Monthly Archives: September 2012

META: HM3 ads

I just updated the HeroMachine 3 app page to support Google Ads. It seems to work but the code is weirding me out, so if you see anything not behaving correctly, please let me know.

I believe I have it set up where if you go to the widescreen view, the ad disappears so you can see the entire canvas, and then it comes back when you return to the default. Again, if not, holler.

Movie Iron Man vs. Movie Batman. Who wins?

Our Versus poll today comes from Facebook commenter James Wickenden, and pits the two most iconic comic book movie characters against each other. Both are multi-billionaire inventor/crusaders who employ clever technological goodies in their fight against crime. So which would win in a head-to-head battle?

It's clear that the Iron Man armor employs a superior battery of weapons and defensive capabilities. It's essentially a one-man army corps. Batman's tech in the movies is effective, but lacks the raw firepower Stark Enterprises brings to bear. So from the standpoint of raw power, I give the edge to Iron Man.

Whenever we have a poll involving Batman, the conversation inevitably turns to "Will he have time to prepare", with the assumption being that if the answer is "yes", the result is "Batman wins". But the movie Batman doesn't seem to have the same supernatural ability as the comic book version -- he gets outthought and outfought by Bane up until the bitter end, while movie Stark seems to always be the one who's one step ahead of the game.

The caveat to that is that in the "Avengers" movie, Tony had to rely on Hawkeye's tactical abilities to swing the tide of combat. I think movie Batman would be at least equal to movie Hawkeye, so in combat tactical ability, I'd go with Bats.

For me, the tiebreaker comes down to the fact that Batman's girlfriend get killed, while Iron Man manages to hang on to Pepper Pots through three movies now. That's pretty good. So I'd vote for movie Iron Man if it were me, but I'm curious as to which way you'd go, and why. So please comment and tell us your thinking!

[polldaddy poll="6510336"]

META: I get spam

Maybe if you stopped associating with Nazis you'd be in a better mood.

I'm no witch and I'm pretty sure *I* can interpret it …

(From "Baffling Mysteries" number 9, 1952.)

Character Design Challenge 99: Wingin' It

There's no WAY I'd take this case!

Your Character Design Challenge this week is to create the most awesome illustration possible featuring any item from the Backplane-Wings set. You could create an angel, or a bird-themed character, or a sea-faring monarch with teeny tiny wings on his ankles (as if anyone would believe that!), or a big flying mech, or an aircraft, or a sadistic vampire in his bat form, or anything else you can think of so long as at least one Wing item is present in the illustration.

I'll pick my personal favorites when the week is over, with the one I like best being featured in the right column for the week. The rules otherwise are the same as always:

  • All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like the HeroMachine forums, ImageShack, PhotoBucket, or whatever);
  • Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
  • The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine challenge;
  • Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension] before you upload it. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his "Bayou Belle" character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.
  • Please make the link go directly to the image (like this) and not to a hosting jump page (like this). See this post on how to get the direct link for most sites.
  • All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose my personal favorites.

No limit on entries this week, so knock yourselves out. Just make them good!

Caption Challenge 128 results!

Many thanks to everyone who entered our last Caption Challenge, which tasked you with writing the best headline for this comics panel:

Here are the ones that I personally found the funniest:

  • Mark: When a mob boss tells you to get off his lawn, you listen.
  • fuzztone: You gotta mouse? We gotta solution.
  • ProwlerKnight: They should’ve bought some girl scout cookies
  • Mark: No child will ever be trapped in here again, once we fill this old well with lead.
  • Jawsabi: This is WAY better than laser-tag!
  • Twiggy: The New Orleans mob decides to deal with Hurricane Isaac their own way
  • Jake: Not everyone appreciated the Kenny G concert.
  • McKnight57: In the mob, a 21 gun salute happens BEFORE the burial.
  • Herr D: Dick Tracy never found out what happened to “Crawls” McGee.
  • The Occupant: And I thay it’th Duck Season!
  • spidercow2012: Don Vito said to clean out the rain gutters, so…
  • X-stacy: And that’s when I found out everybody really was a critic.

And my overall favorite? Fuzztone! The idea of a Mob-run extermination agency tickled my fancy and the line's well written.

Thanks everyone! I'd love to hear about your favorite(s) in the comments, so if you're computer-bound on this holiday (or stuck at the airport like me), chime in.

Pop Quiz Insignia Results

Logos are hard to design, requiring a deceptive level of simplicity that can communicate big ideas instantly. I applaud you all for taking a crack at it with our last Pop Quiz, and I am delighted to share the results here for your viewing pleasure:

Continue reading

I can be grumpy and mean and no man will DARE say anything!

The real life of 40+ year old guys at Dragon*Con

Never, ever order "The special treatment"

(From "Baffling Mystery Comics" number 9, 1952.)