed.

And now, DC has announced that Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely will team on Batman & Robin, a new seres starting in June. As DiDio said...to be continued.

Quitely and Morrison last worked together on All Star Superman, which everyone on this planet should own. Having them together again could be something very special.

New Comic from Famed Punk Musician Johnny X

2009-03-10T10:48:00.003-04:00

It's not too often I can actually recommend a comic book that Danny hasn't heard of, so it is with humble pride that I TOTALLY TRUMP HIM by recommending the new series from punk hero/NJ statesman Johnny X, "The Life and Times of Savior 28." Johnny X is best known for his work in bands like Zero Zero, Sticks & Stones (a personal favorite - and former band of The World/Inferno Friendship Society's frontman Jack Terricloth) as well as his place in the lexicon of NJ punk heroes The Bouncing Souls (The Souls have a record called "The Johnny X Record"). Also he designed much of the band's artwork.

But on the printed page (and electronic page), Johnny X becomes not-so-mild-mannered Mike Cavalarro, the writer and artist behind the darkly whimisical 66kmph which expertly combines the major tenets of great comicdom: aliens, superpowers, punk rock, and New Jersey. He is also responsible for the bold two-part series "Parade with Fireworks," about 1920s war-torn Italy.

Samples of Mike's work are available for free online at ComicSpace but nothing beats buying it in print. The newest comic from Cavalarro is called "The Life and Times of Savior 28." Check out more here:

He is the first, and greatest, super hero: an American legend. But when tragedy forces Savior 28 to question the beliefs that have guided him for sixty years, his life unravels and his nation turns against him. By J.M.DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro.

St. Marks Comics in NYC is sure to have it so pick it up in print. Let your grandkids suffer in an all electronic megaworld, enjoy ink and paper before the government makes it illegal.

IGN: Wii's "MadWorld" is 'Outstanding'

2009-03-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

Wii owners rejoice!

It looks like Nintendo's system is finally starting to get its share of must-have 3rd party games, and it's Sega, of all companies, that's leading the pack. First came last month's House of the Dead: Overkill, a lightgun shooter with a clever grindhouse movie presentation and solid gameplay; now comes the ultra-violent, Sin City-looking MadWorld.

IGN has just released its review of the innovative title, giving it a 9.0, and it sounds as if the hype surrounding MadWorld has been warranted:

I realize that not everybody will find MadWorld's unique visual and aural presentation appealing, but to me, the game is an instant collector's item and a Wii showpiece, not just for its amazing style, but for its label-busting content. Anybody who says Nintendo's console is just for kids will see things very differently after a few chainsaw- induced mutilations. More importantly, though, MadWorld does not place emphasis on style over gameplay, so there's plenty of fun, smart mechanics to back up the overwhelmingly slick look and sound of the title. You'll be floored by some of the scenarios that await you in the fast-moving beat-'em-up, surprised by the unexpectedly well-made storyline, and simultaneously grossed out and cracked up by all of the completely over-the-top gore. Even with some camera issues, some repetition, and a decidedly short single-player mode (if you play it on normal difficulty), SEGA and Platinum Games have still created Wii's first truly excellent game of the year.

I'm begging you, buy this game so that we'll see more like it.

No need to beg. I will be buying this! The good guys won.

And check out IGN's video review here. The game looks amazing.

Robot Sweatshop - Episode 17: Watching the Watchmen

2009-03-09T08:00:00.006-04:00

Dan, Chris and special guest Jen sit down for a discussion on Watchmen, the film and the comic, minutes after seeing the movie for the first time. Dan has read the comic twice; Chris finished reading it literally just before seeing the film; and Jen has never seen or read even a panel of it.

Three points of view. But are there three different verdicts on the film? Listen and find out.

Download this episode

Discuss this episode

Subscribe at iTunes

Anime voice talent release punk covers CD

2009-03-06T16:37:00.004-05:00

Woah! Totally insane. I gotta check this out...

Okay. Just watched it. Now what part of my Mikeness thought this would actually be something listenable and not part of some weird manga nightmare induced by taking too much of some bizarre future drug that is actually made up of tiny dissolvable microchips that also give me the ability to bite through steel and destroy crowded nightclubs with my bare hands? Wattie from Exploited must be turning in his grave. Oh wait, he's not dead yet?

Here's the track listing:

01 "Sex and Violence" Halko Momoi The Exploited
02 "Basket Case" Haruna Ikezawa Green Day
03 "White Riot" Kaori Shimizu The Clash
04 "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" Mai Kadowaki The Offspring
05 "Anarchy In The UK" Rie Tanaka SEX PISTOLS
06 "London's Burning" Yuko Goto The Clash
07 "Call Me" Halko Momoi Blondie
08 "God Save The Queen" Haruna Ikezawa SEX PISTOLS
09 "Blitzkrieg Bop" Kaori Shimizu Ramones
10 "Search and Destroy" Mai Kadowaki Iggy & The Stooges
11 "Ruby Soho" Rie Tanaka Rancid
12 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Yuko Goto Nirvana

Awesome Alert: Customized Mighty Mugg X-Force Wolverine

2009-03-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

While doing stupid internet searches to prolong the moment I had to go to sleep and thus get up for work, I found this: an awesome custom Marvel Mighty Mugg of Wolverine in his very cool X-Force costume. I would buy this in a second if it was actually produced. Nice job on the costume paint and a tasteful use of splattered blood.

The site, seemingly maintained by the mysterious RALPH, features some other pretty cool customs, including Kratos from God of War, Raphael from TMNT, and tons more. If only I was marginally creative!

Pre-Watching Watchmen Thoughts & Info

2009-03-06T11:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight, a couple of us here at Robot Sweatshop will be going to check out this new flick everyone's been yammering about. What's it called? Oh yeah. "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience." And we're PSYCHED.

No, wait. That's not it. It's called Watchmen. And now, a couple of things:

1) Check back on Monday for a brand new WATCHMEN SPECIAL podcast, featuring our thoughts on the graphic novel and the movie. (And probably some other junk.)

2) As for the graphic novel, I will say this before going in: I think it's brilliant, but I'm not precious about it like some fans (which I can understand). I was excited for Watchmen to be made AT ALL, and I really don't care if certain things get left out, changed a bit, or whatever. If it's a good movie and is a faithful adaptation -- and that's the key word, adaptation -- then I'll probably be happy. I'm not looking to see the graphic novel magically transformed into moving pictures. Just a solid movie made from some brilliant source material.

3) If you're tall -- and by that I mean taller than me -- please don't sit in front of me in the theater.

The Mii Lebowski

2009-03-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone. (Thanks to Robot Sweatshop Superfan Mick for the link!)

This Will Be Horrible #2: Kevin Smith's "Batman" Miniseries

2009-03-05T14:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, maybe this technically shouldn't count as a "This Will Be Horrible" inductee since, well, it's already over. But forget that.

