In our ongoing coverage of Captain America’s alleged passing, two new developments have recently come to light. First, Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief of Marvel) sent a Cap’s shield over to Stephen Colbert for safekeeping, and we’ve got the video from the show to prove it. Secondly, there’s a strange new Punisher image that Marvel put out for circulation. See it side-by-side with the cover to Punisher: War Journal issue 7, and the video from The Colbert Report, after the jump.
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Mark Ramos-Nishita was a keyboard player who kept his bills paid as a carpenter. His job and his passion led him to building a home studio for the Beastie Boys, who were to record their 1992 album Check Your Head. Under the name Money Mark he became the unofficial 4th Beastie, adding his jazz, funk, and pop stylings to three of their albums and on many tours.
Money Mark did a few solo records, but none so loved by my ears as his 1998 release Push The Button which alternated instrumental tracks with songs, letting his voice be heard on wax for the first time. My copy of this CD is beaten more than any other in my collection, surviving countless trips, moves, and lending. Now Mark has a new record…

I happened to come across a new Money Mark record today, after not following him for a few years. This one, titled Brand New By Tomorrow carries that asthetic I loved about Push The Button. This is the video for “Pick Up The Pieces.”

I know we don’t talk music here at Powet that often, but music is one of those things people geek out on, and this is a guy who I’ve always wanted to see get a bigger following because of his instantly accessible and soulful music drawing from dozens of backgrounds. Money Mark’s got a few tunes and some more videos on his Myspace page.

The third (and final?) Hellboy Animated movie hasn’t been officially greenlit yet, but big man Tad Stones (what a manly name! – Er, I mean, the supervising director and co-writer on the previous two movies) decided to start talking about it on the Hellboy Animated blog. The blog post is largely about the process of deciding on and planning the story when it comes to creating these movies. Over the course of the discussion he gives us this delightful quote: “If Sword of Storms was the folklore side of Hellboy, Blood and Iron the vampire/Hammer Films side then The Phantom Claw is the mad scientist/weird technology aspect of Hellboy stories.”

He also shares the name The Phantom Claw, and he discusses Mike Mignola’s suggestion to use Lobster Johnson (see image to the left) in the movie. I’m guessing “The Phantom Claw” refers to him. (Please note: Lobster Johnson is not an actual lobster, nor does he have actual claws.)

EDIT: Its also worth noting that the second Hellboy installment, Blood and Iron, will air on Cartoon Network this Saturday at 7 PM EST.

A skit that went great until some guy made it all awkward.

Today, we take a look Thor and Hulk from the Marvel Legends Icons Line. This line features 14 inch tall figures with the same articulation of the standard 6 inch Marvel Legends line. You may remember taking a look at the first two figures in this line when we did the Powet Toys: Civil War edition.

If this game had been released over here, it would have been known as Secret of Mana 2. However translation problems, as well as the decreasing support for the Super Nintendo, kept this game from being released over here. However, I have it on good authority that an English translation may be floating around on the net. Because I don’t want the game companies coming down on us, that’s all I’ll say.

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Ever since Symphony of the Night, the Castlevania series has taken a heavy inspiration from Nintendo’s Metroid, particularly the portable entries. Even though they are all cut from similar cloth, the exploration-heavy format manages to keep itself fresh throughout each entry. The first DS entry in the series is no different. Springing from the events in 2003’s Aria of Sorrow, the game stars Soma Cruz, who must take down a cult out to resurrect Dracula. Once again players make use of the soul stealing system, which allows them to gain new attacks by stealing them from enemies. After beating a boss, players must quickly draw a arcane symbol in order to seal its power. If this isn’t done in time, then players must battle the enemy again. While this mechanic seems added in as an afterthought, it’s a fairly decent application of the DS’s touch screen capabilities. By now Castlevania fans will have made their way through this game’s sequel, Portrait of Ruin, so this review is dedicated to newer Castlevania players. This game is another solid entry in a solid franchise, but I long for the day when the series brings back the level-based format of the previous games.

Hold your horses, I’m not talking about your favorite Monday night show. I’m talking about this game coming out for Wii. This is a title from Suda-51, who did last gen’s Killer 7.

Now if anyone can explain just what the heck happened there, I’ll be impressed.