Category Archives: Super-Hero Stuff

General ramblings about anything super-hero related, from comics to films.

How to draw Batman quick and dirty

Batman Doodle - completeHeroMachine is meant for people who can't draw very well themselves, but I always encourage people to try! Having fun, quick little doodles you can knock out is a good way to improve your confidence and impress your friends. Well, maybe not your friends, because they probably know you too well to be impressed, but you get the idea. Like drawing Killroy or knowing how to make a barn-door farmhouse without picking up your pencil, this quick and simple Batman doodle should be something fun for you. As much as possible, I tried to make it so that anyone who can draw letters can draw the figure. Enjoy!

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The Clock Turns

A new year has dawned, and it's a good time to reflect on what has passed, what may be yet to come, and to take a few precious moments to mock super-hero costumes that don't know when they, too, should just let their theme slip quietly into that good night:

Clock King

Clock King found a niche and by gum he's going to fill it. I get the feeling he found clock-patterned spandex on sale at Wal-Mart and just couldn't say no. This is the kind of guy who wallpapers his entire house with the exact same print, and then gets throw pillows to match. Other, lesser villains with a time theme might have stopped at just an hourglass insignia, or maybe some arrows on the gloves, but we're talking about chronological royalty here!

I assume the glass faceplate is opaque on the outside and transparent from the inside so he can see, but what about when the time is 9:15 or 3:45 and the hands are covering his eyes? And don't think for a minute that a guy with this kind of theme mania is going to have a non-functional clock on his kisser! I don't even want to think about how he sets the time for the clock in his belt ...

Image and character are ©1985, DC Comics, Inc., "Who's Who", Volume V.

Good costuming

I certainly have written enough words at this point about bad super-hero costumes, but I wanted to take advantage of the tidings of joy in the air at this time of year to point you to a site that features nothing but great design -- Project Rooftop. From their "About" section:

Project Rooftop is where cartoonists and illustrators bring their costume design skills to task in tribute to the superheroes and villains we’ve grown up with. This site is intended to promote excellence in costume design as well as foster continued interest for these amazing characters.

All characters are copyrights and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. All of the designs here were created not for profit and this site is used solely for artistic enjoyment.

Whenever you feel the urge to see what other really creative, talented people can do with super-heroes, I urge you to browse through the Rooftop archives. They're really something special.

Super Bad Breasts

Look, I like a full-figured gal as much as any red-blooded heterosexual American male, but super-hero breasts are just too ridiculous for words. You're flying around at high rates of speed without benefit of an airplane. The wind gusts are incredible. And all you have between your quadruple-D cups and two bloody black eyes is spandex. Not a good design.

The latest example that got me irritated is from the pages of Marvel's execrable "Ultimates 3, Issue 1". Out of nowhere a teenage Valkyrie leaps from her flying horse, sword held high, to slash at Venom. Look at this photo and see if there's anything amiss here:

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