Kevin Smith's series, Batman: Cacophony, is something I passed on as soon as I picked it up and saw his name on the cover. The reason: everything Kevin Smith does is terrible (since Chasing Amy, anyways). (Jersey Girl and Clerks 2 take special honors as two of the worst movies I've ever paid to see.) But now I've decided that I WILL read it, and it WILL be horrible, because IGN's eviscerating review is tantalizing:

Smith's script hinges on a number of exceedingly stupid ideas, the chief of which being the notion that any number of medications could make the Joker rational for any amount of time. Accepting this impossible to swallow plot device is fairly critical to accepting the ridiculous conversation that acts as this story's conclusion, which is obviously a problem. More problematic is the fact that every emotional and intellectual beat that Smith attempts - and for the most part, fails - to hit is a dumbed down version of questions asked far more effectively in works like The Dark Knight and The Killing Joke, among many others.

But as stupid as this story may be, its complete lack of logic isn't even its biggest flaw. That honor would go to Smith's handling of the Joker, which is by far the single most painful take on the character I've ever encountered. Seriously. Ever. Every last word that comes out of the Joker's mouth in this issue made me cringe, and I can't ever remember wanting this particular character to disappear from a comic more. For a comedy writer who has made a career writing dysfunctional characters, Smith's complete inability to write an effective Joker is rather baffling. Nearly everything about his Joker is wrong, from the way he acts to the painfully unfunny dialogue he spouts to the way he looks.

But I'm curious...anyone out there read this heap 'a trash? What'd you think? Going further, does anyone out there actually still like Kevin Smith?

Excite Truck Sequel is Coming; Nintendo Nerds Rejoice

2009-03-05T12:00:00.003-05:00

One of the best games at launch for the Wii was the crazy fun Excite Truck. Featuring tons of vehicles, great motion controls (you steer by tilting the Wiimote), and a really fun and rewarding tricks system, it's actually one of the more memorable racing games of the last few years.

While game sales were apparently disappointing and Nintendo had been mum on the possibilities of a sequel, it looks like one is coming: Excitebots: Trick Racing.

I have no idea what an Excitebot is, but as the Excite series has quietly become a solid home for frenetic arcade racing -- including the original Excitebike, Excitebike 64, and the aforementioned Excite Truck -- this is definitely something to be EXCITED about. (Funny? No? Hehe...sorry.)

Late to the Party Review: "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

2009-03-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

When the first Hellboy film came out, I was kind of surprised at how much acclaim it received. Everyone seemed to love it, but I was very "meh" about the whole thing. I thought Hellboy himself was kind of a snooze; Ron Perlman's zero-energy delivery was bo-ring, and with his cliched cigar chomping, beer guzzling and heart-of-gold, Hellboy just seemed like a Wolverine-lite. Plus, I thought the main human character -- the young agent assigned to watch HB, whatever his name was -- actually had negative charisma, if that's possible. Added to that was the weird humor that wasn't funny, boring villains, and a predictable story. Sorry, but I just didn't like that movie.

So, it goes without saying that I am shocked at how much I enjoyed Hellboy II: The Golden Army. This film seemed to correct all the wrongs of its predecessor: the annoying dude from the first movie is gone; Hellboy is actually kind of interesting; the villains are awesome and you even feel for them; the effects are fantastic; the humor works. The blend of the real-world with the fantastic -- trolls under the Brooklyn Bridge, fighting a monster in Manhattan -- made this a bit more fun than most superhero films. And there is a real feeling that every one of the main characters could die. Hellboy II raises the stakes, and just about everything else, over its predecessor. A really fun, weird and overall excellent film.

Now the real debate: was it better than The Dark Knight?

RS Grade: A

Own the Holy Grail of Movie Memorabilia: Clifford's Suit

2009-03-04T09:00:00.005-05:00

For those people who've seen it, they know of its brilliance. For those who haven't, they have a nagging sense that their lives are missing something. I'm talking, of course, about the Martin Short comedy, Clifford.

The premise: Martin Short plays a 10-year-old boy and drives his uncle, Charles Grodin, crazy. That is all you really need to know. The result is movie magic.

While checking ebay for a DVD copy (I suddenly realized that I NEEDED to own this, after not having seen it in about 14 years), I found something even better: the actual suit -- complete with shoes, shorts, jacket and shirt -- worn by Martin Short in the film. Here's the item description from the ALL-CAPS-WRITING seller:

THIS ITEM FOR AUCTION IS THE ORIGINAL OUTFIT WORN BY MARTIN SHORT IN THE MOVIE "CLIFFORD". THE OUTFIT WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED FROM HOLLYWOOD RANSOM AUCTION FROM PROFILES IN HISTORY AUCTION HOUSE AND STILL HAS ALL THE ORIGINAL TAGS. THIS IS A VERY RARE PIECE OF HOLLYWOOD MEMORIBILIA THAT WOULD BE A GREAT ADDITION TO ANY COLLECTION. VERY RARE TO FIND A COMPLETE COSTUME SUCH AS THIS. IT WILL ALSO COME WITH THE R+R COA WHICH READS-MARTIN SHORT COMPLETE COSTUME FOR HIS ROLE IN THE TITLE CHARACTER IN THE 1991 MOVIE CLIFFORD. THE OUTFIT CONSISTS OF A CUSTOM-MAD RED WOOL JACKET WITH GOLD PIPING; GRAY WOOL SHORTS; A WHITE COTTON SHIRT; A GRAY WOOL BOW TIE; WHITE COTTON SOCKS; TWO PAID OF RED SOCKS; AND BLACK PATENT LEATHER SHOES. THE PANTS HAVE A CENTER THEATRE GROUP LABEL HANDWRITTEN "MARTIN SHORT" AND A COSTUMER'S TAG ATTACHED WHICH READS "MARTIN SHORT AS CLIFFRD CHANGE #6." ACCOMPANIED BY A PHOTO OF SHORT WEARING THE COSTUME. IN VERY FINE CONDITION, WITH NORMAN WEAR. PLEASE SEE PICTURES OF THE ITEM BELOW. SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM IS $18. THANKS AND PLEASE CHEC OUT MY OTHER ITEMS FOR AUCTION!

And here's the suit, in all its weird glory:

This is definitely up there in my Reasons I Love The Internet list.

Green Lantern Animated Movie Coming to DVD; I Am Happy

2009-03-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Methinks that Marvel and DC might be onto something with this newfangled adult-oriented direct-to-DVD animated movie initiative they've both adopted. Marvel just released the pretty badass Hulk Vs. disc, DC has already churned out the surprisingly violent and exciting Superman: Doomsday, and now Green Lantern: First Flight is on its way.

While I think the Sinestro Corp. War (review coming soon!) saga would make an amazing animated feature, I'm all for DC continuing to push Hal Jordan as one of their biggest icons. (He is a personal favorite of mine.) First Flight will essentially be a Hal Jordan origin story, rated PG-13, and hopefully feature a very creepy Sinestro. But who knows. Here is the official press release, courtesy CBR:

Official Press Release

The fabric of intergalactic justice is threatened – until Hal Jordan arrives for his initial mission – in the animated Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the illuminated hero’s first-ever full-length animated film is set for release by Warner Home Video on July 28, 2009. Green Lantern: First Flight will be available as a special edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $29.98 (SRP) and $34.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). Order due date for all versions is June 23, 2009.

