The Myth of 8-Opus: Now Online!

Tom Scioli's indy comic The Myth of 8-Opus is now being serialized online, which you can find here. Scioli describes the series as the adventures of a "god-hero of the cosmos, and the Unmortals as they fight the snake-like Sons of Nashek, THE-SERPENT-WHO-IS-THE-UNIVERSE."

Scioli also has another serial online, which is some of the craziest shit I've ever seen. It's called American Barbarian and ... well, take a look for yourself. It's just getting started, but the designs alone are like a  Jolly Rancher flavored acid trip.

Scioli is probably best know (by me, anyway) as the artist on Godland for Image Comics. Godland is expected to be wrapping up in the near future, which ought to leave room on Scioli's schedule for more 8-Opus/American Barbarian tales. (He also drew this for me.)

Rocking and Rowling

There’s a weird musical subculture out there that rarely gets mainstream media attention: Wizard Rock.

While the idea of Wizard Rock goes back to the days when headshops were still evolving into comicbook stores, fans of Harry Potter have ramped things up to the Nth Degree. There’s so much of this music out there that, given enough time, it might come to rival Horror Punk (though I kinda doubt it.)

While booking bands for a recent charity fundraiser I came across some Wizard Rock (or Wizard Folk, in some cases) bands that I thought I’d share. Keep in mind that I’m not especially a fan of Harry Potter — but I still think this kind of creativity is worth discussing. The links will take you to their MySpace pages.

Note: The bands listed below are just the tip of the iceberg. The websites for each of these bands will likely lead you to dozens of other Wizard Rock artists. The age of some of these artists can be sometimes startling.

The Half Kneazles, of Chapel Hill, N.C., describe themselves as "a wizard rock band consisting of two friends, Nancy and Abby. Quarter Kneazles....and nerdy high school girls." I’m not exactly sure what a “kneazle” is, but that’s not surprising. I had to visit Google to understand some of the lyrics to the mc chris song “Neville.”

The Blibbering Humdingers are a husband and wife duo in Cary, N.C. who perform Wizard Rock, Potter Filk, Celtic, Medieval, Renaissance, and original folk music. Their original music actually pre-dates the Potter books by a few years, and were inspired to try their hands at Wizard Rock after seeing Harry and the Potters.

Hawthorn and Holly, of Charlotte, N.C., don’t have much to say about themselves at their website, but do take the time to outline the goals of WRock: To encourage young people to read, and to encourage young people to be involved with music.

The Remus Lupins have one of the more interesting mission statements: “… here are the songs from the Pensieve, the songs from Remus' mind, from every perspective, borne of these stored memories, and infused with werewolf energy. This is Wizard Rock for those who can handle it.”

The Moaning Myrtles are Lauren and Nina, a piano-based wizard rock band from Hillsborough, N.J. “The idea for the band was sparked in November 2005 when we saw Harry and the Potters play a live show and Lauren brought up how many new wizard rock bands had started.” As I mentioned earlier, these acts are only a few of the Wizard Rock acts out there. The Moaning Myrtles have played with the likes of The Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys, The Parselmouths, Ministry of Magic, and others.

It's Official: Darth Vader was Crazy

A French psychiatrist took a look at Anakin Skywalker's gradual descent to the dark side and found that nobody should have been surprised by the outcome. He noted Darth Vader possessed “six of the nine borderline personality disorder criteria" and had this to say:

"... the future Darth Vader showed both impulsivity and anger management issues as an overexcited, lovelorn Jedi. He went back and forth between idealizing and devaluing Jedi mentors, such as a humorless young Obi-Wan Kenobi."

 "Using the dark side of the Force could be considered as similar to drug use: It feels really good when you use it, it alters your consciousness and you know you shouldn't do it."

You can read the whole story here.

Comicbook beef in S.C.

There aren't very many "blaxpolitation" themed comics in print these days. So who'd have thought that two are currently being published in South Carolina?

