Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2085

Meet the World’s First Comic Book Superhero with Down Syndrome

At the end of March, Sesame Street introduced the world to Julia, the first autistic Muppet. At the time, Julia’s puppeteer and mother of a son on the autism spectrum, Stacy Gordon, told NPR, “Man, I really wish that kids in my son’s class had grown up with a Sesame Street that had modeling [of] the behavior of inclusion of characters with autism.”

A similar sentiment might be applied to Lion Forge‘s newest creation. Superb launches in July and will feature the first superhero with Down syndrome–the chromosomal condition that affects roughly 1 in every 700 babies born in the United States, according to the National Down Syndrome Society. NDSS was a full partner in bringing Jonah, the main hero of Superb, to life alongside Lion Forge, whose slogan is, “Comics For Everyone.”

“Everyone faces different challenges in life, but those challenges don’t prevent us from wanting to be heroes,” Lion Forge President, Geoff Gerber, said in a statement (via Hollywood Reporter). “Superb is a story about two young people faced with challenges who struggle to understand one another and what it means to be heroes.”

The series is written by David F. Walker (Marvel’s Nighthawk, Luke Cage) and Sheena C. Howard (author of the Eisner Award-winning Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation), who utilized NDSS to help craft characters with life experiences that they personally don’t have. Superb also features art from Ray-Anthony Height, Le Beau L. Underwood and Veronica Gandini.

The cover image below is fantastic. I love its vibrancy and the visual connective tissue it creates between these new characters and a style of comic drawing as old as the medium itself. Obviously Superb is a win for representation in the medium, but it will be even more interesting to see what all Walker and Howard can do with the cool new characters in the comics universe.

What do you all think? Tell us in comments below?

Images: Sesame Workshop, Lion Forge Comics

These Smart Robotic Suitcases Kinda Remind Us of BB-8

Science fiction stories have long promised us a future where robots do the menial tasks for us. While we’re a long way from that living out that vision of tomorrow, self-driving cars have inched closer to becoming a viable option. Now, even our suitcases may get a robo upgrade that’s the next best thing to owning your own droid.

Via The Economist, Piaggio Fast Forward is developing Gita, a suitcase fitted with a pair of large wheels that kind of reminds us of BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  The Gita may not have the personality or the charmingly emotive face of BB-8, but it can hold just under 40 pounds and follow its owner at speeds of up to 22 mph. And while Gita will rarely be called upon to move that quickly, it can keep pace with its human owners by following an electronic device that can be worn on a belt. That device actually has a camera attached to it that will help the Gita map out its surrounding area and help it follow the owner through doors and around corners.

Piaggio is currently testing the Gita in several cities across the U.S., but it doesn’t appear to be quite ready for the consumer market at this time. Still, it would be much better than carrying around a regular suitcase. According to The Economist, several companies are also developing similar robo suitcases for urban deliveries, and they would probably be easier to pull off than Amazon’s ambition to make a drone delivery fleet. As the story points out, there are very few regulations regarding devices like the Gita; which may give the companies less to worry about.

If these devices become widely used, it will probably mean that we’ll be sharing the sidewalks with these robots in the future. But as long as they don’t have arms, hands, or even minds of their own, we should be safe from a robot uprising. At least that’s what Skynet wants us to think.

What do you think about Gita? Roll out and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: Piaggio Fast Forward

Celebrate Some Quality Alone Time With a DIY Ping Pong Table for One

It’s almost summer, so that means it’s time to go outside and play with your friends. Basketball, baseball, and badminton will be at every park you drive past. But what if you enjoy the indoors, regardless of how much the sunshine is out? What if you want to just play a relaxing game of ping pong, but all your pals want to enjoy the weather?

There’s some good news, thanks to The Q. Their most recent YouTube video gives you the step-by-step process for making a ping pong table where YOU are your own opponent.

The process looks pretty easy. After measuring and cutting a wood plank to the right specifications, the wood is covered in masking tape. After a little spray paint, the masking tape is removed to reveal the table boundaries (although…how do you call out of bounds on yourself? That is one heck of an honors system). A few more pieces of wood, some glue, and an Allen screw later, you have yourself your own ping pong table, without having to scour the neighborhood for someone to play against.

I admit this does look pretty fun. How many times have you been just sitting around throwing a ball up in the air or twirling your keys around? This at least will help your coordination during your bored times.

You can check out more cool projects from the Q on their YouTube channel here.

So what do you think? Are you ready to spend hours playing ping pong alone? What other games would you like to play without the hassle of “others”? Let me know on Twitter or sound off in the comments below.

