Anime Los Angeles 2015 Sold Out

The yearly coming together of anime fans has once again sold out before even starting. Anime Los Angeles continues bringing together the anime community as one of the many anime events held in LA. TTDILA will most likely snag some cosplay shots and video of the big, made by fans for fans anime event held Jan. 9-11.

Murder LA 000065

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5th, 2007

22-year-old Shontae Blanche had recently found out she was having a girl. The CSUN student, studying for a law enforcement career, had been married for two years.

November 5th was her husband, Emery's, 21st birthday, but he was in police custody for some kind of violation - someone supossedly familiar with the situation stressed that it was not for a crime.

Shontae had just returned from visiting relatives for a funeral in New Orleans. Somehow she found herself outside a Big Lots in South Los Angeles around 2:30pm.

A strange scene unfolded in the parking lot there, at the corner of Slauson and Western.

Shontae Blanche
via LA Times

The details are sketchy, but apparently there was a skirmish involving perhaps as many as 30 women, stemming from a fight between two women over a man. The number seems a bit outlandish, as does then-LAPD-Deputy-Chief Charlie Beck's claim that it was an organized melee.

It is unclear from reports whether Shontae was a participant or knew anybody else there.

What is clear, though, is that after a few minutes Unique K. Bishop, one of those involved in the fracas, got into her gold convertible and drove into the crowd. Shontae was killed after being struck, dragged, then run over, and at least one other woman was injured. The baby didn't make it.

The driver fled the scene but turned herself in at a police department a couple of days later, after discovering the police were looking for her. She claimed to have only accidentally hit the victims.

The trial doesn't seem to have been covered much by the media, with the LA Times simply reporting in 2010 that Bishop had been convicted of second-degree murder but found not guilty of attempted and first-degree murder. Her sentence was 30 years to life.

The lack of coverage is surprising considering how many questions the story naturally raises.

Dr. Robotnik Dance Little Tokyo and Chinatown

Nathan Barnatt dressed up like Dr. Robotnik, Dr. Eggman for current players, and danced around the local sub-cities of Chinatown and Little Tokyo.

Broad Museum Looks Beyond Creepy

It's finished on the outside, prepare for it to be featured as a supervillain's lair for all new Marvel movies. The Broad Museum, set to open this year with a free year of admission, looks beyond creepy. Adding to downtown, looking like God got drunk and had fun making nothing look similar in the downtown area, it will make you turn your head and go, "What the Hell is that?"

Assassination Classroom Vol 1 Review The Tentacled Teacher Arrives

Assassination Classroom Vol 1
$6.99

I always remember how to spell assassination by breaking it down to Ass-ass-in. This manga, long awaited by otakus of the the Americas, brings the ass-ass in with Koro Sensei, translated from Japanese as can't kill teacher. He's a tentacle wonder. As you'll wonder what he and his tentacles will do next. Is he an alien?  A mutant freak created in a secret lab? A magical being from another dimension that's broken into our reality? All we know is he will destroy the Earth after one school year. The mission of his students: kill him and collect 10 Billion Yen ($100 Million US).

The premise for Assassination Classroom might be a highlight for some students. A plot to kill their teachers and get paid for it. Too bad Koro Sensei is too damn likable as a teacher and a friend. That and he can go Mach 20, transform into different states-Eeew, he's goo!- and has an insane amount of powers, but he's still "human." Human in the sense he can get flustered, acts childish when he loses and is a bit perverted. Koro Sensei is a tall yellow squid looking like creature wearing a graduation uniform whose face looks like an emoticon when in a passive state. He might be the worst poker player on Earth (while it's still here) with constant tells on his face, which changes colors over every mood he's in. He's trying he's best to get the grades up and the spirits of his class by being the best darn teacher on the planet, all while his students are trying to kill him.

Created by Yūsei Matsui, you'll be reading the exploits of Class E, the worst class at Kunugigaoka Junior High School. This is the class other students in the high school will un-friend you if you do badly enough to enter.  Most of the data about Koro Sensei, I just wrote about, comes from Nagisa Shiota. One of the boys in Class E who catalogs all the weaknesses of the many tentacled teacher. Stories in the first volume follow him and his fellow students and their attempts to take out the Koro Sensei. Nagisa, is the second main character, as Koror Sensei takes top billing for his insane antics of power.

The series flipped the regular mold of a Japanese drama where a teacher takes a bad class in and transforms the students into productive members of society. It is still that sort of story, but with a lot more guns and knives.

