Character Contest 20 Winner

Although it was a smaller turnout than usual (not that I blame anyone -- I certainly wouldn't want a picture of me up on the internet! -- I appreciate everyone who made an entry into our last costume contest, which asked you to put up a HeroMachine image of an actual Halloween costume. In addition to the folks who bravely posted themselves, several people put together excellent composites of other people.

PhoenixTallon posted some very nice adaptions, but my favorite was her "I Dream of Jeannie":
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Random Panel: “And I can’t stop describing everything out loud!”

captainvideo-2-1951-crumple

(From "Captain Video" number 2, 1951.)

Poll Position: Living a really cool lie

A lot of heroic fiction is based on the main character waking one day to discover that he or she is not, in fact, a powerless drone, but a mighty warrior / king / Kryptonian with massive powers / what have you. So I got to wondering:

{democracy:107}

Discussion to follow.

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Random Panel: Because Pittsburgh=civilization

captainvideo-2-1951-pittsburgh

(From "Captain Video" number 2, 1951.)

Random Panel: Love means calling your baby “It”

marvelfamily-1-1945-babyit

(From "Marvel Family" number 1, 1945.)

HM3: New items added

I am happy to announce the release of several more prizes for contest winners, now live and available for your use in your own creations.

First, BlueBlazer has been added to the lineup of studly hombres in the Head-Winners set for taking home Caption Contest 56:
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Random Panel: Great moments in Freudian subtext

captainvideo-2-1951-tunnel

(From "Captain Video" number 2, 1951.)

HM3: Female update, update

At the urging of a couple of comments in the previous post, here's an updated version of the propose shoulders-square female figure. The new one's on the left, with "more finishing details" like toenails, better hands, etc. and slimmer hips, along with arms more akimbo:

3newfemales

Let me know your thoughts on these, which you prefer, etc.

HM3: Female figure redux

I'd like to get your feedback on two possible female templates. The image below has the two generic ones (with faces for reference) in the middle, then two sample characters with outfits on so you can see how they might look dressed.

The major change has been in the pose. We discovered that trying to put a female in the pose the male is in -- arms akimbo, held out from the body, weight evenly distributed, feet on the same level -- made her look very mannish, no matter what her body was like. At the end of the day, the point of this whole thing is to get a drawing that looks good, as if it were commissioned at a convention by a real comics artist, NOT to make my life easier. So I am probably going to have to abandon the concept that the poses would be exactly the same and that it would be up to the user to put it however they wanted. That's still possible, but I have to make the default image, I think, the best it can possibly be for those who don't want to go the extra mile.

I'm curious to get your input on that, as well.

Anyway, here goes:
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Random Panel: Strangely, it just makes women giggle

captainvideo-2-1951-vibrogun

(From "Captain Video" number 2, 1951.)