Doctor Who: Four Doctors Collide!

4 doctors 1If you’re a comic book reader veteran, then you’re probably familiar with the usual once-a-year mega cross-over event like in the DC and Marvel Universe.  Well, this summer 2015, Titan Comics will mix-it up with 4 Doctors and 3 companions meeting up in this 5-issue mini-series.  Doctor Who:  Four Doctors #1 (1-5) follows the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors and their companions on a mission against an unknown foe.  The epic crossover-event is written by Paul Cornell (Wolverine) and illustrated by Neil Edwards
(Assassin’s Creed).

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SF Anime Festival & Cosplay 2015

SFAnimeFestivalandCosplay2015

We’ve been a little behind editing many videos from various events we’ve attended this summer.  Here’s a quick recap of the SF Anime Festival & Cosplay in Japantown that took place on July 18, 2015.  The Ramen crew was there to see all the cosplay fun and meet-up with special cosplay guest Reika from Japan.

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I Like To Eat Episode #2: Chicken on Fire

chickenfire

photo taken by Adrian Domingo


The long awaited 2nd episode to I Like to Eat is here!

On this episode, we visit Chicken on Fire and try some of their signature spicy fried chicken wings. We even get to go behind the scenes and see how their wings are prepared.

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Vinyl Pulp #2: Art on Guard Exhibit

wootbearlifeguardartshowOn this episode of Vinyl Pulp we visit Woot Bear SF where they join forces with Boundless Brooklyn and Outre for the Art on Guard: Lifeguard Tower Art Show.  This show featured over 40 different artists and their custom lifeguard towers.  Vinyl Pulp also interviews the man behind Outre apparel brand.

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Transformers: The Movie, Original Motion Picture Score

TransformersCoverIn the age of digital downloads and streaming music, who goes to the record stores and buys the physical copy?  Well, if you’re an old-school fanboy like me, this is one CD you should definitely buy, The Transformers:  The Movie Original Motion Picture Score by Vince DiCola.  Let’s not mistake these soundtrack CDs for the Michael Bay live-action crap, this is the 1986 animated Transformers flick.  Yes, you should be aware The Transformers: The Movie CD which came out in 1986, but that CD featured all the pop songs like “The Touch” & “Dare” and only a couple of score tracks.  This release features 25 tracks of music score from the movie.

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Twin Galaxies Grand Opening 2015

twingalaxiesThe Ramen crew took a midnight trip down the I-5 from the Bay Area to SoCal, more precisley, Banning, CA for the invite-only opening of the iconic arcade store Twin Galaxies.  The guys played some pinball, some Mortal Kombat and also got some cool nerdy interviews.  Here’s a recap of the event!

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I Like to Eat @ Grillaz Gone Wild Food Truck – Episode #1

The Flying Pig by GrillazGoneWild

The Flying Pig (Photo courtesy of Adrian Domingo)

Now we would like to introduce you to the newest show on Retrenders called “I Like to Eat”, where the Retrenders crew will go out to different food establishments and try some of their most popular dishes!

On this episode of “I Like to Eat”, we visit Grillaz Gone Wild food truck at Off The Grid and try out their signature The Flying Pig and Loaded Fries.

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The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road

madmaxfuryroadcoverBefore I get down to reviewing Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road, I’ve watched Mad Max: Fury Road twice already.  I was a little cynical at first, when I heard the news that creator/director George Miller was going to re-make Mad Max, when his 1979 Mad Max film starring Mel Gibson was already a masterpiece.  So, as I sat in the multiplex dreading it would not be a Kevin Costner “Waterworld”, the movie came on-screen and within a few minutes I was blown away by not just the action and acting, but Miller’s incredible cinematography, the colors and the amazing world-building.  Now to the meat of this article, taking a look at Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road by Abbie Bernstein with a Foreward by the man himself, the master George Miller.

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Interview with Cosplayer Meg Turney @ Big Wow! Comicfest 2015

megturneycoverMore than just a cosplayer, Meg Turney is also Internet personality.  Our Ramen host Ramon Angel interviews Meg Turney on cosplaying and about working at Rooster Teeth.

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Interview with artist Nooligan @ Big Wow! Comicfest 2015

nooliganartcoverThe great thing about Big Wow! Comicfest is that it showcases the many talented artists like HaiNaNu Saulque aka Nooligan.  Nooligan talks about his upcoming projects and his very own comic book series Union St. Choir.

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Interview with Artist Frank Cho @ Big Wow! Comicfest

spidergwencoverLike artist Adam Hughes, comic book artist Frank Cho also has a knack for drawing sexy female superheroes and villains.  Ramen host Ramon Angel catches up with Frank at Big Wow! Comicfest 2015 talking about his latest projects and the “Spider-Gwen” internet buzz.

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Skullbunnies creator Ben Seto

skullbunniesTalented artist/creator Ben Seto has been drawing comics since he was in grade school.  We catch up with Ben at his artist booth in San Jose, CA for Big Wow! Comicfest 2015.

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Interview with Comic Book Artist Adam Hughes

adamhugescoverartWhen it comes to drawing the female anatomy, nobody does it better than Adam Hughes.  He’s a comic book artist and creator, but also known to draw many iconic DC and Marvel covers of female superheroes and villains.  Here’s our interview with Adam Hughes at Big Wow! Comicfest 2015.

