We pick interesting products and trends for you!
This past weekend, artist Nathan Jurevicius released his latest vinyl creation – the Anzû Sylvan based on the artist Gary Ham’s Sylvan platform. The 9″ vinyl toy is a tribute to Sumerian/Akkadian mythology. The Anzû Sylvan is limited to 100 pieces.
How could anyone not know James Hong! I think it’s safe to say that he has starred in more than four hundred American films and television episodes. He has played leading roles, supporting roles and small parts. I recently saw him in the classic Blade Runner and last year’s R.I.P.D., but when anyone asks me about James Hong, the two flicks that immediately come to my mind are Wayne’s World 2 and Big Trouble in Little China.
Local artist Martin Hsu has over the years developed his own personal unique art style. You can see it in his paintings, drawings and vinyl toys. And this Holiday season, if you’re looking to see his art and want to buy his art in person, check out the Martin Hsu Pop-Up Show @ Woot Bear. Woot Bear is a neat toy art shop located in the heart of the Richmond District, 147 Clement Street in San Francisco.
What does she tell us?
“I’m working on several projects. There’s this one, but it’s N-D-A, then there’s another that’s also NDA… hmm oh wait, no that’s NDA too!”
I’m not sure if that’s what our site readers and viewers would like to hear, but she had fun explaining how NDA everything is to Ramen and Half’s Eddie Ballar. For those of you that don’t know Debra Wilson, you can definitely find out about her by watching this interview from Comikaze Expo. She is popularly known for her comedic sketches on MADtv and continues to venture the land of entertainment. She’s been involved in comedy flicks like recent Knock’Em Dead to animation and video game voices such as on Grand Theft Auto V.
Once we arrived at Comikaze Expo we were christened by the powers of great opportunities and got an interview with Stan Lee! He’s a pretty busy guy these days, especially when everyone at Comikaze Expo wants to meet him…but who wouldn’t want to meet the man that gave birth to the pop culture of comics. With this great opportunity, our one and only “The Eddie” got to ask Stan Lee a couple of personal questions about the man and his comics.
FanimeCon 2014 had their own mini-Street Fighter Tournament over at Stage Zero. Ramen & a Half host Eddie Ballar grab Julio Fuentes aka MMG Julio for a quick interview on plans and prepartion for EVO Championship Series in Las Vegas, July 2014.
Our Ramen & a Half host Eddie Ballar does a mini jam session with the talented Anton Bex. We sit down and talk about his latest project, the fan film Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope. Anton plays “Future Gohan” in this YouTube web series.
I know I was just the camera operator at the scene, but after Ramen and a Half’s host Eddie Ballar interviewed Mike Mignola, I started to pick up on some very correlating personality traits between Hellboy and it’s Creator, Mike Mignola. Here, we find out what’s in store for Hellboy after it’s 20th year anniversary and if there will be another upcoming film on the comic superhero?
Los LINKS: Art of Mike Mignola facebook/MikeMignola twitter/MikeMignola
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.
“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?
“The Eddie” from Ramen and a Half interviews Rookies is Punk’d at Fanimecon. ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D is a Japanese punk rock band from Shibuya, Japan, that was formed in 2005.
They’re very well known in their home country and have spread a niche of fans in cities of Asia countries and in the US. They’re hoping to go places and share what they have to offer to the music world.
This was an interview done last year. We apologize for the rough interview package because we had audio issues, but we decided to pull it out of the vault and put it together as best we can for the fans.
The majority of their Official Website ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D is in Japanese, but you can google them and find plenty of information.
They will also be at AnimeNEXT in June 6-8th, 2014. You can still Pre-Register.
Ramen and a Half’s Jonelle Marie interviews pioneering cosplayer model – Yaya Han, at New York Comic-Con.
Cosplay Model – Yaya Han
Back then when the term “Cosplay” was unheard of – Yaya Han and very few alike, simply loved the art of creating costumes of super heroes, villains, and not to mention fantasy and science fiction characters in between. The art of what became Cosplay for them was simply how convincing, how imaginative, and how ornately detailed their costume design can be from make-up to inseam.
Yaya Han : www.yayahan.com facebook/yayahan yayahan.bigcartel
The fan favorite vampire series Anno Dracula returns! Author Kim Newman recently released his latest Anno Dracula novel – Johnny Alucard that takes place from 1976-1991. Retrenders interviews author Kim Newman about his new book – Johnny Alucard and what the future holds for this popular Dracula series.
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RTNDR: The universe of Anno Dracula and the characters you’ve created is very popular and many fans enjoy this series, so with this new book Johnny Alcuard, did you set out thinking, “Well, the fans might enjoy it if this character or that character goes through this plotline or this journey” or did you already have your own ideas and had everything mapped out?
