The Hyper Room

Magnus Robot Fighter, X-O Manowar, Rai and the Future Force, Harbinger, Ninjak, Archer and Armstrong, Quantum and Woody.

These are some of the characters of the Valiant Universe also includes their biggest character - thanks to the Vin Diesel movie that came out this year: BLOODSHOT!

Dinesh Shamdasani’s Valiant Comics story is an amazing one so if you loved the original 1990s run of the comics and don’t know the story of what happened after Acclaim bought them, and how the Valiant line came back to life in the early 2010s - this is that incredible story!

Join your host Casey Lau and Dinesh Shamdasani inside The Hyper Room.

Dinesh Shamdasani on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dinesh_s
Bad Idea https://www.badideacorp.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/BadIdeaHello
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/1495385493933181
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/badideahello/
Bad Idea Comic Stores https://www.badideacorp.com/news/bad-idea-the-complete-retailer-list
The Hero Trade https://www.keycollectorcomics.com/series/hero-trade,68989/
Bad Idea 2021 Launch slate: https://comicbook.com/comics/news/bad-idea-comics-list-2021-eniac-tankers-whalesville-the-lot-slay/
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Valiant Entertainment http://valiantentertainment.com/
Is Valiant The Next Superhero Universe? https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamos/2019/04/18/ninjak-bloodshot-and-faith-herbert-is-valiant-the-next-superhero-universe/
DMG Entertainment https://www.dmg-entertainment.com/
Bloodshot movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1634106/
Rian Hughes inside The Hyper Room http://www.thehyperroom.com/the-man-who-designed-your-favorite-comic-book-logos-the-rian-hughes-interview/
Jim Shooter’s Valiant http://jimshooter.com/category/06-valiant/?order=asc
Gold Key Comics/Western Publishing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Key_Comics
===
The Hyper Room https://www.thehyperroom.com
Twitter https://www.twitter.com/thehyperroom/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thehyperroom/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thehyperroom

Show notes:

Neon Visions: The Comics of Howard Chaykin by Brannon Costello
https://amzn.to/2U26IYD

American Flagg! Volume 1
https://amzn.to/3k8aAlM

American Flagg! Volume 2
https://amzn.to/38j94uI

American Flagg! #1 on comiXology
https://amzn.to/32jJZvO

American Flagg!: Definitive Collection Kindle & comiXology
https://amzn.to/32qe7pn

The Hyper Room
http://www.thehyperroom.com

This episode of the Hyper Room host Casey Lau welcomes the author of "Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World" Matt Alt to talk about the origins of Transformers, manga, anime, Astro Boy, Gundam, Akira Evangelion all the way up to Demon Slayer today.

Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, the book Pure Invention reveals how Japanese ingenuity remade global culture and may have created modern life as we know it. It’s Japan’s world; we’re just gaming, texting, singing, and dreaming in it.

The book goes deep into all the creative ideas the Japanese have contributed to the world - but in this podcast we will focus on manga and anime and there is a lot of great insight into those worlds that we explore.

Welcome author Matt Alt inside The Hyper Room.

All the links to everything Matt and I discussed can also be found at http://www.thehyperroom.com

* Matt Alt on Twitter https://twitter.com/Matt_Alt
* Matt Alt on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/altmattalt/
* Matt Alt at The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/matt-alt
* Osamu Tezuka https://tezukaosamu.net/en/
* Mighty Atom/Astro Boy https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/51.html
* Japanese Spider-Man show https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/celebrate-japan-s-classic-spider-man-tv-series
* Power Rangers and How It Adapted From Super Sentai https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/super-sentai-power-rangers-adaptation/
* Mobile Suit Gundam https://en.gundam.info/
* Neon Genesis Evangelion https://www.evangelion.co.jp/
* Akira 4K https://www.funimationfilms.com/movie/akira-4k/
* Akira the Parco Wall exhibition in Tokyo https://thebestjapan.com/akira-art-of-wall-katsuhiro-otomo-x-kosuke-kawamura-akira-art-exhibition/
* Demon Slayer Movie news https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/10/23/films/demon-slayer-box-office-record/
* Flint Dille, writer of Transformers the Movie inside The Hyper Room http://www.thehyperroom.com/gi-joe-transformers-inhumanoids-flint-dille/
* Robotech Macross Saga Voice Cast Reunion inside The Hyper Room http://www.thehyperroom.com/35th-anniversary-of-robotech/

