Illustrations by Canada-based Jordan Nieuwland
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Comic Round-Up: September 30, 2014
"To Catch a Goblin" by Sweden-based Brakkenimation
Interview: Axel Alonso on Prepping for a Female "Thor" and "AXIS" Impact
Interview: Ben Affleck discusses how Much Did "Dark Knight Returns" influenced the upcoming Batman v Superman movie?
Interview: In the latest RiYL podcast, Brian Heater interviews Art Spiegelman. "Despite the rumors, I am not the Jew in charge of all comics media"
Interview: "What If Our Modern World Was The Afterlife And Reincarnation Was Eternal Life?" Fred Van Lente In The Bleeding Cool Interview On Resurrectionists
10 Ways DC Adaptations Have Changed DC Comics
Comics History 101: IGN looks back at the history of The Flash
How Marvel’s The Avengers inspired Ben Affleck for Batman v Superman
It turns out the much-awaited Black Widow Movie Almost Hit The Big Screen Before Iron Man, but it seems that Sexism Killed It.
Link Round-Up: September 30, 2014
"Steampunk!" by Antonio Caparo
[ Previously: Artist: Antonio Javier Caparo ]
Cheap Art features local classifieds dedicated to buying and selling artwork priced under $1,000. The idea is based off the Bread and Puppet Cheap Art Manifesto. The folks behind Cheap Art believe art should be available to everyone, not just the privileged. The ‘Cheap’ in ‘Cheap Art’ is not meant to degrade the value of art but rather celebrate the everyday consumption of it. They believe walls don’t need to be decorated with mass-produced prints from Ikea, but rather original works created by our neighbors.
Infographic: The Hidden Patterns Created by Animals in Flight
A statistician is predicting the lifespans of Game of Throne Characters! And things are looking pretty good for Tyrion so far. The rest of them...well, just don’t get too attached.
Thoughts on Design – Paul Rand’s iconic design manifesto is back in print.
UPS now offers customers the ability to 3D print things in their stores.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Music Video: Batman Evolution
Tracks available for purchase from the artist's website.
The Piano Guys perform a powerful rendition of Batman television series and movie theme songs from the past fifty years in their recent music video, “Batman Evolution.” They even threw in some of the iconic vehicles that Batman used in the TV shows and films.
"Holy hemiola, Batman! 50 years of music and film all rolled together in front of the cars that have become icons of super hero history. This is one of those projects we’ve wanted to do from the very beginning of The Piano Guys. We love super heroes, the dramatic music that has brought them to life, and the vivid films that have made them legends. We used piano, cello, handheld cameras, a radio controlled helicopter, and some scrappy special effect techniques in the most creative ways possible to emulate the three epic eras of one of the greatest super heroes ever created: BATMAN!"
Music Video: Western Game of Thrones
The adaptability of the Game of Thrones theme song, composed by Ramin Djawadi, has been proven by the internet, but this arrangement by Benedikt Mendzigal we discovered on Reddit takes the cake. If Tarantino had adapted George R.R. Martin's series into a western about factions of claim jumpers, this would have been theme song for sure.
Video: Hertzfeldt Couch Gag
Couch Gag from "Clown In The Dumps" of The Simpsons
"Academy Award-nominated animator/filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt answers the question of what it would look like if THE SIMPSONS went far, far into the future!"
Video: Nikola Tesla Dood
“Nikola Tesla Dood” is an animated music video by Sarah Donner and The Oatmeal that praises inventor and electrical pioneer Nikola Tesla. The music video was made as a promotion for the ongoing effort to build a Nikola Tesla museum — which was initially launched in 2012 by The Oatmeal.
Video: 8-Bit The Matrix
The Matrix was an instant cult classic upon its release in the late 1990s. If only it been released just a few years earlier there would doubtlessly be countless console adaptations of the action film. Thankfully, CineFix let's us imagine what that might have looked like on the Nintendo or Sega.
Video: Everything Wrong With Fight Club
"Many of you have been asking for this for a while, so... hope you're happy. Because a whole bunch of other people are going to be sad now. But I digress... Like most movies, even Fight Club has some sins. We thought we'd list them for you."
