If you’re not into sci-fi, you may prefer this rendering of The Dark Knight vs a Great White.

That guy will fight anything!

At the end of the day, we here at Popcultureshock are always gonna be on some geek shit, but that’s why you love us! In any event, I’ll admit to never having been a die-hard fan of the original Tron, but even as a kid, I could understand that it was something I’d never seen before. And while many would probably consider it severely dated by today’s standards, its technical merits and influence shouldn’t be ignored. And the visual medium being what it is today, I’m not at all surprised to see the property revisited. And dammit if it doesn’t look and sound like The Sex!! It just looks like yet another film that can’t wait to molest your eyes! And where Avatar gave us Zoe Saldana as a ten-foot blue alien, Tron Legacy gives us Olivia Wilde (Thirteen from House) in full-on cyberpunk fetish gear. I don’t even care what her character is in the film! Far as I’m concerned, she don’t have to do jack but sprawl out on that couch!

Check out a sneak peek from Lady Gaga’s exclusive spread for the debut issue of VAINSTYLE: THE BOOK, which previewed at Fall 2010 Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week, and will be available to preview online this Friday, at www.vainstyle.com

The new new quarterly magazine also features exclusive spreads from Whitney Thompson, Vita Chambers, David Guetta, as well as cover artist Livvi Franc and Bryan Ellis.

Most people, of course, know you from starring in Better Luck Tomorrow. Can you talk about how you got the part?
It just was a normal audition. I missed the first round of improvisations and then heard about the audition through a fellow actor who had just gone through it. I contacted Justin [Lin, the director] and off the bat was lucky enough to be paired with Karin Anna Cheung who eventually wound up playing Stephanie, the female lead. And we had this great chemistry and I recall thinking to myself, “If this girl isn’t one of Justin’s final choices, he’s nuts.”

Karin and I went in together and knocked it out of the park. We were doing the New Year’s scene where she’s supposed to kiss me, and she just kinda stopped and I whispered, “you’re supposed to kiss me
right now” and she yells, “I’m supposed to WHAT!?” The charm, awkwardness and playfulness that Ben and Stephanie were supposed to have was all there.

Even though Karin and I wound up being his final choices, Justin still kept on casting for three more months to see everyone he could. And it was agonizing hearing all the actors confirmed as the cast. I’ve known all these guys for years, and I’d be like, “Roger Fan as Daric? That’s so perfect!” or “Jason Tobin as Virgil? Of course!” Agh! Why is everybody in this movie except me?!

Three months after the callback, I finally got a call from Justin offering me the lead role of Ben. I was the last actor cast on the film.

That movie marked such a watershed moment in modern Asian American cinema. And it launched the careers of so many talented Asian Americans in Hollywood. How does it feel to be part of something like
that?
Extremely blessed. The cast members and I were pounding the pavement as actors for six years before BLT came along. So we knew how special this project could be if it came together the right way.
We all put our careers and pilot seasons on hold to do this project for deferred payment–which means getting paid $0 until the movie makes money. Which usually means $0. We were willing to do that because we knew even if we did book a TV series, we’d probably be playing the quirky, asexual best friend with an accent. And we had enough of that.

What types of things did you pass up?
I mean one day during shooting, my agents informed me that Woody Allen wanted to fly me out to read for a part in his next film! But there was no way I could leave set–I was pretty much in every scene. My agents wanted me to abandon the BLT. But I had to tell them, “Look, you guys have to trust me, this project is different–it’s special.” Of course, the whole agency was cursing me out under their breaths at the time, but in the end, one of the agents later admitted, “You were right.”

Wait you passed up a chance to audition for Woody Allen?!
Well, my agents were able to logistically make the meeting work. Basically, I left the set on the red eye from California to New York for the meeting and then flew back onto set the next day. I think I was in NYC for about four hours total. It was for the film Hollywood Ending, but I didn’t get the part. Soon-Yi was there to watch me audition for Woody, though!

Even though you didn’t get the part for Woody Allen, I’m assuming you would’ve killed to act for him. Are there any other directors on your wishlist?
Just the usual suspects: Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderberg, JJ Abrams, James Cameron, Zack Synder, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze, Robert Rodriguez, Ang Lee, Jason Reitman, and Christopher Nolan.

Just to name a few? Ha!
Actually, I learned an interesting thing when I was directed by Forrest Whitaker on First Daughter. I was prepared to just absorb all of this guy’s information and obey with whatever he had to say, but when it came time to shoot, I was taken aback when he asked me what I thought about a scene or how my character would deal with a [particular] situation. And it was really nice to be trusted and to give input like that, making it a real collaboration. Sung Kang conveyed a similar notion to me when he was directed by Denzel Washington in Antwone Fisher. So that de-mystification was a really empowering lesson–that although these great directors had a wealth of knowledge that I could learn from, I still couldn’t discount what I, as an actor, could also bring to the table.

Back in 2006, when we first put out a call for story submissions for Secret Identities, you were one of the first people to respond. So how did Jeff, Jerry, and I sucker you into becoming part of the editorial team?
As a comic geek and actor looking to create engaging APA characters, I thought the project was a no-brainer for me. But to this day, I really have no idea how I became part of the editorial team! I basically just approached you guys to submit an idea for a story I had–which wound up being “The Hibakusha” [in the book]. And during one conference call one day, Jeff just tossed me the responsibility of replying to anyone who submitted [stories]. Then that somehow turned into “write all the rejection letters.” Then that became “set up the deadlines for the contributors.” And so it went.

