¡Hola mis amigos nerdy!  How about some comic-book-turned-movie news, yes?

Captain America:  (here), (here), and (here)

Green Lantern:  (here)

Superman: (here)

Daredevil: (here)

That was fun, no?  Until next time, ¡Ruego para que usted pierda su virginidad!

With the recent expansion of the best picture category, this year’s Academy Awards have made room for normally-ignored Nerd properties to make a big impact on the Oscars. Announced nominees include two sci-fi films (Avatar, District 9), a cartoon (Up), and uber-film nerd Quentin Tarantino’s latest opus (Inglourious Basterds).

Seriously. This is as Nerdy as the Oscars get. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of opportunity for shitty choices (The Blind Side), to beat all of them. Besides, there’s only one awards show for me: The Latin Grammys.

Last week, I got a chance to check out “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity”, the new play about pro-wrestling @ The Victory Gardens Theatre @ The Biograph.

I have to admit, this was a very interesting show. Firstly, even the idea of a major theatre company producing a work dedicated solely to the concept of the backstage workings of wrasslin’ is pretty mindblowing. The play centers around a fictional wrestling company and their stars, including the exceptionally Rock-esque title character, Chad Deity. Two up-and-comers, one Puerto Rican, one Indian, are cast as stereotypical villians to counteract the all-American image of superstar Deity. Heavily satirical, the piece certainly understands this particular world, and the production value and set pieces, as well as the show’s physicality, do an excellent job of recreating the look and feel of televised pro-wrestling.

Direct Youtube Link

When the play works, which is surpringly often, it serves as a biting commentary on this particular microcosm, especially in regards to issues of race, on this and a larger American and world scale.  The writer, Kristoffer Diaz, is obviously well-versed in the world of sports entertainment and some of the terminology and references reward only the most knowledgeable fan. The fact that the piece not only won a major grant, but is currently being shown @ one of the most respected playhouses in Chicago, (as well as the recent success of The Wrestler), suggest perhaps pro wrestling is slowly being accepted as grounds for actual, intelligent character studies. The actors are all well-cast, with the lead role of Deity  played with the panache (and physique) of an actual pro-wrestler, and the show does actually raise some very important points.

It does however, also raise some interesting questions. For one, who is this play actually for? Those who like pro wrestling enough to fully understand every reference probably would not be interested in going to this show, especially when they can just watch actual wrestling. And for those theater buffs, will they really be willing to sit through a show about something as common as wrestling? Perhaps this is another larger commentary on stereotypes raised by the play. Maybe I shouldn’t pigeon hole who would or wouldn’t like this show.

But that raises another question: in a show funded by a grant for diversity, about stereotypes in pro-wrestling, why are there no women cast? Let me repeat that: How can you create a show commenting on stereotypes in pro-wrestling and not have any women in it? And how can you produce a play focusing on diversity when you have an all-male cast? Regardless of these obvious shortcomings, this is a show to see, even though it does occasionally fall into “attention everyone, I am an actor in a play” mode.

It’s worth checking out merely for the fact that something as Nerdy as pro-wrestling has leaked in to mainstream live theatre, and for the moments that really do work. This is also the perfect show to see if you are a student who needs to write a paper about the “theater”, because the subject matter and tone make it a lot easier to sit through then “The Crucible” or some shit like that.

Get your tickets to “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” (which runs until Nov. 1) here

When it comes to combining nerdy pop iconography with hip, sophisticated design sensibility, nobody does it better than Nerd City’s ally in Edmonton, ITEM.  These mock-ups for ITEM’s upcoming project take things to a whole other level, mashing up super heroes from comic books with super heroes from modern design.

From ITEM:

This is a physical mock-up posted in my studio of a piece called ‘Philippe’ that is roughly 6ftx8ft. The finished piece will be in color and gel transfered onto a raised plywood panel.

