For every good, there is evil. For every life, there is death. And for every superhero, there is a villain.

Amazing artist Simon C. Page has taken the idea that heroes and villains are connected, and turned it into art using his own variation of the “two faces and a candlestick optical” illusion. The posters, which there are only three of so far, can be ordered through his website and would definitely look right at home on any fanboy’s wall.

Check out the posters below of Vader Vs. Luke, Spiderman Vs. The Green Goblin, and my personal favorite, Batman Vs. The Penguin.

The trick is, can you see both good and evil in the posters? Or just one?

Star Warsfan Rebecca Crane found made a wonderful use of her spare time (which nerds seem to have an awful lot of) and created a map of The United States of Star Wars. Each state on the map represents a different planet/location from the Star Warsuniverse. Texas is Kessel, Oregon is Endor, Maine is Naboo…etc. Each state is based on similarities in geography as well as the type of people that reside there. Here is a little more info…

There are probably tens of planets that work for each state, I picked either the first one that I came to or the best fit.

Planets were assigned based on partial terrain, landmarks that correlate with the planet and state, types of people in the state and planet, famous landmarks, or slightly randomly selected (but loosely based on facts) from my brother and myself. 

In case you can identify all of the Star Wars States Rebecca made a list of what state corresponds with what planet. (AFTER THE JUMP)

source: geekologie

Alabama – Trandosha
Alaska – Hoth
Arizona – Korriban
Arkansas – Thyferra
California – Adumar
Colorado – Mandalore
Connecticut – Alderaan
Delaware – Eriadu
Florida – Dagobah
Georgia – Taris
Hawaii – Mon Calamari
Idaho – Corellia
Illinois – Almania
Indiana – Moorja
Iowa – Taanab
Kansas – Lok
Kentucky – Umgul
Louisiana – Ord Mantell
Maine – Naboo
Maryland – Sluis Van
Massachusetts – Dathomir
Michigan – Kuat
Minnesota – Iego
Mississippi – Telos IV
Missouri – Talus
Montana – Wayland
Nebraska – Ansion
Nevada – Pantolomin
New Hampshire – Adarlon
New Jersey – Nar Shaddaa
New Mexico – Tatooine
New York – Coruscant
North Carolina – Brentaal IV
North Dakota – Nubia
Ohio – Dantooine
Oklahoma – Thule
Oregon – Endor
Pennsylvania – Tython
Rhode Island – Clak’dor VII
South Carolina – Death Star
South Dakota – Chandrila
Tennessee – Yavin IV
Texas – Kessel
Utah – Geonosis
Vermont – Ilum
Virginia – Fondor
Washington – Kashyyyk
West Virginia – Bespin
Wisconsin – Falleen
Wyoming – Bakura

The remake of 80’s horror flick and cult classic, Fright Night — the story of Charley Brewster discovering his next door neighbor Jerry Dandridge is a vampire, then turning to vampire hunter Peter Vincent to help kill him – is coming to theatres in October 2011. One significant change — Roddy McDowall’s vampire killer has been replaced by David Tennant as a goofy Chris Angel like illusionist.

To quote David Tennant as Doctor Who: “What?”

Apparently, the creatives behind the remake thought the idea of a vampire hunter (particularly the idea that Peter Vincent was actually an actor living out his glory days and hosting a late night horror show) was somehow too ridiculous. Instead, they thought a magician with way too much eye liner and penchant for leather wear was much more reasonable.

Now, I am all for changes to source material (particularly when they makes sense. I.E. making Spider-Mans web shooters organic) , but within reason. This is ridiculous. Jesus Christ with guyliner? Come on now, your not even trying!

FULL SIZE PIC AFTER THE JUMP

source: slashfilm

Another day, another nerd porn parody. With the recent success of Batman: An XXX Parody, The Sex Files: A Dark XXX Parody and other nerd inspired titles, the porn industry has found new ground in spoofing nerd/geek properties. Gee, who would have thought sex and superheroes would sell? Suffice to say, now that the nerd-porn spoof cherry (wow, say that 3 times fast) has been popped, a wave of nerd properties ranging from superheroes, the supernatural and Sci-Fi are are waiting or are in process of getting adapted. Superman and Stars Wars being ones we are looking forward to the most. One, of the latest titles, however to be hitting shelves is Paul Thomas’s (The Da Vinci Load)  ‘The Twilight Zone Porn Parody’.