The first time we met in person was in Jeff Yang’s living room in Brooklyn in the fall of 2006 or so. It’s hard to believe that Secret Identities has been a part of our lives for the last three-plus years. What has been the best part of the SI experience for you?
I can’t count the number of best parts, actually. There are so many:
All of us in Jeff’s living room and looking at art samples on Jeff’s big screen TV. Jumping on the daily emails, going back and forth on new stories and artwork even though I was always three hours behind you guys on the east coast. Slowly getting different celebs to contribute and getting awesome pull quotes. Making the animated videos for some of the stories. Selling close to 80 copies at ECAASU, even though we had no actual book out yet. Making friendships with creators and artists that I’ve admired for years. Getting my personal box of books in the mail like George McFly in Back to the Future, while handing a copy to my daughter and telling her, “You can do anything if you put your mind to it!” Biff Tannen walking in to tell me he’s finished with the “second” coat of wax on the car. Wait, that last part didn’t happen.

Were there any not-so-great moments for you?
Really, the only worst part was the last week before we went to press and had to deal with artists and writers dropping out at the last minute and figuring out how to still complete the book. Oh, and that I hardly made any money acting-wise during that period because I was more focused on getting the book done than booking auditions. But just like BLT, if I truly believe in something I will drop everything–much to the dismay of my wife.

Right before the book came out, you wrote an impassioned letter on your blog about the importance of the community to support the book that echoed a similar open letter you wrote before the premiere of BLT. How does your experience putting out Secret Identities compare to the whirlwind surrounding Better Luck Tomorrow back in 2002?
Well with SI, there was a lot less mainstream fanfare. I mean, I got into People Magazine with BLT! But in terms of the importance, I think it’s right up there. It’s something that needed to exist and be available to address images and issues of the APA experience. The response was also very similar–you could literally see folks that have been waiting for something like this for years. And the grassroots marketing rang very familiar. The press, book tour, pull quotes we got were entirely obtained by our doing. As great as The New Press was, they just didn’t have the resources. I’m extremely proud of the work that we all did to pull this book together from scratch and to be actively integral in the sales that led to a third printing and being one of the publisher’s best selling books in 2009.

You were responsible for most of the “motion comics” that we put out ahead of the pub date. A task you pretty much put upon yourself. And I can attest, since I cut the trailer for my story, that it’s a grueling process. You even documented it (and look dogtired while doing it) in a YouTube “making of” video for Gene and Sonny’s story. So, what was the motivation for doing the motion comic trailers? What was the experience like? And would you wanna do that again?
I told someone that SI was my next project, and he said, “Well too bad–a book’s not going to play as easily as BLT did on the college circuit.”

It was a harmless comment and true to some extent but it kinda pissed me off that he was already writing off something I was planning to commit several years of my life automatically as some “failure.” So it made me think about how and why the buzz for BLT got to such a high level on college campuses. I figured a lot of it was due in large part to Evan Leong’s documentary BLT Genesis, where he followed us while we were making the movie. His 30-minute documentary was mailed to all the campuses before the movie came out and really help create an awareness. And in thinking of how I could create a similar video to do that for Secret Identities, I suddenly realized, “Duh, all these stories are basically storyboards! The work is already done. All I need to do is to add voices.” And at that point in my career, I was beginning to delve into the world of voiceovers and playing around with audio–so all I had to do was to call up my actor friends and invite them to play on my microphone. And the
movies have come in handy to just shoot out via email to schools, play during a book appearance in lieu of a traditional reading, and making the stories quickly digestible in a three-minute trailer.

It was probably where I felt the most comfortable in the process of what I could personally contribute to the project. Because the world of publishing was and is still new to me. I had a lot of catching up to do: learning about verso and recto pages, creating a book map, using Illustrator and Photoshop. Besides my organizational skills and storytelling/dialogue sensibilities–I was pretty much useless with anything that had to do with the publishing aspect, which is why I think our editorial team’s skills complemented each other so well. But when the idea of creating a video [component] to help with the marketing of the book came about–that was within my comfort zone and skill set, and I immediately knew what needed to be done for that.

In fact, it’s a lot easier than shooting a video because I don’t have to worry about shooting the footage, getting the right angles, or the right lightning. The image is the image. All I need to do is work on pacing it to fit the tone of the story, adding the voices and the foley sounds, which I think was the most fun part of the process.

Now that SI is out of the way, you’ve been keeping pretty busy doing non-comic book stuff. For instance, you recently appeared on an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles. What was that experience like? Is there any chance the role could be recurring?
Yes, since I realized that I couldn’t pay the mortgage solely with signed copies of Secret Identities, I decided it was best that I start acting again. With NCIS:LA, the director and I were trying to find a unique and memorable voice and trait to stick out from the existing cast members. We came upon a snarky personality to give him. I hope to get a few more chances in the future to work Ty out.

By the way, this means you have starred alongside both LL Cool J in NCIS and Kool Moe Dee in The New Guy–who famously beefed back in the 80s, which in my mind, makes you the coolest guy I know.
Well, what I think is even cooler is that I got my ass kicked by Vanilla Ice in The New Guy and then I got to know MC Hammer since he was an investor on BLT. In fact, Hammer was even going to be the pastor that married my wife and me. Those two guys used to go head to head back in the day. But just so you know, most guys think I’m cool because I got to make out with Zooey Deschanel at the end of The New Guy.

