Cosplayer Spotlight: John Wieger aka PepMaster

By Nolan P. Smith Welcome to the first ever Cosplayer Spotlight on Pastrami Nation! Since spreading the word on our new spotlight for cosplayers, we have received a great response! If you would like to be considered for the Cosplayer Spotlight, Email your cosplay pics to nolan@pastramination.com. We are pleased to announce our first spotlight: John Wieger aka PepMaster! Location: […]

Ant-Man Movie Review: The Little Big Blockbuster

Review by Nolan P. Smith (Apple Valley)—When Marvel Studios announced they would be making a film based on the bite sized Ant-Man, many fans groaned in disbelief. A movie dedicated to a micro sized hero that nobody knows nor cares about? Marvel must be have lost their creative minds. So how does the Ant-Man stack up in the hollowed halls […]

Celebrate 10 Years of David Petersen’s ‘Mouse Guard’ with ‘The Art of Mouse Guard: 2005-2015’

By Staff Reports Archaia, an imprint of award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios, is pleased to announce the culmination of 10 years of David Petersen’s beloved Mouse Guard in The Art of Mouse Guard: 2005-2015. Since its debut in 2005, David Petersen’s Mouse Guard has been a New York Times bestseller, won numerous Eisner and Harvey awards, and has become an influential […]

SDCC 2015: Square Enix- Play Arts Kai

By Nolan P. Smith Photos by Jason T. Smith Square Enix showed off their latest offerings from their popular Play Arts Kai line of collectible figures. They showed off variations of the Dark Knight himself, Batman, as well as additions to the Marvel Comics line, including Venom, Captain America and Black Widow, all which had prototypes on display. Check out […]

SDCC 2015: Bluefin- Dragonball Z, Samurai Star Wars, Iron Man and More

By Nolan P. Smith Photos by Jason T. Smith and Nolan P. Smith Bluefin had two booths at SDCC (Bluefin and Bluefin/Tamashii Nation), featuring a load of various products the company is importing stateside. These include the popular Dragonball Z figures, the Super Mario Bros. figures, the samurai inspired Star Wars line, Iron Man figures, models featuring ships from One […]

2015 J-Pop Summit Announces Tech-Focused Keynotes, Panels, Pitch Events and “Idea-thons” Focusing on Internet of Things (IoT) and the Global Maker Movement

By Staff Reports The 2015 J-POP SUMMIT, the Japanese pop culture event held annually in San Francisco, augments its just-announced “Interactive Pavilion,” with a special series of technology-focused keynotes, panel discussions, “idea-thons,” and pitch events focusing on the burgeoning “Maker Movement” and the evolving Internet of Things (IoT) to be led by several notable technology luminaries from San Francisco Bay […]

SDCC 2015: Dark Horse Announces New Joss Whedon Series & More at Comic-Con

By Staff Reports Dark Horse Comics took San Diego Comic-Con International 2015 by storm with a compelling advance look at stories coming up in its publishing line. Joss Whedon Announces The Twist! Finally answering the question “Why isn’t there a Victorian female Batman?” Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity creator Joss Whedon announced his newest upcoming comic book series, The […]

SDCC 2015: Starz Announces Premiere Date for “Ash Vs Evil Dead”, Releases First Live Action Trailer

By Staff Reports STARZ announced the highly anticipated premiere of original series “Ash vs Evil Dead” on Saturday, October 31 at 9 PM ET/PT and released the first live action trailer during the series’ Comic Con panel in San Diego.  The 10-episode first season of the half-hour series is executive produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell, the original […]

SDCC 2015: Universal Studios Hollywood Brings the Terror of Crimson Peak, from Visionary Director Guillermo del Toro, to Life in an All-Original “Halloween Horror Nights” Maze Inspired by Legendary and Universal Pictures’ Highly-Anticipated Gothic Romance

By Staff Reports Legendary and Universal Pictures’ much-anticipated Crimson Peak, directed, co-written and produced by celebrated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, will come to life in a terrifying new “Halloween Horror Nights” maze beginning Friday, September 18, 2015, at Universal Studios Hollywood, it was announced at the San Diego Comic Con. Crimson Peak opens in theaters on October 16. “Guillermo del […]

SDCC 2015- Hasbro: Marvel Legends

By Nolan P. Smith Photos by Nolan P. Smith Hasbro showed off the latest offerings at the San Diego Comic Con today, which included the latest Marvel Legends series for Spider-Man, featuring Beetle, Speed Demon, Morbius, Ben Reilly Spider-Man, Jack O Lantern, Todd McFarlane-esque Venom, Spider-Gwen with a build a figure of Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man! Also shown is […]

