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.