The headline pretty much says it all. So far, in every promotional picture, trailer, piece of art, and whatever else have you that we’ve seen for Captain America: The First Avenger has had Chris Evans in a militarized version of the familiar Cap costume, reminisceint of his duds from The Ultimates. However, thanks to the intrepid work of Bleeding Cool, we now know that won’t be the only Cap costume in the flick.

It seems at one point in the film, Cap show up in an outfit resembling the one we know from the comics at a USO show. This actually makes a lot of sense to me. I’m sure Uncle Sam wants to show off their new “Super Soldier” to boost morale for both the troops and the general populace, but you can’t rightly show him cracking Nazi skulls in front of an audience, so I bet that’s where this “sanitized” version of the Star-Spangled Avenger comes from. Yeah, the costume looks a little cheesy, but honestly, I think it’s meant to. And hey, at least we didn’t get this monstrosity…

Any costume where you have visible panty lines is a mistake, end of story.

Viz Media announced last week that they’ve acquired the North American licensing rights for Hatsune Miku, the digital Volcaloid pop star icon who is set to take the world by storm.

“Hatsune Miku is the most popular of the Vocaloid Character Series software created by Crypton. Using their innovative software, users can create synthesized vocals using Hatsune Miku’s vocals just by typing in lyrics or a melody! In Japan, she has become a national phenomenon, appearing not only in video games, music videos, and on a plethora of accessories and goods, but in several sellout “live concerts”, appearing onstage as a 3D hologram, backed by a live band!”

Seriously folks, this is big news. During my most recent trip to Akihabara (last October) the stores were absolutely flooded with character goods, costumes and a ton of other stuff dedicated to Miku. She’s become a huge pop culture icon in Asia and is gaining tons of popularity around the world.

See Hatsune Miku here in action at one of her digital concerts in Japan:

I saw some of this digital projection technology in person at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan – 2006, where the group Def Tech first appeared as a super realistic hologram and then revealed themselves via explosion from backstage. It was really impressive and I can only imagine that the technology has come a long way since I last saw it in action.

Also, I can’t help but be reminded of the digital pop star (Sharon Apple) in the anime Macross Plus but she required a human to function. (While her producers told everyone that she had an artificial intelligence that included emotions, it was later revealed that this programming was incomplete and her emotions were “provided” by Myung Fang Lone.) Hatsune Miku, on the other hand is 100% computer program engineered by technical geniuses who met on the internet. It’s pretty amazing stuff.

U.S. Anime conventions have of course already seen a huge influx of Volcaloid related cosplay and goods, but what’s even more amazing is that Hatsune Miku has just starred in an American Toyota commercial – something that honestly blows my mind:

That’s all for anime update this week. I leave you with one more video of digital pop sensation Hatsune Miku: (Select CC button for English Subtitles):

If you look at many of my recent Go Go Gadget articles you might notice that there is a general theme of photography. I have become a slave to the camera and like all hobbies I get involved in I find myself spending hours glued to the interwebs looking at accessories. Bags, lenses, filters, tripods, flashes, softboxes, bokeh kits. There are just so many things, and I want all of them!

Now the problem is that photography is an expensive ass hobby (why do I pick the spendy ones everytime?) and as my pops always said “You get what you pay for.” So I don’t see the point in buying the cheap stuff, but there are ways to modify things so that you don’t have to go out and spend lots of money.

The standard Canon flash you see most pro photographers using rangers from $250-$500 (320 ex- 530 ex) which is a whole lot of beer money. The built in flash works just fine for me most of the time. I usually use my 50mm lens when I’m shooting and that works great in low light. The big problem with the built in is that it makes things look shitty and flat, but that is easily fixed with the Gary Fong Puffer (looks like a Puffer fish kind of).

I was wandering around the camera store (awful idea) and noticed the Puffer and thought “Hmm $15 ain’t bad, why not?” I purchased the Puffer and figured this would be a great way to use my built in flash to take softer pictures and $15 is a reasonable price. Its basically just 2 pieces of plastic that come apart so its easy to throw it in with your camera and its pretty sturdy so I don’t worry about it bouncing around in my bag.

