Batman 3 redone...

Almost screwed this one up. Not the art but just the timing. Almost busted a deadline. Thank the Lord for vector illustrations. You may welll recognise the batman from a couple of posts down. Yep, Adobe illustrator saved my bacon.
Batman 3 rumours and speculation. Came out just intime to catch Christopher Nolan revealing that he'll be working on Inception, sci-fi film coming out in 2010. That means absolutely no Batman till 2011 at the earliest.
Anyway the piece was about that, the realism of Batman begins and Dark Knight (which i cant help pronouncing Kiniggit, like the knights that say Ni) preventing a super crossover, and finally, specualtion over the prime roles.
Thanks to a previous version not saving properly this, along with the text which can be found at the TNP website, became literally all in a days work.
See if you can guess who's who. The clue is, I've met one of them

Little Jethead and Twitter

That was Little Jethead, which was invented while trying to create my good friend STewart's birthday card. Sadly, the card was on Facebook graffitia and combination of fate and firewalls robbed Stewart of his card.

Anyway. I'm also on Twitter now. Trying it out, though it's only really interesting to see what Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross are up to. Care to see what I'm thinking? Follow the link on the right, under Twitter bix

Why so serious about Batman and Bale

This week Christian Bale got in the news for getting very angry at a guy who was ruining the scene he was in. Bale is often portrayed as very intense, very method about his work.
Yeah, well if more people took their work seriously then the world would be wonderful. Bale does take it a bit further than is probably good for everyone but I kinda admiore the dedication.
When I (get ready for the clang) interviewed Mr Bale for Batman Begins he was a laid back personable chap. Able to take a joke, have a laugh etc etc. But it was also clear he takes his work seriously, like how he keeps up whatever accent he's doing on and off the set (his rant does fluctuate accents wildly like Richard Harris at the end of his scenes in Unforgiven).
Anyway, in related news I'm working on a piece about what next for Batman 3 (or Dark Knight 2 if you like) and what villain will Christopher Nolan, if its him taking the reigns, will go for.
And that's the reason for today's scribble.
Here it is again with an outline... No reason, just scribbling.

The Dark Side of Hanna Babera

Yep. Finally the Draw-Off was completed. Fuzz's Captain Caveman is my favourite just for sheer Steadmanese-explosiveness alone. Also like Kel's Penelope Pitstop. Looks like her main peril there is meth addiction.
Next one is...Possibly presidential, or possibly not

Speaking of Hanna-Barbera characters having a dark side, none of us realised the true darkness. The Flinstones used to push cigarettes.


Have to thank Ivan for alerting me to this and other cartoon darkness

Look at this: Neil Gaiman flash story

Not a lewd parkland dirty mac tale of Singapore's favourite author but the first installment of the "Look at this" installments.
I found this sweet little version of Neil Gaiman's "The Day The Saucers Came".

Go read it here . Just press the arrows to flip the page

Sweet is the best way to describe it, but the concept is one that I reckon could be explored further (Spoiler: Various invasions clashing with each other, the petty squabbling between invaders, the anger at being double booked.)

Abraham Lincoln is JuJitsu Jo

Abraham Lincoln goes to Washington

LOCKE returns

Second Lost post in as many days, but with a spare moment I decided to colour my previous scribble.


SO given the extra LOST celebration here's what would be be lovely to be solved
What is the smoke monster?
What was with the food drops and why have they stopped?(though I think that has to do with the islands time/space skipping that brought Ecko's brother's plane and the Black Rock)
Who was/is Libby? Why was she in hospital with Hurley. Why did she give Desmond the boat ?
How did they get Locke's dad to the Island?
Jack's dad. Christian Shepard's connection. Is it him or an island creation?
Who/what hell is Jacob?
Russo's story. I'm guessing she was mind-wiped. But what's the real deal. Is her story of the team gone mad real?
What happened to the stewardess and the kids? And all the Others that made like the Pied Piper and went into the mountain.
Who built the four toed statues

STOP PRESS
I was going to ask what is Widmore's fascination with the Black Rock. Then it all came together. Sun confronted him and said they both wanted to get back to the Island. He's been there, and I reckon that he was one of the English/Aussie soldiers from episode 5.1 that threatened to cut Juliet's arm off.
I have some days off after tomorrow. I plan to watch every episode of Lost to date. Not the webisodes, that would, of course, be too geeky.

LOST returns

These scribbles were done in pen in a new art pad I received from Barcelona.
Trying to do more straight to the pad pen work


Anyway, Mr Locke and Smokey (not a floating turd despite looks) is in honour of Lost returning for a 5th season.
It's been an up and down ride with Lost.
The first season started with one of the greatest openings in TV history and pull off more OMG and WTF twists than an armada of Shamalayans could ever hope to. In fact it was a great season finishing off with a cliffhanger that spurred so many fansites spewing speculation
Then the second got a bit stuck in the bunker, but it pulled through. Three was a bit poor taking too long to do enough. I was close to leaving it alone. It was, in a word, boring. Too boring for what I'd come to expect. I was hoping that season 4 was going to be its last, just to get to a conclusion. I was right at the time. It was floundering, but to the producers credit, they turned it around.
But last season (4) was back to strong, twisting, sandwich dropping, tea spraying form.
It's amazing just how far the story has come. For all the cries of "more questions than answers" Lost has grown into a creature of a tale that is now just a pleasure to watch it unfold.
In the great 'tradition' of Lost season openers, the show started with a bit of music. We had the wondrous "Make your own kind of music" by Mama Cass, the cheesy "Downtown" by Petula Clark, And now Shotgun Willie by Wilie Nelson. As itstarted skipping in the episode (just like time), check out the Ear Junk box to the right and listen to it there.

