Screen Shot 2013-08-03 at 2.13.13 PMAfter seeing Geoff Boucher at Entertainment Weekly start a Twitter hashtag earlier this month called “Great Moments in Fake Hall H history” TORn staffer Justin wondered what a similar series based around The Hobbit animated movies of the ’70s would have looked like. Here are his thoughts.


 

Continue reading “Fake moments in Comic-con Hall H – the 1970s LOTR and Hobbit”

Road To DragonCon

It’s time once again to join our merry travelers LIVE for the 3rd Annual Road To DragonCon! More meet ups, more fans, more live streaming discussion as the crew drive across the country experiencing America through a Middle-earth lens. LAX to ATL and Back Again, Saturday August 24 – Thursday September 4. Over the next few days we will release details of the route, fan meet ups (or moots) and ways you can get involved!

Doug Brochu Beardomancy

#Road2DCon is new this year on many fronts. Along for the adventure with TORN Tuesday’s Justin is the team behind the Beardomancy101 podcast (iTunes): Ryan Moran and Doug Brochu! You may know Doug from the TV shows ‘Sonny With A Chance’ and ‘So Random,’ but we know him as a loyal Ringer whose TORN Tuesday appearance is the most-watched episode in the show’s two years.

 

Continue reading “Announcing the 3rd Annual ‘Road To DragonCon’ & Annual Fundraiser”

hobbittrollbertblrg2Dating back to Comic-Con 2012 when Weta Workshop had the three giant Trolls guarding their booth these three trolls have been a huge hit with fans around the world. Tonight, via their most recent newsletter, fans are getting a chance to add another one of these mini-versions to their collections. Bert the Troll is joining Tom the Troll who was released as an in-stock item during Comic-Con 2013. You can Pre-Order Bert the Troll right now for $75 with him shipping in November/December of this year. The third member of this trio William will be coming up for Pre-Order before October to complete your trio of Trolls.

Weta designer Paul Tobin
Weta designer Paul Tobin

TORn staffer Justin caught up with Weta conceptual designer Paul Tobin at the San Diego Comic-Con last month and scored this long, informative chat about the intense effort that went into the design of the dwarves of the Company, and about John Howe’s immense artistic talent.

As well as working on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy, Tobin has worked on James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and Andrew Adamson’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008). Continue reading “Weta’s Paul Tobin on dwarf design and the sublime skill of John Howe”

Spawn by Todd McFarlane.
Spawn by Todd McFarlane.
Recently at the san Diego Comic-Con we had a brief chat with famed cartoonist Todd McFarlane and asked him whether he thought Tolkien’s work would work in comic book form.

Here’s what Todd had to say:

It’s an interesting question now… and here would be my answer: I think that Peter Jackson has now spoiled us. Right? So up until we actually got to see the movies — I thought in brilliant fashion — that we were just sort of imagining …

I mean there’d been hints … but nothing that had stuck globally. So we [only] had our imagination, and now that Peter’s put that imagination into a sort of footprint, that if you put into comic book [then] to some extent a lot of people would be measuring back up [against the films].

Check out the video below for the complete interview!

LegolasDuring Comic-Con 2013, and my multiple viewings of artist Jerry Vanderstelt’s booth, I got to see him in the process of working on his next print. Yesterday, via his Facebook Page, Jerry showed the world what I saw during Comic-Con, and let folks know that its in approvals. This stunning piece captures Legolas Greenleaf from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Once this goes up for sale you can count on us letting you all know, so you can add this amazing piece of art to your Middle-earth collection.