Bringing Dark Beauty to Bad Dreams by Rodrigo Aviles …..

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Lauren Davis

The scenes in Rodrigo Aviles’ paintings and illustrations are often unnerving. Ghostly swordswomen float over the sleeping world. Courtly figures are transformed into psychedelic mushrooms. Abstract animals and people with demonic faces stand their two-dimensional ground. Killer robots rampage through the streets. Even his most surreal pieces, however, carry a strong narrative quality, and all those visual stories carry a dark appeal.

In addition to handling art duties on Sebastian Castro’s Adventure Calling, Aviles has provided colors for Mark Andrew Smith and Armand Villavert’s Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, Smith and Matthew Weldon’s The New Brighton Archeological Society, and Smith and James Stokoe’s upcoming Sullivan Sluggers.

Aviles’ own work has a nightmarish quality to it, with dream logic scenes that are neither simple nor overstuffed. And while his fanart is largely straightforward, it comes with a few surprises. His super-cropped rendering of Gandalf, showing just the wizard’s staff, sword and the tip of his hat, is one of my favorite pieces of Tolkien fanart, relying on negative space to create a sense of drama.

You can see more of Aviles’ artwork on his Flickr photostream and his Tumblr.

Tags: art – fanart – illustration – painting – rodrigo aviles – RodrigoAviles

Claire Hummel Re-Does Superheroes And Disney Pricesses ….

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Lauren Davis

“Historical accuracy” and “Disney princesses” aren’t usually two concepts that go together. But that hasn’t stopped concept artist Claire Hummel from injected a little fact into those fictional characters, at least where their clothes are concerned. Hummel combines her costumer’s eye and affection for animation in her other fanart projects as well, redesigning outfits for some familiar heroes and rendering others with cartoony, and gorgeously colored, flair.

Hummel, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, works as a concept artist for Microsoft Game Studios, where she’s worked on games from Asheron’s Call to Kinectimals. In her personal art, she tends to lean toward nostalgia, hence her quest to redesign the outfits of Sailor Moon and the Disney princesses. While the Disney movies aren’t pegged to a particular time period (with the notable exception of Pocahontas), Hummel found historical dresses that are similar to the princesses’ iconic looks and recostumed them accordingly.It’s worth visiting Hummel’s deviantART gallery, where she goes by “Shoomlah,” to read her explanations for selecting fashions from specific regions and periods, as well as where she cheated. (For example, Belle’s over-the-elbows gloves don’t match her late 18th-century French courtly dress, and Pocahontas wouldn’t have worn a turquoise necklace.) She puts similar thoughtfulness into her proposed redesigns for Spider-Man, Harley Quinn and Clone Wars Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Her other fanart is stellar, especially her Seaking with its tattooed Pokemon trainer, a piece that has justifiably been making the rounds of the art blogs.

Tags: art – claire hummel – ClaireHummel – disney – illustration – princesses – shoomlah

FAN-tastic ArtWork Including Black Bat, Death, Hawkman, Marvel Ladies and MORE!!!

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Andy Khouri

We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great images on sites like like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we’ve created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwork that we come across in our regular travels across the Web. Some of it’s new, some of it’s old, some of it’s created by working professionals, some of it’s created by future stars, some of it’s created by talented fans, and some of it’s endearingly silly. All of it’s awesome.

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE?

We’re very much interested to see what you’ve dug up and think should be featured here in Best Art Ever (This Week). Please submit any great art links to andykhouri-at-comicsalliance.com. Artists, feel free to send in your own work or to request that your work be removed.

Self portrait by Gene Colan from the collection of Craig Rogers

FLCL by Ulysses

Death by Julian Totino Tedesco

Black Bat by 89g

“Monster Island Rumpus” by Harrison Grey

Galactic Adventures by Francesco Francavilla

Wolverine by Moebius

Hellboy by Max Fiumara

Galactus and the Silver Surfer by Giorgio Comolo

Jersey Shore/Batman mashup by Bill Walko for The Line It Is Drawn

David Bowie by Shehzil Malik

Doctor Doom by Gabriel Hardman

Tron: Evolution by James Paick

John Constantine and Zatanna by Frank Quitely

Adventure Time’s Marceline and the Scream Queens by Erica Henderson

Street Fighter by Bastien Bives

Game of Thrones/Disney Dragons mashup by Mona Calentine

Calvin and Hobbes bento box by Anna The Red (our first food art?)

