X-Men, Wu-Tang and Wrestlers... Oh MY! The Eclectic Artwork Of Erle Tompkins

You know that saying "never judge a book by its cover" that is always thrown around so willy nilly? Yeah, I never really subscribe to that theory. I tend to be very observant of people on purpose... and I can usually figure out people pretty well. I have an especially keen 'bullshit detector' sense as well... one that very rarely fails me. I had made the acquaintance of a very talented artist, Erle Tompkins, a few years back and I must say that in this case I was completely off in my judgement. His cousin Frank introduced us, and we hit it off right away with geek talk galore (mostly about comic book movies). He told me he did some art, and I told him to email me. He never did... and I assumed that he must not be very talented. I would see him from time to time, and always it was pleasant to see him. But every time we chatted, still no email and still no artwork. So I just chalked it up to him being not all that good and getting cold feet sending it to me. This weekend I ran into Erle, and he pulled up an X-Men movie universe piece he had just finished working on. Although I was looking at it on a 5 inch I Phone screen, I instantly realized that my man Erle had something... and I couldn't wait to see more. I told him that he needed to email me this instantly, and that I wanted to see more immediately. I made him do it right in front of me so he didn't "forget" to do it later. I forced his hand... and I am able to write this article about his awesome art because of it.

See more after the jump...

The 'Albuquerque Action Squad' Mini Fig Set via Citizen Brick

Citizen Brick is every Lego lovers dream site... a place when they can buy custom brick sets and mini figs alike. They make the more... well, lets be generous and say "questionable" sets and mini figs that a wholesome company like Lego might be less inclined to make. You know... like tiles marked 'ammo' or mini figs like the Hail Satan Enthusiast. Wholesome stuff like that. But it is there newest addition to the already extensive catalog that got my attention; Meet 'The Albuquerque Action Squad' !!! Yup, CB is venturing into the world of Breaking Bad, with three figs that will satisfy any fan of the blue: 1) Legal Defense Enthusiast (Saul) 2) Drug Dealing Enthusiast (Jesse) and 3) Law Enforcement Enthusiast (Uncle Hank). I applaud them for not going right away with a Mr. White/Heisenberg figure... but I am eagerly awaiting a second wave that may feature a half burn Gustavo Fring figure! For now, these three will have to do. They will run you $55 bucks for the set, but once they sell out they will probably be worth much more than that. You can check out all Citizen Brick had to offer by clicking here, and check out some detailed pics of the mini fig set after the jump...

Star Trek - An Animated Script by Breaking Bad's Badger Mayhew

One of the highlights of Breaking Bad's last season for me has to be Brandon 'Badger' Mayhew's proposed Star Trek script that he disclosed when he was high on crystal meth. This was a gem of script writing by Vince Gilliam, because he squeezed a funny homage to a nerd property into a probable conversation that two 20 something meth heads might have. So animator Matt Czap decided to animate the story and what we get is a spectacularly bizarre 2 minute Star Trek tale featuring Kirk, Spock and all the rest of the beloved crew of the Enterprise... even Uhuru and her "big pointees" (what a great line). Very funny stuff... you can see more of Czap's work over on Eat That Toast. Check the Star Trek video after the jump...

Walter White - RIP From The Albuquerque Journal

With Breaking Bad in the books, people need to move on. It is hard... but it needs to be done. But what happens when a fictional story becomes so ingrained into the lives of the general public that it seems almost real. How do you put that to bed and move forward after it is over? The Albuquerque Journal, the main newspaper in New Mexico (where the show was set) has decided to help out and lend a hand by doing the only thing they can as a print newspaper: They published a obituary for Walter White!!!! What a great idea... what better way to get past the passing of WW than by acknowledging it in a real newspaper? I can't think of many to do it. Check out the full print obituary after the jump. Well played Albuquerque Journal... well played!

Choose Your Own Adventure - Breaking Bad Edition by John Defreest

With Breaking Bad coming to a close, I thought it was fully fitting to post these awesome mock book covers by artist John Defreest. The Choose Your Own Adventure book series was an integral part of my life... I spent countless hours reading the over 30 titles that were in the collection. They were also probably the most popular books at my school library. Defreest must have been as big of a fan as I am, so he decided to make up these awesome mock books to evoke the memories of the good ole stories. The covers offer up many details from the turns your adventure may take, a key aspect of the book series. Those covers were enough to give you a pretty good idea of exactly what to expect with every page turn, sometimes the story didn't live up to the actual promise of the excellent covers. Enjoy them after the jump... and thanks for the memories Mr. White.