I honestly don't know which came first, and I'm not just saying that so that I don't get killed in some dispute between these guys (you know how violent and antisocial comicbook artists can be — those guys are hardcore thugs.) One is titled Rachel Rage and is the work of John Aston and the other is titled World of Hurt, written and drawn by Columbia, S.C.'s Jay Potts. I recommend both of them, which you can read for free at their respective websites.

Last Sunday, at the HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C,, the South Carolina blaxpolitation comicbook beef escalated when Potts drew the sketch you see above — which features Aston's character Rachel Rage proclaiming her love of World of Hurt. I was pretty sure Aston was reaching for that straight razor he keeps in his boot, but the crowd managed to keep the two artists apart (and out of jail.) Which is probably a good thing, because I hear Potts is the kind of guy who would bring a hand grenade to a knife fight. Shit could have got real bad, real quick.

NOTE: I've got a surprising amount of sketches from Aston over the years, and Potts is currently working on a sketch for me of Avery Brooks as Hawk, from the TV show Spencer for Hire (Brooks was the only reason I watched that show.) I'll post it when it arrives.

ANOTHER NOTE: Yes, most of this post is satire.

Spider-Man 2099 4EVR

 When it comes to Spider-Man 2099, the Hypno Pimp might be the last fan standing. And he wanted to share this little clip with you, which reveals that Miguel O'Hara — Spider-Man 2099, himself — is part of Activision's upcoming "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions" game. Watch the clip above.

Review: How to Destroy Angels

Here's my fundamental problem with Christianity: the math jut doesn't add up.
Once you accept the notion of an omnipotent, eternal power, you have to accept that the nature of eternity eclipses everything else. A infinite god simply can't create something that exists outside of itself so, consequently, everything that exists is a part of that same being. If you accept that, then concepts like good, evil, free will and individuality become meaningless.

These are the thoughts I was entertaining while listening to How to Destroy Angels, a new musical project launched by Trent Reznor. Like Jack White, Reznor appears to have grown bored with the music that pays his bills and seems to have something to prove to the world. What he doesn't seem to realize is that it's almost impossible to create something that doesn't contain some essential — and visible — part of you.

Jack White has no less than three bands with record deals: The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, all of which kinda sound like each other. The further down the line White took these projects, the more efforts he had to take to mask his creative voice. But nothing he's done so far really hides his input into these bands, though. Even putting a female lead singer out front and handing his guitar to someone else has done little to disguise his presence in The Dead Weather. They still kinda sound like The White Stripes.

Reznor has taken a similar step in How to Destroy Angels by turning over vocals to his wife Mariqueen Maandig. And, as with The Dead Weather, the result sounds pretty much like what you'd expect from Trent Reznor. Only a little less interesting. Reznor's got a terrific dramatic range (even if most of the emotions he excels at sharing are a little bleak) but I'm not getting that sense of range from Maandig on How to Destroy Angels' first EP. While she's got a pleasant voice, it never veers too far in any one direction.

But the fault isn't really with Maandig; it's with Reznor's songs. The album hums along at a hypnotic pace and doesn't require much more from her than the average trance tune would. The EP — which you can download from the band's website for free — seems more like the beginning of an idea than like an idea, itself.

I'm far from convinced that How to Destroy Angels will be anything other than an interesting detour on Reznor's career path. While it might sound like I think this project is a wasted effort, that's not really the case. My favorite artists are the ones who sometimes knock off the dust and try new things. If I take issue with anything it's with the pretension that How to Destroy Angels is not a Trent Reznor album. Because, from the album's first note, it clearly is.

Pop Art: Blade

One of my favorite discoveries at last weekend's HeroesCon was artist Shaun Ward, who contributed a sketch of Blade to my collection. Ward's got a really energetic style and a great sense of humor. If you browse though the art at his website you'll find a very subtle criticism of DC's on-going decision to make Robin younger and younger every time his origin is retold. My favorite might be the image of Batman defending an infant Robin in a cradle.