Video: Disney Princess Rap Battle
Everyone loves the latest Disney princess, Elsa, from the ear-catching Frozen. There's one Disney princess who has been feeling neglected since Frozen captured America's hearts, though. Snow White. Whitney Avalon stars in this hilarious rap battle in which the two Disney stars finally compete for the title of the better princess.
Video: Couples Movie Night
“What do you want to do tonight” is a question everyone in a relationship hates to hear. Most of the time, we all just end up watching a movie on Netflix at home. The funny things is, what occurs during the movie night is almost universal in all relationships as BuzzFeed demonstrates in this amusing sketch.
Video: Marvel Trailer
Chris Pratt hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend and starred in the sketch "Marvel Trailer," mocking Marvel's on-going success at the box office. The trailer lampoons Ant-Man and reveals Marvel’s future slate of
superheroes you’ve never heard of, that you won’t want to miss on the
big screen. In it, they imagine a Star Wars version of Marvel’s popular film Guardians of the Galaxy.
"There’s a new group of blockbusters coming down the pipe from Marvel, including Bus People, Fancy Ghosts and Some Shopping Carts."
Short Film: Fol'Amor
"Fol'Amor" by GOBELINS pro
Directed by Augustin Clermont, Gilles Cortella, Marthe Delaporte, Clement De Ruyter,
Maïlys Garcia, Gaspard Sumeire, and Pierre Rütz
Maïlys Garcia, Gaspard Sumeire, and Pierre Rütz
"Fol'Amor" is a cute, funny short film that tells the story of why Arthur pulled Excalibur from its stone.
"A high-born lady and a young knight are frolicking in the forest when they come across Excalibur, which leads them to a silly game of seduction."
Short Film: My Father, Excalibur and Me
"My Father, Excalibur and Me" is a humorous take on Arthurian legend with a visual style reminiscent of How to Train your Dragon. The film was created by a group of students at Isart Digital.
Short Film: LIFE
"LIFE" directed by Iliya Atanasov from Pixelhunters
In "Life," a weary soldier in the distant future contemplates what he's made of his
life—the path that he's chosen, the lives he's taken. But as he steps
into battle ring one more time, he finds that his life is in for a
drastic change. If I have to say anything more than "robot battles," you really don't belong on this site, so I'll skip the usual commentary.
"Life is a battle of choices and roads to be taken. We choose our own paths, we mark our own map. Once choices have been made, actions play out. Consequences are delivered. And in the end, we live with those consequences. But, the real struggle is making the choice to change how we take the roads untaken. Are we tough enough to decide for ourselves when the time comes?"
Short Film: ENVOY
on Vimeo.
"E N V O Y" directed by David Weinstein
"Envoy" is a short film directed by Los Angeles filmmaker David Weinstein and Visual Effects Supervisor Adam Coggin about a boy who discovers a large robot hiding out in a local cornfield. The encounter leads to an innocent game of catch, but the situation begins to go downhill when the robot is attacked.
A child encountering an alien is an overly familiar story trope, and the military's role in the tale is over played. However, the short film is an excellent demonstration of how much can be accomplished on a shoe-string budget. It features both excellent cinematography and visual effects and still manages to transcend its narrative shortcomings to deliver both suspense and emotional impact in spades. The whole thing has an Iron Giant vibe.
Weinstein and his production team created the nine minute film as a proof of concept, in hopes that it might lead to a feature-length film. Given his beautiful execution, we have to believe someone's going to notice his hard work.
"Science fiction, action adventure, short film to be used as a proof of concept for a larger full-length feature film story. A young boy discovers a deadly alien creature and winds up entangled in a top secret government operation."
Short Film: Dosing
"Dosing" written and directed by Matt MacDonald
"Dosing" tells the story a lonely woman whose emotional stability is threatened by her use of downloadable drugs. The concept of drugs that can be downloaded is imagination-inspiring, and this short does a great job of demonstrating what I love best about science fiction, which is how the genre is capable of packing an incredible amount of ideas into a very short story.
"A lonely woman's relationship is pushed to the limits by her use of downloadable drugs."
Crafts: The One Ring Firering
Prints available for purchase from Etsy. US$500
One fire pit to rule them all! Or, at least, there was only one. Now it's gone. One firepit to rule them all, now in the hands of some lucky Esy customer. Someone seriously needs to manufacture these en masse.
