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Showing posts with label superman. Show all posts

Illustration roundup

Apparently, the The Japanese Consulate in New York has officially complained to the International Herald Tribune about this Snow White and the radioactive apple comic. Via.

Illustrations by Carly Monardo from 101 Reasons to Shop, which is 32% off at Amazon.

X-23 and Deathstrike by Ben Templesmith.

Duck Hunt becomes Mynock Hunt in this t-shirt design by John Karpinsky. Currently up for vote at Threadless.

Kate Beaton posted a bunch of Lois and Clark strips.

*Buy X-23 toys at eBay.

Annotations from the Superman episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Last week's "Battle of the Superheroes!" episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold was an absolute pleasure to watch with my kids. You can probably catch most, if not all of it, at Youtube, and these sites have provided detailed annotations. For example:

You can also find several wallpaper-sized images at this site, including these:

Via.

*Buy Jimmy Olsen toys at eBay.

Jon Hamm as Batman and Superman

Jon Hamm as Batman and Superman by Stan Chow, who has lots of prints on sale here.

*Buy Batgirl costumes at Amazon.

iPhantom Zone

Genius from Dean Trippe - - this would be a terrific app from DC - - your iPad or iPhone could function as a viewer into the Phantom Zone. They could have an Arkham Asylum version, too - - every time you open it, you look into a different villain's cell.

UPDATE: My mistake, this is apparently the source for the image.

*Buy iPads at eBay.

Watch as Chip Kidd accurately points out that the cover to All-Star Superman #1 is terrible

Here's a 90 minute lecture by Chip Kidd from 2009 about several projects he had recently completed.

He starts by taking a shot at Celine Dion and Vegas:

And establishing his bonafides as a Batman geek (that's him as Robin in a costume made by his mom):

The first project he describes is designing the logos for All-Star Superman and All-Star Batman and Robin - - he got the job because Frank Miller demanded DC hire him.

The Superman logo represents Superman flying away at great speed:

While the Batman and Robin logo looks like the duo crashing through a skylight (emphasizing Robin, his favorite):

After that, the speech takes a surprising turn as he mocks the DC staff:

The thing that you need to know about the staff at DC Comics . . . is that they are all to one, overgrown 15-year-olds, mostly men, who breathe through their mouths, and are crazy, and have no taste.

The insults are tacky, but I entirely agree with his next point - - the covers to All-Star Superman #1 and All-Star Batman and Robin #1 were horrendous.

Jim Lee's cover for Batman and Robin is hopelessly busy and features the duo hanging from something that's bizarrely high. And Robin seems to be kicking Batman in the groin:

The Superman cover is at least a better illustration, but is tremendously boring. I suspect that the people who liked it were preprogrammed to do so by the many interviews Grant Morrison gave in which he described meeting a Superman cosplayer who became his muse. For example:

I’ve told this story in more detail elsewhere but basically, we were trying to figure out how to “reboot” Superman without splitting up his marriage to Lois, which seemed like a cop–out. It was the beginning of the conversations which ultimately led to Superman Now, with Dan and I restlessly pacing around trying to figure out a new way into the character of Superman and coming up short...

Until we looked up to see a guy dressed as Superman crossing the train tracks. Not just any skinny convention guy in an ill–fitting suit, this guy actually looked like Superman. It was too good a moment to let pass, so I ran over to him, told him what we’d been trying to do and asked if he wouldn’t mind indulging us by answering some questions about Superman, which he did...in the persona and voice of Superman!

We talked for an hour and a half and he walked off into the night with his friend (no, it wasn’t Jimmy Olsen, sadly). I sat up the rest of the night, scribbling page after page of Superman notes as the sun came up over the naval yards.

My entire approach to Superman had come from the way that guy had been sitting; so easy, so confident, as if, invulnerable to all physical harm, he could relax completely and be spontaneous and warm. That pose, sitting hunched on the bollard, with one knee up, the cape just hanging there, talking to us seemed to me to be the opposite of the clenched, muscle-bound look the character sometimes sports and that was the key to Superman for me.

Now if you had read one of those interviews, then you would have understood the story that's being told on the cover:

But if, like Chip Kidd, you hadn't, then the cover says nothing at all. If anything, as Kidd points out, it features a Superman sitting in a fairly unmasculine pose, and who seems disinterested in his city. Compare it to some of the other covers in the series:

Now those covers tell a story. All in all, the lecture is a fascinating look at how Kidd goes about his work. You can buy a wonderful collection of Chip Kidd's book covers, at Amazon. Via.

Supergirl by Ryan Kelly

Supergirl by Ryan Kelly. Via.

*Buy Supergirl toys at eBay.

Jon Hamm as Superman

Jon Hamm as Superman by Phil Noto. Via.

*Previously: Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane.

The Best Buy exclusive All-Star Superman figure

Best Buy has an exclusive version of the new All-Star Superman movie that comes with Superman in his white solar costume. I was planning on getting the movie for my boys, and was wondering if the figure was worth the extra money (and a trip to Best Buy). Has anyone seen a better photo?

UPDATE: Thanks to the commenters: