September 2014 | Otaku No Culture

Avatar: Legend of Korra Book 4 Coming in Oct!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Legend of Korra

Not everyone may have realized that Book 3: Changes was quietly broadcasted over the summer months and for those who have managed to see it, to wonder how this quadrilogy will end will not take long. Next month, Book 4: Balance will be streaming online starting October 3rd on Nick.com with new episodes releasing every following Friday.

Thankfully fans will not have to wait a full year to discover how Korra’s legacy will shape the post-modern world she’s living in. Book 3 dealt more about socio-political malcontent that series antagonist Zaheer has been spreading the seeds of dessent to, and Book 2 was about bringing the spirit world closer to the mortal realm. Anyone who has seen the finale saw that these two series have something in common.

If this newest season is going to stitch altogether elements from these previous story arcs, hopefully series creators Brian Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino did not rush this final season into release because of the leak that happened in early Summer.

Perhaps Nickelodeon is not wanting to discard this product for good. They would do well to help create original programming that appeals beyond their intended audience.

Source: IGN, Screencrush

Patrick Warburton Announced for Emerald City 2015

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

PatrickWarburton That’s right fans, The embodiment of The Tick will be making his appearance at Seattle’s Emerald City Comicon in 2015.

As The Tick he was the perfect casting choice in Ben Edlund’s live action series of the same name, but as Patrick Warburton he is the perfect casting for any animated series. Like voice artists Len Carlson and Bill Reiter before him, Warburton has a distinctive voice that adds to his existing comic flair.

Warburton’s lengthy animated credits span both TV, film and video game. In the TV world he is known for the characters Joe Swanson (Family Guy), Buzz Lightyear (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), Brock Samson (The Venture Bros.) and Sheriff Bronson Stone (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated). On the silver screen he has created the roles of Kronk (The Emporer’s New Groove), Pulaski (Planes: Fire & Rescue) and Agamemnon (Mr. Peabody & Sherman). Warburton has also become loved by gamers for his roles as Mozer (Metal Arms: Glitch In the System), Damone (Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust) and Hugo Vasquez (Tales from the Borderlands).

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Wind up Geek’s Ten Must See Movies – Sept, 2014

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

JackhammerPoster Okay, I know what you are thinking –what happened to the five must see? To be quite honest, it has changed and this format is how it’ll be from now on.

I’ve learned that a number of sites such as this one only touch on movies released in North America (okay, USA) but what of other countries? There is so much good cinema to get excited over even during a dry month like September.

What I present here (at least for this month) won’t represent the films of every country. Some films like those from Italy I was not able to learn the release dates to. But I’m sure that over time, I’ll discover where to look. For now you’ll have to satisfy yourself with my limited list over the next couple of months.

I hope what you see will whet your appetite.

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Five Fall Animated Films to Look Forward To

JackCuckooClockHeart Presented in chronological order are five animated films to look forward to on the big screen in the coming months. For animation enthusiasts, there’s still plenty of variety to find and bring a smile to one’s face.

The Boxtrolls

Release Date: Sept 26th, 2014

Plot Synopsis: The 3D animated feature from Laika Studios tells the tale of the Boxtrolls, monsters who live underneath the charming streets of Cheesebridge, who crawl out of the sewers at night to steal what the townspeople hold most dear: their children and their cheeses. At least, that’s the legend the townspeople have always believed. In truth, the Boxtrolls are a community of lovable oddballs who are raising as one of their own an abandoned and orphaned human boy named Eggs. When the Boxtrolls are targeted by a villainous exterminator who is bent on eradicating them, Eggs must venture above ground to save them, where he teams with an adventurous young girl to save not only the Boxtrolls but the soul of Cheesebridge.

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Superman Coins Are Designed to Impress than to Speculate

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

If last year’s 75th anniversary celebration by the Royal Canadian Mint of Superman as an iconic hero where one of his creators hailed from Canada is not enough, then this year’s unveiling of four new coins proves that even up north, we still love him like he is our own son. After all, Krypton is gone, America is his adopted home, and the world is his oyster. Just what else can he do?

Apparently the folks at the Mint decided to continue his legacy! The new coins are using art to promote the years he was best recognized: 1938 (when he first appeared), 1972 (to honour Action Comics #419), 2001 (as an acknowledgement of The Adventures of Superman #596 issue, printed that year) and 2012 (in recognition of the new 52 universe). Depending on when a new reader discovered Superman, he or she may opt for a single coin to display on the mantle to show when that person’s age of discovery began. Several decades are missed, but so what? The comic book covers chosen are meant to highlight a part of Supe’s legacy.

And thankfully, the Mint is not making the same mistake that DC Comics blundered into in 1992 by the over-printing of a product, resulting in the decline of comic book speculating. There’s hardly any redeemable value to any of the the bagged editions of Superman #75.

Three of the new coins are minted in silver, with face values of $10, $15 and $20 and the fourth in gold with a face value of $100. The mint is only producing 10,000 of each silver coin, and the gold coin is limited to a run of 2,000 world-wide.

Just like last year, comic and coin collectors will have to seek out the Man of Steel fast before his memorabilia flies away! The love for collectible products may not continue for another year … or can it with a film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on the way?

Thunder is arriving soon, in a House of Magic near you

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Arriving Sept 5th in select theatres across the States is Thunder and the House of Magic, a wonderful family film about a ginger cat just needing some love. But when he stumbles into a “haunted house” occupied by a misanthropic rabbit, a scrappy mouse and other talking animals (along with some strange robots that look like they can easily belong in a Tim Burton film), maybe what he needs more is a new family. The movie begins suggesting the feline is abandoned by his human owners. The reason why suggests that they have moved and at their new home, wherever that may be, there is no room for Thunder.

To rain on his parade includes meeting a human antagonist intent on selling the abode that this cat has found. But to find out more, perhaps the curious will have to head either to New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, San Francisco and Washington, DC to see it on the big screen, search this title out at Wal-Mart or hit VOD to watch this movie. Shout! Factory is handling the distribution of this product from Studiocanal. Brainstorm Media will be handling the online distribution.

In Canada, there will be some form of release planned for later in the year.

Thunder and the House of Magic is written by James Flynn, Domonic Paris and Ben Stassen, based on an original story idea from Ben Stassen. The film is produced by Caroline Van Iseghem and Ben Stassen, executive produced by Olivier Courson and Eric Dillens, and features original music by Ramin Djawadi. The 85-minute film is produced by nWave Pictures in association with Studiocanal and Anton Capital Entertainment. The voice cast includes Murray Blue, Doug Stone, George Babbit, Danielle Gray and Grant George.