We pick interesting products and trends for you!
One of the most popular Marvel cartoons was X-Men: Evolution which lasted 4 seasons (52 episodes) on Kids’ WB from 2000-2003. Our Ramen host Eddie Ballar interviews well-known artist Steven E. Gordon who was the Character Designer of Evolution. The show that gave birth to X-23, Steven talks about his role and what it was like working on X-Men: Evolution.
Build your very own paperboard designer toy figure with Square Headz. Square Headz made its debut at the Big Wow! ComicFest 2014 showing off their simple and fun product. Just a warning – there is assembly required and you need a stick of glue.
Are you tired of the boring and sappy Hallmark greeting cards? We meet-up with Tony Bui, the man behind the funny stationery items and greeting cards of Genuine Haha. Our Ramen host Ramon Angel gets a few laughs.
When I started out with comics all I cared about was the artist drawing the issue like the Jim Lee’s and Marc Silvestri’s of the world, and I could care less about the writers, inkers or colorists. But as I developed my comic book knowledge, I began to learn about writers, inkers and colorists I liked too. Our Ramen host Ramon Angel got back into comics not just because the art, but the inking by Matt Banning aka BATT on his Green Lantern runs.
The iconic Japanese monster Godzilla created by the Toho Company is back with a vengeance (let’s forget that Roland Emmerich directed Godzilla film in 1998!). The new flick by Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures looks to bring back the classsic Godzilla with an all-star cast starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche. Titan Books sent me the “official” novelization of Godzilla a few weeks back and I’m now able to have time to read the book by author Greg Cox.
I’m kinda of still recovering from the 4-day anime extravaganza in NorCal – FanimeCon 2014. In the coming weeks ahead, our Ramen & a Half team of Eddie, Ramon and Jonelle will bring us video highlights, recaps, interviews and everything in between from FanimeCon. Look for it on our website here on Retrenders and our Retrenders YouTube Channel.
Our Retrenders team have been to many WekFest events here in the States, but not in Japan. Check out this mini-tour of WekFest Japan 2014 – Port Messe, Nagoya by BOWL Films.
“Who hasn’t grown up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – and what parent hasn’t dealt with their kids mimicking an acrobatic Power Ranger?”
At Big Wow! Comicfest – “The Eddie” interviews two of the most down to earth Power Rangers, Alison MacInnis – Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Steven Skyler – Power Rangers Samurai. We wanted to know what they loved best about being a Power Ranger… and of course, if they knew anything about Lionsgate‘s upcoming production of the reboot Power Rangers movie?
Over the years reading comics, you begin to find writers you like to read from, and one of them for me is Greg Rucka. I really enjoyed his Oni Press comics Whiteout and Queen & Country and Greg’s various Batman runs over at DC Comics. Our Ramen host Eddie Ballar interviews Greg Rucka at Big Wow! ComicFest.
The first time we spotted this amazing kid artist Ethan Castillo was at last year’s Big Wow! ComicFest, now he’s back for the second year in a row. Our Ramen host Eddie Ballar picks up the interview and learns what’s Ethan been up to this past year.
We get the 411 for Young Avengers artist Jim Cheung at Big Wow! ComicFest 2014. Jim talks about his upcoming Marvel projects and of course his Young Avengers work.
We interview comic book artist Nick Bradshaw this past weekend at Big Wow! ComicFest. Nick talks about working on the Guardians of the Galaxy, the new team line-up and of course the upcoming live-action Guardians flick.
Weren’t we just at Big Wow! Comicfest this past weekend? Our Retrenders team and Ramen & a Half show will be at this weekend’s anime fun-fest FanimeCon 2014 taking place at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA. All things anime and Jpop-culture will be on hand at NorCal’s biggest anime convention FanimeCon.
This past weekend at the San Jose Convention Center, Big Wow! ComicFest took place for comic book fans and cosplayers. The Ramen & a Half team of Eddie and Ramon recall their highlights of this 2-day comic book festival.
Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary made it’s debut at the Tribeca Film Festival this past month and I look forward to watching this on the film festival circuit. The documentary is not just about “Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs)”, but about LEGO company itself, the kids and fans of bricks.
I’m still recovering from this past weekend’s Big Wow! ComicFest convention at the San Jose Convention Center. The Ramen and a Half guys went hunting for autographs, but also grab interviews with artists, cosplayers and fans.
Bram Stroker Award winner Kim Newman is known for his witty vampire series Anno Dracula has another book you might want to take a look at. Kim Newman ponders one of life’s questions in “Life’s Lottery”: Is our human life “predetermined or can we really choose our own path in life?” If your were a kid growing in the 1980s, you might remember those Find Your Fate: Transformers and G.I. Joe books that I made my mom buy for me. Those kiddie books had you making the decisions, like if you think Optimus Prime should do this go to page 6, or if you think Optimus Prime should do that go to page 25. Now instead of playing a Hasbro toy character, you play a real-world fictional character and help him make decisions that will alter his life from the ordinary or to the extra-ordinary.
