Maybe it was the recent interview with Voltron: A Legend Forged writer Josh Blaylock here on ComicMix that got them psyched-up to do it, but Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace has added the first two seasons of Voltron: Defender of the Universe to its list of downloadable videos.

If you already have an Xbox 360, then don’t hesitate to get the very first episode, "Space Explorers Captured," because it’s free. Other episodes will cost 160 MS Points (roughly $2 in the U.S.).

Travel to Planet Arus and uncover the secret of a weapon from ancient times — Voltron! Keith, Lance, Sven, Hunk and Pidge arrive too late, the planet has already been completely devastated by the evil forces of King Zarkon. They engage in battle with Zarkon’s general, Yurak, only to be captured and thrown into the dungeons on Planet Doom.

Like all cartoons from your childhood, they might not hold up to your memories. (Space mice? Really?) But the nostalgia’s worth the initial price. After that, you’re hooked. Darn animation pushers.

It was an important weekend for science-fiction fans this past April 11-13 in Burbank, CA,  as past, present and future celebrities of the genre gathered for the Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit, an annual, weekend-long convention for fans of science-fiction movies and television that attracts some of sci-fi’s most beloved creators and celebrities.

The guest list at this year’s summit included Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Thomas Dekker (John Conner on Terminator: The Sara Conner Chronicles), Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica) and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Torchwood), as well as the reunion of Hercules stars Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst, and a panel featuring members of the cast of Smallville.

ComicMix was there throughout the weekend’s festivities and has the following breakdown of the highlights, featuring images from the events and a pair of comprehensive reports from the James Marsters and Star Trek panels. A gallery of full-size images from the show is posted at the end of each article.

On Saturday, actress Grace Park, who plays Lt. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii on Battlestar Galactica, answered some questions from fans about the fourth and final season of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series.

“We only have seven episodes left to shoot,” the actress explained. She went on to say that for legal reasons, a Battlestar Galactica movie with this cast of actors and characters would not be possible. “I don’t think there is going to be anything else that we do together, this is the end.” (more…)

Born in Vinci, Florence, Italy in 1452, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was the illegitimate son of a local notary and a peasant girl. He showed an early talent for art, and at the age of 14 he was apprenticed to the renowned Florentine painter Verrocchio.

In 1472, at the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master with the Guild of St. Luke and his father set him up in his own workshop. Lorenzo de Medici was so impressed by the young artist that in 1482 he sent Leonardo to serve Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan.

Leonardo remained there until 1499, when he fled to Venice to escape a French invasion. He returned to Florence the following year, and continued to travel between and work among those three cities and more for the rest of his life.

Leonardo da Vinci is considered the examplar of the Renaissance man: a brilliant painter and sculptor but also a talented mathematician and scientist and a renowned scholar. Several of his works, like the Mona Lisa, are still considered among the greatest masterpieces of all time.