Hijacked Heroes

A while back I dumped Action Comics from my pull list. I've never really been a Superman fan anyway; he's too clean cut,  goody goody for my tastes. With the new start up at DC, and Grant Morrison writing the series, I figured I would try it. The first couple issues were alright, but it quickly faded and lost direction. I dropped it after #5 I think. Today I saw a preview for #9 and was let down. For whatever reason, Action Comics is going to explore an alternate universe, one where Superman is black.

I don't get this, I never have. Why does this make any sense? I have trouble enough with ret-con, and restarts that change a hero's origins or backstory, but to completely change who that hero is, just for the sake of pandering to political correctness, I believe is wrong. It's cheap. It's a cop out. I think its a quick and lazy way to piggy back off of the success of an established book just to promote a philosophy.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not against good, African American characters, but this sort of hijacking of already popular heroes is lame. It's like saying that black characters aren't good enough on their own, they need the name recognition for people to actually like them. I was only casually into comics until Todd McFarlane's Spawn came out in the 90s. I bounced around and read random books until then. That was my first regular "pull". It didn't seem contrived at all. Al Simmons was a strong character, with his own story, that has lasted. He might not be as popular now, but there was a big rush when Spawn came out. There have been plenty of other characters also, Luke Cage, Storm, Bishop, and Black Panther to name a few. These were all independently created, and successful characters on their own. They didn't need to be "plugged in" to another character's story.

Miles Morales, the new Ultimate Spiderman, has become wildly popular. I haven't read any of the series, mainly because I don't usually read Spiderman, but once they put out a TPB, I will probably get it. But, I still think using Spiderman to create a second Spiderman is a cheezy attempt to sell double the books. At this point there are plenty of diverse writers and artists who should be jumping at the chance to create a new, original character. The major publishers are definitely willing to support this, someone just needs to create it. Leave Superman alone. He is SOOO completely white stereotyped in the first place that plugging in a different ethnicity would basically make him a completely different character anyway. The interest is there. The support is there. Someone get busy and start a new book, its time!

SECOND WAVE ART!

The new, second wave of DC's New 52 is almost here. I'm pretty excited for the Batman Incorporated series. It will be written by Grant Morrison, hopefully done better than what is going on with Action Comics Superman, which I dropped because it was losing me. Better yet though, it will be drawn by Chris Burnham. I like Burnham's art; it reminds me a little bit of Frank Quitely, a little bit like Seth Fisher. It's hard to describe the style, realistic, but still the tiniest bit of "cartoon" or animation feel to it. I really like the way Robin has evolved. No longer the whiny sissy B lister, now he's angry and brooding, with enough martial arts know how to kick yer booty.

I'm gonna add this book to my list and really cross my fingers that it's a hit. I hope Morrison gets his thoughts straight and tells a good story. Even if he doesn't, I might still keep it if Burnham is a regular.

Hungry Games

Ahhh, the Hunger Games. The movie based on the hottest teen fiction series since Harry Potter got too old. This flick has been at the top of the charts since opening a few weeks ago. I finally got out to see it last night and I was surprised.

I was excited to see this because of all of the hype. Even moreso, just before entering the theater, I heard a news report about a couple of idiots in Utah that had set some booby traps on a hiking trail. Apparently they were inspired by the movie. Now I'm not a promoter of planning senseless physical harm to random people, but there must have been a very strong scene in the movie that gave these two turds the idea. Something "Rambo" except with inexperienced teens.

Let me start by saying, I haven't read the books. Maybe I should. The movie seemed to assume that we knew a lot more than they were telling us. Basically, the movie is set in a bizarre post apocalyptic future. This I gathered from the clever pre-lottery informational film. Beyond that, I was left guessing about the motivations and the background of the entire plot. In any case, my biggest gripe with the entire movie is that I'VE SEEN IT BEFORE!! I've seen this movie in slightly different variations at least 5 or 6 times. Random people are selected to play in a cruel, survivor-esque duel to the death. Of course, televising it adds a "shocking" sense of sensationalism. The plot is so worn out. There isn't much you can do with it to make it original. The Hunger Games does nothing. It follows it to its plodding, predictable end. Good guys win, bad guys lose, and the "red shirts" find ways of dying so as not to incriminate the main characters.

