'Thug Notes' - One Hoodlum's Take On Classic Literature Of the Past

Now I am as much of a Hip Hop head as one my age can be, and I was lucky enough to be a teen in the golden era of Hip Hop culture. I wear Jordans, and I still pretty much wear the same style of clothes that I have my whole life (Hoodie sweatshirts and jeans never really go out of style). So when I see an enterprising hood star take to the Internet to use his street styles to show that Hip Hop kids can get down with classic literature... well, I just have to give my props! Sparky Sweets, PhD. ( I swear that is his name, and I love him even more for it!) breaks down some of the classics you have grown up with. Classic Literature, Original Gangster (yup, that is the shows tagline!). Books like Lord of the Flies, Dune, The Count of Monte Cristo, and even To Kill A Mockingbird. My man Sparky breaks down the books with keen insights and intelligent observations, yet does so by busting out slang and hilarious hood analogies. They also feature animated vignettes to help convey the story. This is a great concept, and I would love to get my man Sparky Sweets on the CCD Podcast at some point. We shall see. For now, check out all their videos on the Thug Notes website and their Youtube page. You can also see the Dune and To Kill A Mockingbird one embedded after the jump... happy HOOD reading ya'll !!!!

Super Powered Beat Down - Battle Of The Batmobiles

We have been following the gang over at Bat In The Sun productions for a long time now.. way back when they were making high quality Bat family fan films (check here and here if you don't believe me!). They have moved on to bigger and better things, most notably the Super Power Beat Down web series that they post over on their Youtube Page. Now in these mythical match ups they often choose 2 individuals from comics/sci fi and have them face off in a one on one battle to find out who would win a battle... think Wolverine vs Predator. But this particular episode stands out because instead of featuring individuals battling it out, they choose to focus on one of the baddest sets of wheels of all time: The Batmobile! Everybody has their own particular fave, but which inclination of the famous car that Batman drives would outperform the other? That is a question answered in the video after the jump... and make sure you watch the video all the way to the end for a little something special from host Marisha Ray!

Super Power Beat Down: Wolverine vs Predator... And A Added Bonus Feature Too!!!!

As usual I was watching something else on You Tube and this clip appeared and I just had to see what it was about. It's part of a series called 'Super Power Beat Down' that takes two characters and sees who would win a battle between the two. This is just the kind of arguments fans of the comics and movies have all the time. It was fun to see someone take the concept one step further and actually stage the battles with special effects and great sets and costumes. Check out more after the jump...

Captain Canuck - The Web Series

Leave it to our Canadian correspondent to find Internet gold while patrolling the Interwebs at all hours of the night. Meet the Mighty Maple Leaf himself, Captain Canuck! This looks like a cool concept and an even cooler looking cartoon. I for one will be anticipating the upcoming episodes. And I really like the Platinum Blonde song at the end. That is 80s Canadian music at it's finest.

Grayson: Earth One Season # 1, Episode # 1

“Grayson: Earth One” season one is a non profit six episode season dedicated to exploring the origin story of the DC character known as Nightwing — but with a twist. The twist being that Richard Grayson has never had the good fortune of being adopted as a child by Bruce Wayne, thus never becoming the boy wonder. Instead, we have a Richard Grayson that had to fend for himself on the unforgiving streets of Gotham and, even worse, the streets of Bludhaven. A character that has to overcome years of dog eat dog mentality to become a selfless and kind individual. To ultimately fulfill his destiny and become a HERO.

Of course, changing that single event within Richard Grayson’s life sends a ripple across the entire DC universe. It changes the history of characters such as Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli and their adversaries too.

Check out more after the jump...

School Of Thrones - Episode 2 & 3

A few weeks back I posted the first episode of a very good web series entitled School of Thrones, which takes the characters of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series and puts them in a high school setting like Beverly Hills 90210. The show has some excellent young actors and actresses in it, and they have two new episodes for you to enjoy up on their Youtube page.  The web series is super ironic and plays on all the things we love about Game of Thrones, so if you want to have a little bit of fun with your Westeros characters than make sure you watch all three. New episodes air every week on Sunday, so subscribe on their Youtube page so you don't miss a beat! Check out episode 2 & 3 after the jump....

'School of Thrones'- This Is Serious Business Ginger Stark!!!!

