Geek Culture & Nostalgia
If the horrible embed isn’t working you can view it at the 4Kids website.
The first official trailer for the decades-crossover Turtles Forever has hit the intertubes and it is amazing. It’s pretty short, but the end was a big surprise for me and made my interest jump from about 75% to 123%.
Here are some highlights.
Although I’ve never mentioned it here before, I’m a huge Halo geek. I’ve got a couple cool Halo-related reviews coming up soon, so in the meantime here is some fresh news regarding the Halo Legends collection of animated shorts.
It was just announced that Warner Bros will be distributing the collection on Blu-ray and DVD on February 9, 2010. It features seven new stories in CG and traditional anime style, and will be rated PG-13 much like the direct-to-video features coming from DC and Marvel.
You’ll be able to pick up the Blu-ray, a 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD in February. Besides the 2 hours of animation there will be bonus features like:
I can’t wait for this, but I guess I’ll have to. Meanwhile you can check out the official site to see the trailer.
The only thing better than commissioned art is free commissioned art. Lucky for us, an enterprising artist named Ali Spagnola has been giving away a painting a day for the last couple years. She is just about to finish her 1000th painting, and is in need of more requests.
I heard about this project towards the beginning and requested a guitar painting, and got it a few months later. The wait should be a little shorter now if you email her soon. Check out her website for more information and a complete gallery (including my painting), but here are some of my favorites.
I told my sister about this a couple years ago and my Star Wars-loving nieces requested a Darth Vader painting, and Ali didn’t disappoint.
What are you waiting for? Check out her website to find out how to request your painting, and spread the word!
Ali also runs a blog.
The Disney Treasures series occupies a huge chunk of my DVD shelves. I try to collect all the animation-related waves, but have never watched any of the live action sets until now. Today Disney released Zorro Seasons One and Two, in special edition black tins and cases.
I remember watching this show in reruns on the Disney Channel with my Dad, and I’m excited to watch them with him again. All 78 episodes have been restored and are spread across 12 discs on two sets. The show aired from 1957 to 1959, and was one of the most successful shows of its time. There have been a few different home video releases of Zorro, but the Disney Treasures sets are definitely the definitive versions.
Each individually numbered set includes a collectible pin, an authenticity certificate, an exclusive lithograph, and comes in a unique black Disney Treasures tin. To my knowledge, the only other special colored DT tin has been the gold Oswald the Lucky Rabbit set (which is awesome).
Fans of Superman rejoice! Today Warner Bros releases the Ruby-Spears Superman series from 1988 on a two-disc DVD set! If you’re not familiar with this short-lived series, it ran for 13 episodes in 1988 and was intended as a gift to fans in celebration of Superman’s 50th Anniversary. It was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, who was known for various Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s and 80s, including Thundarr the Barbarian, Mr. T, Mega Man, Plastic Man, and Alvin and the Chipmunks (the ’83 version).
All 13 episodes are included in the set, as well as the four minute “Superman Family Album” segments that ran at the end of each episode. They’re short stories that focus on Superman growing up in Smallville with the Kents.
