Wondercon T-Shirt Design

Last week I teased a little creation of mine that was going to be on sale at Wondercon this year. Well, we finally got the final product back, and I'm happy to announce the sale of my t-shirt design at The Comic Outpost. Here's the shirt below:

Front

Back

In conjunction with my friends at The Comic Outpost, this shirt is going on sale at Wondercon in The Comic Outpost booth (#1205). It will also go on sale the day before the con at The Comic Outpost store. 

How much you ask? Well, for the low, low price of $20, you get a custom silk screened, 100% cotton t-shirt. Men's and women's sizes S-XL available. Also available are buttons with the same design for $1. Buttons will be available with a blue background and with a white background.

Okay, shilling is over with...for now. If you're coming to Wondercon, stop by The Comic Outpost's booth and meet artist and co-creator of "The Boys" Darick Robertson. He will be signing at the booth and even has designed his own shirt for The Comic Outpost (which is also for sale).

See you at the con.

Amy Adams Cast As Lois Lane in Snyder's "Superman"

Again, Warner Bros. has decided to release casting information about Zack Synder's stab at a Superman movie on a Sunday. This time around it looks like Amy Adams has won the role of Lois Lane. So we've got Henry Cavill as Supes, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, Kevin Costner as Pa Kent, and now Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

After having seen "Sucker Punch" earlier this week, I'm not holding out any hope for this version of Superman being anything other than eye candy without a cohesive story, well-written dialog, or any thought put into it (again, other than the pretty visuals for a few scenes). Plus, after having seen "Sucker Punch", I'm wondering if all the female leads in this version of Superman are going to be wearing skimpy clothing while being battered or held down by the men in the movie while Snyder tries to tell us how 'empowering' it's making those women to look and act that way. 

Anyway, enough ranting. 

Sucker Punch: The Review (No Spoilers...For Now)

Got a pass to see Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" this Wednesday evening at the Metreon. Supposedly we were supposed to see it in the IMAX theater, but that didn't happen. It was shown in one of the regular-sized theaters, and at an odd hour...10pm. I've gone to a lot of sneak previews in years past, and they've all started at around 7-8 pm, never 10pm. Then I realized something....newspaper writers need to get their stories in by midnight to have their articles published in the next day's paper (yes, yes, it doesn't stop the digital media though). Nah...that couldn't be the reason.


On to the movie. It starts like we've seen in the trailer, girl gets taken to mental hospital where she is going to be lobotomized, and must escape in five days (when the doctor will come). Okay, I'm with you so far. Then there is an abrupt shift into another reality where the mental hospital becomes a brothel. Why? Honestly, I don't know.


So the girl taken to the hospital (which is now a brothel in this reality shift) is called Baby Doll. She is introduced to four other girls. For sake of brevity, you can get their names from the pic below.

The girls are lead/trained by a madam (who is the doctor in the mental hospital) named Gorski, played by Carla Gugino. It turns out that Gorski is training each girl to do their version of a sexy dance to get the clients worked up. Okay, I can roll with this so far.... It turns out that when Baby Doll gets into her dance, she mesmerizes men, and she is transported to yet another alternate reality where she has to find the "keys" to her salvation and freedom before the High Roller (aka The Doctor doing the lobotomy) gets to her. 

With me so far? If you get lost, don't bother trying to catch up, you're already food for the zombies and we will leave you behind. Suffer, bitch.

Anyway, so Baby Doll goes into these worlds and takes the other girls she has met (in the hospital/brothel) with her. How and why just these girls when there are literally a room full of people that are present as well is never explained. In each of these worlds she must defeat a Big Boss while also completing a Mission Checkpoint. Honestly, that's the easiest way to explain it, since it is exactly like a video game. 

If you've played video games, or are even remotely familiar with video games, then these worlds are going to seem mighty damn familiar to you. Add in some shaky-cam action scenes, and a few slowed-down action scenes (although a lot less than I was actually expecting from a Zack Synder movie) and you see where this is going. 