Acclaimed actor Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) fills the lead voice of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. Meloni is joined by fellow Emmy Award nominee Victor Garber (Milk, Titanic) as the villainous Sinestro, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as the voice of Boodikka, and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) as Kilowog.

Produced by animation legend Bruce Timm, Green Lantern: First Flight is helmed by heralded director Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Superman Doomsday) and scripted by four-time Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Burnett (The Batman).

Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

Green Lantern: First Flight - 2 Disc Special Edition versions will include incredible bonus features such as:

Over three hours of extra content
Two Featurettes
Digital Copy Download
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Two Episodes of Justice League hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm

Green Lantern: First Flight Blu-Ray versions will include all the great extras as the 2-disc

Special Edition as well as an additional two episodes of Justice League picked by Bruce Timm.

“Warner Premiere along with our partners at DC and Warner Home Video has enjoyed great success with the DC Universe titles, and we’re proud to present this first feature-length animated Green Lantern film,” said Diane Nelson, President, Warner Premiere. “‘First Flight’ is a compelling story and a great vehicle to tell this iconic character’s story to both new and longtime fans.”

“In all of his incarnations, Green Lantern has stood as a fan favorite, and Warner Home Video is excited to provide fans with the character’s first full-length animated adventure,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Sports Marketing. “Green Lantern was the perfect hero to follow movies featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the entire Justice League.”

“Warner Bros. Animation is known for creating outstanding animated properties and has a legacy built upon some of the greatest characters ever imagined,” said Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth, who also oversees television animation for the Studio. “Producer Bruce Timm and his creative team continue that rich tradition with this terrific DVD feature.”

“As one of the true core DC Super Heroes, Green Lantern has captured the imagination of pop culture enthusiasts with his illuminatingly human approach to justice throughout the universe,” said Gregory Noveck, Senior VP Creative Affairs, DC Comics. “Alan Burnett’s script captures the essence of DC’s canon of Green Lantern tales, and provides a fine launching point for future stories with this character.”

Apart from this animated release, Warner Bros. Pictures is currently in pre-production on a new “Green Lantern” theatrical motion picture, to be directed by Martin Campbell, bringing the popular DC Comics super hero to the big screen for the first time.

Marketing Support

Green Lantern: First Flight Single Disc, 2-Disc Special Edition and Blu-Ray will be extensively marketed with a national TV, online, print, and radio media campaign.

BASICS

Green Lantern: First Flight - Single Disc
Street Date: July 28, 2009
Order Due Date: June 23, 2009
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: Estimated 75 min.
Price: $19.98 SRP / No MAP
UPC: 882929069958

Green Lantern: First Flight – 2 Disc Special Edition
Street Date: July 28, 2009
Order Due Date: June 23, 2009
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtimes: Disc 1 – Estimated 75 min.
Disc 2 – Estimated 180+ minutes
Price: $29.98 SRP / No MAP
UPC: 883929069941

Green Lantern: First Flight – Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def
Street Date: July 28, 2009
Order Due Date: June 23, 2009
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtimes: Disc 1 – Estimated 75 min.
Disc 2 – Estimated 210+ minutes
Price: $34.99 SRP / No MAP
UPC: 883929070633

David Byrne crushes Radio City (at least once)... February 27, 2009

2009-03-03T06:22:00.007-05:00

This is not my beautiful blog.

I had the opportunity to see jack-of-all-trades (but most notably a jack of music) David Byrne. What haven't I heard about this guy? He's a painter, a photographer, and the founder of his own internet radio station and world music label Luaka Bop (and this is the "less interesting" section of his resume). I think we can all agree we know David Byrne best from his days as frontman for the band David Byrne and the Hibyrnians. Wait,that's not right -correction: The Talking Heads. Personally, I remember being mildly creeped out by David Byrne first by his "She's Mad" in which David Byrne is CGI'd and made even more creepy than usual as he's both bashed by a giant hammer and had numerous objects broken upon him and then his big-suited self in Stop Making Sense. Musically, you can't much better than the already critically-acclaimed collaborations with Brian Eno. And I'm a critic... and I acclaim them even more!

Byrne put on a terrific show Friday night and earnestly emphasized "show" as part of the concert: Between the backup dancers, the choreographed dances he participated in himself, the light show, the color scheme, and the ridiculous encores in which both an army of tutu-d kids flooded the stage, only to be followed by a Rockettes-esque tribute dance act (there was one actual Rockette in the line), you really can't get much more for your forty bucks (cheap, right? I was up really high. In fact, if it wasn't for my lightweight spacesuit, I wouldn't have been able to groove at all). Byrne also delved into his Talking Heads catalog as you can see below. And while the crowd made collective eye-contact with one another in approval as he launched into the memorable hits, it was more important to note the recognition that songs like "Once in a Lifetime" were more than appropriate in a year like this.

Unfortunately, my pictures aren't nearly as good as others from the internet so just look at them later on better, richer blogs at your own leisure. Here is some video I took with my Canon PowerShot - while it's a little murky, that hasn't stopped me from showing every single person I've encountered since the show.

Setlist:

Strange Overtones
I Zimbra
One Fine Day
Help Me Somebody
Houses In Motion
My Big Nurse
My Big Hands (Fall Through The Cracks)
Heaven
Poor Boy
Life Is Long
The River
Crosseyed and Painless
Born Under Punches
Once In A Lifetime
Life During Wartime
I Feel My Stuff

Enc. 1
Take Me To The River
The Great Curve

Enc. 2
Air
Burning Down The House

Enc. 3
Everything That Happens

Sort of a Review: Noby Noby Boy

2009-03-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

Describing the concept of Noby Noby Boy for the Playstation 3 is similar to describing what it is like to watch Unicorns making love with Leprechauns video taping. It just isn’t possible until you see it first hand. While I will try my hardest to explain what the hell is going on (at least from my point of view), you will want to plunk the five bucks down and actually play the title in the long run.

Created by Keita Takahashi, creator of the sleeper hit turned big time sellout hit Katamari Damacy, you find yourself in a world with a similar flat polygon style. You take the role of BOY, a four legged creature that seems to be made up of two pink balls. With the front half being controlled with the left analog stick and the rear legs controlled with the right analog stick, you are able to move each half independently to stretch out as far as possible. (picture the old snake cell phone game, but you get bigger just by walking in opposite directions).

Now here is the game: you stretch out as far as possible on the map. Go wild, wrap around objects (be careful not to snap) climb through buildings, weave your way through windows. Your goal is to stretch out, submit your length stretched to SUN who then delivers it GIRL who is stretching in space with the length scores submitted to everyone playing the game on PSN. As girl stretches, she reaches new planets (as of this moment, the MOON was reached in 4 days) which unlock new randomly generated levels to be created with new objects to interact with. Oh and you can also eat the people, plants, random objects you come in contact with and fart them out with the R2 button.