The New Yorker Celebrates The Greatness of 'Breaking Bad' With A Cartoon Cover...

As I enter my mid 30s (begrudgingly) my taste in magazines has started to grow to things a it more diverse than Sports Illustrated, Maxim, Slam and XXL. I am looking for intelligent magazines that give me a great mix of entertainment and news stories that I want to read. Back in the day most magazines would be either one or the other... you wouldn't see a story about a TV show running alongside a political piece just pages away from each other. But this is the era of gratification to everybody, all the time. So why would magazine content be any different? The cover of this weeks issue comes in honor of Breaking Bad, and it is in the New Yorker's traditional cartoon style... big heads and all. This is very cool, and fitting to honor such a great show. I really like that they moved Jesse to the forefront and Walt as the concern parent in the background. It also may just vault the New Yorker into my weekly magazine rotation. We shall see. The series finale of Breaking Bad will air on Sunday. Check out the full cover after the jump...

"Breaking Bad Meets Seinfeld" by Matin Comedy

Breaking Bad is on the way toward its series finale, and it has been getting more and more serious as the episodes have carried on through this last season. Shit is getting real in New Mexico, and there isn't anything funny about it. Key characters are dead, shit is not looking good for any of the surviving characters, and it is a generally bleak outlook for everyone involved in Heisenberg's inner and extended circle. But that doesn't mean that there haven't been some humorous moments throughout the shows run!!! What about that time Walt threw a pizza on the roof of the garage? Or the time Walt confronted Skylar's boss about the proposed affair he suspected them of having? Those were funny... right? Well they become infinitely funnier when they are set to a laugh track and the funny Seinfeld music is added in. Thanks to Matin Comedy for making these videos and posting them on Youtube. Nice to look at what has become such a dark series in a funny light every once and awhile. It's amazing what a bit of music and a laugh track can do to lighten the mood. Check out episode 1 & 2 of Breaking Bad Meets Seinfeld after the jump...

So.... Hank & Marie Watched The MTV Movie Awards...

I absolutely love this meme that is going to start trending on Youtube very hard in the vein of 'Hitler Reacts'. People are definitely going to start entering any crazy or outlandish video into the screen of Hank & Marie's living room TV and watch as the stare in disbelief and horror at whatever unfolds. In this case it is a fake-finger wearing, twerk team shaking Miley Cyrus and her over the top performance at the 2013 MTV awards. Marie might even be covering her mouth at the Beetlejuice-esque suit that Robin Thicke is sporting in this one. All in all a great execution on a meme featuring a great scene from 'Breaking Bad'. Check it out after the jump....

CCD Meets Sean Hamilton,... Live In Artist Alley @ The 2012 NY Comic Con

So in my travels down the aisles of the 2012 NY Comic Con I saw lots of very unique art. But few were able to execute a high concept like my man Sean Hamilton. Sean is an artist that mashes up classic pop culture characters with some of the dopest sneakers on the planet earth... and sometimes even out of this world (see the R2-D2 x Galaxy Foamposite mashup!). Lots of guys do Mario art, but who puts Mario into a pair of Air Jordan 11's to kick some Koopa Troopa ass? Leave that to my man Sean. Sean is a sneaker head like myself, with over three hundred pairs in his personal collection, and he is including all of the best Nike & the like has to offer with some of the most recognizable characters in your life. Michonne from Walking Dead checks in with some Air Jordan 1's on. Walter White gets the Wu Tang Wallabee Clarke treatment. Storm bust out some fresh Yeezy 2s. The possibilities never really end... You need to head over to Sean's page (click here) and order some prints asap, cause all of them are of a limited variety. You can also click after the jump to see the full video interview we recorded with Sean and my favorite pieces of his work. From one sneaker head to another, keep up the good work Sean... see you at the sneaker shop!!!

Breaking Bad Double Play

I am completely enamored with Breaking Bad right now. I watched all of season 4 immediately after it was made available on netflix and I would be willing to stack that season of episodes up against just about any other shows individual season of all time. I think it was a tour de force for creator Vince Gillian and mad em efeel really great about watching TV for the first time in a while. So for all my fellow Breaking Baddies out there, here is a little double play worth of action. First up I have a cool as split screen poster of Mr. White & Hiesenberg from artist Shadowtuga that highlights both sides of the complex character that is Walter White. Next up, there is a cool ass video featuring the wit & wisdom of Mike, probably one of my favorite characters on the whole show. So wonderful. Enjoy both of them after the jump and lets see how this final season plays out....