“The Twilight Zone” explored a world of dark, sci-fi fantasies, often turning our understanding of the world around us on its head. Will Twilight Zone the Porn Parody do the same? From a story perspective probably not, but it’s sure to turn heads, one way or another. Will have to withhold our judgment until we see it (and see it we shall). Regardless of story, “The Twilight Zone Porn Parody” stars Kimberly Kane (of The Sex Files parody) and when Kimberly Kane is involved you know your in for a penis breaking good time. This bitch is HAWT!

The story-Set in a distant era of cocktails with lunch, and gender-specific roles, biblical virtue found itself being challenged by a couple of new neighbors, whose penchant for earthy carnal pleasures dominate the archaic and self-suppressing morals practiced by the rest of the town. In a quest to uncover the mystery behind the new family, known as The Stones, Kimberly Kane finds herself drawn in and seduced by the enticing and mystifying lifestyle known as swinging.

The DVD is out now and available for purchase here (Only$ 39.99) WATCH THE SAFE FOR WORK TRAILER BELOW.

source: fleshbot

Sure this image has made it’s way across the net and may be a bit late to post, but I don’t care. It made me laugh and who knows, there may be some other folks who have the same stupid humor that I have. Just imagine if the gentle, down to earth Bob Ross (if you don’t know who is then YouTube the bastard) was this intense. He could have gone on saying how “this is a bush” and how “this is a tree” in some victorious manner. It certainly wouldn’t put you to sleep, which hearing Bob Ross’s soothing voice did quite often.

Click after the jump for a larger image.

Source: Unreality Magazine

Vertigo’s popular comic series, Sandman, is once again being consider for a TV adaptation as Warner Bros. is trying to acquire the rights to air it on TV. If successful, they have plans to have Supernatural creator Erik Kripke to take on the project and also air it on CW network. Throughout the ’90s there has been many attempts to adapt the series into live action via film or TV and has never passed through the planning phase. HBO was once close but due to rights issue, the planned mini-series never happened.

While I’m up for some good television and hearing many good things about the Sandman story, I wouldn’t mind checking it out. My only worry is that WB is aiming to air this on CW. As of now, most of the shows on CW are aimed for female audience, hence getting rid of shows like Everybody Hates Chris, Reaper, and their number one watched show, WWE Smackdown! I guess you could say, I have a bad feeling on how they may want to take on the story. Anyway, how do y’all feel about this? Any of you excited for the possibilities of a TV show or does the news upset you?

Source: ComicBookMovie

Oi, you know how you know your old? When you realize comics you felt like you were reading just yesterday date back to 1996.

So, back in 1996  there was a very successful comic-book series known as Darkchylde. It was the story of a cursed teen, Ariel Chylde, who can become the creatures from her many nightmares, and had to save her small town from the forces of darkness she set free. It was kinda like Buffy the Vampire Slayer except not as fluffy and with out the Whedon talk of ending every other word with a Y (like Demony). For it’s first nine-month run, the comic series outsold every other popular title including Spider-Man and Superman Marvel and DC’s respectively best selling comics at the time. After a relatively successful run the comic fizzled out of the spotlight and went back into the Darkness from which in came.

Now, after years of debate whether to turn the property into an animated series or big budget, studio film, Randy Queen, creator and now head of Darkchylde Entertainment, has decided to pursue the live-action route: but on his own terms. The comics author has allied himself with Richard Taylor, and the Academy Award Winning Weta Workshop, to create a small budget Darkchylde film that will both strictly adhere to the source material and please the character’s cult following. Here is a message from Queen his fans:

“What we’re showcasing..is hard won, self produced, test footage for a proposed 20-25 million budgeted Darkchylde film. We are the underdogs, so it’s important to not expect Avatar or Iron Man footage, you know? We’re giving a glimpse behind the curtain of a smaller, more intimate horror film we are cultivating, something on the scale of Carrie, but with a more impressive FX resource for Ariel’s dreamscapes and the creatures she becomes.”