Now keep in mind this is all I have figured out so far. I am still not sure if that is the concept of the game.

What really is going to pull you in or push you as far away from the game is the style. As someone who is sick and tired of photorealistic textures, mutli-arcing storylines, extravagant controls and learning curves, Noby Noby Boy comes as a welcome relief (yet I still play those other games). Simple non textured, colored polygons: check. A lot of crazy stuff going on at once: double check. Twisted soundtrack and effects: triple check. The ability to eat things and then fart them out: we have a winner here. Fans of Katamari’s simple shaded/colored polygons and character designs (me) will feel right at home here. The style is so similar that you may even see some crossovers from the game appear in BOY’s world.

Controls are primarily your two analog sticks for movement and the L2 and R2 buttons for eating, farting, jumping. You can also lift objects but I haven’t figured out how to do it yet. Some pretty slick physics and gameplay techniques are used to allow BOY to interact with just about anything on the screen. The camera is controlled primarily with the L1 and R1 buttons and SIXAXIS controller movements to turn or zoom (and these controls aren’t super sensitive like in other games).

A nice compliment to Noby Noby Boy are all of the PS3 specific features that the game takes advantage of. You already have the aforementioned SIXAXIS controls, but you also have the ability to take in game screenshots (I know for 90% of you that means absolutely nothing to you). Another cool feature is the ability to record in game videos of you doing stuff and save it to your PS3 or upload it directly to YouTube. The videos I have in this review are all taken using the in game recorder. It may not mean much now, but start thinking of the possibilities with this feature in other titles. The sooner it starts getting supported, the better. There are also 12 trophies that are completely unknown for you to unlock. Having the whole game be a collaborative project over PSN is a nice touch as well.

On the Playstation Network, thankfully there is a semi decent range of independent titles to buy. While sometimes it seems that it may not have the quantity of Xbox Live or even Wii Shop (Virtual Console titles are games too), it is nice to see unique, original titles like Noby Noby Boy become exclusives for the network. While it isn’t going to sell systems, it is definitely a nice bonus and at five bucks the game makes a great cheap diversion to Killzone 2 and Street Fighter 4.

Cinematic Titanic Live in Boston

2009-03-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

Our love of all things Mystery Science Theater 3000 on this site is well documented, and that love definitely includes Cinematic Titanic, MST3K creator Joel Hodgson's new B-movie riffing venture. For Cinematic Titanic, Joel gathered several MST3K vets, including Trace Beaulieu (Crow, Dr. Forrester), Frank Conniff (TV's Frank), Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester), and J. Elvis Weinstein (the original Tom Servo). It's been great to have them back, wits as sharp, biting and hilarious as ever.

Cinematic Titanic visited The Somerville Theatre in Boston on February 20th and 21st as part of a live riffing mini-tour; we deemed this Too Awesome To Miss, and made the trek from Brooklyn for the Saturday show. The movie being riffed, as we learned right before it began, was a '70s Kung Fu-sploitation wonder called The Dynamite Brothers. It was racist and nonsensical and features a scene where one dude handcuffed to another manages to somehow take his shirt off. 'Nuff said.

I was curious as to how it would feel to see movie riffing done before an audience -- after all, MST3K and Cinematic Titanic are relatively quiet shows -- and whether or not it would really work.

But I need not have worried; in short, it was hysterical and an overall awesome experience. The theater was packed (I'm guessing it was sold out), and the audience was among the warmest I've ever seen. We were laughing at the riffs and at the movie itself; best of all, we got to meet the whole cast after the show, all of whom were insanely nice and took time to chat, take pictures, and sign autographs. Photo report below -- but in case you were wondering -- Cinematic Titanic live scores an easy A.

The Somerville Theatre marquee. This was a beautiful, old fashioned theater with a very warm look and feel. It was just the type of place we were hoping it would be in our pre-show, overly-excited, geeky discussions.

Inside the lobby a few minutes before showtime. The place was packed.

Comedian David "Gruber" Allen -- you might know him as the guidance counselor from Freaks and Geeks -- warms up the crowd. Dave's not a member of the Cinematic Titanic crew, but has appeared in some episodes, and was awesome.

J. Elvis Weinstein took the stage, armed with a bass, and performed a routine with Dave about a radio station that only plays the catchiest moments of songs for our short-attention span culture. The name of the station? K-ADD, of course!

Next up, Frank Conniff -- who I think is possibly one of the funniest people alive -- greets the crowd.

Joel received the biggest ovation, and even brought with him an invention exchange: a small sampler that only plays "Happy Together," torn out of a Valentine's Day card. When played by one's zipper, it creates a "party in your pants." Genius. The Mads could never top that one!

The lights go down before the Cinematic Titanic crew does what they do best.

At the end of the show, the cast bowed to a standing ovation. But they weren't done! For an encore, they performed "a best of Cinematic Titanic" to clips of the show's funniest moments, with scenes taken from every Cinematic Titanic episode. Even watching them out of context, it was very, very funny.

The line forms, which I'm all but sure included the entire #$@%ing audience, for the post-show meet-and-greet. (It actually moved at a pretty decent clip, and everyone was really friendly.)

The aforementioned line keeps going.

We finally make it to meet-and-greet area, catch a glimpse of the cast...

...and are psyched.

Me and the great Trace Beaulieu. Trace was really, really nice, and took time to actually ask me about my shirt. Are all Minnesotans this cool? (We're not used to things like "eye contact" and "friendly conversation" here in Brooklyn.)

Joel and Frank with a very happy fan. The end!

Faith No More Reunion! Let me dust off my Raiders Starter Jacket and party like it's 1992! (and 1998!)

2009-02-26T14:06:00.005-05:00

So the Internet has written! A European reunion tour is "confirmed" for the summer. So what FNM milestone am I most excited about? Hmm, their collaboration with Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. from the Judgment Night Soundtrack? I don't know, that movie was pretty much dwarfed by however many issues of Spawn I purchased that day. What about "The Perfect Crime" from the Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey OST? Getting closer, but I distinctly remember that Kiss cover of God Gave Rock and Roll To You II being pretty good. Or the Primus song ("Tommy the Cat," right? (and who the hell was just talking to me about Primus? Brain, you're gonna have to start pulling your weight around here or I'm sending up more poppers)). No, the Megadeth song "Go to Hell" with all the children praying. When my grandma took my brother and I to see that in the theater, I think she bypassed the heartfelt relationship between Bill and Ted and appreciated more the friendship-played-musically between lead and rhythm guitarists, Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman, respectively, when she heard the five seconds of the song played in the background of some unimportant scene.