This is part of a series i’ve been mucking about with where i’m mashing up famous designers and famous heroes. So upcoming subjects will be Karim Rashid-Batman, Frank Gehry-Captain America, Will Alsop-Thor, etc, etc.

I don’t have a theory behind this due to the fact that i’m fucking tired of appeasing the Academics.

From ITEM:

This is a digital mock-up of what will be the second in the ‘We Can Be Heroes’ series. So to accompany ‘Philippe’, we will have ‘Frank’. As with the last posting, this will be gel transfer onto plywood at about 6ft x 8ft.

I’m really looking forward to the other pieces in this series, as well as the final products.  I’ll keep everyone up to date as more images and info surface.

All images from ITEM’s Flickr.

Holy Shit! Nerdiness in cupcake form!

See the details on Topless Robot here.

(Thanks to Nerd Citizen Brandi for the heads up.)

So as you may or may not have heard, there was a recent fan/Rob Liefeld transgression @ Chicago Comic Con. I assume this was during our super awesome panel, as I didn’t hear about it until I re-arrived on planet Earth on Monday.  Basically, this dude in a yellow hat and trenchcoat walked up to Liefeld @ his booth and talked shit on his work with Captain America.

When Liefeld wouldn’t take the bait, the guy (who of course has some shitty blog) (not like this one, of course) went back up to the booth and dropped off a copy of “How to Draw the Marvel Way”, (which regardless of context Is an excellent book). The whole thing was of course caught on video, and the incident has ignited quite a controversy, with Liefeld even discussing it on his Twitter. ( I know).

After having done a little research, I have come to several conclusions. First, this guy in the yellow hat is a nerdy d-hole, and the fact that he just dropped the book off and left demonstrates a serious lack of testicular fortitude. If you’re going to talk major shit on somebody, do it to their face, or on your unlistened-to weekly podcast. Also, the fact that he had a buddy filming the whole thing gives the whole situation a crappy prank-show ripoff feel. I mean, this guy is fucking with Nerd City territory here. We do a lot of video work @ these shows, and anything that makes creators more apprehensive of appearing on camera is bad for us. And that brings me to my point. Rob, Ben has always been a huge fan of yours, and we support our own. So if you’re reading this, Nerd City would like to offer their protective services at any upcoming events or shows. The fact that this went down in our town makes Nerd City sick, and we want revenge. Basically, Nerd City would perform security detail, including food tasting, beer-retrieving, and physical protection against any aggressor under 150 lbs. We want to be the Hell’s Angels to your Rolling Stones.

So let it be heard here: You fuck with Liefeld, you fuck with us. And be warned: anyone wearing a yellow hat, you’re going down.

I do not play World of Warcraft.  Although I find it to be somewhat appealing, I very much realize that yet another full-time nerdy undertaking is probably not in my best interest.  Anywhoo, there have been quite a few cool looking Warcraft action figures coming out from DC Direct over the last few years that have really impressed me.  In addition to these, however, are custom statues of your very own WoW character from Figure Prints.

From Figure Prints:

What are FigurePrints®? FigurePrints® are one-of-a-kind, custom statues of your World of Warcraft® characters created using high-tech 3D color printing machines. Our artists pull your character from the virtual world and bring it to life.

How are FigurePrints® created? Our servers grab your latest character data from the World of Warcraft Armory, create a custom 3D model, and then let you pose it any way you like. Once you are happy with the way it looks you simply hit “Print” and our proprietary software prepares the model for printing. Our artists finish the process, turning your selection into a high-quality collectible. Once it has passed our artists’ inspection, your print is packaged carefully and shipped directly to your home.

I was with you up to the “printed” part. How do you print a statue? We use technology previously reserved for the manufacturing industry, called rapid prototyping machines, to convert three dimensional computer models into physical objects. The electronic version of your FigurePrint is cut up into more than a thousand very thin slices. The printer creates a slice at a time and the slices are stacked on top of each other to form the final three dimensional statue that we call a FigurePrint. We remove it from the machine, hand finish it, mount it in a glass display case and it’s ready to go.