Ah yes, kissing Zooey. Color me jealous. Speaking of which, she makes a cameo in the BLT “deleted scene” in which you propose to your future wife. Have you seen the YouTube vid of “Jeff and Erin’s wedding announcement?”
I have, and it is very cool. Although it is technically superior in terms of production value… Jeff and Erin weren’t really in any of those films. By editing my proposal video into a movie I was actually in, I think I trump Jeff and Erin. Heck, my wife thought it was really a part of the movie and thought my character was proposing to Stephanie!

Speaking of BLT deleted scenes when are we gonna get a BLT Blu-ray?! And if it ever happens what special features would you like to see on it?
There was so much behind-the-scenes footage that we have. From Roger Ebert defending our film at Sundance to a real time split-screen showing how Justin made 20 extras look like 100 partygoers by simply
reusing them and changing their clothes all in one shot. Maybe even the marriage proposal video. Who knows? We’re only three years away from the 10th anniversary. That might be a good time to put out a Blu-ray. Loads of fun, yes?

You also recently wrapped Hatchet 2–wait, what? Didn’t your character kind of, you know, die last time around? What gives?
Well in [the first] Hatchet, my character mentioned he had a brother, so voila, enter “Justin”–incidentally named after Justin Lin, Shawn’s more competent twin brother who heads into the swamp in search of his brother.

Hatchet 2 is another in a long string of horror movies on your resume. I mean, you’ve been in so many horror flicks, the fansite Pretty/Scary named you “Mr December 2008,” a fact that Jerry and I will never tire of, by the way. Are you a big fan of the genre?
I’m just a fan of movies, be it any genre. As long as there is a story to be told and provides some escapism, I’m game. Being in one genre film tends to get you noticed and appreciated by more creators, producers and writers of the same genre. That’s why I seem to have done more films in that particular area than any other. But I do enjoy genre films because the fantastical circumstances really help give you great aspects to jump off of. Like, I think my character in Hatchet is some of the strongest character stuff I’ve ever done. Doing just a pared down character in a straight drama is at times more difficult because it’s just you. But the greatest challenge, particularly in a genre film, is that a slew of other elements need to come together as well.

What was it like on the set of Hatchet 2? How is the set of a horror flick different, if at all, from other sets you’ve been on?
What sets a horror set apart from a traditional one are the days a character is set to be killed. All of a sudden, the special effects crew eagerly emerges with gusto from their secret lab on set with fake blood, hot glue sprayers to create spiderwebs, rubber prosthetic wounds to attach to faces, severed appendages for the camera to cut to. It’s really the one special time this crew gets to finally see their creations come to fruition in the grand scheme of the storytelling. And everybody cheers when a head explodes the right way. It’s kind of surreal but you definitely get into it when you’re in that environment.

Your stunt double on Hatchet is Steven Ho, who most people nowadays know as “the guy who kicks Conan O’Brien’s ass once in a while”. So I gotta ask, you were Team CoCo all the way, right?
I have been a fan of Conan since he first debuted 16 years ago. His bizarre and absurd humor just made sense to me. But I have to admit, as more people discovered Conan, I kinda watched it less and less. It’s like that indie band that all of a sudden everybody loves after you’ve been following them for years. But I am and always will be on Team CoCo.

You also did some mo-cap work on a top secret video game project recently. What can you reveal about the game and your part in it?
It’ll be Activision’s largest game to date. It’s a reboot of the “True Crime” series simply called, TRUE CRIME. It’s about an undercover cop delving into the underworld of Hong Kong. I play Winston, the boss he befriends. There are a lot of big names in this: Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Kelly Hu, Will Yun Lee, Tom Wilkinson.

What’s it like to act in a skintight bodysuit with little plastic balls sticking out everywhere? (Personally, I think it sounds kinda kinky.) Is it a different kind of acting than what you were used to?

I felt like I was in the Spider-Man costume. Honestly, if I could only do that kind of acting, I would. I mean, I can do the most menacing voice and the animators can come up with an appropriate body for that character. It’s really like what James Cameron said about Avatar–technology opens up new possibilities for actors. I didn’t have to worry about makeup, projecting, opening up to the cameras or staying in my light because a tiny camera and mic was always fixed in front of my face. All there is left to do is act. And if a stunt is required, a guy like Steven Ho would just slip into my suit and the audience would be none the wiser. The downside is there are no residuals with video games. So I can’t really make a living on solely that.

Are there any other projects on the horizon?
I’ll be directing and co-producing an animated web series called “The Kid’s Table,” based on Keiko Agena’s original Mango Pop characters. It’s about a group of four 12-year old girls who have different personalities and are forced to eat at the kids table every week when their parents get together to play poker.

Sounds fun. I’m going to be talking to Keiko about that soon, actually. What other projects are you working on?
I’ve also been writing a comedy script for the past two years that I’m looking to get made. Our friend [and fellow SI partner-in-crime] Jerry is helping me with storyboards right now, and we’re tossing around the possibly of making it into a graphic novel adaptation first. I think that might very well be my next baby that I drop everything for… that is unless we get rolling on SI Volume II.

