Illustration roundup

Fear Itself: The Fearless #9 cover by Art Adams. Via.



Cover by Adi Granov for the Emerald City Comicon's 2012 Monsters & Dames art book. Via.



Personal illustration by Byron Eggenschwiler.

This is water

Part of a great gift pack by Manic. Via.

*See more great packaging here.

OSK Bloody Dizign

One of my alltime favorite vinyl toys is Erick Scarecrow's original OSK Dizign. Here's a brand new, very limited colorway:

Back for bloody revenge Dizign returns in a special limited colorway by ESC x Monster Kolor! Bloody Dizign is limited to 12pcs worldwide and includes a limited edition exclusive 8 x 10 giclee print by manga artist Yajima with art direction by ESC-Toy Ltd. A sneak of the print is below. Each 10" vinyl figure is signed, numbered and packed in window box with blister tray. Pre-orders will go up Thursday at 10am EST at the ESC-Shop. Figures ship the week of 01/10/12. For ages 15 & UP!

Retail: $150.00
S & H: $6.00

Link roundup

1. First wine, now violins:

In a double-blind test by professional violinists, most couldn't determine — by sound alone — which violin was an original Stradivarius and which was a modern instrument.

2. Topless Robot on Cartoon Network:

Bandai Japan demanded that Bandai Entertainment get the original '70s Mobile Suit Gundam series on Cartoon Network, despite the fact it was 20 years old, looked 20 years old, and was waaaaaaaay too boring for young American audiences. Cartoon Network, not being insane, refused. Bandai Japan then paid CN to run the original Gundam anime, thus *%$#ing up the Toonami block for years -- because once CN got paid to run an anime, the CN executives weren't going to run any anime without getting a check for it first. If you've ever wondered why an anime that would seemingly have been perfect for Toonami never [aired], chances are it's because the licensor couldn't afford CN's asking price.

3. Tyler Cowen on a book about WWI:

My favorite section details how the British responded when it turned out they had a drastic shortage of binoculars, which at that time were very important for fighting the war. They turned to the world’s leading manufacturer of “precision optics,” namely Germany. The German War Office immediately supplied 8,000 to 10,000 binoculars to Britain, directly intended and designed for military use.

Don't worry, the British sold vital supplies to the Germans...

Link roundup

1. Kotaku's review of the dark side choices in Star Wars: The Old Republic:

I cannot remember a single video game experience that has made me feel quite as dirty and evil

2. You might as well make peace with your body type, because absent drugs, dieting doesn't really work.

3. Why WW2-era fighter planes used pink camouflage.

Win a Zombre print by Ansis Purins

UPDATE: M'ris, Thieu, and CJ Howker won and will be contacted soon.



Courtesy of Ansis Purins, I have three prints to give away based on his webcomic Zombre: The Magic Forest. For a chance to win, simply comment on this post and include your email so I can contact you if you win. One comment per person and this contest is open worldwide. I'll pick a winner on Sunday.

Also, he's giving away a much bigger prize pack as described here.

The Magic of Reality

Above are the UK and (terrible) American covers for The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, a new basic science primer written by Richard Dawkins, and illustrated by Dave McKean. Each of the twelve chapters, on topics including rainbows, gravity, evolution, and atoms, starts with a whirlwind tour of various myths, before moving on to an explanation of the applicable science at a level I think a fifth grader could grasp (my six year old is a bit too young). The writing is uninspired, and needlessly insulting to religion - - I certainly have no interest in reading anything else by Dawkins.

But I bought the book because of Dave McKean, and I wasn't disappointed. Every one of the 265 pages features his illustrations. Below are a few samples:







The hardcover is $18 at at Amazon and a no-brainer for Dave McKean fans.