Pop Artifact! Robin Halloween costume

Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 22, 2007

Deal alert: Amazon is offering 40 percent off the new Bob Dylan documentary/performance film "The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965."

---------------

The fifth Doctor Who, Peter Davison, will meet up with the current incarnation, David Tennant, in a scene from an upcoming BBC "Children in Need" benefit TV special, the BBC reports.

The scene, entitled Time Crash, was written by award winning Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat, and will transmit as part of the Children in Need fundraising evening on Friday 16 November 2007.

"It is an honour for me to be able to make the connection between the Fifth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor," noted Peter Davison. "However, now is not the time for sound-bites. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder, even if I can't do the buttons up!"




Best Doctor Who Sites.

---------------------------

The 30-year run of National Lampoon magazine will be released on DVD-Rom Oct. 26. You can order it here.

National Lampoon first published its leading edge humor magazine in April 1970, continuing until 1998. The magazine was known for its skewering and parodies of pop and counter-culture and was read by millions of fans across America. The edgy, irreverent magazine led National Lampoon into all media, with successes in radio, book publishing, live stage, and ultimately feature films. One of the funniest films of all time, “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” was based on a story in the magazine, as was the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” franchise. It was the magazine that started the development of National Lampoon into a household comedy brand.

------------------------------

Here's a German-language poster for Disney/Pixar's upcoming "Wall.E."



-------------------------------

The reunited (minus the late Viv Stanshall, of course) Bonzo Dog Band has made it's first new album in 35 years, reports Uncut magazine.

Pour L'Amour Des Chiens features 70 minutes worth of new material from Neil Innes and co, 28 tracks - one of which is their own rendition of Kaiser Chiefs' 'I Predict A Riot'.

The album, released on December 10, will also come with a bonus DVD - featuring previously unreleased live performances. Tracks include the classic 'Urban Spaceman' and 'Jollity Farm'.


Along with Innes and other original members Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, 'Legs' Larry Smith, Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, Sam Spoons and Bob Kerr, the album features performances by "new" Bonzos Adrian Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and British actor/writer Stephen Fry.



------------------------------

Make your own Sputnik.

Vintage comic book ad

Pop Artifact! Joker Halloween costume

Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 19, 2007

View an unaired version of the "Gilligan's Island" opening.

------------------------------

Naomi Watts will star in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds."

-------------------------------

From Jon's Random Acts of Geekery: "Godzilla Comics They Never Made."

--------------------------------

Dial B for Blog celebrates "Dark Shadows."

--------------------------------

Brilliant cartoonist Sergio Aragonés talks about his new scripting jobs at DC Comics: A Bat Lash mini-series and the ongoing Spirit title.

Educational comics

Pop Artifact! Yogi Bear Halloween costume

Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 18, 2007

No kung-fu grip, but he's got a wide stance: It's the Sen. Larry Craig action figure.

--------------------

The BBC profiles Asterix artist Albert Uderzo.

"Asterix is bearing up well after nearly 50 years, he is still awaited by the readers," he says. "We are getting closer to bringing him back to life in a new album", although he later admits that he's still looking for an idea for the next story.

"That's become a lot more difficult for me now - after 33 albums to find an idea is not that easy. If I don't have any more then I am not just going to do an album just for the money. I will stop."


------------------------------

Mmmmm... Dalek cookies!

------------------------------

Newsarama checks in with legendary comics artist John Romita.

NRAMA: Steve Ditko, of course, created the Spider-Man visual. But you really refined the "licensing" Spider-Man image. When anyone from sneaker companies to Fruit Roll-Ups submits Spider-Man art to Marvel for product, they often get notes back to change it to be in tune with "your" version, especially in the eyes. Do you ever think about the impact of that? Your stamp is in grocery stores and Wal-Marts from Tucson to Tokyo.

JR: Yeah. I devised-partly as art director and partly as a matter of practical concern-a very rigid, but very sensible simplification of the Spider-Man costume. There was an arrangement of the webbing and the way the body was done that would make it simple, and make it transfer to other forms and other media. We really needed it for he syndicated Spider-Man strip that ran in the newspapers. I started that in '77, and the strip ran at usually less than two inches high. Today, I think it's even smaller. One of the things I had to do was make the Spider-Man costume so simple that it could reduce to less than two inches, and still maintain its clarity. That's one of the necessities of a syndicated newspaper strip. But it also made it easier to translate Spider-Man on to other products as well. It was a very concerted effort to get that right.