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

source: comicbookmovie

“If I can draw it, we can shoot it, it’s just a matter of getting the right people involved. I’m not interested in having someone give me a nickel to go away so they can reverse engineer something that doesn’t need it. We’ve spent 8 years carefully cultivating this film project, and Weta’s celebrated craftsmanship ensures a certain artistic integrity as a personal sentiment for horror fans. A lot of love has gone into creating the haunted world of Ariel Chylde. Most interesting is that every time she sheds her skin, a new creature emerges we’ve never seen before, so audiences never know what to expect. It’s a terrific, market proven concept, and as a fright fan, I want to see the new ideas. I want to see fresh characters that could become as vital to this generation as Freddy, Jason and Michael were to mine, and at this budget level, well crafted horror shows terrific return. We’ve got the script. Darkchylde is ready to fly. We are actively seeking producing partners and independent financing.”

Personally, I think a feature length film is the wrong way to go. I think the property lends itself much more to television. Since Buffy, we really haven’t had any strong female driven action shows (with staying power that is). Darkchylde is the next closest thing to the ass-kicking babe, supernatural genre. The CW would totally go for it.

I have to commend Mr. Queen though, for seeing his vision through and not letting studio doo doo heads tamper with his material. Of course, based on the test footage he’s lucky if he’ll get a spot SyFy’s channels monster flick of the month.

As fans of the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer know, in every television show, video game or movie, there must be a “big bad.” Some nemesis that is so powerful and so outweighs the characters, that you simply must watch/read/play to find out how good can triumph.

Frankly, and I’m sure I am not the only one, but good tends to win a hell of a lot more than evil.  And there is only one bad guy who is the biggest and the baddest.  He is the ruler of the underworld – Satan.

So, this top ten list will be devoted to depictions of Satan in movies, television shows, and video games. The beauty of these lists are that they are subjective. My #1 may not be yours, so feel free to chime in through the comments section below and let me know what your list would be.

Let’s start the countdown, shall we?

10) Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled

Who better to play Satan that the gorgeous Elizabeth Hurley? The movie was not the greatest, and she hasn’t done anything worthwhile since Austin Powers, but she did bring a hell of a lot of sizzle and fire to the role. Granted, she will not scare the pants off of you, but she will most definitely be able to get them off with a wry smile and a sexy wink.

The Devil: You know, you’d think that meeting the Devil would be interesting enough but no. All people want to know about is Him. Like He’s so bloody fascinating!
Elliot Richards: So He’s a man?
The Devil: Yeah, most men think they’re God, this one just happens to be right.

9) Ray Wise in “Reaper”

Imagine your parents promised you to Satan when you turn 21, and that to work off their debt, you must hunt down escaped souls to free yourself from your own hellish fate. Wouldn’t that just suck?

Now, imagine that the devil wore a fine tailored suit, was extremely dry-witted and gave you no sense of grief? Sounds like a match made in … well, you know.

The Devil: Sammy, punishing souls is like raising children. They need consistency. And you can’t reward bad behavior. They step out of line, you just have to give them a timeout in the Closet of Abysmal Agony

Lucifer from the video game “Dante’s Inferno”

The video game, based on the epic poem by Dante, focuses on a man who plunges himself into hell to free his beloved Beatrice’s soul from the underworld. The main villain is Lucifer (AKA Satan), who has carefully crafted all the events of the game so that Dante can free Lucifer from his icy prison.

In the game, Lucifer is a cunning villain who looms over every decision and major battle in the game. And, as you can see from the video embedded above, the final battle is not easy.

But, it all depends on your point of view, as one of the main draws in the game is that you can either absolve souls of their sins and be righteous, or punish the souls and be corrupt.

Lucifer: You are the best, Dante. Many have tried, and many have failed me. Brave Ulysses, the great Alexander, Attila, Lancelot – Only you possessed a soul black enough to free me.

7) Al Pacino as John Milton in “The Devil’s Advocate”

A popular joke is that all lawyers are evil, blood-sucking leeches. So, why not make the most cunning and powerful lawyer in Manhattan the living embodiment of Satan?

Al Pacino, one of cinema’s greatest actor’s, pulls off an amazing performance as John Milton, the most cunning, deceitful and powerful lawyer in New York. But, when he lures an unsuspecting Keanu Reeves to his law firm, he sets to bring on the end the world by bringing the Anti-Christ into it.

