Arcade Sushi editor-in-chief Luke Brown is an experienced video game journalist who has contributed to Official Xbox Magazine and Games Radar. As ComicsAlliance's senior editor, he spends most of his time dishing on the latest action figures, collectibles, and gaming trends.
Luke Brown
Hot Toys’ Force Awakens Cosbaby Figures Make Their First Order Being Cute
Baby-fied versions of pop culture characters aren't anything new. Chibi-inspired art has been around for a loooooong time, and we've had the X-babies and Muppet Babies and Skottie Young's Marvel babies continually reminding us that everything old can be made new again just by turning it into a child. The same can be said of Hot Toys' Cosbaby line, which appropriates the company's various licenses for highly-detailed adult action figures into itty-bitty versions with exaggerated features. Given the popularity of the Star Wars franchise, it was only a matter of time until Hot Toys turned its chibi-loving eyes towards The Force Awakens.
Yes, soon you'll be able to enjoy miniaturized figures of your favorite members of the First Order, rendered with the same affection of the caricature artist from your favorite amusement park. Twelve different figures will comprise the first two series of Hot Toys' Star Wars: The Force Awakens Cosbabies, including that rapscallion Kylo Ren and his bestest of friends, FN-2187.
Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party With This New ‘Batman V Superman’ Batman Doll
Boy, these new Barbie body types are sure getting really specific. I mean, it makes sense for Mattel to attempt to reach a broader, more diverse audience by releasing new Barbies that better match the girls and young women of the world, but aging, rich white dude with trust issues hardly seems like it will strike the right chord. The only thing this might strike is fear into the hearts of criminals.
Though Mattel had announced the full DC Trinity (in their Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice garb) would be getting the Barbie treatment at San Diego Comic-Con last year, the only doll anyone got to see was Wonder Woman. The Amazonian princess certainly looked the part, but nobody really knew what to expect from a potential Batman or Superman at the time. With Toy Fair 2016 right around the corner, and Mattel having a large Barbie and DC Comics presence at the show, it seemed like we might get our first glimpse at the Bruce and Clark Ken dolls in a few weeks. Thanks to Amazon, we no longer have to wait for Batman.
Robert Valley Launches Moody, Stylish Pear Cider and Cigarettes Animation Kickstarter
Back in 2012, Robert Valley launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of a second volume of Pear Cider and Cigarettes, an autobiographical graphic novel about trying to save a friend in desperate need of a new liver. It's about a lot more than that too, as Chris Sebela put it in his interview with the animator/artist himself, "Instead of meditations on relationships and jobs, Pear Cider is a whirlwind journey full of drugs, blood, sex, disease and international travel." Both volumes of the book were a success, but now Valley is returning to Kickstarter with Pear Cider and Cigarettes once more, only this time he's hoping to turn the story into a 30-minute animated short.
Even back when the crowdfunding for the second volume began, Robert Valley had an animated version of the story in mind. As he does most of his solo animating through Photoshop already, the book would serve as storyboards for the short film. It's taken four more years, but Valley's completely animated the story from start to finish. This latest Kickstarter venture is merely to help secure funding for post-production.
DC Collectibles Releases for April 2016 [Solicitations]
Courtesy of DC Comics, ComicsAlliance brings you an advance look at new action figures, statues and collectibles going on sale in April 2016 (and in some cases beyond) from the publisher’s DC Collectibles division.
Fallout 4 Review (Xbox One)
War never changes, but the console and gaming landscape has dramatically over the last seven years. In the time since Fallout 3's release, open-world games have evolved quite a bit thanks to that game's success. New platforms have also emerged, giving developers the resources to make larger, more detailed worlds for players to explore, while adding in the additional graphical benefits new hardware provides. While the rest of the world was moving on at an incredible pace, Bethesda was taking its time with Fallout 4. A proper fourth entry in the series needed to be bigger and better than before, but the wait was excruciating for fans. Though the franchise hasn't come quite as far in the last seven years as we'd hoped, but Fallout 4 is still an impressive piece of work that's not to be missed.
Five Hottest Video Game Characters (5×5)
When it comes to things that are too hot to handle, there's no better quintet of commentators to bring you the very best in listing things in an arbitrary order like the guys on 5x5.
Five Spookiest Ghosts (5×5)
Ghosts are the scariest real things in the world. These are the spookiest offenders to the ethereal plane.
Five Most Anticlimactic Video Game Releases (feat. Brutalmoose and Space Hamster) (5×5)
Sometimes, waiting for a game you've been anticipating can be an excruciating process. Then the game arrives and all is right in the world... until you actually play it, and the pain is all too real.
Free Stuff: We’re Giving Away Some of That Sweet Mary Jane (Okay It’s A Statue)
Yes, that's right loyal readers; ComicsAlliance is back with another amazing giveaway yet again. This time, we're offering you the chance to get your hands on one of the limited edition J. Scott Campbell Mary Jane polystone statues from Sideshow Collectibles. Face it, readers, you just hit the jackpot. See, we said the thing she says, so now you know our geek cred is real.
Five Worst Video Game Movies (5×5)
It's a bonafide bonus episode of 5x5 where we teamed up with our good buddies over at ScreenCrush to dish the dirt on the worst video game movies.
Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax Star in This 8-Bit Metal Homage
Metal acts Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax transcend the limits of of soundwaves and transform into a whole new kind of awesome in this new video from Filthy Frackers and Loudwire.
Five Best Punches (feat. Five Finger Death Punch’s Jeremy Spencer) (5×5)
These characters pack a wallop, and bring the most devastating fisticuffs to the small screen.