Frank and Drake Redefines “Urban Legend” with Otherworldly Roommates

Not all tall tales stand the test of time, but something’s…different here. An urbanized version of Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula live together in Frank and Drake, the rotoscoped branching narrative adventure developed by Appnormals — the award-winning creators of STAY — and published by Chorus Worldwide (Coffee Talk series, early 2023 indie darling A Space for the Unbound) — but they have no idea.

My Psycho Sweet Halloween 2010: Part 5: Details Details

Halloween is just around the corner. Actually it's down the street screaming my name, so I'm in "finish these fucking costumes mode!" The last few days were just about the little details...perfecting the color in the cape and shirt..fraying the ends of the bat cape and finding a way for them to do that creepy curling up thing so they look a little unnatural..making the fingers on my gloves pointy..finding the perfect accessory (which I did but I'm not revealing that until the full costume is worn on Halloween)..glossing the Casey Jones mask..TURTLE COMMUNICATORS!!! ..all the little stuff that is going to take the Red Rain Batman and Casey Jones costumes from "Oh that's nice" to "HOLY SHIT THAT RULES!!" I can never do anything half assed. So Here's a bunch of pictures to show you what I've been up to to get these two costumes to a respectable level!















If you want to see the costumes in person, I'll be Casey Jones with Undead April O'Neil at the Asbury, NJ zombie walk this Saturday and Red Rain Batman at the New York Village Halloween Parade on Halloween night.

My Psycho Sweet Halloween 2010: Part 4: Makeup Test

The challenge? SWEAT. The enemy of the geek. In a Batman cowl, sweat is more than an enemy. It is one with your head. Since I'm going to be slippery mess inside that rubber torture device, I decided to go very minimal with any makeup on the exposed parts of my face. I did a slight rubbing of black under my eyes with red liner smudged in and on the inside of my eyelids. Of course I did this after poking my eyes 16 times trying to get my contacts in. I'm getting better at it!! I also did a little white to pale out the area around my mouth and chin. I might go less when I do the actual costume because creme makeup always just seems to look like cream makeup and when I sweat for an hour...it will make me even creamier. I was tempted to use longer werewolf teeth I got from Scarecrow since Red Rain Batman sports sont enormous fangs. They seemed really uncomfortable, so I prepped the old standard ones and they look fine and are fairly comfortable. Test complete!

I also had the Casey Jones mask come in from Thailand. In the plus category, it looks the way its supposed to and feels durable. The straps are very high quality. In the minus, he rushed it out. With a little sanding and a coat of paint to give it a hockey mask sheen, it can look great. Probably still the cheapest, best option for those looking to do it up Casey style. I also got the golf bag in the mail and thankfully, it is light weight and came with a padded strap! Now I just need to fill it up with weapons of sports destruction.

My Psycho Sweet Halloween 2010: Part 3: Cape Test

Elieen Cleary dropped in with the cape/cloak for a test run with the cowl. The concern was that the spot where it joins wouldn't cover the bottom of the cowl. On conventional Bat Suits, the cowl goes over the cape so it looks like the comic style that is all one piece. My design has the cowl on my shoulders, the bottom covered by the cape for a more medieval appearance. I was a little concerned when I first got the enormous cape on my shoulders. The gathering Eileen did at first give the appearance that I've got Bat-tumors on my shoulders or some kind of puffy shoulder look one would sport on the high fashion runway. When I pushed the cape back, the material around the shoulders laid down exactly the way it was meant to. GENIUS!! It also hangs very well in the back..less like a cape and more like folded in bat wings. An unexpected surprise! Unfortunately, the gloves just aren't working out, so I'm on the hunt for Begins style gloves I can alter the fingers on to make them come to points. I'm determined not to do REAL work tomorrow (my birthday!), so it seems like the perfect time to do a makeup test with the fangs and eyes in. I'll post pics when I have em'!

My Psycho Sweet Halloween 2010: Part 2: The Pieces

In our last episode, I showed off the concepts for this year's Halloween costumes; Red Rain Batman and Casey Jones. I've redesigned the Red Rain costume because I'm not crazy about the slightly modified Bat blue and grey suit and you won't catch me dead in spandex. Casey Jones is a no brainer and I'm not shooting for super accuracy, so he stays pretty close to the source material. Here's where we are at...

