Philly Comic Con

Can you believe another year has flown by? It seems like only yesterday that Mini Militant and I were at the Philadelphia Comic Con 2010.

This year, Mini Militant stayed home and I ventured off with my friend Sunny. That streamlined much of the process - especially the beer-drinking part. Here were some highlights:

John Schneider, a.k.a. Bo Duke and Superman's Dad, was in attendance. He was an incredibly nice guy - down to earth, warm, friendly and every bit the Good Ol' Boy you'd hope he'd be.

Whoever said geeks weren't sexy was a lunatic. Philly Comic Con was a melting pot of amazing female figures dressed as all the most outrageous comic-book character you could think of. These two lovely ladies are fine examples (and show that going to con in costume is an awesome idea, as you're often asked to be included in pictures because of your outfit.)

"There needs to be fan-fiction written about you and I," she said, as she thrust her thigh into my palm. Not that I was complaining. Hands down one of the most magnificent people at the con.

Cookie Monster is out of rehab and has been living cookie-free for three months now. He posed for this picture so I could show Mini Militant (who worships Cookie) that Sesame Street's Charlie Sheen was going straight.

Captain America and X-Men look to the past for inspiration

As you read yesterday, I got my knickers most firmly in a twist about the new James Bond book – which I believe Hodder & Stoughton are making a horrible mistake with; setting it in the modern day.

Fortunately, my period proclivities are being satisfied elsewhere – with the trailers of the latest Captain America and X-Men movies.

Now, I'm not really into comics, but I do love Captain America. He's as patriotically archetypal as Superman, but the guys at Marvel have done some cool stuff with him lately. Most notably, when they published their 'Civil War' storyline, 'Cap' went rogue and fought against the government's plan to register all superheroes. I liked that because it fed into the American mentality that dissent is patriotic.

Captain America never quite got the hang of camouflage

Anyway – the new movie looks awesome, and is set in World War II – which tickles my fancy no end. From Indiana Jones onward, there's simply no more satisfying cinematic butt to kick than that which belongs to a Nazi!

Almost as exciting is another comic book franchise – the X-Men. I've never really been into the adventures of this talented team of 'metahumans' - but I do like the fact that they're setting this movie in the 1960s, knee-deep in the cold war. While they're diverting quite significantly from the storyline of the original comics (which were first published in the 1960s, as an allegory of the civil rights movement) it looks like they've got the Kennedy-era atmosphere pitch-perfect.

Oh, 1960s... Why were your clothes so beautiful?

The 'First Class' of the X-Men, which nerds complain contains just one member of the first class of the X-Men

These are lessons the Estate of Ian Fleming should have paid attention to. Setting things in the 'modern age' doesn't necessarily make them better or more relatable. In fact, history is a much more fertile creative playground because you can use established characters, events and archetypes as metaphors for today's troubles and tribulations.

Anyway. Watch the trailers to Captain America and X-Men: First Class below. They rock.

Captain America

X-Men: First Class

Batman - The Early Years

Roland's Comic - First Attempt!

Here is my first attempt at drawing a comic strip, inspired by my antics here...

Apologies to Jim Davies.

Emulating Talented People Part #1

This is a cute little comic-strip drawn by disgustingly talented artist, animator and all around astoundingly creative person called Erica Henderson.

This is astonishingly funny because the same thing happens to my wife all the time. One stretch too many and her generously proportioned 'puppies' send blouse-buttons pinging all the way across the room!

Erica Henderson hit my radar recently, when she covered as 'guest artist' for Sluggy Freelance creator Pete Abrams. An incredibly talented cartoonist (even Pete would admit, far better than him) she studies art at some east-coast university in between drawing for Sluggy Freelance and animating rocktastic music videos.

Her stuff is awesome. If you visit her blog, you can see a variety of sketches, animations and the like she's done for various projects - all of which are effortlessly accomplished. She even finds time to make corsets and dresses in the mean time - so she's basically the one who's sucked up all the talent and left you and me unable to sketch more than a banana.

Finding Erica's blog inspired me, though.

As you might know, I consider myself something of a cartoonist. My 'man in beer t-shirt' is famously found on used napkins and discarded notepads in a wide variety of conference centres and Holiday Inns across England.

People are always saying to me: "Hey, you should draw something other than a man in a beer t-shirt" and I've always said; "I'll think about it."

Which is basically my way avoiding the issue. You see, I can't draw anything apart from that 'man in a beer t-shirt.' And a dragon called Spike and a very simplistic version of Piglet the Wonder Dog.

But Erica's blog inspired me to give it a go.

I really would recommend heading over there and having a look at it. If you're into Cthulu mythos, sci-fi craziness and like cartoons of buxom wenches in classic 'pin up' poses you'll be sketchpad shangri-la.

All artwork entirely copyright Erica Henderson and gratuitously stolen without permission. Please check out her website at ericahenderson.50webs.com

How gay is Dr Who?

I spoke to my sister last night - who'd just caught the last two episodes of Torchwood and agreed that under Russel T. Davies, the whole Dr Who franchise was a bit... gay.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's important that Mr Davies realises that most of us want to watch good old fashioned intergalactic adventure - not Queer as Folk in Space.

Please, Russell. Stop trying to ram your sexual agenda in our face and give us what we want - stirring stories, scary aliens and a bit with a robotic dog.

Sofe and I aren't the only ones who think this way... The hysterical webcomic Sorethumbs ran this comic recently.