dimanche 19 avril 2015

The Red and the Black - Redux - Parallel portraits of Batman and Daredevil




The Red Devil and the Dark Knight, pencilled by David Mazzucchelli

Recently, I had the occasion to rewrite this article in French for Bruce Lit, a blog I occasionally contribute to. I received positive feedback about the new pictures I choose to illustrate it. So, to come full circle, I decided to update the old English article with the new pics and rewritten parts.

dimanche 22 février 2015

Vertigo thoughts : suggestions for mature readers

I had fun with superheroes new year's resolutions last month, so I felt like to do a similar exercise, this time with Vertigo series...

Death is one of my favorite comic-book character

lundi 19 janvier 2015

New Year's resolutions with superheroes

January is not over yet... Let's take some resolutions with Marvel's superheroes !


samedi 20 décembre 2014

The Murdock Interviews - part 7 (The lost issue)

Ages ago, I planned a twelve parts comic-strip playing with the concept of Matt Murdock/Daredevil looking for a job.
I had posted 6 strips but totally forgot I had this one sleeping on my computer...
Consider it my very small tribute to DD's 50th anniversary...

Playing to the Camera (sort of)


Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

dimanche 27 juillet 2014

The joy of customology

As I update this blog once in a blue moon, I'd like to go into some details of customology. I don't think this is a word, though. The most accepted term would be "action figure customizing". But it's a wink to the title of a cocktail book, as custom figures and cocktails do have a common point : it's all about mixing parts.
Bon, pour le post du jour (voire de l'année), on va causer customologie. Je crois que le mot n'existe pas, mais c'est un clin d'oeil à un titre de bouquin sur les cocktails. En fait, il faudrait parler de customization de figurine. Le point commun avec les cocktails : il faut mélanger les ingrédients.

To illustrate this idea, I'll do a sort of making of of my latest custom action figure (and 50th entry at figurerealm) : Mr. Freeze.
Au programme, un tuto express de mon dernier custom (le 50ème dans ma galerie de figurerealm) : Mister Freeze.

The first step is a very funny one : design. You have to picture out what kind of figure you wanna get.
For Mr. Freeze, I had a lot of freedom, as the character had many looks through the years.
Le design est une étape assez fun, il faut choisir le look de la figurine qu'on veut obtenir. Avec un perso comme Mister Freeze, dont le costume a beaucoup varié, il y a pas mal de marge de manoeuvre.


I choosed a "heavily armored" look, red goggles, an all-glass helmet with a big big freeze-gun.
Je suis parti sur un look "armure lourde", avec les lunettes rouges, un heaume tout en verre et un très gros pistolet à glace.

Next, you have to select parts of existing figures you'll re-use for your custom. Here's another common point with cocktails : it's always good to start from a strong base.
I went with a grey Iron Man armor, changing upper legs and adding elements from a Destro Arctic Threat figure.
How did I know it would work ? Trials and errors, experience... For instance, transplanting upper legs needed some unforeseen re-tooling.
Ensuite, il faut sélectionner les parties à assembler. Comme dans les cocktails, il vaut mieux partir d'une base assez forte. J'ai choisi l'armure grise d'Iron Man, avec le haut des jambes du Dynamo Pourpre et des éléments d'une figurine GI Joe (Destro version polaire).
Il faut parfois pas mal d'essais et erreurs dans cet exercice (ici, la greffe de jambes a nécessité un peu de bricolage).



More often than not, you'll need to add sculpts : here it's the collar piece, the goggles, the ears and the helmet. Consider sculpts like bitters, you may go without it, but it won't be the same at all. It makes the whole thing come together.
Assez souvent, il faut sculpter certaines pièces : ici celle autour du cou pour installer le heaume, les lunettes et les oreilles. La sculpture additionnelle, c'est comme les bitters, on peut faire sans mais c'est pas pareil. Ca donne de la personnalité à la figurine.

And then painting. I'm running out of cocktail-comparisons here as it's where customs and cocktails go separate ways. You drink cocktails, you display customs. Ones have to taste good, others have to look good.
Et enfin la peinture. La comparaison avec les cocktails s'arrête là... à moins de boire les customs ? Nan, mauvaise idée.

Last common point with cocktails but very specific to Mr. Freeze : ice, ice, baby...
Dernier point commun avec les cocktails, mais juste pour Mister Freeze : la glace.

Mr Freeze is a bit like Fonzie...
Et tu sais comment il est Fonzie ?
 
...he's cool!
Il est cool...
 


Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

lundi 6 mai 2013

...busy making other plans

Well it's been so long since my last post that blogger's editing screens are all changed !
I've been busy with things unrelated with comics, drawing or cocktailing so I had nothing to post here.
I have to mention, though, that, some six months ago, some articles I wrote for Scarce saw print at last. At last, because, Scarce being a fanzine, the print scheduling is far from being a sure thing. The articles were written in 2010-2011 and printed in november 2012. They were about Garth Ennis run on the Punisher. I enjoyed this run so much that I felt like writing about it. I did two interviews by email of Lewis Larosa and Leandro Fernandez, who have penciled arcs of Punisher MAX. I even "hired" two other guys from the Internet (known through their comments on Amazon or through their blog) to write additional articles on the Punisher. So, it's been my very small "editor" experience.