You can follow The Hyper Room on:

Twitter @thehyperroom
Instagram @thehyperroom
TikTok @thehyperroom
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and catch up on past podcasts at http://www.thehyperroom.com

In the 1990s Jay started doing black and white comics like SIN, JETCAT, LAND OF NOD and ATOMIC CITY TALES in Canada before taking some of his ideas into animation.

He can call cartoonists like The Tick’s Ben England, THB’s Paul Pope and Scud the Disposable Assassin’s Rob Schwab contemporaries of the indie comics scene of the mid-90’s.

His mix of Groovy and Ghoulie artwork and storytelling attracted the world of cartoons and before long he brought the Mummies and Frankenstein inspired Tutenstein to life in 2003. The series ran for 3 seasons and won two Daytime Emmy Awards.

In 2008, he brought out a new show called The Secret Saturdays, the story of a family of cryptozoologists that work to keep the truth about cryptids from getting out, to protect both the human race and the creatures themselves to Cartoon Network.

An inspiring chat with a guy who accidentally got into comics, accidentally got into animation and then had a mental breakdown and spent months recovering before getting back into comics and back at the drawing board with his new series DWELLINGS which is in its final days on Kickstarter having beat its crowdfunding goal in 3 hours.

Join me and Jay Stephens inside The Hyper Room!

Show Notes:

The Hyper Room: https://www.thehyperroom.com
Jay’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaypopgun/
Dwellings on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackeyebooks/dwellings-a-brand-new-horror-comic-by-jay-stephens
Black Eye: https://www.blackeye.ca
Dejects: https://www.blackeye.ca/product-page/dejects-2nd-edition
Secret Saturdays: https://secretsaturdays.fandom.com/wiki/The_Secret_Saturdays_Wiki
Tutenstein: https://tutenstein.fandom.com/wiki/Tutenstein_(character)
Tutenstein full episodes from Yippee TV: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpCQro_dkc44TOAUi_nK6uA
Secret Saturdays meet Ben 10 https://youtu.be/k-BKa_i8B_c
Jetcat on YouTube: https://youtu.be/E2HC2I5IYdw
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force publicity stunt that got everyone fired: https://www.engadget.com/2007-01-31-aqua-teen-hunger-force-viral-ads-cause-boston-bomb-scare.html

In the early 2000’s the nostalgia wave for 80s pop culture was at an all time high - the return of Classic GI Joe and Generation 1 Transformers to comic book stores around the world signaled that we the kids of the 80s like the kids of the 70s with Star Wars had our own money to spend on these amazing characters in comic, toy and game form.

Alongside GI Joe and Transformers there was Voltron, Thundercats, Battle of the Planets, Micronauts and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe -- the legendary group of super properties from the 1980s were back with creators who grew up with them as little kids and with modern sensibilities.

I had Pat Lee from Dreamwave in The Hyper Room to talk about Transformers so it only makes sense to get Josh Blaylock from Devil's Due to talk about GI JOE.

Josh is the publisher at Devil's Due and we talk about him being a 21 year old comics fan who saw the potential in publishing a GI Joe comic even though no one wanted it - not even the original publisher Marvel Comics who made comics history in the 80s with the landmark series.

On this episode you will learn about:

The challenges Devil's Due faced with working with both Hasbro and Image Comics,

How Bill Jemas the publisher of Marvel Comics pitched a GI Joe vs X-Men crossover and Josh turned him down.

How he reached out to both GI Joe creator Larry Hama and GI Joe cover artist Mike Zeck to re-engage with them on new material.

How he turned down Robert Kirkman’s pitch for a Destro story that Josh thought was too cartoony

And why he created one of the most enduring new GI Joes characters in Kamakura - the disciple of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow.

What Josh’s Snake-Eyes vs Batman story would have been about.