The dude threw the kitchen sink into this one. You've got World Wars 1 & 2, samurai armor, orcs, knights, robots, dragons, steampunk, jetpacks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay that last one, surprisingly, wasn't in the movie. Add to it the horrid acting from the main group of girls (the audience laughed more than once at unintentionally funny scenes), Scott Glenn (who has a character that really makes no sense as to why he's there in the first place), and the bizarro reasoning of the brothel reality instead of just sticking to the mental hospital reality, and you have one movie that's pretty badly made. 

Honestly, I could have seen Zack Snyder making the Big Boss scenes for fun and then posting them viral video style (like a lot of established directors have (hi, Mr. Whedon!)) on the web. Why? Because they were the only interesting part of the movie. Yup. Who would have guessed that the eye candy would be the best thing about a Zack Snyder movie? I know, even I'm amazed at myself. 

The movie clocked in at about an hour and 45 minutes. Frankly, it felt like three hours, and I felt like I was lobotomized afterwards. 

Rating: Wait for the dvd rental, or when Netflix starts streaming it. It's not worth the money, otherwise. 

Thor Window Display Finished

If you read my blog, you probably saw the Thor artwork I finished for the window display that I posted here last week. Well, I finally got the second half of the window display finished and up in the window. Here he is, ladies and gents, I give you; Destroyer.

Destroyer without a flash

Destroyer with a flash

Same as Thor, 3/4" foamboard painted with acrylic paint and finshed with Sharpie markers. The cool thing about this one is that I actually made Destroyer bigger than Thor.

Everyone associates Thor with Loki, and while I could have gone that route as well, I wanted a different villain. Destroyer was definitely a challenge since the majority of those lines on the piece were put there by using masking tape before applying the silver paint. The white highlights for the shine from the armor I almost went overboard on. So I'm proud that I was able to reign myself in a bit. 

Here's a few of the window from across the street right before the sky opened up and dumped on the store.

Let me know what you think. Critiques are most welcome.

Star Wars PSA Posters

Some pretty funny stuff over at CollegeHumor.com. These Star Wars PSA (Public Service Announcement) Posters got a pretty good chuckle out of me.

Click the link at the top and see the rest of them.

Are You Going To Wondercon?

Yes, the question coming up most frequently lately by the people I hang out with is, "Are you going to Wondercon?" Why, yes, yes I am. And this time around I'm actually going to selling a little creation of mine through my good friends over at The Comic Outpost. What am I peddling you ask? Why, a t-shirt of course. So in anticipation of this event, I thought I'd tease it out a little bit. 

Yeah, I'm going to be one of those guys that can't show you the picture at the moment. What am I waiting for? Well, I'm waiting for the first shirt to come off the presses so that I can show you a proper picture of a real product instead of just a digital mock up. 

I promise you that a week from today (or a week from tomorrow), I'll have a product picture up with all the associated information. For now, you'll have to settle for the tease. 

But you know you like it.

Neat Homicidal Robot Video Short

Remember that kid from the movie "Where The Wild Things Are"? Max Record is his name. Wonder what he's been up to? Me neither. Turns out that he's in this short about a wealthy family that buys a robot, which the son torments so much that it pretty much goes insane.


Blinky™ from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.


Ruairi Robinson was at one point attached to direct the Akira movie. Based on this short, I think he would have done a fine job. 

Another (Half) Window Display Piece Done

With Wondercon coming up in two weeks, and the announcement of Marvel Comics return to it after a 10 year absence, and the first of the comic book movies coming out in May, Thor was a no-brainer for the window display. 

Thor Without a Flash

Thor With a Flash

Mind you, this is only half the window display. The other half still hasn't been painted as of this posting. Hopefully I'll be done with the other half either on Sunday or on Tuesday at the latest. And yes, I realize that the picture without the flash is brighter than the picture with the flash. That's just the way it worked out. 