Seriously though, there is no Commodores version of "Easy," only Faith No More's - and this coming from a guy that has actually been to a Lionel Richie concert (not a lie). In fact, some jerk in a car was stopped at a traffic light right outside the Holland Tunnel with his windows down blasting that song, and right before the guitar solo I yelled out, "EWW!"(like in the song) and expected at least a silent nod, some type of acknowledgement. Nothing. And then when I ran up to his car and started drooling in his lap while asking/screaming for money, he barely had the courtesy to give me all the change in his ashtray. I tell ya, this city...

George Michael Rides Again!

2009-02-26T12:18:00.002-05:00

The long-rumored "Arrested Development" flick may actually be a go now, as lone holdout Michael Cera has apparently agreed to reprise his role as George Michael.

This is great news, as "Arrested Devlopment" is really one of the great TV comedies ever, and Cera is an integral part of the show. This could be amazing.

This Will Be Horrible #1: Jimmy Fallon Hosting "Late Night"

2009-02-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

In yet another new feature, This Will Be Horrible, we here at Robot Sweatshop will predict what upcoming movie, album, TV show, or whatever is bound to disappoint and infuriate. To kick things off, we name Jimmy Fallon Hosting "Late Night" as the first inductee into This Will Be Horrible.

Fallon endeared himself to audiences pretty early on in his SNL run. He seemed like some kind of great mix of Adam Sandler and Mike Myers, playing guitar, doing impressions, etc. He quickly wore out his welcome, however, as he reached new levels of annoyingness: laughing incessantly during every sketch in which he appeared, creating obnoxious characters, and finally, leaving SNL to make terrible, terrible movies. And now he's going to replace Conan as host of "Late Night?"

Wait, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he actually created awesome characters. Remember the college dude who taped himself on a webcam? Or the Boston guy who always yelled "Nomaaaaah!" And maybe his movies were actually really good! Y'know, Taxi, Factory Girl, Anything Else. Gems like those. No, wait. I was right the first time. Those were all terrible.

Thus, while there's a chance Fallon may be decent as host of "Late Night," it's probable that he'll continue his streak of awfulness. So join us in proudly predicting that This Will Be Horrible!

(I found this pic by doing a Google image search for "Jimmy Fallon," FYI.)

PSP2 Is Coming, Says David Perry

2009-02-25T18:13:00.002-05:00

In an interview with gaming blog Kotaku, Acclaim's chief creative officer David Perry said that Sony is indeed prepping the PSP2 and it will -- get this -- have no disc drive. That's right -- all games will be delivered digitally.

"I spoke to a developer who is working on it right now," he said. "I know this developer is already working on it, so that means they have a prototype. That would sound like a fall release to me."

Sony has had a pretty hard time with the current PSP: the media format created for the machine, UMD, has all but tanked as movie format with dismal sales; game releases are few and far between; and overall, the system is being obliterated by the lesser powered Nintendo DS.

This'll be interesting to watch. Complete digital delivery will all but eliminate the used game market (good for Sony, bad for retailers), and could move portable gaming closer into the iPod's arena, with the potential for more features. Still, since Sony has managed to screw up just about everything in its games division for about 3 years running now, who knows what will happen.

Spidey Swings on Broadway

2009-02-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

That's right, true believers: Marvel.com is reporting that a Spider-Man musical will hit Broadway in 2010. Now, normally something like this sounds like it would be terrible, but I'm actually kind of excited.

Entitled "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark," the show will open Thursday, February 18, 2010 at Broadway's Hilton Theatre. And it seems to have some decent talent behind it: in the director's chair is "The Lion King"'s Julie Taymor, and original music is being provided by U2, strangely enough. This actually seems like it could be a fun night out.

(And I have to say, I'm kind of proud of the headline I came up with for this post.)

Throw Your Money Down The Internet!

2009-02-23T18:03:00.004-05:00

Sure, why not add another novelty t-shirt to your collection. You've already got the Brian Kuh King Of Kong shirt. You've already got the Disco Still Sucks shirt. You've already got the Macho Clown Eating Hair-Gel On the Moon shirt...

Why not add one more member to the family Wardrobelstein?

Simple Plan...

My Uninformed Oscar-Snub Rant: WALL-E Edition

2009-02-23T12:28:00.005-05:00

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeva." That could be my favorite line from any movie I've seen this year. Of course, it's from Pixar's amazing WALL-E, and it's the only line of dialog we hear from WALL-E himself: a mispronunciation of EVE, the robot who he falls in love with at first sight. Strange that it's so memorable, but then, that's what makes WALL-E so amazing. Like a great song, it has you from the start. WALL-E should have been nominated for Best Picture.

It seems to me that WALL-E was both innovative and traditional in ways that other films this year were not. It combines several genres -- romance, action, sci-fi -- under one roof. But it also features little to no dialog for the first 45 mesmorizing minutes. I don't recall any mainstream movie doing this, let alone a children's film, in recent memory. But not only does it dare to do something as crazy as contain no speech, it actually pulls it off. WALL-E's expressions and movements are all we need to understand him and how lonely he is. It's brilliant.

When things get more traditional and human characters enter the story, the film even goes anti-corporate and conveys an actual ballsy message. How many children's films, or even live action adult films, attempt this?

Anyway, I could write forever about this movie. But I would just encourage anyone who hasn't seen WALL-E to check it out. I can honestly say that I believed in the love between WALL-E and EVE more than most Hollywood romances I've seen. When an animated movie as smart as WALL-E comes along, it shouldn't be confined to the stupid Best Animated Film category; it should be included with the other great films of the year, live action or not.

Call George Romero. Maybe He Can Make Some Money With Bands Of The Dead?

2009-02-20T14:36:00.005-05:00

The next few months are offering a staggering number of bands once thought dead. I guess the recession has hit everyone from the richest business tycoons to... um, The Meatmen. It's true. The Meatmen are just one of the bands reuniting to play shows for kids that could easily be their grandchildren (and there's a good chance they probably are). Throbbing Gristle is also playing their first ever New York performance and their first USA appearance since 1981. I mean, seriously, just do a hard google for frontman/icon Genesis P-Orridge and you'll have enough to think about for a separate blog entry (see, Mike! Robot Sweatshop practically writes itself). And Fear, ah, Fear. Such politically incorrect scoundrels. But check out their "historic" performance on SNL in 1981. John Belushi said he wouldn't do cameos to boost the show's dismal ratings unless Fear was the musical guest. What ensued was a melee, $250k of damages, and a seated audience of mild-mannered B&T folk wondering if they should have told their mom/dad they loved them before leaving the house. You can even see Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Embrace/Fugazi) and John Belushi stagediving. And while it's pretty obvious none of the guys in Fear would help you move apartments, it's pretty fun to see what they got away with (before the producers cut to commercial)...

Oh, and here's those shows I was talking about...

