Star Wars ZIPPO lighters

From the Hypno Pimp (via Cracked, of course.)

Spider-Man 2099 4EVR

 When it comes to Spider-Man 2099, the Hypno Pimp might be the last fan standing. And he wanted to share this little clip with you, which reveals that Miguel O'Hara — Spider-Man 2099, himself — is part of Activision's upcoming "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions" game. Watch the clip above.

HeroesCon: Random Photos

Another HeroesCon came and went in Charlotte, N.C., last weekend. As usual, I was there, though it was my first time in 15+ years that I attended on a Sunday. The atmosphere was a lot more laid back on Sunday than on my previous Saturday visits, and the deals were amazing. Seriously: I picked up volumes 1-7 of the Essential Fantastic Four for $3 each. Suck it, Amazon.

I've still got art and related photos to post this week, but decided to share some of the more random images here together. These are pics taken by myself on Sunday, as well as photos contributed by The Hypno Pimp on his Saturday visit. Enjoy!

ohmyfugginggodits THOR! UPDATED

Superherohype as the first look at Chris Helmsworth as Thor. I'm both busy and speechless, so I'll let you guys take it from here. (Tip courtesy of the Hypno-Pimp.)


UPDATED
Here's another link and pic from the Hypno-Pimp. He can't be stopped! He can't be reasoned with!
Nor can the Destroyer, a possible villain from the Thor movie. My only experience with this character (if I remember right) is from the Marvel Ultimate Alliance game.

Care for a chocolate chip nightmare?

I'm not someone who eats a lot of cookies, but would gladly change my eating habits to accommodate this incredible Alien-themed cookie jar. Brought to you by Comic Fusion, it's a ceramic Japanese import that you can use to hold a violent, face-raping monster. Or cookies, if that's what you're into.

(Link courtesy of The Hypno Pimp.)

Batman body armor: coming to a store near you?

From the Hypno-Pimp:

For years I've justified Batman's lack of obvious body armor, saying that his costume is most likely a carbon weave, a sort of flexible kevlar.   

Alright, I'll admit it.  It's a bit Deus Ex Machina, but it's been my own little addition to the  "Why the Hell hasn't Batman been filled with holes by now?" argument.  

And hey, it works for me, so all you nit-picky bastards can blow me.

Funny thing is, it looks like I've been on the right track all along.

University of South Carolina professor of mechanical engineering (and home town fucking hero in my mind), Xiaodong Li recently co-authored of a paper on a new,  flexible fiber he helped develop, using not much more than plain, white t-shirts and boron.

The t-shirts were cut into thin strips and dipped into a boron solution. The strips were then removed from the solution and heated in an oven. The heat changes the cotton fibers into carbon fibers, which react with the boron solution and produce boron carbide.

What's boron carbide?  Not much, really.  It's just a little compound used to coat gears, tools, and oh yeah... bullet proof TANKS.

Usually, boron carbide is very brittle but these synthesized fibers are super-elastic and they maintain the same strength and stiffness of their predecessors. “They are not only lightweight but also flexible,” Li says. “We should be able to fabricate much tougher body armors using this new technique."

Also,  boron is cheap and plentiful.  Crystalline boron costs about $5 a gram, amorphous boron goes for $2.

Hmmm.   I've been hitting the gym like a man possesed lately,  I can apparently make flexible body armor on the cheap and I have an, um...intense Dark Knight obsession.

You see where I'm going with this?

Superman hits the road

From the Hypno-Pimp:

"He’s not faster than a speeding bullet, he’s not more powerful than a locomotive and he’s not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but “Superman” Allen Mullins is able to walk great distances in the name of the real heroes of today — the American soldiers. Although Mullins, 27, of Dalton, Ga., has never been a soldier himself, he has taken up the cause of ensuring veterans are taken care of when they return home from war by walking from state to state, capital to capital to ask anyone who will listen for help."

 Mullins was spotted today in Columbia, S.C.

Nooooooooo!

A cake of unknown origin from the Hypno-Pimp. Should this frosting terrify me?

I'm Milkman

From the Hypno-Pimp:

Hattomonkey has some odd, odd designs now posted for your approval. Among them this Bruce Timm-inspired Batman milk container. There are a few other oddities are the site, but the langauge barrier makes navigation a little difficult. If you click on the link, all I can say is "Godspeed!"

No matter who wins, we all lose

Here's a link from the Hypno Pimp: a classic children's tale we all should have grown up with, called Alien Vs. Pooh. Warning: you will see a teddy bear wearing panties.

Steampunk Star Wars

Here's a link from the Hypno-Pimp: Outland Armor's steampunk Star Wars costumes.
I've seen a lot of steampunk Star Wars art over the years, but most of that was relegated to artwork and custom action figures.  This might be the first devoted effort I've seen to render a steampunk vision of Star Wars via costumes and flesh and blood humans.

I had some problems connecting to the photo albums at their website, but the group's Facebook fanpage has lots of great images. This merry band of outlaws seems to have a sense of humor that is sometimes missing from the various cosplay folks you see at conventions. I once had a guy dressed as a Ghostbuster get all pissy when I took his photo, which wasn't the response I expected.

There's a joke here somewhere involving Outland Armor and the Outlandos d'Amour album by The Police, but damned if I can find it right now.