The diffuser slides into the hot shoe mount on top of your camera and since its plastic it shouldn’t be read by your camera. My T2i noticed it and refused to deploy the built in flash so I just slid it back a tiny bit and every thing worked fine. There are guide holes so that you can center the Puffer on your flash for the best light diffusion and basically that is all there is to it. Start shooting. It is perfect for taking close ups of stuff you are putting on Ebay or Etsy as well as portraits. If you aren’t ready to drop the coin on a serious flash but want to kill the harsh light from your built in, grab it. Its 100% worth it.

Ten years ago, Bungie bestowed onto the gaming population the world of Halo with their cutting-edge first-person shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved. This game changed the face of FPS’s forever and spawned four sequels with Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: ODST, and Halo: Reach all under Bungie’s care. Now the time has come for Bungie to pass the torch to the new caretakers of the Halo franchise, 343 Industries, but not without first going out with a bang.

“Bungie Day” is quickly approaching (07/07/11 – in honor of their love for the lucky number) and they have announced a bit of what you can expect through the two weeks leading up to this event that also marks Bungie’s 20th Anniversary.

Beginning on June 23rd, and running through the close of Bungie Day on July 7th, we’ll be celebrating the last twenty years the only way we know how – by giving you, the best -blam!- community on the planet, all the parting gifts we can muster.

Here are 7 reasons you should come out and celebrate with us this year:

1. Because Blue Flames aren’t just for Bungie Employees or fans with iPhones. We’ll be turning on Blue Flames and the Bungie Nameplate for every last one of our loyal fans. (Kids, do try this at home.)

2. Because we just built a brand-new and totally free community iPhone app to keep you connected…and entertained!

3. Because we’re going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what Bungie Aerospace is all about.

4. Because a collection featuring some of our rarest and most treasured personal Halo artwork will be up for auction, with all profits going to charity through a partnership between Child’s Play and the Bungie Foundation.

5. Because the Bungie Store is going to be packed with Swag Sacks containing random, but totally kick ass swag, limited run commemorative t-shirts, and amazing commissioned posters from a handful of incredible artists, with all profits also going straight to charity.

6. Because on Bungie Day we’ll be throwing down in a 24-hour Bungie vs. the World No Holds Barred Halo: Reach Marathon where we’ll be making the promise of Steaktacular a certified beefy reality. You steak us. We’ll steak you. Seriously, we’re going to mail any team who beats us by 20 kills or more on Bungie Day a Grade-A cut of steak (gift cards for international players) while supplies last.

7. Because you’ve been just as much a part of this incredible twenty years as we have, and we simply couldn’t bear it if you didn’t show up and help us celebrate our anniversary and help send our Halo baby out with one hell of a bang.

Of course, some of these are kind of vague, but the others are full of gaming goodness! Item number 6 is particularly funny to me. If you are unfamiliar with the Halo games, you can earn a medal while playing online called “Steaktacular” when you beat the opposing team but 20 kills or more. For Bungie to turn this medal into a “reality” by mailing actual steaks to any team that beats a Bungie Employee team by 20 kills or more is down right awesome and hilarious!

You also may have noticed the reference to Bungie’s new iPhone App that is now available for download through iTunes. This app allows you to track your Halo: Reach stats, commendation progress, and daily/weekly challenges right from your iPhone, as well as stay up to date on all the news from Bungie.net!

It’s our first, small step into the mobile world. The first of many. To begin with, Bungie.net Mobile is a native iOS app that lets you check your career Halo: Reach stats, keep tabs on your friends’ online performance, and bestow free stuff upon yourself and seven of your closest allies (roaming charges may apply, call your carrier for details). It’s also an easy way to stay connected to Bungie through our news feed. It really is just a beginning – our first, super cute baby step. We already have adult-type plans to keep updating Bungie.net Mobile with new features and enhancements in the months and years to come.