Universal Cable Productions and Comic Book Giant Dark Horse Entertainment Sign First Look Deal

By Staff Reports Universal Cable Productions (UCP) continues to expand its powerhouse producing talent and build upon the studio’s genre footprint by signing a first-look deal with legendary comic book publisher, Dark Horse Entertainment (“The Mask,” “Hellboy”).  The deal announced today will focus on developing and producing scripted programming from their extensive comics library as well as new material.   Discussions […]

Sonnet Realm Films Announces Actors Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn to Return to the Aliens Universe in the Tribute Film ALIEN IDENTITY

By Staff Reports ALIEN IDENTITY is a Tribute Feature Film to the Alien Universe. It plays heavily on the aesthetics of H.R. Giger and takes place 14 years after the events of Aliens, with an alternate timeline. The director wants to explore further into the unknown, discovering uncharted territory, introducing new heroes, villains, and ideas, while remaining faithful to the […]

Image Comics at SDCC, Exclusives Announced

By Staff Reports Image Comics (booth #2729) is pleased to be at San Diego Comic-Con this year from Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 12. VARIANTS SOLD AT THE IMAGE BOOTH (booth #2729): CHEW #50 by John Layman & Rob Guillory, $10 INJECTION #3 by Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey, $10 MYTHIC #2 by Phil Hester & John McCrea, cover art […]

Warner Bros. Consumer Products Licensees Take on Comic Con International; San Diego

By Staff Reports Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) is heading to Comic-Con International: SanDiego (SDCC) 2015 in support of its licensing partners as they feature exclusive products and giveaways throughout the four-day event.  From Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to DC Super Hero Girls to Scooby-Doo and more, fun offerings can be found for fans of all ages.  “Year […]

Bestselling Novelist Chuck Palahniuk Joins the Cast of Fight Club 2, the Acclaimed Comic Book Mini-series from Dark Horse Comics

By Staff Reports Timed to the launch of San Diego Comic-Con International, Dark Horse Comics announced today that bestselling novelist Chuck Palahniuk will be a character in the acclaimed ten issue FIGHT CLUB 2 mini series, which is written by Palahniuk, illustrated by Cameron Stewart and colored by Dave Stewart, with covers by David Mack. Issue 3 of the series, […]

Anime Expo 2015 Amazes, Attendance at an All Time High

By Nolan P. Smith Photos by Nolan P. Smith and Jason T. Smith (Los Angeles)- From July 2nd through July 5th, people from across the world all came together for the love of anime and manga as the world renowned Anime Expo celebrated it’s 24th anniversary. Presented by The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the 2015 Anime […]

10 Tips to Survive Your First Convention

By Nolan P. Smith (Victor Valley)—The summer convention season is in full effect. With Anime Expo, Comic Con International- San Diego, and Disney’s D23 Convention all taking place this summer in Southern California, many attendees will be first time con-goers, and that can be quite the shock. What do you bring? What do you leave at home? What can you […]

24th Annual Anime Expo Takes Over Los Angeles This Weekend

By Nolan P. Smith This weekend, the Los Angeles Convention Center is completely taken over by cosplayers, musicians, artists, animators, and more as the Anime Expo brings forth a convention that Southern California waits for every year. Presented by The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the convention will host over 100,000 attendees between July 2nd through July […]

SDCC 2015: Dark Horse Comics Enlists Larry Hama to pen Call of Duty: Black Ops III Comic Book Series

By Staff Reports Dark Horse Comics, Activision Publishing, Inc., and Treyarch have teamed up to deliver a thrilling comic book series written by decorated comics veteran Larry Hama (G.I. Joe) and drawn by Marcelo Ferreira (Transformers, TMNT)! The Call of Duty®: Black Ops III comic book series follows an elite group of cybernetically enhanced soldiers as they wage a secret […]

Valiant and Swyft Media Announce Valiant Heroes Emoji Digital Stickers – Available Now in the iOS App Store and Google Play

By Staff Reports Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce it is working with Swyft Media, the company driving the emojification of brand marketing, to bring Valiant’s best-selling comic book icons directly to fans’ mobile devices around the world with the Valiant Heroes Emoji – the first in a new line of digital sticker packs featuring emoji-style renditions of X-O Manowar, […]