astridv

As I understand it, comixology is giving away Hawkeye #1 in digital format for free today. So if you wanted to check out this awesome series, this would be a good opportunity.

And to stay on topic, a Hawkeye ficlet:
We come correct, we keep it clean by jouissant
Gen; Clint&Kate (UST); rated g; 2915 words
Summary: She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him without a mess of assorted bandages on his face. They didn’t call it getting into a scrape for nothing; Clint Barton was proof enough of that. Stop staring, Kate.

lakrids404 linked me to this very cool parkour vid In the style of the Mirror's Edge game. (Which I'm unfamiliar with, but watching this vid you get a good idea what the actual game looks like. ;)

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Been following the latest DC cock-up on tumblr: a talent search for a new artist to draw a page of Harley Quinn #0. Neat idea, right?

Panel 4/4 reads thusly: Harley sitting naked in a bathtub with toasters, blow dryers, blenders, appliances all dangling above the bathtub and she has a cord that will release them all. We are watching the moment before the inevitable death. Her expression is one of “oh well, guess that’s it for me” and she has resigned herself to the moment that is going to happen.

Another proud moment in comicsland. If it wasn't so much work I'd consider drawing a sarcastic entry for their talent search, but they're not worth it.
When I told my roommate she snarked that some editor must be looking for material for their fap folder. It would make some sort of sense, because the four panels are totally disconnected and don't give an artist any way to showcase their talent at sequential art, which you'd think is kind of an important ability to look for in a penciller.
Me, I was more wondering whether they want to weed out artists who have a problem with drawing sexist shit.
(I think one of the co-writer's explanation was that it's all 'dark humor' or somesuch. But then he took his facebook entry down so who knows.)

For the "Let's Draw Sherlock July: Holmes in your Culture: Cultureshock by Katzensprotte
Not my fandom, but as a German this made me giggle. (It's so very true.)

Bourne Legacy rec:
Delayed gratification by spockside
Aaron/Marta; Aaron Cross (and Kenneth Kitsom) character study; rated teen; 2096 words
Summary: What Marta doesn't know is that the first time they make love is Aaron's first time, ever.

Unconventional Approaches to Debt Reduction by jjtaylor
Clint/Natasha; snapshots; rated mature; 3209 words
Summary: Seven times they both needed a partner.

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Here's a pretty amazing comic drawn by Mike Mignola and written by his daughter Katie, age 7

(I thought I had a link in a better resolution, but it seems I didn't bookmark that...)
Ratcreature found a good link, much easier to read: http://p3.no/filmpolitiet/2010/08/magikeren-og-slangen/

So, I'm following the Buffy Season 8 comic series at a leisurely pace and so far I'd been enjoying it quite a lot. Volumes 1-5 were really fun - not as brilliant and tightly written as Angel Season 6 but, solid entertainment with very nice artwork. Vol.6 had questionable moments and seemed to take a strange direction overall but, still mostly fun and I was optimistic it was leading somewhere.

Then I read book 7 and WHAT THE F*CK DID I JUST READ, WTH?
(No spoilers, just general ranting...)

What is going on? I was spoiled for the dramatic Twilight reveal and I heard that it's not done, uh, well, but nothing could've prepared me for the sheer badness that happens within the pages of this volume.

My theory is that Joss or whoever wrote this (Brad Meltzer, I guess) was on crack. And not in the good way, more like "This is why drugs are bad, m'kay?"

I'm giving away book 1 of Journey Into Mystery: Fear Itself (aka the kid Loki story) by Gillen and Braithwaite, hardcover edition. I couldn't get into it for some reason but about everybody else seems to like it a lot. If you're in Germany shipping is on me (for international delivery I'd have to check the rates first, the book is pretty heavy.)

Yesterday's xkcd is downright epic: Click and Drag

Enable javascript, start clicking, dragging and exploring.
I explored only a tiny part of the world and then I resorted to this cheat map. The world is huge, man. :)

(note: These links, especially the second one, need some healthy RAM and a decent web connection.)

Looking at the art of Ivan Bilibin I feeling inspired. I was experimenting with a more decorative style of illustration in art school and I felt it was really up my alley, just it never fits with the projects I work on so I lost sight of it over the years.

But I really want to try to experiment with my style more. I don't want my art to grow stale.
I scanned a few pages from the days of yore... ( Read more... )

Preview:

I downloaded Portal 2 because it was on special offer (~10 Euro! 66% off!)... how could I resist, and now it's crammed into every available space of my C: drive. Eek. I moved all my images to a different partition and emptied the recycling bin for good measure but I think it'll be worth it. I looks gooood!

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finished big book project a few minutes ago. Turned out really well, I'm happy with it. It's a bit of a fringe topic, not one of the big ones, but I hope it'll sell well anyway. Now I only have to draw a few text backgrounds, make scans, and mail the whole package. Good feeling. It's the first thing I've finished since August, hard to believe. Boy, I needed that feeling of accomplishment.

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I recently learned that the Angel: Season 6 comics feature a storyline in which Kate Lockley joins in the re-opening of Angel Investigations, along with Angel and Connor and a couple other characters. I did now know that! I mean. If I could've made a wish for S6, that would've been it, pretty much. (Also, Cordy would be back but I won't get greedy for now).

So, curiosity piqued, I started reading the first book of After The Fall, which I had lying around for a year and... I'm loving it so far. The dialog is totally Joss. The setup is interesting. The art is actually good. Well, honestly I dislike the coloring, I think the art would be much better with a great colorist, but the linart, I like it. It's dynamic, not as stiff as you often see in media tie-ins, and the characters are for the most part very recognizable. (And having done those kind of comics myself, that is hard to get right.) So, I'll keep reading. Curious where it takes me.

Actually I'd already read the chapter where Kate runs into Connor and I didn't comment favorably about it at the time because it seemed little more than setup, but I read it again and knowing that it is just setup and there's more to come... mmmhh. Liking it a whole lot more!

ps. don't diss my girl Kate in the comments, 'kay? She's one of my faves and I'm touchy when it comes to that sort of thing. (Connor too.)

The Walking Dead - unofficial opening titles by Daniel Kanemoto (alt.: streaming on Youtube)
I don't even watch the show but this is just cool: a fan-made opening sequence (intended as a spec project) that beats the final official version by miles. This vid is based on the comic artwork and is worth watching for the 3D effects alone. You get a real impression of depth and movement. I've never seen that done so effectively before.