While there are some slightly better apps that track these stats in a little more detail, this is a very solid app for any Halo: Reach fan out there and I’d highly recommend downloading it.

Because there’s also an “online swag bag” . . .

That’s right. If you own an iPhone and enjoy Halo: Reach go download this app immediately. From this app you can now enable Blue Flames for your Spartan in Halo: Reach as well as enable the Star and Bungie Logo nameplates – things that were up until last night only available to Bungie Employees (or in the case of the Star nameplate, doing something that would get you awarded that nameplate straight from Bungie, like winning a Bungie Allstars competition). That’s right, if you own an iPhone u can haz Blue Flame right now. But fear not non-iOS users, from what I can tell it sounds like Bungie will be turning these items on for all Halo players before too long, it just sounds like iPhone users get this gift a little early.

SenadorKooch Can Haz Blue Flame

As a Halo fan since the release of the original, I have to say Bungie seems to really be going out with a bang as far as relenquishing control of this beloved franchise. Despite some issues we all may have had – or currently have – with Bungie’s Halo franchise (I’m looking at you, Armor Lock!), it looks like Bungie is really showing their appreciation to the fans who have made these games so immensley popular before they move on to their next endeavor!

Well, you know the old saying, “If you don’t see a body, they’re probably not dead!”. In the case of Black Bolt, it’s more welcome than other resurrections. ‘Ol Blackagar Boltagon (really, that’s his full name) has always resonated and reverberated with me. He’s the definition of the strong, silent type, because even a whisper from the guy can shatter a mountain. All the more appropriate that the preview pages for the upcoming FF #3 heralding his return are devoid of dialogue. So, sit back, enjoy the purty pictures and await the bold return of the leader of the Inhumans!

BLACK BOLT RETURNS IN FF#6!

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at FF #6, from Marvel Architect Jonathan Hickman and artist Greg Tocchini! King Black Bolt makes his triumphant return to the Marvel Universe as the War Of The Four Cities continues! But what are the circumstances surrounding his mysterious return, and how will it turn the tides of the FF’s intense battle? Will someone stand in the way of King Black Bolt’s return to the throne? Cover your ears as the King of the Inhumans makes his vicious return to royalty, only in July’s FF #6!

FF #6 (MAY110658)
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Pencils by GREG TOCCHINI
Cover by MARK BAGLEY
Rated T+…$2.99
FOC—6/20/11, On Sale—7/27/11

You may not be aware of this, but 2013 is starting to look like the year of giant monster movies. Both Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton have giant monster movies in the works titled Pacific Rim and Monsterpocalypse respectively, and there is another US attempt at a Godzilla movie coming that same year (or, possibly 2014 depending on which of the 517 random sources you’re looking at). Well, to keep up, Sony has bought the rights to the Japanese cult hit from 2007, Big Man Japan, a film about a man who can grow to 10-stories tall who takes over the duties of protecting Japan from giant monsters. Oh, and he pretty much just wears a diaper while performing said monster-fighting duties. And these montsters are weird as shit, one of which has an eyeball-penis it uses as a weapon.

Excited yet? I know I am.

Set in a world where monsters wreak havoc, there’s one man who can protect the citizenry: Big Man Japan, who runs the Department of Monster Prevention. Using electricity, he can grow to be 10 stories tall and fight off the most menacing of monsters. The problem is that he’s not very good at his job and often causes as much damage as he prevents. The people believe he’s a joke – and not nearly as good at the job as his father and grandfather were before he took over the family business.

Sony has tapped Fast Five‘s Neal H. Moritz to produce, and Clash of the Titans writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi to write the screenplay.

Unfortunately, America isn’t as progressive as Japan when it comes to putting monsters weilding giant eyeball penis’ as weapons to film, so this American adaptation is already going to be not as good. That being said though, if our version is even half as bat-shit crazy as this Japanese version appears to be, it still may be worth checking out – emphasis on the “may”.