Images: The Q/YouTube

Try and Wrap Your Brain Around This Functional Chess Globe

Chessglobe? Chessphere? Chorb? Well, whatever you call it, it’s certainly not a “chess board,” since this beautiful work of art brings the game out of the confines of its usual flatter dimensions.



This mind-melting game spheroid made from walnut, soft maple and jatoba wood was created by Ben Myers and brought to our attention via a recent post on Laughing Squid. The game of chess is literally brought to new dimensions by magnets embedded under each game “square” and a beautifully crafted base that allows the globe to rotate. Oh, and did we mention the oddly satisfying globe-spinning clicks? No? Well, hold onto your butts!

And if being excited over playing chess in an entirely new shape wasn’t nerdy enough, we can’t help but think how well this thing is designed. Specifically with how the shape of a normal chessboard was re-tooled to–more or less–properly fit on a 3D solid. If you think about a normal flat chess board like a Cartesian map with an equidistant grid system, in order to fit it on a globe you’d have to (much like regular maps and globes) stretch or shrink some of the pieces in order to allow everything to fit.

Though, despite our love of chess and gaming in general, we can’t help but think playing it around a globe adds a whole new level of headache-inducing squirreliness. Keeping track of pieces on a board is hard enough without having to think in every direction.

What are your thoughts on this chess globe? Cool item to have in your home or coolest item to have in your home? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Image: Ben Myers

NECA Revealed Their WONDER WOMAN Movie Figure, and It’s a Beauty

Announced but not shown at Toy Fair earlier this year, NECA‘s quarter-scale Wonder Woman movie figure has been shrouded in mystery, even as all the other merchandise revealed itself. Some of us collectors were getting nervous–was it a thing that would really happen? Will the space between Super-Cavill and Batfleck on our shelves ever be properly filled?

Yes.

Now that’s an Amazon. From the shiny armor to the battle dents and scratches, this is a Wonder Woman to tower over all other Wonder Woman toys. NECA had been reluctant to do quarter-scale female figures in the past, but they absolutely killed it with their recent Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman, and this Gal Gadot likeness looks to be a worthy follow-up.

All the toy-collecting world is waiting for you, indeed. Fully articulated, Diana can strike any action pose to take on all NECA quarter-scale comers, from Halo‘s Master Chief to Johnny Depp’s Tonto. And she won’t even have to do it bare-handed…

Batman may have guns in the current DC movies, but Wonder Woman’s sword and shield are somehow even more intimidating. Hell, if you could deflect all the bullets in a World War I trench, wouldn’t you be? Ares doesn’t stand a chance; German soldiers for the Kaiser, even less so.

Is this the best Wonder Woman movie figure yet? We’d wrap the lasso of trutha round you for an answer, except that it totally doesn’t exist in the real world. Guess we’ll just have to trust y’all. Lay down your totally honest answers in comments.

Images: NECA

DC’s New Harley Quinn Figure Series is Super Weird and Wonderful (Figures and Speech)

Welcome to Figures & Speech, Nerdist’s regular column by, for, and about grown-ups who still play with their toys but might want to know more before they buy. From product reviews to informed editorials, these are most definitely the articles that’ll make you want to strike a pose. Click on all images to enlarge for detail.

I have to be honest—I used to hate Harley Quinn.

As an original viewer of Batman: The Animated Series, I simply found her an irritating addition. Why did the Joker need a girlfriend? Why did she have to have such a whiny, gangster moll caricature accent (that could conveniently disappear the moment she went undercover)? What kind of stupid real-life name was “Harleen Quinzel”? On the surface, nothing about it worked for me.

In the years since, however, I’ve done a complete 180. Free from the confines of a PG-rated cartoon, the sheer dysfunction of Harley and Joker’s relationship was a lot more interesting and disturbing; like the psychotic clown, her damage made her interesting. And when I took my wife to Suicide Squad, she related so much to Harley, as an anti-heroine who was able to take the manipulation and abuse and turn it around into a super power, that she asked to subscribe to comics for the first time. It helps—for me, anyway—that Margot Robbie’s voice is a bit less grating than Arleen Sorkin’s.

And Harley’s comics are great fun, full of wacky humor that doesn’t necessarily dwell on the darker aspects but goes to enjoyably crazy places; the implausibility of her real-life name is simply moot once a talking space-pizza has been introduced. To capture that in toy form, DC Collectibles have focused on Amanda Conner‘s Harley as part of their latest Designer Series—and gone out of their way to include entertaining action features that makes them more than just the standard impeccably painted toys you’d expect.

The packaging style is the norm—basic white box with a  splash of color and artwork on the side panel.

They’re held in with a few twist ties, so it’s not quite as collector-friendly a package as it can be on other figures.

