One of the more visually interesting things I saw at SDCC 2010 were the character statues Gentle Giant was displaying from Zach Snyder's SUCKER PUNCH film. Say what you will about Zach Snyder's ability as a director, but there's no question that he tries hard to push the look of Hollywood blockbuster films. With 300, he was going for a polished version of Frank Miller's art style. With WATCHMEN, he was going for a polished version of Dave Gibbons'. With SUCKER PUNCH, I see a lot of Maschien Krieger's Kow Yokoyama's design aesthetic... with bits of various anime aesthetics thrown in for the hell of it.

I love the Ma.K-like mech design. I also love the tough retro/fantasy/military feel to the female characters (HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL's Venessa Hudgen's is trying hard to prove she's a woman!). But the trailer feels a little too ambitious to really work. Fire-breathing dragons?! Machine-gun armed Samurais?! Whoa... slow down a bit, Mr. Snyder!

Besides all that, I'm mightily intrigued. If you want more info, I recommend checking out ToysREvil's wonderful collection of all things SUCKER PUNCH.

In what couldn't be a better coordination of time, the SCOTT PILGRIM comic concludes with volume 6... less than a month before the release of the live action movie adaptation. I bought and read a Volume 6 at the San Diego Comic-con and felt it was a fitting conclusion to a very enjoyable series. I've been following Bryan O'Malley's work since the announcement of the Scott Pilgrim comic way back in 2003. When O'Malley suggested that Scott Pilgrim was inspired by Oda's masterpiece manga ONE PIECE, I knew I had to pick it up. Seven years (really!?) and six volumes later... I'm happy to see the comic conclude as it has.

Scott Pilgrim is equal parts young adult soap opera, fight comic, and videogame homage. Scott's a twenty-something year old slacker whose looking for love while playing in a mediocre band called the Sex Bob-omb. His love search eventually finds him in a series of epic battles with his love interest's 7 evil-exes. The set up is introduced in the very first volume of the series. Over the course of the 6 volumes, we become witness to the 7 epic battles... with some rock performances and relationship-based drama thrown in.

As a whole, the universe odd. It all happens in Toronto, Canada... but includes wonky concepts like warp worlds, weapons hidden in people's souls, and super-powered vegans. But anything that feels too wacky is saved by the wonderful characters that exist in the Scott Pilgrim world. Every character has cleverly defined personalities and looks that feel both genuine and exciting. It's easy to imagine their lives existing beyond the comic story's page. As a whole, it's a nice balance of syrupy sweet romance and epic fists of brawler violence.

As a dude who loves comics, it's refreshing to see something as different as Scott Pilgrim succeed. It's a great series that's worth a look by fans of any age or gender.

Here are two photos taken by Muttpop Nico, our partner in France, of the Resin Test Sample featured at Japan Expo France. We were hoping to hold on to him and show him off at San Diego Comic-con, but our factory in China needed him back quickly to continue production on the King Katch figure and make our November release. Since reviewing the King Katch figure we have authorized the factory in include partial rotation in his neck (it will be slightly hindered by his hair) and both wrists. This will give King Katch a little bit of freedom in terms of poses with different fist and head stances.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you go watch INCEPTION. I loved it. Great concept. Great cast. Great presentation. And I appreciated that the film assumes its audience is moderately intelligent. The story is consistently pushing forward and gives you just enough to figure out what the hell is going on. Everybody involved brings their 'A' game and its great to see director Christopher Nolan successfully make a film whose ambition rivals his Batman spectacles. I'd way rather have Nolan do more personal works like INCEPTION and MEMENTO, but if the success of THE DARK KNIGHT allows him to push the envelope of Hollywood Summer Action movies... then he should keep on making BATMAN films (as long has he intersperses them with projects like this one!). I'd love to say more, but I don't want to spoil things.

As a counterpoint to my enthusiastic recommendation, I can say that Jerry thought it was 'Okay'. To Jerry, INCEPTION is a good MATRIX but a bad eXistenZ. I disagree... but he made some very good points in our conversation. His main issue is that Nolan could have gone further with the concept and loses something by not doing so.

On a sidenote: Isn't it weird how similar the Inception poster I use is to the Dark Knight Joker poster (see below)?

Either way, it's a film worth watching in theaters. Support new ideas (particularly when they are executed well)! :-)

As I already mentioned on my twitter account, I'm LOVIN' the new Childish Gambino CULDESAC album. One of the freshest young voices in hip-hop and it happens to come from an already established actor/writer by the name of Donald Glover. Donald Glover is best known for his role as Troy on NBC's COMMUNITY (co-starring Chevy Chase and Joel McHale). A few episodes in, Troy and Ahbed did an amazing pseudo-freestyle and beat box rap in Spanish that caught my attention. Little did I know that the skill in that bit was due to much practice by Donald Glover under the moniker: Childish Gambino.

As Childish Gambino, Donald Glover's released a variety of mix-tapes and albums. It is his recently released third album, Culdesac, that has officially gotten my attention. With rhyme stylings that mix the melodic delivery of Lil Wayne with the heart and cleverness of Kanye West, Childish Gambino has put out my favorite hip-hop album of 2010. Glover's rhymes and wordplay are consistently clever. And he goes beyond the clever word play by using them to sincerely portray himself as a complex individual that struggles with addiction, success, loneliness, fame, and arrogance.

I'm amazed with the variety of levels with which the album can be appreciated. Lines and music hit with their swagger, cleverness and occasional vulnerability. It's about 70% rhymes and 30% singing. Glover's singing isn't as strong as his rhymes, but you consistently feel his honesty and heart. His rhymes sometime feels a little too much like Lil' Wayne's style (for example 'I Be On That' is a great song, but is super close in production and rhyme delivery to Lil' Wayne's 'A Milli'). All in all, it's a solid album. One I wouldn't hesitate to pay full price for... and it's offered to everyone for FREE. Childish Gambino is now on my very short must follow list. Free or full price, I'm getting his next album!

You can download the entire album for free on the Chilidish Gambino website (HERE). No excuses. Download it and listen, damn it. Below is a sampling of some of the great tracks on the album.

DIFFERENCE

GOT THIS MONEY

I BE ON THAT

I'm mixing things up by mentioning two related things in this post: first, the new MACHETE trailer; and second, the MACHETE-inspired custom Tequila figure by custom artist Avatar666.

I've been looking forward to a MACHETE film since Danny Trejo played a similar character way back in DESPERADO. My mind was blown when I saw the MACHETE trailer during the GRINDHOUSE theatrical release. Little did I know that Troublemaker Studios would top that 'Mind-Blowing' by actually making a MACHETE feature film. One and a half hours of Danny Trejo killing guys with a bunch of knives would be a 'Must See' film... but when you add an eclectic cast of actors that includes Robert Deniro, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson, Jessica Alba, and even the infamous Lindsay Lohan, you've got a movie that is GUARANTEED to entertain my Pop Culture palette!

Evidently, Custom Toy Artist and long-time Muttpop fan Avatar666 (a.k.a. ELCHAKAL666) felt the same way. So much so that he decided to create a Tequila custom toy based on Danny Trejo's starring role in MACHETE. The likeness is PERFECT. The craftmanship, as with all of Avatar666's customs, is impeccable.

I've got more pics of Avatar666's in Muttpop's FAN ART section. You can also see some amazing 'Making-Of' photos on Avatar666's FLICKR page. And while you're here... if you haven't seen the latest MACHETE trailer, you are COMMANDED to watch it right now (youtube link below)!