Antics and demonstrations of Koro Sensei's powers are shown with one of his amazing abilities, going Mach 20. At Mach 20 he can wax a jet fighter in flight or catch a missile. He'll grade your test in seconds while flying across the Earth, why does he have leave these cheezy doodles on the back though? Koro Sensei also makes frequent trips around the world collecting food from various locations for lunch. In his most amazing feat he destroyed seventy percent of the moon and gave the decree about destroying the Earth after one school year. As no one on Earth can kill him, Japan and world leaders let him teach a class, which is allowed to try assassinate him as much as they can, he can't harm a hair on there heads.

That's a shame, as the have anti-Koro Sensei weaponry. A substance that exists that makes Koro Sensei. It's safe for humans to touch and so weapons that can only kill Koro Sensei are used with a large variety available from bullets to floppy knives. Floppy funny knives that make it look so sad when they are used on anyone else but Sensei.

Other than the jokes about how much Nagisa looks like a girl, he's not, he's a boy, the book wraps around your eyes with tentacles thanks to the looney looks of Koro Sensei. He's odd demeanor, the way he wraps people up in his tentacles, they all make the book a hilarious read through on par with the odd story of attempted murder. You'll be taken in, just like his stidents, by Koro Sensei and the way he teaches while someone tries to stab him in the face.

The first volume has many attempts at stabbing said teacher in the face. With fast, Mach 20, dodging results. You'll see stories features about different students all with their own complicated problems that Koro Sensei will sort out. Many different tactics from "suicide bombing", sounds worse than it is, to a happy bit of poison are attempted in the first chapter.

Let's hope 2015 is a fun year, it's the only amount of time we have left before Koro Sensei destroys the Earth, unless Class E can cash in and kill him. I don't know who to root for!

Assassination Classroom has gained such popularity in such a short time, it's only been out since 2012, that it's getting a anime starting Jan 9 in Japan that will be simulcast with Funimation here in the US. Add to that there's a live action movie in production that will also be out in 2015. Forget Luigi, it's the year of Koro Sensei in 2015.

I wanted to also say how much I love the cover(s) of Assassination Classroom, it looks like Viz will just be copying what happened in the Japan, which was to just put Koro Sensei's mug on each cover in different states of emotion. Collecting them all will be a rainbow of emotion of a creepy smiling creature you can lay out on your coffee table or desk and have a friend stare and wonder what's going on.

Reviewer was given copy by publisher for review purposes

Classic Arcade Girls 2015 Calendar

Glen Brogan is a great artist. He also waited to the last minute to put out he's new calendar, based on anthropomorphic female arcade cabinets. The Classic Arcade Girls 2015 Calendar has pin-ups inspired by: Galaga, Contra, Dig Dug, 1942, Punch-out!!, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Centipede, Asteroids, Wild Gunman, Donkey Kong, Rampage, and Ms. Pac-Man to leave up near your desk or home console.

Get it here for $20+$4 shipping

Anthony Petrie Charts Interview

Anthony Petrie with his critics

Anthony Petrie's first solo show at Gallery 1988 will be taking place next Friday, Jan 9th, kicking in the new year with fantastic maps and charts based on film and pop culture.

Anthony Petrie's Charts  
Opening Reception Jan 9, 7-10pm
runs until Jan 24  
G1988(West) 7308 Melrose Ave

He's been a regular artist of the pop culture icon Gallery 1988 for a number of years. His work has been used by big name companies from posters to shoes with Marvel superheroes on them. He's a poster artist and product designer by trade with a affinity for zombies.

I sat down with Anthony Petrie in the sense we both sat down at computers and wrote back to each other over a series of questions about his upcoming show at Gallery 1988. It was a wonderful conversation...if we had actually talked.

Cocoa Conduit (Regular Version)

24" x 36” Screen-Print

Inspired by Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

TTDILA:We've all done things were not proud of...unlicensed prostate exams, watching The Interview, talking to loved ones around the holidays. Is there something that you're not proud of in the show, but damn it, it felt so good to joke about. A pun, a visual gag about a film in map form that will make someone spit out the booze in their mouth and they'll go, "I get it!”

Anthony Petrie: For most of the creative process I was pretty drunk so I can’t remember anything specific. Well, maybe that’s the part I’m not proud of. I try to lace each poster with as much profanity as I can. I also put boobs in one of them. I’m proud of these things though, so that doesn’t really answer the question. Sorry.