He's also got a creator-owned series in development that sounds incredibly fascinating (and make sure you check out his re-designs of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here.)

Meanwhile, enjoy his take on Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight below.

The Daily Wire: Iron-Man edition

 

Robert Downey Jr. shops for comics

Custom Iron-Man, War Machine sneakers

"Ironman" Contributes $100,000 to Oil Spill Relief Effort

  R2-D2 preps his Iron-Man costume for Halloween

 Iron-Man 2 deleted scenes, special features?!

Starfest 2010 Costume Contest

Danzig on Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld

There's not much that will get me to watch Fox News. Glenn Danzig is apparently enough reason, though.

Free Music Friday (on Tuesday)

Last week I had an installment of Free Music Friday ready to go, but got cold feet. It was a download link to Devo's Be Stiff EP, which is a pretty damn significant album that — strangely — has never been released on CD. The songs have been released individually on various compilations, though, and I'm hesitant to post illegal downloads. So I archived the post and moved on.

Today, though, I learned that Trent Reznor — the man who once jokingly threatened to postpone a Nine Inch Nails concert because it conflicted with the premiere of the last Star Trek movie — has a new album available as high-quality, DRM free MP3s. His new band is called How to Destroy Angels and is designed to be a departure of sorts from the kinds of music he's obliged to record under the NIN banner. Reznor's wife,  Mariqueen Maandig, is the band's vocalist.

The process to get this download is the same as with the NIN freebie, The Slip. Simply visit howtodestroyangels.com, follow the download link, enter your e-mail and the direct download will be sent to you.

Pop Art: Sandman Mystery Theater Part 2

One of the highlights of last weekend's HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C., was meeting Guy Davis. While it's easy for a lot of artists to get jaded with their fans (Brian Bolland spent most of Sunday hiding behind signs warning fans that he wasn't in the mood to autograph comics*) the times I've met Davis I found him warm and talkative.

A little background on this sketch: I've been going back and forth between Davis and Matt Wagner on a single 8X10 page as they've  taken turns drawing characters from Sandman Mystery Theater. Davis was first, followed by Wagner — who drew The Tarantula, the villain from the first story arc.

On Sunday, Davis contributed the third sketch to my "tag team" page of art, which you can see above (I mentioned the original here a few months ago.) After racking my brain last week over which character to ask him to draw, it finally occurred to me that Dian Belmont was the best choice. I don't know who will be next, but Davis has put the ball back in Matt Wagner's court.

(* I thought it worth noting that I respected Bolland's rather public display of privacy and didn't pester him. It's very likely he's neither jaded nor callous and simply had work to do. It's just frustrating to attend a convention and find one of the guests you were anxious to meet to be consistently unavailable. For example, I've attended a number of HeroesCon events where Bill Sienkiewicz was a guest and have yet to even lay eyes on the man.)

HeroesCon: Random Photos

Another HeroesCon came and went in Charlotte, N.C., last weekend. As usual, I was there, though it was my first time in 15+ years that I attended on a Sunday. The atmosphere was a lot more laid back on Sunday than on my previous Saturday visits, and the deals were amazing. Seriously: I picked up volumes 1-7 of the Essential Fantastic Four for $3 each. Suck it, Amazon.

I've still got art and related photos to post this week, but decided to share some of the more random images here together. These are pics taken by myself on Sunday, as well as photos contributed by The Hypno Pimp on his Saturday visit. Enjoy!

Pop Art: Muad'Dib by Tom Scioli

 I didn't have many plans for the HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C., last weekend. I knew I wanted to ask Guy Davis to add a sketch to my Sandman Mystery Theater page, but I also wanted to commission a sketch of Dune's Paul Atreides/Muad'Dib from Tom Scioli.

