The Marvel movies are bringing a whole new fan base to the theaters to watch the superheroic spectacle- people who don't read comic books.

They may not know every character's backstory, or how the storyline connects to the rest of the Marvel universe, but that doesn't make those spectacular films any less enjoyable to watch.

But any of the uninitiated who want to get caught up before new Marvel movies involving the Infinity Gauntlet storyline come out should watch this hilarious animated episode of Bite-Sized Comics by Noah Sterling and get hip to that Thanos jive!

(YouTube Link)

-Via Laughing Squid

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Jan van den Hemel skillfully edits scenes from Star Trek: The Next Generation to create mini episodes that are funny and surreal. In the past, we've seen his pitch for a Riker-based TV show and his depiction of Picard's obsession with tea.

Hemel has done a lot of new work in the past few months, so go to his YouTube channel and laugh out loud at his new comedy videos, such as this one in which Data accidentally empowers the Borg and endangers the ship.

-via Geek Tyrant

They said I could be anything so I became @JohnBoyega#starwars #forceawakens #finn #cosplay Sf design pic.twitter.com/4PwsgC6KTS

— Ms.Victory@Shuto! (@QueenOfDoom) March 25, 2016

Krissy Victory is a cosplayer who isn’t the least bit afraid to try something new and different. Here she is decked out as The Force Awakens hero Finn, although she name checked the actor who played him, John Boyega. Boyega noticed, and liked what he saw.

I'm in love https://t.co/J19VwwezAt

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) March 25, 2016

Ms. Victory was not expecting that! She, um, freaked out a little.

@JohnBoyega OMGGGGGGGGG IM DYING HERE JOHN YOU MADE MY LIFE

— Ms.Victory@Shuto! (@QueenOfDoom) March 25, 2016

The ultimate rush for a cosplayer is to be appreciated by the very person you are playing. And how cool is it for a Star Wars fangirl to get a reply from Finn himself! These two could have so much fun together. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Disney Animation Studios used to employ the most talented artists in the world, but these days Disney likes to bring in talent from outside the Studio pool to share their unique vision of the Disney characters we know and love.

Heather Theurer is one of these talented indie artists who was given the chance to do Disney her way, and the paintings she has created of Alice, Peter Pan and Ariel are nothing short of brilliant.

With plenty of classical influence, modern character design aesthetics and emotional depth to be found in each piece Heather's works are sure to appeal to young and old classic Disney fans alike.

-Via io9

Animation is an artform that one may never truly master, and many animators spend decades of their lives working at their craft and improving their skills.

But all the non-art related things we have to do in our lives tend to get in the way of working on our art, and an animator's passion for their craft can be diminished by all the hours spent at their day jobs.

Animator turned front end developer JustGoscha knows full well how life can get in the way of art, but he came up with a clever way to get back in the game- creating a hand drawn walk cycle a day for 100 days.

(Vimeo Link)

Walk cycles are one of the hardest elements of traditional animation to master, but it must have been even harder to come up with so many different examples, way to strut your creative stuff JustGoscha!

-Via Sploid

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Batman V Superman met with such harsh reviews that Ben Affleck actually got bummed out about the reviews during an interview, spawning the Sad Affleck meme.

It's going to take more than sympathetic viewers and a slew of new reviews to pull BVS out of the bog, but Bruce Campbell knows what that superhero flick is missing- Ash from the Evil Dead.

Bruce proposed to save the film by boomstick and chainsaw by posting this movie poster mock-up for Ash vs Batman vs Superman: Dead by Dawn of Justice with the jab "Guys, need any help?"

But adding Bruce to the film simply wouldn't be fair, because he would outshine both Affleck and Cavill in a major way!

-Via GeekTyrant

While Mickey Mouse, Garfield the cat and Donald Duck have long been the most popular write-in candidates those characters just aren't tough enough to deal with the modern state of affairs.

That's why we need a candidate who knows when it's time to go out drinking with world leaders and when it's time to teach the world our peaceful ways...by force, a candidate like Bending Unit 22 Bender Rodriguez.

Imgur user bigllamas posted these pics taken in his neighborhood with the caption "My neighbor is a graphic designer. And smartass." Well Bender couldn't be any worse than Robot Nixon!

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It's good to delve into the classics. A couple years ago, I decided to read and watch several plays by William Shakespeare. Then, this year, I decided to re-read the plays that I had read in high school. One of the results is a heightened awareness of how much the Bard of Avon has shaped our language and storytelling, from high culture to low.