"The ring is 26 inches in diameter and uses 16 gauge steel with a 12 gauge steel bottom. Then finished with a high temp black paint. The great Smaug himself would struggle burning through it!"
Posters: Studio Ghibli Art Nouveau
Studio Ghibli Art Nouveau Posters by Japan-based Marlboro
It just kills me when people post elaborate posters into which they've obviously poured countless hours of work, but they haven't bothered taking the final step of putting their work up for sale on one of the popular print sites.
Illustration: Bath time for Baby Cthulhu
"Bath time for Baby Cthulhu" by Mississippi-based Psithyrus
"Just a little cute chibi Cthulhu taking a bath and playing with his new toy: a cruise ship."
Illustration: Underwhelming Lovecraft
"Underwhelming Lovecraft" by Patrick Dean
Not-very-scary depictions of H.P. Lovecraft's most feared cosmic creatures.
This may very well be my new favorite things. Dean summarizes the stories of H.P. Lovecraft in short, dryly witty comics. My favorite is the synopsis of "The Music of Erich Zann." Think about it. If you were single-handedly keeping an evil alternate dimension at bay, don't you think that you'd keep an explanation at hand? Something along the lines of "Can't talk, holding off the apocalypse."
Artist: Matt Tkocz
"Nebula Rift"
Illustrations by Los Angeles-based Matt Tkocz
[ ArtStation | Tumblr ]
Matt Tkocz is a graduate of the Entertainment Design at the Art
Center College of Design and is currently working as a film industry concept designer based out of
Los Angeles. He has worked on projects such as Monster Trucks, Need For Speed, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Tkocz also teaches the Digital Painting 1 Master Class at the CG Master Academy. His work was recently included in EXOTIQUE 4.
Artist: Bram Sels
Illustrations by Bram Sels
Bram Sels is a concept designer who has worked in the entertainment industry since 2012. He has worked for such companies as 3DTotal, Centipede Press, Marauder Film, Tokkun Studios, Ubisoft, and Wideshot Entertainment. He is currently working as a concept artist for the Belgium based studio GriN on the upcoming indie title Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries.
T-Shirts: Marvel Cereals
Marvel Cereals by Tampa, Florida-based Bamboota and Elliot Fernandez
T-Shirts available for purchase from SharkRobot. US$19.95
SharkRobot's latest offerings feature Marvel's most popular characters as cereal mascots. Tucan Sam never looked this good! Now all they need is a Spider-Man and Wolverine designs.
Mash-Up: My Neighbor Totoro
Mashing the iconic cover art for Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor, Totoro with other franchises has become a staple of meme culture. Here's a round-up of my favorite mash-ups from around the web.
Comic Round-Up: September 29, 2014
Interview: The Long Beach Post interviews librarian and comics enthusiast Ziba Perez Zehdar who discusses the place of graphic novels in her library and plans for the Long Beach Comic Con.
News: Guardians of the Galaxy is now the third highest-grossing Marvel Studios film
Between the Panels: Should DC End the New 52?
Daniel Wood reflects upon The genius of the Spider-Verse.
Newsarama remembers the 10 All-Time Worst SIDEKICKS in Comics
Should Spider-Man Noir and Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman get their own series?
Ten Things We Want in GOTHAM Season 1
Why I Gave Up Games Journalism To Kickstart A Comic
Link Round-Up: September 29, 2014
"Commission done for Level 99 Games for their card game BattleCON! This is one of the characters, Runika, making a discovery in some old ruins."
These 3D Printed Lamp Shades will make your apartment look super futuristic.
Design 2014: 13 lessons for a new era
Film director Steven Soderbergh has spoken frequently about watching Indiana Jones in black and white, as it’s a valuable lesson in the framing of shots. He recently backed that up by posting the whole film in black and white with the original sound removed.
In his oped piece "Why I hate museums," James Durston characterizes the modern institutions as "Graveyards for stuff. Tombs for inanimate things."
It purports to be a fan fiction written by a mother who wanted to make a "family friendly" version of the Harry Potter books... That is to say, one that will not lead to your children "turning into witches". There is currently a lively debate as to whether it is an intentional joke or exactly what it claims to be. Whether it's real or satire, iThe Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles is certainly an entertaining read: "Voldemort doesn't care," Hermione remarked sadly; and she shook her head. "And he is gaining power. The freedom of Christians to practice our faith is disappearing by the day. Soon, it will be like it was in Rome." Lovely, ladylike tears began to roll down her delicate, terrified face. "And I don't like lions!" Relatedly, DailyDot explains why evangelical mommy bloggers don't want you to read "Harry Potter."