Red Rain Batman: The Reeves Arkham Asylum Video Game inspired cowl has arrived and is sweeeeet. After a trial and error in getting the damned thing on, I was very happy with the effect, though I'm not sure if the little space inside will be an issue. Looks pretty good tho! Watch for pics with the contacts and teeth in for a future installment. The tall ears on this cowl really make it work. Eileen Cleary has just finished the first pass on the cape/cloak and will tackle the gathering around the shoulders next. We discussed how it might cover the bottom of the cowl and toyed with the idea of adding buckles, giving it a more gothic/medieval feel, but we are going to do a test run before we alter the design. Also in the house are the belt, boots and a chest piece for under armor, courtesy of a killer deal from Pastadude of The League of Heroes forum. I may swap out the small pouches for the larger, blocky vintage ammo pouches I used for Deadpool last year. I also scored a MASSIF Military shirt for a sort of practical battle gear shirt. Fits very nice over the armor. Now what do I use to paint on the bloody bat symbol that won't stain it forever, after I've died the whole shirt grey?



Casey Jones: Mask coming from Thailand..Golf Bag coming from Florida..sports wrappings and gloves from KMart and i've started the hysterical task of making all his weapons out of cardboard along with April O'Neil's camera for lori. Why? Because it is fucking funny.

My Psycho Sweet Halloween 2010: Part 1: Concept

This Halloween I got it in my head I would be Red Rain Batman. Why? Because it combines two of my favorite things...Horror and Mother Fucking Batman. Shortly after, Lori decided she was going to be April O'Neil from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which of course meant she needed a Casey Jones or risk looking like a false nerd. I couldn't let that happen. While happy to do it up as Casey (which of course meant a new work out because that's how we do it), I was well aware the costume is super easy and since there are conventions every weekend in October save Halloween weekend...it would be a TWO COSTUME YEAR!!! Woooooo. Yes, I do sleep with women from time to time. Why do you ask?

Costume 1:

Red Rain Batman - The original design for this costume is the basic comic look..blue and grey..with vampyness. Lame. So what we are doing is a more cloak like cape made from leather like vinyl that gathers around the shoulders creating more imposing bulk but also a more gothic/ medieval feel with tattered ends. The cowl is on order from Reeves..using his Arkham model for the taller ears and pointier nose. The gloves are being made from scratch with "Begins" style fins and pointed, slightly extended fingers for a sort of Nosferatu look and metal spikes that can be slid into housings on top. The rest of the costume is fairly basic with a Massif military shirt I'll be dying grey with slight padding under to exaggerate physique,knee high boots, black skinny jeans, a fairly normal canvas belt with larger ammo pouches and a more "Begins" looking buckle. I'll also be mixing up some fake blood to paint the bat symbol onto my shirt chest as if he paints the symbol back on after he kills an enemy as a ritual. Lastly I've got the vamp teeth and yellow contacts to complete the effect. I may also do some dried blood around my mouth for extra creep factor. The super talented Eileen Cleary is tackling the sewing. She kicks much ass.

Costume 2:

Casey Jones - He's bad ass and thankfully, its not really important to have a comic accurate costume as he just rocks a sleeveless shirt, fingerless workout gloves and sports wrappings, track pants, sneakers and rock and roll hair. Then you grab a golf bag, fill it with sports weapons and slap on a mask..which is the tricky part because a normal hockey mask won't cut it if you are a self respecting nerd. Luckily, God made Thailand and they make a mask that works. Rock.



More soon!

The Terror of Monster High

Mattel's first in house line just might be more terrifying than they'd bargained for. Before the Bratz dolls line was exterminated, they took some DNA and spliced it with the frozen sperm of the Universal Monsters. Now THAT is a horror movie I'd cringe from. Mattel becomes the masters of your nightmares with...MONSTER HIGH!!

For the first time in company history, Mattel will roll out a new intellectual property, Monster High™, across a number of diverse consumer products categories simultaneously at launch. This new franchise targeting tween and teen girls brings together the hip teenage descendants of the world’s most famous monsters to brave the trials and tribulations of high school. The property delivers rich content and relatable storytelling via publishing, web, animation and live-action theatrical entertainment and launches consumer products in notable categories including apparel and accessories, and toys. Mattel has partnered with best-in-class category experts including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, best-selling author Lisi Harrison, Universal Pictures, Justice® and Party City to bring this property to life.

“We know tween and teen girls need to immerse themselves in stories and worlds as they engage in new properties and trends,” said Tim Kilpin, General Manager of Mattel Brands. “With Monster High, we are confident that through the development of relatable characters and clever storytelling, this property will resonate with girls of all ages.”

