Take a Motorcity: Drive for Frees...

In anticipation of Motorcity's premiere next month, Disney released a free gaming app. It's pretty bad-ass. You can fight robots...

Motorcity - April 30th - Disney XD - Be there

So it's official - more down than Downtown, and more mega than Megas, Motorcity is coming to Disney XD on April 30th. If you want to see what we've be up to for the past two years, tune in.

Here's the link and official synopsis:

"This animated series, set in a futuristic Detroit after it has been purchased and built into Detroit Deluxe by evil billionaire Abraham Kane, premieres MONDAY, APRIL 30 on Disney XD. Kane, having banned personal freedoms including automobile transportation, is ultimately challenged by a group of rebels, The Burners, led by 17-year-old Mike Chilton. The Burners retreat to an underground city, customize their fleet of hot rods and pursue their quest to stop Kane from taking over the world. “Motorcity” is executive-produced and directed by noted producer Chris Prynoski (“Metalocalypse”). Craig Lewis (“Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends”) is the story editor and John O’Bryan (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”) and George Krstic (“Star Wars: Clone Wars”) are the writers. The series voice cast is Reid Scott, Nate Torrence, Kate Micucci, Kel Mitchell, Jess Harnell, Brian Doyle Murray, Jim Breuer and Mark Hamill. 'Motorcity' is a production of Robin Red Breast, Inc. and Disney Television Animation."

Anime Conji 2012

I'll be speaking on a few panels at Anime Conji in March. Should be fun. And nerdy. But mostly nerdy. Prizes for best Megas cosplay!

Oh yes I can...

Working on a new original pilot for Nickelodeon - it's got a robot, and a bunch of bad guys, and it's going to kick all kinds of ass. More updates soon...

Phat!

Rolling Along...

Hope 2011 is treating everyone well. Lots of stuff going on here - the space-pirate script is moving along at SyFy, graphic novel project is about to lock an artist, and the current show I'm writing for is looking amazing - Megas fans should be very happy...

And speaking of, above is a great piece of art sent in by Sean Raymond. You'll notice the modifications that bring Coop's tech up to date. Thanks Sean!

Gone But Not Forgotten...

IGN's latest Lost in Translation blog post gives Megas a shout-out, "Even though it came out in 2004, the series also makes numerous pop-culture references that have stood the test of time (well, as much a test as 6 years is…) well."

Damn, it's been that long since we were shut down?

Well, keep checking back in for more badassery and news on upcoming projects for 2011, including Motorcity - a sci-fi action series that'll be re-uniting the team behind Megas, Orion - a live-action show for SyFy, and a as-yet-unnamed 100 page graphic novel project so chock full of giant robots, it is destined to blow minds.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

A Very Merry Megas Halloween...

An amazing Megas costume made by Jeff Smith for his son Tyler. The fingers move and there is a speaker system that was blasting riffs from the show. And if that don't say love, I don't know what does!

Rock on guys!

And Japan Too, I Guess...

Interesting article on Z-Chan.com about the cross-pollination of anime, that not only mentions my pals' Emmy-winning series Afro Samurai, but another much more lowbrow show about giant robots bashing the crap out of each other...

Numa Coop

In honor of Comic Con, I present to you...Numa Coop.

Hot & Heavy Q & A

Part two of Screw Attack's Megas Q&A - yeah I know it sounds sexy, but it's actually not.

Enjoy!

Megas Media Round-Up

Strange Kids dig giant robots, yet another list that pairs us with Invader Zim on the awesome scale, and part one of a Q&A on the genesis of Megas with yours truly.

Wichita Digs Giant Robots

Megas got a bit o' love in today's Examiner.com article, Americanime 101: Megas XLR.

To quote Wichita, "The show aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, back when it ran on Saturday nights. Why the show was cancelled remains a mystery as it was a great show that had a lot of potential. It had great action, a rock oriented score, and was packed to the brim with great jokes and dialogue."

Always cool to see the show bob up here and there in the pop culture mind-stream.

Anime Expo Panel - July 3rd @8PM

Anyone interested in the animation industry, how to break in, and/or anime's influence on domestic productions - come on down to Anime Expo on July 3rd, room LP2 at 8PM as a number of my colleagues in the biz including William Feng of Warner Bros. Animation and I will be talking about the joy and the horror of making cartoons...

UPDATED: So the panel is officially titled "Breaking In! Working in Animation!," Room LACC 502.

Wait for it...

These guys got it right. Proof that chicks do indeed dig giant robots.

And we dig chicks who dig giant robots...

Megas FAQ - The Anniversary Edition

(This pic makes me happy - check out the attention to detail: Mega-slushes, Coop with like six burgers, and they're at a Five Guy's Burgers - one of my favorite joints. Well done gents & Neko Sasuke Kun!)