What are FigurePrints® made of? They are built out of a plaster-like powder that is then bonded and sealed to make it strong and colorful.

Will the character be exactly as I see it on the screen? It will be very close, but not exactly the same. Please remember that to create these pieces of art, there are several stages that our artists and machines must complete to translate game data to a physical model. Our custom software, along with our art team, interprets the model data from the game and transforms it into a physical representation of the character. This interpretation includes increasing the resolution, identifying and thickening certain aspects of each model that are too thin to print, brightening the colors, and sharpening small details to enhance your individual FigurePrint. During the final pass our artists may tweak the angle and position of the weapons and armor to make a stronger and more aesthetically pleasing final statue. They may also need to add additional support elements to make sure that the print is stable given the gear and/or pose you have chosen.

How big are FigurePrints®? We print all characters in scale relative to each other so depending on the race of the character and the pose chosen the resulting statue can be as large as eight inches tall. Smaller characters have the option to be printed on larger bases to give them a boost.

To check out a movie of how these things are made, click here.

To get your very own Character made into a statue, click here.

Nerd City has always made it perfectly clear about how we feel about the work of Suckadelic- we love it!  From his music to his bootleg toys to his subversive artistic statements, we just can’t get enough.  We were, therefore, super excited when The Sucklord was cool enough to answer a few of our questions.

Who is Suckadelic?  What inspires him?  And what is his artistic mission?

Suckadelic is an evil arts organization based in Chinatown NYC. The company specializes in bootleg action figures and illegal remix records. The founder and supreme ruler of Suckadelic is the Super Sucklord, a mysterious space traveller and downtown toy imprasario. His chief inspirations are self-promotion, arcane niche studies, and culture jamming. The artistic mission of Suckadelic is to create opportunities for its growth by absorbing and re-appropriating vast qualities of pop culture detritus in an effort to inspire legions of loyal followers to consume its products and champion it’s cause.

Before I was familiar with any of your other work, I discovered your music.  Do you feel that the use of sampling in your music carries over to your philosophical approach towards your other art?

Yeah, we call it “toy sampling.” Taking parts from a bunch of different toys and remixing them into something new. I hide things in there that only real nerds would recognize. I do Same thing with the music.

Also, is there an aesthetic sensibility that influences your toys, for example, that also informs your musical work?

Yeah, A “kitchen sink” mentality, taking stuff from far and wide and boiling it down to something rich and layered with lots of hipster snark. In both cases I try to take uncool nerdy niche references and put them in a “cool” context, such as hip-hop or Gay Rights activism. At the same time I try to demonstrate a serious, almost academic comprehension of the original material. For example, if I’m gonna make a remix of a Micronaut toy and flip him into a statement about lame people on message boards, it has to work on two levels. That’s what I did with the Cosmo Douche. Not only did I try to relay a true-to-life backstory about universal message board wackness, I made sure the piece had unassailable, un-ironic Micronaut cred as well. I did that by mixing parts of both Acroyear 1 and 2. (even though in Japan, Their Acroyear 1 became our Acroyear 2 and vice versa). I try to hit two marks with my best works.

Your toy work is unapologetically referential to action figures in a world where many art toy/ designer vinyl artists tend to avoid such homages.  Why do you feel that your style is more open to this realm than that of your peers?

The 3 and 3/4′ figures were what I played with. To me this are the archetypal scale for toys. Way before I learned to make my own, all my toy fantasies revolved around this scale. I can’t speak for what other people are doing. It all just boils down to the fact is that it’s just what I like and what I know.

What are you listening to while you work at the moment?

I usually listing to left-wing talk radio when I work.

SUCKLORD 600 TOY COMMERCIAL from SUPER SUCKLORD on Vimeo.

Your video output has increased steadily over the past couple of years. What is your level of involvement in your video projects?

