I’ve done a number of illustrations for the Uberworld shared RPG universe, but one in particular is notable for its use as a template for a HeroMachine item:

Claymore’s creator, Rob Rogers of “Devil’s Cape” fame, gave the character description as:

Out of costume, Darryl is nondescript, vaguely muscular, and generally dresses out of style, with little attention to hygiene or grooming. In costume, he looks straight out of Braveheart. He wears his hair long and wild, running out from a leather helmet. He wears a brown tunic, a kilt, and leather sandals, and here and there a piece of metal or reinforced leather is attached to him in a wild hodgepodge. His face is streaked with blue paint.

I knew the kilt would be the bit that really sold the portrait, so I spent a lot of time getting it right. The biggest part of that turned out to be in the coloring phase, making sure the tartan pattern followed the folds properly. Ordinarily I’d have inked that in black and white, but I think letting the color carry the load really paid off in this case.

In fact, I liked the basic design so much that I ended up cutting and pasting it into the HeroMachine application so everyone could enjoy a Scottish-themed hero.

(Image and character © Rob C. Rogers.)

If you’ve ever wondered what the sound of a dismembered vampire arm crashing through a windshield and then reattaching itself is, wonder no more:

Now you’ll be prepared the next time that question comes up in class.

I had to wonder, however, why the vampire in question would want to reattach the arm, since it seems like having a detached limb capable of flying around independently with enough power to smash windshields might be an advantage in a fight. But I rarely battle the forces of evil any more, so what do I know?

Of course, given the vampire’s massive grin and hearty belly laugh, maybe an arm ka-slorping back into place just feels really, really good.

(Image from Vamps, #4, ©1994, DC Comics.)

When the “Iron Man” movie was first announced, I got so excited I put together an image of Robert Downey Junior in the red and gold because I just couldn’t wait to see it for real:

Now that the movie is almost released, I still can’t hardly wait. I don’t usually get too excited about super hero movies, as I usually figure they’re going to suck, but the pending debut of ol’ shell-head has me really pumped. In fact, after the very first teaser trailer came out last year, I put together this image of Iron Man on a motorcycle. With flames. And holding a gun. Why? Because he’s Iron Man, that’s why, now quit asking questions! A nerd in full-on geek mode has nothing to answer for, so nyah.