The Birth Of Robot Punk

Gunadam calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Animenia has bitten the dust

Marvel at this shirt, Gundam Calling and it mashup of The Clash. Then go to Boing Boing and read all the things wrong about it. (Makers Market via Fashionably Geek)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Princess Robot Bubblegum
Matthew, Mark, Luke and Optimus Prime
I Know We'll Catch That Villain

Princess Robot Bubblegum!

Princess Robot Bubblegum
It's a world where robots reign supreme and radiactive, nymphomaniac plants sleep with scarily mature women dressed as school girls... Only a hyper-sexualized nerd's fantasy can save humanity by sleeping with it.

Topless Robot says it is a parody of anime, but I dunno, seems pretty dead on to me. Not sure what the fine folks at Sociological Images would think of this one.

Previously on Popped Culture...
I Play, You Play, Cosplay
I Know We'll Catch That Villain
Matthew, Mark, Luke and Optimus Prime

I Play, You Play, Cosplay

So I spent the day in a geek-a-thon on Sunday, delving deep into the world of comics, anime, horror and sci-fi at the Fan Expo Canada in Toronto. I discovered a few pop culture gems that I will mine later in the week, but the rest of the time I went to gawk at the cosplay and they did not disappoint. Halloween has got nothing on them. These are my favourites, go here for the full gallery.


Anime costumes dominated the floor, and some of the people were into their characters. I mean really into them.


Not knowing a thing about anime (and a convention floor not being a great time to ask), I have no idea who their characters are. So a little help, if you know, would be appreciated.


Of course it wasn't all anime. This woman's super power allowed her to attract all the men in the building with a camera.


And Supergirl managed to convince some people to pretend they were actually interested in Smallville.


Meanwhile Leatherface here just managed to creep me the hell out.


There were of course movie tie-ins, like Cobra Commander here.


And TV tie-ins as well. Here we see Stewie campaigning for a Family Guy Emmy.


There was very little in the way of Star Wars represented. No Darth Vaders and just a handful of Stormtroopers — but there was Mark Hamill standing all lonesome in a corner, so I threw him a photo-op. Actually Billy Dee Williams was signing autographs, which was weird.


I met the Joker and he kindly handed me a playing card. In retrospect, it was probably unwise of me to have taken it, but being Canadian I didn't want to be rude.


Seems like the Master Chief really let himself go after settling down with Snow White. Halo will never be the same.


Again, anyone have any idea who or what these are? I can tell they are doing a good job, but I have no clue what it might be.


An impromptu lightsaber duel broke out on the floor. These things are bound to happen, especially with the number of weapons being carried around.


Again, I've got to hand it to the anime folks. They really do go all out.


After a long day, even superheroes get tuckered out. I didn't have the heart to tell his parents what lied in their near future. See the full 46-picture gallery here.

Previously on Popped Culture...
When Fans Attack
The Simpsonzu
Superheroes Come In All Shapes and Cliches

I Know We'll Catch That Villain

The Scooby Gang goes anime, from deviantARTist's Izaru and osy057. They seem a little sullen though, while Daphne and Velma have been sexualized just a touch. Go figure.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Matthew, Mark, Luke and Optimus Prime
The Simpsonzu
If It Weren't For You Meddling Kids!

Matthew, Mark, Luke and Optimus Prime

Killer robots and grim-faced heros? This is not your King James Bible. Forget Mr. T in anime, how about the figures of the Old and New Testament in manga form?

Boing Boing featured two versions of Manga bible tracts over the past few days and it reminded me of the illustrated version I had as a kid — which never looked this interesting.

The Manga Bible, described as "the most Extreme version of the Bible yet!" is a full version of the scripture while Mecha-Manga Bible Heroes features Old Testament tales, but in "a futuristic world of robots, aliens and advanced technology!"

Anything to get those crazy kids to learn about the word, right? Reminds me of Ned Flander's religious trading cards:

Bart: Oh boy! Free trading cards!
Milhouse: Wow! Joseph of Arimathea! Twenty six conversions in A.D. 46.
Nelson: Whoa, a Methuselah rookie card!
Flanders: Heh heh, well boys, who'd have thought learning about religion could be fun?
Bart: Religion?
Milhouse: Learning?
Nelson: Let's get out of here!

The Simpsonzu

Ever wondered what The Simpsons would look like drawn as anime characters? Me either, but after seeing The Simpsonzu by *spacecoyote, I'm all turned around on the issue. The style's more realistic (well, more realistic than The Simpsons) form brings many of the character traits to the fore: Otto looks more terrifying than harmless; Mr. Burns looks decrepit; Krusty is the stuff of children's nightmares and Marge actually comes out looking like a babe.

I was sent this by a friend and usually we would look at, say cool, and move on. But so many people have been passing this around and linking to it, that it found its way in to the Springfield universe and *spacecoyote has been hired by Matt Groening's Bongo Comics to work on a manga version of The Simpsons and 20th Century Fox is talking to her about working on the Futurama revival. How cool is that? Oh yes, and she's also Canadian. Check out her gallery for some more of fabulous work.

When Fans Attack!

It had been years since I'd been to a sci-fi convention, so I jumped at the chance this weekend to indulge my inner geek at the Toronto Fan Expo. Man, a Lord of the Rings musical and a sci-fi convention in the same week? I suppose my geek isn't all that inner these days. Anyway, things have changed, with Star Trek and Star Wars taking a back seat to all thing anime.




Star Wars wasn't shut out entirely - we found Ham Solo here carrying the torch for Lucas and Co., but he was more of an exception than a rule. As for Trek, I saw but one Federation uniform and but a single Kilingon. What is wrong with kids these days?













The rest of Star Wars fanboys had their dreams crushed when, after lining up for hours for an overpriced autograph, they discoved that Carrie Fisher looks more like their mother than the Princess-Leia-on-the-barge fantasies they had been nursing for years.







Of course there were some other changes. It seems that quite a few women actually attend. I don't mean to engage in gender sterotypes, but well, ya know...










But it wasn't just about babes with swords and wings. The Pillow Fight League uses, you guessed it, pillows. The rules are as such:
1. Women Fighters Only. No Exceptions.
2. Fights have a five minute time limit and are won via pinfall, surrender, or referee stoppage. If a fight ends at the time limit with no winner, a winner is declared by a three-judge committee.
3. Punching, leg drops, clotheslines, submission holds, and other moves are allowed as long as a pillow is used to execute the attack.
4. No eye-gouging, biting, scratching, hair pulling, or low blows.
5. No rude, lewd, or suggestive behavior.
6. Loading a pillow with a foreign object such as a brick is strictly forbidden.




So how much do you think Vernon 'Mini-Me' Troyer is hating his life at that moment?

Check out the rest of my pics over at Flickr.