Link roundup

1. Rob Liefeld is going to draw Hawk and Dove for DC, and the first cover illustration includes the characters' feet.

2. "London 2012 Olympic Games organisers have revealed the Olympic torch, which resembles an expensive, designer cheesegrater, but have admitted defeat in their attempts to make it as energy efficient as possible."

3. File this away for future reference - - a long article about why Bill Simmons's Grantland will fail. (I certainly hope it's a success.)

*Previously: The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld drawings.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

Futuristic samurai cops by Frank Quitely

Futuristic samurai/judges by Frank Quitely from the pages of Judge Dredd. Part 1, 2, 3. (NSFW.)

*Buy Judge Dredd toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Comment and win some goodies from Heidi Kenney.

2. From the latest interesting article at Bleeding Cool about the difficulty of running a comic book shop:

The fact that a lot of comics fans are weird is something that has dogged the industry in the UK especially. I shall spend the next couple of thousand words trying to kill the idea that comics fans are pretty much retarded freaks; but the actual truth about my shop is that I had a far higher percentage of people who would probably feature highly on an autism spectrum than you would find anywhere in your town (outside of the comics shop)

3. Video of Anthony Weiner when he was forcefully denying assertions of wrongdoing. And TMZ says he gave one of his sexting friends advice on lying.

Help pick Supergirl's new hairstyle (and see a young girl punch a shark)

Help pick Supergirl's new hairstyle - - from Adventure Comics # 387.

Relatedly enjoy these panels from Adventure Comics # 410, where Supergirl teams up with a super-powered young girl . . . with a secret:





Full scan here. (Site is NSFW.)

*Buy Supergirl sketches at eBay (some NSFW).

Link roundup

1. Allow me to brag - - my oldest won the sportsman award at his league-wide little league ceremony yesterday.

2. Lifehacker's Facebook privacy guide.

3. Scan of "Costume Party" illustrated by Eduardo Risso (site is NSFW).

Illustration roundup

Queen of the Catmen via.




Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion. Via.




How many ways can Robin die? Via.






Aquaman pages.





More great Teen Titans covers here.

*Buy sketch cards at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Science! by Britt Wilson for an art show in Toronto.




The Phantom enjoys a good kiss of death.



You can't keep love buried in a grave. It will rise again.




From Bizarro Comics, Danny Hellman shows it's hard being Aquaman.





The Atom takes on saboteurs.

The Mystery of the Men with the Staring Eyes

Can Starman solve The Mystery of the Men with the Staring Eyes?

*Buy Starman collections at Amazon.

Solo by Mike Allred

Bear with me, even if you think you don't like comics. As I mentioned Tuesday, I couldn't possibly be less impressed by Jim Lee's new super hero designs for DC.

Coincidentally, last night, Mike Allred's issue of DC Comic's Solo (from 2005) was on the top of my reading pile. What an absolute delight.

The first story features Hourman, a character I always thought was ridiculous. If you're not familiar, he has a supply of pills and when he swallows one, gets superstrength . . . for one hour. He wears a sandtimer around his neck to keep track. Silly right? But Allred's story is a beautifully-illustrated, funny tale of what Hourman does when he swallows a pillow, but finds he has no crime to fight. Even if you're not a comic book fan, you should read the whole thing here (site is probably NSFW).



You can also read another story from the issue here (also NSFW). Allred makes the classic designs shine:



It's a terrible shame that the Solo issues were never collected (I think?), although you can find some issues at eBay. If anyone has some they'd like to swap for some Threadless credit, please get in touch. I have the Darwynn Cooke and Teddy Kristiansen issues.

Link roundup

1. Thew new Deus Ex Revolution trailer is actually a little lackluster compared to the slick marketing materials. (And it's sad that seeing the Square Enix logo is now a turnoff.)

2. In light of the fact that Symbionic Titan was supposedly canceled for not making a viable toy line, it's interesting that Hasbro still won't commit to making toys for Disney's Avengers cartoon. (Which my boys would looove.)

3. Full scan of "Immune" - - imagine early chapters of The Stand illustrated by Frank Quitely.

Dark Horse Review Roundup

Dark Horse was kind enough to send me a few preview issues:

1. Hellboy The Fury #1 by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo features outstanding art, and the issue feels packed with panels. You can read a few preview pages here, but they're easily the most boring in the issue, and the preview really does the issue a terrible disservice. You can preorder the issue with the sweet Francesco Francavilla alternate cover for 20% off at TFAW.

