Thought the upcoming animated Star Wars flick was just a relatively minor Lucasfilm effort meant for die-hards and to spark interest in an animated TV series? Because it sure looks like it. But think again! This puppy’s getting the full-court press.

Starting this week, Toys “R” Us is mounting digital clocks in all 585 of its stores that will count down to July 26, when more than 225 of those stores will open at midnight to begin selling toys from the latest “Star Wars” film, “The Clone Wars,” an animated movie that opens in the United States on Aug. 15. Two of the retailer’s flagship outlets, in Mission Bay in San Diego and in Times Square, will hold costume and trivia contests that night as well, and will give away limited-edition “Star Wars” toys with every purchase.

This time, even McDonald’s is getting involved, with its first ever Happy Meal promotion for a “Star Wars” movie.

Perhaps the most telling line in the article:

“Sometimes George works in strange ways,” said Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing.

Uh…

Spread the word!

Well, this should be interesting. The Brits and AMC are teaming up to do a new 6-part Prisoner mini-series. I’m a huge fan of the old 1960s show piloted by and starring Patrick McGoohan because it’s easily one of the weirdest and most mind-bending popular media freak outs of all time, so, we’ll see how this new one goes. Hey, maybe it’ll be good. TV is pretty great these days.

Gandalf/Magneto/James Whale as Number 2 is inspired casting…but Jim Caviezel as the title character? He’s one of the dullest actors around — I don’t care if he did play S&M Jesus.

ITV today said the remake, which has been written by Bill Gallagher, “will reflect 21st century concerns and anxieties, such as liberty, security and surveillance, yet also showcase the same key elements of paranoia, tense action and socio-political commentary seen in McGoohan’s enigmatic original”.

Gallagher, who scripted BBC1’s Lark Rise to Candleford, said: “I was haunted by The Prisoner when I saw it as a boy on its first broadcast. Here was something that was more than television, something I couldn’t quite grasp but couldn’t let go of. It’s a unique opportunity for a writer to be able to go back to The Village and tell some new stories about that strange place and its surreal menace.

“We have a terrific cast and a wonderful director, so we hope to serve up something as beguiling and disturbing as the original was.”

Spread the word!

“Animated” in the loosest sense of the word…but still, a nifty little warm-up for this summer’s most-anticipated-by-me sequel:

Spread the word!

Like most of our country’s metropolitan areas, the tri-state area around NYC is consistently home to an almost overwhelming bounty of amazing local commercials. Anyone who’s lived here (or around Chicago, or LA, or Atlanta, or Miami, etc) for an extensive period of time — or especially grew up around here — will list off their favorites with a rush of nostalgic glee and laughter.

Now we have another instant classic to add to the list: the Merrick Boulevard Qwik Lube. Thank you, Queens! The most underrated borough ever steps up AGAIN.

Spread the word!

TV ads! Remember them? Yeah, don’t see too many anymore what with the Tivo and the DVR and the YouTubes and the Hulu and the whatnots.

But this one caught my eye…mainly because it’s one of the weirdest and most warped pieces of advertising to come along the pipe in a while — and they’re selling diapers!!

Is this thing ironic or accidental or just a strange misfire? What’s with the creepy, Cabbage-Patch-Kid-on-Adderall dolls? And then there are real people in there as the “parents”? But the babies are performing like in a water circus or something? I can’t make heads or tails of this. You make the call.

Spread the word!

You wouldn’t think with everything going on in the economy people would have the ducats to dish out for original comic art, but apparently that’s not the case. This article even seems to mildly insinuate that it’s eclipsing back issue collecting…

And while the market for back issues is well established, more and more collectors are turning their attention to the hand-drawn covers and interior pages that make up a comic book. This original art has become the focus of auctions with sales in the five and six figures. It’s a surprising turn of events for work that in the early days of the industry, was considered so unimportant that it was used to sop up ink or spilled coffee, given away to fans or even destroyed outright.

Spread the word!

“SILENCE, YOU SNIVELLING JACKANAPE!!

Am I not aware of all that occurs??
They were rescued at the last possible moment because I neglected one small detail!
I did not expect the arrival of Sue Richards, the wife of my accursed archfoe!
Only her much-vaunted invisible shield saved them from the explosion!
But, they are still captives in the kingdom of Dr. Doom!
IT SHALL STILL BE I WHO STRIKE THE FINAL BLOW!“

-Dr. Doom, from FF #87

Excerpted from:

Spread the word!

Just wanted to quickly say, I ran into this publisher at the MoCCA Art Festival a couple weekends ago, and man do they do some classy, neat-o stuff.

All their books at the moment are smart pulp, combining lucha libre with noir, horror, and good humor — but hey, that’s pretty goddam dope, right? It’s nice every once in a while to come across an indie comic that’s good AND doesn’t make you want to suck on a tailpipe.

Everything Calavera does is really nicely produced, incredibly well designed, and stylishly drawn in superbly executed Paul Pope/David Lapham (and sometimes Ashley Wood)-esque fashion. Email or PayPal these dudes or whatever and pick up the first couple issues of Rudo, which are great fun.

They have a bunch of hot-shit-awesome posters and shirts for sale, too.

Keep your eye on these guys…

Spread the word!