Spawn fan-art

It's no secret that my favorite superhero is Batman. But in junior high, when my career goals were somewhere between ILM and Image comics, my favorite was definitely Spawn. Todd McFarlane was my first artistic hero, aside from my dad and brother, and McFarlane's version of Spiderman is still my favorite. So it's about time that I put up some fan art. Violator is right up there with Joker and Venom as one of my favorite comic villains. Like Joker, he's got a morbid sense of humor, which makes him fun to read, and like Venom he's got the physical menace to back it up, which makes him fun to draw!

addendum 12.15.08
I just found a website with a gallery of all the Spawn covers. I remember seeing this one, in particular, on the shelf. How awesome is that drawing? There's just something about a hero from Hell who refuses to serve his master that's intrinsically badass. Why can't they make a good movie out of this? Mr. McFarlane, if you're reading this, give me a call! I will help you make this film!

Speaking of comics that would make great movies and amazing covers, this is probably the greatest comic cover (and series) of all-time. Someone needs to get Spielberg and Williams on this. I mean honestly, would you rather see Tintin or Superman destroying congress??

The people have spoken! From the very limited selection of 'best pets ever' you guys have chosen Tyrannosaurus Rex. A wise decision. Don't get me wrong, ewoks are great, but I know who I'd rather have protecting my yard from burglars.

In other AustinTranslation news, Chades Challenge XIX is cough-up. As in, the substance that comes up when you cough. This is the first Chades Challenge that doesn't follow the adjective/noun guidelines, but it should make an interesting challenge. Reminder, this is a character design challenge. Cough-up as a sympathetic character...is it possible? As one Alaskan governor I know always says, "You betcha!"

Sean and Finn Berry, deck hands

Alright, Stephan, I'll cough up some background...

These are characters from a pirate-era RPG that my friend Everett Downing is gearing up. Finn and Sean Berry (played by Emma Coats and myself, respectively) are teenage brothers from a large Irish-Catholic family who joined the legendary Lt. Robert Maynard in his quest to hunt down the pirate baron Blackbeard. Finn (the red-head) is a hot-headed scrapper, and Sean (who I assume is the older of the two) is a more dignified, voice-of-reason sort of fellow. The two are a lot like Sansa and Arya, for those of you who follow George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (soon to be an HBO series--woo hoo!); two siblings who couldn't be any different, come close to hatred at times, yet act as a pretty powerful team.

RPGs can be a great exercise in character development and collaborative story-telling. I highly recommend them to any artists, writers, or filmmakers out there. Below are character studies drawn by the glorious Emma Coats.

HOLD THE PHONE, I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

Master Josh Billings has tagged me, so I've got to jot down seven facts about myself, and tag seven others to do the same. Here goes!

I. My screen name, Munchanka, comes from a clan my friends and I formed in Sunday school of the most wise and courageous fourth graders (all three of us).

II. I've been a coffee drinker since fourth grade, the sign of a true Munchanka.

III. My favorite artist in any medium of all-time is John Williams, and my favorite work of his is the score for A New Hope, though his best single track has to be the Jurassic Park Suite.

IV. I cut in line for housing three of my four years at CalArts, unfairly depriving students of dormitory housing (not very Munchanka-like behavior).

V. I've had teeth knocked loose on several occasions, once when hit by a car and once while dressed in full Darth Maul attire.

VI. I didn't get my driver's license until the ripe old age of twenty-two because I took animation courses instead of driver's training in high school and mooched rides off of friends through college.

VII. The greatest gifts I've ever received were a Jurassic Park gate that my brother made for me out of scrap wood and fireplace matchsticks (it was much better quality than it sounds like) and a pair of animation cels from the Mr. DNA sequence in the actual film.

Now that you know more about me, it's time to get to know a few of my friends! Hmm, who to tag...

I. Heidi Gilbert
II. Diana Lafayatis
III. Hwang Nguyen
IV. Vi-Dieu Nguyen
V. Jeremy Spears
VI. Daniela Strijleva
VII. Nate Wragg

THIS DAY IN HISTORY...

This day in history, exactly ten years ago, Pixar released A Bug's Life. Of all Pixar's films, this has to be the most underrated, there's some brilliant animation on Hopper, and Tuck and Roll are just plain hilarious.
Now everyone at Pixar's hard at work on the upcoming Pete Docter film. You can check out the new trailer here.
Happy 10th Anniversary to A Bug's Life, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else!

Gandalf wins by a nose...a long, crooked wizard nose!

Thanks for your votes, readers. You've elected Gandalf the Grey as President of the...wait a second, that's not Gandalf, it's...RON PAUL??

Make sure to vote in this week's poll: What would make the greatest pet?

SUPERMAN vs ZOD

"Come to me, Son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!"

I'd like to see how Clark Kent explains showing up for work with a broken arm the same day Jimmy Olsen turns in this photograph for the front page of the Daily Planet.

That's assuming Clark Kent shows up for work ever again...

I had a lot of fun drawing Zod. Some friends and I are going to take another week to explore him and his goons, Ursa and Non. Let me know if you have a version of the Kryptonian rebels that you'd like to share.

Other followers of Zod:
Vi
Leo

Williams A Cappella

I love the last lyric.

Voyage of the Obyrith, Chapter II: The Fallen

I started doing these pseudo-comic covers for a DnD campaign I'm running to get the players pumped up for each game. Here's the 'cover' for our second gaming session:

The dark of night holds many secrets,

The dark of night tells many lies,
Beware the things that shimmer there,
They may be friends, they may be spies

More cool art at Dungeons and Shenanigans.
For you gamers out there looking for good, atmospheric music--check out E.S. Posthumous. You may recognize some of his tunes from trailers, but the full unedited songs are really epic, intense, and all-around top notch!

Justin Wright on Wikipedia

Someone was kind enough to set up a wikipedia page for my good friend Justin Wright, who passed away earlier this year. Aside from being one of my best friends, I owe a lot of what I know about story and filmmaking to Justin, and it's great to see his legacy living on. There are links to Pacific Union College, CalArts, Pixar, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation from his page, so I am sure his story will inspire and empower others. If you're ever on a wikipedia binge, please swing by Justin's page and give it a read!

"It's funny out there, make sure to laugh."
--Justin Wright