For the Sucakdelic videos, I do all of it. Conceive it, shoot it edit it. For the Original Villains. I do most of the conceptual stuff and the production, but the various people in the episodes often write parts for themselves that fit within the bigger picture. With Microsexuals. I help out with some writing, but I mostly do set building and stop-motion or puppetry work.

The well publicized Christie’s auctions of your work sort of thrust you into the world of mainstream or proper art.  Do you feel that this is a reflection of a general acceptance of the importance of your work by the larger art community or more of an indication of that community’s desire to capitalize on the “next big thing”?

I don’t really know.  It was just one deal that I did with an idealistic person who works there who had a pure affinity for the work on a personal level. I never got that there were really any greater implications to it. I know it may seem that way to someone on the outside of it. But to me it was just another opportunity.

What upcoming projects can we look forward to from The Sucklord?

An epic, multi-chapter Original Villains movie called TOY LORDS of CHINATOWN. It’s a sci-fi gangster movie centering around the bootleg toy racket and all the shady characters that keep it going. It will have a series of figures to go along with it, both vinyl and resin. First episode comes out this Spring.

Thanks so much for your for your time, Sucklord.  Long may you suck!

For all of the latest and greatest about the goings on of Suckadelic, check out the official site here and The Original Villain Network here.

Who is ready to get hurt on your own personal Millenium Falcon? Well now we can all enjoy the fun that sledding has to offer while being as nerdy as possible. Available through Amazon you can have your own personal Millenium Falcon for the holiday season. Priced at $34, it is kinda expensive for basically a saucer sled but someone needs to put Lucas’ kids through college so it might as well be us. If anyone actually buys this, let us know how it turns out.

Burnout Paradise has seen its fair share of DLC since it was released, basically expanding the map and adding new cars along with race modes.  In the past the cars have been variations on some exciting fast sports cars, but the update they sent to day is definitely worth a mention.  Starting next year they will release the legandary car pack which includes the Cavalry Bootlegger, Manhattan Spirit, GT Nighthawk and the best one in my opinion the Jansen 88 special.

The reason why this is best should be obvious as it resembles a certain nerdy car that we all love, Doc Brown DeLorean.  On top of looking like the car, once you get your boost filled and initiate it the car will leave a trail of dual flames behind.  Oh yeah did I mention that if you hit L3 the mother fucker flies?

And just because enjoy this brief clip.

Direct Youtube Link

images courtesy of Kotaku

Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez signs his new toy release “Kill Audio“, today at 4-6 p.m. at Rotofugi. Although I’m not particularly crazy about the band, this dude seems to be everywhere nerdy, including writing Image Comics‘ Armory Wars, and the figure does look kind of cool. For more info about liking something nerdy from a guy who’s band you hate, please see The Umbrella Academy, available at Chicago Comics.

Kate Napolitano is Managing Editor of ToyFare Magazine, and her newly launched blog, “Chewing on Poison Ivy” can currently be found on the Wizard Universe website.  She recently talked Toyfare,  lady nerdiness, and s-e-x, with Nerd City’s Max.

Kate, how did you get involved with ToyFare, and what does your position as Managing Editor entail?

I got involved with ToyFare by lots of finger-crossing, the most eccentric cover letter I’ve ever written, and a devout love of all things Wizard since before puberty. To start with that last part first, I grew up reading both Wizard and ToyFare; read it all through college at Fairfield University in Connecticut where I graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa (if I don’t say that part my Mom will call you and make you put it in, ha ha) in 2006 with a degree in English and Women’s Studies. I spent a little time post-college “finding myself” writing freelance and teaching at a private school, but the stars aligned one day when I happened upon a ToyFare Managing Editor ad on Craigslist.

I wrote a cover letter that started “My density has brought me to you,” had several interviews, and here I am.

And what do I do? The Managing Editor is a wheel-greaser: I’m in charge of making sure everything big and small gets done, gets done well, and, above all, gets done on time. I create schedules, set up meetings, keep track of the budget and payroll, harass people to get finish things, and also do a whole lotta copyediting.

