Link roundup

1. A video game review with a clever twist. Read the review and then click on the button just below.

2. Batman comic by Chip Kidd and Tony Millionaire.

3. 2011 Nebula Award winners announced.

Link roundup

1. Gizmodo wants to hire a graffiti artist (and is actually inviting submissions by any type of artist). (It's a pay gig.)

2. Yet another great post by Jim Shooter about Marvel history, this time starring Bill Sienkiewicz. Click through to read about how he got his start at Marvel. Here's a taste:

Bill wasn’t invited to San Diego that year, but wanted to go. Bill was athletic—probably still is, I haven’t seen him for a while—and just the right size for the Spider-Man costume Marvel used for its character public appearance program (things like the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn).

I told Bill that if he’d wear the costume for a few events, Marvel would pay for the trip, all expenses. Save him significant dough. He agreed.

3. Nike estimates that LeBron James winning the NBA title could lead to a $4 billion bump in business in China. $4 billion approximates the entire NBA's revenues. Via.

Link roundup

1. How to make a bookmark that looks like you've crushed the Wicked Witch of the East in your book.

2. Elephant skeleton, I think.

3. "The 10 most absurd superhero drug freakouts."

Cinnamon bun-style hair circa 1947

From an issue of Airboy Comics circa 1947:



At first I thought she was wearing headphones, but no:



You can read the issue here, and below are a few choice panels:





*Buy pulp cover collections at Amazon.

Best Covers: Marvel solicitations for August 2011

My favorite covers from the Marvel comics solicitations for August 2011:


AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: INFESTED #1
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by BARRY KITSON, LEE GARBETT, EMMA RIOS & GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
One of Spider-Man’s most twisted foes is back, and he’s giving spider-powers to the people of New York! Good people, bad people — suddenly, Manhattan is full of great power! But what about responsibility? The road to Spider-Island starts here! Collecting material from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659-660 and #662-665.




FEAR ITSELF: DEADPOOL #3 (of 3)
Written by CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS
Penciled by BONG DAZO
Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN
Memo to Deadpool: next time you gussy up a loser villain so you can beat him easily and scam people out of their hard earned money, make sure you don’t accidentally actually make him more powerful than you. Of course, that assumes you’ll be willing to show your face after getting beaten by the now-unstoppable-but-still-incredibly-lame Walrus. Deadpool puts the hammer down and drives home the most irreverent tie-in of the year!




JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #626
Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover by STEPHANIE HANS
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN
Loki has assembled his team for his secret mission in the shadow of FEAR ITSELF. Now, he just needs his equipment. Is there anyone Loki won't won't turn to get the power he needs? SPOILERS: No, probably not. The question has to be whether the young boy has the guile to survive turning to them, and whether the promises he makes to secure the chance of a tomorrow will only ensure that the tomorrow will see Asgard as black as a cinder.

You can see more of my favorite comic book covers here.

Illustration roundup

Down the Rabbit Hole art print by NC Winters on sale here.




The Intervention of the Sabine Women by Jacques-Louis David. Via.




Panel from Master of Kung-Fu #17, in which Shang-Chi heals a paralyzed man.




Varsity Donuts logos by Matt Stevens.




The Death Ray by Daniel Clowes. Preorder for $12 at Amazon.

Best Covers: DC Comics Solicitations for August 2011

My favorite covers from the DC Comics solicitations for August 2011:


FABLES #108
Written by BILL WILLINGHAM
Art by MARK BUCKINGHAM and STEVE LEIALOHA
Cover by JOAO RUAS
They say the wages of sin are death. If that’s so, the community of refugee Fables hiding out in the Kingdom of Haven have to pay dearly for their past sins. First Prince Charming died to win their war. Then Boy Blue died to pay for the imagined peace that followed. And now... well, let’s just say the bodies have really been piling high. The tights and capes have been stored away forever, but it remains to be seen if Haven and its refugee inhabitants have survived the onslaught of. Where do the Fables go from here? Bigby and Snow White’s cubs try to move forward after learning a hard lesson about life and death. And the loveable, fan-favorite hero Bufkin the Flying Monkey gets into more trouble when he finally reaches his homeland of Oz.




BATMAN AND ROBIN #26
Written by DAVID HINE
Art by GREG TOCCHINI
Cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
1:10 Variant cover by J.G. JONES
Le Jardin Noir – France’s very own Arkham Asylum – falls under siege! Someone has freed the lunatics, and unless they can be stopped, they’ll turn Paris into a surreal Hell on Earth! Batman and Robin join Nightrunner in a mind-bending battle with the strangest lineup of villains this side of Bizarro World.




DC RETROACTIVE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA – THE ‘90S #1
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DEMATTEIS
Art and cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
It’s time to “Bwah Ha Ha” all over again as this classic JLA team tells a lost tale from one of the JLA’s most popular eras. The Injustice Gang is back! Not the truly menacing, more recent incarnation, but their not-so competent predecessors. Still, when they stumble upon a device they should never be allowed to have, the results might prove more disastrous than if they actually knew what they were doing! A previously released story from the era rounds out the issue.
(An homage to one of my alltime favorite single issues.)

*See more of my favorite comic book covers here.

Wonderworld Comics

The Flame, Yarko the Magician, and the Fighting District Attorney - - just a few of the pulp heroes in Wonderworld Comics #6. The issue is absolutely bursting with Tibetan vampires, giant octopuses, and...sardine poachers:





But the heroes always get the girl:



*Buy pulp cover collections at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Fascinating article about Stanley and Livingstone by Jess Nevins. (If you've enjoyed the various League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes, then you should definitely pick up his companion books.)

2. Steve Wing writing about comics:

And take the Hulk. The Hulk was this rampaging engine of destruction, sure, but still, deep down, he was basically a nice guy. That is, he was the reverse of how we actually were in seventh grade, me and Rick and Jerry: all too nerdishly nice on the surface, but underneath raging.

Via.

3. First 15 minutes of L.A. Noire.

4. First five minutes of Duke Nukem Forever.

Illustration roundup

Lots of great (and silly) Thor by Kirby pages in this gallery. You can buy Kirby's Thor collection at Amazon.




This is a dating don't.




Editorial illustration by Tomer Hanuka for the NY Times.





Spider-Man and Daredevil by Moebius (from a gallery of Moebius art). (It's interesting that Moebius is so famous, yet doesn't have a single comic in print at Amazon.) Via.




Pen Ward looking for a drinking buddy the other night.

Cinderella/Star Wars mashup, perhaps?

Star Wars: Invasion—Revelations #2 cover by Chris Scalf. You can see the rest of the Dark Horse Comics solicitations for August 2011 here.

And speaking of Star Wars, here's an Imperial lady by Phil Noto:



*Buy KOTOR toys at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Star Wars in the style of Pixar's Cars by Andrew Chesworth. Via these sites.




Panel from a fun pulpy comic featuring Korak, the son of Tarzan, vs. Nazis. You can read the issue here.



Bin Laden by Tim Denee for this article.




Kill Screen #3 cover.





Thor video game concept art by Justin Yun.

*Buy Boba Fett toys at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Portal movie poster by Tristan Reidford.



Hulk commission by Maris Wicks.



Does your body spell treason?



The least creepy of the new book covers for Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Thanks, Stephanie.

*Buy sketch cards at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Samurai Jack and Aku via these sites.




Strikeforce: Morituri ad circa 1986. Via.




Batman by Matt Taylor.




Piachu by Pavel Lagutin. Via.




Tintin short first by Dan Hipp.

*Buy Samurai Jack toys at eBay.