Author Archives: AFDStudios

Sharing Day: You Did It!


I'd like you to take a moment to post a comment telling us something you're proud of, an achievement or project you've accomplished that you think is cool. Maybe it's your blog, or a book you've written, or a particularly great illustration, or that you lost fifty pounds, or a volunteer organization you help out with, or the deck you built, or a photo of an awesome cap you knitted. Just anything that shows off your interests in a great way and that you want to share with the community.

Imagine it's like we're going around the room and you're asked to introduce yourself by saying "Hi, I'm Jeff, and I _______." So I'd probably say "Hi, I'm Jeff, and I built a web site that lets people make their own super hero drawings at heromachine.com". I want to give you a chance to brag on yourself a little and to point the rest of us at something you've done or been involved with that you think is great. Or even pretty good. Or even just mildly interesting.

Lay it on us, String Bean!

You're missing the real opportunity here, Archie

(via "The Vault of Buncheness".)

Super Pouches!

I missed "Bad Costume Wednesday" yesterday, my apologies. So I'll take that up today instead, with an interesting take on Superman's costume:

It's from the mid-Nineties "Hunter/Prey" mini-series. There are a few obvious tells that it's from the Nineties. Can you spot them all? I'll leave that as an exercise for you, the at-home viewer.

My favorite part is the sword, because why the heck does Superman need a sword? You think Doomsday's going to fall to a bit of computer-generated sharpened metal? Please.

I also enjoy the yellow crotch flap. Because if there's one thing a grown-ass man in spandex needs, it's something dangling between his legs that practically screams "Yank me!". I keep wondering what the Mother Box thinks he's going to put in all those pouches. I guess maybe a change of Clark Kent vintage suits and hipster black-rim glasses? Maybe some Yoo-Hoo? I'd guess flying around toting all those extra straps would get pretty tiring, and a fellow needs his chocolatey pick-me-up.

You have to admire this approach, though. If you're tired of a costume, just throw a bunch of random crap on top of it, and done! It's simple, easy, and there's so much more room for activities.

30 Characters Challenge #8: Bindy the Burglar Slayer

Apparently I'm on a "Little kids as super heroes" kick. My sub title for this is "Our Little Girl is All Growed Up!"

Insert obligatory "Never serve beans at lunch" joke here

(From "Cat-Man Comics" volume 2, number 5, 1941.)

META: Slooooow

I'm in California all week for work, which is why posting has been slow and late. My apologies.

30 Characters Challenge #7: Stronger Man

This is the son of a friend of mine in his "Stronger Man" costume, along with trusted sidekick Mousey for Day 7 of the "30 Characters in 30 Days" challenge.

The best response in any crisis

(From "Cat-Man Comics" volume 2, number 5, 1941.)

30 Character Challenge #6: Kai-Sar

Here's my entry for Day Six of the 30 Characters in 30 Days Challenge, alien ruler Kai-Sar:

Stephen King vs. Alan Moore: Who's best?

I would bet I am not alone, at least among my United States readers, in desperately looking for a place to avoid politics today. So instead of forcing you to hash out tired arguments about which part is better, I instead offer you the following creative conundrum: Who's a better creator of speculative fiction, Stephen King or Alan Moore?

King is one of the greatest supernatural writers of all time, having sold over 350 million copies of his books. His work has been turned into television productions, movies, and comics. He's won awards from pretty much every writing group out there. You may know him from such works as "The Stand", "The Shining", "Carrie", and many, many more. But he's also moved outside of purely speculative fiction to write such masterpieces as "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me".

Alan Moore is best known for writing comics, and arguably is the genre's greatest modern storyteller. He's responsible for stories that have made the leap from the four color page to the world of motion pictures, from "The Watchmen" to "V For Vendetta" to "From Hell" to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". He's controversial, dark, effective, and phenomenally successful.

So which of these two literary titans gets your vote today, and why?

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