Literal Iron Man

Folks, we are just a little under two months away from the much anticipated release of The Avengers and there are several reasons I’m excited, chief amongst them the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Downey’s portrayal of the arrogant but endearing billionaire and superhero Tony Stark has been a highlight of the Marvel Movieverse and I can’t wait to see him working alongside six of  Marvel’s other major heroes. However, after I saw the photo below, I realized that what I really want to see is Tony Stark strapping in to a literal Iron Man costume.

This amazing costume was spotted at Atlanta’s DragonCon in 2008 by Redditor Ryan0617. Check out the full thread here and a few more photos of this clever Iron Man suit here.

SuperMath

In the first issue of the All Star Superman comic book mini-series, Grant Morrison famously reduced the Man Of Steel’s origin to a simple eight words. Well, artist Matt Cowan has taken Morrison’s minimalist superhero story idea and stripped it down to pure pictograms. Cowan’s series of “superhero math” prints take basic superhero elements, like Superman’s weakness to Kryptonite or Batman’s secret origin, and explains them through simple mathematical equations.

Head over to Cowan’s deviantART page for all the superhero math equations, plus a bonus set of figures explaining the difference between three of Harrison Ford’s most famous roles.

Calvin and Hobbes Chirstmas Display

Between Spaceman Spiff, dinosaurs and Calvinball; Calvin and Hobbes  had many fantastic recurring jokes. But as good as all those are. I believe the strip’s best recurring gag was Calvin’s oft unhinged snowman displays. It appears that a house in Rocklin, California has decided to recreate one of Calvin’s classic snow creations using what I assume is chipboard. This clever display was spotted by Redditor JiveMonkey who promptly shard it with the rest of the internet. Click the photo at right so you can see what the snowmen are protesting.

1960s The Dark Knight

I believe that the Batmen featured in The Dark Knight and the 1960s Batman tv series are two of the best interpretations of the character. Adam West’s campy ’60s Batman perfectly captures the goofy spirit of the silver age of comics and Christian Bale’s brooding Batman is a great adaptation of the Bat’s post-Frank Miller moodiness. Now, what if we combined the two takes on the character? We don’t have that answer yet, but we do have the 1966 Batman tv show opening recreated in the spirit of The Dark Knight. Happy Dragon Pictures created this fun update on the old Batman intro full of references to Christopher Nolan’s current Bat-trilogy.

Batman Princess

When you’re a child it can sometimes be a little hard to decide what you want to be for Halloween. Sometimes you don’t just want to be one thing, you want to be two! Little Mabel told her mother she wants to be “Batman Princess.” Of course, her mother is a very cool lady, so she whipped up this costume. For more pictures of Mabel the Batman Princess, head over to donkey’s alright.

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Mark Twain Meets Chewbacca (And Other Adventures)

This weekend was the New York City Comic-Con, and Fantagraphics Books was at the Con to promote their recent publication  Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010 by humorist Michael Kupperman. Kupperman’s graphic novel tells the story of Mark Twain faking his death and having various adventures over the course of the 20th Century.

Well, not only were the Fantagraphics at the Con, but so was Twain himself. Well, maybe not the actual Mark Twain, but at least a Mark Twain was there. The Fantagraphics website has a great gallery of photos of Twain’s adventures in New York, including meeting Chewbacca and Oscar the Grouch and a duel with arch-nemesis Ben Franklin. Check out Twain’s New York trip here.

The Currys of Atlantis

Aquaman’s been a laughing stock amongst superhero fans ever since the Superfriends cartoon. But what if instead of laughing at him, we laughed with him? Yes, what if there was a sitcom that start the King of Atlantis? This clip from Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave And The Bold features Aquaman, aka Arthur Curry, starring in a spoof of family sitcoms called The Currys of Atlantis. Honestly, I can’t be the only one who’d watch Aquaman, his wife Mera and wacky bomb planting neighbor Black Manta engage in weekly sitcom hijinxs. So, how about you check out the clip, which includes a special cameo by another DC superhero, and then send a letter to Warner Brothers asking for the Aquaman sitcom we so desperately need?

The Darth Knight

Batman and Darth Vader: At first glance, they don’t have much in common. One fights for justice, the other is a follower of the dark side of the Force. However, they’re both orphans, they both have sons they didn’t know they had, they both like dressing in black and they both inspire great fear in their enemies. Bellevue, Ohio based costume company Malmey Studios picked up on these similarities and created an amazing costume that is sweeping the internet by storm: The Darth Knight. This hybrid costume features the best elements of the Caped Crusader and the most famous dark jedi. Check out a recent CNN interview with Malmey Studios founders Jeremey Adams and Mallie Jane Little and then head over to Malmey Studios’ Facebook page to see more pictures of the costume.

 

Jack Kirby’s Julius Caesar

In his work on Marvel Comics’ Thor, legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby had developed a certain flair for creating images of otherworldly regalness.  So, in 1969 when the Univeristy of California at Santa Cruz’s University Theatre Company contacted Marvel Comics and asked if one of Marvel’s artists would be interested in designing costumes for a production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, it was only natural that Stan Lee would suggest “King Kirby.” Kirby leapt at the opportunity and designed the costumes and other imagery for the production for free. The costumes, like Caeasar’s military uniform seen at right, are classic Kirby and some, such as the armored Garrison Soldier resemble concepts he would later use in the 1970s when he created DC Comics’ Fourth World.

For more costume sketches, art and photographs of the production, check out the Jack Kirby Museum’s page on the 1969 production of Julius Caeasar.

Andrew Garfield at Comic-Con

Prior to the start of Friday’s Amazing Spider-Man panel at Comic-Con, a man in a Spider-Man costume ran up to the question and answer microphone to talk about how excited he is to be at Comic-Con. After a few words, he pulled off his mask to reveal he was none other than, Andrew Garfield, the young British actor who is set to play the web-slinging superhero onscreen in 2012. Before introducing the panel, Garfield gave a brief speech about how Spider-Man inspired him when he was younger.

After seeing the trailer for the Spidey reboot, I wasn’t too excited. However, after hearing Garfield’s passion for the character, I’m pleased to say he might just be the right actor for the part.