I also penciled a Frankie for the occasion :

And finally, some weeks ago, I made a custom action figure in the Marvel Universe scale (4 inch).

As I don't know when I'll do my next post, I'm giving you a glance at all my recent customs creations :
The Black Widow

Punisher 616 and Daredevil (note the Mazz-inspired pose)

Moon Knight

Batman : The Dark Knight Returns

Catégorie : Blogging_Comic
Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

samedi 31 décembre 2011

One last post for 2011

I guess it's the right time to up my postcount for 2011.

I've been very busy with real life these last months. I've changed of job, bought a house and had a second daughter.

Yet, with the holiday season, I've had time to read a few comics and here are my comments about them.

JLA : another nail, Fantastic Four : The End and Avengers Prime : surely that Alan Davis guy can draw. And his writing is good, too (especially in FF : the End).
Les Chroniques de Conan, 1977 (french reprints of Savage Sword of Conan from the year 1977) : those Buscema and Alcala guys were no slouches either.
Batman and the Monster Men, Batman and the Mad Monk : Matt Wagner can draw and write ! I only wonder how many tales DC will manage to pack in Batman "first years".
The Walking Dead (book 1 and 2) : like the Zombie cocktail : potent stuff but not for me.
Chew (book 1 and 2) : more to my taste.
Criminal : the last of the innocent. Crime doesn't pay. Except when you can write good stories about it, like Brubaker and Phillips.
Scalped : the series will end in 2012 and I'll miss it (but at least, it's no cancellation but the planned ending).

And last but not least : the Daredevil relaunch. DD got back his cool, he's no more a pawn in the series and is graced with very nice art. What's to asked before his next breakdown ?


See you next year.

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics
Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

mercredi 2 mars 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 6

It seems Matt is running out of arguments.
Matt semble un peu à bout d'arguments.

Next : a friend of Daredevil offers counsel.
Prochainement : un pote de DD vient lui offrir conseil.

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

vendredi 25 février 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 5

Matt Murdock pursues his tour of Daredevil's former acquaintances to find a job.
Matt continue de faire le tour des connaissances de Daredevil pour trouver un boulot.
I just had to place a reference to "Cool Hand Luke"

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

mercredi 23 février 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 4

Daredevil's never been a member of the Avengers. Can Matt Murdock join the team ?
Daredevil n'a jamais été membre des vengeurs. Qu'en sera-t-il pour Matt Murdock ?
Is Matt gonna find someone to hire him ?
Matt trouvera-t-il quelqu'un pour louer ses services ?

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

samedi 19 février 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 3

Daredevil teamed-up with the FF a few times but this time it's Matt Murdock who offers his help.
Daredevil a déjà donné un coup de main aux 4 Fantastiques mais là, c'est Matt Murdock qui vient proposer son aide.

Better luck next time ?

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

vendredi 18 février 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 2


Where do you think Matt will go, next ?


Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

mardi 15 février 2011

The Murdock Interviews - part 1

So, right now Matt Murdock is wandering in the country but we all know he shall, at a point, come back to NYC... maybe as a man without fear, surely as a man without a job.
I've been musing about his job hunting.
Bon, en ce moment, Matt Murdock se balade dans la pampa (façon de parler) mais il est probable qu'il doive, un jour prochain, se repointer à NYC et... pointer au chômage.
J'ai essayé d'imaginer sa recherche d'emploi (en VO only, sorry).

Do you think he'll get the job ?

Note : GLK & H was created by Dan Slott in the She-Hulk series.
Note : Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway est un cabinet inventé par Dan Slott dans sa mini-série She-Hulk

Next part scheduled for friday !
La suite vendredi !

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

lundi 14 février 2011

Lovers

I finished this one yesterday but today was a better date to post it.
Daredevil & Black Widow, done with inks, markers and white pastel.
Voilà un dessin fait hier mais qui colle plutôt bien au thème du jour.
Fait à l'encre, au feutre et au pastel blanc.

Happy Valentine, Matt&Nat !

Next post : sequential art !
Prochain post : une BD !

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

dimanche 30 janvier 2011

Red Devil on Red Paper

Browsing on Comic Art Fans, I've always enjoyed the drawings of Matt Wagner, especially the ones on color paper. So today, I tried to do something like that.
I had red paper, the fitting character didn't take much time to figure.
It didn't come out too bad. I might do more of this.

En surfant sur CAF, j'ai toujours bien aimé les dessins de Matt Wagner, particulièrement ceux sur du papier de couleur. Alors j'y suis allé de mon petit essai aujourd'hui.
Avec du papier rouge à disposition, je n'ai pas eu à chercher très loin pour choisir le sujet...
Pas trop mal, à mon humble avis, faudra que je retente...

Daredevil on red paper

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

dimanche 9 janvier 2011

The Red Knight Returns

What do you get when you mix the cover design of Dark Knight Returns with a DD pose from a panel of DD V2 #65 by Phil Hester ? A pic I did this sunday.
Qu'est-ce qu'on obtient en mélangeant la couv' de Dark Kinght Returns n°1 et une pose de Daredevil tirée du n° 65 (V2) par Phil Hester ? Une image faite ce dimanche.

