San Diego Comic Con is just about a month away and there’s a ton of stuff that we’re excited to see come out of the show, like the big announcements from all of the major movie and TV studios and comic book big (and little) shots. However, one of the major draws to the West Coast mecca for geek culture is the exclusive toys that are available at the show.
Over the last couple of weeks, Funko, the purveyor of fine Pop! vinyls, has announced their lineup of SDCC exclusive figures. We have compiled everything right here for you so you can decide before you go which ones you can’t live without (or salivate over the exclusives you’ll need to hunt down on eBay if you can’t make it to San Diego).
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
As October draws to a close, it’s time for our annual NYCC giveaway!
Items include, but are not limited to:
1 x FFXIV Carbuncle Promo Hat
1 x FFXIV Heavensward Promo Mask
1 x Naruto Promo Headband
1 x TMNT Raphael Promo Headband
1 x DC Superhero Girls Promo Cape
1 x Locke & Key Free Audible Code/Bookmark
2 x set of The Mortal Instruments: Shadowhunters temporary tattoos
1 x Steven Universe mini print
AND MORE!
All items will be packaged in a durable Square Enix bag and shipped inside of a box that you can wear as a Lego head! How do you enter? Complete any task below before November 1st for an entry as shown, and we will draw someone randomly. Good luck!
Sub Cultured’s NYCC 2015 Giveaway!
Leia Calderon
Editor
@ladyvader99
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
When our favorites from childhood are “revamped”, “revived”, “updated” or whatever word the marketing team uses this time around, we are inclined to go into the reboot (if we go into it at all) with serious trepidation. We expect to be disappointed–it’s all the “same” material getting a makeover for a new audience. It’s someone else’s turn to play with our favorite toys, and as it turns out we don’t want anything to do with the new model.
This is how I felt when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was updated by Nickelodeon. My dreams had already been squashed by the “reboots”–both failed (Rainbow Brite never made it past the new prototypes) and smash successes (I’m sorry. I can’t handle the new My Little Pony) –of franchises that I fangirled over before fangirling was a thing. This was what I expected with TMNT–sad, strange new versions of my favorite turtles who would poop all over my fondest memories of Saturday morning cartoons.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.
Imagine my surprise, when one Saturday morning I turned on the television and, half an hour later, found myself upset I hadn’t jumped on the new TMNT bandwagon as soon as the show was announced. Here’s why TMNT is getting it right:
1. The show hasn’t undergone a major redesign. Yes, the animation style is dramatically different, but the turtles are pretty much the same, and the world they live in is still gritty, underground New York and New York City scapes. Very VERY little about the show’s original aesthetic has changed, and where it has changed, there’s a reason for it. The newer animation often incorporates comic book or anime style elements, which add dashes of comedy to the show and separate it from the classic in a good way. Even Rob Paulsen, who was the original voice of Raphael, has returned as the new voice actor for Donatello. Which brings me to my second point–
Same Facial Expressions (except Donnie, who is grumbly…)
2. The Voice Acting Cast is PHENOMENAL (and lacking in baby-face). In addition to Paulsen (who is famous for plenty of other voice acting gigs, including Animaniacs…), TMNT has Sean Astin (The Goonies, Lord of the Rings) playing Raphael, Jason Biggs (American Pie) playing Leonardo, and Greg Cipes (Teen Titans) rounding out the famous four as Michaelangelo. These men show that the producers were smart–they didn’t go for the newest voices in the biz, nor did they go for the most contemporary choices. What this team reveals is that the producers had us, the original target audience, in mind without clutching desperately to days gone by. Cipes is the arguable exception to this rule, although the shows that give his resume the most “star power” are still cartoons that the old guard tends to celebrate (Teen Titans, Clone Wars) as much as our classic faves.
Perfect Cast is Perfect.
3. The Writers know what they’re doing.
Stahp
If 2012 TMNT were exactly like 1987 TMNT, then there’d be little to no point in creating a show again. Instead, the newest cartoon takes the whole TMNT universe, as it has unfolded since the 80s, into account when telling the newest version of our heroes’ story. The parts of the world that have changed (what little there is), incorporate elements of the storyline from graphic novels or comics rather than starting from scratch or perverting the original into some grotesque…erm…alien…version of things.