2. Also excellent is Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever #5 featuring art by John Severin. The zombie cowboy army is nice, but I wish the preview showed off the witch (sorry, I'm not allowed to post anything other than what's in the public preview). This issue's also 20% off at TFAW, and I'll definitely be placing the collection on my wishlist when it's available.

3. By comparison, other than Dave Stewart's colors, I have nothing nice to say about BPRD The Dead Remembered #3 - - it feels like such a retread of previous Hellboy/BPRD stories.

4. And I didn't bother finishing Solomon Kane Red Shadows #3.

Illustration roundup

Batman wallpaper available in high-res here.




Oh, Betty!




Seriously, if this was just fan art by some random artist, would anyone have reposted it today? I mean, it's almost as ridiculous as getting excited over the news that George Lucas has written 50 hours of scripts of a Star Wars series.





Kate Beaton mocks a mermaid cover. (Speaking of, Hark! A Vagrant! can now be preordered for 37% off Amazon.)

Link roundup

1. Totally bizarre story of a nuclear power plant mishap that killed three men in 1961 Idaho. "When one of the trio was buried, his family asked to see the coffin: permission was only granted when they agreed to rush through the funeral in five minutes."

2. Fast Company chose Reshma Shetty as one its most creative people in business:

At MIT Shetty earned her synthetic-biology chops by helping engineer a strain of E. coli bacteria that smelled minty fresh, eliciting praise from experimental biologists who hated the outhouse stench of unadulterated E. coli.

3. It's Star-Lord and a sort of space Dr. Moreau in "More Than Human" by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Bob McLeod.

The time when Wonder Woman had to babysit a dinosaur for charity

Full scan of Wonder Woman #90, when Wonder Woman had to babysit a whale, elephant, and dinosaur for charity.

*Buy invisible jets at eBay.

Hark! A Vagrant! cover

The upcoming book cover for Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant!. She also recently posted several strips about what she said to cartoonists this weekend:

The Vision is so emo

From Avengers #58, John Buscema shows even an android can cry.

*Buy Vision toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Sky on fire. Via.

2. Fast Company has a great article about Cargill's creation and marketing of the sweetener Truvia:

TRUVIA HAS ITS OWN tribute message, an ode to the comfort Cargill wants to provide. "Have you ever cured bad news with hot choc-olate? Ever snuck downstairs to eat a cookie before breast-feeding the baby at 3 a.m.?" If the answer is yes, you are part of Cargill's new demographic, the Yoga Momma, the company's name for the typically harried but well-intentioned working woman.

On a recent day, McFerson and Truvia's marketing director, Ann Tucker, explain the tao of Yoga Momma-ism. "The Yoga Momma wears yoga pants but may never make it to class," Tucker says. "It's more about a mind-set," McFerson adds. Both readily admit this sounds like them. "I've never been to class, but I have the pants," McFerson deadpans.

The brand homage was conceived by mothers at Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago. "What is cool about Cargill is it's a pretty female-based group," says Donna Charlton-Perrin, one of the campaign's architects. "There is a line in there about how women have a complicated relationship with sweetness. Everyone just had this autobiographical understanding of how that goes." Not surprisingly, Yoga Mommas tend to be prime spenders on health-related supermarket goodies. To reach them, McFerson spent lavishly to secure a name (which sounds like true plus stevia, and was devised by Lexicon Branding); a logo (light green type with a tiny stevia leaf, by Pentagram); and clever print and TV ads designed by Ogilvy.

3. Goofy mystery awaits Detective Rex Starbuck in House of Mystery #251.

Link roundup

1. It's one plot twist after another when Bugsy Malone meets ghost pirates in Spell of the Sea Witch.

2. For those of you interested in Games Workshop miniatures - - a review of the new resin "finecast" figures.

3. Best Buy is giving up on electric scooters and motorcycles.

Illustration roundup

Two pages from Diana: Starr of Wonderland.




Speed Savage: Canadian Ace of Action.





Jack Harkaway in America.




The Yellow Claw from the Marvels and Monsters show about the history of Asian characters in comics. Via.




Sigourney Weaver and some of her famous costars by Kevin Wada.

Illustration roundup

Panel from Detective Comics #421 (December 1971).




Meet new Daredevil artist "Lanky" Frank Miller circa 1979.




Lots of fun in this 1500-panel scan of Wham-O's Giant Comics.





Magician by Jared Joslin. Via.






Hearing trumpet and labyrinth by Leonora Carrington. Via these sites.

*Buy magician posters at Amazon.