A list of riots caused by classical music, because it's not just modern media that causes controversies. It raises the question in my mind of why professional Claqueurs aren't still a thing.
The Modern Craftsman’s Guide: Work with Dignity by Sam Spurlin
Design 2014: 13 lessons for a new era
Film director Steven Soderbergh has spoken frequently about watching Indiana Jones in black and white, as it’s a valuable lesson in the framing of shots. He recently backed that up by posting the whole film in black and white with the original sound removed.
In his oped piece "Why I hate museums," James Durston characterizes the modern institutions as "Graveyards for stuff. Tombs for inanimate things."
It purports to be a fan fiction written by a mother who wanted to make a "family friendly" version of the Harry Potter books... That is to say, one that will not lead to your children "turning into witches". There is currently a lively debate as to whether it is an intentional joke or exactly what it claims to be. Whether it's real or satire, iThe Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles is certainly an entertaining read: "Voldemort doesn't care," Hermione remarked sadly; and she shook her head. "And he is gaining power. The freedom of Christians to practice our faith is disappearing by the day. Soon, it will be like it was in Rome." Lovely, ladylike tears began to roll down her delicate, terrified face. "And I don't like lions!" Relatedly, DailyDot explains why evangelical mommy bloggers don't want you to read "Harry Potter."
A list of riots caused by classical music, because it's not just modern media that causes controversies. It raises the question in my mind of why professional Claqueurs aren't still a thing.
The Modern Craftsman’s Guide: Work with Dignity by Sam Spurlin
Gaming Round-Up: September 29, 2014
"The only way to kill him is by slashing the back of his neck. Or drop him into some lava. Either way."
News: Fans of the Hong Kong crime drama Sleeping Dogs will be glad to hear that developer United Front Games is working on a PC-based sequel titled Triad Wars, set in the Hong Kong underworld of their previous game.
According to one particular 106 year-old man, the secret to a long and active life is... video games. Take that, parents of the world! We were right all along!
Blizzard Entertainment finally pulled the plug on their not-so-secret secret MMO after seven years in development this week. Blizzard co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime confirmed to Polygon that the project was now dead. News of their venture, codenamed Titan for the last several years, first leaked as far back as 2007, sending the gaming world into a frenzy as players salivated over the possibility of a new IP from the masters of modern MMO. What did we lose in Titan? A number of anonymous sources suggest it was a sci-fi MMO set on near-future Earth after a repelled alien invasion. It's combat and artistic design has been likened to that of Team Fortress 2. Massively wonders Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you.
According to one particular 106 year-old man, the secret to a long and active life is... video games. Take that, parents of the world! We were right all along!
Blizzard Entertainment finally pulled the plug on their not-so-secret secret MMO after seven years in development this week. Blizzard co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime confirmed to Polygon that the project was now dead. News of their venture, codenamed Titan for the last several years, first leaked as far back as 2007, sending the gaming world into a frenzy as players salivated over the possibility of a new IP from the masters of modern MMO. What did we lose in Titan? A number of anonymous sources suggest it was a sci-fi MMO set on near-future Earth after a repelled alien invasion. It's combat and artistic design has been likened to that of Team Fortress 2. Massively wonders Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Crafts: Mounted Video Game Controllers
Mounted Video Game Controllers
Source: Video Game Thoughts
This scrolled across my Tumblr dashboard this morning, and I thought it was awesome. I keep my controllers in a line in front of my television so that they're out in plain sight, but this would require a lot less dusting. I'm considering making one for myself.
"My girlfriend secretly bought a bunch of controllers and made this for me for my birthday!"
Fan Art Round-Up: Destiny
Destiny Fan Art
Bungie released their latest epic video game, Destiny, earlier this month, and the release was met with record sales, even as critics squabble over what genre the game falls into. Millions of players around the globe are playing, and many of them are expressing their love for the game through art. Check out this collection of fan created artwork, and make sure you follow the individual links to browse the artists’ galleries.