Source: Deadline

Now, so you can experience some of the craziness youself and have your “WTF Moment” of the day, here is the trailer for the original Big Man Japan:

Elvira’s Movie Macabre is back on television after a 20 plus year hiatus. The Mistress of the dark has had a long career spanning music, and film, but she has returned to her true love, hosting b-movies for the raving hoards of gore hounds across the world. She was kind enough to speak with BSR! about her new T.V. show and subsequent DVD releases.

BSR: How did this relaunch of the show come about and why did you decide to bring it back?

ELVIRA: It’s been 20 years since the original Movie Macabre and it’s not like I haven’t been trying. It’s hard to get the movies sometimes but everything came together this time.

BSR: I saw an article from wired magazine when Night Of the Living Dead was announced as the first movie to air last year and I’ve been watching the show on a local channel. Are the new episodes in syndication?

ELVIRA: Yes, we have 20 episodes in broadcast syndication now with some repeats and there an extra six episodes for DVD’s. They’ll all be double features so I guess that’s 13.

BSR: Perfect Number! Will these also be available on Hulu and Netflix?

ELVIRA: Oh yes, they’ll be everywhere and you can get them on Amazon.com too.

BSR: Do you have a team of writers that just sit around watching the movies to come up with jokes?

ELVIRA: No it’s just me and Ted Biaselli, I really love all the movies I show even if they’re terrible. We watch every single one and write the show.

BSR: How did the collaboration with the Band Ghoultown for the song “Mistress of the Dark” come about?

ELVIRA: I met them a few years ago at a convention in Texas. My manager said “You’ve got to check these guys out!” they’re like cool rockabilly so we got to talking and I wanted someone else to do a song about me besides the Oakridge Boys (laughs).

BSR: Cool, well it’s a great song and video. Do you get recognized in public or at cons?

ELVIRA: No I never get recognized in public! If I’m at a convention out of costume I’ll get stopped sometimes. A lot of those people are big fans and recognize me out of costume, it’s flattering.

BSR: I guess you get the best of both worlds too as far as fans go, the comic book crowd and the B-movie fans.

ELVIRA: Yes I have great fans obviously the gothic fans and Comic-Con crowd but I also get a lot of bikers and prisoners.

BSR: That’s a pretty diverse crowd. You’re also known as a champion for gay rights.

ELVIRA: Yes after working with so many gay people and knowing so many of them die of AIDS…

BSR: And you also work with PETA?

ELVIRA: Not currently but yes I’ve worked with them, gay rights and animal rights, I guess those are my two things (laughs).

BSR: Thanks so much for talking with Big Shiny Robot! Is there anything you’d like to add?

ELVIRA: Yes thank you. Check out ELVIRA.COM. I have a new online store going up soon and find me on facebook. Somehow my the Official Elvira Facebook page was erased and I lost all my followers. It’s terrible, please come back. There are a lot of Elvira pages on there, so find the official one.

BSR: Will do! Thanks again for your time.

Elvira’s Movie Macabre Double Feature Presentation DVD’s can be pre ordered at Amazon.com now they will be released 6/14/2011

So last week’s cliffhanger was one of those slow build ups where the suspense mounts until there’s literally an explosion of excitement. This time it didn’t ring true for me, as we clearly see FauxCap fiddling with the door before the factory goes up in flames. If you didn’t think he’d find his way out, I have some land in Florida I’d like to sell you. Actually, even though Cap gets out of this scrap, what about the bad guys that he just had one of his trademark brawls with? It’s the heat of the moment, Cap is trying to save his own skin, so I don’t think the thugs are going to make it. Normally the heroes take the bad guys to justice, but if this is the way Cap operates, the Scarab better watch out! And on that note, let’s watch this week’s ominous-sounding chapter: Cremation in the Clouds!

This week’s supplement is pretty much nothing more than a glorified screenshot, but it does look rather nice, and has a good resolution to it. I promise next week I’ll have another chapter poster! Until then, Thumbs up, soldier!

Cap comes out of the closet after mopping up a bad guy!

