Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Thundarr the Barbarian OFFICIAL DVD release on Sept. 28!

Lords of Light, this is amazing news. At long last, Thundarr the Barbarian is getting an official DVD release...and less than a week away! Thanks to daDiceGuy who clued me in to this announcement at TVShowsOnDVD.com, it appears our favorite post-apocalyptic barbarian, Mok, and sorceress will be featured in a four-disc set collecting the entire series. Check out the official box art to the right.

And here's the post from TVShowsOnDVD with all the info:

Overnight a Twitter post from the Warner Archive team has confirmed that the title is indeed coming from the WBshop's Manufacture-on-Demand program, and provided a ship date that is just one week away from today: September 28th! They also showed off the box art for this 4-DVD set. The title is not up for pre-order yet, so pricing hasn't been revealed.

So in less than a week, you'll be able to finally get your hands on an official Warner Brothers/Hanna Barbara release of this classic cartoon! Stay tuned and I'll post ordering info and prices as soon as the page goes live.

EDIT: And the ordering page went live. Price is $29.95. Here you go:

WBShop.com: Thundarr the Barbarian ordering page

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I Told You To Keep Your @*#! Hands Off My Mug!

Pictured above is a rotated view of a mug I stumbled across at the local flea market. The plastic mug (aged, but new and never used) is about, oh, 7-8 inches high with a yellow handle and yellow snap-on lid. There is a straw hole in the lid. Looks like it may have been a premium given away at a fast food restaurant or convenience store.

As you can see from the photos, the image is delightfully apocalyptic with a wild-haired, wild-eyed survivalist dressed in a tattered denim vest with a ammo bandolier crossing his chest. In one hand, he clutches a Bowie knife; in the other, he fires off some kind of automatic weapon. And during all of the chaos, he screams "I Told You To Keep Your @*#! Hands Off My Mug!"

Anyway, I grabbed the only two he had. And I'm givin' them away. Want one? Here's how to enter the giveaway: Just post in a Comment to this post with what you think this guy's name is. (I've been calling him "Cawdor" -- some of you may get the reference...) I'll draw two random winners sometime next week. Please post only once in the thread. Multiple entries are not allowed. Make sure I can somehow reach you via email if you win! I'll ship internationally, so everyone feel free to enter. Good luck. And remember:

I Told You To Keep Your @*#! Hands Off My Mug!"

Soundtrack For "The Colony" Available At Amazon

I always like to have some kind of ambient music playing in the background when I'm running a game. I feel it helps put the players into the right state of mind as well as giving the game a more cinematic feel. And if I can match up the music with what's happening on the table, more's the better.

One problem I've always run into though: the post-apocalyptic genre is the hardest to musically set up. There are a buhmillion, kajillion "high fantasy" soundtracks out there. Sci-fi and space opera games have a ton of musical resources. Even the superhero milieu is fairly simple to score. But try to find any "post-apocalyptic" music, and you're limited to either thrash metal groups, 1950s jazz pieces, or odd discordant electronica.

It's no secret I'm a fan of "The Colony" - Discovery Channel's post-apocalyptic reality "experiment" now in its second season. What I didn't know was that the original score music to Season One was released as a set of MP3s, downloadable at Amazon. There are 30 pieces of set music, each running about 2 minutes, giving you about a hour's worth of music.

The music is nicely evocative of the show and its environment. And because the music was scored to accompany certain scenes and events, there are a host of different "stings" you can use depending on situations such as combat, exploration, construction, etc. The song titles give you an indication of the scenarios they represent: Market Raid, Marauders, Junk and Scraps, Someone is Watching, Unwelcome. At only $8.99 for all 30, it's a good deal for the perfect soundtrack for your Mutant Future campaigns. Listen to the samples at Amazon and let me know what you think.