Lost is better than ever and some of the boldest popular television theres ever been. Kinda don't want it to end now.

Smell like BHO himself

Barack Obama is currently the hottest brand on the planet right now. Thousands of companies are trying to get a piece of that 44th Presidential action. Which while it shows just how much folks are pretty much in awe of the coolest president EVER (and he is folks)it also goes to show how much business are willing to cheapen any achievement if theres money to be made

Cooler than Obama himself

Obama toys available in Japan. For such an erudite President, naturally he comes fully armed
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/4324639/Barack-Obama-a-plastic-president-ready-for-action.html?image=2

The dark side of Hong Kong Phooey

Another office draw-off - The Dark Side of Hanna-Barbera. Always like Hong Kong Phooey when I was a kid so gave him a Shaw Brothers maniac style. You might also notice Snagglepuss who was caught in the frenzy and exited this mortal coil (stage left, even).
And here's the B/W and individual colour piece also

Best/Worst commercial placement ever

SPOILERS if you havent started to watch the latest Battlestar Galactica.
This is a key scene from the latest episode followed by, like the title says, the best/worst depending how you look at it commercial to follow that scene. images and lyrics so perfectly misplaced.

Here shomes... Miss Ugly

This glamourous image that comes from one of the sunday supplement covers I did. One that got less criticism anyway. It was originally against dark blue but white, which given the paper we use is never white, gives it a crispness

Helpful advice

Jim Mahfood and his excellent blog (Best thing I've read in ages)

I've been following Jim Mahfood's stuff for some time now. His style is a semi-graffiti, has a hell of an energy to it and just keeps developing into something better. He produces huge swathes of graf/scribble style comics and artwork. 

But it all looks so effortless. Like there isnt a mis-placed stroke. Its random but a skilled random.
I read his blog on a regular basis, but his latest entry really struck a cord.
His diary strip Los Angeles Ink Stains #6 shows just how good the comics medium can be. Too often comics are fantastical stories about fantasy beings. This is just about his friend that he grew up with.
Read it. Its pretty affecting stuff for a cartoon and the 5th panel on the second page hit me like a brick to the face.
Yeah. Go read it now. Put it this way... A B/W two page free comic on the internet has proved a better read than most paper comics over the past two or so years.

Angry bear

Me, today. Just couldn't get the growl out of my head.

At the Gorilla... Gorilla Cabana

Another quick draw off in the office. Instant draw off this time. The theme was "themed apes"
Mine asked the question, "Was Manilow descended from the Ape?"
Results here

drawn straight with ink onto the page and little forethought

Watchmen, Benjamin Button and Frost and Nixon

Art from a feature for the paper. A bit whimsical this one and quite happy with the likenesses. Still not as stylised as I'd have hoped and not sure it really comes off as a whole. Because of the text around it, not featured here, I just couldnt get Frost Nixon to link with the rest. I initially had Nixon calling for the comedian to burn Frost (Nixon is featured in Watchmen) But size limited the posture I wanted.

Rough Doc Manhatten (Watchmen)

Yep. Just a rough for a more polished thing I need to finish soon.

Another quick Kenobi (with added Vader)

Just straight into a brown paper sketchbook using a cheap chinese calligraphy brush
Took the length of Vic and Bobs Food and Drink sketch available on Youtube.

and here's the Vic and Bob sketch


Added bonus: Brown Paper Vader
Thats a band name if ever there was one

TASTY NEW HEADER

Look above ye. S'about time, right?

WHAT DATE IS IT?

Recently, work had a calendar competition. They gace out a bit of prose and you had too illustrate it. No big prizes, just for the doing of it.
Mine was used but not after a few drafts. Here's the never to be published original.
All I wanted was to feature a viking in some way. Is that so bad....?
Apparently yes.

I tried to make it better by changing the horns to wings, but still no. Ah well.
Vikings ain't for everyone I guess.

Old Man Hawkeye & Daughter

BIG Millarworld jam going on.
The idea is take a character written by Mark Millar a draw them. Black n white only.
Check out the Old Man Wolverine. Its draw by a modern maestro - Steve McNiven. It's bound to be a huge seller when it gets the TPB treatment.
Anyway, Here's my lame gag at Hawkeye's expense.

Star Wars Draw Off

And here's them all together.
Teoh's Han Solo cutting his toenails is a work of inspired brilliance. Can't wait to see what he does for the next one:
The Dark Side of Hanna-Barbera

KENOBI!

We had the Star Wars draw-off in the office. Just like the Street Fighter one here but with Star Wars.
I chose Obi Wan, or Obi Wankanobby as he's known to no-one.
Here he is in from blue pencil to Glorious Black And White. And then the coloured version.

A very Christmas Jimmy

The slight return of Jimmy Chumfatty for a Yuletide greeting.
Very drawable is Jimmy.

Best...Scribble...Ever

Another discovery from the same sketch drawer I hate You Star Wars was pulled from.
Just pushing the pen around while reading about the Aviator, the most un-Scorcese Scorcese pic ever.
I'm just impressed that theres no under-pencil. Its straight on there and it looks like Hughes and a starlet, though that may have meant to be Kate Beckinsale.
Oddly accurate scribble.

I HATE YOU STAR WARS

Odd bunch this lot. Find a bunch of sketches that I figure must date back to 2005.
I figure that because Return Of The Sith came out and we were put to work doing a huge Star Wars special.
I'm not sure why, but I started sticking the words 'I HATE YOU STAR WARS' on various sketches. Very unrelated in most cases, hence Luis Garcia appearing (one of my favourite Liverpool players at the time).
No reason, it just trips off the tongue in my mind at a pleasant clip.
Anyway, here's the whole set, plus some extra Star Wars scribble.