Scioli is the artist on Godland, which is an homage to Jack Kirby's bronze age "big ideas" books. If you haven't read it, check it out ... it's a blast. (He also has a creator-owned property called The Myth of 8-Opus which you can read about here.)

After getting a small pencil sketch of Omega the Unknown from Scioli last year, it occurred to me that his Kirby-drenched style would be an interesting match with Dune. I caught him with a free hour on Sunday and he drew the image you see above, which is based on designs from the David Lynch movie. To your left is a photo of him working on the piece.

A Captain America State of Mind

I've got a busy day ahead, but wanted to let you folks know I've got a few neat items from last weekend's HeroeCon in Charlotte, N.C., to share with you this week. I didn't get a lot of photos (certainly not as many as I would have liked) but what I lack in quantity, hopefully I'll make up for in quality. Look for pics, stories and some original art to be posted here — including an inked sketch of Dune's Paul Atreides by Tom Scioli!

Meanwhile, if any of you are feeling mischievous, feel free to send the photo above to Aintitcool and tell them it's a spy image from the new Captain America movie. I'm in the mood for a good hoax.

The Daily Wire

VIDEO: LAPD busts Batman for panhandling

That's Sir Jean Luc Picard to you, asshole

 Marvel: Still casting for The Avengers

A visual tribute to Cthulhu

Condolences from The Eye of Polyphemus

New pics of Hemsworth as Thor

This looks to be the week the Avengers will finally assemble, even if it's only in the Photoshop renderings of a million comicbook fans.

Not long after the release of concept renderings of Chris Evans as Captain America come these pics of Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Like the Captain America pics, these look to be artificial digital creations and not actual photos. Still, it gives us a better idea of what the character will look like in the film ... not to mention allowing us to imagine what The Avengers movie could look like once shooting rolls.

Thundercats, Ho!

You've got to love the ruthless efficiency of a press release. Much like cops and prostitutes, they get the job done without wasting time on trivial things like sentiment and empathy.

Which is also kind of how corporate media outlets tend to treat geek "nostalgia properties," which I guess is only fair. Most of these properties — whether it's Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe or Transformers — have the nutritional value of Velveeta. Consequently, attempts to re-process '80s cheese usually leaves you with even less to enjoy.

In that spirit, let me present you with a press release concerning a planned revival of Thundercats. Can Silverhawks be far behind?


WARNER BROS. ANIMATION ANSWERS THE CALL WITH A NEW TAKE ON THE CLASSIC ANIMATED SERIES “THUNDERCATS,” TO AIR ON CARTOON NETWORK

(June 3, 2010 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) has begun production on “ThunderCats,” an all-new animated series for Cartoon Network, based upon the iconic 1980s action classic. “ThunderCats” is the newest series from WBA, joining “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” which was recently renewed for a third season, and the following forthcoming programs: “The Looney Tunes Show,” “MAD,” “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” and “Young Justice.” The announcement was made today by Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation.

“In addition to being Warner Bros. Animation’s first anime series, ‘ThunderCats’ marks our most ambitious foray yet into fantasy,” said Register. “The realism and dynamic visual style we’ve achieved are sure to thrill viewers, and the cool weapons, vehicles and technology should help the show appeal to a diverse audience.”

Via: Slashfilm

Concept art for Captain America REVEALED

Well, that didn't take long. On May 28, Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com posted a written description of concept art he saw for the costume in the forthcoming Captain America film. That lead to some interesting attempts by artists to draw the costume using Sampson's description.


Today, though, that artwork has surfaced online. Check it out while you can, before Marvel/Disney/Paramount/Hydra send out their legal goons.

The Daily Wire

Marvel Super Heroes 4D movie at Madame Tussauds

Some other guy might be in The Avengers. Or not.

Frank Miller returns to 300 with The Goddamn Xerxes

Best Backpack EVER

Ron Weasley has no patience for Harry Potter movies

No Tony Stark for Thor or Captain America