Author Archives: AFDStudios

Face Maker

Posted on April 24, 2008 | 18 comments

With the HeroMachine 2.5 Expansion nearing completion, I am starting to think about the next big project I should work on. After a bit of back and forth, the one that has me most excited is the idea of a Face Maker, a HeroMachine-powered applet that would focus on the face and head. One site that does something similar is “Ultimate Flash Face“, to give you an idea of what I am talking about here. I’ve got a rough draft wire frame model and some other thoughts after the jump.

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18 Comments

Posted in News & Updates, Previews

Random Panel: Uh, dude, that's not a woman …

Posted on April 24, 2008 | 1 comment
Heaven forgive me, woman, I think I DO love you!

1 Comment

Posted in Daily Random Panel

The BatiPod

Posted on April 24, 2008 | 7 comments

When Bruce Wayne goes jogging around the darkened alleys of Gotham, you can bet your Batarang that some face-punching, groin-kicking mugger action is going to go down at some point during his exercise routine. And yet that level of violence would surely result in the destruction of his hand-held personalized iPod. The solution? Batman’s brass-knuckle steel-reinforced iPod carrier:

Batman iPod

Blue-tinted and personally engraved, this is the ultimate MP3 player accessory for any crime-fighting super-hero. Now you can carry your iPod in your hand while on patrol without needing to fear its destruction when you punch your arch-villain in the face thanks to the steel cage and reinforcing struts. Order your very own BatiPod Carrier Mark IV from Wayne Industries today! (Note: iPod sold separately.)

7 Comments

Posted in Super-Hero Stuff

I guess Steak and Ale was taken?

Posted on April 23, 2008 | 4 comments

I’m not going to claim that Jack Kirby got his ideas by looking at stuff on his desk, or from the remains of his hastily-heated discount noodle lunch. But I do wonder how much of his time was spent at bad steak joints while coming up with his scripts, because this:

Sizzler

Is “Sizzler”. Yes, that’s right, this electrically-charged flying slab of grill grease is named after a nationwide purveyor of seared cow flesh. Luckily, he’s a villain. Hopefully after his thrashing at the hands of Silver Star he can get back to home base, the “Sirloin Stockade”, and kick it old-school with his sidekick Shoney Big-Boy.

I can’t get that scene from “White Men Can’t Jump” out of my head, when Wesley Snipe’s idiot friend keeps chanting “We goin’ Sizzler, we goin’ Sizzler!” after they win some money. This is a good case of a pretty decent looking character betrayed by a lame name. Would “Rocky” have been successful with the same script and actors if it were titled “Jackrabbit P. Fusslepott”? Certainly not!

And so Sizzler, despite springing from the pen of the great Jack Kirby, I mock thee.

4 Comments

Posted in Bad Super Costumes

Random Panel: To Celine Dion on behalf of any man at her concert

Posted on April 23, 2008 | 5 comments
Leave him alone woman, can’t you see he’s a creature in torment?

5 Comments

Posted in Daily Random Panel

Frank Miller's Spirit?

Posted on April 22, 2008 | 2 comments

I would guess that I am the last person in the free comics world to know about this, but Frank Miller has written and is directing a big-screen version of Will Eisner’s “The Spirit”?!

Frank Miller’s “The Spirit”

Cool! I really enjoyed Darwyn Cooke’s adaption, and of course Will Eisner (for you young whippersnappers out there) is one of the seminal figures in the history of the comics medium, both as a creator and as a thinker. Match that up with Frank Miller, one of the towering names of the modern comics industry, and I have real cause for hope that this movie will rawk.

2 Comments

Posted in Super-Hero Stuff

Caption Contest 8: Avast!

Posted on April 22, 2008 | 23 comments

The HeroMachine Caption Contest 8 has now begun! If you come up with the funniest caption for this comic book panel, you’ll win a custom black and white drawing by professional (and startlingly bald) illustrator Jeff Hebert, creator of HeroMachine:

Caption Contest 8

A sample entry might be:

Balloon1: Bosun, this periscope only has a RIGHT-eye socket, you idiot, I can’t use this!
Balloon2: I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!

Here are the rules:

  1. Enter by leaving your caption in the comments to this post, and no more than three entries per person.
  2. Clearly indicate what dialog goes in which balloon.
  3. Keep it clean — anything that would fly on your average broadcast television sitcom is fine.

Good luck to everyone, it’s going to be hard to beat last week in terms of either quantity or quality!

23 Comments

Posted in Challenges

Random Panel: Thanks for the tip

Posted on April 22, 2008 | 2 comments
In case you can’t tell, I’m invisible.

2 Comments

Posted in Daily Random Panel

Caption Contest 7 Winner

Posted on April 22, 2008 | 1 comment

The winner of Caption Contest 7 is … Ashton Jakobson’s not-so-jolly Green Giant!

Jolly Green Giant

I think what really sold this one was how much the guy over the green dude’s shoulder really does look like he’s taking a bite. Ashton will win a custom black and white illustration of his choice by yours truly. Many thanks to all of the entrants, it was an impressive showing. Some of the Honorable Mentions that made me laugh were:

  1. “This isn’t like the Axe commercials at all!!”
  2. Green Guy: Go to the Emerald City they said. See the wizard they said. Damn munchkins…
  3. Barbarian repellent my keister!

Great work everyone!

1 Comment

Posted in Challenge Favorites, Challenges

Mashup 8: A Day at the Undead Office

Posted on April 21, 2008 | 3 comments

We plunge once again into the fathomless depths of the Great Random Comic Book Pile for the weekly Mashup. As usual, I will try to create an entertaining story by using one (and only one) panel from each of ten randomly selected comic books. This week, half of the books featured Dr. Strange, which is appropriate as this little exercise tends to the bizarre. So without further ado, we’re off!
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3 Comments

Posted in Mashups