Review: The Great Calamity (from the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter blu-ray)

So I had a bit of a time getting to NYCC on Friday morning and missed one of the panels I was really looking forward to. It was a preview of the upcoming blu-ray release of the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. More specifically, the animated short “The Great Calamity” which will be included on the disc. Thankfully, their publicist is awesome and set up a quick phone interview with the creators of the project.  Continue reading

The Line is Drawn for Comic Book Art

Not that they need the extra traffic, but I really have to give it up to the Comic Book Resources website. They consistently post great, informative articles and are one of the best places to get the latest comics news. But that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about two things, CBR’s “Comics Should Be Good” blog, specifically its weekly series called “The Line Is Drawn” where a group of artists (about 16 regulars) post artwork based on suggestions to the blog’s weekly topic on their twitter account. This week’s was “…come up with a sidekick for a superhero who’s never had an official sidekick”, which leads me to the other topic of this particular post. A bit of praise to a good, old friend of mine, and a fantastic artist, John Trumbull.

I met John while performing in the local Rocky Horror show. He had recently graduated from Joe Kubert’s art school at the time. In all these years, I’d never really seen much of his art, save for bits and pieces he showed us, or posted in the early innerwebs days.
As of late, he has been a regular artist for the “Line is Drawn” series and I have consistently found myself more and more impressed and proud of my friend. This week’s piece, however, is his best yet. But then, I’ve said that with each new piece he posts.

Art by John Trumbull – http://johntrumbull.deviantart.com/

So go check out CBR’s blog, subscribe to their feed, and of course make sure you tell ’em who sent ya in the comments, go check out John’s work on his deviant art page! And John, I know you’re going to read this, Great job buddy and keep ’em comin’!!

RIP Joe Kubert

Written by: Christopher Lee

Although I’ve only met you as a fan, you ran a school that honed the amazing skills inherent in a good handful of my friends, and the friends I’ve met through them, that they met through you. 
That being so, you’ve sort of vicariously filled my life with a good many talented artists that never cease to impress me with their imagination and skill, I thank you for giving me that wonderful sense of pride in people I care about. 
It may seem a weird tribute, but it’s an honest one, and one I can attribute to him on a personal level.

Just to give you an idea of the level of talent this legend of comics had. Well, for one, he ran the Joe Kubert School of Art here in NJ that many of my friends have gone to.

Aside from that, check out a couple of his “quick sketches”… (little known fact, although Kubert didn’t create Hawkman per se, he was instrumental in creating the Hawkman as we know his character today)

Joe Kubert - Hawkman

One of the awesome old weird covers of the golden age!

a lil’ Batman for ya…


Joe Kubert, thought, yes, you will be missed, your legacy will live on in the art of every student coming out of your school, and of course, all the wonderful art and imagination you’ve left in your wake.

Thank you.



You too can make an awesome Dragon Priest masks from "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"

Written by: Christopher Lee

My pal Nicci (aka in certain circles, Björn-Lagmancer) just signed up onto tumblr (where this site is hosted fyi). Here’s her blog. She just sent this to me, it’s pretty rad. For such a nut, the girl’s got some great (read: pretty sick) artistic costume/prop making skills.

She recently embarked on a venture to create her own Dragon Priest masks (which are pretty damned rad if not to dissimilar from the Death Eater masks in “Harry Potter” though a lot cooler) from Skyrim. She made a video, check it out! (FYI, she makes it look easy. Knowing her, I’m sure it’s just to poke fun at those who try to do the same, haha)

and finished after she had painted them:

Nicci Fett's Dragon Priest mask

To round out the post, here’s a pic of her in her Skyrim/Dovahkiin costume that she wore at a recent con (minding you, again, that she made herself). 

Nikki's Dovhakin costume

I’m thinking I might have to commission her to make some pieces for me.

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