Kevin Lomax: “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven”, is that it?
John Milton: Why not? I’m here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I’ve nurtured every sensation man’s been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections, I’m a fan of man! I’m a humanist. Maybe the last humanist

6) Satan from “South Park”

While not the most evil incarnation of Satan, the one in South Park shows us a kinder and gentler side of the Dark Prince … kind of.

We’ve seen his struggles with relationships, the hardships of deciding to go with love or lust, raising a literal demonic hell child, wanting to throw the biggest birthday ever, defeating  Jesus (his mortal enemy), and much more. And yet, through all of that, Satan seems like a fairly reasonable ruler of the underworld. While he is still terrifying at points, when Satan belts out a song like the one here, you cannot help but feel for the guy.

Satan: Without evil there could be no good, so it must be good to be evil sometimes.

5) Tim Curry as The Lord Darkness in ‘Legend’

This incarnation of Satan is taken directly from your childhood nightmares of what he looks like — amped up 100-fold. The Lord of Darkness, played brilliantly by Tim Curry, stole every scene he was in. His presence and voice make for an unforgettable devil that haunted the dreams of millions of people worldwide, and probably still does.

The Lord of Darkness: Oh, Mother Night! Fold your dark arms about me. Protect me in your black embrace. I sit alone, an impotent exile, whilst this form, this presence, returns to torment me!

4) Peter Stormare as Lucifer in “Constantine”

In this movie, Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, a man with incurable lung cancer seeking salvation from eternal damnation in Hell, stemming from a suicide attempt in his youth, by sending half-demons back to Hell. At the end of the movie (SPOILER ALERT), Constantine dies and Lucifer appears to collect John’s soul himself.

But, when Constantine sacrifices himself so that  Rachel Weisz’s identical twin sister’s soul can go to heaven can go to Heaven, he redeems himself enough to get into heaven. Obviously, this pisses Lucifer off, so he does something worthy of spot #4 on this list.

He rips the cancer out of Constantine’s lungs, thereby saving his life, and giving him a second chance at life to prove that his soul is destined for Hell.

Harsh, eh?

Satan: No. You will live, John Constantine. You will live so you will have the chance to prove that your soul truly belongs in hell. Oh, you will live. You will live

3) Robot Devil in “Futurama”

If a follower of Robotology in the Futurama universe sins more-so than usual, he is condemned to robot hell, located in New Jersey. There, the Robot Devil will tailor a punishment unique to your specific needs.

Think of it as a five-star spa of torture.

But, loosing your soul to the Robot Devil (or Beelze-bot) is not without loop-holes. Thanks to the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275, anyone who can defeat him in a fiddle contest will go free, as well as win a golden fiddle (a reference to the song “The Devil went down to Georgia.”)

Leela: All right, Beelzebot, what’ll it take to get our friend back?
The Robot Devil: Sorry, but I hold all the cards here. There’s nothing you can do. Now, if you’ll just sign this fiddle contest waiver…
Leela: Wait. What fiddle contest?
The Robot Devil: Urrggh. The Fairness In Hell Act of 2275 requires me to inform you that if you can best me in a fiddle contest, you win back Bender’s soul. As well as a solid gold fiddle.
Fry: Wouldn’t a solid gold fiddle weigh hundreds of pounds and sound crummy?
The Robot Devil: Well, it’s mostly for show.
Leela (whispering): Do you know how to play the fiddle?
Fry (whispering): No, do you?
Leela: (whispering) No but I used to play the drums. They’re sorta similar. (talking) What happens if we lose?
Robot Devil: You’ll only win a smaller silver fiddle. Also I guess I’ll kill one of you.

2) Diablo from the “Diablo” series of video games

In the computer game series Diablo, Diablo 2 and the soon-to-be-released Diablo 3, your nemesis is Diablo (AKA Satan). Sure there are plenty of other bad guys along the way, including Diablo’s two brothers, but he is always your eventual goal.

The thing that makes Diablo worthy of the number 2 spot, is that he corrupts everyone. In the first game, he lured townsfolk into Hell to do his bidding. Then, when a hero contained the essence of Diablo within himself, Diablo corrupted him. He turned the hero of the first game into the villain of the second.

