The CCD Podcast: Episode #7 - The Game of Thrones Season 4 Finale & TV Round-Up or You Can't Spell Draper Without RAPE, Even In Westeros!!!

Episode #7 of the CCD Podcast is here, and we are wrapping up some of the biggest shows on TV by discussing their season finales. Jedi Rob, Jeff 'JB' Bond are back in the Nerd Cave... and this time they are bringing our rockin' buddy Joe Milazzo along for the ride!!! It's his first time on the CCD podcast, so make sure you welcome him with open arms! Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Hannibal, Penny Dreadful, and a bunch of other shows make the discussion table this episode. The gang also discusses Khal Drogo's casting as Aquaman in the Superfriends... er, I mean Batman V Superman movie... Robert Englund getting back into his Freddy make up one more time at a convention to raise money to save a drive in movie theater, and even a little bit of nerdy horror related vacation tales courtesy of Jedi Rob & his awesome fiance Alicia! It is one hell of an episode, so make sure you get on board for the ride!

Enjoy the podcast and some additional bits after the jump...

Justice League Brewery: Adult Beverages In Honor Of The JLA by Marcello Rizzetto

My love for comics was forged at a very early age. I remember being four or five and walking into my local neighborhood candy store, seeing a rack of comics, and falling in love with how colorful they were. From that point on I spent my life idolizing comic book characters, buying and collecting hundreds and thousands of them through the years. But now I am a grown up geek, and I have grown up needs. Enter graphic designer Marcello Rizzetto, who must be in the same boat as me and decided to do something about it. He created a six pack of beers based on the core six members of the Justice League, with each beer taking on characteristics of each hero. This is a killer idea. Superman as a super strong Pale Ale. Wonder Woman as an American Lager. The Flash as an Irish Red Ale. Aquaman as a Belgian Blonde Ale. Green Lantern as a special edition St Patrick's Day Green Beer. And finally Batman as a Dark Ale. It all works so perfect, both in reference to the heroes and to the potentially deliciousness of these beers! I can get behind this. You can see all 6 beers after the jump, and hopefully we see something like this in the future...

Denis Medri Takes The JLA Back To The Wild, Wild West

We have featured many artists here on CCD over the last few years, and it is always nice to come across one a bit down the road still doing great work. Denis Medri was featured here on CCD last August for his Star Wars High sketches, and now he is back with his take on the JLA. Medri decided to take these DC Comic mainstays on a trip down the ole trail, as he has re-imagined them in a style of the Old West. I like the distinct western characteristics he gave each of the original seven (plus Green Arrow), but I have to say that Martian Manhunter's mustache and Aquaman's spear are two of my favorite details. Batman is still king... no matter what! Check all of them out after the jump...

Justice League of the Round Table by The Comic Fan

My main man Cal up in Canada sure does find some gems to post on his awesome blog The Cave of Cool. One of the cooler things he has posted in the past few weeks has got to be these medieval renderings of The Justice League of America by a Deviant Artist who goes by The Comic Fan. I love the way he recreated each individual character in a way that befits their counter parts of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. Pretty great detail and innovative ideas on how to make the more mystical characters like Martian Manhunter & Green Lantern into Knights without sacrificing their original looks. I would love to read a book like this from DC in the vein of Marvel 1602, especially if Neil Gaiman was writing it. All around pretty cool. Thanks for another winner Cal... check out the pieces after the jump!

JLA Paint Blots by Nicholas Hyde

I am always a fan of anytime we get a representation of the big 7 from the Justice League, but these minimalistic  paint blotted styles for the 7 characters just absolutely took my breath away. Artist Nicholas Hyde really gets the basics right on these, but gives them his own special spin to make them unique. Click after the jump for all 7 pieces...

Bloops Takes On The Justice League, Minimalistic Style

I have been featuring more and more artists who have taken to expressing themselves in the minimalist format for some reason. I'm not exactly sure why, but i think it has something to do with the simplistic nature of the designs that go into a minimalistic take on something. While someone might think that since the designs are simple then they must be easy to create, if you see truly good minimalistic art then you know that this is not the case at all. While they may be simple, the artist must capture distinct details of the subject matter in order for the pieces to work. Case in point: Check out artist Bloops take on the Justice League of America. These are wonderful... just wonderful. You can see the whole crew represented after the jump...

Why?

Why Not? This image of some DC Comics characters comes from the 1970's Sea World stunt show. Awesome!!!!