Club Jade found this and I’m pretty baffled by how they randomly found out about this random Czhech publication. In any case, there are lots of good tidbits there.

For one thing, McCallum states that the a large part of the live action Star Wars show would be shot in Prague. Productions prices must be perfect out there. But he also goes on to state that the timeline right now is still three or four years out:

“The TV series is on hold, but that has nothing to do with the Czech Republic; it has to do with [the episodes being] so ambitious,” McCallum told Czech Position. “We have 50 hours of third-draft scripts, but the problem we have is there is a lot of digital animation; we don’t have the technology yet to be able to do them at a price that is safe for television. Since we would be financing them, it would be suicide for us to do this [now]. So we are going to wait three or four years,” he said.

There’s that pesky 50 hours number again. But this is good news. It’s still on a track, but not a fast one.

Then he described what the show is about. He described it as The Goddfather meets Star Wars and that it’s largely about a group of underground criminals in the underworld of the Star Wars universe.

Sounds great to me.

Additionally, he confirmed the release pattern for Star Wars in 3D:

“We’re doing 3D versions of all six films, one a year, starting in February of next year. We start with [episode] one and go all the way through six, totally chronological,” he said. But the first one is a somewhat of a test. “One a year, if they work. If they don’t, then there will be just one [episode converted to 3D].”

So, we have that to chew on for a little while.

You can read the full Czech article here.

There is an old saying that “every comic is someone’s first”. Usually when that’s bandied about, it’s referring to a comic reader. Today, I’m applying it to a writer. Archie & Friends #156 is Alex Segura’s first writing gig for Archie Comics. Alex is Archie’s “Director of Publicity and Marketing”. He’s also a pretty cool guy. Those qualities don’t necessarily make for a good storyteller, though. I was incredibly curious as to how this book would turn out ever since it was announced. I’m happy to say that Mr. Segura hits his first effort out of the park with an enjoyable tale that encompasses just about every member of the Riverdale gang!

As evidenced by the cover, this tale takes place at the Riverdale Comic Con. The core group of Archies come together, but are all there for different reasons. Archie wants a copy of the first comic he ever read, Betty & Veronica want to meet celebrities, and Jughead wants to sample the Con food. Reggie on the other hand, is up to his regular antics…

It’s not all fun and games, as there is the underlying mystery of “Who is Maximus Chrome?” He’s cosplaying with the rest of the group and seems to know them, but none of the Archies know exactly who he (or she) is. As everyone starts to speculate, the laundry list of suspects gets whittled down as we’re greeted with cameos by many other Riverdale denizens. The first person they meet is actually one of my least liked Archie characters, so I got a bit of a chuckle at his treatment in this issue.

Bingo tells the gang about the Con’s costume contest, and the entire group is off like a shot, trying to win. From there, the story moves on at a good clip with all of the various plot threads introduced as the group goes about their day converging at the end. Of course there is the big reveal of identity of Maximus Chrome. I’ll admit that at first, this reveal kind of fell flat for me and was my only real complaint about the issue. When I re-read it for this review, knowing who he was made it obvious that clues were dropped throughout and that actually made the story more enjoyable for me.

In summary, on the writing side, this was a pretty good book. Alex Segura obviously has a hold on everyone’s characterizations, and I’d enjoy reading more of his work. While the writing is great, the real star of this comic is the stellar artwork by Bill Galvan. I don’t know where Segura ends and Galvan begins for all of the comic-booky homages in this issue, but they brought a smile to my face more than once. Where else are you going to see Josie and the Pussycats eschew their usual look for Catwoman/Black Cat inspired looks? Not to mention a certain teenage witch being the chair of Riverdale’s equivalent of the 501st Legion? All of the inspired costuming combined with all of the geeky background details made this book a visual treat.

For anyone that likes good, clean fun and is not afraid to wallow in all of the things that make us geeks, this issue is great. It’s not perfect, but it is enjoyable. I don’t have a rating scale, but if I were to compare this to say, a typical Jughead meal of 5 hamburgers, I’d give this issue 3 and a half burgers.