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(From "Daredevil Battles Hitler", 1941.)
Comments Off on Ready to board seamen, sir!
Posted in Daily Random Panel
By: Andrew Hines
In the last year, the Scarlet Speedster's been hitting a few speed bumps (see what I did there?) From helping to plunge Central City into a full-on blackout, to getting himself, Iris West and several other stuck inside the Speed Force, he's been having a bad year. Add to that everyone in the city thinking he's dead and now being framed for murder, things just aren't going his way. Now, the Rogues are getting back together, albeit with new leadership. For the first time, the new master of the Rogues looks good in a dress. Glider's not only taking control of the Rogues, she's also putting her brother, Captain Cold out to pasture. I've always liked Barry, even though he died two years before I was born. There've been some interesting developments in the last year, but now it's just getting ridiculous. Thankfully this all leads up to Flash Annual #1 which comes out next week, along with Justice League #12, Green Lantern Annual and Superman Annual.
With Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelato rounding out a year of writing Flash, they're either getting tired or has something AMAZING up their sleeves. The pair have done a great job, not only staying true to who Barry is and distancing him from Wally a little bit, but digging deeper into his powers. The dialogue is great and fits each character pretty well. The pacing fits with a two-part story, assuming it ends with Flash Annual #1.
Manapul has done a great job over the last year of updating everyone's looks while keeping with the premise of each character. His style fits the pacing and the artwork in every panel is great. From the front cover to the last page, this is the most consistently awesome artwork in DC. I really can't think of anyone else' artwork I'd rather see in the pages of the Flash month after month. Then there's Buccelato's colors over Manapul's art. For my money, they're on par with the work and consistency of Jim Lee and Geoff Johns. Visually very different, but they do what best fits the characters and script. And to top it off, we get to see it twice in one month with next week's comic.
With this pairing, it's no wonder that there's really no end in sight for this title. They've earned themselves an "A".
Comments Off on Rogues Get New Management
Posted in Super-Hero Stuff
So, it's true now that Rob "How Does He Have A Job" Liefeld has called it quits at DC. We no longer have to suffer through some of the worst art ever to be printed by a comic book company. It was apparently because of editorial battles. For more information, check out the Newsarama page: http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/08/22/rob-liefeld-quits-dc-the-0s-are-my-last-issues/
I'm mentally doing backflips, cartwheels and just generally jumping for joy! That's one less set of comics we have to endure Rob Liefeld working on.
Comments Off on Minor Victory!!!
Posted in I Hate Rob Liefeld's Art, News & Updates
I am criticized from time to time for not doing more positive stories (a very fair criticism, I hasten to add), so I wanted to share this example of comics done exceptionally well. It's from a daily comic strip that predates even my ancient time called "Gasoline Alley" by Frank King. In its day it was as big as Spider-Man or Superman are today. But what caught my eye (thanks to a friend on Facebook) is the way the shadows define the forms here without requiring actual outlines:
The last two panels are just breathtaking in their elegance, simplicity, and effect. You barely notice that the figures are made of nothing but shadows and negative space, a wonderful rendering technique just on its own. But the magic of comics comes from the way the effect works with the dialog to enhance the sense of foreboding the creator is striving for. There is beauty in their upcoming marriage just as there is beauty in the forest, but some darkness awaits as well. Either the words or the art by themselves are still good, but when combined they achieve a kind of beautiful synergy that only comics can provide.
(Original artwork and a great essay are from "Hooded Utilitarian".)
Comments Off on The beautiful synergy of comics
Posted in Randomosity, Retroviews, Things I Like
I am utterly ignorant of current DC storylines, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. But I just saw the announcement that the new GL will be an Arab (which is cool), along with this image:
You're wielding one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. So why do you need a gun? Did I fall asleep and it's 1995 again?
Comments Off on Everybody run, the new GL has got a gun
Posted in Bad Super Costumes
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:
That's it! Hopefully we can get some good interaction going here and help everyone (me included!) learn a little bit today.
Comments Off on Open Critique Day #45
Posted in Open Critique Day
(From "Daredevil Battles Hitler", 1941.)
Comments Off on Goebbels is why you can't go snipe hunting any more
Posted in Daily Random Panel
If you're just tuning in, our goal is to write our own Choose Your Own Adventure where every choice is twofold, with one leading to further adventure and the other to a gruesome death. Last week featured:
B: Shrug and continue eating:
Meh. Whoever this guy was, he didn’t have a great taste in tattoos, but he did have a GREAT TASTE. You finish the bag off, and lick you fingers. You scrumple up the Jack’s Links packet into a ball, and proceed to throw it into the waste paper bin on the other side of the office. It runs along the ridge of the paper bin twice before finally falling in. Hey, this is great! You think you’ve just invented the latest sport: waste paper golf. You’re surprised nobody has ever done this before. God, you’re an absolute genius. You’re about to scrumple all of your important legal documents into balls to continue your newfound sport, when Angeline walks into the room and sits in her cubicle. You know Angeline is like, really into you, because she was totally checking you out at the last Christmas shindig. Well, either you, or the tall, handsome guy standing next to you. Nah, it was definitely you.
You’re now conflicted. Do you:
A: Continue honing your paper ball throwing skills.
OR
B: Walk over to Angeline, and give her your best pick up line.
All five entries were very fun, and I encourage you to go take a look when you get the chance. But the official continuance comes to us by BenK22! But first, here's what would have happened had we gone with trying to give Angeline a pick up line:
Comments Off on You're Going to Die IV
Posted in RPG Corner, You're Going to Die
(From "Daredevil Battles Hitler", 1941.)
Comments Off on You should've thought of that before you left the house in a rubber suit and spiked belt
Posted in Daily Random Panel
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