Monthly Archives: September 2012

Bruce Wayne and the Red Hood Gang

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on Bruce Wayne and the Red Hood Gang

Bruce Wayne and the Red Hood Gang

By: Andrew Hines

So clearly, this is no longer a rule. The 0 issue is pretty good, considering after last week's Detective Comics, there wasn't much left to cover. In this one, we see the original Red Hood before Jason Todd took over the mantle. We see Alfred, of course, Jim Gordon and even a Dark Knight-ish Bat Cave. The only thing is, we never see Wayne Manor, which Gordon makes mention of. It feels very much like the first half of Year One.

Scott Snyder has done a great job for the last year on this title, giving us great stories in Court of Owls, Night of the Owls and now the origin issue. From start to finish it's very much a Batman book. He may be relatively green, but still Batman. Bruce even mentions something that fans have long known, Bruce Wayne is the real facade. I can't wait for the next few months of this title. My only problem is the cliffhanger ending, which left me on the edge of my seat.

Greg Capullo is an amazing artist, simply in the way that he is consistent. There are no bad angles in here. Every motion is captured as if it were stills from the latest, greatest action movie. We never see the Batsuit, but moves are unmistakably Batman. Jonathan Galpion's inks and Fco Plascencia's colors work as the perfect complement to Capullo's pencils. Theses issues are beginning to rival the art of Bruce Timm from Batman: The Animated Series in just how iconic they are. They fit the character wonderfully.

The ending was the only thing keeping this from being top of the class for this week. The creative team gets an "A-."

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Posted in Super-Hero Stuff

Open Critique Day #46

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on Open Critique Day #46

Don't worry, we'll be gentle.

My full-time (non-HeroMachine) job might keep me from actually getting to these before this evening, but it's time for another Open Critique Day!

If you have a HeroMachine illustration or another piece of artwork you've done that you'd like some help with, post a link to it in comments along with your thoughts on it -- what you think is working, what you're struggling with, etc. I will post my critique of the piece, hopefully giving some tips on how to improve it.

Of course everyone is welcome to post their critiques as well, keeping in mind the following guidelines:

  • Make sure your criticism is constructive. Just saying "This sucks" is both rude and unhelpful without giving specific reasons why you think it sucks and, ideally, some advice on how to make it better.
  • Each person should only post one illustration for critique to make sure everyone who wants feedback has a chance.
  • I will not critique characters entered in any currently running contest, as that doesn't seem fair to the other entrants. You can still post it if you like for the other visitors to critique, but I will not do so.

That's it! Hopefully we can get some good interaction going here and help everyone (me included!) learn a little bit today.

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Posted in Open Critique Day

Your'e Going To Die VII

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on Your'e Going To Die VII

When last we left our intrepid Office Adventurer, we were locked in a storage closet with the boss' bratty son. Our options were to a) stay in the room and hope for the best or b) go exploring to try and find our way out. I enjoyed all four of the suggested outcomes (thanks to Renxin, Herr D, Gero, and borntobealoser!), but I'm going to go with Gero's as our official response. Here's what happens as a result of both choices:

Continue reading →

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Posted in RPG Corner, You're Going to Die

Free Lunch Fridays at the Vatican were always a hit

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on Free Lunch Fridays at the Vatican were always a hit

(From "Captain Courageous" number 6, 1942.)

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

The Legend of Primus

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on The Legend of Primus

The Legend of Primus

By: Andrew Hines

Transformers is a huge piece of our childhood. There's really no denying that.   What you may not have now is that they inhabit a vast universe beyond anything the cartoons or movies ever managed to show. I won't pretend to know all about the characters in the world of Transformers, but I can tell you that this issue made me want to seriously get into the story of the Autobots. In this over-sized issue, we get to see someone other than Optimus Prime and the core members of the Autobots. The focus, this time is the crew of the Lost Light, which is in search of the City of Light, home to the fabled Circle of Light.

Writer James Roberts has scripted a wonderful issue. We don't just see a few characters here and there swapping witty banter, but rather, real interaction and classic Transformers references. Just because you don't see Optimus in this issue, doesn't mean you can't feel his presence at times, especially in Rodimus' actions as the commanding officer of the Lost Light. It branches out from their main mission into several smaller stories. It's just good writing in general. It manages to incorporate all of the great dialogue with good pacing.

The main artists, (my buddy) Jimbo Salgado and Emil Cabaltierra did a fantastic job on the pages. The lines on the interior art are fabulous and there's hardly a mis-step in the entire issue. The pencils are clean and the inks are finely tuned. There is a potion of flashback art, which was done by Guido Guidi, that looks very much like an 80s comic book. The colors by Juan Fernadez and Joanna Fuente are smooth and nearly flawless.  In total, I'd say there are very few, if any comics in the last week or two that look as good throughout. It looks as if these pages were exactly what the creators intended them to be.

I give this issue a solid "A". The creative team is awesome and the story is splendid. I really need to get back into reading Transformers if they all look like this and have such writing.