3/27 - Converge - @ Europa, Brooklyn, NY
3/29 - Cro-Mags (jam) feat. John Joseph and Maximum Penalty - @ Europa, Brooklyn, NY
4/16 - Throbbing Gristle @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
4/17 - The Dead Milkmen @ Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
4/19 - The Meatmen @ Europa
5/6 - 5/7 - FEAR @ Europa

via videosift.com

Album Review: Bruce Springsteen - Working On a Dream

2009-02-20T12:45:00.003-05:00

After keeping a fairly low profile in the '90s, Bruce Springsteen has been churning out albums as if he's making up for lost time. His creative resurgence (and first album with The E Street Band since Born in the USA) was kicked off with 2002's The Rising, a strong record, but often a chore to get through, with a bloated running time and tracks that could be just plain boring ("World Apart," "Further On," I'm looking at you). Next came Devil's and Dust, a mostly dark folk album; the excellent We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions; and last year we got Magic, his second album of the decade with The E Street Band, which was perhaps the poppiest album of his career, and featured gems like supremely melodic "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" and the piledriving "Radio Nowhere."

With Working On a Dream, Springsteen has completed what is essentially a trilogy of albums with The E Street Band chronicling the country's mood since 9/11. The Rising documented the saddness, Magic talked about the anger at Bush's bungling of our response to the tragedy, and Working On a Dream chronicles the glimmer of hope we now seem to feel. Interesting, but is Working any good?

The answer is yes, it's definitely good, but it's not the 5-star album Rolling Stone said it was. The songs here are even catchier than anything on Magic (which is not a bad thing -- Springsteen has always been a great pop writer) and it's nice to see him embracing his love of Roy Orbison, the Beach Boys and Phil Spector on tracks like "Queen of the Supermarket." To be sure, there are some excellent vocals on here, and some truly great songs. Lyrically, Springsteen seems like he's on autopilot, but it's hard to care when he's churning out some of the best melodies of his career ("Surprise, Surprise," "Tomorrow Never Knows"). (On the other hand, "Outlaw Pete" may be the worst thing you'll ever hear in your life, with annoying, unfunny lines like, "He robbed a bank in his diapers and his little bare baby feet/
All he said was 'Folks, my name is Outlaw Pete.'" And it lasts for over 8 minutes. Ugh.)

My main problem with the album is Brendan O'brien's suffocating production. What was great about all the E Street albums, up to and including Born in the USA, was the full band sound. On "Born to Run," every instrument is given its own space, exemplifying the warmth of analog, and is one of the most beautiful rock epics ever recorded. But Working is a digital record through and through, with instruments burying each other in a compressed mix. It's unfortunate, but it makes this album sound rushed and bland.

Still, if you can get past the production, it's a solid record. It's hummable, positive, and fun, in ways that Springsteen hasn't been in a long time.

Grade: B

New Peter Bagge Book Out In June!

2009-02-20T10:49:00.005-05:00

Everybody is Stupid Except For Me: And Other Astute Observations: A new collection of Peter Bagge comics will be available June 30th, 2009. Bagge is a contributing editor and cartoonist-reporter (bless his heart for being such a thing) for the politically-minded Reason Magazine. Bagge has been contributing opinion pieces to Reason for years now commenting on topics ranging from gun control ("The Right To Own a Bazooka") to the war in Iraq, poverty, and "The Nerd-ification of America."

I think the first thing I ever said on the Robot Sweatshop podcast was something about Hate, an irreverent thirty-issue series about one young man Buddy Bradley and his comically absurd life in both Seattle and New Jersey. While people say it's the perfect snapshot of the early-1990's Seattle scene (and the grunge scene, or as it's known now "classic rock"), it's also a hilarious and at times harrowing tale of growing up/old.

Bagge's contributions to comics are too lengthy to list here but some of the lesser known but must-read/must-see/must-rub-on-skin books include Apocalypse Nerd and his one-off send-up of Spiderman (note: a similar (and what sounds hysterical) parody of The Incredible Hulk (dubbed "The Incorrigible Hulk") is still in Marvel purgatory).

Lastly, and I can't believe no one talks about this, Bagge also co-developed the four-part webshow The Murry Wilson Show: Rock 'N' Roll Dad with comedian/Simpsons-producer Dana Gould. It's a fictionalized account of Brian Wilson's manipulative and abusive father Murry. Get ready to burn down a grocery store because it's a laugh riot! You can also hear some pretty notable voice talent from Mr. Show alumni Paul F. Tompkins (comedian and host of VH1 Best Week Ever) and Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob SquarePants).

ELO Bassist Kelly Groucutt Dies

2009-02-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

As a big ELO fan, I'm sad to report that ELO bassist and excellent backup vocalist Kelly Groucutt has died via a heart attack. He was 63.

While Groucutt left ELO in 1983 and had a major falling out with band mastermind Jeff Lynne -- he was not invited back to Lynne's brief 2001 reactivation of ELO -- it was Groucutt's harmonies with Lynne that really helped define the ELO sound. Give a listen to all the albums on which Groucutt sang -- starting with 1975's Face the Music, his first with the band, and up to his last, 1981's Time -- and then listen to all the records ELO made without him. He had a pitch perfect sound that meshed amazingly well with Lynne's rich voice, and gave birth to ELO's great high-pitch harmonies. That influence can be heard today in bands everywhere, from The Apples in Stereo to Grandaddy to Supper Furry Animals.

Anyway, he was a great singer and a good bassist (and had an awesome fro!). Check out "Shine a Little Love" in the video below, which features a great bassline and harmonies from Groucutt.

The Watchmen Vs. Reigning Sound - Help One Man Decide

2009-02-19T13:13:00.007-05:00

We can't argue the anticipation for The Watchmen film premiering March 6. I won't lie: Opening night of The Dark Knight (in Long Branch, NJ oddly enough), I was the guy in the theater that yelled "Show it again!" after they showed the Watchmen trailer before the film. Did it get huge laughs? You bet. Did my ladyfriend shrink in her seat as I had just slightly revealed the inner-nerd lurking within? Same answer. But who gives a damn! Not me - (I play life fast and loose). And this is The Watchmen we're talking about. And yes, I see the argument in many people's claims that not every graphic novel needs to be made into a film, however, reading The Watchmen as a younger Mike prompted one of the few times I ever said, "Man, this would make a great movie." And younger Mike knew his shit. So yes, I have March 6 circled with red ink on my hot-girl-leaning-on-hot-rod calendar (lie: calendars are for even bigger nerds).

BUT WAIT! A DILEMMA!

The Reigning Sound is also playing March 6 at Southpaw in sunny Brooklyn, New York the very same day. And man oh savage man are they good. I'm sure the word "garage" gets thrown in their direction but with some 60's pop consciousness that makes me wonder "can I sneak my flask in to this show and invite my mom at the same time?" Vocalist Greg Cartwright's lyrics have a cracklin' fire to it letting listeners know he's doing his darnedest to get rugs cut. So yeah, these Memphis troubadours are worth a trip to the borough where gangs of rappin' pizzas own the streets. The album Time Bomb High School is damn good and the first album I heard from these guys. Does it disappoint? I don't know, did George Washington disappoint America when he crossed the Delaware River to New Jersey? Hell No!