KIM: I plot books – and, in this case, series – by a method known as ‘feeling your way in the dark’. I usually know where I’m going with a story but not the exact route I’ll get there. I hope readers enjoy where I take the characters (and them) but tend to think of what the story needs rather than what people want – indeed, sometimes you have to go against expectations or wishes. In this case, the book was written piecemeal over decades – the first chunk of it was done before the third novel in the series – and I always knew the spine was where a particular character went, though the details were developed during the composition and I think I surprised myself.
Don’t know the name Dave Elliot? Well, he’s worked at DC, Marvel, 2000AD and Heavy Metal, just to name few places. Over 25 years in the comics scene, our Retrenders team catches up with Dave Elliot about his new Sharky! graphic novel published by Titan Comics.+++++++++++++++++++
RTNDR: You have worked with artist Alex Horley on many projects, what is the work relationship like when you guys do a project together? Is there much collaboration on story building and character designs?Dave Elliot: Both Alex and myself have very similar influences. Kirby, Frazetta and John Buscema are all at the top our lists. We have had enough of those fevered fanboy chats late into the evening that even before we started we both knew what the other wanted to do. For Sharky some of the character designs were set but Alex made them his own and then we built from there.
We wanted to do something that was a tribute to those creators as well, so in true Kirby style we wanted to come up with as many ideas as possible and then throw them in. I think after all the decompressed storytelling of the last 15-20 years Sharky must read like a roller coaster ride. I think we managed to get enough ideas for 20 comics in those original four issues.
RTNDR: As you mentioned in the Sharky! graphic novel a origin story of Gunmetal is coming, can we also get a story arc on Thor Stormhausen (Max to her friends)?
David Elliot: You’ll see Thor again in issue 256 of Heavy Metal this month. She makes a brief appearance with Sharky in a new Maximum Force story where Sharky tries to get Max Carnage to get back in the game and help him build a new team.
Dave Elliot: I knew all the creators so I just asked them for permission and they said yes. It was just a brief use and all for fun. Those creators got that. Sharky has since gotten to team back up with Mister Monster as well as meet El Zombo in Monster Massacre.
As I’ve heard, “Third time’s the charm!” I also believe that being persistent is always key. So finally, our Host, “The Eddie” interviews Jessica Nigri!
The Ramen crew had their doubts, but we persevered and got to find out that Jessica is just an all around fun and down to earth person. She’s just a busy-body when it comes to working at conventions, especially when Anime Expo 2013 hit an all time high attendance rate this year!
Dances of Mexico with the collaborative artistry of Ballet!
Some purist say traditional folkloric dances shouldn’t be changed because it changes the theme of originality. That’s fine, but as time moves on, dances take on new meaning in context to moments in one’s life and this is exactly what Ensambles Ballet Folklorico de San Francisco has done for their piece, “Las Pinturas de Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo en Movimiento”, that will be showcasing this Saturday! – July 27, 2013 2PM & 8PM at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San Jose, CA.
For tickets click here www.cityboxoffice.com
I attended last year’s performance and I’m thankful that I did! I was amazed by the elaborate and vibrant colors of costumes, traditional dances and the interjected dramatic collaboration of ballet pieces into the show to tell you the story of Diego y Frida through dance.
“Turbulence” is one of the best-selling superhero sci/fi novels in India and was critically-acclaimed when published in the UK last year and now “Turbulence” reaches US shores. Delhi-based novelist Samit Basu poses the question in “Turbulence” – “What would you do if you have the power to change the world?” Samit’s superhero novel has it all – action, humor, fun and the right dose of reality. Our Retrenders team got a chance to interview author Samit Basu on his international break-through novel “Turbulence.”
RTNDR: I’ve just finished reading the book and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, it reminded me of old school Marvel comics I’ve read from the 1980s. What was your influence in writing this superhero novel?
Samit: It started out as a book about a group of young people, in a part of the world that really needed change, not preservation, suddenly getting what they really want, the power to make that change. But along the way, when I realized that strange physical powers would make anyone in our times think of superheroes, it became a superhero book. So the plot is really its own thing, as are the themes within it, but some fantastic comics I’ve read were definitely inspirations in terms of seeing how superheroes might actually fit into the world and change it – books like Powers, The Authority, Watchmen, apart from the standard Marvel/DC classics.
RTNDR: In Turbulence the characters mention various pop culture references, like the X-men. Did you grow up with reading lots of comic books, movies, and sci-fi flicks?
Samit: No, not really. I grew up in India without those things being available. But I made up for lost time as an adult, after I became a writer, engorging myself on a steady diet of comics, films and TV shows, starting with when I lived in London as a student. Books, though, I always had. But this book is really a post-Internet book; it couldn’t have happened without it, and was deeply affected by it. Now, of course, we get our pop culture fixes in India too. That’s happened over the last decade. For me, it’s been more a process of diving into it and trying (and failing) to catch up rather than growing up with it.