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Posted in Super-Hero Stuff

Scarlet Spider: Texas Hero

Posted on September 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on Scarlet Spider: Texas Hero

Scarlet Spider: Texas Hero

By: Andrew Hines

This is an awesome book. There, I said it. I'm a fan of characters like Kaine. The kind of guy who doesn't necessarily want to be a hero, but at the same time feels a drive to do the right thing. He blames Spider-Man for that, finally giving him a conscience. He's been in Austin, Texas for the last 9 months and is beginning to feel at home there. He even has something resembling a life and even friends. He's gotten away from the Kaine of old and is finally on the track to being a tried and true superhero.

Chris Yost has been doing a good job as the writer of this series since issue 1. He's taken Kaine from being just another spider-clone and definite baddie to his own brand of hero. Just when everything seems ten kinds of crazy, our old...err...acquaintance(?) Roxxon comes into the picture. Because what would a trip to Texas be without the presence of an oil company? This is a well-written issue, despite a slightly too clean ending.

The art works, primarily because of the pencils from Khoi Pham. The action shots are great and I don't see any angles that cause weird faces or anything. It fits with the cartoony style of the "Spider-Man Family". The best part, I believe, is the monster of the issue, Mammon. The inking and coloring teams do a good job as well.

I give this issue a solid "B", because of the overly clean ending. It's a better than average issue, but not exactly worthy of a standing ovation.

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Posted in Super-Hero Stuff

Mythical creatures, 1942 edition

Posted on September 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on Mythical creatures, 1942 edition

(From "Captain Courageous" number 6, 1942.)

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

Elfstones of Shannara to be made into a television show. Good news or Bad?

Posted on September 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Elfstones of Shannara to be made into a television show. Good news or Bad?

(Frequent commenter, legendary HeroMachine creator, and Forum moderator Kaldath was kind enough to write up the following article today. Be sure to thank him in the comments! -- Jeff)

Kaldath - Today I saw within my newsfeed on facebook and update from the Terry Brooks Facebook fan page that really surprised me. Apparently Hollywood is interesting in turning the Shannara novels into a TV series, especially the "Elfstones of Shannara" title. Oh how I remember picking up my first every fantasy novel, which was “The Sword of Shannara” which was the first book I ever read by choice and not because I was being made to by one of my English teachers to write a book report on!

"The Sword of Shannara" hooked me on reading. The rich fantasy world of Shea Ohmsford, his brother Flick, their friend Menion Leah, the Towering Druid Allanon, and so many other facets of the story brought me hours of pleasure. I lost myself in the struggles of these characters, in their fight against the dark forces out to destroy them, and I absolutely loved that book. That love carried over to nearly all the other books in the Shannara series including the one being groomed for the little screen “The Elfstones of Shannara”. In this book the Son of Shea Ohmsford, Will Ohmsford, is tasked by Allanon to protect the elven princess Amberle Elessedil on her quest to restore the dying Ellcrys which is the Elven tree of life. The Ellcrys guards not only the Elves but all life from a horde of evil demons which the tree locks safely away from the world, and has done so for thousands of years before it began to fail.

When I saw they were making a book out of one of my most beloved fantasy novel series, my first response was one of joy. I would dearly love to see these characters in action on my television, but then I remembered another book series I loved which was turned into a TV series. “The Legend of the Seeker” based on the Sword of Truth Series written by Terry Goodkind was some of the most god-awful television I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on. The thought that the the Shannara series could be ruined the same way as the Sword of Truth was sickens me. We all know how hard it is to translate the written medium to live action, especially that of a fantasy world full of magic and dark beings, and while I am certain there is potential for some great TV to come out of this I somehow have my doubts.

What about you? What are your thoughts on "The Elfstones of Shannara" appearing on TV? Do you think it a good thing or does the thought fill you with dread of another ruined memory?

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Posted in Meta, Randomosity, Things I Like

Someone page S.I. stat, we've got a swimsuit emergency!

Posted on September 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Someone page S.I. stat, we've got a swimsuit emergency!

You will hardly ever hear anyone say that the scaly underwear look beats whatever else you might drag out of the closet. But in this case, it applies:

Apparently there are strippers in Atlantis, because it looks like Aqualad mugged them to steal their boots and gloves. The choker isn't helping that impression any, either. But I want to get past the idea that the future ruler of the seven seas might possibly be a secret cross-dressing mugger and ask Aquaman how he and his wife's blonde and red hair, respectively, resulted in a child with a black Afro.

No, wait, that's not at all what I wanted to ask. The real issue here is not "Which of the Royal Atlantean Guardsmen has kinky dark hair" but "How in the name of Poseidon does that shirt stay up with no armpits?" Does he Super-Glue the part that's over the deltoids? Did he command two starfish to reside there permanently, desperately holding onto the spandex with all five legs?

Regardless, I'm pretty sure the fish's cut-off dialog in this panel reads "Verily that outfit is about ten kinds of Wrong!"

On the other hand, I bet that metal belt is handy for holding the one dollar bills that routinely get shoved in his face.

(Image and character ©DC Comics and via The Vault of Buncheness.)

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes

Crack is whack. Crak is not.

Posted on September 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Crack is whack. Crak is not.

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Posted in Daily Random Panel