The Flickcast

Twisted Pixel announces ‘Comic Jumper’

Posted on September 5, 2009

At San Diego Comic-Con, we got to sit down with Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford to talk about their recent XBox Live Summer of Arcade release ‘Splosion Man . And just this past week, our friends at Twisted Pixel were nice enough to provide us with some download codes to give away to The Flickcast fanbase.

So when we found out that Twisted Pixel announced their newest title, Comic Jumper, at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend we got pretty pumped…until we found out the premise of the game which made us EVEN more excited. In the tradition of the humor of The Maw and ‘Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel brings a new hero Smiley Man (and the angry, smart-mouthed talking star on his chest) to the comic book world.

A comic book style platformer with Twisted Pixel’s twisted humor. Sign us up. But don’t take our word for it, take a peek at this just released trailer after the jump!

Review: ‘Extract’

Posted on September 4, 2009

Extract-Jason-Bateman-J.K.-Simmons

Mike Judge’s new movie, essentially an almost direct followup to Office Space, is a quirky and well-meaning comedy that strikes many of the right notes but in the end falls a bit flat and ends up with very little to show for it’s efforts. The film covers pretty familiar territory for Judge and as such doesn’t seem quite as fresh as perhaps it did when Office Space was released. The cast, with the notable exceptions of David Millgan as the male gigolo hired by Jason Bateman’s character to seduce his wife, the always awesome J.K. Simmons and, surprisingly, Ben Affleck as a helpful bartender and friend to Bateman’s character, are mostly relegated to sitcom level schtick and not given much else to do. And in the case of Mila Kunis, are simply the eye-candy — a role she plays very well, however.

Sure, many of the lines and situations in the film elicit a chuckle and in some cases, cause the viewer to laugh out loud, but those moment a few and far between. Instead, we’re left with many attempts at humor that fall flat and leave me to wonder what Judge was thinking. Some gags in the film are particularly overused — the “pushy neighbor” comes to mind — and result in not only being unfuny but annoying to the audience as well.

Huge Capcom Deal to Kick Off Labor Day Weekend

Posted on September 4, 2009

capcom_logo_topleft Yesterday, Capcom decided to give something back to all the hard working Americans on the Playstation Network in celebration of Labor Day. Capcom has put together two value packs of their best PSN downloadable titles at a tremendous discount.

The first Capcom PSN Super Pack sells for $49.99 and includes:
Super Street Fighter II HD Remix
Flock!
Age of Booty
1942
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 HD Remix
Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
Rocketmen: It Came from Uranus mission pack.

‘I Am T-Pain’ Brings Auto-Tuning to the iPhone

Posted on September 4, 2009

Yesterday we posted a new video showing off the Auto-Tune The News guys and the master of the auto-tune himself, T-Pain. In the video, there is cool button on an iPhone that kicks off the song, allowing everybody to have the melodic and rhythmic styling of Mr. Pain. We thought it was fiction, but it turns out that the app is not only real, but is as amazing as it sounds.

From Smule, the developers of the highly popular Ocarina app, comes “I Am T-Pain”, a fully functional auto tuner for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app allows you to have perfect pitch and melody just like every other song you hear on top 20 radio today, by simply pushing a button!

You can choose to go A Capella and make your own music, or use some premixed instrumentals of popular auto-tuned songs like “Bartender”, “Kiss Kiss”, “I’m Sprung”, and “Dreamgirl”, all of which are free. For $0.99, you can buy a few other premium songs such as T-Pain’s hit “Buy U a Drank”, “Freeze” and more.

Tim Gunn Talks Donning the ‘Iron Man’ Suit

Posted on September 4, 2009

In an upcoming Marvel miniseries titled Models Inc., Project Runway‘s famous, fashion designer Tim Gunn is making a cameo in which he’s forced to don Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor in order to defend his fashion exhibit from evil doers. Sounds like a job for a world-renowned fashion designer, no?

Models Inc. is a story about a modeling agency that handles the likes of Mary Jane Watson, Patsy Walker, Jill Jerold, Chili Storm, and even Millie the Model. When a young set designer is found dead by way of bullet holes in his back, the models are forced to play detective to save one of their own from persecution.

The book is by Paul Tobin (Spider-Man and the Secret Wars) and Vicenc Villagrassa (Exiles) and hits shelves next Wednesday. Check out the video interview with our friends at Comics Alliance, where Gunn talks with Marvel Marketing Coordinator Margarita Vaisman on his role in the book, his most memorable fashion statements in the Marvel Universe, and even a few fashion tragedies, including how Hulk destroys his clothes every time he transforms. Models Inc. hits comic stores nationwide September 9th.

Top Cow’s ‘The Darkness/Pitt #1’ A Sell Out

Posted on September 4, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PAUL JENKINS & DALE KEOWN’S

THE DARKNESS/PITT #1 SELLS OUT!

