So, woo! The BotCon 2010 site is up! It's beautiful.
Funny story: This morning, folks found images of one of the BotCon 2010 set's toys, Streetwise, on the BotCon.com server. D'oh! But then later in the day, a second image was found on the server, this time a badly photoshopped image of Universe Tankor as Clench.
And oh, some websites thought they had an awesome scoop! And man, were people angry. What a terrible choice for Clench! And why doesn't he have a new head? BotCon is RUINED!
Of course, it was all a joke played by Fun Publications. (At least, the second part.) And about half an hour after the image was "leaked," the BotCon.com site updated to reflect the theme of the year's set, plus an awesome new Guido Guidi illustration of Spark and the real Clench toy.
The real Clench is apparently a redecoed Universe Onslaught with a new head. Suitably large, since he's Decepticon leader, and the little details we can spot in this illustration make him look super rad. The blue on his legs sparkle, which is very important for Clench, and there's his Tron-like circuit patterns on his abdomen. Here's hoping for his anti-wolf deco and his Texas license plate!
StreetwiseStreetstar, the other reveal, is okay. It's cool that we're getting a toy of an unreleased Generation 2 character, but I really wish the toy had more detail. I mean, it's super-accurate to the original toy, but the original toy was kinda dull, too. He just needs some more color somewhere. But hey, at least it reminds folks that G2 wasn't all dayglo playskool neon. And the tampograph on his windshield is awesome.
Once a month for five months, God finds time to bless our planet with his holy ejaculate. This is month four, and so today the latest issue ofLast Stand of the Wreckers is now splashed warmly across our faces.
Sure, the immediate highlight of the issue is a single panel (spoilers) that packs more fanwankery into itself than should be physically possible. But something more subtle I'd like to bring up, nospoilery-like, is this: Transformers are robots. They lose arms, they lose heads, they suffer all sorts of damage. I'm kinda numb to the idea. But, man, in Last Stand of the Wreckers, when physical damage happens, I wince. It's gross. It looks painful. It takes an emotional toll.
This is probably due to both the writing and the art. I think of the characters as real beings, not only due to the strong characterization, but also in the way in which they are drawn. They don't look like a pile of boxes being maneuvered around by the artist like a marionette. They're singular entities. And, man, if they get an ouchie, you can tell by the look on their faces.
I really like that.
And, man, Last Stand of the Wreckers really is an orgy of violence. It's crude and dark and terrible. Many Transformers stories attempt this, but most feel hollow. This does not. That's a feat in itself, above and beyond the easy geeky cameos.
So, like, the old FTP is still kickin' me out and not letting me login, so here's last Saturday's Joyce and Walky!, presented as a blog post for you, easy-as-you-please.
I'm always overjoyed when folks tell me at conventions that they've been reading since Roomies! or It's Walky!. Those characters are all still very dear to me, and I always enjoy revisiting them when you come to me and ask me to draw them. I had a few long-time readers again at C2E2 last weekend, and I thank you for not forgetting them.
And here's the last of my (published) pictures. That's right! There are photos worse than the ones from yesterday with all the mouth-pooping.
(They were blurry or boring.)
Figgered I should take some pictures of some toys, since this is usually a toy blog. This is DC Direct's "Battle for the Cowl" wave. I totally need that Stephanie Brown Batgirl. And probably that hilarious Two-Face that was infuriatingly only a hallucination.
Sunday was kind of a no man's land for the Webcomics Pavilion... except if you were Jeph Jacques. How I hate him.
Since Sunday was kinda dead, I spent time drawing and coloring on my own. Markers are fun!
Reader asked for Reagan vs Hitler. Reader got Reagan vs Hitler. Hooray for democracy!
So, woo! The BotCon 2010 site is up! It's beautiful.
