Art Glass Rayguns from Joe Blow Glassworks

Filed under Found on the Web

Joe Blow Glassworks of Vancouver, BC hosts this online gallery of blown glass rayguns by Jeff Burnette. The pieces are partly colored, and partly silvered, all during the glassblowing process. Once the parts are complete they’re assembled and then capped with a stainless steel finial.

These are some really nice pieces. Now I understand that out there in the field you may prefer a retro hand blaster that’s made of more durable materials. But honestly, expand your horizons a little. These things are chock-full of awesome.

Rik Allen’s Retro Rocket Sculptures in Blown Glass & Metal

Filed under Found on the Web

Thanks to io9 for this wonderful link to the retro science fiction, blown glass rocket sculptures of Rik Allen.

They’re currently on exhibit at Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum (through April 27). Just fantastic stuff; try not to look at the prices if you’d rather not ruin your day.

Basil Wolverton’s 1939 Meteor Morgan Comic at Golden Age Comic Book Stories

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Mr. Door Tree’s Golden Age Comic Book Stories has posted the first two parts of a 1939 Meteor Morgan story which didn’t see print until 1975. Love the inking. Love the rockets.

The story’s by Basil Woverton, who had a long career in comics, but who’s not well represented in print collections – at least at the moment.

Meteor Morgan, Page One Meteor Morgan, Page Two Meteor Morgan, Page Three Meteor Morgan, Page Four Meteor Morgan, Page Five Meteor Morgan, Page Six

Time Travel Mart Opens in Los Angeles

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Not long ago – right after my region’s worst ice storm in 18 years, followed by a blizzard that dumped 20″ of snow on our heads, a friend of mine asked if I wasn’t missing Southern California. And I wasn’t. But today, I wish I were back there – and it’s all because of Echo Park’s Time Travel Mart.

Yep. Whenever you’re going, the goods you need are right here in this handy convenience store for time travellers: Robot Milk, “Golden Horde” powdered mare’s milk, Barbarian Repellent, Anti-Robot Fluid… the list goes on and on. And bargains! I mean, even at Amazon you won’t find a better deal on anything that’s guaranteed to Satisfy Cavemen’s Chewing Needs!

So yes, Jean, today I do wish I was back in the old neighborhood.

New Photos of Go Hero’s Classic Buck Rogers Figure

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Steve Forde of Go Hero has posted some work-in-progress photographs of his classic Buck Rogers figure; it’s a 1/6 scale figure and I’ve been wondering what exactly Forde was going to come up with at that scale. These photos are telling me to expect something that’ll be staring at me from my desk. And – as you can see – it will outgun me.

I’ve been hearing about this project for several weeks now and I couldn’t help but wonder how it ties in with the new Buck Rogers comics and merchandising announcement from Dynamite Entertainment. I’m still wondering, but it looks as though the Dille Family Trust is suddenly lighting fires under all sorts of pots.

I’m sure we’ll have to wait quite some time before we see what Dynamite comes up with. In the meantime, I’m getting pretty interested in this little guy from Go Hero.

Old and New Mister X Comics Coming from Dark Horse

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Dean Motter has updated his website with new information about his Mister X comic series, with old material to be re-released, and new stories to appear through the good graces of Dark Horse Comics.

Mister X was quite the phenomenon during the 1980’s, with its Lost-like riddles within riddles and a dark, ominous setting in one of three cities in Motter’s noir retrofuture. Maybe a just little nearer to my own heart would be his Electropolis and Terminal City, but hey – it’s all good.

You can start with a taste of Mister X: The Archives, which will collect the 384 pages of the character’s initial run along with Motter’s restored and revised finale to the series. Following that there will be Mister X: Condemned, a new four-issue miniseries.

In his first life, Mister X attracted artists and guest talent that included the Hernandez Brothers, Seth, Paul Rivoche, Bill Sienciewicz, Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman – but on the art side, at least, my favorite Dean Motter always had art by… Dean Motter. No one else ever quite captured his Expressonistic dystopias the way he did himself.

Halbtraum, an animated short by Marco Jeuring and Tobias Wüstefeld

Filed under Computer Graphics, Found on the Web

Mad science! Sleepwalking! Drowning Fish! Helpful Flies! Welcome to the mad dreaming world of Halbtraum, a short animated film by Marco Jeuring and Tobias Wüstefeld.

…and there’s a “Making Of” short, too.

High res, Divx versions here

Low res, Youtube versions: Halbtraum “Making Of”

Retro Rocket Paintings by Marianne Plumridge

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I just happened across a couple of wonderful retro rocket paintings by SF painter Marianne Plumridge. They’re painted in a sort of pasty, dreamy palette that you might expect to be a poor match for the gleaming fins and metal teardrops of an iconic, 1950’s rocket ship – and as you see, you’d be wrong. Lovely stuff.

Shown is Reach II, 9″ x 12″; that one’s sold, but have a look at Reach III, too. Both are on view at Plumridge’s “Daub du Jour” page.

Buck Rogers Comics to be Reborn at Dynamite Entertainment

Filed under Can't Stop Thinking, Found on the Web

Comic Book Resources reports what could be wonderful news, or terrible news, depending on how it works out. The John F. Dille Trust has reached an agreement with Dynamite Entertainment to revive the Buck Rogers comics as a comic book series with many merchandising tie-ins. No writers or artists are yet attached to the project except that covers will be provided by the very able hands of Alex Ross and John Cassaday.

When I looked into Buck about ten years ago I thought that Disney had sewn up most of the rights; I have to assume that what I was looking at were film and television rights, though, or that those agreements have since expired.

Buck Rogers was a first in many ways. His adventures began as a work of short fiction and then transmogrified into a successful comic strip that ran for almost four decades. Written by Phil Nowlan and originally drawn by Dick Calkins, the series was ghosted (at least on the art side) many times over its reign. On the left we see one of Frank Frazetta’s contributions from Famous Funnies in the 1950’s.

Buck paved the way for science fiction heroes in both comics and radio . He didn’t have the same success in movie serials as did the me-too character Flash Gordon, but for my money the Buck Serials were a good deal more fun. But backpedal to the early days of the comic strip for a moment, because one of the most astonishing things about Buck’s popularity in those days of the late twenties and the early thirties was that he invented merchandising.