So now you see my dilemma. Sure, The Watchmen will be playing for months and The Reigning Sound are sure to play my neighborhood again. But I'm one of those jerks who loves to see movies opening night. And I sure, I can attend The Watchmen with people who, like me, want this move to rock (note: we're not the type to dress up (much)), but I could attend the Reigning Sound show with like-minded fans and have a beer-soaked good time just the same. Decisions, decisions. What say you, internet? You've never steered me wrong before.

VERSUS

24 Hours with Street Fighter 4

2009-02-18T13:27:00.017-05:00

Picked up the game yesterday at around 5 0'clock from my local Gamestop (yuck), and have not stop playing it since. So does it live up to the hype, you may be wondering? Hadouken, yes it does!

The game delivers everything it promised with the force of an EX-powered dragon punch to the face. Almost everything about it is perfect, excluding long load times and horrible cut scenes -- really not much to complain about here. So, if you own a PS3 or a Xbox 360, you are doing yourself a severe injustice if you don't run out and get this right now. Heck, even if don't own either of those platforms, this game is worth changing that too. Go out, spend money, do your part to help the economy.

I also tried my best to grab a SF4 Tournament Edition fight stick, but waited too long and now they're all sold out. So instead I ordered a Hori Real Arcade Pro fight stick (pictured below), which has been amazing.

This is my first fight stick, and boy, color me impressed. It took a little getting used to, but now I'm flicking "sonic booms" like it's no body's business.

So to wrap it up, the game is simply amazing, the Hori fight stick rocks and it's been a really fun 24 hours.

Oh, and Dan Brooks is never beating me in this game!

Totally Bodacious Confidence-Building Playlist

2009-02-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hey there, shrimp. Tired of getting sand kicked in your face? Tired of ordering those get-big-now products in the back of comic books? Tired of the bully from the beach stealing your mail and using the get-big-now products you ordered only to get bigger and kick more sand in your face on the beach? Well spit out those tiny rock babies (sand). You men and women can empower yourselves cheaply and safely from the confines of your loneliest computer room. All you need is, get this, a thing that plays music, and a way to get music that is recommended to you. I suggest any way that is legal and in some way rewards artisans for their innovative and selfless efforts. Unless that artisan is Kanye West. If that's the case, plunder and pillage like a pirate viking straight outta space-jail.

Here are 10 confidence-building songs perfect to listen to right before:

- entering a job interview
- asking Betty or Lindsay to the Friday's Place dance
- standing before a judge

So get the 'rone (body-builder-types like us call it testosterone) and enjoy a 10 song playlist of music that is sure to make you stupidly punch your computer screen in a fit of confident rage.

1) Motorhead - Ace of Spades - Holy Hell. Motorhead came into my life like one of the apostles coming to a sinful ignorant desert village. Except the apostle was actually the influential 1980s BBC comedy series The Young Ones (I was the village). The Young Ones was a surreal look into what a country of weirdos think is funny - basically bludgeoning each other with blunt objects for 30min or so. Regardless, this show was the closest thing to a variety show I ever watched (in fact, the show's producers claimed to the BBC it was actually a variety show because variety shows were given more money). Motorhead exploded on the screen and this song assaulted and brutally beat my morally pure ears like a musical chaingang. Pretty soon I was selling my comic books for glue and speed and whistling at the girls on the tire playground. Hearing this song now fills me with the same relentless can-do/fuck-shit-up/eat-that-thing attitude only a person with his whole life ahead of him can have... or a 10 year old geek who should be outside on a sunny day playing with other neighborhood kids instead of watching an obscure program from a country that is unfortunately NOT America.

2) Sick Of It All - Step Down - Okay, these NYC hardcore legends might not have the most radio-friendly tunes so don't expect your parish or deacon to dig the vocals of Lou Koller, and what the hell are you doing hanging with those dudes anyway- you should be out partying before this country gets sold. In the rare instance someone actually asks me for an opinion such as what old-school hardcore bands are worth a few ducats, I would probably start with this band, this song. It's more melodic than most of SOIA's catalog but there's still a good old fashioned "breakdown" in the middle that you can listen to on your iPod without getting kicked in the face by some guy named Angelo from Crown Heights (but probably has relatives in Staten Island). I saw these guys at a Warped Tour in '94 or '95 then promptly returned to the comforts of my suburban fortress never to venture out among city-folk again (or regular folk for that matter (I order my kleenex box shoes from creepyshut-in.com))

3) Operation Ivy - Unity - Holy Shit, what the fuck are these guys singing about? Are we really at war?! I heard something about Iraq and Afghanistan but thought that blew over like the Leave-Britney-Alone guy! But these guys are from the 80s?! What the Eff, are these guys like soothsayers or astrologers? How in the world did they know we would be neck deep in the international shenanigans we've cooked up for ourselves. Woah, just checked this shit in google: Turns out there's been like wars for like a long effin' time but this song is still appropriate. They did the punk/ska thing before it was cool and then REALLY uncool and then just there.

4) Fucked Up - Baiting The Public - You know the line in Wayne's World where they talk about The Shitty Beatles and how it's not just a clever band name? How many times do you think I made that joke in reference to this band? If you said a shitload, you are pretty close. It's a shit-ton. Seriously, haters love to hate this band. But you know who else was a hater? Hitler. Do you really want to share anything in common with Hitler? Didn't think so. This song is terrific and at 5:57 you can play it to drown out almost 6 minutes of Rock Of Love 2: Bus Of Love. As for the other 3 seconds, that is entirely up to you. Some may suggest a bullet, but if I had to watch to more than 3 seconds of that show I would dust off my grand pappy's colt and give my noodle-noggin a good ol' fashioned roofdoor.

5) Ink & Dagger - Shadowtalker - What are the fuck are these guys so angry about? Who's in the shadows? What shadows? Where are the shadows? These guys were 1) from Philly and 2) great. Sadly, singer Sean McCabe died in an motel room somewhere in Indiana. They were one of the few punk/HC bands I ever knew about actually playing in make-up. Them and Yuppicide (who were also very good no matter what my mother says). In fact I just watched some performance from 1998 in Germany. These guys looked like a hardcore Addam's Family.

6) Queen - Don't Stop Me Now - That's right. Queen. One simple word. They made it easy for you. Impress your friends by recommending a song by Queen that isn't played at every sporting event every day in every state (or province). Guitarist Brian May actually built his guitar from wooden mantle over his family's fireplace. He and his dad built it together. Further proof that the family that builds guitars together, rocks together. The family that walks together, rocks together is 7 Seconds. I remember buying Live Killers on CD sometime in '91 but I had to play it on my mom's special CD player and only when she was home since I only owned a tape deck from the 70s. Eventually we both realized how annoying that all was for the both of us so she just dubbed it to cassette for me. It was the first CD I ever bought immediately followed by those two Sup-Pop comp CDs (remember, one had those two businessmen in a car on the cover and the other had a cartoon).