In fact, the commercials for the new “Booyaka” movie include Donatello proclaiming loudly to an alien villain, “At least we aren’t stupid ALIENS”, which I am firmly convinced is Nickelodeon’s way of giving Michael Bay a gigantic middle finger.
With a television show that is balancing the new and the old Ninja Turtles so perfectly, it’s a sentiment they deserve to express.
Revisit your childhood with new episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles every Thursday at 8.
Rick and Morty and Cosmicism
Steven Universe comes to Funko
Fictional Feasts– Ice Cream Sunda(y)
How Steven Universe Helped Me Like Things Again
Cerulean City Comic-Con Announces Guest Line Up!
Movie Review: “Big Hero Six” One Month(ish) Later
For those of you unaware, Michael Bay has cast the role of April O’Neil in his upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, where the namesake characters will not actually be teenagers or mutants as far as we can tell. But, one hoped, he would accurately and responsibly cast the role of O’Neil, a formative heroine for many young women of my generation.
Instead, he cast Megan Fox.
Allow me to respond in the most rational and calm manner possible:
FUCK YOU MICHAEL BAY! FUCK YOU SO HARD MICHAEL BAY! YOU DOUCHEBAG LOOKING FUCKER! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!
FUCK YOU, MEGAN FOX! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! DIDN’T YOU CALL THIS GUY “HITLER” ONCE AND NOW YOU’RE MAKING ANOTHER FUCKING MOVIE TOGETHER? FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, MEGAN FOX!
ONCE AGAIN: FUCK YOU MICHAEL BAY. HERE, LET ME PUT MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS INTO A FORM YOU WILL FUCKING UNDERSTAND, MICHAEL BAY:
FUCK YOU, FUCK YOUR EXPLOSIONS, FUCK MEGAN FOX, FUCK YOUR “ALIEN” NINJA TURTLES, FUCK EVERY FUCKING PIECE OF MEDIA YOU FUCKING GET NEAR, FUCK YOU MICHAEL FUCKING BAY.
–Ashly is an IHO Geek writer and FUCK YOU MICHAEL BAY FUCKING FUCK FUCK MICHAEL BAY on Twitter at @newageamazon
Aquaman is the Embodiment of “Fine”
New Star Wars Trilogy in the Works
REVIEW | Blade of the Immortal
Hallo-Screen Review | Good Day
REVIEW | Netflix’s ‘Death Note’
Review | Spider-Man: Homecoming
Valentine’s Day is generally regarded as a time for lovers. I prefer to focus on the crap ton of caramel filled chocolates I can get the day after, but whatevs.
In the spirit of love, we compiled a list of the Best Couples in Geekery. None of this pretty sparkly shit, these girls and guys are together because they’re fuckin’ equals. In a different kind of celebration, let us drink a toast to some pics and clips from the best couples across genres we love and cherish!
Han Solo and Princess Leia
The hottest scoundrel in the universe and the sassy princess is my personal fave simply because it was passionate, bloomed in a time of crisis, and is long lasting. Han is the perfect mix of cocky and gentleman so the next time a girl says, “I love you!”, let her know you really do by replying, “I know.”
Bulma & Vegeta
The cocky prince of all Saiyans met his match by traveling back to Earth. And no, not with Kakarot.
Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley
Not all couples that start young and in the middle of a wizard war have what it takes to make it in the long run. All Ginny had to do was take Hermione’s sage advice to just be herself and it led to one of the cutest courtships this side of Hogwarts. Ginny’s fire and Harry’s good heart make for a balanced couple that lasted until well after the series ended as we saw in the prologue that made many, many Potter filled hearts sigh with happiness.
Danaerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo
Love can bloom in all sorts of places. Sometimes even in an arranged marriage by a creepy older brother who half wants to do you and half wants a crown, as a certain silvery haired Stormborn found out. After a slow start and a couple of translators, Daenerys’ fear of her new husband is replaced with respect and caring, which seems reciprocated in Drogo’s gruff way. Me nem nesa.
Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba
They may not seem like the perfect couple because, let’s be honest, early on their entire relationship is based on sexual tension masked as mutual loathing. However, time after time they keep coming back to each other and when they’re not acting like total air heads, they are always there for each other even if it means risking their own lives for each other.
The Doctor and River Song
From the first moment we meet River Song, at the end of her life, her charismatic attitude toward the Doctor is one that leaves us wondering about their future relationship for episodes on end. With the “Wedding of River Song”, most of our questions were answered and River explains it best: she and the Doctor’s timelines are moving in opposite directions. The first time he sees her is the last time she’ll see him, and vice versa, which makes for emotional moments between the two. As much of a Rose/Doctor shipper as I am, I secretly love River and the Doctor just a little more.
Aang and Katara
An epic saga of the four elements had its fair share of love stories. No matter how much some of us were pulling for Katara and Zuko, it was Aang’s honest and pure love for the powerful water-bender that won us over in the end. He saved the world, he should at least get the girl, right?
Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartily
The bubbly and intelligent Rinoa is the perfect match for the brooding, reluctant hero Squall – even if they don’t hit it off perfectly in the beginning. That first moonlit waltz set off fireworks literally and figuratively, but it wasn’t until Balamb Garden became mobile that their love truly began to grow. They team up to battle Sorceress Ultimecia and bring peace to the realm.
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark
A true testament to the old saying “opposites attract,” Katniss and Peeta could not be more different. On the one hand, the Boy With The Bread is a hopeless romantic who exaggerates a kindergarten crush, whereas the Girl On Fire is solely out for survival. But Peeta’s attempt to save both their lives in the arena makes Katniss reevaluate some of her own life decisions, namely her getting attached to people. Love is literally a battlefield for these two.
Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay
My not so secret crush on Alyson Hannigan swelled to a new height when she first fell in love with Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With their love came a new level to Willow’s powers which were detrimental to the show itself and definitely took everything to a cosmic level. Who knew that a simple ceremony with hand holding would lead to one of the best romances on television? Whedon did.
Kitty Pryde and Piotr Rasputin
These two seem to have perfected the “I want you but I can’t be with you!” trope. Age differences, religion and even some serious ninjuity have all attempted to keep Kitty and Colossus apart, yet they always seem to gravitate back towards each other. Not to mention finally giving in to their more, ah, primal urges in Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men arc. Maybe Kitty has a magnet in her pants.
Zoe and Wash
Not everyone gets Zoe and Wash at first glance. Smuggler pirates on a Firefly class ship hurtling through the galaxy with no real destination in mind other than simply living? Still manages to be a stable couple. The endgame here isn’t about the hero getting the girl. The goofy pilot already has his warrior woman, and they compliment each other perfectly.
Cory and Topanga
Don’t know about you guys but my early years were spent watching every episode of Boy Meets World I could get my hands on. In between daydreaming of Eric being my boyfriend at the tender age of 12, I fell in love with Cory and Topanga’s love story. I want to watch Boy Meets World now.
Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson
After roughly 20 years of the stars just not aligning for this pair, Peter and Mary Jane were finally able to make it work. While I prefer the Peter/Felicia pairing, Mary Jane’s trademark nickname for Spidey and place in his heart, is a mainstay in comic book love stories. Althought they are currently not together due to the events of One More Day, Brand New Day, Moment In Time, and Spider-Island, most Spidey fans are silently rooting for the duo.
Clark Kent and Lois Lane
This is probably the one true relationship that has really made sense in comics. Clark and Lois share a bond that have crossed many different alternate realities. Somehow, these two always find each other. Their relationship really gives life to Superman. Without Lois, Superman can’t really be Clark. She reminds him of what it’s like to be human, she is the link that makes Superman a likable character.
Princess Zelda and Link
Wisdom and Courage go hand in hand. In every incarnation and timeline, these two always seem to feel a pull towards the other for mutual aid in some kind of quest. Though their relationship may not be out yet, fate always brings them back together to fix the numerous problems of Hyrule. Save the Princess, save the world.
