Sunday, July 29, 2012

LOOKIT DAT!!!: PUSSY GALORE KICKS ASS

She was Dr. Catherine Gale in THE AVENGERS, serving as Steed's first female partner,
She was Hera in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS,
And, of course, she was Pussy Galore opposite Connery's 007,
Here, the actress teaches a little self-defense...




LOOKIT DAT!!!: BEN FRANKLIN & THOR HARNESS THE POWER OF THE STORM

That's right, folks, the God of Thunder, Thor helped Ben Franklin harness the power of lightning!

Historical fact.
Artistic rendering.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

LOOKIT DAT!!!: BATMAN ON THE MOON

What if Newt Gingrich had won the Republican Primary?
This is what:

(Click for a clue to tonight's puzzle!)

LOOKIT DAT!!!: ARE WE SURE ABOUT BILLY?

One of the many pieces of art that made us all wonder about Doctor Sivana, not necessarily Billy Batson...


But after all the rumors about Billy Batson possibly being the mystery gay character in the Nu-DC, I had to look back at the above to see his reaction to the rear assault just to be sure.

Kurt Shaffenberger was a damn fine artist, even when drawing the absurd.

Friday, July 27, 2012

LOOKIT DAT!!!: THE CAPTAIN & FUNNY ANIMALS

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going through my image folders doing some spring cleaning now that it's mid-Summer clearing out some files I've been hoarding like a fiend for quite a while.  I tend to do that with images and then come back to them either as fascinated as before or perplexed as to what the heck I thought I saw the first time around.  This should be interesting insight into my way of seeing things or a disturbing look into a fractured mind.

YOU BE THE JUDGE!

These peeks into my accumulated image files will be entitled "LOOKIT DAT!!!".

Here we go:

I'll have to assume that the following drawing by the late great "Mean" Gene Colan was a collector's request as these guys just seem strange together!  Pluto with Howard the Duck and not Donald and Bugs whispering in Cap's ear--kind of odd.  Still, Gene pulled off the sketch flawlessly
and that's the point when you're trying to please a fan.



Saturday, July 21, 2012

OF STORIES AND FORESTS

Couple of sketches this week while trying to get back in the groove
after having smote all of my enemies in the Character Battle Royale
(That's right, folks, I am the CHAMPION)


This here is the SANDMAN...
a wee bit of a new take on Neil Gaiman's titular character, but being that he had many looks,
not much of a big deal...


Below, we have ourselves an angry Ent,
that strange breed of character created by J.R.R. Tolkien that is one of the oldest kind of creatures in the world and one of the strangest.  


On to young Tim Hunter, then...

Friday, July 13, 2012

BUILDING UP FROM SCRATCH

When considering the possibilities of how to portray a battle between two characters in a single image or scene, I like to consider the finale of such a battle.  It is, after all, the result of said
battle and is one of the most important parts.

When thinking on an obvious lopsided battle, the finale becomes the more important because of the "how".  Surely we all know this was the inevitable outcome, but here is exactly how
it actually went down...etc.



So when it came down to Darkseid and Carnage in a Character Battle Royale that I was a 
participant in, it was too easy to imagine the many possibilities of the Lord of Apocalypse
destroying the tiresome Spider-Man villain and Venom also-ran.

>>>>Click on any of the images here for that bigger flavor we all crave!<<<<

I can always go "Omega Beams!" with Darkseid, but for a character such as this, I think that a
simple physical act should do the trick and what better way than removing the guy's head from
his shoulders.  Simple and to the point.


(I love how Carnage's hand comes up yearning to free himself even when his head's gone!)

But then I got to thinking about how a touch of comedy can lighten the dark mood of a 
piece of art featuring a beheading.  And so I came up with this...


(That's supposed to be Spidey being held up by Darkseid, looking down on the corpse of Carnage.)



(Found my angle with the above sketch,
Darkseid holding up Carnage's face to Spidey while asking the question:
"Why is it that your enemies keep attacking me, Spider?")


(Expanded it on the computer to show Spidey reacting to Darkseid's question with:
"That's what I ask myself every day!")


I ended up not going with the above as it was a little too unfocused on Carnage, so
I decided on the direct approach again.  Though this time in the middle of the act itself!


(Drew the above on packing cardboard from work with a ballpoint.)



(Cleaned up a bit in photoshop and tilted (always the fun part))



(Cleaned up more and Carnage's arm has been repositioned into more a defensive pose.)



(And the digital inking begins.)



(Digital inking for the figures nearly done.)



(Here we join the coloring process nearly completed.)




(And now we have the finished product!)

And, just so you know, the battle continues over at...



Tuesday, July 3, 2012

SUPER HEROES ON TRICYCLES

Yep, there they are thanks to the Marx Toy company...
super-deformed and goofier than all hell.





Can our heroes live down this indignity?
Tune in next month for the continuing adventures!

Monday, July 2, 2012

LOS VENGADORES PRESENTA...

I REALLY ENJOY CLASSIC FOREIGN PRINTINGS OF THE OLD STUFF,
IT REALLY GIVES YOU INSIGHT TO HOW THESE HEROES ARE PRESENTED
ALL OVER THE WORLD.











Sunday, July 1, 2012

MUHAMMAD ALI vs POP CULTURE



From the archives--Muhammad Ali was something of a superhero in the 60s and 1970s,
here he takes a peek at his own battle with the Man of Steel...

The King of the Ring vs the King of Rock and Roll.
Ali has a huge reach advantage...

The Fab 4 try to mouth off as energetically as Ali.


Ali meets Andre the Giant--
showing that Andre's mitt was one all boxers would envy. 

Bob Dylan meets the Greatest.
Kind of Alice Cooper in the eyes there Bob?

Solo shot of Ali at his physical best, but for all of his physical gifts
we all know it was his mouth that was his most formidable weapon.