Traditional Harley most resembles the old animated series incarnation, with the harlequin outfit appropriate to her name. She comes with an animated-style pistol, and her pet taxidermied beaver named Bernie, and if you’re trying to think of a joke right now, don’t bother, because the comic has already been to that well many times, more creatively than you or I could.

But Bernie has an action feature, and it’s one of the most goofily gross things I’ve ever seen in a toy: squeeze him, and a ball of his guts pops out. Release, and his tummy sucks them back in. It’s an addictive, stress-ball style feature, and the gut ball even feels a bit sticky.

Superhero Harley just gets downright weird, with a massive, stylized alternate head that’s either cute or terrifying, depending how you look at it.

The head is solid, but the hair buns on it are squishy, with a purpose: submerge it in water, squeeze her hair, and she’ll absorb it. Then, out of the water, squeeze her hair again for crying action! It’s not a super-spray but a genuine tear-like effect. (You may have to push a pin into the “tear duct” holes to ensure they’re open all the way first.) I know there are baby dolls that do this, but while I’ve seen action figures that sweat (WWE, of course), a crying feature for a superhero is a new one on me.

Holiday Harley is just the cutest Santa you’ve ever seen, complete with Christmas mallet and gift-wrapped bomb.

While the instructions imply that the mallet has a sound effect, it’s more of a rattle: there’s a ball-bearing inside that makes noise if you shake or hit it. It’s a Harley-ish take on Jingle Bells.

Spacesuit Harley doesn’t really have an action figure, aside from her helmet and pigtails being removable. Since the helmet has holes for her pigtails, it’s hardly functional—she’s basically cosplaying, as also signified by the fact that her weapon is a pop gun. The cork is attached to the weapon by an intricate, coiled phone cord, and if anybody dares Tweet “What’s a phone cord?” at me, you can expect a hearty “Get off my lawn, whippersnapper!” in response. Because I still own a landline.

She also comes with the aforementioned talking pizza.

One thing to watch for: those removable pigtails will remove themselves most of the time; I nearly lost them three times. I suggest deciding on a look—helmeted or unhelmeted—pretty quickly, and gluing her hair in place.

The Harleys all have basically the same articulation. Restricted ball-jointed neck, ball shoulders and hips, hinged elbows, cut-and-hinged wrists, double-jointed knees, and hinged ankles. The ankles are tight enough that none of them have issues staying upright on the included figure stand. They’re less articulated than the Bombshells, but with less details that allow for joint hiding, this makes sense. Go too far and she’ll lose that animated look.

Each Harley should run you around $24, which isn’t bad considering you get some actually cool play features above and beyond just having a poseable Harley.

(If it weren’t a rival company, you KNOW Harley would be a Disney nerd IRL.)

Images: Luke Y. Thompson for Nerdist

Luke Y. Thompson is Nerdist’s weekend editor, and a movie and toy reviewer. Hit him up @LYTrules

Yes, DEADPOOL’s Nether-Regions Spring Eternal, Says Rob Liefeld

If you saw the Deadpool movie, you know Wade Wilson likes to have a lot of sexual relations, be it with his lady love Vanessa, or his hand in conjunction with a plush unicorn (don’t judge). But given the texture of his post-mutation physique, and the way his arms react to having his hands cut off, you might wonder how, exactly, certain other body parts function when severed.

Thankfully (or not, depending upon your perspective), Deadpool’s co-creator is Rob Liefeld, whose affection for giant guns, unfeasible shoulder pads, excessive pouches, and biceps wider than your head indicate a general tendency towards annihilating subtlety. So it turns out that all you have to do is ask him any question on any topic–even if it’s Deadpool’s junk–and he will answer, point blank. Not surprising, considering he wrote an entirely separate comic about a Deadpool-ish character forcibly separated from his member. So when Inverse asked him what would happen if Deadpool were castrated, they got a direct answer:

“We would never, ever live in a world where Deadpool can’t regenerate his own cock and balls.”

Okay, Rob, so I guess that means a multiverse can’t really encompass ALL possibilities? Is that what you’re saying? Even the Marvel Zombies universe? We may have to wait for a future interview to get the subtle shadings. But genitalia aside, Liefeld answered a more pressing question in that same interview, which may approach the notion of where the soul resides. If Deadpool’s head is severed, does the body grow a new head, or the head grow a new body?

“He would generate a new head, and I’m telling you, he would generate a new head.”

Sounds cool and all, but remember how, in the movie, Deadpool’s regenerated hand looked babyishly small for quite some time? Yeah. We’re thinking there’d be some embarrassment for a while, at minimum.