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The First Episode of Vinyl Pulp on Retrenders!

vinyl_pulp_onlyWe got a new show on our Retrenders’ YouTube channel – it’s Vinyl Pulp.  Since we’ve done many events at Kidrobot and Woot Bear, we had in mind on a show just focusing on vinyl toys, toy art collectibles and urban art, and so here it is, the first episode of Vinyl Pulp!

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Free Comic Book Day @ Isotope Comics SF

16737615714_d1f35188a5_kThis past Saturday was Free Comic Book Day and we went to one of the best comic book shops in SF – Isotope, The Comic Book Lounge.  And it was 10 year-old Ethan Castillo first comic book shop signing event.  This talented artist has a knack for drawing Marvel’s web crawler Spider-Man.

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Scarlett Couture Issue #1

SCARLETT COUTURE #1_CoverBThen’s been lots of HYPE over this new comic book mini-series Scarlett Couture by Des Taylor, so as it hits the comic book racks today, does it live up to the HYPE?  The four-issue mini-series focuses on new spy-heroine Scarlett Couture created, written and illustrated all by Des Taylor.

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The Art & Making of Penny Dreadful

pennydreadfulartbookI have to admit I only started watching this hit Showtime series only for Eva Green (Casino Royale, 300: Rise of an Empire), but I stayed for for the story and characters driving the “Penny Dreadful” program.  We are already knee-deep into the second season and Titan Books has just released “The Art and Making of Penny Dreadful”, the official companion book to the program.

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It’s that time again! Big Wow! Comicfest 2015

BWCF1503This is our 3rd year covering the Big Wow! Comicfest at the San Jose Convention Center.  Our Ramen team of Eddie Ballar and Ramon Angel cover the 2-day comic book convention.

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Hungry For Recipes: The Ultimate Aussie Burger

aussieburger101Wowhoo!  Hungry for Recipes column or blog or whatever you call it is back.  My fellow Retrenders blogger Stephen Jang blogged about the Aussie burger awhile back (click here to backtrack – Aussie burger), but Sebastian P over at TourRadar (a super travel/foodie blog) directed us to the Ultimate Aussie Burger with the Lot (aka Ozzie Burger).

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Woot Bear: Toys Things & Art Exhibit

wootbearthingsjapanI bought a Mad Panda!  Welcome to the Woot Bear showcase:  Toys Things & Art Exhibit from Japan.  Woot Bear collabs with some of Tokyo’s top toy vinyl artists like Dehara Yukinori, Hariken, Konatsu, Mai Nagamoto, Mographixx, Refreshment Toy and Studio Uamou for this exhibit running through May 10, 2015.

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Big Wow! Comicfest 2015 this Weekend!

bigwowcomicfest2015Where will the Retrenders gang be at this weekend?  Well, in San Jose, CA for the Big Wow! Comicfest 2015, April 18-19 at the San Jose Convention Center.  We join the geeky Ramen and a Half crew at the show and will be filming highlights from the 2-day convention and we hope to see you there!

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Made In Paradise S/S 2015 Women’s Lookbook

mipssw2015coverMade In Paradise may sound like a street brand from Hawaii or something, but it’s not!  This lifestyle/swimwear brand is straight outta Hong Kong.  Made In Paradise was founded in 2013 by childhood friends Maruice Maghnagi and Vishal Sani in HK.  They look to make a splash with their “Junk in the Trunk” S/S 2015 collection.

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Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Collector’s Edition Review

Final Fantasy Type-0 HDFinal Fantasy Type-0 HD had me right from the get-go. Even thought the beginning was more cutscenes than it was gameplay, it was the cutscenes with the Chocobo that probably stayed with everybody in the beginning. Watching a Chocobo die was kind of strange. The only other time I remember seeing Chocobos dying was probably in Final Fantasy X, and even then they, and their riders, just disintegrated. In this game we had to sit through it and a human bleeding out… it was kinda dark. Well, what do you expect from an M-rated game. Yes that’s right, an M-rated Final Fantasy game.

When I started playing the game, it took a while for me to get used to the controls. I played on a PlayStation, so the square button was used to do the normal attacks, but it was also used to pick up something called ‘Phantoma’. Now that wasn’t that bad, but you had to wait a second of not attacking to pick it up, you couldn’t just kill the monster and pick it up right as it died. So watch out if you still have a Behemoth to kill and you’re trying to pick up the other dead Behemoth’s Phantoma. You might as well just let the Behemoth disappear and focus on grabbing the other Behemoth’s Phantoma. Another thing that annoyed me was the camera movement; it was too fast. In big open spaces like the overworld map it was fine, it moved at a decent pace; however, places like in a city you were fighting in, small spaces, the camera would move faster than it should sometimes. I’ll admit I got disoriented a few times, but nothing too major. It was just something that annoyed me, and there was nothing I could do about the speed.

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Chappie: The Art of the Movie

chappieartbookThe film Chappie, like previous Neill Blomkamp films’ District 9 and Elysium may have a science-fiction spin, but also speaks to the larger issues of society and “real world” problems.  This Titan Books release, Chappie: The Art of the Movie delves into the background developing and creating the world of Chappie by Neill Blomkamp, concept artists and production team.

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P&C: Down Under Collection

downundergraphicteesJust in time for Spring clothes shopping, Pilot & Capt. (P&C) releases a new collection of graphic t-shirts, the “Down Under” tees.  The “Down Under” set rocks Auckland (AKL), Melbourne (MEL), Perth (PER) and Sydney (SYD).

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