I’m finally getting around to clearing up after the holidays. Among the things I’m throwing out are these superhero gift bags. Perhaps our most pleasant Christmas surprise was the off-model Spider-Man bag.

I imagine Spider-man tries to pass his missing fingers off as an unfortunate result of a clash with Kraven or The Puma, when really he was just careless in shop class.

It’s always nice to see a story that doesn’t involve any of the usual Archie tropes. In Sticks and Stones, Archie and Jughead relive their youth slugging baseballs through neighbourhood windows. Being the responsible teens that they are, Archie and Jughead fight down the urge to avoid facing the music.

It may just be my appreciation of the art, or that most of the dialogue comes from the mouths pf no-name characters that wouldn’t have the same restrictions as Archie and his pals, but this one seems to be above average in the writing department. I especially like the asides from the two kids.

Lucey was one of the most stripped down of the Archie artists. When I was working in traditional animation I used to bring Lucey’s Archies into work and everyone would pass them around. Animating from Lucey panels would be a joy. The weight and motion he gave characters with so little detail is amazing. He’s a textbook example of clear staging without sacrificing character.

I don’t know if Lucey inked his own work or not, but those thick outlines really differentiated Lucey’s art from someone like Decarlo, who usually employed a thinner line with more interior detail. I could look at his stuff all day long.

Check out Great Caesar’s Post for an explanation.

Image courtesy of Frank Frazetta, as filtered through The Obamicon.

I was never into Area 88 or Xenon, but I did have a hefty collection of Mai, The Psychic Girl and a few random issues of Kamui. Viz may have released those titles over 20 years back, but with the rapid evolution of manga it seems like it’s been twice as long.

I think I still have the issues of Kamui that this is based on. Nostalgia demands I check out this film adaptation when it drops.

Another shot of George Herriman’s work from Don Marquis’ the lives and times of archy and mehitabel.

I painted with oils for the first time this weekend. I had only previously painted using acrylics, and that was over five years ago. It was frustrating, but after a while I got into the swing of things and it turned out better than I expected.

Here are a few things I learned about oil painting. Don’t be uptight. Choose an appropriate size for your canvas. Oils are messier than you might think. And the paint does not taste good.

I’ve seen my fair share of film noir, and I’ve grown accustomed to all manner of lust, passion, perversion and betrayal. It’s come to the point that the only thing that could blindside me is love.

How could I not post this? Ulises Farinas assays The Thing’s anatomy, from his atrophied bones to his “carbon soup”. Kudos to Robin Bougie for the hook-up.