Trust in me.

Just did this at some guy's website over here. Hours of fun for all the family.

I Want To Hold Your Severed Hand

Turkish freelancer Mahmud Asrar, currently doing some work for Marvel, draws the Zombie Beatles.
(From his DeviantArt page)

Marc Craste's animation for the BBC's Winter Olympics coverage.

You'll like it. Even if it is soundtracked to Michael Bublé.

No shit, Sherlock

So, in a video statement to the Midem conference in Cannes, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien reckons the music industry has been putting money ahead of creativity in recent years. Fuck me, how insightful.  I'd put it another way - a cartel of bastards, with Simon Cowell as their public face, have gleefully turned the artform of popular music into their own private strip-mine.   Ed O'Brien is however, a nice polite boy from a college town, whereas I'm a mountain man with rough country manners.

Everybody seen these preview pages from Brendan McCarthy's FEVER yet?

Minds will be blown.

Been caught soliciting: Everybody and their mothers edition, April 2010.

I'm not the sort who buys a comic for its cover, but Ladronn's for DC's relaunched THE SPIRIT #1 is gorgeous.

The one non-Vertigo DC title I will be buying is covered with some repackaged art we've all seen before, so that doesn't get a plug. Okay, It's the Rucka/Williams III BATWOMAN: ELEGY collection.

As a long-suffering Neil Young fan, I'd buy this anyway, but the art should be spectacular. Best colourist in the business gets a cover credit, too.

Image will be sticking out TURF, by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards. As one could have expected from the verbose Ross, the preview pages show it is overwritten-as-fuck. But hey - variant cover by Sir Duncan Fegredo!

Johnny Romita Junior does a cracking take on the cast of JERSEY GODS for the third trade paperback. It's a real shame the solicitation text makes it all sound so final: "Zoe is super-charged and about to take Barock down. Never let your girlfriend borrow your super-powers. Sinister forces are lining up against our favorite Jersey couple that threaten to destroy their union...and their very lives. Hang on to your seats, the JERSEY GODS train is about to derail in the stunning conclusion you never expected. No lie: It will ROCK you! Collects JERSEY GODS 10-12, plusthe complete MARK WAID back up story, the six-page JERSEY GODS promo from INVINCIBLE and the JERSEY GODS pages from POPGUN."

Well, it's not much of a month from Marvel, unless you love their whole HEY KIDS! MORE OF THE SAME FROM BENDIS! direction. But if you love comics that might instead surprise and challenge you, why don't you try this?
"SPIDER-MAN: FEVER #1 (of 3)
Written by BRENDAN MCCARTHY
Pencils & Cover by BRENDAN MCCARTHY
One of comics' most innovative and original voices, Brendan McCarthy, brings SPIDER-MAN: FEVER -- a truly unique and surreal story evoking the classic Silver-Age psychedelia of Steve Ditko's Dr Strange. In FEVER, Spider-Man is abducted by a depraved tribe of spider-demons to a bizarre dimension, where he is to be eaten alive. Dr. Strange goes on a perilous occult quest to rescue his friend -- and tangles with some very peculiar characters along the way...
32 PGS./Parental Advisory $3.99"

Full DC solicits at CBR - Full Marvel solicits at CBR - Partial Image solicits at CBR

Getting TWARTed

I like to think that Ireland was ahead of the curve with the group art blog Eclectic Micks. There's been a few more rocking up since, such as Scotch Corner. But there's a new kid on the block, and it's got a helluva heavyweight line up of talent: Comic Twart

Sounds rude, dunnit? I think you can blame Dec Shalvey for that, though I think it has an innocent enough derivation, from "Art that started on Twitter". Each week the members will be contributing sketches of the same character, starting today with Zorro. Some great stuff is up already, and looking at the sidebar of members, we can expect even more to come. Here's Andy Kuhn's cracking, none-more-Toth, entry.

How'd I mis this?

The good burghers at Robot 6 highlight the cover and solicitation details for Brendan McCarthy's SPIDER-MAN: FEVER #1.

Sparkly!

STAR WARS burlesque.

Yeah, sod your childhood being used by a multinational concern to shill their sportswear. How's about your childhood being used to titillate the masses instead?

Darth Vader gets on down with Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, Calle 13, DJ Neil Armstrong and Daft Punk.

It's dress-down Fridays at the DC Comics ofices.

Über-editor Mark Chiarello lords it over us with his dummy copy of the WEDNESDAY COMICS collected edition.

Been caught soliciting: Dark Horse, April 2010.

Still getting used to typing that. Anyho':

A new edition of Steranko's RED TIDE, this time with remastered colour by Dave Stewart.  Should look great, anyway.

B.P.R.D: KING OF FEAR #4. Och aye.

Obviously.

Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson's BEASTS OF BURDEN, in collected form. Can't recommend it highly enough. Simultaneously scary and heartwarming. Made of win. Give it a go, please.

I'll be buying the second THE END LEAGUE trade, too, I'm sure. Not in any way original, or even near Rick Remender's best work (still FEAR AGENT, by a country mile), but it is drawn by Eric Canete, ferfuxache.

And I might even be sentimental enough to buy this:

Copaloada the full solicits at CBR.

I've got the DOCTOR WHO horn again.

Is that the briefest shot of a low angle of the new Tardis interior at the 19-20-seconds-in mark? If so, shitting hell, it is a gorgeous set.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year, ass farmers!

Yes, I have been drinking, why'd'yu ask?