The writers of Star Trek were often classically educated. Shakespeare had been woven into their minds, which you can see in the narrative tapestries that they created. In this video essay, Chris Miller argues that a great way to introduce people to the works of Shakespeare is through his references in Star Trek, such as William Shatner rapping Marc Antony's funeral oration from Julius Caesar.

You can watch an extended version of Miller's argument here.

Power armor is an integral piece of gear in Fallout 4, and every self respecting Wastelander knows that customizable suit of armor can make the difference between besting your foes or becoming dinner for a Deathclaw.

That being said, it's hard to keep all that fusion core power from going to your head.

Level up however you see fit, but keep those poor settlers out of it!

Electric Bunny Comics makes a good point about XP in Fallout 4- just because it's easier than ever to level up doesn't mean you should kill the entire Commonwealth just for the sake of dinging sixty!

-Via Geeks Are Sexy

(Photo: David Ngo)

Leia Poppins: practically perfect in every way.

The conventional wisdom is that Mary Poppins is a Time Lord. But that's the wrong universe. She's actually a Jedi who is extremely strong with the Force.

Here she is with Bert Solo, the lovable rogue who once cleaned every chimney along the Kessel Run in 12 hours. Cosplay photographer David Ngo photographed them at WonderCon in Los Angeles.

It's easy to live frugally when you buy used, but the cheaper everything you buy becomes the less you're willing to pay for all that normal priced stuff you need.

That's why scrimping is a slippery slope, and once you become a haggler you can never go back to paying the price marked on the tag.

(Vimeo Link)

I'm An Expert Haggler At Garage Sales is a dramatic performance of Jory John's cheapo script by David Harris, acted out as it is published on McSweeney's by the perfectly perturbing Matt Ingebretson.

It's so slice of life that you've probably met someone like this at one of your own garage sales, a penny-pincher who made you consider breaking a lamp over their head!

-Via Laughing Squid

(Photo: You Lie in April t-shirt on sale at the NeatoShop)

It's the end of the world as we know it, which is why I watch anime instead of the news. I've watched a lot in the past few months. So, as usual, I will tell you some of the best and ask you, dear readers, to recommend other titles.

Erased (Boku Dake ga Inai Machi) is the greatest anime I have ever seen. I recommend it for not only anime fans, but also to non-anime fans.

Anime is like beer. You either like it or can't understand why anyone would consume it. Erased, however, is an anime perfect even for people who don't like anime.

It's a thriller and murder mystery. The main character is Satoru Fujinima, a 29-year old failed manga artist. He finds himself thrown back in time to when he was 10 years old. Back then, his peaceful childhood was upended by a serial killer who murdered several young girls in his town, including some in his own class.

Satoru realizes that he has a chance to find the killer and stop him. In the body of his 10-year old self, he sets out to do precisely that.

Erased is an original story with an unpredictable plot and vivid characterization. The suspense in every episode demands eager anticipation of the next episode. It is brilliantly written and directed.

When you saw The Force Awakens, you were reminded of the first Star Wars movie, admit it. But you don’t know how close they really are until you’ve seen this shot-for-shot comparison.

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But when you put two wide-screen movies side-by-side, they are way too small on an internet video, so you’ll want to make this full-screen to really see the similarities. Yes, this contains spoilers. I think. -via Digg

Okay, fine: the missing spot is for Tasha Yar. Did you really have to ask right in front of them? Now you've upset them. I can't take you anywhere.

I'm having trouble tracking down the origin of these wooden peg dolls showing characters from the original series and The Next Generation. I suspect that they're from a now-closed Etsy shop because that's where the internet trail runs cold.

-via Tor

The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco was the official heart of the Summer of Love, the hippie mecca that attracted flower children from all over the country while repulsing the nation's squares.

Things got mighty freaky in Frisco during those free love days, and you could see all kinds of strange sights and interesting people on the sidewalks in and around Haight-Ashbury, making it a prime stop for a bus tour.

In 1967 San Francisco Chronicle reporter J. Campbell Bruce and photographer Art Frisch took a ride on one of these ridiculous Grey Lines bus tours dubbed the “Hippie Hop” to shoot some pics and show the world what the squares were squawking about.

This "descent into psychedelia" looks pretty tame to our modern eyes, but imagine the wonder and horror those (mostly Midwestern) squares felt when they saw what those hippies were up to on those acid soaked SF streets!

-Via Dangerous Minds