In a World of Robots and Monsters, Mech Cadet Yu Focuses On the Underdog Kid
There’s seemingly no shortage of properties featuring big robots fighting even bigger monsters - no doubt Voltron, Evangelion, or Power Rangers just sprang to your mind - but Mech Cadet Yu from comic publisher BOOM! Studios aims to focus the story not on the titans trading blows strong enough to make buildings shake but on the squishy little human pilots inside. More specifically, Stanford Yu, a young boy working as a janitor at an elite military academy who inexplicably bonds with a robot. Despite his meager beginnings, he’s enlisted into pilot training and struggles to get by thanks to his elitist classmate doing everything in her power to make him feel like he doesn’t belong.
With today’s release of Mech Cadet Yu, Vol. 1, which collects Issues #1-4, we conducted an email interview with series writer Greg Pak (Planet Hulk, Superman) about how he built this larger-than-life world while still maintaining a personal core with Standford. His artistic collaborator and Mech Cadet Yu co-creator is Takeshi Miyazawa (Runaways, Ms. Marvel), whom he also co-created Marvel character Amadeus Cho with.
This First Order Stormtrooper Robot Is Pretty Cute
There's plenty of robots to see at CES, and there's plenty of Star Wars licensed stuff, too. So it's nice to see the two come together, especially in an adorable little package like this.
The First Order Stormtrooper from Ubtech Robotics is app controlled, because everything cool has an app. It has things like facial recognition, voice command, and augmented reality features.
It's also very cute. Check out the photos from the floor at CES 2018.
Seth Macy is a supporter of the First Order and its leadership. Follow him on Twitter @sethmacy.
Lenovo Reveals Standalone Google Daydream VR Headset
Lenovo has revealed at CES the first standalone VR headset for the Google Daydream platform.
Called the Lenovo Mirage Solo, the VR headset doesn't need any type of connection to work, such as a PC or smartphone. The device offers a 110-degree field of view, sports 4 gigabytes of RAM and is based off the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 VR platform.
The Mirage Solo also has motion-tracking technology named WorldSense. That means jumping and dodging are possible with the headset.
Lenovo is packaging the VR headset with a wireless Daydream controller. The small remote features a clickable trackpad and volume rocker, plus can work as a baseball bat and more.
The Lenovo Mirage Solo is set to release in the second quarter of this year.
Marvel’s Black Widow Solo Movie Lands a Writer
Marvel Studios is reportedly moving forward with a standalone Black Widow movie, with Jac Schaeffer on board to write the script.
According to Variety's sources, the project is still in the very early stages of development and has yet to be greenlit by the studio. While a Scarlett Johansson-led Black Widow film is not yet a done deal, attaching a writer to the project is the first major step forward in the movie becoming a reality.
Studio execs are said to have discussed with Johansson about what they were looking for from the film's writer. Last year, Johansson discussed the possibility of a Black Widow film, noting that "timing" is key.
Nvidia Partners With Volkswagen, Uber for Self-Driving Cars
Nvidia is working with Volkswagen and Uber, among other companies, on self-driving cars.
The company revealed the partnerships at CES, adding that the Nvidia Xavier processor is the key to these deals. There will be samples of the chip for select people in the first quarter of this year.
Nvidia CEO shows off Xavier at CES.
"The complexity of future cars is incredible," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a press conference this week. "It begins with Xavier, which can do deep learning, computer vision and high performance computing at highly efficient levels."
The Last Jedi Director Answers One Big Lingering Question
Spoiler warning: This story contains plot details for the ending of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has encouraged plenty of discussion and debate among fans since it debuted in December, and while there are some aspects of filmmaker Rian Johnson's narrative that remain open for interpretation -- at least until Episode 9 is released -- there's one burning question that keeps coming up regarding Luke Skywalker's spectacularly snarky showdown with Kylo Ren at the film's climax.
Check Out Nvidia and Roborace’s Autonomous Electric Race Car
Nvidia is the company you probably think of when you think "graphics cards," but the company also has a division dedicated to developing AI for self-driving cars. And if cars can drive themselves, then they can certainly race themselves, too.
The Nvidia and Roborace car is designed to race in normal road conditions. That means instead of on a track, it can race through busy streets, dodging traffic and spouting one-liners like a Fast and Furious character. OK, that last part was made up, but maybe some day our kids will watch a movie about robots trying to steal a bank vault.
This is a serious racing machine and it almost looks "wrong" since it lacks a space for a driver. Check it out in the gallery below.
Samsung Showcases Modular 146-Inch TV Called The Wall
Samsung has debuted a 146-inch TV at CES that the company calls The Wall, which also sports modular MicroLED technology.
That means the size of the TV can actually change to fit your room better by removing or adding pieces. Samsung says the adaptability is possible through MicroLED, which are smaller than LEDs and self-sufficient as a light source.
Samsung showed off The Wall at CES, a 146-inch TV that's modular with MicroLED technology.
Cool Concept Cars From Kia, Nissan, Mercedes, and Toyota
There's so much technology in today's automobiles that they're more like computers with wheels than anything else. The amount of computational power inside modern automobiles is staggering and orders of magnitude greater than just 10 years ago.
Since this is CES and not the Detroit Auto Show, the cars on display are packed with even more technology than you'd expect. We checked out some of the coolest concept cars at CES, from Kia, Mercedes, Nissan and Toyota, and Toyota had one of the coolest showings in an already cool field.
Check out our huge gallery of concept car images from CES 2018.
Seth Macy has an old Toyota truck with 155,000 miles on it. Follow him on Twitter @sethmacy.
AJ Styles is Interested in Working with Finn’s “Balor Club”
In less than three weeks, WWE Champion AJ Styles will head into the Royal Rumble PPV - on January 28th in Philadelphia - to defend his title in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
In anticipation of the event, Boom! Studios has released its WWE Royal Rumble Special 2018, featuring a story co-written by Styles, with Headlocked Comics' Michael Kingston, spotlighting The Phenomenal One's surprise WWE debut, two years back, at the Royal Rumble.
I spoke to Styles about writing his first-ever comic book story and, more specifically, his thoughts on Finn Balor's official "Balor Club" reunion with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows on RAW. A big part of Styles' story in the Royal Rumble Special involves him contacting Anderson and Gallows for his famous targeted run at John Cena. "It is what it is, I guess, as far as the way things are supposed to happen," Styles shared. "Even though I had my own reunion with them shortly after I arrived, and its in the story, I'm not even with those guys right now. They're on RAW and I'm on SmackDown and I'm kind of doing my own thing by myself. But those three guys being together is something special because, truth be told, those were the three guys who were originally together."