I love a good web series. I especially love a good web series that is a clever re-interpretation of a familiar franchise. Enter in 'School of Thrones', a new web series that uses the characters of George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' books & HBO's 'Game of Thrones' TV series and re-imagines them as current high school students. Instead of family clans, we have high school cliques. The Stark family always does things vintage (as in the old way), so of course they are the hipsters. The Targaryen's are outcasts, so of course Danaerys would be the artistic new girl. Renly is the homosexual cool kid, and Stannis is the religious zealot nerd loner... and of course the Greyjoy's are the swim team! And the Lannisters, lead by Bieber lookalike Joffrey, are the ruling family of the school. This series has so much potential... after all, Prom is Coming!!!!! I also want to point out just how hot young redhead Sansa is. Wowsers!!!! Click here to subscribe to the Youtube page of School of Thrones, and tune back in every Sunday at noon for the newest episodes. Great potential, great execution, and I for one will be looking forward to see what they do in the future...

Fresh Perspectives: So This Is Where The Idea For Those AT & T Commercials With The Kids Came From!!!!

I have been totally enamored by the AT & T commercials that have been airing over the past few months with comedian Beck Bennett starring as a straitlaced guy in a suit asking a group of kindergarten students what they think is better, fast or slow (as in the speed of 4G internet service on mobile devices).The kids give honest, rambling, answers... typical of what you would expect from a 5 year old. All the while Bennett is playing the straight man, and his low key reactions and statements back to the children are hysterical. My favorite is the Werewolf one (click here to see it). Something this funny and original couldn't have come from a corporate company like AT & T, so I did a bit of research. Turns out that the commercials are based on a sketch Youtube program that Beck Bennett ran called Fresh Perspectives. In the show Bennett and a 5 year old sit together in chairs and discuss major political and social topics, such as gay marriage, the Trayvon Martin shooting, and the Republican nomination for president. The results are no short of fantastic. These kids are hysterical, and Bennett is as condescending and sarcastic as ever. Great stuff from a cool comedian. Good to see great ideas get the mainstream treatment sometimes. Out of the mouths of babes.... really funny stuff. You can see all the Fresh Perspective clips over at Beck Bennett's Youtube page by clicking here, and check out my faves after the jump...

Power Of The Force Girls

Power of The Force Girls is created by artist and animator Lin Zy. GeekTyrant has the first full episode of the webseries to show you. It's clear that a lot of talent and time has been used to create Power of The Force Girls. It really goes beyond the superficial visual elements and intertwines both universes in the story and characters. The animation really stays true to Craig McCracken's style while mixing in Star Wars in unexpected ways. Check out the first webisode after the jump...

Help Bring The Web Series 'The Batman Chronicles' To Fruition

I am a big proponent of web series, because they allow real fans of properties to make some fantastic short films and TV shows on a micro budget. These fans are usually enamored with a particular character and put forth maximum effort to tell their version of the story. The Mortal Kombat web series and the City of Scars Batman series come to mind as awesome examples of what can be done with a good creative team and a little bit of money. The newest web idea to come across my path is 'The Batman Chronicles', which hopes to tell the story of a young Batman and his first encounter with the Joker & the Red Hood Gang. I am currently reading Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns (a great read and wonderful gift from my fiance Tara from Christmas), which similarly tells the story of the early days of the Bat. That book deals with The Penguin. I am eager to see what these guys do with The Joker, especially since the dude playing him seems to have a good balance of Nicholson and Ledger in his performance. But they need your help. They are running and Indie GoGo page to raise money for the feature, and you can click here to make a donation to get the series made. Take one look at this trailer and you won't think twice about sending them a few bucks. Enjoy it after the jump... and help make this wicked rendition of the Batman a reality!

New York Comic Con 2012 Tommy Interviews the Creators of Creepyville

Whenever we are making the rounds on the Comic Con floor we are always trying to come up with cool and exciting things to share with you guys. You know... kind of take you into the actual floor of the show for all of you guys who can't get here and provide you with a window into some of the more cooler hard to find things. Welcome To Creepyville and it's creator Richard Gurnsey fit this profile to a T. Gurnsey came up with the crazy concept of this creepy old man that loves dressing up his cats... yup, I just wrote that... and he does all the art and animation that goes into the web series. There are a bunch of episodes over on Youtube (you can click here to get toe the Welcome to Creepyville official page) for you to enjoy, and you gotta check out the always candid Tommy visiting the Creepyville booth on the showroom floor. Check it out after the jump...