On to some technical aspects...I used King Kirby as the reference for this one, since I'm really starting to become comfortable with his awkward poses (which I'm convinced he did on purpose). The right hand and the hammer (Moljinar) didn't come out like I wanted, but considering it wasn't too far off the mark I'm happy with it. I also tried out Sharpie's new paint pens, since the industrial pens were giving me headaches and nausea. Well...the paint pen kind of sucks. If you're trying to draw out a long line, paint comes pouring out along the applicator and pools onto your artwork. Never a good thing. Lucky for me, I had some other non-stinky Sharpies to use in its place. 

The semi-circular hammer arc was a bit on the difficult side too, given that the hammer is in forced perspective. But I'm happy with the result overall.  It has that movement I was looking for, and was a bit different from previous window displays. 

Finally, the specs...3/4" foamboard, acrylic paint, and marker. It stands about 2.5' tall and about 3' - 3.5' wide. 

Let me know what you think below in the comments section. Enjoy.

Well, If The Apocalypse Is Coming, You'll Want To Fit In..

And what better way to do that than with a $2100 pair of hoof shoes. Yes, made of carbon fiber and horse hair, these shoes will have you fitting right in with the cloven-hoofed crowd that take over during the Apocalypse.

Of course, if the Apocalypse doesn't occur, you can always take your new shoes with you to the Furry Convention. 

Ya know, half the time I wish I could make stuff like this up just because it's so damn bizarre. 

Experiment #5,249

Remember way back when I started this blog I said I'd try my hand at watercolor painting? Well, I finally got around to it. What? I've been busy! There have been window displays (which the next one should be done and up right before Wondercon), and a special surprise that I've been working on that should see the light of day at Wondercon (more on that as it comes together).


Anyway, I digress. Like I said, I finally got around to using watercolors. Mind you, these are just tests using one color to see how to use gradients, washes, and to see how the paint flows. 

The first one I'm pretty happy with even though I didn't plan out the placement of the window panes, lines, etc. I was also getting used to the idea of using an exacto blade to scratch into the paint after it dried to get that sun-dappling effect. This was done with burnt umber color on watercolor paper.

On the other hand, this one (which I affectionately call "The Crapshack") was planned out as you can see by the heavy pencil lines. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as the window treatment did, but it did teach me patience with watercolors. 

I'm so used to acrylic paints and how quickly they dry AND how easy it is to go over an area to cover up mistakes, that I wasn't prepared for the beading up of water and waiting to dry, etc. of watercolors. 

There you have it. My first (but not last) foray into a different painting medium. Let me know what you think by posting below.

Nothing Screams 'Virgin!' Like.....

Paying $50 for a 3 hour stay in the Eden Hotel's Batman Room in Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. Yes, you read that right, it costs $50 per 3 hours. I guess if you're going to take a woman with you to a room that looks like this, you'd have to be paying her to be with you. Anyway, here's a peek.

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers

In 2004 there was a mini-series released by Marvel Comics simply titled. "Loki". Well, with the new Thor movie being released in May, Marvel Animation has decided to release "Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers" which is based on the aforementioned 2004 mini-series. It looks like it will be part motion comic, and part 3D animation. Here's the trailer.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

The only thing I'm not digging about this is that it's going to be released in 4 parts, and each one will cost $2.99. 

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers, an all-new four-episode series debuting on iTunes, Xbox LIVE, and PlayStation®Network on Monday, March 28th. Further episodes debut weekly on Wednesdays beginning April 6th, with each high-definition episode priced at $2.99 (standard definition is also available at $1.99/episode).

I'd rather just have a dvd release of the full movie since it's going to cost about the same anyway. Here's the referencing article.


Enjoy.

The Inhumans Are Coming From Marvel

Who in the hell are The Inhumans, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did (but watch the language next time....aw, who the fuck am I kidding?). The Inhumans are a group of super-powered beings that live on the dark side of the moon. They were first introduced in the Fantastic Four comics, but were later fleshed out a little bit more in various titles.