In “Life’s Lottery” you are born into the world as Keith Oliver Marion, a British Caucasian male, and you’ve luck out, you come from a middle-class background. You are stuck in the middle with an older sister Laraine and younger brother James. As I approached page 20 where I would make the first life’s decision for Keith as a 6-year-old boy in school, I really had to reflect how I would come to these decisions and choices for Keith. Do I make the same choices as I did as a kid in my own personal life growing up, which was the kid that got picked on and then bullied others? Do I then make choices from my Christian-American cultural upbringing? Do I just make the common sense decisions as the adult I am now? Do you I use rationalization or just go with it? How about I make the decisions like George Costanza in that episode of Seinfeld where he picked the opposite of everything he would do? Man, this book had me using my brainwaves.
Grant Gustin all suited up but not too flattering they say? I honestly love the suit. It’s retro, real and I’m sure the show has nothing to worry about. If you ask me, the suit makes for a gritty look. The only thing I would worry about for a new television superhero series is how well they will tell the storyline about the Flash and his episodic adventures. Oh, and how well the special effects will be when they come into play.
Click HERE for the rest of the review on Screencrush.com
SWEDE FEST will be held in Fresno, California, this Saturday, May 17th at the Tower Theatre. The venue was launched in 2008 by Roque Rodriquez and Bryan Harley and is now held in three locations, Fresno, Tampa Bay, and Palm Beach.
The idea to re-make a Hollywood hit film with video production essentials (literally just with a camcorder) and a great deal of far-fetched imagination came from Michel Gondry’s 2008 comedic hit movie, Be Kind Rewind, starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover and Melonie Diaz.
Now if you haven’t seen the film that sparked this craze – this is just a partial spoiler. The owner of a video store (Danny Glover) reluctantly has to take a business trip, leaving the video store in the hands of his less-in-reliable employee played by Mos Def, who promises nothing will happen while he’s gone. In short, an accident erases every video tape in the store which obviously becomes problematic for business, so Mos Def’s character along with his friends played by Jack Black and Melonie Diaz, creatively find a way to re-film the movies for their customers- and calling them SWEDED!
Popular SWEDED scenes in Be Kind Rewind were the remake of Hollywood hits: Robocop, Men in Black, Ghostbusters and The Lion King.
Click SWEDE FEST for more information about this upcoming event.
This upcoming weekend here in the SF/Bay Area is one cool geek-fest – the Big Wow! ComicFest. The two-day convention kicks-off May 17-18, 2014 weekend at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA. Unlike other comic-book conventions I won’t name that have gone super Hollywood, Big Wow! remains the same as the headliner is all about comic books, the artists and writers in the industry. Many notable artists will be there like Frank Cho, Neal Adams, Mike Mignola, Greg Rucka, just to name a few.
It’s safe to say Retrenders will be at Big Wow! ComicFest! Our Ramen & A Half team Eddie Ballar and Ramon Angel will grab interviews and highlights from the event. Look for our videos on the Retrenders YouTube channel.
Here our some of our videos we did last year from Big Wow! ComicFest 2013:
Okay, I’m sucker for 1980s films or flicks that take place in the 1980s and I can’t wait to see this movie – “Ping Pong Summer.” The year is 1985 and 13-year-old Rad Miracle is on summer vacation with his family and finds a ping pong mentor in Susan Sarandon’s character.
And I’m a sucker for any-type of ping pong movie!
Release Date: June 6, 2014.
For more info, go to: Facebook – Ping Pong Summer.
Another documentary that is on my watch list and is now hitting the film festival circuit is “The Search for General Tso” by filmmaker Ian Cheney. If you been to any Chinese restaurant in America you will find some-type of “General Tso” chicken dish. This dish is unheard in native China, a typical Chinese-American dish like Egg Rolls and Beef & Broccoli. This documentary tries to find the origins and effects of “General Tso” chicken.
This story of a young boy and a dog separated in a zombie apocalypse will leave some tears at the end of this animated short. “Steadfast Stanley” is animated by CalArts film student John Cody Kim.
Remember all those Crayola crayons you had as a kid, where you would not just color drawing books with, but also mark-up the walls and rooms in your parent’s house? Well there is another use for them now, discovered by local Bay Area artist Hoang Tran. The San Jose native was going to dental school, but figured out he can carved mini-sculptures using wax crayons instead.
Target’s Mossimo Supply Co. is dropping their limited-edition beachwear with a San Francisco touch. Artist and avid surfer Jeff Canham spins his surf-inspired designs in this Mens and Womens beach collection from graphic t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, towels and bags. Target takes us inside Jeff Canham’s SF office – The Woodshop for the inside look.
Johnny Moreno
Edward Ballar
GuestContributor
Ramon Angel
Al Woo
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