Tag Archives: DC Comics

May 11, 2013 · 5:57 pm

So, Iron Man 3 (spoiled rotten)

IM3-REVIEWOk so I saw this movie one Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Talked to friends about it and listened to a few podcasts and there were a few things that really stood out from this melange of Iron Man 3 experiences. I loved this movie otherwise I’m an idiot that loves to spend money on things I hate. While I love it, I can still see it’s flaws and similarities to other films.

Similarities to assorted Batman movies.

1. Nerd Scientist Becomes Sexy Bad Ass

IM3-REVIEW-ed-v-al

Aldridge Killian(Guy Pearce) in the beginning is really reminiscent of Jim Carey in Batman Forever , where they were goofy geeky scientists that were not socially acceptable and then transform into slick and devious business-men .

2. Antagonizing Twist.

In Batman Begins, Ra’s al Ghul is thought to be Ken Watanabe for most of the film, but turns out to be Liam Neesen. We were led to believe The Mandarin was the head of this terrorist organization but it turns out not the exotic asian, but the suave european. This happens in the Dark Knight Rises as well where we think Bane is the brains behind the operation, but it turns out to be Miranda Tate the business partner and eventual lover of Bruce Wayne. The difference here is that Bane is actually a physical threat that literally cripples Batman.

3. The Clean Slate as a Thing.

The Dark Knight Rises shows that Selina Kyle is willing to work with terrorists to have her criminal record expunged by using the Clean Slate, a program or virus that for some reason is being developed by Wayne Enterprises.  Tony’s Clean Slate is different, but it’s also powerful leverage in the film because it gets him back in Pepper Pott’s Good graces. As he destroys all of his armors and cuts down on his distractions. Not a big deal but something I noticed.

4. Exploding House.

Bruce Wayne’s mansion gets destroyed by his enemies and he has to crawl out the wreckage in Batman Begins. Tony’s house is also obliterated by his enemies. His enemies that represent a terrorist threat. Bruce Wayne needs to lift a wooden plank off of his chest,  Tony Stark has to lift a huge structure of of himself, using his strength too, this AI he developed.

 

 

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March 17, 2012 · 1:44 am

Pull Pile Podcast – Design

At my good friend Rah Unique’s (@rah_unique) recommendation I began following the Pull Pile Podcast on Twitter and Facebook. Okay for the uninitiated a pull pile (or pull list) is a list of comic books that collectors subscribe to at their Comic Book Store. Most of you may remember being able to pick up comics at your local candy shop, super market, news stand  or 7/11. That distribution model is long gone, Comics are primarily found in specialty Direct Market and Hobby stores. So the podcast is about the new releases the two hosts pick up every Wednesday, the day new releases of comic books are sold. They also discuss films and television series and other related media.

So the hosts of the Pull Pile Podcast  The Head and Winthrop Chesterton wanted to create a new identity and presence online with a new logo and some original artwork. They reached out to their fan-base and followers on various social media platforms. I answered the call and they got in touch with me and told me what they needed. Here’s what they had a friend put together to give me a rough idea for what design challenges I had to meet.

  

The great thing about this is that these guys knew what they wanted and were able to clearly demonstrate what they needed from me. So I pretty much hopped on this as soon as I could, because although I hadn’t met them personally I felt like these were kindred spirits, I saw their tweets, listened to their podcast and there was even some interaction online. They use the hashtag #letstalkcomics to ask fans questions about comics, the characters, the creators and the industry in general. So as I said there was already a bond, a sense of fellowship. So I showed them some roughs that I worked on in Adobe Illustrator.

       

I started with the familiar old DC Comics logo as inspiration. Then I modified it to a series of Ps with the number three taking up residence in the curve of the letter P. Being comic fans they went with the DC bullet, and the masthead was a simple design with layered bold letters reminiscent of the silver-age of comic books, which is around the late 50s/early 60s, where the Justice League of America formed and The X-Men, Avengers, Spider-Man and other well known characters were first introduced or revamped.

I was told to move forward with these designs and gave them a swatch of these designs with different color schemes. Here are a few that they liked.

 

I used the banner on their podcast as inspiration for a few color schemes. They really seemed to appreciate that.

With that done it was on to the illustrations and the mock comic book cover. The characters were definitely interesting and fun to draw, one has no face, like The Question and the other, an over large cranium, like Megamind. I feel a bit longwinded at this point, so I’ll just show the final product. I know bandwith is a little crazy in some places and too many images can slow ya down, so here you go.

I put the comic on a bed of classics and maybe spent too much time rendering the headphones, but I like the work and more importantly so did Winthtrop and The Head.

And that my friends is that.

Hopefully I get more (paid) work in the future to showcase, it was fun and I wish these guys all the success in the world. If you’re a fan of comics follow them on twitter, listen to the podcast and tell ’em @Countbaqula sent you.

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February 23, 2012 · 6:26 pm

Big City Dare2Draw at MoCCA

I’m a frequent volunteer at MoCCA, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, located in the SOHO neighborhood of New York City. It’s a nice place to look at some original artwork from some of the greats in the Comic Book and Animation fields. The museum helps legitimize the art forms and gives enthusiasts a more high brow place to gather than the local comic book shop. I also attend the Big City Dare2Draw pretty regularly too, The Dare2Draw is interesting in that comic book artists gather to sketch models in action poses, and network. There is usually an informative panel discussion as well, with professionals giving their insight on the industry. Last night I participated in both events at the same time and it was pretty fantastic.

The Dare2Draw was held at MoCCA and I was there as a volunteer, setting up, moving walls and museum fixtures and more interestingly handling original artwork from Bob Kane the creator of Batman, Neal Adams one of the most brilliant artists in the industry, and the work of other artists that have been instrumental in the telling of Batman’s story since 1939. The pieces were delicately handled as the gallery space was moved so we could make room for all the artists to get a good view of the models.

The guests didn’t get to see the back breaking set-up, but here’s the view they did get.

Museum Manager Jack Walsh at the Swag Table.

The Museum got pretty full and it was just about time to get some figure drawing in. But before that Dare2Draw host, TJ Glenn, The Urban Swashbuckler, welcomed the artists to the event and made some announcements about future events and introduced the panelists and other special guests, including famed DC Comics artist, Kyle Baker. Baker, the seated gentleman taking off his jacket, is known for his work on the all ages Plastic Man series, and his gritty Hawkman segment in Wednesday Comics.

TJ Glenn says he dresses like this everyday.

Kyle Baker, Dares 2 Draw.

When the models arrived I stopped taking photos and started sketching. The figure drawing exercise is broken down into 3 secgments, the first is a series of ten poses with a two-minute duration, followed by four 5-minute poses and concluding with two 10-minute poses. I’m not showing all of the sketches, but here are a few of mine.




All in all it was a good time, even with the heavy lifting that followed the event. We had to move the walls back into place and store some dusty metal planks. But, you know when you can’t be philanthropical with money, do it with time and muscles. The next Dare2Draw is March 28. 2012 held at Different Directions at 417 West 57th St. MoCCA’s gallery hours are 12:00Pm until 5:00PM, Tuesday through Sunday. The MoCCA Art Festival is takes place April 28-29 at the 69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY.

Check their websites for upcoming events.

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
Big City Dare2Draw

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