Venture Bros. 'Ladle' Out First Details of Animated Special

Adult Swim serves up the first details and synopsis from The Venture Bros. upcoming animated special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy."

Frith Almighty, it's been a good six months since we've seen any new Venture Bros. but the good folks at Adult Swim are finally ready to ladle out a fresh helping!

A ways back we learned from Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick themselves that not only had The Venture Bros. Been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, but that their new contracts included both a 60-90 minute special, as well as a Summer short to tide over fans.  Thanks to the Adult Swim upfronts, we now have our first details of what to expect when the fifteen-minute short drops on July 24th.

The second Venture Bros. inter-season special in their history, this Summer special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy" will outline the truly fictional story behind Hank, Dermott and H.E.L.P.E.R.'s legendary two-man-one-robot band Shallow Gravy, last seen rocking the titular madness of "Operation P.R.O.M!"

From the official press release:

THE VENTURE BROS. SPECIAL—FROM THE LADLE TO THE GRAVE: THE STORY OF SHALLOW GRAVY

See the Venture Family as you’ve never seen them before: in a 15-minute documentary-style animated special. Follow the meteoric rise, the equally meteoric fall, and the decidedly un-meteor-like second coming of the most important band Hank Venture, Dermott Fitctel and H.E.L.P.eR. robot have ever been in: Shallow Gravy. If you’re hungry for rock, then open wide, because here comes a ladle of heavy metal fire and metaphoric meat drippings. 

Launched on Adult Swim in August 2004, The Venture Bros. is an inspired spoof of 1960s action cartoon shows such as Johnny Quest. Created by Jackson Publick III (King of the Hill, The Tick), the 30-minute animated series follows the bizarre misadventures of the Venture family. The Venture Bros. Special—From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy premieres July 24 on Adult Swim.

But that's not all!  You can also check out our five-part interview with creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick covering everything from today's movies and TV, to who and what we might expect when the Venture Bros. returns for their ten-episode fifth season! 

Zombie ants fall victim to mind-control fungus

Zombie ants may sound like the title of an Ed Wood movie, but, according to National Geographic, they are quite real.
Oddly, there's nothing very zombie-like about the actual ants. It's only when a particular fungus takes over the ant's brain that things get weird.
Once the "stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani infects an ant, the ant gives up control over its own body. After the fungus is in control, it forces the ant to scamper toward "a location ideal for the fungi to grow and spread their spores." Then, it's lights out for the ant. Who knew a fungus could be so diabolical.

Lodged in a zombie ant's brain, the fungi species 'direct' the dying ants to anchor themselves to leaves or other stable places, as pictured above—providing a stable 'nursery' for the fungus. For instance, as the Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani fungus is about to kill the ant, the insect bites down hard into whatever substance it's standing on. This attachment is so strong that a dead zombie ant can remain stationary even when hanging upside down, the scientists say.

White fungus stalk begins to poke
A white fungus stalk (left) of the Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis species begins to poke through the head of a zombie ant two days after death. Also noticeable are faint, white, slightly fuzzy fungal growths on the ant's joints. Once the insect dies, the fungus rapidly spreads through the body. During the first couple days, though, very little evidence of the fungus is visible from the outside.

Later stages of Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis ...

During later stages of Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis infection, the fungus rapidly consumes the nutrients inside a zombie ant and begins to colonize the outside of the ant's body, as pictured. The fungus stalk growing from the back of the head (upper right) also becomes longer and more noticeable.

Mature fungus stalk, shown, differs

Final stalk: The mature fungus stalk, shown growing from a zombie ant's head during the final stage of infection, differs among fungi species.

These wild discoveries were made by a group in Brazil headed by entomologist David Hughes. National Geographic published a series of pictures of ants that have "lost their minds" to the fungus. You can check out a sample of them below. Not for the squeamish.

Faboulus and creative dance styles

 Photos of people dancing which was very beautiful and stylish.