“Fantastic Swords” mashup by Rocky Davies

Wolverine by Bill Sienkiewicz

The Avengers by Francesco Francavilla

Art by Daniel Irizarri Oquendo

“The Bat” sculpture by Marcus Ober

X-23 by Amilcar Pinna

Captain Marvel by Jamie McKelvie

“In A Flash” by Mike Iverson

Drive by Jim Rugg

The Avengers by Adi Granov

Batman by Mark Chiarello

Black Cat, Scarlet Witch, Enchantress and Medusa by Sara Pichelli

The Adventures of Cholly and Flytrap by Arthur Suydam

Catwoman by James P. Brouwer

Death by Marc Hempel

Richochet Rita, Longshot and Quark 6 by Arthur Adams

The Rocketeer and Betty by Dave Johnson for Comic Twart

Spider-Man by karioks

Art by Jack Kirby

Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane

ABC Warriors by Simon Bisley

“Heroine” by Ming Doyle

Hawkman by Nick Choles

The image above was painted by Nick Choles for an old DC Comics trading card set from the 1990s. I saw it when I was a kid. In that unexplainable way that an illustration can stay with you, this one always stayed with me and became part of that matrix of influences and tastes that form our aesthetic values and how we appreciate art. Mine was absolutely informed by this image. Years later, Nick Choles emailed me to say he’s a fan of Best Art Ever. That was awesome.

Tags: best art ever – BestArtEver

Luv This – Captain Ameripug: The First Pugvenger

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Caleb Goellner

This past weekend my wife and I, along with our pooch Pearl the pug, attended the 12th annual Oregon Humane Society Pug Crawl in Portland. This year’s theme for the OHS fundraiser was “Pug Nation: A Better Pug for a Better America!” which came alive in a parade of costumed pugs and pug mixes wearing a variety of patriotic costumes. While the entire parade was a feast for my pug-loving senses, one marcher in particular caught my eye: A pug cosplaying as Captain America. Take a peek at full-size photos of a friendly pooch we’ll call Captain Ameripug after the jump.

Tags: Captain America – CaptainAmerica – cosplay – Oregon Humane Society – OregonHumaneSociety – pug – Pug Crawl – PugCrawl – pugs

FAN-tastic Cosplay Including Power Rangers, Black Widow, Power Girl and More !!!

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Bethany Fong

Filed under: Culture

Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving community of costuming that exists today and cosplay communities such as Cosplay.com and the Superhero Costuming Forum. In honor of the many fans who’ve displayed excellence in the mastery of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), a weekly collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into our own super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

Loki, cosplayed by nomokis

Mia Fey & Godot, cosplayed by RaenD & One2Hit, photographed by Cosplay Ninjas

Iron Man, cosplayed by DonRobert

Konohana Sakuya, cosplayed by Cami86, photographed by fabiohazard

Rogue & Psylocke, cosplayed by Meagan & gillykins, photographed by Geekxgirls

Green Ranger, cosplayed by dartfeld, photographed by NicolaiAndrews

Black Widow, cosplayed by Alexia Jean Grey, photographed by Adam Jay

Zelda, cosplayed by RikkuGrape, photographed by Kindra Nikole

Power Girl, photographed by Grant Brummett

Lottie, cosplayed by Lil-Kute-Dream, photographed by Kenji Ono

Chun-li, cosplayed by Jessica Villarreal, photographed by cherieroberts

Rule 63 Captain America, photographed by dwrd Studios

Groose, cosplayed by misakochan

The Riddler, photographed by findenenmacil

Editor’s note: For 50 weeks our modest Best Cosplay curator has resisted our wishes to include her own excellent work in this feature. I think you’ll agree that excluding the following image was just not an option, so I snuck it in. Let’s see if she notices. – Khouri

Black Bat & The Spoiler, cosplayed by Betty Felon & Ali Kay, photographed by Nate Buchman

Do you have a stellar costume that you would like to share with ComicsAlliance? Submit your photos HERE!

Tags: Best Cosplay Ever – BestCosplayEver – cosplay

CARE BEARS STARE!!! ‘Care Bears’ Getting a CG Animated Revival on The Hub This Summer …..

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Graeme McMillan

The world may just have gotten its head around the existence of Bronies, but following the successful revival of My Little Pony, the next ironic-gender-appropriation-of-a-nostalgic-toy-brand is already being dreamt up by Hasbro and its television subsidiary, the Hub. Care Bears fans, are you ready for… “Belly-Bros?”

Next month sees the debut of Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, a show described in PR sent to Cartoon Brew as “a modernized, CGI-animated version of the classic animated cartoon” that sees “everyone’s favorite bears and their iconic Belly Badges… transformed with today’s technology into a series that kids and families can enjoy together.”

The same PR also describes the show as featuring “the same re-imagined CG animation and spirit of friendship and caring that made shows like “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic a cult hit,” apparently being unable to tell the difference between something that looks like this -

- and something that looks like this:

Yes, the two may both be created using computers, but that’s hardly “the same re-imagined CG animation” in both shows (If you’re wondering what’s happening in the Care Bears image, by the way, Grumpy Bear is unhappy because Tenderheart Bear would rather show off his mad rhyming “skillz” than eat the cereal that Grumpy had made for him).

In case you’re wondering, “Belly-Bros” is a term offered by the Hub as a potential name for the legions of male fans who’ll enjoy this new Care Bears series as much as they do Friendship is Magic. If you’re not feeling it, however, they’re also suggesting “Care-Dudes,” which sounds more like the way that William S. Preston would describe someone who works in an assisted living facility.

Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot premieres June 2 at 8 a.m. on the Hub. We can only hope that it’ll feature a Care Bear Stare showdown every week.