An incredible run through 80s nostalgia that returned in the early 21st century with Devils Due’s massive line of GI Joe comics, that its inspired the 3rd wave of GI Joe we are in the midst of with the new GI Joe Classified line of Hasbro action figures and the upcoming live action Snake-eyes solo movie starring Henry Golding.

An incredible look back at GI Joe and Image comics through the eyes of Devils Due Publishings - please join me and Josh Blaylock inside The Hyper Room.

The Show Notes:

Devils Due https://www.devilsdue.net/
Devils Due YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQM1vULZed1FM8bpgwukl8g/videos
Image Comics https://imagecomics.com/
IDW https://www.idwpublishing.com/
Larry Hama https://gijoe.fandom.com/wiki/Larry_Hama
Mike Zeck https://www.mikezeck.com/
J. Scott Campbell: https://jscottcampbell.com/
GI Joe at Hasbro https://gijoe.hasbro.com/en-ca
YoJoe.com Devils Due archives: https://www.yojoe.com/comics/devils-due/
Joe Battlelines: http://joebattlelines.com/reviews/comics/devilsdue/index.htm
Pat Lee from Dreamwave inside The Hyper Room http://www.thehyperroom.com/pat-lee-transformers/

On this episode of the Hyper Room, I welcome one of the legends of modern action figure sculpting Jerry Macaluso he started three of the most iconic US collectibles companies in history: Plastic Fantasy, SOTA Toys, and Pop Culture Shock.

Together Jerry and I will take you behind the scenes of his career starting in special effects on movies like The Toxic Avenger to teaming up with Jenna Jameson on a line of adult film star action figures then surprising the market and his peers with an incredible line of Street Fighter action Figures and then taking the high-end statue market to new detailed heights with Mortal Kombat and Masters of the Universe.

Jerry has worked on brands like Duke Nukem, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb raider, Chronicles of Riddick, and his Now Playing series where he brought the monsters from Legend, Land of the Dead, Pumpkinhead, The Thing and even Killer Klowns from Outer Space into action figure form -

This is an amazingly detailed behind the scenes look at the action figure market in the late 90s and early 2000s - this was an amazing conversation especially for fans of Jerry’s work and want to know how he started and became one of the most celebrated sculptors of our time.

This conversation deep-dives into just the beginning of an amazing career - so strap yourselves in and join me and Jerry Macaluso inside The Hyper Room.

Links

Toxic Avenger
https://www.troma.com/films/the-toxic-avenger/

Plastic Fantasy:
http://figure-archive.net/manuf.aspx?manufID=297

Jenna Jameson on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenna_Jameson

SOTA Toys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOTA_Toys

Street Fighter checklist
https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=566

Now Playing checklist
https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=seriesitemlist&id=611

Sideshow
https://www.sideshow.com/

Pop Culture Shock
https://www.collectpcs.com/

Prime 1
https://www.prime1studio.com/

News archive on Jerry via Action Figure Insider
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/tag/jerry-macaluso/

The Hyper Room
http://www.thehyperroom.com

The Hyper Room on Twitter
https://twitter.com/thehyperroom

The Hyper Room on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thehyperroom

The Hyper Room on TikTok
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJPrwFPB/

If you are asked to name the most influential cartoons of all time Ren and Stimpy would definitely be somewhere at the top of that list.

Without Ren and Stimpy there would be no Spongebob Squarepants, Adventure Time or Rick and Morty.

The Nickelodeon cartoon about a mean dog and a dumb cat - was a landmark for modern animation with is gross-out humour, incredible animation and achieving pop culture superstar status the moment it debuted in 1991.

I welcome Thad Komorowski the author of Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story - a highly enjoyable deep dive into the creation and history of the much beloved or much exe-crated cartoon series, depending on who you ask.

I loved the book and encourage any animation fan to read it and listen to Thad talk about some of the key stories from it on this podcast. The story of Ren and Stimpy is almost crazier than the show itself — almost.

So, join me and author Thad Komorowski inside The Hyper Room.