50 Pop Culture Valentines To Share With That Special Someone In Your Life...

So today is Valentines Day, or as some people like to describe it, The Hallmark Holiday. It's just a mad up day in order to sell loads of candy, flowers and greeting cards in order for people to conform and fit the mold they have been told to fit. Well here at CCD we say fuck the norm. Instead of going to your local card shoppe and spending 5 bucks on a card filled with bullshit words and typical heart drawings, we have found 50 great pop culture themed Valentines Day Cards from around the web to share with the person you love and put a smile on their face. Hope these do the trick. So instead of buying a store bought card, print one of these puppies out and you will score some major points with the Pop Culture junkie in your life...

Lego Iconic Vol #13 by Jeff Bond

I am such a huge Lego nerd that words can not explain. Soooo I've decided to use my favorite blog site CCD.com as an outlet to get some of this stuff that I see every day, built out of bricks, out of my skull and onto the blogosphere where it can't hurt my cerebral cortex. Each month I'll be posting the best of the best hoping to inspire the Lego maniac in each of you...young and old.  Enjoy!

Back by popular demand from Spring Break, your favorite Lego enthusiast and champion of all that is brick brings you YET ANOTHER look in to the woooooorld....of Lego!

Lego builder Ed Diment has been commissioned to build a 22-Foot long (550-pound) Lego Intrepid (of World War II fame) ON the real Intrepid aircraft carrier! Not much more can be said about this behemoth that the photos don't already say for themselves (pictures launched 1,000 ships, ya know! Or was it a face that launched 1,000 photos? ...I dunno, never mind!) I'd just like to to ask...when is launch!?

Thanks to Briana M for sending me a link to Juxtapoz where they featured these stylish 'Lego Drinking Bottles'. Nothing says 'Man-Child' like lugging one of these beauties filled with your favorite fluids to work each morning. I'll take 2!

***Please click 'READ MORE" below for more Lego brickery***

DVD Releases For March 16, 2010

Ninja Assassin - ( Rainn, Naomie Harris)

I was really looking foward to this movie when it came out around Thanksgiving time, and it did not disappoint me one bit. The follow up to V for Vendetta for director James Mctiegue and Producers The Wachowski Brothers, the team picks up right where they left off and achieve new levels of action. Trained by a secret society of assassins to be the most lethal killer ever, Raizo (Korean pop star Rainn) is the most deadly murderer in the group. But after his friend falls victim to his own clans muredrous activities, he turns his back on the group who raised him and vows revenge. A Europol agent (Naomie Harris) finds herself hot on the trail of the assassin clan after she uncovers payoffs to them for killings, so she ends up being next on the list. Saved at the last second by Raizo, the unlikely duo work together to take down the clan once and for all. Plenty of great stunts and tons of violence, this is the kind of movie you pop in when you want to lose yourself for a few hours. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Twilight: New Moon - ( Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning)

Ok, so lets skip all the teenage girl nonsense. Its easy to dimiss the entire Twilight franchise as teen cheese based on the 1st movie, but for those of you who ACTUALLY READ all 4 books you would now that this is not the case. New Moon is the beginning of when  shit starts to hit the fan in Forks, and the teenage love story starts to take a back seat to violence and revenge bewteen Vampires and Werewolves alike. Lautner steals the show as new werewolf Jacob, desperately in  love with Bella. But as we all know, she only has eyes for Edward the Vampire. The action picks up in this one, but it is still a bit dry and could be dismissed as corny rather easily. Just know that books 3 and 4 were very mature themed, with epic battles, teen pregnancy, violence and bloodshed taking the stage in those stories. I am eager to see how they pull off these elements in the films, so New Moon is a neccessary step on the path towards Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Plus, if you have to watch a chick flick, why not watch one with bad ass CGI Wolves and hot ass Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene??? Available on DVD and Blu-Ray

Also Available On DVD and Blu-Ray: The Princess and The Frog, Armored, Did You Hear About The Morgans, Astro Boy, The 4th Kind, Breaking Bad Season 1 & 2