As 2009 comes to an end, everyone at Muttpop wishes you a Happy Holiday! We hope that 2009 was a wonderful year for you and that 2010 is even better! Thanks for the support and we hope to continue sharing with you our love of design, toys, comics and whatever else we feel is cool enough to share with you in the next year and the many more years to come!

I was fortunate enough to see James Cameron's AVATAR film in its ideal format and environment (Imax 3D and on the monster projection screen at the legendary Hollywood Cinerama-Dome) this past Friday. It was a helluva experience that has me marveling over what the next steps in the spectacle of film will be. The 3D action epic that is AVATAR pushes the movie making experience to ambitious limits. It's big and grand in a manner that only an American Studio film can be and manages to, at the benefit of some people and detriment of others, connect it to a heavy-handed but intriguing mythology. Here are my thoughts with my best attempt of not including spoilers.

The "new" techology on display is might impressive. The 3D experience appears to be built on a slightly refined version of the 3D polarized lens made famous by the old Disney Captain EO experience. The glasses used are a bit heavier and supposedly use a better form of the technology (complete with batteries that apparently destroy their abilities if the glasses are stolen). The glasses were my least enjoyable aspect of the experience as they were clumsy, heavy and ill fitting. Much like the older form of polarized 3D glasses, the ear bands connect to the main lenses in a one-size-fits-all headband style. While it worked well for the lighter weight previous glasses, the heaviness and clunkiness of these new type of glasses have them fighting (and losing) to gravity far more often. As such, you'll catch yourself doing the nerdy glasses readjustment move (quick poke of index finger between eyes).

Despite the glasses, the 3D is far more nuanced than we have previously experienced. Depth in 3D has reached an all-time high. Nothing in the movie will reach out and try to poke or scare you... but there are consistently multiple planes of depth to experience. I was a little concerned during the opening moments of the film as it seemed that colors were a bit washed... but by the time of the first major action sequence in the forests of Pandora, either my eyes acclimated to the colors or the artists behind Avatar figured out how to solve the faded color dilemma I initially experienced... because, by that point, vivid blues and greens were glowing beautifully from the screen. The one thing I did notice suffered a bit from the 3D were quick movements, particularly in the more intimate moments of action. All the big ship and wide lens action was captured beautifully. But on the occasional moment where we're brought close in on the action like in 1-on-1 fight or chase scenes, the action gets blurry and the 3D effect is partially lost.

In regards to the film itself, I loved it. The world of Pandora is one that I loved visiting and intend to visit again (via a repeat viewing of the film in Imax 3D). The Earthling technology is a natural evolution of the wonderful "Space Marine" technology Cameron introduced in his classic films like Aliens, Terminators 1 & 2, and Abyss. I always felt that Cameron was the one guy doing sci-fi film that built upon the military robot tech made famous in Japanese anime series like Gundam. The earthling tech in Avatar supports this theory.

Pandora and its blue-skinned inhabitants are part of a rich universe whose look and culture have benefited from the 12 years it took to make Avatar. The world of Avatar is the true star of the film. The variety of creatures and plants we are introduced to are all incredibly imaginative and beautiful. The number and variety of creatures introduced in the film are too much to take in on a single-viewing.

The story is epic but clunky. The characters and plot suffer a bit from the broadness within which they are written. But with a story as large as this one it's fitting. The story of Avatar is one of technology versus nature; logic versus intuition. It is a story filled with a war of 1000s of people/aliens/monsters/hoverships... and, as such, its easy to forgive the broadness with which the overarching story is told. The broad story is a framework within which we are asked to experience the unique world of Pandora. The story isn't a bad one... but it is definitely a familiar one filled with the classic themes of love and power. I believed and easily bought into the sincerity of the story. But I suspect that some people will feel that the inherent philosophy in the story comes across a bit too strongly (particularly if that person is in disagreement with the suggested dogma). I actually like the harshness with which Cameron chooses to convey his ideals. If you take all this time building a universe, you may as well have it abide to the rules of your philosophy!

All in all, Avatar is an amazing experience. Now I look forward to seeing how talented A-list directors like Spielberg and Jackson react to it!

As you all know, AVATAR came out today. And, it's guaranteed to be a humungous hit. Why? Because it's got blue people in it. Hear me out, everything with blue skinned people is beloved by the masses. Smurfs devoured our childhood. Tron, even though it was far from being a perfect film, burned our brains with funny looking neon glow pajamas and blue faces (I'll admit, that crazy cool motorcycle scene helped a bit). Fantomas, despite being a sociopath, thief, and sadistic murderer, is one of the most popular French characters in crime fiction; and he has, you guessed it, a funny looking blue face/mask. The Las Vegas Blue Man Group? Um, what the hell?! I heard they even have a school for children! Is that Indian deity Vishnu behind this odd occurrence? I have no idea. For some reason a green faced guy is scary (damned martian!), a red faced guy is scary (demon!), but a blue faced guy? We freakin' love him!

