I'd say stoned as well, except for the way the kid's arms just hang limp at his sides like the costume is the existential manifestation that has finally and completely defeated him.

The Steve Urkel costume is such an overwhelming rush of depressing cultural and economic sensations it's difficult to isolate just one element to talk about.
That said, it may have to be the poor kid trying to grab onto the suspenders, in Steve Urkel fashion, but forced to just ball up his little hands next to their…

I remember that year. We were in South Dakota and a group of us planned a sleepover that night certain that school would be cancelled the next day.
One of our other friends wasn't able to, and whether it was him getting revenge or just being an insufferable know-it-all managed to convince the host kid's mom that school…

In third grade I was overjoyed when my mom agreed to make me a Mad Max costume from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It had a polyester leather jacket and little felt shoulder pad. It was also the iteration of his look directly from the beginning of the film; All long hair and wrapped up in a turban and face mask.
Adults…

I had Nathan Rabin sign my copy of The Big Rewind "To lucky ebay winner".

Happy belated Birthday! I hope it was pure, unadulterated magic!

"I just need the one."
"I'm sorry, they're only sold by the palette."

It better be Arbor Day themed or I'm never getting to it.

I've been trying to beat Doublefine's Costume Quest for three years, because I only play it off and on for three weeks in October.
Maybe this year will be the year!

You said it. I'd always accepted fantasy art for what it was, never really thinking there was an alternative, but also never really being excited about it. I remember specifically when a friend I gamed with in high school introduced me DiTerlizzi's stuff and how we both marveled over it. It was astonishing to me.
I had…

I enjoy seeing the same Stratolounger advertised as a luxury product that I've seen free on curbs in front of rentals for the last twenty years.
Also, the Bird's Eye proudly advertising it's artificial-ness is a delightful contrast.

Both Cookie Monster and Batman were smart to drop the "The" definite article from their names. It makes them both much more personable. Huggable, even.

Balls! You're right! Your memory may be going, but it's stronger than mine.

What I like about Dot Heroes, and similar to El Shaddai, mentioned elsewhere, is I think they're games that if they were released even two years later, would be $15 PSN games. They're so niche it's kind of fascinating that they both got the full $60 release versions.

It was pointed out pretty frequently when Force Unleashed first released that the lightsaber battles where terribly underwhelming.
For being a super-scary evil Sith dude, your lightsaber strikes all hit with the dull thud of a whiffle bat.
A lightsaber should never feel like a bludgeoning weapon.

Action movie characters always have to have lateral opponents. The hero fights the central villain, the second in command always goes against the evil lieutenant and the love interest always gets to have a degrading cat fight with the bad guy's secretary or whatever.
And I think about the pairing of these two and…

The movie is indeed indefensible, but the fantasy nerd in me (90% content by volume) is still getting mileage from Freeman hurtling an improbably massive two-handed scimitar through the air to impale the witch.
That shit's worth… like, three Bryan Adams songs.

A guy once introduced himself to me as Frank Sinatra, and reflexively assuming he was being a smart-ass, I responded, "I love your music, man!"

I like how all the points in this column are visualized in Paul Newman's character's office.
Mussburger's office is huge and empty, dominated by these tall floor-to-ceiling windows that push out the clock face that's increasingly blocked off by imposing, blank walls.
The marginalized clock face is countered on the other…

It is, isn't it? I also really enjoy how different their representations are before they start internalizing the visual conventions of established illustration styles.
Obviously, there are constants, but each kid is individuated in a neat way.