Monthly Archives: June 2011

Open Critique Day #20

Posted on June 17, 2011 by | Comments Off on Open Critique Day #20

It's time once again for another Open Critique Day!

If you have a HeroMachine illustration or another piece of artwork you've done that you'd like some help with, post a link to it in comments along with your thoughts on it -- what you think is working, what you're struggling with, etc. I will post my critique of the piece, hopefully giving some tips on how to improve it.

Of course everyone is welcome to post their critiques as well, keeping in mind the following rules:

  • Make sure your criticism is constructive. Just saying "This sucks" is both rude and unhelpful without giving specific reasons why you think it sucks and, ideally, some advice on how to make it better.
  • Each person should only post one illustration for critique to make sure everyone who wants feedback has a chance.
  • I will not critique characters entered in any currently running contest, as that doesn't seem fair to the other entrants. You can still post it if you like for the other visitors to critique, but I will not do so.

That's it! Hopefully we can get some good interaction going here and help everyone (me included!) learn a little bit today.

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Posted in Open Critique Day

Life as the Wal-Mart icon takes a toll

Posted on June 17, 2011 by | Comments Off on Life as the Wal-Mart icon takes a toll

(From "Mystery Comics" number 4, 1944.)

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

HM3: New gauntlet

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on HM3: New gauntlet

dblade sent in another nice armored gauntlet, now live in two pieces (HandRightStandard and GloveRightStandard). Thanks dblade!

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Posted in HeroMachine 3

Alone in the world is Poor Little Kai

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on Alone in the world is Poor Little Kai

In our last episode, the Lone Wolf was floundering about in the open ocean, wracked by both the storm that destroyed his ship and his own indecision. Ultimately the gods (that's us) who rule his consciousness decided overwhelmingly to flag down the fishing boat on the horizon. And it turns out to be Sig Hansen from "Deadliest Catch"! OK, not really:

Continue reading →

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Posted in Lone Wolf: Fire on the Water, RPG Corner

And people say super hero comics aren’t realistic

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on And people say super hero comics aren’t realistic

(from "Big 3" number 1, 1940.)

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

Sometimes gambits fail

Posted on June 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on Sometimes gambits fail

Gap-toothed farmer's overalls were not meant to combine with Eighties-era Olivia Newton John colors and fabrics. Sadly, in an alternate Marvel universe, such a fashion tragedy came to pass and resulted in this terribly unfortunate Gambit clone:

I'm from Louisiana. I've known Cajuns. I'm related to Cajuns. And I swear to you on my father's grave: No Cajun would ever -- EVER -- wear something like this. Not in pieces, not together, not in that color, and certainly not without some sort of matching accessories.

What I'm saying is, that alternate future must not only have featured the unholy Redneck Workout line of clothing from JC Penny's but some sort of soul-altering catastrophe that obliterated what limited fashion sense the people of the Bayou State have in our reality. And these are people for whom an undershirt is considered formal wear.

What I think actually happened is that in this timeline, Gambit accidentally mugged Dr. Polaris from DC's Green Lantern, and stole his boots. From that single terrible mistake flowed all the rest. Now it's socially acceptable to wear a terrycloth vest and purple Daisy Dukes when you're a guy.

We can only pray the Sentinels survived to wipe this devastation from the face of the alternate Earth, or we're all in big, big trouble.

(Image and character © Marvel Comics.)

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes

SOD.243 – Brainiac 0.5

Posted on June 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on SOD.243 – Brainiac 0.5

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Posted in Sketch of the Day

HM3: Masks by dblade

Posted on June 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on HM3: Masks by dblade

The very talented dblade has come through once again, providing some nifty new items for the Headgear-Masks set! I think you're going to get a lot of use out of these as you build your creations, so be sure to drop by in comments and thank him for his time and effort. Great job, dblade, thank you!

These items are now live, though you might need to clear your browser's cached to get them to show if you've recently used the Headgear-Masks set.

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Posted in HeroMachine 3

Best. Disguise. Ever.

Posted on June 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on Best. Disguise. Ever.

(From "Big 3" number 1, 1940.)

This reminds me of my brother's favorite joke.

Q: What did the man say when a herd of elephants went by?
A: He said, "There goes a herd of elephants!"
Q: What did the man say when a herd of elephants wearing sunglasses went by?
A: Nothing, 'cuz he didn't recognize 'em.

We're simple people.

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

Poll Position: Greatest villain organization

Posted on June 14, 2011 by | Comments Off on Poll Position: Greatest villain organization

After a bit of back-and-forth about just what a "villain organization" is, I have arrived at a list of the greatest such groups in comics history so you -- yes, YOU! -- can pass judgement on which is the best of the best. Or worst of the worst, if you prefer.

{democracy:187}

Without further ado, we race to the Bat Cave of Judgement!

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Posted in Versus