This image deserves to be seen untarnished by logos or Jerry's Graphic Design elements. I have nothing against Jerry's Graphic Design skills, it's just that this image is so damned beautiful on its own. Gobi at his best: raw with rage!

You can thank me for your new desktop! ;-)

The 7th issue of Lucha Libre Comics will be appearing on French comic book store shelves this week.

Yup, us English readers are lagging behind by about 3 issues. I know, it sucks... but at least we can drool over the luscious art on these preview pages by Gobi, Fabien, and Tanquerelle.

Oh yeah, I still can't get over how much Gobi's cover to Lucha Libre #7 ROCKS. I'm trying to find a way to make that into a poster print or giclee...

I loved, loved, loved these as a kid! I think the Kinnikuman figures is one of the greatest collections of characters ever. The Kinnikuman creators made characters of all facets of the imagination. There was NOTHING that they could not make into a wrestler. Character inspirations ranged from Deities to household appliances. And they all were brought to realization with the greatest of enthusiasm.

Even though the Kinnikuman universe was established in Japan through the comic and cartoon series, as a Westerner I was introduced through Bandai's M.U.S.C.L.E.S toy line. I had no clue to the characters histories. But I LOVED how they looked and felt they were the perfect size to put in a pants pocket for later play.

This toy line was my inspiration for convincing Jerry, Bill, and Gobi to do a Designer Toy Line with the Lucha Libre universe. It is also a long term goal of mine to do Lucha Libre figures in the same scale, style, and material as the M.U.S.C.L.E.S figures (right on down to that wonderful pale pink rubber!).

Here's a really nice website archive about Kinnikuman. Not all the links work but the ones that do are very comprehensive. Check it out:

AMERICAN KINNIKUMAN INFORMATION ARCHIVE

My buddy Mista Hippo sent me this snazzy photo of an artist named Anon's room at the San Francisco Hotel Des Arts. The hotel has some cool rooms design by a bunch of interesting artists like David Choe and Shepard Fairey. Anon designed a room with the beloved culture of Lucha Libre as inspiration.

Maybe I'm weird, but I would NOT want to wake up to those wall murals!

Love the Lone Wolf & Cub comics... but I also have a soft spot in my heart for the live action films.

A total of 6 films came out from 1972-74. My favorites are definitely the first 3. While the comics tone is fairly straight, the movies are super exploitative and cheesy. And it works!

I love how good Samurai films play up the calm stillness before the chaotic bloodshed. At times, the Lone Wolf series did it as good as the best of them.

So, last Friday, I'm watching Tom Cruise on Oprah with the girlfriend... and I can't help but think of that AMAZING bit someone did on YTMND of Tom Cruise using his dark Jedi forces on Oprah.

Oprah and Tom made a noble effort to "humanize" Cruise. But my memory's been corrupted. Every time I see Cruise's face my mind instantly flashes to intense Star Wars music and the evil cackles of the Emperor.

They're old, but "Tom Kills Oprah" and the "Chunk Is Indestructible" bits are digital nirvana. It's amazing what can be done with so little!

Click below to see what I mean (I recommend watching them with sound):

TOM CRUISE VS. OPRAH

PICARD VS. CHUNK