More than this was the weak attempt to make this "world" an over the top version of a retro future. Low budget costuming reminiscent of early sci-fi movies such as Farenheit 451, or Soylent Green. The people of The Capitol were SOOOOOO extravagant with their cheezy style hairdos and wildly steam punkish fashion. It all seemed so unoriginal. This movie was a Frankenstein copy of several older, less popular, science fiction B movies. Maybe its so popular now because kids in school have never seen any of these low budget flops.

Overall it was a so so movie. It was slow, predictable, and no surprises. I'm only mildly interested in what happens next. If I had to guess, there is a love triangle conflict, Prim is going to get chosen for one of the next games, and the President is going to find a way to punish District 12. Not much else that could happen. Oh, and by the way, those two goons from Utah? They must have read the books, because I saw nothing in the movie to inspire anything they could have come up with. FAIL

Rewards for Harley Painting

So, I finally finished. My brother came back from Afghanistan and came down to pick up the last piece for his bike, the rear fender. I simplified the metal part because I did more detail on the larger skull on the back. It's a pretty wide surface, so I decided to do one, large skull instead of 4 smaller ones like I had planned before. 

I changed the way I painted this piece also. Instead of doing a lot of masks, I mostly freehanded this piece.  The other two pieces showed a little bit of cutting, where I had used the xacto knife to cut the masks. It also gave the pieces a really hard edged look. Freehanding the whole thing gave the edges a little softer feel, and it wasn't so stressful. I wasn't worried about the masks and it sped the whole process up. 

I had crossed my fingers that the seat wasn't going to cover any of the skull. I searched the internet for pics of a V-Rod Muscle. NONE of them had a friggin luggage rack on the back. BUT, my brother's does. See that fourth while in the center, right above the skull's forehead? Yeah, a little metal rack attached right there. Good thing is, it's raised and you can see through the rack, so it worked pretty well. You can still see the entire skull. 

I saw the finished pieces, on the bike. My brother, impatient as he is, brought the whole bike down in the back of his truck. They look GOOD with a final clear coat on them. Makes it look professional, doesn't even look like my work anymore. He's a little anxious to get this piece coated and put together. When he does, I'm using it as an excuse to go to Vegas to take pics of the real thing. 

As payment, I made a deal. 100$ for the supplies, which didn't really cover everything, and two guns that little bro has vultured from my dad. The .357 Magnum was technically already mine. It was a birthday present a long time ago, but dad figured since I wasn't using it he would give it to my brother. It's a hog. As soon as I get a cleaning kit, I'm gonna take it out and shoot it. The other gun is a High Standard Supermatic Trophy. These things are golden. Super accurate, made for competition target shooting, older ones like this are hard to find and expensive to buy. This is one of a pair. My hope is that somewhere down the line, I'll pick up the other one to make the set. 

So, a pretty good deal all around. My brother got a kick ass custom paint job, and basically paid 100$ for it, since the guns were given to him. I got two sweet guns out of the deal and a little walking around money. Plus I can walk into any biker bar now and feel like I'm one of the guys.

Harley Part 2

I just got a text from my brother today, he had the two airbrushed parts clear coated and put back on his bike. All he needs is the back fender, which I'm finishing now.

Here's how the gas tank went. It's actually a plastic cover, not the actual tank itself. That made it a little easier I suppose, prepping plastic is a little easier than metal. Again, the shape and contours dictated the design. It has a slight indented area in the middle of the tank, creating a frame that goes around the outside. I juggled ideas and designs until I just said screw it and started painting stuff. I made up a few things as I went.

First: Actually the third mask I did. The background texture is already painted, and the "tube" scythe handle is already done. This mask is for the missile on the left. I included the Hellfire missile because thats what the drones are loaded with. Doing "metal" was actually pretty easy, as long as you could keep a steady hand.

Second: Again, this is actually a few masks in, I had already done the scythe blade, IV bottle, and some other industrial parts. In this picture I was freehanding the skull. Base of white, details and shadows in root beer brown, then final details in black.

Third: The sides gave me problems. There was a lot of space to cover and I had trouble tying everything in with the top design. I came up with a "lazy" answer, did a cutaway view and added some ammo along the sides. Actually went pretty quick using masks and the same "metal" technique as the missile.