Show notes:

The Book
https://www.amazon.com/Sick-Little-Monkeys-Unauthorized-Stimpy-ebook/dp/B074ZYH5S9/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=sick+little+monkeys&qid=1601764832&sr=8-2

Cartoon Logic podcast
https://cartoonlogic.libsyn.com

The documentary
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/happy_happy_joy_joy_the_ren_and_stimpy_story

The Buzzfeed article
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/arianelange/john-kricfalusi-ren-stimpy-underage-sexual-abuse

Mighty Mouse the New Adventures
https://mightymouse.fandom.com/wiki/Mighty_Mouse:_The_New_Adventures

The New Adventures of Beanie and Cecil
https://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/D/DiC_Entertainment/The_New_Adventures_of_Beany_and_Cecil/

Bob Clampett
https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/Bob_Clampett

Ralph Baski
https://www.ralphbakshi.com

John K.
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com

Lynne Naylor
http://www.lynive.com/files/pages/homepage.html

What a Cartoon podcast
https://whatacartoonfeed.libsyn.com

The latest on Ren and Stimpy from Comedy Central
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/unconfirmed-comedy-centrals-ren-stimpy-reboot-has-been-shelved-197051.html

The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6611256/

It is my Cybertronian honor to have legendary storyteller Flint Dille inside The Hyper Room.

If you grew up watching GI Joe, Transformers, Inhumanoid, Visionaries or was traumatized by Transformers the movie then you know who Flint Dille is. He created and wrote so much of what came out of Sunbow Animation in the 1980s and what has influenced so much in pop culture over 30 year later.

The name of his autobiography The Gamesmaster - also the title of one his most beloved GI Joe episodes - the book a is a behind the scenes story of a young film grad who ends up working with creative greats like the co-creator of Captain America and the Fantastic Four JACK KIRBY, and GARY GYGAX Creator of Dungeons and Dragons and being responsible himself for killing Optimus Prime and bringing D-Compose and the other Inhumanoids to scare little kids everywhere.

Flint has definitely scarred as many as he inspired but I am so thrilled to have a chance to talk to him and this interview will stand as one of my favorites because the name Flint Dille is synonymous with the fun and adventure I had after school every day as a kid growing up in the 80s.

Please join me and the legendary Flint Dille inside The Hyper Room.

The Gamesmaster: My Life in the '80s Geek Culture Trenches with G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, and The Transformers is available now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2S2jSnK

In October 1980 Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash along with Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and a teenage Beast Boy now calling himself The Changeling, joined together to form The New Teen Titans first appearing in DC Comics Presents #26 before launching into their own comic book and setting the world on fire.

Today in The Hyper Room in association with Icon Heroes we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the creation of this classic super hero team that started in comic books but has spread to video games, toys, cartoons, TV and the movies: it is our honor to welcome Marv Wolfman, co-creator of The New Teen Titans in celebrating their 40th anniversary inside The Hyper Room!

Read more here: http://www.thehyperroom.com/new-teen-titans-marv-wolfman/

Today in the Hyper Room we are celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the original airing of the series that has ranked as one of the greatest animated shows of all time — and so it is my extreme honor to welcome the entire original Macross Saga voice cast:

- Tony Oliver who played Rick Hunter

- Rebecca Forstadt Who played Lynn MinMay

- Melanie MacQueen Who played Lisa Hayes

- Dan Woren who played Lt Roy Fokker

Alongside Harmony Gold’s Robotech Master himself Tommy Yune and Pat Wang from Icon Heroes who is making some amazing Robotech statues we go back to the days before My Neighbor Totoro, before Akira, and even before Transformers The Movie - in 1985 we were introduced to the three parts of Robotech: The Macross Saga, The Masters and The New Generation.

So, its time to have an 80s memory bomb dropped on your head as you recall words like ROBOTECHNOLOGY, PROTOCULTURE, SDF-1, VERITECH, ZENTRAEDI and more as I welcome the original voice cast from the Macross Saga to celebrate the 35th anniversary of ROBOTECH inside The Hyper Room.

You can watch a video version of this podcast on YouTube.com/iconheroes and you can follow The Hyper Room on Twitter and Instagram at The Hyper Room and catch up on past podcasts at www.thehyperroom.com