Recently, you finally decided to join the rest of the world and launched your own Twitter account. What prompted that decision? I seem to recall you being reluctant to join before.
Honestly, it was purely for the sake of convenience during a website update. I only update every six months or so, and I was simply planning ahead. I wanted my webmaster to put up icon links for my Facebook and MySpace pages–and then I figured, “What the hell, might as well get this Twitter thing up there and get it out of the way.”

I am still leery if the 14 followers I have really care what I am doing on a day-to-day basis. But it is pretty cool that there is a character count limit that forces you to pare it down to the essentials. Because, as you can see from my answers, I can go on for awhile. This entire interview would probably be about 85 Twitter posts.
—-

Actually, I did the math, and this interview would probably take up 25 tweets. Anyway, True Crime drops in September 2010, and Hatchet 2 starts slaying moviegoers the next month in October, just in time for Halloween.


Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

Every once in a while, I’ll go way off the beaten path with my selections for this feature, but I recently saw the sequel to the French action film District B13, and the character of Tao was just cool as hell to me and my friend with me. All tattooed, sneering, and eating with no kind of table manners or etiquette, I was in love. And she’s got a pretty good fight scene in the film as well.

And while Smallville is the Energizer bunny of superhero shows, one thing it’s always been lacking is the amount of swag associated with the franchise. Even the DVD box sets are pretty spare when it comes to commentaries and special features. Especially when compared to the plethora of bells and whistles that typically come with genre TV series DVDs. That said, the show has spawned to series of action figure lines by DC Direct. The first (Clark, Lex and Lana) came out when the show debuted, and unfortunately, the quality of the figures reflected the lack of sophistication in action figure sculpting and articulation that plagued DCD toys of the early-Aughts. Several years later, a second series featuring the members of the Smallville-verse’s nascent Justice League was released. This set featured much better likenesses and greater articulation. But to be completely honest, other than Clark and Ollie, the other junior-Leaguers’ costume aesthetics are less than stellar.

Anyway, in the years since that series was released, Smallville has seriously embraced its comic book-y side. In addition to the live action debuts of future JLAers Zatanna and Black Canary, we’ve seen Braniac, Bizzaro, Metallo, the Legion, Zod and even a young Jor-El show up in Kansas’ leafy little hamlet. But no single episode has been riper for plastic immortality than the Absolute Justice mini-movie.

So here’s what I think should make up Smallville’s third series of action figures. Are you listening DC Direct?

Clark Kent/The Blur
Considering Clark’s the main character, it only makes sense that each series of figures should include one of the main guy. Since Series Two gave us his iconic red and blue jacket/jeans combo, it only makes sense that the “Absolute Justice” line would feature Clark in his Season 9, Matrix-y “Blur” getup. Not only is he (finally) rocking the family crest on his chest, the black trench coated Clark would just make a nice variation on the previous Tom Welling action figures we’ve seen from DCD. While we’re at it, give him a swappable head with “heat vision eyes” and you’ve got an awesome proto-Superman figure for my toy shelf! And hopefully, in the near future, we’ll get the opportunity to see an action figure of Welling in the red and blue tights. Until then, you can always swap out the head from the Smallville Series Two one and plunk it down on the body of the Alex Ross Superman figure from DC Direct.

Carter Hall/Hawkman
The most hyped up character in Absolute Justice has got to be the live action debut of Hawkman. Sure, a lot of people laughed at the sneak peeks of Michael Shanks in Thanagarian disguise–and some of flying F/X was pretty suspect, but c’mon, Hawkman’s an innately goofy looking character, especially when translated to live action. Still, what we got on screen was pretty cool and effective. And what might not work on your HDTV can be pretty badass on your toyshelf. Besides, Hawkman has been one of my fave DCU toys since the Super Powers fig with the flapping wings! For the Smallville edition, I’d like flapping wings, a removable helmet and of course his trusty mace!

Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate
Arguably, the coolest character in “Absolute Justice” was Dr. Fate. In all my years as a fan of the DCU and Smallville, never did I think I’d see Dr. Fate translated so brilliantly to the big screen. (Hey, even though it was a TV movie on a little-watched network is irrelevant. I challenge any big budget studio to come as correct as the SV folks did in bringing Kent Nelson to life!) While Brent Stait maybe a little vertically challenged as Fate (and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Most dudes look puny when sharing a two-shot with the 6′4″ Welling), his depiction was spot on. Nelson’s transformation into Fate was easily one of the most goosebump-inducing moments in the show’s nine-season history. For his action figure, I’d like to see Fate come with a removable helmet of Nabu, a bowling ball bag (for Nelson to carry the helmet in), and to take a page out of the Mattel DCUC Fate figure, a snap-on ankh-shaped energy blast.

J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter
Longtime Smallville viewers have been waiting with bated breath for the reveal of John Jones’ Martian form ever since Phil Morris made his first appearance as the Martian Manhunter in the sixth season episode “Labyrinth.” Well, we finally got our wish, if only for a brief second when Fate sent J’onn through a portal to regain his Martian abilities. To commemorate such a momentous occasion, our “Absolute Justice” Manhunter fig should come with a swappable head: one which depicts J’onn in his human, Jackie Chiles-like visage, and one in all its salsa verde splendor! I’d also like to see him packing heat with the double glocks that fit neatly into his criss-crossed gun holster.