To most in the U.S., Peter Cushing is not a household name. If presented a picture of Peter, one might recognize him as the main villain in the original Star Wars. Though to film buffs, Hammer Film fans, and to many in the U.K. and Europe, he is known as the brilliant and unforgettable English actor, with a career spanning 45 plus years, while playing a wide variety of characters from Dr. Van Helsing to Baron Frankenstein to Sherlock Holmes to Doctor Who. Author David Miller grew up in Britain as a fan of Cushing and, through his diligent and detailed research, we are presented with the authoritative guide to the actor’s career – Peter Cushing: A Life in Film. We are honored to get the chance to ask David Miller a number of questions on the amount of research it took for this biography, some of his favorite Cushing movies and characters, and to share with us a few memories on the devoted actor.
The Ramen crew may have not been the first to stumble upon the fascinating eight year old Spidey-artist, but we still stumbled!
This kid was amazing and we felt this is one of the things that Big Wow Comicfest’s opens up to, and that’s passion and talent from everywhere under the umbrella of comics. On the floor at Big Wow Comicfest, you can’t help but feel inspired by all the people that are there introducing new stories, new artists, new genres, new characters, and it becomes an absolute gift when you run into someone as young as Ethan Castillo drawing Spider-man or Marvel Comic characters because he loves to! You actually start to feel the kid in yourself while watching him draw! “It’s just fun!” – He says.
We also recognized the extent of love and support that Ethan’s parents give him and we can’t help but strongly say, great talent can come from self-ambition, but it also comes from parents that nurture and encourage it!
Everybody knows what a comic book artists does – they draw and are treated like rockstars, but what about inkers? Our Ramen team chit chats with Batman & Robin inker Mick Gray about the process of inking comic books @ The Big Wow! Comicfest 2013.
The Ramen crew interviews Spiderman artist Humberto Ramos @ Big Wow! Comicfest 2013. He talks about his passion and love for drawing comics.
This past weekend @ the Big Wow! Comicfest in San Jose, star comic book artist Frank Cho takes time to talk to the Ramen and a Half crew.
As promised in last Friday’s Catching up with Animation Studio Ghostbot, we wanted to share with our readers an interview with one of the lead creative brains behind the studio – Ghostbot Co-Founder and Animator Alan Lau. A fan of Japanese Anime and an active gamer, he’s worked for several esteemed studios in the past such as Wild Brain, Laika, and Madhouse. His ability to seamlessly integrate captivating 2D animation to each and every project is what stands out when looking at all his works en masse.
For Ghostbot, their most recent project was working on every 2D cinematic for the new Sly Cooper video game out now on the PS3 titled Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. I’ve seen the game in action and it’s great to see them keep the charm of the original Sly games intact while pushing the quality of the game art to higher levels. Recently,we had the good fortune to sit down with Alan and find out what other video game projects the company has worked on, what his reaction was on getting the opportunity to work on such a beloved franchise, and the amount of pressure they put on themselves to get the character attributes just right.
By now, most sci-fi and fantasy fans are familiar with the Steampunk genre, where works of fiction and art are placed in a world that features steam powered machinery and is often set in the time of Victorian-era England. In the last twenty years, we’re amazed to see how far and how creative “Steampunk culture” has pushed itself in various media, especially in literature, films, and fashion design. Though many recent fans could not even begin to explain how this genre had started out – how authors, screenwriters, and artists influenced by Jules Verne’s Voyages Extraordinaires and H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine created several whimsical and fantastic works in the 1960’s and 70’s. This then opened the door for three young authors, who were friends from the same college and were all mentored by the legendary novelist Philip K. Dick, to write their brand of Victoriana and eventually becoming, unbeknownst at the time, the pioneers of Steampunk.
Recently, we had the good fortune to have a chat with one of the pioneers, the talented James P. Blaylock, who is releasing a new Steampunk novel in his Langdon St. Ives/Narbondo series titled The Aylesford Skull published by Titan Books. It’s been twenty years since the last full novel in the series and we find out why it took that long for the book to be published, what sort of research goes into writing Victoriana, and his opinion on modern Steampunk culture.
Critically acclaimed novelist Kim Newman is well known, not only for writing great storylines, but also blending together a wonderfully imaginative cast of characters for his books. For Dracula Cha Cha Cha, the third book in his Anno Dracula series, you’ll see all of this in full view in a world intertwined with fictional characters and real people in history, such as Ernest Hemingway, Michael Corleone, Audrey Hepburn, and Tintin. Mix them into 1959 Rome where Count Dracula is set to marry the Princess of Moldavia and what you get is a fun read for fans of horror, fiction, and parallel worlds.
Today, we’re honored to have author Kim Newman to take the time out and answer questions on the reissue of the Anno Dracula books, who his primary influences, and what we can expect in Johnny Alucard, the fourth book of the series.
Johnny Moreno
Edward Ballar
GuestContributor
kellyannbrooke
Ramon Angel
Al Woo
SW biko
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