Long Awaited Crossover Debut Issue Sold Out at Distributor Level

LOS ANGELES, Calif., September 2nd, 2009 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that the first issue of The Darkness/Pitt has sold out at the distributor level. The highly anticipated crossover series has been over five years in the making and was held back from release by Top Cow Productions until all principal work on the series had been completed.

Paul Jenkins (Captain America: Theater of War) and Pitt creator Dale Keown (Berserker) have reunited for the first time since their much-lauded run on The Darkness in 2002 in The Darkness/Pitt. The series also marks the first Pitt series in a decade and creator Keown’s return to the character he is best known for. In the three issue limited series, Jackie Estacado, mafia hitman and current bearer of The Darkness, encounters an alien infection which turns in monstrous zombie like beings. Meanwhile, Pitt, an alien/human hybrid warrior, and his teen half-brother Tim arrive in New York tracking down this same problem. What happens next is pure Jenkins and Keown magic.

“We’re thrilled that fans and retailers have reacted so positively to the release of The Darkness/Pitt,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik, “It’s been a long time in the making, but good things do come to those that wait.”

“Every panel shows the love for the medium and a cunning eye for dynamics, action moments, perspective and the use of light/shadow is used delicately and skillfully.” – Broken Frontier

“This is a wild ride from Jenkins and Keown. It’s not going to win any awards, but it sure is an exciting, eye-popping read.” – Comic Book Resources

The Darkness/Pitt #2 is scheduled to be in stores on September 23rd and retailers are reminded to double check their orders prior to Diamond’s Final Order Cutoff.

PTDK001_COVA_unstamped-1 In the spirit of bringing you news of successful comics that don’t just come from the “Big Two,” our friends at Top Cow also keep coming out with books that sell . . . and sell very well. This time around its Paul Jenkins and Dale Keown’s The Darkness/Pitt #1 which features the first crossover of these two characters.

Here’s all the info about this new book directly from the official press release. Of course, as always, check out some cover art after the jump too.

PAUL JENKINS & DALE KEOWN’S

THE DARKNESS/PITT #1 SELLS OUT!

Long Awaited Crossover Debut Issue Sold Out at Distributor Level

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Brand New Images from Shane Acker’s ‘9’

Posted on September 4, 2009

4030_FP_r1_grd46.18180R We’ve been bringing you news of Shane Acker’s upcoming film 9 for some time now. Previously, we showed you the new poster, the film’s brand new website, some character posters, a brand new clip from the movie and much more. Now, we’ve got even more from the film to share with you, in the form of four brand new pictures depicting various scenes from the film.

These new images give us more insight into just how cool and interesting this film is going to be. They also show us some detail on two of the main characters in this fantasy world and a preview of a pretty scary monster as well. In case its been some time or you don’t actually know, the film concerns the character 9, who finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone. It is only by chance he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth trying to destroy his kind.

9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must go on the offensive to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. Be sure to click through for the large versions of these photos.

9, from Focus Features and featuring the voices of Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly, hits theaters next week on September 9.

The Pull List Comic Reviews: ‘Fall Out Toy Works’, ‘Invincible Iron Man’ & ‘The Torch’

Posted on September 4, 2009

To check out yesterday’s reviews of “things that should stay dead”, make sure to click here for yesterday’s The Pull List.

fall out toy works

Fall Out Toy Works #1 – Image – $3.99

Score: 7.0

When Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance had a hit on his hands with two successful runs of The Umbrella Academy miniseries with more on the way, it was inevitible that other musicians would give it a go in the comic world. Like Claudio Sanchez from Coheed & Cambria who will be debuting Kill Audio soon (whom we will be posted an interview with soon), Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz has thrown his hat in the ring as the co-creator of a work “inspired by the ideas & lyrics of Fall Out Boy” called Fall Out Toy Works. A struggling toy maker who only makes one of a kind robotic toys is approached by a man referred to as the Baron.

The Baron, who has made his money through somewhat questionable means as well as mass production wants the Toy Maker to create a robotic woman for him as his team’s previous attempts have ended less than favorably, like the most recent robotic wife letting herself fall out the window of a high rise building. Inspired by the Fall Out Boy song “Tiffany Blews”, the book also features one of the Toy Maker’s other creations a depressed robotic boy in a bear suit as well as a sentient cell phone who looks like a bee in a bowler hat and acts as the consciousness of the Toy Maker at times.

While well written by Brett Lewis, the concept doesn’t feel new. For the most part, the story feels like a traditional Japanese anime or manga story. Not being a huge fan of manga, it takes a little while to get in to the story as even the futuristic landscape shares that style at times. At the same time, there are a lot of deep layers examined throughout the course of the issue especially focused on creating “a woman” and basically playing God.

These questions are looked at subtley and are often repeatedly hit over the head of the reader as the Toy Maker faces this moral dilemma to work for the Baron or let his factory go under. Through the issue, the Toy Maker is explored thoroughly as he questions not only his ability to make what the Baron is looking for, but also the effects doing so might have on him as he succeeds. This is accomplished really well as he sits with a Japanese server at the Baron’s Doll House establishment.

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