Umbrella Academy Pocket Watch (link roundup)

I love all things Umbrella Academy. Coming in July, the Umbrella Academy Pocket Watch Set for $130. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Last Exit to Nowhere posted a Skynet iPhone wallpaper. Weyland-Yutani and Tyrell Corp, also.

2. Myke Amend posted a new airship desktop wallpaper.

3. Dr. Doom pin-up by Chris Samnee.

*Previously: Magellan watches.

*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.

Bowling cupcakes (link roundup)

Bowling-themed cupcakes by Naomi.

And a few more links:

1. Spaceboy fan art (Umbrella Academy).

2. Found item orrery.

3. Humpty Dumpty Pinewood Derby Racer.

*Previously: Logo for Bowling Thunder.

*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.

Umbrella Academy Dallas - - best comic of the year

The first volume of Umbrella Academy - - Apocalypse Suite was excellent. Volume 2, which is named Dallas, is even better. If you haven't tried Umbrella Academy yet, think of it as the X-Men plotted by Mignola. Or as Grant Morrison has said, "It's the X-Men for cool people." I don't want to say any more about the story because it would be a shame to ruin any of the surprises. But you can read the first five pages of the story here - - the team fights the Abraham Lincoln monument.

I have the limited edition hardcover, so let me tell you what that version includes. First, let me say that I'm generally not a big fan of limited edition hardcovers. In my experience most trade paperbacks hold up great through multiple readings. And I couldn't care less if what I own is "limited." In fact, I've only ever bought one limited edition that I was satisfied with - - Kingdom Come. (By comparison, the Earth X limited edition was a tremendous disappointment.)

So anyway, the Dallas limited edition. Here's what you get: it's oversized, so the pages are huge and really show off the art; the pages themselves are remarkably thick; and there's a relatively uninspiring special illustration with overlay by Gabriel Ba. None of that's probably worth the extra price. But you also get a long concept art section featuring character designs and rejected covers. And the real revelation is that Gerard Way is not only a gifted writer, but he's also a fantastic artist. Here's his design for one of the new characters featured in Dallas:



All in all, I'd say the limited edition is only for diehard Umbrella Academy fans. You can order it for 37% off at Amazon. But anyone else who likes comics should order the paperback immediately. It's 33% off at Amazon.

All of this gives me a good excuse to feature some Umbrella Academy oddities:


Umbrella Academy movie poster. (Part of a set of fake movie posters.)





Hazel and Cha Cha cosplay.






White Violin cosplay.




The Rumor cosplay.





Plush Hazel and Cha Cha and Seance.




Hazel and Cha Cha shoes.



Umbrella Academy paper toys.









Umbrella Academy custom action figures by Rust This World.




Umbrella Academy custom action figures by lemondrop.

And finally, did I mention that the author photograph of Gerard Way that graces the end of the book features him and his wife Lyn-Z reenacting JFK's assassination?



*Previously: Playmobil toys used to reenact JFK's assassination.

*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.

Turn of the Century Avengers (link roundup)

Turn of the Century Avengers by Mihajlo Dimitrovski.

And a few more links:

1. Space Boy fan art (Umbrella Academy).

2. Can't wait to see what toy comes of this McFarlane/threeA toys collaboration.

3. Wizards of the Coast is looking to hire new artists (bottom of the page).

*At Toycutter: Umbrella Academy custom toys.

*Buy threeA toys at eBay.

Deconstructed dolls and Grimm's Fairy Tales (link roundup)

Jung Paek created a book called "Unhappy Endings":

My goal was to juxtapose the deconstructed dolls with a portion of the Grimm's fairy tales in order to tell the eerie side of these mediums, originally catered towards children.

You can see more pages here.

And a few more links:

1. From Tucker Stone's weekly summary of The Economist:

-Hey, the deficit cleared a trillion in the US! Hope that "deficits don't matter" guy was right. Because if he was wrong...well, holy shit. I know how to kill my own food. Do you?

-I don't really know how to kill my own food i am so fucked

2. The Rumor from Umbrella Academy cosplay.

3. A steampunk gentleman chases love. See also: Punch-Out fan art.

*Previously: Bioshock Big Sister cosplay.

*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.

Enemy of Poacher t-shirt (link roundup)

Enemy of Poacher t-shirt, apparently related to a game called "Pole's Big Adventure." Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. A positive view of rape was apparently common in romance novels in the 1970's. Via.

2. At Toycutter: Spaceboy custom action figure (and the rest of Umbrella Academy).

3. Alice jumps through the looking glass.

4. The father of the 17-year-old girl whose ass enraptured Sarkozy (maybe Obama) and the rest of the world says, "She is dedicated to helping the poor, not to seducing world leaders." Her mother added, "She is really skinny and only ever wears pants. [She] is timid and ashamed of her body. This was the first time in her life that she wore a dress, and it was borrowed from a friend in the shantytown because she doesn't own one." So, shame on all of us.

*Previously: The LA Times attends "Telenovela U."

*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.

Video of a jumbo jet blowing people right off a beach (link roundup)

Video of a jumbo jet blowing people, right off a beach into the water. (Don't spoil this by telling me it's a known fake.)

And a few more links:

1. I didn't know there was a fake Canon blog mocking the company (the company gives its workers time off to have sex?). But I know about it now that it received a takedown notice from Canon's lawyers. Via.

2. If the Umbrella Academy's Spaceboy was fat.

3. I probably would have liked Pac-Man more if the fifth ghost had been "Cobra Commander."

4. Bowls of oatmeal with strawberry faces.

*Previously: Umbrella Academy paper toys.

*Preorder "The Umbrella Academy PVC Figure Set" at Amazon.