How much more bad ass can you get?

Diablo: “Not even death can save you from me!”

1) The Player from various video games

You’re probably thinking … what?

After thinking long and hard, the solution was actually quite simple. In the video games in which moral dilemma’s are presented to the player (Mass Effect 1 and 2, Fable 1 and 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 2 and 3, every BioWare game, Black & White 1 and 2, and many more), there are decisions that every player must make.

Will you use excessive force even when not necessary? Will you kill random civilians for the sheer joy of it?  Will you help the helpless, or crush them in search of greater power? Or will you sacrifice the innocent to get what you want?

In making the “evil” decisions, the player becomes warped and distorted into becoming pure evil. In Black and White, you play a deity and if you take the route of evil by killing civilians and showing no respect for life, your avatar (a hand) becomes red and clawed. In Mass Effect 1 and 2, by using lethal force and disdain to others, your face becomes cracked and red.

But most impressively are the Fable series of games, where by killing innocents and letting nothing get in your way, your face begins to flush. Your eyes turn red, you grow horns out of your head, and your very footsteps scorch the earth.

After all, it’s better being the devil you know than the devil you don’t, right?

Do you agree with my choices for the top 10 best depictions of Satan? If not, feel free to let me know in the comment section below!

(Post by nerdbastards contributor Nick Bungay- Twitter @NickBungay)

For over a decade Vertigo comic book series ‘Preacher‘ has been through it’s own stations of the cross. Now it can add the station of a new director to it’s holy book. A while back it was announced director Sam Mendes would helm the project but he’s now off to pursue the next James Bond film. Thanks to a recent, all be it, small interview with Total film producer Neil Mortez gave up some more details on the man with “the word of God”:

“John (August, the screen writer) has done a really faithful adaptation but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience”…“The movie is definately R rated. And its an amazing central character”…“Another unnamed director has apparently signed on”

Another unnamed director, who the hell is it gonna be? Well, John August (The Nines) is showing interest in directing this badboy. After all he wrote this adaptation, along with a wishlist of directors he and Mortez would like to replace Mendes. Yet, the best and most logical director would be the made who helped reboot the A-team, Joe Carnahan:

“I’m kind of desperate to do another comic book adaptation…And the other thing I’m really keen on or interested in is ‘Preacher’ because I’m a big Garth Ennis fan and I love that series and that’s out there, and that might be something…I really love that. You gotta do the Allfather (D’Aronique) and all that crazy shit and I haven’t seen a script and I don’t know what it is, but yeah, we’ll see. Who knows?”

Hopefully they don’t have another case of ‘Ghostbuster 3′ on their hands with this one. Being part of a film chalk full of false starts since 1998 is like playing hopscotch with one leg. Having directors like Robert Rodriguez once attached to your project once had meaning. Now it means that we could never have this see the light of day and the next director filling like a clean-up batter.

The official plot synopsis from the graphic novel follows:

“Here’s a book guaranteed to offend a bunch of people, not only because of its profuse profanity and graphic violence, but because it’s the epitome of iconoclasm. Like a brutal accident, you can’t watch but you can’t turn away. The story follows an ex-preacher man, Jesse, who has become disgusted with God’s abandoning of His responsibilities. So Jesse starts off into the wilds of Texas with his hitman girlfriend and new best friend (a vampire) to find God so that he can give Him a piece of his mind. Despite its superficial perversity, this book contains what may be the most moral character in mainstream comics. A cult hit in the making.”

With 75 issues from 1995 to 2000 under Vertigo’s belt you might as well buy the entire series. In another 6 months this film will have another director and people will still be bitching, the church should get their confessional booths ready now.

source: slashfilm

Folks, you may remember a particular harsh and comical critic Mike from Milwaukee (of Red Letter Media), or Mr. Plinkett as he now likes to be called. Who dissected and basically tore apart Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace with his 70 minute review. Not to mention his even more brutal 90-minute review of Attack of the Clones. Well, the fuckers back! This time he is here to say his piece on J.J. Abrams ‘Star Trek‘. The 67 minute video is actually bit of a surprise from Mr. Plinkett, who for once actually reviews a movie he likes. This from the same guy who tore into The Next Generation movies. Here is what Mr. Plinkett says: