Photo Journal #2: Balloon Spider-Man!
Feb 25, 2009 Comics, Photo Journal
This afternoon I stepped over a line into super-geek territory… I found myself combining my fondness for comic books with a recently remembered hobby. Most everyone have seen those balloon-animal dogs at the circus or during a street festival at some point in their lives and I recall always wanting to learn how to make them. So, many years ago I bought some balloons and a “how-to” book and taught myself the basics of making balloon animals (I could make a dog)… Fast forward to this afternoon and thanks to YouTube, I have discovered that there are many talented people out there making much more than just balloon canines. If you search hard enough, you can find balloon versions of Batman, Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man and of course, Spider-Man.
You know I had to try making one…
Please continue on to see the Spider-Man balloon I created from start to finish. I will also link to the instructional video I used to create him.
Tags: animals, balloon, fantastic, four, hulk, incredible, iron, ironman, man, marvel, mr, spider-man
Favourite 5 #4: Spider-Man Artists of the Modern Age
Feb 15, 2009 Comics, Favourite 5
Spider-Man is arguably one of Marvel’s most popular and marketable characters and many artists have sharpened their pencils over the years for their chance to draw the wise-cracking, web-slinging hero. During this time, we as comic book fans have been treated to some truly spectacular interiors and covers in the various Spidey books. It was pretty easy for me to come up with my list of 5 favourite Spider-Man artists of the modern age so let’s get right into it.
Continue on to see if you agree with my favourites.
Tags: artist, Chris Bachalo, Favourite 5, j. scott campbell, joe quesada, john romtia jr, spider-man, spiderman, todd mcfarlane
Photo Journal #1: My Trade Paperback Collection
Jan 26, 2009 Photo Journal
- The HULK and I with my collection.
My trade paperbacks and hard covers survived the move with no casualties. I offered up a few tricks and tips for moving a large collection in the last installment of Comic Book Buyer’s Guide as my own collection was getting ready to change locations. That move happened yesterday (Thanks again for the help, Jer!) and all the TPBs were safely on their shelves by last evening after taking a ride in the U-Haul. Once everything was removed from their (many!) boxes and back on the shelves, I thought it might be a cool idea to take a few pictures of the collection and post them here for you to see.
One thing to note is that I usually have a bunch of action figures and random stuff on the shelves as well, but those have not been unpacked yet. You’ll only notice a couple of characters making appearances… Quick note for those of you with sharp eyes and great musical taste; yes I am wearing a Tegan and Sara T-shirt in the photo above. Check them out if you haven’t already. Their latest record is named The Con and it is truly unstoppable.
So have a look at the images below and see what is included in my collection. Maybe you’ll see a few books that are on your shelves or books included on mine that surprise you. I don’t believe in the term “guilty pleasures” as no one should feel guilty for digging something even if others think it is lame or “too mainstream”. My philosophy for buying comics has always been; “if you like it, pick it up” and that defines my purchasing approach perfectly.
Tags: alex ross, authority, batman, bone, brian michael bendis, daredevil, diary of a wimpy kid, fables, gabriele dell'otto, invincible, james jean, jim lee, locke and key, marc silvestri, Mark Millar, michael turner, new avengers, onslaught, punisher, rob liefeld, sin city, spider-man, terry dodson, tim sale, top cow, walking dead, wizard, wolverine, xmen, y last man
Trivia Time #3: Marvel in the 1990s
Jan 25, 2009 Trivia Time
Previously on Trivia Time, you tried your luck with questions about the New Avengers. Today is going to a be a bit different. We will be looking at Marvel during the 1990s. Pull out your neon T-shirts and flannel button ups because we’re heading to the 90s!
There will be 10 questions; one for each year of the decade. I will post the answers to these questions on the Trivia Answers page. No peeking until AFTER you have taken the quiz!
Continue on to take the quiz and be sure to keep score and find out how you did when you finish. Each question is worth one point unless otherwise noted.
Tags: 1990s, a-man, chuck dixon, daredevil, deadpool, ed mcguinness, generation x, hulk, Joe Kelly, john romita jr, marvel, spider-man, todd mcfarlane
President-Elect Barack Obama and Spiderman Come to Canada Too in Amazing Spider-Man #583
Jan 15, 2009 Comics
There is no doubt remaining, it can be assured that “Obama-Mania” has hit north of the border too. If you walked into a comic shop yesterday (or today if you are very lucky) you probably saw a pile of Amazing Spider-man #583 variant cover comics with President-Elect Barack Obama smiling right back at you. Almost as if to say “Yup, I’m the soon-to-be leader of the free world AND I can sell comics too. What have YOU done today?…”
Maybe “a pile” is the wrong term to describe the number of issues shops had in stock. Most shop owners did not have nearly the volume needed to keep up with the demand for this blazing hot issue once word got out that there would be a 5 page back up story contained in the standard cover issue in which Spidey and Obama meet (fist bump included). Of course the announcement of a variant cover with Obama himself offering an eager “thumbs up” heated this comic up even more.
Please continue on to read the story from my own Local Comic Shop. I have also included a CNN video that includes an interview with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada regarding the Obama/Spidey issue at the end of today’s entry.
Tags: 583, amazing spider-man, barack obama, spider-man, variant cover
Trivia Time #2: The New Avengers - The First 50 Issues
Jan 14, 2009 Trivia Time
It’s Trivia Time again! Last time the questions were all about the Dark Knight while today we are switching gears and getting trivial about the New Avengers. Issue #50 of this series will ship in a few months so the 10 trivia questions will focus on that initial run of comics.I will post the answers to these questions on the Trivia Answers page. No peeking until AFTER you have taken the quiz!
Continue on to take the quiz and be sure to keep score and find out how you did when you finish. Each question is worth one point unless otherwise noted.
Tags: brian michael bendis, captain america, david finch, frank cho, iron man, mike deodato, new avengers, olivier coipiel, spider-man, Steve McNiven, wolverine
Let’s Talk Artists #2: Humberto Ramos
Dec 29, 2008 Let's Talk Artists
Today I am shinning the spotlight on Mexican born artist Humberto Ramos. I am a HUGE fan of Humberto and have been ever since my kid brother picked up some issues of Impulse with Ramos interiors in the mid to late 90’s. I still remember seeing the art in the comic my brother was holding in the “middle seat” of our family folkswagon during the drive to church one Sunday and completely loving what I saw. Since that time, I have picked up nearly everything that Humberto has produced. This includes his larger profile projects like X-Men and Spider-man and his creator owned books like Out There and Revelations.
This entry is going to look into Humberto’s run on Wolverine during the time of Civil War in the Marvel Universe back in 2006. Humberto seems to have the type of style that polarizes people and that was very apparent on his Wolverine work. Humberto’s style is extremely dynamic with an anime influence (big feet, big hair, big everything…) This approach seems to be more accepted on his creator owned work as there is nothing to compare his vision to in those cases. Where as with a character like Wolverine, many artist have left their mark on the Canadian mutant over the years so the yard stick is ever present.
Continue reading for more Humberto/Wolverine action.
Tags: Avengers, civil war, Crimson, humberto, Impulse, marvel, Out There, ramos, Revelations, spider-man, spiderman, wolverine