So those are the four figures that I think must be included in an “Absolute Justice” line of figures. Of course, it’d be great to see action figures based on Smallville’s live action interpretations of Stargirl, the Golden Age Sandman, the Star Spangled Kid, and Amanda Waller (I can do without an Icicle, Jr. fig, thank you very much). Buy, hey, that’s what Wave Four is for, right?

So what are ya waiting for, DC Direct! Hop to it!

Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

2/09 – 106 & Park on BET

2/09 – The Late Show with David Letterman

2/10 – The View

2/15 – The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2/16 – Jimmy Kimmel Live

2/20 – The Wanda Sykes Show (appearing in a skit – not performing)

Sade
Epic Records
‘Soldier of Love’ – In Stores & Online Today!
Official Website: http://sade.com

PopCultureShock Radio Show, Episode 1!

• Intro: Lost, Season 5 premiere talk — we hate Jack, love Ben, Locke & Chuck D
• Fix Up, Look Sharp x Organ Donor
• Lost theories, and why Shola’s landord wants to evict him
• Bring the Noise 2000 x Genesis
• The Ken K Countdown: The Losers, Miramax, Avatar, Sade, iPad
• Maino – 2010 Predictions
• Alex Zalben interview: Thor & Power Pack; Alex’s Top 5 toilet reads
• Strange Enough x Theme from Shaft
• Shola wants to know how he can hang out with female friends without his girl getting jealous; Jon gives bad advice
• Outro: Listener call-ins — Dante’s Inferno; Valentine cosplay suggestions

Leave us some feedback in the comments or by emailing us at pcs@popcultureshock. And call in at 818-794-9574!

8:00 – Lady Gaga looks like Tinkerbell and The Ultimate Warrior had a baby outta wedlock!

8:03 – OH SNAP!!! Gaga and Sir Elton John?!?! Don’t know about his make-up, though.

8:07 – Jay-Z looks thoroughly unimpressed with Stephen Colbert.

8:08 – So does Colbert’s daughter!

8:10 – Yeah, Susan Boyle shoulda been at this joint!

8:13 – And Beyonce wins the first award of the show, and thank god the wrap-it-up music started before The Dream got a chance to talk!

8:15 – Waitaminute!! How in blue perfect hell is it punk to have a Broadway musical based on one of your songs?!?! Oh, who am I kidding, Green Day have been “punk for pay” since 2000!

8:24 – Wow, Kristen Bell is wearing a really awful dress.

8:26 – Oh crap, where’s Kanye when you need him?! Taylor Swift just wan for Best Country Album!

8:29 – Oh dang, Beyonce’s grabbing her imaginary penis again! I guess you’d grab your imaginary penis too if you had paramilitary back-up dancers!

8:31 – Is she? Is she covering Alanis Morrisette?!? Complete with extreme weave spinnin’!

8:42 – Why isn’t Pink more popular again? C’mon, this chick is doin’ some Cirque De Soliel shit for y’all people!!!

8:44 – Yeah um, Pink just shat all over Beyonce AND Gaga with her performance! Do yo thang, gurl!!!

8:45 – Damn, remember when the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation used to take up five minutes. Now it only takes up ten seconds!

8:47 – Best New Artist is one of those awards that can throw you curveball from time to time. ‘Cause I have no idea who the Zac Brown Band even is!

8:55 – I’m glad The Black Eyed Peas started off with “Imma Be”, ’cause it’s honestly one of the better songs on The E.N.D., but is will.i.am trying to be MF DOOM with that stupid mask, or something?

9:05 – They need to show more of the “Lady” in Lady Antebellum.

9:11 – I’m mad at myself for not listening to more comedy albums. Congrats anyway, Stephen Colbert!

9:19 – Happy for Kings of Leon winning Record of the Year, but dammit if Ringo Starr and Norah Jones’ presentation of the award wasn’t clunky as hell. Just read the damn teleprompter!!!

9:20 – Robert Downey Jr. presenting Jaimie Foxx and T-Pain = hilarious!!!

9:23 – George Clinton getting’ funky!

9:24 – Why is Jamie Foxx doing the running man?!?

9:25 – Okay, he’s forgiven for bringin’ Doug E. Fresh . . . and SLASH?!?!? OH SHIT!!

9:27 – Am I the only one who doesn’t get the appeal of Ke$ha? And why does she look like a Vegas showgirl on meth?

9:34 – It’s pretty telling about current rock music, when the only nominees for Best Rock Album are acts that have been around for fifteen years or more.

9:39 – Yay! Deliverance music!!

9:46 – What’s so special about Taylor Swift again? Oh yeah, Kanye punked her at a previous awards show! Now she gets to butcher Stevie Nicks WITH Stevie Nicks! I don’t know who to be madder at right now.

9:58 – Can’t really say much about the Michael Jackson tribute. It didn’t really need the 3-D gimmick. The performers did more than enough.

10:09 – Dammit, I can’t even front. Bon Jovi’s still pretty damn cool!

10:15 – “WHOA!!!! We’re Halfway there!!! WHOA-OH!!!! Livin’ On A Prayer!!!”

10:18 – It’s pretty telling about mainstream hip-hop, when a comedy troop can get nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration AT THE GRAMMYS!!! Would have been funny if Lonley Island had actually won for “I’m On A Boat”, though. But then, Kayne would have teleported from wherever he is to protest. Hell, I’d be mad if I lost, and I was on three of the five songs nominated!

10:30 – Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli, great performance.