In honor of Megas' upcoming Sixth Anniversary on May 1st, here's the answers to the six most popular questions that have crawled their way across the internets to my inbox.

Without further ado...

6. Where can I see Megas?

Officially, you can find both seasons for purchase and download on iTunes, Zune and Roadrunner. Unofficially, I know Youtube has all the episodes posted, but I think they' re cut into thirds. There also seem to be quite a few foreign sites that host full episodes, with varying levels of quality.

And I've heard from a number of fans that Megas seems to still be on the air in various countries across the globe - just not here in the U.S....because that would make all the other shows look bad...

5. Where's the Megas toys?

I was actually in a Toys R Us a few years ago, hunting for some damn Star Wars exclusive repaint that Hasbro was tricking me into buying for the sixth time when I overheard a distraught mom asking the customer service rep this very same question. And all I can tell ya, is what I told her, and I'm sure you'll be just as pissed - there really are none.

If you missed out on the online exclusive four-inchers, or the DC Direct statue you're pretty much out S.O.L. Jolibee put out a couple of items a few years ago with their happymeal-style promotions, and although they rocked, I wouldn't really class them as toys. (More like trippy cup lids).

Now should Megas ever be revisited, this may change, but as of right now - ebay, or making your own customs is the way to go.

4. How did the soundtrack come together?

We ran out of money. Simple as that. Our soundtrack budget was pretty much zero, so after we blew what we had on the opening theme, we were forced to use the Turner Library to pull almost all of our tracks and needle-drops - that's why you can hear "Megas" music on CNN, TBS, TNT, etc. Luckily, Turner owned a massive music collection that actually had a lot of great tracks - tracks that made for excellent robot-fightin' mood-music.

And no, there are no plans to release a soundtrack - although it would cost CN about two bucks to do it since they already own the rights to all the tracks...

3. Will there be a third season?

I've learned never to say never in this business - stranger things have happened, and although there has been some interest in revisiting Megas by a third party, it seems that CN kinda has their dance card full of robot shows currently. Also, since they own the rights, and hold all the cards, it falls to them if they want to do anything with Coop's little DIY project.

If it were up to us, we'd be well into our sixth season right now, and in fact when CN pulled the plug, we were writing a feature and roughing out a third season.

2. Where is my damn DVD/Blu-Ray set!?

Ah, yeah I get this question about once a week and the answer is - never. Or at least I don't know. Again, since the show is owned by CN - it is their call to either release the series, or not. And so far it's been not.

As for Blu-Ray, from what I recall, we actually did the second season in HD with the intention of broadcasting and releasing it in high definition, but obviously that plan fell by the wayside with our cancellation.

Not sure how much it would cost to put Megas on DVD, or BR, but with the whole market collapsing in on itself, it just might be a bad time.

But there is this guy who has a bootleg table at all the cons...

1. Why did you shut down Megas?

Truth be told, CN shut us down, and not the other way around as some fans have conjectured. As to why, the new brass didn't feel that we were speaking to the audience they were interested in reaching, even though we were actually breaking records - until they started moving us around.

Not sure if they ever did find that demo they were hunting for...maybe those live-action series did it for them?

That's it for now. This Saturday, celebrate May 1st as Megas Day - watch an ep, have six hamburgers, a mega-slush and creep out your pals with your giant robot trivia knowledge while vomiting on their shoes - just like Coop would!

Ya Got Balls Kid...

Nuff said!

I Like Big Bots, and I Can Not Lie...

I think it's safe to say we all share a love of giant robots here, and although Megas has been off the air for a number of years, I bring you a message of hope - from the future: the robots shall rise again...and they will be giant...

No, Megas ain't coming back - at least not anytime soon. (Although I hear CN's ratings are slipping to the point where they are about to fall below Boomerang's numbers, which is just astounding.)

I'm talking about new horizons - live action and graphic novel-type horizons. Aspects of the entertainment-industrial complex that we have yet to defile with our madness.

Against all odds, and Hollywood's current remake-fervor-trend, my pals and I sold a two hour pilot for a cable series, that if all goes well, may just blow minds. And in the same day, a very cool publisher decided to take a chance on another original pitch for a 90 page comic.

And both have giant F-in robots wrecking crap...

Megas was just the tip of the chaos-iceberg...

Anime Expo

For those of you checking out this year's Anime Expo, looks like a few of my fellow creators/anime dork pals and I will be speaking on a panel or two. Will post more info as soon as I have it. Until then, start building your Megas cosplay gear...

The Examination of Megas

A recent Examiner article breaks down Megas. Not bad - it make us look kinda smart, as if we knew what we were doing...

And the above image has nothing to do with Megas - I'd just love to see Captain Harlock (yes Harlock) take on an Imperial fleet.