If something starts with the word "Dragon" and is illustrated by Akira Toriyama... it's guaranteed to be magical; especially if it was made in the 1980s. There's a warmth, charm and confidence to Toriyama's art on the early Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest illustrations. I remember going to Japan in 1990 and being blown away with the cartridge art to Dragon Quest III.

I recently began playing Dragon Quest IX on the DS. I haven't had a chance to test out it's multiplayer feature (sorry, no DS buddies nearby)... but I'm loving the old school vibe of the main quest. The art is also the closest I'll probably ever get to that amazing Dragon Quest III illustration I fell in love with.

It's finally here: the full length BLACK MAMBA short film! As both a Laker fan, Troublemaker Studios, and Kanye West fan, this is an awesome collaboration. Great sense of humor and execution. Watch the full film (it's just 5 minutes) below:

I went into watching DOGTOWN & THE Z-BOYS expecting some tacky biographical movie about the origins of modern skateboarding filled with handsome kids using a little too much make-up to look "grunge". What I got was an amazing documentary with the REAL Z-boys sharing their incredible story of creating a revolutionary sports culture by accident and necessity.

It's a shame that LORDS OF DOGTOWN exists. It's the Hollywood movie inspired by the DOGTOWN & THE Z-BOYS directed by the same lady that directed the first TWILIGHT film. I haven't seen it, but I assume many (like myself) think its the primary film in existence chronicling this very fascinating period of skateboarding history.

My wife had this documentary on our Netflix Instant Watch queue for months... and finally I buckled and decided to watch it with her. And, damn it, I wished I got around to watching it sooner! The Z-Boys reinvented skateboarding and street culture in more ways than I had ever imagined. And the great thing about it is that their cultural movement was honest, creative and relevant.

I recently finished reading issues 5-12 of Brandon Graham's KING CITY comics. I'm ashamed to admit that, although Brandon Graham's beautiful comics and illustrations have been on my interest "radar" for many years, I just recently got around to purchasing his KING CITY series. Unfortunately, I was unable to find issues 1-4. Overall, it was an engaging read that has me sure to purchase Brandon's future comics work.

King City is about Joe, one of the legendary Cat Masters. Cat Masters are trained to use their cats in battle by injecting them with different serums that give the cat special powers to become a weapon or tool. But Joe's more interested in staring at ladies' bubble butts or helping out his ex-girlfriend than fighting Demon Kings.

Graham's got a very smooth art style. At first glance, it appears to be influenced by manga. But the more you look at it, you begin to realize that Graham's taken inspiration and influence from a variety of disparate styles to create one that is utterly unique and wholly his own. I notice bits of Herge's Tin Tin from the roundness and suggestive simplicity of the character designs. The beautiful women Graham draws remind me of a refreshing mix of Milo Manara, Paul Pope, Ashley Wood and a tiny touch of Jim Mahfood's work. Also, his expansive city scapes have bits of Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira Toriyama, Geoff Darrow, and Moebius.

While reading King City, I was immediately intrigued by the overall style of the characters and environment; so much so, that the main story felt like an excuse to immerse myself into King City's rich world of architecture, culture and characters. Looking at the means by which Brandon Graham tells his story, I got the feeling that the cartoonist felt the same way that I did. The main narrative is frequently interrupted by fun little details like an illustration depicting the contents of a character's pockets (complete with arrows and labels) or a 2-page spread/game board that illustrates 3 different characters walking paths (shown below). Brandon Graham also riddles his panels with words describing various things on the page (and more often than not, done so in the form of a pun). He also occasionally depicts a character's dialogue through iconic illustration (simple doodles of things like 'shit' or 'dick'). This unconventional amalgam of word and illustration gives the reader the freedom to experience the work at a level of immersion that he/she feels most comfortable with. It also forms a linguistic bond between illustration and words. I just ended up reading everything.

Brandon Graham's an amazing talent. I just hope we get to see more of his artwork soon and more frequently. I also am very happy to hear that his next work will be in color. From the looks of his King City covers, it's clear that Graham has a great sent of color. I look forward to seeing what Brandon does once he adds color to his toolbox of materials.

Inspired by Bastien Vives transgendered designs of several classic Street Fighter characters, Gobi decided to do some "gender bending" of his own. Woman/Man/Woman Poison hasn't looked manlier (alongside a voluptuous Hugo). I prefer Gobi's female Hakan design to the uber-masculine original. Be sure to also check out Gobi's design for a female Oro and female Necro at HIS SITE.

Happy New Year in 2011 from our buddy Bill (artist of Red Demon and Dr. Destruction). To join in his 2011 celebration, Bill decided to show how extraterrestrials from the other side of the galaxy PARTY! Krrpk and his fellow party peeps are from Bill's KRRPK comic book series.