'10048'

If you've been visiting this blog for a while, you know I'm a big fan of artist Ashley Anderson. I've written about a number of his works in the last year, including "Dark Cake" and "Enemy Bait."

Well, here's another fine example of this Atlantan's abilities--and it's quite a bit different from the previously mentioned pieces. It's bigger and more detailed, for starters. Also, it's got an edge and an incongruousness to it that isn't as obvious in his earlier works.



The imagery was pulled from the title sequence of Konami's NES classic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project, by the way.

Anderson says he used the imagery because he "liked the idea of how pre-September 11th games now carry an unintentional political charge if they contain any images at all of the Twin Towers.

"I am intrigued by how that kind of worldwide trauma even finds its way into the most innocuous corners of our experience," he adds. "There's a kind of echo that happens whenever we see images of the Twin Towers in old movies, photos, anything--even video games; it's a kind of sad, 'Well, there it is. We know what's coming.' And that's not even taking into account the active charging of such imagery after September 11th."

Go here to read more of what Anderson has to say about this particular piece, and go here to see more of his creations.

See also: 'Dark Cake' and 'Enemy Bait'

'Circus Charlie'

I've never been all that interested in playing Konami's Circus Charlie, but the (cropped) image on the right (see the full thing here), created by artist Jim Pluk, is making me re-think that position.

Digital prints of Pluk's piece, which was produced for the Press Start! art show, can be purchased here for $60.

If I had the dough, I'd snap one up in a heartbeat--along with Stéphane Barrette's 8-Bit Chaos, Christine Daigle's Game Over and Meka's Ghost and Goblins.

See also: 'Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?'

The t-shirt that got away

You'd have to have a heart of stone to not be tickled pink by the following t-shirt. It features Sony's original, boomerang-esque PS3 controller, for crying out loud--how can you not be tickled pink (or whatever color you prefer) by it?



Unfortunately, the shirt is no longer available at teefury.com. That's OK, though, as I think I'd rather pine for the overly expensive (they're $63 each) Clu Clu Land and Dr. Mario tees that are currently for sale at The King of Games.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

'Because we all want some serious shaft'

The line above serves as the subhead for a recent gamesradar.com article about eight videogame hunks who would prompt the site's presumably straight staff--or at least writer Jim Sterling--to "go gay."

For whom would Sterling and his gamesradar.com cohorts "switch teams"? Bridget (Guilty Gear X2), Nathan Drake (Uncharted), Zack Fair (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII), Alex Mercer (Prototype), Raziel (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), Solid Snake (Metal Gear), Frank West (Dead Rising) and Lau Wong (Bujingai).



The list contains a few head scratchers to be sure, but it's hard to complain when it was created by someone who (probably) doesn't consider himself a friend of Dorothy.

See also: 'Hubba hubba'

Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (The Shoot edition)

When the PlayStation Move launches around the world later this year, it will be accompanied by the imaginatively--and rather wittily--titled The Shoot. (After all, players are tasked with helping film a series of Hollywood action flicks.)

Interestingly (well, it's interesting to me), Sony's designers seem to be "pulling a Kirby" (kind of) when it comes to this title's cover art.

The cover that will appear on the European version of The Shoot, for instance, will feature the following family-friendly art:

The cover of the North American version of the game, on the other hand, will feature art that's decidedly more malevolent.

If I were forced at gunpoint to choose one over the other, I'd probably go with the European cover, as it seems to do a better job of showing off the game's various enemies and environments.

See also: 'Let's play: Which box art is better? (Metroid: Other M edition)'