Super Mario and Princess Peach
Mario and Peach are an odd couple. One is an acid-tripping plumber and the other is a clueless princess destined to be repeatedly kidnapped. And so begins their relationship, with one being kidnapped the other must obviously rescue… Over and over again. But what drives Mario to constantly rescue Princess Peach? Love!… and she should normally be way out of his league… But still! Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Buffy and Angel
Speaking of vampire couples that don’t give the phrase a bad name, we give you the tragic tale of the demon with soul that loved the chosen girl who was born to kill him. Sad right? He was teenage Buffy’s dream boyfriend, but after only three seasons they called it quits to serve the greater good (but mostly because they couldn’t bone). No matter who these two ended up with in subsequent seasons and spin-offs, neither ever really could let go of their true soul mate.
Wesley and Buttercup
Wesley and Buttercup are a perfect representation of what I thought of perfect love as a child. Adventure, romance, that guy who voices Rex from Toy Story, and sword fights. In fact, my view of love probably hasn’t changed too much and I rightfully expect Peter Cook to be at my wedding saying, “Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us hew, togewer, today.”
Why can’t these crazy kids just get along? What love is truer than that between a half-fairy Louisiana waitress and her two incredibly hot and insanely old vampire beaux? We got an instant of this sitcom potential in season 4 of True Blood, but alas our deepest fantasy was reduced to an unfulfilled dream sequence! Hopefully the powers that be felt our displeasure and will once again resurrect our favorite soft-core couple next season.
Meg Murray and Calvin O’Keefe
I recently reread A Wrinkle In Time, because it’s one of my all-time favorite books, and you know what? Meg Murray and Calvin O’Keefe are the original Ron and Hermione. And you can tell from the first moment they meet that they’re destined to be together, which is refreshing in a world with a good amount of pessimism regarding long-term relationships. Any couple who can nurture a relationship as strong as theirs when the laws of time and space and physics are sort of melting away willy nilly… well, that says true love to me.
Jack and Sally
What can be said about this couple that hasn’t been slapped on every piece of merchandise that Hot Topic thought it could convince teenagers to buy? A classic tale of the most popular boy in town finally noticing and falling for the girl who he had previously never deigned to notice. It’s like a Taylor Swift song but with skeletons and we actually love it. The Pumpkin King and his Rag Doll are a timeless couple that frequently make appearances in our DVD players well after Halloween and Christmas are over.
Susannah & Eddie Dean
He’s a heroin addict from the 1987 and she’s a legless schizophrenic from 1964, but thanks to the cracked-out mind of Stephen King, they’re able to meet and fall in love on their way to The Dark Tower. We love badass couples, and the fact that these pair of gunslingers were able to schedule sexy time with all killing and universe jumping they were doing earned them a spot on our list.
Did we miss your favorites? Who would you include or omit? Let us know in the comments below!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Viz Media Announces Free Streaming Anime!
Sub Cultured is Headed to Colorado Anime Fest!
Aniplex of America to Stream New Slice of Life Comedy, Slow Start, on Crunchyroll in January 2018
Nan Desu Kan 2016 – Recapping Rocky Mountain’s Biggest Anime Convention!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Misa Amane
One of TWELVE covers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
Story by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz and Art by Dan Duncan
I’m unsure if everyone else was as excited to see Kevin Eastman put out a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle title but I snapped this shit up as soon as I left work that Wednesday. Elated and apprehensive, I filed my issue in one of my many short boxes, firm that I would read it later. Well, here we are roughly four months later and I’ve barely had the time to check it out. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get into TMNT until I was at least 20 and that was largely due to having a huge TMNT fanboy as a significant other. I wasn’t born when Eastman first published the comics under Mirage Studios and in the 90’s I may have seen the first movie once or twice. As I began to delve into the Turtle lore, I became enraptured and sucked up every bit I could. Granted I still can’t quote the movies word by word (unlike a certain fanboy) but it’s become a universe I love. I digress so we will depart from my personal feelings and get on with the review!
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #4
Review | The Lost Path by Amélie Fléchais
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