10:45 – Nope. Still don’t like The Dave Matthews Band.

10:47 – For a second, I though they were gonna do something retarded and give the Best Female Pop Vocal award to Taylor Swift. Would have been nice to see Pink win, but Beyonce will do.

10:50 – I wish I had some liquor right about now.

10:56 – Maxwell seems to be havin’ trouble with them high notes.

11:03 – Damn, is that Lady Gaga, or the Fortress of Solitude?!?!

11:13 – Okay, how many drugs is Quentin Tarantino on?

11:19 – Damn, CBS was scared as fuck that Em, Lil’ Wayne, and Drake were gonna curse! They muted half the damn performance for cryin’ out loud! There ain’t THAT much cursin’!

11:26 – Really? Taylor Swift? Album of the Year? Now I really wish I had some hooch! Oh well, guess I’m gonna have to settle for guzzlin’ some Listerine ‘til I slip into unconsciousness. Later haters!

Soldier of Love will be released next week, but the video above, chronicling Sade in studio, should tide us all over in the meanwhile.

Where has this fine lady been all my life?! To be fair, the London native has mostly done just guest spots on television shows like Heroes, Lie To Me, and Stargate SG-1. But as I watched her on this week’s Nip/Tuck, trying (unsuccessfully) to give Sean McNamara the business, I knew I had to start paying attention. Hopefully with more stateside work, others will follow suit.

This past Sunday night saw the return of Jack Bauer, as 24 kicked off its eighth season with a bang (or explosion, as a helicopter got blowed up real good!). And while Jack may have been looking forward to his new position in life as “grandpa”, You know he can’t get what he wants that easily. Now Jack has to save the President of some non-descript Middle Eastern country (much like last year’s fictonal country of Sengala), and he’s gonna be getting backup from former FBI agent Renee Walker. Jack took the naive idealist under his wing last season, and showed her how to do things the “Jack Bauer Way”. And if Monday nights episode is any indication, she’s graduated at the top of her class! It’s amazing how Wersching manages to make looking world-worn and detached so damn sexy. Even after seeing her saw off some guy’s hand, I couldn’t help but find her absolutely breathtaking!

Talib Kweli & Mos Def – History
Now this is what I’m talkin’ about, right here! Yeah, we’re all waiting for a new Black Star album, but I’ll be happy getting a new track here and there in the meantime. Something is always better than nothing.

RJD2 – Let There Be Horns
RJ’s new album The Colossus is dropping later this month, and with guest artists like Kenna and Phonte from Little Brother and Foreign Exchange, I could easily see it being one of my favorites for the year. This video for the first single is definitely “interesting” to say the least. We need to see more maladjusted, love-lorn minatours in music videos!

Little Dragon – Never, Never
“We get it, Kayode! You love Yukimi Nagano! Enough, already!” NO! It’ll never be enough, dammit!! Yeah, the mirror effect has been around since forever, but it’s a classic! It never really gets old, does it? So you keep doin’ your dance, Yukimi!

Sia – You’ve Changed
A cute little video for one of my favorite songs at the moment. Looks like something Michel Gondry would do.

With a New Year comes new future ex-wives, and I’m determined to start things off right, cotdammit! So without further ado, for your consideration, etc., we have N.E.R.D.’s answer to the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie, Rhea. All kidding aside though, the girl is an all-around stunner. Peep the vid below and you’ll see that she’s got the pipes. And she’s certainly a looker. But Guyanese/Canadian like yours truly to boot?!?! This lady is worth learning how to make cook-up rice for!!!

For Xbox 360 players, Dante’s Inferno is being called the God of War alternative for good reason. See if Dante’s hellish adventure will satiate your desire for demon slaying and gratuitous nudity. Can this holy warrior give the God-slaying Kratos a run for his money?

You might be surprised. We certainly were. Quarter Up!

Sheesh… I guess it was about, like, four years ago at the Wizard World Philadelphia Con? At the time I was pursuing my dream of being a comic artist. So I was self publishing my book BURN, and I had been exhibiting at comic conventions in Artist’s Alley with my friend Ken Knudtsen, who is the creator/artist of My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer. And over in Artist’s Alley, I believe you initially approached me to purchase a Bruce Lee t-shirt. From there, we started a conversation about doing an Asian American Superhero Comic together. And honestly, in Artist’s Alley, I gotta believe most artists are approached all the time with a “great idea” from tons of people. When I first heard your “pitch,” I just figured you were another one of those guys. Sorry.

No offense taken. It’s all good.
But in our conversation, once you mentioned Jeff Yang, I knew this project was legit. Luckily for me, you were more than just “another guy with a great idea,” and that’s when we really grabbed this thing by the horns and made this book come together.

What has been the best part about being a part of Secret Identities?
God, there are so many things. The obvious answer is how lucky I’ve been to work with all the people involved on the book. I mean, just look at the list of names; it’s really amazing. But for me, the true “best part” was probably when it really hit me on how important and necessary this book was. And that was back in February at Rutgers where all four of us editors–you, me, Jeff and Parry Shen–gave our first “Build a Hero” workshop and keynote speech at ECAASU. I mean, when we were on stage speaking in front of what looked like a thousand people… it was really moving for me. The impact of the book really hit me right then and there.