[Via Cartoon Brew]

Tags: Care Bears – CareBears – Hasbro – My Little Pony – MyLittlePony – The Hub – TheHub

FAN-tastic Cosplay Including Iron Man, Ms Marvel, Nightcrawler, Magik and More !

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Bethany Fong

Iron Man, cosplayed by baden3, photographed by KuroSeirei

San, cosplayed by lovelyyorange, photographed by fallingfeathers

Rachel Summers, cosplayed by thatDJSpider

Jason Todd, cosplayed by testsubjectb

Wonder Woman, cosplayed by fairyporchqueen, photographed by Darren Rowley

Ysera, cosplayed by Mandine83

Ms. Marvel, cosplayed by bettiebloodshed, photographed by LJinto

Black Alice, cosplayed by blackalice

Jack & Sally, cosplayed by ex-shadow & cupcake-rufflebutt, photographed by fenyxdesign

Nightcrawler, cosplayed by twinfools, photographed by weatherstone

Mistress of Pain (Diablo III), cosplayed by CalipsoCosplay, photographed by Michele Albrigo

Magik, photographed by greyloch

Saiyaman 2/Videl, cosplayed by maiabest93, photographed by Dee Jocson

Poison Ivy, cosplayed by drummerina, photographed by Edoardo del Gaudio

Do you have a stellar costume that you would like to share with ComicsAlliance? Submit your photos HERE!

Tags: Best Cosplay Ever – BestCosplayEver – cosplay

FAN-tastic ArtWork Including Silver Age Avengers and Justice League, Rock’em Sock’em Robots and More !!!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Andy Khouri

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE?We’re very much interested to see what you’ve dug up and think should be featured here in Best Art Ever (This Week). Please submit any great art links to andykhouri-at-comicsalliance.com. Artists, feel free to send in your own work or to request that your work be removed.

Batman vs. Guy Gardner by Kevin Maguire
Game of Thrones by Roberto Flores

The Spirit by Will Eisner

Phil Coulson by Megan

Jonah Hex starring John Wayne by Chris McDonald

RanXerox by Tanino Liberatore

Tori Amos by Dustin Nguyen

Batman by Jim Lee and Travis Charest

Sin City by Frank Candiloro

The Virgile by Laurent Durieux

Art by Virgil Finlay

Moth City by Tim Gibson

Batman by Midnightride

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots/Muhammed Ali/Sonny Liston mashup by Eric Joyner

James McAvoy as Professor X by Tran Nguyen

“The Demon Wolf” by Logan Faerber and Greg Ruth

The Wizard of Oz by Helen Huang

Star Wars by Paul Pope

Maurice Sendak tribute by Dan Hipp

The Question by Glenn Turner (our first photographic art?)

Uncanny X-Force by Matteo Scalera

Lovecraft by David Hartman

Spider-Man by Travis Charest

Huntress by Lily’s Factory

Art by Eric Canete

Art by OneQ

Maurice Sendak tribute by Joe Hunter

Star Wars Millennium Falcon by Ryan Bodenheim (click the link)

Marvel Comics heroes by Michael Golden

Maurice Sendak tribute by Henry Bonsu

The Sandman by Andrew Mar

Black Bat Cassandra Cain by Phil Noto from the collection of Steve Pieper

“Unfadeable” by Jim Mahfood

Tank Girl by Stephanie Buscema

Where The Wild Things Are by Mike Maihack for Terrible Yellow Eyes

The Spirit by Chris Samnee for Comic Twart

The Shadow by Michael Kaluta

Lois Lane by Ramon Villalobos

Batman by Dan Davis

Silver Age Avengers and Justice League by Elena Casagrande

Tags: best art ever – BestArtEver

Kinetix Releases a ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ T-Shirt Collection …..

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Bethany Fong

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises this summer, LA-based design company KINETIX has come out with a collection of T-shirts designed in collaboration with the Warner Bros. Exclusively sold on kitson, the T-shirt collection features imagery of Catwoman and Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, as well as classic Batman logos and DC Comics art (including Dustin Nguyen’s artwork for Heart of Hush).

Check out the KINETIX x The Dark Knight Rises collection after the jump!

Although the tees are a tad pricy at $38-48 a pop, these designer fashions are made out of high quality Pima cotton, which is softer and more long-lasting than your standard superhero tee.

Social Climber Tee, $48 [link]

Despite the flattering cut of this top and the stylish graphic of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, I’m not too jazzed about the “Social Climber” text scribbled on top of this graphic. I get it, it’s a Catwoman joke, and it’s possible the phrase is used in the film and the specific context has yet to reveal itself, but as this is the only women’s top available in the collection… yeah.

Shattered Batwings Tee, $48 [link]

White Fire Rises Tee, $48 [link]

Batman Watercolor Tee, $48 [link]

Although the product description for this tee describes this design as “Batman watercolor art from The Dark Knight Rises,” this is actually Dustin Nguyen’s artwork for Heart of Hush. Regardless of kitson’s labeling mistake, a designer shirt featuring Dustin Nguyen’s beautiful artwork is pretty stellar.

Black Bat Stencil Tee, $48 [link]