Sponsored Links (which Premium Members will never see):
This is a tribute to Keith Giffin, who created some of the funkiest supporting characters in comics history in his distinctive style.
Comments Off on 30 Characters Challenge #11: Gyphhin
Posted in 30 Characters Challenge, Sketch of the Day
We only had ten entries in the "College Sports Mascot" Pop Quiz this week, but they were a lot of fun. So score one for quality over quantity! Without further ado, here they are.
As I said, those are all a lot of fun. But my personal favorite is Rick's, which simultaneously looks like an actual mascot costume and scares me a little bit. As a good mascot should!
Thanks to everyone who stuck around and gave this odd one a whirl.
Comments Off on Mascot Pop Quiz Results
Posted in Challenge Favorites
Comments Off on 30 Characters Challenge 10: Dragonrider
Posted in Daily Random Panel
Saturdays in the US during the fall and winter tend to center around college football, along with each team's ridiculous mascot. So your one-day challenge this week is:
It can be for a real school or for one you make up (Hogwarts, anyone?!).
You only get one entry -- that's right, just one! So make it your best. Most of the other rules are the same as for a regular challenge, but instead of a whole week I'll announce my favorites some time tomorrow. Here's how to make an entry:
I'll pick one entry as my personal favorite, which will get to be featured in the side bar to the right for ultimate glory! As a bonus you're allowed to say you won the Internet for a few days.
Good luck!
Comments Off on Pop Quiz: Mascots
Posted in Challenges, Pop Quiz
(From "Spotlight Comics" number 1, 1944.)
Comments Off on Great moments in bad character names
Posted in Daily Random Panel
Elena the Coquemancer creates her magics through cooking. When you hear she has a bewitching dessert to serve you, she's not kidding!
Comments Off on 30 Characters Challenge #9: Coquemancer
Posted in 30 Characters Challenge, Sketch of the Day
I'd like you to take a moment to post a comment telling us something you're proud of, an achievement or project you've accomplished that you think is cool. Maybe it's your blog, or a book you've written, or a particularly great illustration, or that you lost fifty pounds, or a volunteer organization you help out with, or the deck you built, or a photo of an awesome cap you knitted. Just anything that shows off your interests in a great way and that you want to share with the community.
Imagine it's like we're going around the room and you're asked to introduce yourself by saying "Hi, I'm Jeff, and I _______." So I'd probably say "Hi, I'm Jeff, and I built a web site that lets people make their own super hero drawings at heromachine.com". I want to give you a chance to brag on yourself a little and to point the rest of us at something you've done or been involved with that you think is great. Or even pretty good. Or even just mildly interesting.
Lay it on us, String Bean!
Comments Off on Sharing Day: You Did It!
Posted in Sharing Day
(via "The Vault of Buncheness".)
Comments Off on You're missing the real opportunity here, Archie
Posted in Daily Random Panel
By: Andrew Hines
There's not much DC hasn't done in it's nearly 75-year history, except maybe for what you'll see in this issue. With two parts of equal importance in this issue, with the first being these Weeping Angel-like beings, collectively called the Multitude. The second is a cameo by a renowned astronomer and astrophysicist. We may not all be fans of the Last Son of Krypton, but there's been no denying that the new direction has been...interesting. Not inherently good or bad, but definitely different. This is one of the few New 52 titles I've been interested in from square one.
Grant Morrison may not have been at his best in the last year but this is a nice turn around on that. The dialogue is good and the pacing is better than it has been for several issues. The same can be said of Superman as a character. Morrison has been going out of his way to explain exactly what's going on with the abrupt power shift that occurred between issues 7, 8 and 10. Now that he seems to finally be beyond that, he actually written a good story that stands on its own.
The pencils by Rags Morales are pretty damned good. I'm not always a fan, but these pages have made me one. Then there's Mark Probst's inks, which are pretty good. This page at right (sorry for the Maxim label at the top) should be a great example of that and Brad Anderson's colors. Really, this is the best example of the artwork in this issue. It all comes together quite well. Those colors are astounding, to say the least. Given that the main story takes place on Mars, I'm pretty sure that the reds in the background are fitting.
Sholly Fisch is the writer for the backup story in this issue. The story is actually really cool and gives us a look at the hero's perspective on his home(s). The dialogue and exposition are good, as is the sciencey stuff in here. It's an awesome backup story and maybe should have been it's own issue.
The pencils from Chris Sprouse and inks from Karl Story are good. It seems like a mix of the old Superman cartoons from the 90s and an astronomy-themed episode of Bill Nye. The colors from Jordie Bellaire are pretty good too. They are part of what helps give it the cartoon feel, that I love.
The issue is actually great, both parts of it. I give it an "A". There's something awesome in both parts of the issue. There's great art and good writing. What else do you need?
Comments Off on Enter the Multitude / Death of Krypton
Posted in Cool Characters, Fantasy & Sci-fi, Super-Hero Stuff
By: Andrew Hines
Who doesn't love Deadpool? I mean, aside from Wolverine, Thor, the X-Men and basically anyone who's ever met him? This is a pretty cool dude we're dealing with here. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's got a gun to my head. (Help me. He's got a gun to my head!) The baddest Merc With a Mouth just got a restart to his own series. Basically, he's about to be more popular than ever and there's not much we can do about it. From the looks of the cover, there may not even be much monsterzilla can do about it. (We can't say the "G" word for legal reasons...probably). Is it just me, or does this version look more like Reptar from Rugrats?
The writing by comedians Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan is hilarious and very fitting for Mr. Wilson aka Deadpool. The pacing is good and we'll surely see a few familiar faces from the (American) history books in this series, starting with this issue. It's a good start to a really cool and funny story arc that could last a while. Then there's the team-ups which according to those he's teaming with aren't team-ups at all. The dialogue is fantastic and i know I throw that word around, but it's really just witty, stupid, childish fun. At the end of the day, that's what Deadpool is. He's a kid with a bunch of weapons a smart mouth and a bad case of road rash.
Here's some off the awesome (cartoony) artwork from Tony Moore. Yes, I said "artwork", as in pencils and inks. Pretty cool, if you ask me, which I guess you did since you're reading this. Anywho, the colors from Val Staples (who is apparently a dude, sort of like Val Kilmer was in Top Gun) are just epic. They make everything pop, even Mr. Polio, or is that Former presider Polio? (He died in the 40s. It's not too soon.) Also, sorry for lack of word balloons on the page. It was all I could find at short notice. The art works for a Deadpool story, I think. As does the ghostly FDR in the photo. That's President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to our non-US friends. It's an uncultured thing, you wouldn't want to understand.
This gets an "A" grade from me. I love the humor and teen the cartoony artwork. Given what we see in these pages, I think we'll be in for a treat in the months to come. That's if our comedy writers keep the same pace and quality of laughs. Please, go out and buy this before Wade runs you through with a katana, or Bea Arthur as he calls her.
Comments Off on Attack of the Dead Presidents
Posted in Cool Characters, Super-Hero Stuff
Three middle-aged nerds (including yours truly!) review all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Short, funny, and full of good vibes, check it out and let us know what you think!
Nerdmudgeon.com