---------------------------

A "Wolverine" solo film is set for May 2009 release.

"Wolverine" is expected to feature many other mutants -- some new to the film franchise and some from one or more of the three "X-Men" films. Liev Schreiber is reportedly in final talks to take on the role of a younger version of nemesis William Stryker, played by Brian Cox in "X2."

------------------------------

Universal Studios has backed out of a planned Barbarella film by director Robert Rodriquez.

Universal Studios has backed out of backing the movie, whose budget the source pegged at nearly $100 million, because Mr. Rodriguez has insisted on casting his new fiancé, Rose McGowan, in the lead role, famously played by Jane Fonda in the 1968 original directed by Ms. Fonda’s then-husband, Roger Vadim.

The movie depicts a futuristic astronaut who travels the galaxy, seductively conquering everything in her path. More famous names floated for the part included Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and Jessica Alba.

“It’s sort of embarrassing for everyone involved,” the source said. “No one thinks Rose can carry the movie, but Robert won’t listen.”

Upcoming DVDs - sneak previews

Gunsmoke: The Second Season Vol. 1

This three-disk set is out Jan. 8 and available for pre-order now from Amazon.



--------------------

Ford At Fox - The Collection

This 21-disk monster features the great director's best-known works. It's out Dec. 4 and available for pre-order now from Amazon.

Contents include:

Disc 1: WHAT PRICE GLORY Disc 2: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE Disc 3: HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY Disc 4: TOBACCO ROAD Disc 5: GRAPES OF WRATH Disc 6: DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK Disc 7: WEE WILLIE WINKIE Disc 8: YOUNG MR. LINCOLN Disc 9: PRISONER ON SHARK ISLAND Disc 10: STEAMBOAT AROUND THE BEND Disc 11: WORLD MOVES ON Disc 12: PILGRIMAGE/BORN RECKLESS Disc 13: DOCTOR BULL/JUDGE PRIEST Disc 14: FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER/SEAS BENEATH Disc 15: WHEN WILLIE COMES HOME/UP THE RIVER Disc 16: FOUR SONS Disc 17: THREE BAD MEN/HANGMAN'S HOUSE Disc 18: JUST PALS Disc 19: BECOMING JOHN FORD DOCUMENTARY Disc 20: THE IRON HORSE SPECIAL EDITION UK VERSION DISC 1 Disc 21: THE IRON HORSE US VERSION

Also on the Ford front:

John Ford's Silent Epics (Just Pals / Four Sons / The Iron Horse / Hangman's House / Bad Men)

This five-disk set is also out Dec. 4 and is available for pre-order now from Amazon.

John Ford's American Comedies (Steamboat Around the Bend / Judge Priest / Doctor Bull / When Willie Comes Marching Home / Up the River / What Price Glory)

A four-disk set, also out Dec. 4. You can pre-order it here.

-----------------------------

Criterion Collection: Two-Lane Blacktop

This cult road flick co-starring singer James Taylor and Beach Boy Dennis Wilson is out on two disks Dec. 11. You can pre-order it here.

Here' the rundown from Criterion:

Drag racing east from L.A. in a souped-up '55 Chevy are the wayward Driver and Mechanic (singer/songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, in their only acting roles), accompanied by a tagalong Girl (Laurie Bird). Along the way, they meet Warren Oates's Pontiac GTO-driving wanderer and challenge him to a cross-country race—the prize: their cars' pink slips. Yet no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. Maverick director Monte Hellman’s stripped-down narrative, gorgeous widescreen compositions, and sophisticated look at American male obsession make this one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made.

Special Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Monte Hellman
- Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
- Two audio commentaries; one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders, and one by screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and author David Meyer
- New interviews with Hellman, star James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
- Rare, never-before-seen screen-test outtakes
- Performance and Image: a look at the restoration of a '55 Chevy from the movie and the film's locations today
- Color Me Gone: photos and publicity from Two-Lane Blacktop
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: Rudy Wurlitzer's screenplay, reprinted specially for this release; new essays by Kent Jones, appreciations by Richard Linklater and Tom Waits; and a reprint of the 1970 Rolling Stone article "On Route 66, Filming Two-Lane Blacktop."




------------------------------

The Mod Squad - Season 1 Volume 1

Groovy! This four-disk set is out Dec. 18 and is available for pre-order now. No details yet, but I presume it includes plenty of cool clothes, Peggy Lipton and sticking it to the Man. What can be bad about that?