ECAASU was definitely a highlight. That said, what’s been the biggest drawback for you?
The biggest drawback? I lost a lot of sleep when getting the book ready for print, and I have to read a lot more emails than I’m used to, but there really hasn’t been a drawback at all. As an indie comic creator, I’m constantly wondering if the work I do is worth it. If people even notice it. With Secret Identities, there are no such thoughts, and any “drawback” is totally worth it.

Before Secret Identities, you had gotten away from comics for a while and was pretty focused on fashion and design. Do you have a preference for one type of art over the other?
I’ve had a strange route to where I am today. I’ve always wanted to draw comics. I love comics. I just love the medium. I believe that comic artists are the most underrated artists ever. But comics are also one of the most competitive industries to break into. Since I was doing my own books, I had to figure out ways to make a living so that I could afford to continue doing comics. So I figured I would take all the things that have inspired my artwork and apply them to one of my other interests like fashion.

Many people don’t know this, but while I was going to the School of Visual Arts to study illustration and comics, I was also taking night classes at FIT for fashion design. Anyway, I found doing t-shirt designs refreshing. It was quick and satisfying. I could sit at my art table and computer for one night and make a design. And then I was done. Just like that. It was amazing to me. I had a finished product in only one night’s worth of work. Whereas with a comic, it took me, like, three months to finish one book. So it isn’t that I prefer one over the other. I owe my imagination to comics, and I think having an interest in comics has made me a better artist and designer in general.

Who are some of your comic art influences? What other influences inform your fashion/t-shirt design?
I have a pretty eclectic group of artists and designers that I sweat. In no particular order: Walter Simonson, Ken Knudtsen, DHKY.com, Staple Design, NIKE, Travis Charest, Jim Lee, The Shaw Brothers, Bruce Lee, Amano, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Alphonse Mucha, Sapporo Beer, Daiginjo Grade Sake, Johnnie Walker Blue, Adam Hughes, Larry Hama, Greg LaRocque, Cliff Chiang, Bernard Chang, Shu Qi, Moebius, Wendy and Richard Pini, Kelly Hu, and of course New York City.

Yeah, you’re definitely not shy about being a native New Yorker and your love for the city. From your World Series tribute tee to that old design of John Starks “dunking”–that I, as a die-hard Bulls fan, must remind you wasn’t all that impressive. Anyway, how does New York inform your art, if at all?
[Laughs] FIRST of all, the DUNK was amazing. I actually had a chance to have lunch with John Starks this year where I was able to give him [a shirt] and have him sign one for myself. But New York is seriously an amazing city. I do some traveling–and I love seeing other cities–but every time I leave, I just can’t wait to get back to New York. It has been my biggest influence. Everything from the nightlife to the people to just the city streets themselves. There is a story in every crack of New York.

What was the original inspiration for creating Epic Proportions?
Well, I remember sitting on the couch with my older brother watching Enter the Dragon together. And when Han, the actor Shih Kien, who passed away earlier this year in June, rest in peace brother, said the line,”this will truly be a tournament of epic proportions,” that is when my brother stopped the DVD, looked at me and said, “THAT is what we’re calling ourselves.”

How’d you get into designing t-shirts?
Well, like I’ve said before, comics can be tough. So for a long time, I had to figure out how I was going to make a living while doing something creative. Another thing most people don’t know about me is that I
actually worked at Morgan Stanley right out of college. I basically did all this crap work for them. But it paid really well. After four and a half years of that, I just quit and decided to self-publish my own comics. When I realized that I was going to lose all that Morgan Stanley money I had saved up, I had to get a new job. And I actually got a job designing socks. Uggghhh… that sucked. But I quickly started hopping from design job to design job. And along the way, I picked up the skills and knowledge to start my own line of tees. And it really has been the perfect medium for me as it allows me to apply all sorts of interests I have.

Do you have a favorite tee in particular?
I’d probably have to go with my “86″ shirt, which is a Mets tribute shirt. And it happens to be the very first
design I ever did for myself.

Do you have any plans or ambitions to go into other types of design work? For instance, any interest in designing kicks or vinyl?
Right now, my schedule is pretty full. But I am always open to doing new types of work. I mean… I LOVE LOVE LOVE sneakers and toys. But currently, I’m hoping to help get Secret Identities Vol. 2 completed. And I’m actually helping out our mutual pal and editor Parry Shen with a project of his. This is probably something you’ll have to ask him about though.

You have a pretty big following at places like SDCC and NYCC. How’d you get into the comic convention scene? How much has it changed for you since you first started out?
Oh boy. I’ve been going to comic conventions for quite some time now. I mean… we met at a comic convention! [Laughs.] But I first started off by exhibiting in Artists Alley. And I remember…the very first con I had gone to was the National in NYC. I split a six-foot table with Ken Knudtsen and had no idea what to expect. We just plopped our comics on top of the table and had two bottles of booze under the table. [Laughs] Ya know, just to help us get through the day. And then, my older brother’s girlfriend at the time wanted to come see what the hell I was doing there as she wanted to see why I had quit my job at Morgan Stanley for. And she friggin’ brought my mother with her! I was so embarrassed. My mom was standing in front of our table telling everyone to look at her son’s very first comic. And she was taking pictures of me and Ken. At the end of that day, though, thanks to my Mom, I sold the most comics ever in one day. So…thanks Mom. I love you for being there for me when it all started. So I tell you this because…I HAD to have my Mom see what this has all become nowadays. As she really doesn’t know how much this has grown until very recently. But at the San Diego Comic Con, like, three years ago, my mother was there with me again. I brought her in on a Saturday, which is like a Zoo in there. But she thought it was weird that I wanted her to come all the way to San Diego to see my six-foot table with Ken! [Laughs] So she comes with my grandmother and my cousins and see that now I have this humble little booth with people sometimes lining up to see me. [Laughs] It was great. She was so happy for me. And I was so happy to show her I wasn’t wasting all of my time. But you know as well as I do that this past year. I mean, wow. I’ve had the honor of doing a Walter Simonson t-shirt. He was even at my booth signing autographs.