The Best Cosplay Of The 2011 Wizard Big Apple Comic Con In NYC

Here are a few photos that we snapped of some excellent cosplayers who were geeking up the joint at the 2011 Wizard Big Apple Comic Con on May 21-22 in NYC. These guys were great... keep it up!!!

Awesome Aquaman

Batman Punching Manzo

Blue & Gray Batman!!!

Big Daddy from Bioshock

***Click Read more below to see tons of more Cosplay photos from the 2011 Big Apple Comic Con***

Samurai Style Justice League by Alex Mitchell

Check out these wonderful samurai styled renditions of the core 7 'Justice League of America' members by artist Alex Mitchell. The whole gang is here... courtesy of Project Rooftop. Check them out!

LIke! Like?: The Art of David J. Cutler

Artist, David Cutler, is not just your average, run-in-the-mill, comic artist he's also a true fan and the work he does for fun proves it. He's a regular artist for Moonstone Comics 'Northern Guardian' series but, the work that I liked best, of his, were of characters from our youth. Click on his name above for more of his work let 'em know we sent ya'!

'A Bizarro and His Dog'

'In Another Mission'

'Masters of the Universe'

'SF Cammy and Zangief'

'She-Hulk' (Commission)

'The Victorian Aquaman'

'Turtle Power'

Like! Like?

I Wonder What Toys Would Do In Real Life Situations???

Well, wonder no longer. Thanks to my man Tommy Lombardozzi, I spent the last hour checking out photographer Marcos Minuchin's wonderful pictures of action figures living life outside of the toy box. These are just a few of my faves, but you should click here to check out all the rest of his awesome photos... and the best part is that they are for sale!!!! Check em all out, and then come back and let us know which ones you like the best.

You Made Me Ink

C.S.I. (Cantina Scene Investigations)

Ghostbusting

Recession Army Dropout

Profiling In Arizona

Best Costume Ideas For Halloween (Now This Is How You Do It!)

Wow... just wow. If you are going to wear a costume for a convention, or Halloween, you gotta do it right. While most people epically fail at this, these two got it right. Here is why. (Photos were taken at the 2010 NYC Comic Con)

Best Male Costume: Black Manta (Aquaman Villain, DC Comics)

This guys Black Manta was spot on. Rubber Suit w/ fake abs? Check. Trident? Check. Crazy Huge Helmet made of metal? Check. Robot voice? Check. Sweaty swamp ass at the end of the day? You Betcha!!!! On the other side of the equation, both Aqualad and Catwoman left much less to be praised. In fact, the fact that the Aqualad kid had to walk around in that dicky outfit all day while Black Manta strode proud as the man must have drove him to contemplate suicide. Great Job kid!!!

Slave Leia - Return Of The Jedi - Before you start in with all the "Not another Slave Leia... there are so many of these... blah, blah, blah..." let me point out three things about THIS PARTICULAR Slave Leia:

1. She is in much better shape then most of the broads who are dressed as Slave Leia... there are some really nice girls who absolutely should never dress as Slave Leia for body type issues. This is a fact. I didn't create the costume, Lucas did. (Guess he got something right... huh Joe Esq?) The person wearing this costume should be relatively fit.
2. It's very authentic. Looks like it cost a bit. Top looks (and might have been) like real metal, as did the sides of the skirt and front piece. Cheap imitations of this particular costume usually result in an automatic fail no matter how hot the chick is in it.
3. Two words: NO DRAWS!!! Most girls who wear this outfit usually wear skin colored tights or pantyhose, so despite the fact that the sides of the dress are totally absent their who-ha is not flapping in the wind. I don't know if Carrie Fisher was bare under her costume (it was the 80's) but this young lady certainly is. How do I know? Well, when we were next to her (That's me and Sam in the background) we could see no side evidence of panties and could see that she was not wearing tights or pantyhose. That means nude in my book... hence the high ratings!!!  

Alien Chest Burster On A Baby - (From the Alien movie series)

This is a phenomenal take on the classic chest burster scene from Alien that has been parodied over and over again due to the fact it is timeless (Spaceballs... nuff said!) The fact that it is A) On a baby & B) Coming out of what appears to be a Chicken costume makes it even better. Look at how frightened that kid is... priceless. Thanks to the Great White Snark for that one. Excellent. Parents, it is your responsibility to make sure your kid's costume is on point. Do your fucking job!!!! Please leave some feedback comments below... we love to hear your opinions!