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Interview with Viktor Kalvachev

October 20, 2011October 20, 2011 Doug Groves Blue Estate, Comic, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, Image Comics, interview, video, Viktor Kalvachev6 Comments

Ryan talks with Viktor Kalvachev, writer for the Image Comic “Blue Estate”, a deliciously lurid pulp comic with some of the best covers I’ve seen around in a while. Given the twisty nature of the plot, a team of artist take turns drawing different sections of the story. Viktor talks about some of the unique challenges working on a multi-artist book, including supplying maquettes of the main characters so that the artistic team has a similar frame of reference.

Arts Computing Featured Film Internet

Reddit flash fiction Rome Sweet Rome snapped up by Warner Bros.

October 14, 2011October 20, 2011 Doug Groves Film, James Erwin, MEU, reddit, reddit.com, Rome Sweet Rome, time travel, Warner Brothers1 Comment

Rome Sweet Rome, a sci-fi adventure story that first found life online, has been bought up by Warner Brothers, and destined for the big screen. The story itself was penned by James Erwin, who besides writing flash fiction in response to random questions, is a two time Jeopardy champion. The inspiration? So I’ve been watching HBO’s Rome and Generation Kill simultaneously and it’s lead me to fantasize about traveling back in time with modern troops and equipment to remove that self-righteous little twat Octavian (Augustus) from power. Let’s say we…

Arts Computing Featured Film Mobile Music TV

Zune Music coming to Canada

September 29, 2011October 5, 2011 Doug Groves Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Dashboard update, Xbox Live, Xbox Live TV, Zune, Zune Insider, Zune Pass1 Comment

Microsoft’s Zune Music services have always been a very US centric brand, with rumours that it would come to Canada swirling for a couple of years. The last we heard, it was originally going to show up here back in the spring of this year. While the Zune video marketplace has been available in Canada for some time, allowing users to rent and buy TV and film content via their PCs or Xbox 360s, the iTunes competitor has been bereft of, well… tunes, until now.

Arts Featured Film Show TV video

Smoke break with Lance Henriksen

September 29, 2011September 29, 2011 Doug Groves Aliens, Bring Me The Head Of Lance Henriksen, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, interview, Lance Henriksen, notbadforahuman.com0 comment

Sometimes the best things at a convention are the most random. One of those moments was while Ryan and John were getting ready to go in after picking up their passes. It just so happened that it was the same time Lance Henriksen was out front taking a break from signing copies of his book and doing the convention guest thing.

Arts Featured TV

Why aren’t you watching Breaking Bad?

September 26, 2011September 27, 2011 Doug Groves Aaron Paul, AMC, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, review4 Comments

Now over half way through its fourth season, it was announced that Breaking Bad will return for a fifth and final 16 episode season. If you’re not already watching what the fans call BrBa, I can’t recommend it highly enough, as it may be the single greatest piece of filmed entertainment ever.

Arts Comics Featured Show video

Samurai’s Blood creators at Fan Expo 2011

September 23, 2011September 26, 2011 Doug Groves Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, Image, Image Comics, interview, Nam Kim, Owen Wiseman, Samurai's Blood0 comment

While at the Image booth during Fan Expo, we had a chance to talk with Owen Wiseman and Nam Kim, writer and artist, respectively, of Samurai’s Blood, a gorgeously drawn samurai revenge tale. Unlike many tales in the genre, especially in comics, Samurai’s lood avoids the more fantasy-based trappings, and weaves a tale more firmly grounded in reality.

Arts Featured Gaming

Gears of War 3 is an epic swan song

September 20, 2011September 23, 2011 Doug Groves epic games, Gears Of War 3, review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live2 Comments

Epic Games had to pull off a hat trick with the concluding chapter of Gears of War. First is to bring new visual and gameplay tweaks that are prerequisite for a sequel to be a hit with the fans. Second, they needed a way to recap the story for newcomers. Finally, they needed to wrap up the story in a way that is satisfying for a trilogy that was designed to end with the third installment.

Epic pulled it off with style and grace, as Gears of War 3 exemplifies exactly what a sequel should be.

Arts Gaming

MGS HD coming soon

September 16, 2011September 26, 2011 Doug Groves Konami, Metal Gear Solid, MGS HD, Peace Walker, press release, PS3, screenshots, Snake Eater, Sons Of Liberty, Xbox 3600 comment

While Konami has yet to peg down a definite North American release date for Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, there’s news floating around (via Joystiq) that it will land in Japan on November 23th. This suggests that international dates can’t be far behind.

Arts Comics Featured Show video

Freelance Blues returns at Fan Expo 2011

September 15, 2011September 20, 2011 Doug Groves A Nail In The Heart, Comics, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, Freelance Blues, Ian Daffern, indie comics, interview, Mike Leone, Robo Horse, Robohorse0 comment

We first talked to Mike and Ian of the comic Freelance Blues at Fan Expo last year. After that conversation, we just had to find out how things were, especially with the then embryotic project RoboHorse. As it turns out, that project lives with a written script and all.

Arts Film

Tractor Canada in Toronto

September 15, 2011September 26, 2011 Doug Groves Documentary, indie film, parking ticket, Toronto, tractor, tractor gets parking ticket, tractorcanada.com0 comment

Although originally snapped a couple of weeks ago, I had to share these pictures of the tractor (and cabin) from Tractor Canada, as it was parked at King and John in downtown Toronto. The tractor is making a sojourn across Canada, from Charolette PEI to Vancouver BC. On the way, they’re shooting a documentary of their journey, in an effort to raise awareness for family farms in Canada, with a cozy cabin that would look right at home on the shores of Georgian Bay.

Arts Featured Gaming

The Gunstringer review – this duck hunts

September 14, 2011September 15, 2011 Doug Groves Kinect, review, The Gunstringer, Twisted Pixel, Xbox 360, Xbox Live1 Comment

As I do recall, the first time I set eyes on Twisted Pixel’s Kinect based game The Gunstringer I wasn’t rightly sure what to make of it. The odd little feller looked like a goofy western on-rails shooter aimed for the new-fangled Kinect. On first blush I reckoned I’d steer clear of it, but like my kin done told me, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Arts Featured Gaming Show video

Rocksmith Overview at Fan Expo 2011

September 12, 2011September 14, 2011 Doug Groves Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2011, hands-on, interview, PC gaming, PS3, Rocksmith, Show, Ubisoft, video, Xbox 36049 Comments

Ubisoft had quite a bit going on at Fan Expo in Toronto this year. One of the upcoming titles that caught our eye was Rocksmith, which puts a new spin on the rhythm guitar game. It’s specfically designed to work with any electric guitar, which plugs into your Xbox 360, PS3 or PC via a USB adapter, and uses the chords you strum to keep track. In the video above, you can catch Ryan’s talk with Adam from Ubisoft, who also demos the game using an Epiphone Les Paul plugged in…