What? Small heads aren’t always a point of pride! Now, if Deadpool wants to convert to Judaism, and get the appropriate religious treatment down there, that may be a whole ‘nother issue entirely.

Is Deadpool too cocky for your liking? Is it hard to imagine his powers would cover the (man-)spread? Endow our comments section with your thoughts below.

Images: 20th Century Fox

This Terrifying Instrument Only Makes Horror Movie Noises

As any true horror fan knows, a scary movie lives or dies by its soundtrack. And by soundtrack, I don’t just mean its traditional musical score, although that counts too. After all, Halloween would mostly be boring shots of Jamie Lee Curtis walking around without John Carpenter’s eerie score to make it so unsettling.

And what would The Exorcist be without those jarring strings whenever the possessed little girl does something terrifying? Or the Friday the 13th movies without their infamous “chchch ahahah” sound effect every time a teenager goes wandering in the woods? These classic films would all be half as memorable.

Now someone has created a new musical instrument made just for creating the kinds of sounds that put us all at the edge of our seats when watching a truly good and effective horror movie. The new instrument is called “The Apprehension Engine”, and it was designed by Tony Duggan-Smith, who built this musical  instrument with the very intention of using it in horror film scores.

According to the description, the instrument consists of metal rulers which are bowed, a hurdy gurdy like mechanism, a string played with an attached Ebow, a spring reverb (also played with an ebow) some long metal rods, magnets, trash, anything at all to get unnerving sounds. You can listen to a sample of the Apprehension Engine in the video down below from YouTube account Indie Film Maker:

Personally, I think folks like The Conjuring director James Wan and other popular horror auteurs should be ordering their own Apprehension Engines right away. I know I kept looking for the serial killer hiding around the corner of the room just listening to it for the handful of minutes that make up that video.

What do you make of this new “musical” instrument? Should horror filmmakers be ordering one right away? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

The Music From Halloween Still Creeps Us Out

Images: Warner Brothers

Supergirl, Tidus, and More by Tails in Cosplay Friday

How long have you been cosplaying? It’s a question I ask almost every cosplayer I encounter, as it’s interesting to learn at what point in their lives people caught the bug. Fairie Tails cosplay, a.k.a. Tails, has been making costumes for around eight years. She started when a friend of hers let her know about a pop culture convention in her area and suggested that Tails should make a costume and attend.

Tails told me, “I saved up for fabric and a bus ticket and away I went. I had no idea it would become such a huge part of my life but I’m glad it did. I love all the aspects of cosplay: the craft, the makeup, the wigs. I especially love bringing characters to life in photoshoots and trying to tell a story through my photos–I’d say that’s what I focus on and enjoy the most.”

Let’s look at some of her costumes, starting with Supergirl:

Supergirl (DC Comics) | Photo by Little-Noise Photography

And some Final Fantasy cosplay (incidentally, I finally recognize Final Fantasy costumes now because I’m playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time!).

Tidus (Dissidia: Final Fantasy) | Photo by Little-Noise Photography

Soar down to the gallery to see additional costumes by Tails. You’ll see other DC Comics inspired characters like Black Canary and Catwoman, a couple of costumes from Sailor Moon, and more. You can keep tabs on all of her projects by following her on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? Then I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re a photographer, maybe we could focus on your images from a single convention. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature–the higher resolution the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. Though I wish I knew all the nerdy franchises, I don’t, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.

Featured Image: Little-Noise Photography

Leaked LEGO play set reveals new Justice League spoilers!

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Fan Art is the Best

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I wish there was more What We Do in the Shadows fan art in the world because we deserve it,” then you’ll be pleased with today’s Fan Art Friday. A self-taught artist, Sheila C. creates beautiful portraits, usually in pencil and ink, inspired by pop culture. One of the subjects of her illustrations is Taika Waititi‘s Viago. Bless.

Viago – What We Do in the Shadows

That particular portrait was featured at Hero Complex Gallery. It captures all the charm of one of my favorite vampires. I know one piece of fan art from the film is hardly enough, so be sure to pop by Sheila’s website to see art featuring Vladislav the Poker. You can also follow Sheila on Twitter.

But! Before you make the jump, take some time to visit the gallery below to view Pris from Blade Runner, Christine–as in the car–art from The Usual Suspects, and more. And because it’s important to know: Hero Complex has prints of her Viago art available online.

Do you create any sort of fan art? If so, I want to see it. Whether you focus on a specific fandom or pull inspiration from multiple stories and mediums, I’d like to highlight what you do. If you’re interested in being featured in a future edition of Fan Art Friday, get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with examples of your work. If you’re not an artist, feel free to email me with recommendations for Fan Art Friday!

Images: Sheila C.