I’ve recently had Geoff Darrow send me artwork for the second shirt in my new Signature Series Line, which will be a line of shirts illustrated by who I believe to be the “elite” in our industry. And of course, we’ve had Secret Identities at the booth which brought Jeff, Parry, you, Cliff Chiang, Bernard Chang, Kelly Hu, Keiko Agena, Gene Yang, Sonny Liew and even Larry Hama to the Epic booth! It’s really been a long road, and one that made me want to quit many times. But now, I look forward to everything that is ahead.

Recently, you relaunched “Space Ranger” as a webcomic. How has that been going? Can you talk about the story and how you and your brother came up with it?
I love it. This book first came out years ago. Every character in the book–and I mean every character–is based off of someone I know. Even the background characters just walking on the streets. Which is what makes it so personal to my younger brother Jim (he writes it) and myself. But really, we just wanted to do this webcomic as a chance to finish up what we started. Basically, all of our comics are about these two characters Troy and Meiling. They’re about destiny and fate and how everyone in this world is destined to be with someone else. And that you might not meet them in this lifetime, but you will in another. So we took the same two characters and started them off in old school China with The Eighth Dragon. Then, we took them to present time Chinatown in BURN. Then, we took them through a sci-fi background in The Movement. And finally, we end it all in the cute futuristic galaxy of “Space Ranger.” In every story we tell, Troy and Meiling never get together. In our last book, we allowed them to finally find peace with each other. Since we never had a chance to finish that story, we decided to do this webcomic as our outlet to finish the story we’ve always wanted to tell.

Is there a difference doing webcomics vs. traditional comics?
At first, I thought doing a webcomic was going to be fun and easy. And I have quickly realized that it is a ton of work. But the main difference is in the “canvas.” The layout of each comic page is much
different from the webcomic strip. And of course, the pacing of the webcomic is much quicker than that of an actual comic as you just don’t have the time to dilly dally around with a webcomic.

Finally, what is it about the “Jerry Ma charm” that makes you irresistible to the ladies?
Ha! I don’t know how much “charm” I have as I’m still single. But I know she’s out there waiting for me. Just like in our storyline. I just gotta go find her.

Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

To celebrate the success of Ecko’s Star Wars and Black Rhino lines of T-shirts and hoodies, the clothing designer and manufacturer arranged to give away one Clonetroopers hoodie, one Joker T-shirt, one Star Wars X-Wing and a Friday the 13th Jason hoodie to four individual, randomly selected winners. That’s one winner per item, and the winners choose their own sizes.

To enter, just leave a comment on the original Wired post.

[Via Strictly Fitteds]

Inspired by 20 years of greatness from hip-hop’s most consistent group, De La Soul, this project unites the cream of the crop in hiphop… including old school legends (Phife, Camp Lo and Skillz), current hitmakers (Talib Kweli and Kardinal Offishall) and future stars (U-N-I, Tanya Morgan, Tabi Bonney) to remake their favorite De La classics.

Originally stemming from Mick Boogie’s popular VH1 Honor Roll mixtape last year, we worked with our favorite artists and producers to create an astounding 20 remakes! One for every year of De La history!

Tracklist after the jump:

• Intro: Senor Kaos, Von Pea and Homeboy Sandman (produced by Dave West)
• Me Myself and I: Kardinal Offishall (produced by Diabolic)
• Pease Porridge: Phife Dawg (produced by Dj Rasta Root)
• Breakdawn: Tanya Morgan (produced by 6th Sense)
• Oooh: Fly Union (produced by Fly Union)
• Baby Phat: Skillz & Colin Monroe (produced by nVMe)
• Stakes Is High part 1: U-N-I (produced by 6th Sense)
• Say No Go: Chaundon, Esso + The Kickdrums (produced by The Kickdrums)
• Rock Co Kane Flow: Shawn Christopher & Pheo (produced by Garbs)
• Ego Trippin: Asheru (produced by The Els)
• Ooodles of O’s: Camp Lo (produced by Apple Juice Kid)
• Sunshine: Christian Rich + Curtains (produced by Christian Rich)
• Plug Tunin’: Tabi Bonney + Stalley (produced by Judah)
• Hey Love: Chip Tha Ripper (produced by Remot)
• The Bizness: Big Pooh, Butta Verses, and 6th Sense (produced by 6th Sense)
• I Am I Be: 6th Sense (produced by Hasan Insane)
• Eye Know: Daytona & Mike Maven (produced by 6th Sense)
• Saturdays: Niko Villamor, Brittany Street & Kidd Neer (produced by SMKA)
• Watch Out: J.Sands (produced by J. Rawls)
• Stakes Is High part 2: Talib Kweli (produced by eJones)

Download it here, then visit the official Press Play Show site!