HM3: Don’t get mouthy. Oh, fine, go ahead.

I just uploaded the following new items to the Mouth-Standard set in HM3 (clear your browser cache if you don't see them):

I wanted to make sure I got a good "clenched teeth" one, so I put in three. As well as most of the suggestions in the last thread, so thank you for those.

HM3: Khopesh

I just added a Khopesh in three parts -- complete, just the blade, just the hilt -- to the HM3 ItemRight-BladesTwo set. Enjoy! If that's the right word for a weapon of death.

HM3: Lab coats and tied bust shirts

I've just updated Tops-MaleStandard (clear your browser cache if it doesn't show up) with the following items from the Replacement Prize list:

There was only a call for one Lab Coat, but I saw the diagonal one while getting reference and loved it too much not to throw it in.

After the jump I'll post the latest version of that list so you can see where we stand.

Continue reading

Canary in a Coal Mine

I like Black Canary. There, I said it. Despite the fishnet hose, trampy collar, and trailer-park blonde wig, I dig the character quite a bit, having formed my opinion of her during the 1970's "Green Lantern / Green Arrow" stories where she was a strong, butt-kicking woman. She seems to me to be one of the most well-rounded of the DC stable of female characters.

What I never understood was why she didn't track Zatanna down and slug her for stealing her costume:

Seriously, chick's magic, she can have whatever she wants for a costume, and the best she can do is "eviG eM kcalB s'yranaC emutsoc"? Sistah please.

At various times, the powers that be at DC have agreed, and tried to "update" her look, sometimes to good effect, and sometimes to bad. Like this one:

I imagine the creative meeting going something like this:

Editor: You know what's hot right now?
Artist: My pits? Seriously, it's so hot in New York right now fat guys are makin' their own gravy.
Editor: No, you idiot, I'm talking about workout videos!
Artist: You mean taut, lithe, sweaty women working out in tight clothing? I have no idea what you're talking about.
Editor: Just go away and redesign Black Canary as if Olivia Newton-John were starting in the movie version and quit stinking up my office.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but this just seems like a mom who rolled out of bed one morning and decided to fight crime without changing out of her sweats.

The headband is the literal and figurative capper, of course. You couldn't walk around in the super-hero universe of the 80s without one of those things, which a decade later would morph into living snake-gods at the loving hands of Rob Liefeld and company. But I also hate the thick, puffy sleeves, the obligatory mid-80s colored stripe down the center of the uniform, the white pirate boots, and the useless white cuffs. She's gone from looking like a hot, sexy, slightly dated yet still classic temptress totally in keeping with her general theme of "night singer" to this uncomfortable, every-square-inch-covered fitness video reject look.

But mostly, it's the headband. I wish someone had choked this bad canary of an idea before it ever got out of the mines. Thankfully they'd ditch this look in fairly short order and get her back to something more bad-ass and less baggy-ass.

(Images and characters © DC Comics.)

RP: And that’s why we have teen-aged sidekicks

(From "Super Mystery Comics" number 2, 1940.)

HM3: Patchwork coat and waistcoat

Two more prizes from the Great Replacement Prize list, the patchwork coat (with sleeves and without) and the gentleman's waistcoat live in Tops-MaleStandard (clear your browser cache if they don't show):

I'll probably do the Lab Coat and Shirt Tied Under the Bust next since I've already got Tops open.

Enjoy!

Caption Contest 91 Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Caption Contest 91 vote-off, B. Clouser!

Let me know what you'd like for your prize, and congratulations!

Poll Position: The unpowered

In our ongoing "Greatest Ever" series, I wanted to take a look at unpowered heroes, the men and women who go out there and tangle with bigger, badder, meaner, more powerful enemies boasting a wide array of astonishing super powers armed with nothing but the tools their own ingenuity, skill, and hard work have given them.

Before getting to the actual poll, here are some of the criteria I used to decide who should and who should not make the list. I'm grateful for the inspiration I got from Aaron in this post at "Underneath the Mask".

  1. No sidekicks, understudies, replacements, or other substitutes. I'm an "original recipe" kind of guy. That means no Nightwing, Bucky, Speedy, etc.
  2. No artificial enhancement by means other than that devised by the character. That means no Captain America (super soldier serum has "super" right in the name, and he didn't invent it himself), no Green Lantern (ring given to him by the Oans), and no War Machine (it's StarkTech).
  3. No characters with even one legitimate super-power. So no Black Canary (sonic scream, though she rarely uses it), Hawkeye (superhuman eyesight), or Doctor Strange (magic counts as a super power in my book).

Having said that, here's the Top Ten I came up with in alphabetical order, so you can pick the one you think is The Greatest:

{democracy:168}

Continue reading

RP: That’s no reason to wear a mask

(Via ComicallyVintage.com.)

Character Contest 55: Henchables

Every good organization needs henchmen, those loveably expendable front-line shock troops referred to in times gone by as "cannon fodder". Whether you're talking about "Marked for Death" Star Fleet Red-shirts or the tunic-wearing green-clad losers with giant yellow "H" suspenders Hydra runs out to get their butts kicked by Captain America, these guys and gals put it all on the line every day knowing full well they've got a snowball's chance in Hell of making it through any scrape unscathed. And yet, they strap on their ginormous yellow AIM helmets anyway and gamely soldier on.

Not that all organizations with henchmen are evil. I say nay nay! S.H.I.E.L.D isn't shy about trotting someone's weak-kneed little brother out there in a midnight blue jumpsuit to get blasted to death, either.

Your challenge this week is to create henchmen for some larger comics organization. You could use an established group like A.I.M. or the Justice League, or you can use a group entirely of your own creation. Either way, we're not talking unique one-off heavy hitters, we're talking front-line soldiers who dress in uniforms here. For instance, Back in the Day buddy John and I were involved in a long-running Champions campaign. My criminal organization was "Leviathan", built along nautical themes while taking their motivation from Hobbes' vision of a humanity badly in need of someone to take charge. Their lowest level of front-line goons were called Piranha:

The heavy-hitter units were called Squids:

That's the kind of thing, in general, I'm talking about. Here are a few more henchmen to give you an idea of the kind of thing we're talking about:




The contest rules are the same as usual:

  • All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, 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 character design contest.
  • You cannot use any other image-editing software (like Photoshop or GIMP) to create your image (basic cropping excepted).
  • Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. 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). If you see "preview" or "rotate" somewhere in the link you're probably doing it wrong.
  • All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose a winner, who will receive his or her choice of any item or a portrait to be included in the final HeroMachine 3 program, or a "Sketch of the Week" style black and white illustration.

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