The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 31: Executive Movie Missteps

Alright, 'Combies! The boys are back again and this time we're getting into the meat of the movie industry and our thoughts on the what's and why's of their present actions. There's been a lot happening of late within geek corner of the film industry, specifically Marvel Studios and Disney, as well as Warner Bros. and their burgeoning DC Cinematic Universe. It's a very lively and in-depth discussion and, if you're interested in understanding the decisions that go on within your favorite companies and movies, this is definitely a show you might want to check out!

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And for context of Nik's palpable concern during the last portion of the show, 
we have exhibit one:

And Exhibit two:

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 30: Comic Movie Madness Part 2

The madness continues as Joe, Kim, Paul and Erik continue their discussion of the progression of comic book films into the new millennium and beyond as the superhero movie underwent its own renaissance and all that inevitably came with it! The fun never stops and the geekery maintains, so come on down and enjoy!

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Paul's podcast:
The Dispenser

Kim's web pages:
Kimmik Design
Twitch Channel

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 30: Comic Movie Madness Part 1

Alright, Combies! We've got a special episode of the Hideout for you this time around. As Superhero and Comic Book movies have taken the mainstream by storm in recent years, Joe Cain felt it was time to take a look back just how we got to this point. Assisting with this assessment, he's brought Erik Westfall, Kim/Fr3nchKitti3 and Paul the Engineer along to explore the past and present of superhero films and how they were affected by the source material and how the source material were affected by them. It was such a big conversation, that we had to split it in two, so enjoy this first shot but don't worry, the second will be coming soon enough!  ;)

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P.S.: Better listen to the episode for context on these images.  :D

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 29: ACTUAL Shapes and Sizes!

Alright, 'Combies! After a bit of a hiatus and a lot of kitbashing, we're back to discuss yet another controversial topic: the female anatomy and how it's conveyed in the media! But to cover our bases, we actually have a woman on the show to help rein us in a bit (if that's possible). Artist Katie Hodges joins Joe, Mark and Nik in the Hideout to talk about this very controversial and yet extremely important issue in regards to art and media. So come on down and see where this particular rabbit hole leads!

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And for those playing the home game, to follow along with the discussion, here are the relevant articles in the order they are discussed:
Huffington Post article
Empowerment vs Objectication comic strip
Milo Manara Spider-Woman variant cover
Catwoman #0 cover

As for the later pictographic descent into madness, here are those links...
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 28: Social Justice WTF?!

Check it out, 'Combies! Your boys in the 'Hideout are back again with another engrossing societal cross-section. Joined by our 'Combie Tess, Mark and Joe examine numerous controversies in geek and national news, ranging from the Indiana Religious Freedom Act to the infamous variant cover outrage that has gripped the geek and artistic communities. We're digging deep on this one and getting real on these topics tonight. So kick back and listen while we get to the meet of not only issues involved but the consequences of these issues, as well as what lead to their prominence.

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Don't forget that our comic anthology, "Imaginos Plus" is still available here!

And Imaginos Workshop will be at Comic City's Pontiac store this saturday the 18th from noon to 4. We'll be signing comics and answering questions. So come on out and hang with us!   :)

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 27: The Spoils of Geekdom

The time to return is here again, 'Combies! This time, host Joe Cain is joined again by Ben Rodriguez as the two rattle off and on about a menagerie of topics. From the interesting pickin's at the theater (Spoilerific reviews of "Jupiter Ascending" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service, you have been warned) to revisitations, adaptations and flatout reboots abound to some Ben's most recent reads to net neutrality. Also, prepare for loads and loads of geektastic topic dissection, but then that might go without saying. It's a veritable rabbit hole of nerdity, so sit back and see if you can keep up!


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Imaginos Movie Review of "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

From the first trailer, this movie set some pretty high expectations and with a cast sporting the likes of Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine, one could surely see why.

“Kingsman” centers on a secret intelligence organization devoted to maintaining the world’s peace and security without the bureaucracy that hinders and tarnishes the priorities of the rest of the world’s security organizations. A new threat arises and forces the Kingsmen to enact a recruitment drive to bolster their ranks. This results in the recruitment of one of the protagonists, the rough around the edges Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), one of Kingsman’s top agents. But the trick comes about in the form of the billionaire philanthropist Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) and his mysterious plan to “save the world”.

                         

Based on the comic book “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, this is certainly not your traditional comic book movie. But anyone that has seen any of the previous film adaptations of Mark Millar’s comics can safely expect a number of things from them; wit, cultural commentary and ludicrous amounts of violence. And while I haven’t read the comics to be able to compare it to its source material, this film does not dissappoint when stacked against its predecessors.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Director on “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class” and Co-Producer on “Kick-Ass 2”) and co-written by himself and frequent collaborator Jane Goldsman (Co-Writer on “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class”), the film has that secondary production familiarity to it as well as being another Mark Millar property. However, it’s not just a fun, funny and raucous romp meant to recapture the fun and absurdity of the classic spy films of old, there’s also a surprising humanity to it as well, on the sides of both the protagonists and the antagonists. And couple that with plot twists and turns galore, it’s sure to be a fun day at the movies for everyone that goes to see it. (I’ve seen it twice!  :D) But remember that it is R-rated, so don’t expect this to be a comic book movie that you can take the kids to go see.

And don't forget that Imaginos Plus is available for digital download at DriveThru Comics for just 99 cents!
Imaginos Plus is here!!

Imaginos Plus: On Sale Now!

It's been a long road, folks (and it's still going by the way) but our totally original comic book "Imaginos Plus" is now officially FOR SALE. Our wonderful Kickstarter backers have been able to download their free copy for a couple weeks now, but now everyone can get in on the fun. All you need to do is head over to DriveThruComics and purchase our inaugural issue for an easy $0.99. 