Grounded in a fun and humorous storyline, the frighteningly fashionable students at Monster High capture all the awkward moments that teens experience in their high school years, the powerful bonds of friendship and the challenges of fitting in – all delivered through a “monster” chic aesthetic and tone.



Monster High reaches girls via a line up of all–star products and partnerships enabling teens and tweens to discover the brand in their own way and engage with the Monster High characters and storyline through multiple points of entry.

“Understanding the need for multiple touch points to successfully engage today’s complex tween, the rich characters and storyline of Monster High made the brand the ideal property with which to launch our new franchise model – a sustainable business strategy that we believe is the future of brand management,” said Kilpin.

The robust offerings and impressive first-year partner roster for Monster High include:
Monster High Book Series by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers:
• Publishing: Fitting in is out and freaky is about to get fabulous! Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Mattel have entered into a multi-year, multi-book global partnership to publish a series of books written by #1 New York Times best-selling young adult author Lisi Harrison (The Clique, Alphas). Monster High, the first book in the series, goes on sale September 1, 2010.

Online and Entertainment:
• Live-Action Feature Film with Universal Pictures: Bringing the Monster High characters to the big screen, Universal Pictures has acquired the film rights to create a live-action theatrical musical. Award-winning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray, Chicago) will team with writing pair Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (“Smallville,” The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) on the film.
• Monster High Website: The Monster HighTM website offers an interactive platform to further explore the world of Frankie Stein™ and all of her freakishly fashionable friends. The site features scary cool games and activities rolling out throughout 2010, as well as introduces the characters of Monster High through original animated webisodes and witty bios highlighting their personality traits, “freaky flaws” and monster heritage.
• Animated Webisodes: Mattel has developed a series of short animated webisodes which highlight the trials and tribulations of a group of monster chic teens that come face-to-face with the awkward, yet relatable, moments of high school. New webisodes rollout on monsterhigh.com each Friday through the end of July 2010.
• Animated Special Featuring Music by “American Idol” Allison Iraheta: Mattel will develop a 30-minute animated special with music from Allison Iraheta, season eight “American Idol” star, whose pop-goth style is a natural fit for the brand. Iraheta’s songs “Scars” and “Friday I’ll Be Over You” touch on the challenges of “fitting in,” a recurring theme within the Monster High property. The special is set to air this fall on a variety of mediums including online, broadcast and mobile. (Fall 2010)



Apparel and Accessories:
• Apparel with Justice®: Just in time for the back-to-school shopping season, Mattel has partnered with Justice to launch a full line of Monster High products for tweens. The edgy, fashion-forward offerings include apparel, lifestyle accessories, back-to-school items and jewelry. Justice will also feature Monster High and its webisodes on the Tween Network in-store media screens, brand ads, the Justice catazine and on the company’s website. (Available in store July 2010)
• Costumes with Party City: An exciting partnership and extremely organic extension for Monster High, Mattel has partnered with Party City to launch tween and teen character costumes for Frankie Stein™, Clawdeen Wolf™ and Draculaura™ complete with wigs. (Available September 2010 exclusively at Party City)
• Licensed Consumer Products Partners: High IntenCity, Accessory Innovations, Ashko Group and ACI International have each designed a line of freaky chic products from fashion bags, hair accessories and jewelry to socks and slippers that mix edgy fashion with softer lace and charm accents to give tween girls killer style. (Available in Fall 2010)
Toys:
• Mattel Toy Line: Mattel introduces a multi-category toy line, anchored in a collection of drop dead gorgeous fashion dolls, which also includes Monster High-themed plush, electronics, role play and novelty items. (Available at mass retailers July 2010)

Please visit www.monsterhigh.com for more information.

The First Twilight: Eclipse Trailer

Ahhh yes..the sparkling in the trees continues!!

Toy Death: Morbius RIP

I've been digging through all my Marvel Legends scaled figures to stuff them into the new shelves I've finally put up and reliving the joy of every one I purchased. Today i went through the Spider-Man box and at the bottom..made a gruesome discovery.























It seems I didn't realize, at the time, that Mikey's face is made of a very soft rubber which smushed in the zip lock bag and over time, became flat and smooth. It's like a horror movie. I want to stand over him and go NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Such a crime. So..I'll be shopping for a new Morbius at the next show it seems. ~sigh~

I'd also like to send a get well soon shout out to Bobby Drake whose crappy leg joint gave out in the box and when I tried to put it back on the pin, it all came out. Sorry Bobby! We'll miss you, Spidey's amazing legless friend.