'The All Winners Squad': Marvel New Web Series Will Highlight Some Of It's Lesser Known Characters

Marvel just keeps making all the right decisions lately, in every aspect of their empire. They are riding high off the mega hit that was The Avengers, are gearing up to start phase 2 of their cinematic releases (Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Cap 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and eventually Avengers 2), have some interesting TV prospects in the works (Guillermo Del Torro's Hulk series, Jessica Jones, etc) , and are wrapping up an epic crossover maxi series in their comic books featuring the two biggest superhero teams on the planet, Avengers vs X-Men. Yeah, Joe Quesada & the rest of the big wigs over at Marvel seem to be pulling all the right strings. Now they are taking to the web, and doing so with some not so familiar faces to boot. Their newest project is a web series entitled 'All Winners Squad', and it features some wonderfully obscure Marvel characters such as Howard the Duck, Frog Man, The Walrus, and Squirrel Girl. This rag tag group of heroes are coming together to face equally obscure villains in mini adventures and are being package in a way that will remind viewers of Drawn Together, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Boondocks, and the new Black Dynamite cartoon (which is awesome!). The pilot lays out the groundwork for the series, and future episodes are promised to follow shortly. I for one can't wait to see some of the minor characters get some burn. You can watch the episodes of the future here & you can check out the full pilot after the jump...

Seeds Of Arkham Is An Amazing Batman Fan Film.... Watch It Here Now!!!

Back in July of 2010 I told all of you faithful CCDers about a very cool Batman fan film entitled 'City of Scars' that was absolutely fucking amazing (click here to see that post). It was just so well done that it was tough to ignore and well worth the 30 minutes needed to watch it. Shit, I would go so far as to say that it is better than some of the real Batman movies that have been released over the years (yeah, I'm looking at you Clooney!!!). A few months back my boy Lockheed Lee sent me a link to the sequel fan film entitled Seeds of Arkham from the team over at Bat In The Sun productions, and it just slipped through the cracks & I never re-posted it. Well, I am about to correct that wrong right now.... after the jump you can find the full version of Seeds of Arkham (a much more manageable 9 minutes long). hopefully these guys get into some real Bat filmmaking in the future, cause I really love their take on the gang from Gotham. Enjoy!

Mario Warfare: The Web-Series We Can't Wait To See

What do you get when you create a tactical unit of assassins out of some of the most beloved Nintendo characters ever and send them on Call of Duty type missions? You get a web series called Mario Warfare and some very excited writers here at CCD. My god does this look great! The gang over at Beat Down Boogie have released 4 character posters and two behind the scenes videos to get all of you guys amped for the premiere. Check them all out after the jump...

Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Episode 8 - Scorpion & Sub Zero Pt. 2

So here is part 2 of the coolest video there has been in this webseries. Everyone knows that the Mortal Kombat franchise goes as their ninjas go, so it's nice to see the masked men geting some shine. Thanks to my man Dave over at Exophrine for tipping me off on the video being posted. Here you go. 




So what do you think? Is this the best web series ever? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Episode 7 - Scorpion & Sub Zero Pt. 1

It's that time again folks... a new episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy!!! This week we meet everyones favorite ninjas, Sub Zero and Scorpion!!! This is part I of their video:




So what do we think??? This web series is shaping up quite nicely, no? After Raiden last week, its good to see the ninjas getting their due. Let us know what you think in the comment section below. As always, thanks to Exophrine for the reminder.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Episodes 2,3, 4 and 5

Sorry I have been slacking... I posted the first episode of this awesome web series and promised I would post the rest for you guys as they come out, but alas I missed a bunch. So now I'll make it up to ya... here is episodes 2,3,4 and the newest one... EPISODE 5! These are real great... make sure you check 'em all out!!!

Episode 2: Sonya & Jax



Episode 3: Johnny Cage



Episode 4: Mileena & Kitana



Episode 5: Mileena & Kitana pt 2



Thanks to Exophrine for keeping Mortal Kombat Legacy on my mind... you guys rock!

Now This Is The Mortal Kombat Web Series That I Want To Watch!!!

The first episode for the much anticipated Mortal Kombat: Legacy is finally here and I must say it looks pretty awesome. Jeri Ryan and Michael Jai White look awesome as Sonya & Jax, and this is probably going to be the best visualization of the Mortal Kombat we have ever seen. Here is the first episode in it's entirety.



You can click here to view the new weekly installments. I can't wait for epsiode 2!!!

Mind's Eye Is A Web Series You Need To Be Watching

When we first walked over to the Mind's Eye booth, I thought it had to be the booth of an independant film feature because of the quality of the special effects. You usually don't see such well executed effects in a web series... but to my suprise, Danika and Tom informed us that it was in fact a web series. My mind was blown... very cool stuff. We took a second to chat with the duo about this sci-fi/fantasy tale about a young boy who may very well be a powerful being when he grows up, so he is protected by a crew of warriors disguised as his classmates to keep him safe. Check out the interview here:

 

The web series will be launching on November 26th, and the trailer will be released on Halloween. These guys are doing everything right and making a small scale production look a lot better than most big budget movies. You can check the Mind's Eye website for more info by clicking here. We will be sure to be bringing you more coverage about this wonderful series, and I urge you to look into it yourself. Check it out guys... its really great!!!