We would again like to thank all the friends, family, funders and peers that have helped us get this off the ground. But this is just the beginning! We have big plans to keep this going in bigger and better ways. As always, sharing this with your geeky friends will do a HUGE part in keeping this ball rolling! We hope you enjoy the book.

2015 Oscars Winners

Well, that's a wrap. Here are the 2015 Academy Award winners: 

Best animated short

Feast — Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

Best live action short film

The Phone Call — Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Best adapted screenplay

The Imitation Game - Graham Moore

Best original screenplay

Birdman - Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

Best documentary short subject

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 — Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

Achievements in visual effects

Interstellar — Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

Best original score

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Alexandre Desplat

Best original song

"Glory" from Selma - music and lyrics by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

Best documentary feature

Citizenfour - Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

Film editing

Whiplash — Tom Cross

Cinematography

Birdman — Emmanuel Lubezki

Production design

The Grand Budapest Hotel — Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock

Best animated feature

Big Hero 6 — Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

Sound editing

American Sniper — Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound mixing

Whiplash — Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Best foreign language film

Ida — Poland

Makeup and hairstyling

Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier — The Grand Budapest Hotel

Costume design

Milena Canonero — The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best actor in a supporting role

J.K. Simmons — Whiplash

Best actress in a supporting role

Patricia Arquette — Boyhood

Best actor in a leading role

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Best actress in a leading role

Julianne Moore - Still Alice

Best director

Alejandro G. Iñárritu - Birdman

Best picture

Birdman

'Imaginos Plus' is LIVE!

This is it, folks. Our first totally original comic book is DONE, and our faithful Kickstarter funders can download a free digital copy right now. If you're not a Kickstarter backer, don't worry: the book will be available to buy and download within the next week.

 If you've been following along at home you know the book includes three totally original comic properties: REQUIEM, CANDY COATED & JUDA FIST: 7 DEATHS OF THE YOBI. The book also includes an introduction to RIFTS®: THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG ERIN TARN, an imaginative story based on the character from Kevin Siembieda's Palladium Books® and the Rifts "Megaverse."

Though the book itself is now done, we have plenty of work to do now, which includes submitting the book to comic publishers and printing physical copies of the book. Soon the book will be available to buy and download in digital form, as well as the physical comic book shops. 

You will need a comic book reader in order to open and read the file on your computer, and we've included a link to Comical Cross-Platform CBR/CBZ comic reader in the update. It is a quick and free download. If you don't already have comic reading software on your computer, simply download the file for either Windows, Mac or Linux. Then open or "extract" the files on your computer. You will then be able to read the Imaginos Plus file with Comical.

Stay tuned for more updates as we work to get this book in comic shops and online comic stores.

The Honeycomb Hideout: Episode 26 - A Furry New Year!

What's up, 'Combies? Your boys are back in the year 2015 with a whole lot to share! Joe, Mark and Nick welcome comic artist Ben Rodriguez to tell us about his ongoing project "Peter is the Wolf" and everybody shares their thoughts on a variety of topics ranging from the awesomeness of yesteryear to Captain America: The Winter Soldier to wrestling. Yeah, it's that kind of episode.  LOL  So sit back, relax and welcome back to The Honeycomb Hideout!

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To check out more of Ben's artwork, make sure to visit: Ben's deviantART: Ben's deviantART

And to read his comic, make sure to visit his website and remember that it's age-specific for an older audience but also segmented for those who wish to avoid the more graphic content: Peter is the Wolf

Imaginos Movie Review: "Snowpiercer"

Though the movie came out in 2013, I only just recently got the chance to partake of the film "Snowpiercer." I'm not normally the type of person to just buy a movie without having seen it first, but honestly, hearing the plot of the movie and the way so many of my friends spoke so highly of it (and these are opinions that I actually trust, mind you), I took the leap and bought it. And now, after having finally seen it, I don't regret the purchase in the slightest.  :)

"Snowpiercer," despite its majority English-speaking and American cast, is actually a Korean Science-Fiction film that is actually based on the French graphic novel series "Le Transperceneige." Now, based on that kind of lineage, you can imagine that the film either diverts heavily from American cinema sensibilities or ends up heavily catering to American sensibilities due to other nation's public perception of viewing films more highly as an art form. In this case, if you bet on the latter, then you'd actually lose.

For those that haven't heard of it, the film takes place in a future where the planet has frozen over due to a failed attempt to offset global warming, and an eccentric industrialist's fantasy project of a globe-spanning train system becomes humanity's only hope of avoiding extinction. The last remnants of humanity have been living on the train "Snowpiercer" for over 17 years and the story focuses on a specific event in the lives of the survivors in the rear of the train as they suffer the eventuality of an oppressive class system.

The most interesting part about the movie is that rather than focusing on creating a wide and varied view of life on the train, it actually keeps its focus purely on the group at the back and allows you to discover the real "diversity" of life on the train along with them. With a surprising cast with names like Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton and Ed Harris, the characters aboard the train range drastically and aren't as clear cut as you might expect as life on the train has had surprising effects on them all. And its non-blockbuster approach to telling this story truly sets it apart from other post-apocalyptic/disaster films.

The only unfortunate part of this movie is that it did so poorly in the box office. This might be due to the fact that it's not your traditional sci-fi movie, like I've previously mentioned. So if you're interested in an incredible film that bucks a significant number of traditional tropes in American cinema and thus produces a movie that is easily set to be a cult classic for movie loving audiences, check out "Snowpiercer"!

-Joe Cain