Is this in anyway to get back at Tim Leong for his Super Graphics book?  Be honest, is this a rivalry or over a girl?

Trap Map (Regular Version)

24" x 36” Screen-Print

Inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark

I don’t know who Tim is but he sounds like an asshole. Just kidding, I’ve never heard of the Super Graphics book until now but I wish I had because I would have just copied everything and it would have made this show a lot easier. I think Tim’s book skews more toward infographics seen through the filter of pop culture. The goal of my show was to have equal parts graphic design and illustrative elements to make an object that seems like it was immersed in the world of the movie. Like each piece could have been a background object in the film that a character would have used. And to make something that would look good hanging on a wall.

You've done some amazing work in the past similar in the vein of your upcoming solo show; Nakatomi Footprint, Metroplasm, Xenomorphobia. All of them amazing pieces, all of them based on great films. Were you really a fan of those films or did you make them with no fan love? 

Dino Directory (Regular Version)

24" x 36” Screen-Print

Inspired by Jurassic Park

Ah thanks, you’re very perceptive. Whilst in general my heart is colder than the Fortress of Solitude, I do harbor love for the films I choose to pay homage to. The amount of times that goes into each poster kind of requires you to be a fan, and I actually end up really enamored with each film at the end of the process. There is one movie I chose for my show that I HATE, but I had a good idea for it and I couldn’t let it go. Watching it over and over and researching it was torture. Never again.

What is your favorite type of film?

Mostly porno. Also, I grew up on a heavy diet of 80’s action flicks. Basically anything with explosions, catch phrases, muscles, and no discernible plot lines. I love campy horror, monster movies, slasher flicks and basically all zombie movies. I like movies that most normal people hate.

Comics and cartoons drench the pages of your sites online. Are you reading anything current? Watching any new shows? What inspires your art?

Comic art is definitely the baseline of inspiration for my work. Even the less illustrated posters. I like the challenge of having to tell a story without giving everything away in one page, and that’s something that comics do really well. Right now my top three are Invincible, Walking Dead, and Saga. I like TV shows a lot as well for the same reason; having a limited amount of time and space to tell a story. Right now I just caught up on Black Mirror which I’m obsessed with. I watch basically everything they put on TV while I’m working. I prefer to watch films and shows while I’m working as opposed to listening to music.

The new show has been a year in the making, in that year, the past year, how many times did you abandon a piece and start a new one or did everything click with so much time to do the pieces you wanted? I've heard from other solo show artists at G1988, the extra time made it worse.

Chum Chart

36" x 24” Screen-Print

Inspired by Jaws

Great question. I’m not a procrastinator, so as soon as Gallery 1988 invited me to have a show I immediately went to work…and 4 months into it I started over twice with two completely different concepts. I completed about 5 posters with 5 more sketched out. I hated everything and threw it all away. The panic this induced allowed me to think more creatively and the now-shortened timeline allowed me to shift into high gear. I have a few concepts left over from this show, but I decided to leave them out and revisit them another time.

You can see a lot of research going into a piece, are there a lot of screen captures and pauses on your screen when making something? Did you have to ask friends, notorious for nerd knowledge, about certain shows and movies.

Absolutely. The real work behind these posters is the research. The execution is by far the easy part. I watch each movie depicted 3 times, taking notes and screen-caps. Then I start rummaging through internet fan forums, reading books about the 'behind-the-scenes' and ‘making of’. I make a brainstorm map of all the information I’ve collected like some sleep-deprived detective or CIA agent, then I begin connecting the dots and trying to figure out the best way to filter it visually. Once I have a concept, I’ll seek someone out who is a super-fan or expert and have them look it over. The most important thing to me is that someone can spend time with a poster, discovering something new every time they look at it. The best response I could get would be “oh man I can’t believe he put that on there!” from a fan of the movie.

Will be there some work inspired by video games, specially Super Mario, because we love that here. We just got a piece based on LA's Metro line in Super Mario form.

Man I would love to tackle video games more. I think it’s a niche that isn’t explored enough. I can tell you there are definitely two things coming up next year that are video game related, so stay tuned. I know the Super Mario Metro map you speak of and I’m jealous I didn’t think of it first. 

Tell us about the zombies.

They’re coming, so you better be prepared. Make a ‘go-bag’ and fill it with enough stuff for 2 weeks after evacuation. Stay fit. Aim for the head. I’ve been preparing for this my entire life. Not kidding.

Be sure to check out Anthony Petrie's work in person or when Super Punch or /Film posts on it.