Comic Round-Up: September 26, 2014
Interview: Unshelved interviews Gene Luen Yang, creator of The Shadow Hero, while he wears the first Shadow Hero cosplayer.
Interview: The Washington Poster talks with Jeff Smith, Scott McCloud and Neil Gaiman about the importance of Banned Books Week. Says Gaiman, “I get tired of when people say that no books are banned just because [you can get it elsewhere]. Say you’re a kid in a school district [that banned a book] and there’s not a local Barnes & Noble and you don’t have 20 or 50 bucks in disposable income … That book is gone. It was there and now it’s not. The fact you can buy it on Amazon doesn’t make that any less bad.”
News: Comic book legend Jack Kirby's heirs settle with Marvel
Review: Every parent should read this comic book: From finding a babysitter to handling in-laws to flying through space in a tree, "Saga" makes parenting relatable.
Losing the Legion of Super-Heroes: this seems like one of those high concept titles that should always sort of work, so its confuses me why it's not a DC staple.
Salon remembers comic book characters who fought cancer. From "Superman" to "Captain Marvel," comics have offered some surprisingly artful, sensitive takes on the disease
A well-known comic store called Comic Book Heaven in Sunnyside, New York closed last year after being in operation for about thirty years. E.J. McLeavey-Fisher has documented the demise of the comic shop.
Link Round-Up: September 26, 2014
"Deamonhood" by Poland-based Daniel Tyka (Artificialdesign)
Bargeloads of art and exhibit materials have been going out to the former prison island of Alcatraz recently, all for an imprisonment- and human rights- and freedom of expression-themed exhibit by Chinese activist dissident artist Ai Weiwei, who designed and directed the installation while remaining under detention in Beijing. The barged materials include over a million Lego blocks, assembled in San Francisco.
From the author of the bestselling children’s book Go the Fuck to Sleep comes a sequel of sorts: You Have to Fucking Eat.
Someone's Making A Vincent Van Gogh Musical, So HuffPo Wrote a Playbill for it
When the painting of an Old Master starts cracking and flaking off, what is the best way to make it good? Should we reverently pick up the flakes of paint and surreptitiously glue them back on again? Is it honest to display a Raphael held together with PVA glue? When Renaissance paint fades or discolours, should we touch it up to retain at least a semblance of what the artist intended, or surrender to wabi-sabi?
Wife of Star Wars Artist Claims Cosplay is Partly to Blame For Creators Not Making Money at Conventions: "I have slowly come realize that in this selfie-obsessed, Instagram Era, COSPLAY is the new focus of these conventions–seeing and being seen, like some giant masquerade party. Conventions are no longer shows about commerce, product launches, and celebrating the people who created this genre in the first place. I’ve seen it first-hand–the uber-famous artist who traveled all of the way from Japan, sitting at Comic-Con, drawing as no one even paid attention to him, while the cosplayers held up floor traffic and fans surround the cosplayers–rather than the famed industry household name–to pose for selfies."
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Featured Site: Transformative Works
Transformative Works and Cultures is doing fandom an incredible service: by giving a voice to people within fandom, by preserving the discussions and ideas that were important to fan culture at certain points in time, by emphasizing our significance as a subculture — all the while doing it on our own terms.
These are fans working hard to give legitimacy to fan culture, and if you don’t think that’s awesome, then I don’t even know what to tell you.
These are fans working hard to give legitimacy to fan culture, and if you don’t think that’s awesome, then I don’t even know what to tell you.
Comic Round-Up: September 25, 2014
Event: Happy National Comic Book Day, everybody!
Infographic: the evolution of digital comics in the U.S.
Interview: Marvel editor Jordan D. White talks about editing the Star Wars comics, which is a bit more complicated than editing, say, Deadpool, because he has to submit the stories to Lucasfilm before assigning the art.
Interview: National Public Radio’s Lynn Neary covers Banned Books Week, with interviews with frequently banned creators Jeff Smith (Bone) and Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants).
Interview: Writers Robert Venditti and Van Jensen discuss what will happen to Wally West in "Futures End: The Flash #1."
News: The "Y: The Last Man" Movie Is Dead Again, which is a shame, because I personally think that this comic would rock a series even harder than the "Walking Dead."
All The Best Places To Read Manga That Aren’t Actually In Japan
Jeremy Renner Doesn’t Think Hawkeye Deserves His Own Film.
