This would just be for the sake of doing it, for the challenge--not because I perceive any real use for such a thing.

Have fun,

Erik

I have a couple of suggestions
1) Triscend (RIP) seemed to have a pretty good grip on graphic displays, you may want to steal some of that (a CPLD and a '51 should be able to replicate).
2) The SILabs F126 is reasonably priced for such a project, has a lot of power and a lot of pins.