Educational comics

New and upcoming action figures Oct. 18, 2007

Complete List of Marvel Legends Action Figures
Complete List of DC Direct Action Figures

Here's a look at action figures available via your local comics shop or via the TIP!-supporting links below:

DC Direct Action Figures

DC Direct New Gods Figures
--Darkseid
--Lightray
--Mister Miracle
--Orion

DC Direct Matt Wagner Trinity Action Figures
--Superman
--Wonder Woman
--Batman
--Ras Al Ghul

DC Armory Action Figures
--Aquaman
--Batman
--Flamebird
--Nightwing

Superman Last Son Action Figures
--Last Son Superman
--Ursa
--Bizarro
--Zod

Shazam Action Figures
--Dr. Sivana
--Captain Marvel Jr.
--Mary Marvel
--Billy Batson and Hoppy
--Captain Marvel

Superman Vs. Doomsday
Doomsday
Lex Luthor and Robot
Solar Suit Superman
Superman

Batman and Son
Batman
Ninja Man-Bat
Robin and Daimin
The Joker

DC Direct Reactivated Action Figures
--Batman
--Wonder Woman
--Lobo
--Superman

DC 13-inch Figures
Green Lantern
Martian Manhunter
Nightwing
Classic Batman
Batgirl gray costume
Batgirl black costume

Elseworlds Action Figures Series 3
--Supergirl
--Batgirl
--Nightstar
--Kingdom Come Aquaman
--Red Son Green Lantern

First Appearance Series 4
--Blue Beetle translucent
--Blue Beetle
--Brave New World Atom
--Warlord
--Brave New World Martian Manhunter
--Brave New World Aquaman

Infinite Crisis Action Figures Series 1
--Powergirl
--Omac
--Mongul
--Earth Prime Superboy
--Alexander Luthor

JSA Action Figures
--Mr. Terrific
--Hawkgirl
--Dr. Midnite
--Hourman
--Golden Age Atom 2-pack

DC Direct Wonder Woman Series 1 Action Figures
--Wonder Woman
--Agent Diana Prince
--Circe
--Donna Troy as Wonder Woman

DC Direct New Frontier Series 2 Action Figures
--Batman
--Dr. Fate
--The Flash
--Martian Manhunter

Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer action figures
Battle Stretch Mr. Fantastic
Fire Blast Human Torch
Raging Thing
Force Field Invisible Woman
Silver Surfer
Lightning Attack Dr. Doom
Blast-off Human Torch
Super Strength Thing

Hanna Barbera Series 3 Action Figures
--Fred Flintstone Quittin' Time
--Twinkle Toes Fred Flintstone
--Great Grape Ape
--Huckleberry Hound
--The Jetsons
--Secret Squirrel
--Snagglepuss

McFarlane Lost series 3 action figures
--Sayid
--Desmond
--Claire
--Ben/Henry

Marvel Legends Action Figures

Hasbro Marvel Legends Fantastic Four Action Figures
--Mr. Fantastic
--Invisible Woman
--The Thing
--Human Torch
--Silver Surfer
--Dr. Doom
--Mole Man
--Sub-Mariner

Hasbro Marvel Legends Spider-Man Action Figures
--Sandman
--Venom
--Spider-Man (black costume)
--New Goblin
--Mary Jane
--Green Goblin
--Dr. Octopus

Hasbro Marvel Legends Figures Series 3
--Bucky Barnes
--First appearance Captain America
--Marvel Girl Rachel Grey
--Heroes for Hire Black Knight
--Hydra Soldier
--X-3 Colossus
--Astonishing X-Men Cyclops
--Danger

Hasbro Marvel Legends Series 4
--Nova
--Astonishing X-Men Beast
--Black Bolt
--Tigra
--First-appearance Daredevil
--Punisher

Hasbro Marvel Legends Icons 12-inch Action Figures
Series 4
--Cyclops
--Magneto

Marvel Legends Masterworks Sets
--Spider-Man Vs. Green Goblin
--Fantastic Four Vs. Mole Man
--Hulk Vs. The Thing
--Galactus Vs. Everybody

Marvel Select Figures

Best of Marvel Select Figures
--Grey Hulk
--Thanos
--Ultimate Spider-Man
--Green Goblin
--Mephisto

Marvel Sideshow Toys Figures
--Venom
--Black costume Spider-Man
--Spider-Man
--White Queen
--White Queen Exclusive