Marvel and DC: Comics as Cinematic R&D
Link Round-Up: September 25, 2014
News: Ray Bradbury’s Sci-Fi Collection Is Now up for Auction
A Golden Age of Design: Thanks to a convergence of creativity, technology and big money, the heyday of the field may finally be upon us.
Firefly: The Board Game Resin Ships
Halloween Time Novelty Items to Materialize at Disneyland Resort
I’d Live There: Star Wars Inspired House In South Korea
Meet the Man Who Designed Ecto-1, Ghostbusters’ Most Iconic Props, in Two Weeks
Tutorial: Turning Star Wars Toys Into Wearables
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Artist: Aleksi Briclot
Illustrations by Aleksi Briclot
Aleksi Briclot is a concept artist and illustrator creating art for
video games, magazines, graphic novels and comics. Aleksi also works in
the world of tabletop gaming and has done covers for the Mage, Vampire and C.O.P.S role-playing games.
Artist: Yohann Schepacz
Illustrations by Yohann Schepacz
Yohann Schepacz is a Senior Concept Artist currently working at Eidos Montreal. Yohann also works at OXAN his own design studio dedicated to concepting and painting imagery for films, print media and video games.
Sci-Fi Round-Up: September 24, 2014
"White Castle" by Moscow, Russia-based Yuri Shwedoff
Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$17.68
Interview: ABC interviews Damon Lindelof, creator of LOST.
Interview: Reddit hosted an AMA for David Mitchell, author of The Bone Clocks.
Interview: The Village Voice interviews Terry Gilliam, director of The Zero Theorem.
Interview: Wired interviews Terry Gilliam, author of The Zero Theorem.
Interview: Word and Film interviews James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner.
8 September 11th Allegories that Science Fiction Just Got Wrong
10 Big Differences Between The Maze Runner Book And Movie
12 Movies to Watch After You See The Maze Runner
20 Great Dystopian Movies: The Shadow of Perfection
Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination is early Cyberpunk at its best
Comic Round-Up: September 24, 2014
"The Court" by Canada-based Drake Tsui
"I'm still a little butt-hurt from the New 52 retcons but to me, the Court of Owls is probably the best villain to be added to the Bat rogues gallery since the classics. Their design is iconic and the way Scott Snyder introduced them was great, he has the perfect writing style for Batman. He just... gets the character, between him and Capulo's art I haven't enjoyed a main ongoing this much in a long time. :] Also want to note that this piece was inspired by Djurdjevic's amazing cover for Daredevil Issue#100"
Interview: Alison Bechdel discusses winning a MacArthur “genius grant”: “In the early ’80s, I started writing a comic strip about lesbians. I can’t think of a less likely career path in winning a MacArthur fellowship. Maybe being a bank robber. It was that outsiderness that drove me, and it’s a little unmooring to find myself an insider.”
Interview: Dark Horse Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie on the Lets Talk Comics podcast.
Interview: Venditti, Jensen discuss Wally West’s fate in "The Flash: Futures End"
News: Marvel drops Milo Manara from two covers after controversial 'Spider-Woman' cover, but Alonso Says Manara Cover Cancellation "Only a Scheduling Problem"
News: Marvel's Star Wars Comic Book Plans Expand Beyond the Classic Trilogy
News: Narnia director signs on for Dark Horse comic adaptation "Breath of Bones"
25 Comics And Graphic Novels That You Should Read... If You Haven't Already
Banned Books Week: Censoring the comics is no laughing matter
"What a bizarre day. I'm sitting here watching my email fill up with message after message from people from so many different times and places of my life, all congratulating me for the astonishing good fortune of receiving a MacArthur Fellowship. Not to mention a flurry of texts and tweets, and I haven't had the energy to even look at Facebook." Alison Bechdel, creator of the very long-running "Dykes to Watch Out For" as well as the autobiographical graphic novel "Fun Home" as well the "The Bechdel Test," has won the prestigious MacArthur Genuis grant, giving her the opportunity to dig into her archives for a previous comic she drew in 2004 to conclude her reaction blog post. NYMag has a recent interview with Bechdel.
