Hot Bendy Brokeback Girls: The Modern Artist’s Reference Tool

by Mike Hansen

Apologies for being away for a bit, folks. I’ve had a few back-to-back deadlines for paying (and potentially paying) comics-related work lately (a few Marvel books I got to research, and a script for my first original comics project). More on that soon…

Over the last few months, there’s been renewed controversy over some superhero artists drawing completely unrealistic poses for heroes impossibly bending in midair, from Catwoman to Wolverine. I think I’ve finally found the source for their crazy-ass drawings:

“Of course I can maintain this pose in mid-air! Meow!”

“Take THAT, office furniture of evil!”

More posts real soon. Stay tuned!

Why a sequel to Watchmen? (Answer: $$$)

by Mike Hansen

And then there was world peace, and they all lived happily ever after, The End (Image via Wikipedia)

Looks like it’s happening. DC’s throwing some high-level artists on Watchmen spinoff projects, and the general consensus is that it might be interesting, and that even the people who are complaining about Watchmen sequels (or prequels, or whatever, Who Cares) are gonna buy them. (I really need to find more comics to praise on this site, because it’s hard to keep up with complaining about the news coming from the comics world…)

I’m not surprised that DC is doing more Watchmen without Alan Moore; what surprises me is that it took them this long to pull the trigger. After all, Marvel didn’t touch Elektra after Frank Miller left Daredevil – until they decided they could make money off the character. Publishers that own characters will always put exploitation of their property before giving the creators the respect and control of their creations. (I wonder if Marvel’s ever going to pay Jack Kirby‘s heirs for all of the reprints of his work – not to mention all of the comics by others featuring his creations…)

The problem with sequels is that they’re rarely as interesting as the original vision, Chris Claremont’s first X-Men run notwithstanding. The more dependent a project is on previous material by other authors, the more I wonder why it even exists (from an artistic standpoint: obviously, with company-owned material, the reason is simply To Make Money).

Sure, in the

Remember, Sunday is WOMEN OF WONDER DAY!

by Mike Hansen

Winning a chance to appear in a Bendis comic is just one of the amazing auctions

Go here for all of the details!

If you’re anywhere near Oregon, New Jersey, or Texas on Sunday, you should get yourself to participating stores for Women of Wonder Day! Formerly known as Wonder Woman Day for 2006-2010, Women of Wonder Day has been an incredible fundraising event for women’s shelters and anti-domestic violence charities.

Original work and memorabilia from top comics stars and media have been donated for auction to raise needed money, and several creators and costumed characters will be appearing as well. This is a great opportunity for fans to get something cool while helping a worthy cause! In addition to amazing original artwork, there’s a chance to bid to be a character in an upcoming Brian Michael Bendis comic, original pages from some big titles, and lots of signed DVDs and more!

And even if you can’t be there, the website has donation links with Kickstarter and Paypal, as well as links to the specific charities being helped – why not chip in some bucks and help do some good?

Even if you can’t help out in the above ways, please SPREAD THE WORD about this important cause – despite this being WOW Day’s sixth year, it’s received very little attention in the comics press (though MTV Geek had a nice feature!). Get the word out, and support Women of Wonder Day!

The participating stores are:

Excalibur Comics: 2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon 12:00-6:00 P.M.

Comic Fusion, 42 Main St, Flemington, New Jersey 12:00-5:00 P.M.

Heres and Fantasies, 4945 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas 12:00-5:00 P.M.

Here’s a small sampling of what’s being auctioned – LOTS more at the main website!

Wonder Woman by Gilbert Hernandez

Batwoman by Steve Lieber

ORION Returns with Reviews of DC’s New 52 AQUAMAN #1, OUR LOVE IS REAL #1, and BRILLIANT #1!

Hey everyone, Mike here – in Recovery Mode from APE…

I’m putting together some stuff for the site – hopefully some of which will appear today or tomorrow – and hammering out a draft of a writing project (that I can hopefully talk about soon).

In the meantime, check out ORION’s reviews of some new #1s from several publishers. Orion’s first column on digital comics was the site’s most popular post last Thursday, so if you haven’t read it, go check it out!

Water, Sex and Science.

Aquaman #1 (2011-)

Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Ivan Reis

Publisher: DC Comics, 24 pages

Aquaman is back! With much thanks to the great DC Comics New 52-title reboot, our blonde sea king is on a fresh start. This means