In one of these stories, the Inhumans came about as an experiment on primitive humans in ages past by the aliens known as the Kree. The Kree were trying to find a way to boost their own genetic gene pool (since it was dying out) and to create a race of super strong soldiers to fight in the war against the Kree's enemy; The Skrulls. 


Yes kids, we may actually have the first seeds of the Inhumans movie laid down for us in the The Avengers movie. But for you uber-fans you know what this really means? It means we may actually get to see Lockjaw and The Pet Avengers movie sometime in the future!

Lockjaw: Bulldog teleporter with a mustache.

Drug Addiction < Comic Book Addiction?

That appears to be the case in Colorado. Stop me if you heard this one; a meth dealer has $500,000 from selling meth, but instead of using it to buy clothes, cars, etc., the guy buys comic books. A little over 18,000 comic books to be exact. 

Lonna Gwinn, who says she used to sell Aaron’s meth, claims Aaron’s comic book obsession was so bad that she used to make cash exchanges inside comic books stores, at which point Aaron would turn around and use that cash to buy entire boxes of comics.

Now that's a serious problem. Not to mention that in this economy, comic books are a money losing investment unless you're buying Spider-Man #1, etc. Which it looked like he wasn't doing anyway. I guess that's meth-head logic for you. 


Who knew that meth was the gateway drug to comic books? Show of hands. 

Wanna Know Who The Bad Guys Are In The Avengers Movie?

It looks like the guys over at Latino Review have used their sources to find out who the villains are going to be. Everyone has been speculating that it would be the Hulk (which would be boring), because there would be one fight scene, Hulk joins the good guys and end of story. Since it looks like the Marvel movies are grounded in more of the Ultimates universe (hence, Sam Jackson as Nick Fury), it makes sense that they would go the route they've chosen.

So who are the villains? Who have they chosen? Are you really ready for the spoiler? Turn away now if you don't want to know......I'll wait......

Still there?

Last warning....

It looks like it's going to be Loki and the Skrulls. No, that's not the name of an 80's cover band. Those are two separate things. Loki:

is Thor's half brother, and a trickster god. We will be seeing Loki in the Thor movie coming out this May.

The Skrulls:

are a race of aliens that can shape-shift into anyone they want to be. Also, by getting a genetic sample, they can incorporate any powers from that sample into themselves. 

So there you have it, kids. Loki uses either the Cosmic Cube (which we will see in Captain America in July) or the Infinity Gauntlet to get the Skrulls to invade Earth, causing the Avengers to be formed. Pieces of the story will be laid in both Thor and Captain America (both coming out this year) only to be picked up and tied together in the Avengers in the Summer of 2012. 

Wanna know more about these storylines? Go to your friendly neighborhood comic book store to find out more. Why? Because reading a synopsis on Wikipedia is not only boring, but makes you look like a cheapskate.

Enjoy. 

Patton Oswalt's New Book....

If you've been reading this blog from the beginning (I'm sorry), you've probably seen my former tirade about Patton Oswalt's article on geek culture needing die to be reborn. I was in the book store today and decided to take a look at Oswalt's new book, "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland" (it was even autographed *squeal like a prepubescent girl and her 40-something year old mother at a screening of Twilight*). I leafed through the first fifteen pages (which I tend to do with hardcover books priced at $24.00 and which are as thin as a comic book), and found fifteen pop culture references that no one will remember after this year. So I put the book back into its little cubbyhole. 


Don't get me wrong, Patton is a fine stand up comic, but that's where his talents begin and end. As a writer, he's pretty painful to read. Which is a shame, because I had high hopes for this book especially since it was endorsed by one of my favorite writers, Harlan Ellison (among others). I have a feeling that Harlan either never read the book before endorsing it, or read it and took pity on a friend (which would be HIGHLY out of character) and gave the glowing review anyway. Suffice it to say, if you're on the fence about buying the book, don't. Or at least wait until it comes out in paperback and falls into the discount bin. 


You'll be glad that you did.