Link Round-Up: September 24, 2014
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Fan Art
Prints available for purchase from RedBubble. US$6.60
News: From Toybox at io9, this man officially has the biggest Doctor Who toy collection of all time. No, really. Guinness World Records said so.
Birth of a new world: the Tolkien poem that marks the genesis of Middle-earth. On this day in September 1914, as war broke out, Tolkien created the mythical land that led him to The Lord of the Rings. Here’s the story of the poem that changed his life.
Custom-made sounds of world's first 3D-printed band.
For Cinephiles, Netflix Is Less and Less an Option
This Insane Internet Theory Suggests All Pixar Fans Live In The Same Universe
It's The Perfect Time To Play Dungeons & Dragons, according to Kotaku
The Lord of the Rings' history with video games is as long and storied as one would expect.
The Storied Evolution of the Star Wars Logo: When it comes to movie logos (or franchises for that matter) there are few as iconic as the now classic Star Wars trilogy… but how well do we really know the design behind that logo?
Birth of a new world: the Tolkien poem that marks the genesis of Middle-earth. On this day in September 1914, as war broke out, Tolkien created the mythical land that led him to The Lord of the Rings. Here’s the story of the poem that changed his life.
Custom-made sounds of world's first 3D-printed band.
For Cinephiles, Netflix Is Less and Less an Option
This Insane Internet Theory Suggests All Pixar Fans Live In The Same Universe
It's The Perfect Time To Play Dungeons & Dragons, according to Kotaku
The Lord of the Rings' history with video games is as long and storied as one would expect.
The Storied Evolution of the Star Wars Logo: When it comes to movie logos (or franchises for that matter) there are few as iconic as the now classic Star Wars trilogy… but how well do we really know the design behind that logo?
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Artist: Svetlin Velinov
Illustrations by Svetlin Velinov
Svetlin Velinov is a freelance concept artist and illustrator based in
Bulgaria. Svetlin has created illustrations for companies such as
Wizards of the Coast, Phoenix Age and Applibot.
Artist: Aaron Miller
Illustrations by Chicago-based Aaron Miller
Aaron Miller is a former Illie nominee who creates illustrations for books, games, and more. He has been published in Spectrum,
BlueCanvas, Exposé, Fantasy+, and ImagineFX magazine.
Illustration: Necronomicon
I was taking an innocent scroll down my Tumblr dash when all of the sudden, these illustrations popped up. Evidently Tumblr thinks I should enjoy a Tumblr called "A Whisper in the Dark," which turns out to be a hand illustrated "recreation" of the Necronomicon. No author or illustrator listed, just an avatar featuring H.P. Lovecraft's dour visage.
Nice call, Tumblr.
Nice call, Tumblr.
Fresh Take: Tim Burton Inspired Pokemon
Tim Burton Inspired Pokemon Drawings
I love this series of illustrations depicting Pokemon as they might have been drawn by Tim Burton. There's an entire Tumblr filled with them! I wish he'd animate an episode, because I think that there'd be lot of laughs in a Burton-esque interpretation of the Pokemon storyline.
Link Round-Up: Banned Book Week
Banned Book Week (September 21-27)
Free Poster from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Each year since 1982, the American Library Association has commemorated
Banned Books Week. The week, beginning on September 21 and ending
September 27th, is intended to “celebrate the freedom to read…the
freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider
unorthodox or unpopular.”
Illustration: Ban This Book
Prints available for purchase from the artist's website. US$18
"I drew this comic to celebrate Banned Books Week! This great op-ed by James Klise shows one author's experience with a challenge to intellectual freedom. The American Library Association has compiled a list of frequently banned and challenged books."
Infographic: Science Fiction Spaceships
"Size Comparison - Science Fiction Spaceships" by Germany-based Dirk Loechel
[ Previously: Every Sci-Fi Starship Ever ]
German artist Dirk Loechel recently added even more ships to his massive and now complete chart comparing the sizes of famous spaceships from movies, television shows, and video games. In this poster, Loechel features ships from Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Mass Effect, and more. He claims that this is absolutely the last update, but as a fellow compulsive, I suspect that we'll be seeing similar projects from him soon enough.
Humor: Princeless
"Princeless Book 1: Save Yourself" (2012)
Written by Jeremy Whitley and Illustrated by M. Goodwin
Written by Jeremy Whitley and Illustrated by M. Goodwin
Comic Round-Up: September 23, 2014
Event: National Comic Book Day Is September 25th!
