Phoenix Pt 2

Hey Everyone

Hope you all have been doing well and thanks to JQ for posting up his Chaos Knights from paintedfigs. JQ and I will be joining our talents this summer to get a batch of photos together, with new stuff from the both of us. From experience, our best shots and experiences come from working together, and I am thankful to have a geek partner-in-crime like JQ :) Apparently JQ is looking into being more involved in the local warhammer scene and I think that is absolutely awesome.

Today, I will be making another post on Kotobukiya's Bishoujo version of Phoenix/Jean Grey...this time with a different space background and a focus on her face. I have to admit the figure is growing on me the more I look at it.

Close-up shot of Phoenix's face, a mix of Western and Anime styles.

A half-body shot of Phoenix, showing the intricate detail of her waist sash.

This also makes me reminisce about the X-Men Animated Series back in 1990s, which was a huge part of my childhood and remember being super-excited whenever the title screen and theme came up on TV (with "available in stereo" in the bottom). The X-Men theme is one of the best (or probably is) that I have seen in my rather short life, the introduction of each character really captures my imagination:



One thing I notice, people usually comment that they miss the cartoons of the "old times" = 80's or 90's, and not the newer cartoons that are being produced now. I don't watch much cartoons now and I have to say the few I've seen show that production values may have increased...with improved computer graphics that give cleaner images/smoother animation. Plot-wise I can't judge because I haven't seen enough yet. This is probably the same with video games, where people do bemoan the past greatness of the C&C series, or other greats like Diablo and Doom.

It's my guess that we are seeing an increased commercialization of the games/cartoon/movie industry, the younger generation has more spending power than before and especially for gaming...it is no longer an exclusive domain of geeks or hardcore fans. Companies are moving into catering to a popular tastes which equals money and profit. So we lose out on creative impulse and get fed tried and tested formulas. Call of Duty is a fine example...from a WW2 shooter trying to recreate accurately battlefield experiences, it has become an "action movie shooter" of sorts.

For cartoons I can't really say if I know any solid examples of this commercialization/"dumbing down" of cartoons today. At least I can say I can't watch current cartoons on Cartoon Network without cringing, and the current Batman series doesn't look as impressive as the animated series back in the '90s. Toplessrobot.com does give a list of 10 cartoons that are "making kids dumber". You can check it out here.

Right now, I am on vacation with my family and my toys are all packed up...which means I might not be able to put up new posts for awhile, but I will do so whenever I can. Thanks again for your continued support, and JQ and I are happy to share our geekdom with you all :)