Jerry's latest post on the French Muttpop Blog opened a part of my brain with tons of DENNIS THE MENACE memories. I remember immensely enjoying many episodes of the black & white live action tv series as a young child. I also remember watching the animated series years later. I had no idea that both incarnations were based on the Hank Ketcham's Dennis The Menace comic strip that debuted in 1951. I assumed that the cartoon was some Japanese animated reinterpretation of the original Black & White television series (which originally aired from 1959-1963). I remember loving the cartoon character designs. The theme song was pretty rad, too. I was shocked to find out years later that the character designs were 100% American. Looking at things now, I sense that both Ketcham's Dennis The Menace and Schultz's Peanuts had a huge influence on Japanese character design. The proportions and minimalist line Ketcham and Schultz use feels a lot like the Chibi-style that has become a staple of Japanese Pop design.

Another Tequila Original figure spotting! This time he can be found on the straight to DVD film called COUGAR CLUB. Way back in 2006, I was approached by a Tequila fan and told that he was working on a film and they were going to include Tequila in a few scenes. I had completely forgotten about the conversation until yesterday when I received an email from the very same fellow (roughly 3 years later) stating that the film came out, was called COUGAR CLUB, and can be seen on Netflix via their instant watching capability. It's a fairly basic straight to DVD comedy filled with fart jokes and boobies... but it gets credit for some Lucha Libre love and a decent amount of screen time from our OG Tequila figure. The trailer (seen below) does not have any Tequila. The screen captures included below do!

It's been 2 years since I last wrote about Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon's PREACHER comic series. Rereading it after many years doesn't cause it to lose its lustre. It took me a while to give PREACHER a chance when it first came out. I remember it got tons of buzz amongst comic book fandom... but I had a really hard time giving it a shot because the overall look was initially bland to me. What I quickly learned was that once you get used to the subversive blandness, the reader is taken on a helluva read!

The exteriors of both the Preacher trade paperbacks and comics are covered by the paintings of Glen Fabry. Based on those covers, Glen Fabry seems more interested in texture than beauty. Everything he paints looks wrinkled and ugly but has an odd attraction that emanates from the warm glow he renders his people with. The painting technique feels like the painted covers of old pulp novels. Instead of gorgeous femme fatales, you get ordinary-looking people depicted as Basil Wolverton monstrosities.

Once you open the comic (or trade paperback), you're introduced to cartoonist Steve Dillon's efficient sequential art. It's not the prettiest of styles... but it's damned effective. Dillon's linework is minimal. Every character is just different enough to easily distinguish them from each other. Poses and backgrounds convey exactly what is needed for the story. Nothing's too pretty. On the other hand, nothing's too vulgar and is easy to understand. Everything is about efficiency and simplicity.

The meat of PREACHER is it's story and character. Ennis' cobbled together a helluva tale that somehow manages to challenge all facets of the Christian/Catholic faith while telling a very moral story. Protagonist Jesse Custer is as good of a hero as you get. He's the John Wayne/white hat cowboy type. Jesse loves and is devoted to his woman. He has a strong sense of right and wrong that he stubbornly follows. But his mission is, essentially, the deconstruction of the Christian faith. Jesse Custer has been possessed by Genesis, a unique entity born from the forbidden love between a male angel and she-demon. Under the possession of Genesis, Jesse has a powered referred to as 'The Word of God'. Anything Jesse commands of someone is done without hesitation and Jesse uses this power to find a God that has abandoned our/his Kingdom.

Ennis' story is rife with clever dialogue, filled with grotesque ideas, and portrayed by fascinating characters. Its an odd mix that works wonderfully. Much of the strength of delivery can be attributed to the ordinary qualities of Steve Dillon's art. Ennis has a penchant for situations regarding vulgar violence and sex. Since Dillon illustrates violence and vulgarity with the same sobriety he depicts conversations, the reader ends up accepting way more of the extreme nature of Ennis and Dillon story. As you read it, you are so engrossed that you forget how awful situations are until it's too late.

If you love the grotesque, are open to a story that questions the principles of Christianity (and to a larger extent, Religion), or just want a well told tale of Good Vs. Evil, there are few stories as satisfying as Preacher.