10 ... No, 14 Ways Marvel MOVIES Changed Marvel COMICS
10 DC Comics Cities Perfect for Their Own TV Series
10 essential banned and challenged graphic novels
CBR suggests TV Shows That Would Make Awesome Comic Books
The Fallibility of Superheroes: Fighting the Gorgon
How Agents of SHIELD Season 2 is Going Back to the Comics For Inspiration
The Importance of Humor, From "Spider-Man & The X-Men" to "Guardians"
Newsarama remembers the 10 WORST Comic Book Live-Action TV Series of All Time
A summary of 17 years of X-Men storylines written out in a Reddit discussion thread.
10 ... No, 14 Ways Marvel MOVIES Changed Marvel COMICS
10 DC Comics Cities Perfect for Their Own TV Series
10 essential banned and challenged graphic novels
CBR suggests TV Shows That Would Make Awesome Comic Books
The Fallibility of Superheroes: Fighting the Gorgon
How Agents of SHIELD Season 2 is Going Back to the Comics For Inspiration
The Importance of Humor, From "Spider-Man & The X-Men" to "Guardians"
Newsarama remembers the 10 WORST Comic Book Live-Action TV Series of All Time
A summary of 17 years of X-Men storylines written out in a Reddit discussion thread.
Link Round-Up: September 23, 2014
Back in January, 2012, the Guggenheim (the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed modern art museum in NYC) put 65 art catalogues on the web, all free of charge. Since then, the number of free texts has grown to 109. Published between 1937 and 1999, the catalogues offer an intellectual and visual introduction to the work of Alexander Calder, Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, Gustav Klimt & Egon Schiele, Fernand Léger, and Kandinsky. If you’re looking for more free art books, don’t forget that all of the Getty’s virtual library volumes are available in PDF format, and can be added to your Google Books library.
Buffy the Mid-Life Crisis Slayer: what the show taught one writer about being forty.
Dungeons & Dragons Saved My Life
Enjoy Google’s "virtual museums" and don’t worry because it turns out that in-person museum attendance is on the rise.
Game of Thrones theme, '80s synth-style version, is the best thing you'll hear today.
The LA art world is shifting – it’s growing, and it’s heading east.
Mark Landis is an art forger who seems to be driven not by money, but by the desire to be a philanthropist. He's the subject of of a documentary film debuting in 2014. He also just did a a Reddit AMA about himself. Despite being very prolific, his work does not tend to stand up to scrutiny very long, but since he gives his work to museums, many works were accepted by museums who took him and the gift at face value. His intent seems to be largely about the act of giving and also about honoring his parents. However, his actions led to a great deal of disruption and confusion, and Matthew Leininger, a museum registrar has dedicated himself to uncovering Landis' forged works, possibly to the point where it affected his own employment - he no longer works in the museum field.
Buffy the Mid-Life Crisis Slayer: what the show taught one writer about being forty.
Dungeons & Dragons Saved My Life
Enjoy Google’s "virtual museums" and don’t worry because it turns out that in-person museum attendance is on the rise.
Game of Thrones theme, '80s synth-style version, is the best thing you'll hear today.
The LA art world is shifting – it’s growing, and it’s heading east.
Mark Landis is an art forger who seems to be driven not by money, but by the desire to be a philanthropist. He's the subject of of a documentary film debuting in 2014. He also just did a a Reddit AMA about himself. Despite being very prolific, his work does not tend to stand up to scrutiny very long, but since he gives his work to museums, many works were accepted by museums who took him and the gift at face value. His intent seems to be largely about the act of giving and also about honoring his parents. However, his actions led to a great deal of disruption and confusion, and Matthew Leininger, a museum registrar has dedicated himself to uncovering Landis' forged works, possibly to the point where it affected his own employment - he no longer works in the museum field.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Artist: Stefan Morrell
Illustrations by New Zealand-based Stefan Morrell
Artist: Olivier Pron
Illustrations by Olivier Pron
Olivier Pron is a concept artist and matte painter currently working in the film and entertainment industry. Olivier has worked on films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man 3, Cloud Atlas, Watchmen and X-Men: The Last Stand. You can see his work featured in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie Slipcase.