7) Ram Jam - Black Betty - I was at a Whitney Biennial and one of the "exhibits" was a video of guys dressed in pope, Santa, and mythological Nordic beast costumes breaking into eastern Europen RVs in small villages (I think it was Romania) and hassling the adults and frightening the children. I mean children were actually crying. I remember one guy in a monster costume roughing up one the kids pretty bad. The kid was crying really hard and it was all being videotaped on a camcorder. Needless to say... it was awesome! Oh, and they were all singing along to this song and drinking vodka for a little bit. A routine google search for this song provided no interesting information, however the video is the most no-frills thing from the 70s I've ever seen.

8) Rapeman - Just Got Paid - I know what you're thinking. Really? What's with this band's name? And how come whenever I hear Steve Albini's name it's always followed by "asshole"? Personally, I got bigger fish to fry. Like this 24 Ib Kingfish caught in Clearwater Florida. Mmm, that's good eating.

9) Oasis - Fuckin' In the Bushes - This song was in that stupid movie Snatch. I know some of you may lose sleep putting Oasis on your iPod but this song is actually pretty decent to lift a weight or two to, and then drop the weight on Liam Gallagher's skull. It's also pretty gratifying to learn on guitar. Watch me rock, dad!

10) Sloan - Keep On Thinkin' - This power pop quartet is the only thing I know from Nova Scotia that doesn't go on a bagel. This song is also the outro to a film I made in college with my uncle, cousin, and closest friend. We had been up for about 72 hours with about 8 hours of collective sleep. And even though anything you played me would have sounded like Jesus/Bach I knew that after the haze cleared this would still be a good album. Nay, great album. And still is. And is and is. Weirdly enought, it only exists on youtube as part of a local cooking show. Seriously though, the whole album Navy Blues is perfect like a platinum-soaked pill of some type of alien ecstasy that only the coolest aliens take when they go clubbing.

CONGRATULATIONS!

11) Electric Light Orchestra - Tightrope - You got the job! Now don't take it too seriously and have a good time. Live fast, die young, leave all debts unpaid, and don't forget to look vampires in the eye when you drive the stake in (lets 'em know who's boss!)

Is Your Wii Dusty? Well, Get That Windex Bottle Ready!

2009-02-18T11:00:00.003-05:00

A general rule of thumb in the video game industry is that the #1 selling system will receive the most attention from software developers. As the Wii is essentially obliterating the PS3 and Xbox 360, it should be home to most major game releases, right? Thus far, not exactly.

A common criticism of the Wii is its lack of not only hardcore games, but quality games. I kind of disagree with the no-quality argument -- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports and Mario Kart Wii are all excellent games -- but there's definitely a paucity of games geared towards the serious player. Yet it really looks like that's changing.

The release schedule in the coming months for the Wii is more impressive than perhaps it has ever been. Sega's House of the Dead: Overkill, a super-violent, profanity-laden lightgun game was just released, and has garnered much praise. MadWorld, another bloody Sega offering, looks insane with its over-the-top kills and Sin City-esque art style. The Conduit will possibly be Wii's first quality first-person shooter, something that could be really fantastic with the Wiimote. And finally, Ghostbusters, which we saw at Comic Con, uses the Wiimote to control your proton pack gun and the nunchuk to throw the trap, seemed like it might be more fun than its PS3 and 360 big brothers.

The moral, Wii faithful? Don't lose hope! Things are looking up for the Wii in the coming months.

New York Comic Con 2009: Photo Report!

2009-02-17T09:00:00.006-05:00

New York Comic Con, a very fun yet maddeningly crowded pop culture gathering, took place at the Javits Center last week, from February 6-8. The show was filled with comic book publishers, video game companies, artists, writers, memorabilia dealers, bad food and fans (many of which were dressed up as their favorite characters, as these are some of the only days of the year that you can dress like a superhero, game character, or whatever and get away with it in public...though I do think I spotted a furry, which is never, ever okay).

We here at Robot Sweatshop made it out to the Con, and brought back these photos as official documentation of the weirdness and fun for future generations. (Unfortunately, my camera is in its twilight years and had trouble focusing in some of the photos below. Sorry 'bout that.) Enjoy!

Oh, New York Comic Con crowds. What are we going to do with you?

This awesome statue of He-Man -- I mean, Faker (he got me!) -- greeted attendees at the show floor entrance.

Here's a view of the crowd from Hobbit Height (i.e. my view).

This is a shot of the convention floor on Friday, the most sane day of the show, where one can actually walk around comfortably.

Snake Eyeseseses!

A bunch of fans pose for a picture with an attendee who dressed up as a Huge Nerd.

Playmates had a great booth set up for the 25th anniversary "Shellabration" of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which included an original, playable arcade cabinet of the great Turtles In Time game.

The aforementioned TMNT booth.

The aforementioned TMNT booth with Chris.

Atari pulled out all the stops in promotion of their upcoming Ghostbusters game, including this awesome Slimer ice sculpture.

Even Ghostbusters had to wait in line to play the game! (Side note: there were a ton of people dressed up as Ghostbusters this year.)

Mattel's "MattyCollector" panel, where they unveiled new Ghostbusters, He-Man, and DC action figures. The two dudes on the left are half of the super-talented Four Horsemen, sculptors of many of Mattel's great action figure lines.

Mattel revealed Hordak -- my favorite He-Man villain -- as the latest entry in their Masters of the Universe Classics line at the MattyCollector panel.

Ghostbuster Ray Stantz as an action figure. I will own this.

Slimer returns. Hopefully Ecto-Cooler Hi-C is not too far behind!

Prototypes of the 6-inch Ghostbusters figures.

We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!

Chris and Caroline frighten the dude in yellow with their enthusiasm for panel discussions.

The new X-Force team in Superhero Squad form. Very cool!

The new line of toys from the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series. These look terrific.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine toys. I'm lukewarm on these.

Now this is dedication. This fan is dressed up in a Wolverine costume designed by Alex Ross, which only appeared once in Wizard Magazine.

Gamers got to try out the new "Ready 2 Rumble" for Wii. Was it fun? I have no idea.

The creators of the excellent indie comics, The Sentinels and Neverminds.

Green Lantern (John Stewart) -- complete with green contacts! -- and me, Super PizzaBagel.

This photo was a victim of my camera's blurriness, but I had to include it here. This girl really looked like Chun Li (of "Street Fighter") come to life.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird. Kneel before Laird!

Longtime TMNT artist Jim Lawson draws for a fan.

Club Namco was one of my favorite dealers at the show. All retro Pac-Man stuff -- how could you go wrong?

Wonder Woman poses for the camera.

I have the power. The end!

Podcast Episode 16.5 - New York Comic Con & Other Junk

2009-02-16T09:00:00.002-05:00

Surprise! And Happy Presidents Day!

We're (Dan & Chris) back with a quick mini-podcast, featuring our thoughts on the New York Comic Con, a.k.a. The Time of Year When a #$%load of Nerds Overcrowd the $&#@ing Javits Center, as well as discussions on some other geek-themed stuff. Enjoy, and leave us some comments if you really want to be our friends.

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