Fourth: I didn't get any pics of the top outside edge in progress, mostly because I did a lot of it freehand and some handheld stencils. But I bordered the design in a rusty, bronze kind of metal, added some vents, and some holes. There are six holes, those represent my brothers "kills". I was gonna do spades, but they didn't really fit with the whole design. This pic is the finished, intercoated pieces for comparison.

Fifth: Pic of the almost finished bike. He had a guy clear coat the first two pieces since I don't have a spray gun. Front fender and tank in place. All that is left is the rear fender. He's gonna pic it up at the end of the month when he flies out for Hawaii.

Oestre

Tucson, the Old Pueblo. Aside from a great selection of food, the town is not much to look at. Dusty and flat, congested with traffic, I still can't find my way around there. Holidays are really the only reason we go down. Visiting the in-laws, always a mixed bag. One of the best things about having a large extended family is that sometimes, once in a while, you get lucky. My brother in law's sister married a doctor. Bingo. They are great people. Extremely nice and always generous. Their house is straight out of Southwest Living magazine. Pine beams support the ceiling of their adobe brick and stucco home. As you can see in the photo above, strictly southwest deco. It makes a great location for Halloween and Easter parties.

Maybe even better than the atmosphere is the food and drink. Easter is a brunch pot luck, but high end. Always something surprising. This year it was ricotta fritters. I've never had these before, but, to make up for that, I stuffed about 5 or 6 in my mouth before we had to leave. So good. Balls of ricotta cheese, deep fried and soaked in an orange marmalade syrup. Delicious. I get excited about little things, so while all of the medical chatter and small talk was going on, I hit the drink bucket. There was a wide selection of soft drinks; different sizes, different flavors. One stood out though. A glass bottle, tall, shapely, filled with orange liquid. It was the only one. I looked around, then snatched it. Orange Nehi!! Seriously, where did he get this? Was it left over from the 50's? I didn't care, it tasted great. I'm not a huge soda pop drinker these days, but that was the start of a fizzy drink binge that day. After sucking down the Nehi, I grabbed a Bulldog Root Beer. Never heard of it before, but it was amazing. Like a microbrew root beer, it was creamy with a hint of vanilla. Extremely good.

Those two drinks, the fritters, and a selection of other brunch treats had me stuffed. I had a hard time moving for while so I sat around and listened to the chit chat, watched hummingbirds drink out of the fountain, and helped a few kids locate the last of the hidden eggs. The weather was perfect, sunny, warm. Soon I started feeling a little thirsty, so I meandered back over to the drink bucket. The last gem on my list was Coca Cola. Oh, I know, doesn't sound special, but this is Mexican Coke. They use the old recipe, made with sugar. It tastes just like it used to at the tavern with my grandpa on a Sunday afternoon when I was a kid.

Those three drinks were the highlight of my Easter. With all of the commotion we didn't even make it to church, which made me a little sad. I made up for it by watching Mel Gibson's "The Passion". All in all, a good Easter.

Harley Airbrush

My brother bought a Harley before taking off for Afghanistan. While he was away, my job was to paint it for him. I tried to take pics each step of the way.

This is the front fender. The shape dictated what I could do. I tried to combine a couple of themes; his rank, death (his squadron flies reaper drones and their squadron patch had a grim reaper), and a little style flattery of one of my favorite artists, HR Giger.

First mask, starting to put the background texture in.

Second, light spray of gray-white through a window screen mask, just to give it some texture.

Third, removed the first masks. You can see the background textures,

Fourth, starting to freehand the skull. Lots of light layers give it some depth and transparency.

Fifth, second mask for detailing the rank insignia. Base of Orion Silver with some Root Beer accents to simulate rust and knock a little of the "clean" off the silver.

Sixth, removed the second mask to show the finished rank. A little more freehand on the skull.

Seventh, addition of "tubing" going up the sides. I wanted it to connect and look a little like horns of the skull. The tubes have their own textures.

The final product. Had to finish with some fine line details on the skull and add Jet Black to the rest of the fender. I put a temporary finish of interclear on it to protect it until it gets its final clear coat.

It came out pretty good. If you look close though you can see my cut marks in places where I cut the masks. Being my first time, it took a while to figure out how much pressure to use with the Xacto knife. Hopefully that smooths out when it gets the final clear.