Tell us a little bit about your new blog, “Chewing on Poison Ivy“.

I love comics, and I love the subject of Women’s (well, really Gender) Studies; Sex and Superheroes are myfavorite S-words, lol! There’s a lot to celebrate about being a girl-nerd, a lot to celebrate about being a boy-nerd, and a lot to celebrate about all the male and female characters we love. I’m setting out on my blog to do just that, but critically, maybe a touch academically from time to time, and most importantly, with whatever fan interaction I can think of. I’m always open to suggestions. It’s about having fun while entertaining some critical thought and discussion.

As a prominent female member of the nerd communitiy, what are the things you’re particularly nerdy about?

I am a COMPLETE nerd about the usual suspects like Star Trek (though I’ll admit I didn’t get on board Voyager until Seven of Nine arrived), Family Guy, and animation in general…I love unique animation—like MTV’s adaptation of Sam Kieth’s The Maxx, or pretty much anything Stop Motion (I’m a Wallace and Gromit geek, always watch the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, and am on Atom Films’ website all the time looking at the latest stop motion/claymation contributions).

I also think I love Alan Moore’s works more than is medically deemed “normal,” lol, with a special love for Tom Strong. I literally held his action figure while I slept the night it arrived in the mail (my boyfriend said later the couch was not as uncomfortable as he thought it’d be, ha ha).

I’m also pretty nerdy about sex: I like learning about it (I once interned at NYC’s Museum of Sex), and do collect textbooks and guides about it. I even have books on animal sexuality—like did you know that female porcupines are only in heat four hours a year? Or that male bean weevils have barbed penises that make sex just hideous for females? Sex has way more flavors than Baskin-Robbins.

Coming up on Chewing on Poison Ivy, I’ve got an interview with American Gladiator Phoenix (we met at WW Chicago this year and she’s as sweet as she is gorgeous), some book reviews, and likely an essay or two about working at Wizard itself (like for example we’ve got two mens rooms on the first floor, and I think it’d be fun to play with stuff like that).

As for ToyFare, issue 136 goes on sale in October, and has a fabulous interview with Bruce Campbell, plus a ton of great Gears of War and GI Joe coverage. We’re working on 137 now, which has a massive Holiday gift-buying guide (CBS is actually issuing a life-size Captain Kirk captain’s chair!), and after that 138 has a GIANT 2009 Preview. Toys, games, movies—we’re on it!

Meggs is an artist from Melbourne, Australia who combines acryllic paints, illustration, aerosol and screen printing to create a totally unique style that pays homage to both graffiti and nerdy comic/ 80’s pop culture.  His work can not only be found in art galleries, but also on the streets of cities as far reaching as London, Tokyo, Barcelona, and Paris.

Check out his blog here.

Check out his Flickr here.

Does it make me extra nerdy that one of my favorite things about the NFL football season is FOX’s robotic football player mascot, Cleatus?  Probably.  Anywhoo, the only thing that can make hanging out, having some drinks with friends, and watching some football any more fun is adding some robots into the mix.  Check out Cleatus in action:

Direct Youtube Link

It gets better, they made a 10″ fully articulated action figure of Cleatus:

I have yet to pick up one of these guys, but think I will before the season is over.  Check out Michael Crawford’s review of the Cleatus figure here.

I thought for my first post, I could offer something particularly nerdy and beer-geeky.  Since this is a beer that you won’t be able to even buy this year (unless you happen to live near Chico, CA) I think this qualifies.

http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/harvest_series.html

Their other Harvest ales are offered seasonally in limited quantities.  If you haven’t tried them yet, they’re phenomenal.  By harvesting fresh hops and getting them to the brew kettle within 24 hours, you get an entirely different flavor profile and an amazing aroma.  It’s really cool that they now have their own hop farm and are able to create a local version.

All this from the now third largest US owned brewery.