Happy New Year !
Bonne année !

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

vendredi 31 décembre 2010

A decade of comics

Most of comic-bloggers have run their Top Ten of the Decade last year. But I don't mind being late at the party and I'm not gonna list my 10 favourites of the decade but one book for each year, the one that I remember the most.
I'll keep this one in english only (lazy me), but links to my reviews written in french will be provided when they exist.
La plupart des blogueurs ont donné leur Top 10 de la décennie l'année dernière. Ça ne me dérange pas d'arriver après la guerre pour vous donner, année par année, le comics qui m'a le plus marqué. Je ne traduirai pas le reste de l'article mais je mettrai un lien vers mon commentaire Amazon correspondant, lorsqu'il existe.

2000 : JLA Earth2
Morrison -Quitely on the Justice League, a self-contained story with beautiful art, good plot and plenty of cool moments.
Bought this one for Christmas, as I was settling down in my new life as a worker (student no more).
From Batman, at the end of the story :
"I've noticed something about people who try to change the world....The world turns around and changes them right back."

2001 : Daredevil Visionaries 2
Some of my favorites DD issues packed in one book. Memories of childhood revived by flipping pages.
Bought this in Paris, talked about it with an old friend at a café, late in september. Later, this conversation would spawn an essay about Daredevil and Batman.
From the introduction by Diana Schutz :
"In every way, they (the stories) are timeless. Like the dreams of all us when we are still young. Like a friendship that lasts a lifetime."

2002 : Hang up on the hang low (100 Bullets TPB#3)
Might be the best arc of the whole series. Almost too bad it came so early in the series.
The first time Azz, Risso AND Mulvihill got together and knocked it out of the park.
A great father and son noir story.
From Curtis Hugues to Loop Hugues :
"It's how it's played that makes it so goddamn special."

2003 : Counterfifth Detective (100 Bullets TPB#5)
Very cryptic story but excellent art.
Bought this one in NYC, makes it a little more special to me.
"Who I am is Milo Garret (...) I drink too much and tip too little (...) I kick ass, and chase tail."

2004 : Preacher (the whole series)
I hadn't tried it before because the gore stuff was a bit too much for me.
Once you get past that, there's so much more to be found in this series.
I ordered and read all the TPBs in two months.
From Jesse to Tulip :
"People like you an' me don't find each other too often in this damn world."

2005 : Sleeper (the whole series)
Holden Carver is fucked-up from the start. Brubaker and Phillips make us care for him til the end.
Another Amazon reading raid and a truely good read.
From Tao to Holden :
"You are what you do. Not what you think."

2006 : Daredevil : The Devil Inside and Out
Another too strong start. If only Brubaker had kept this level on his run. It would have been legendary.
From the the Punisher to DD :
"You're hurtin' a lot, right now, Murdock, with good reason. But you don't want to be me."

2007 : The Nightly News
Jonathan Hickman created a challenging masterpiece.
"The VOICE says : it's just the beginning."

2008 : Long Cold Dark - Punisher MAX
From Frank Castle :
"The sun slipped away behind me, the last sliver seeming to pause on the horizon, then succumbing to the black. And I drove on through the shadows of America...

Through the long, cold, dark night I've made of my life."

2009 : Wildcats V2 by Joe Casey & Sean Phillips
See this post for more details.
From Jacob Marlowe :
"This world is what it is. To simply classify it is a useless endeavor. But to change it... That is the appropriate measure."


2010 : The Gnawing (Scalped)
Dash on his mother's grave :
"You told me I'd have to face up to who I am. You were right about that.
Only thing is...
who I am ain't nothing nice."

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

mardi 28 décembre 2010

Long Cold Dark... kinda

The Punisher MAX series by Garth Ennis is my favourite run on the char and one of the best in comics at all. My minor nitpick is that Ennis version of Frank Castle is rather "dry" cocktail-wise. So this run can't provide much stuff for the drinks and comics analysis (a thing that blog tries to do when its author doesn't muse on Daredevil pictures). But sometimes, things can start from a minor item, very remotely linked to cocktails, if related at all.
Le Punisher MAX par Garth Ennis est à ce jour ma version préférée du personnage et un des meilleurs runs que j'ai pu lire ces dernières années. Un reproche, toutefois : le Punisher par Ennis n'est pas un grand buveur, ce qui fournit peu de matière pour la comixologie (ce à quoi ce blog est sensé s'atteler lorsque son auteur ne se contente pas de poster des dessins de Daredevil). Mais parfois, il suffit d'un petit quelque chose pour fournir un lien.

The second to last arc of Ennis on the series was titled "Long Cold Dark" and for a while, I felt it might also be a good cocktail name. The story in a nutshell : Frank versus returning big bad foe Barracuda with Frank's newfound daughter in the middle. An extremely violent tale but one filled with touching glances at the Punisher's remains of humanity. Hence my quest to create a cocktail recipe matching this story's greatness.
L'avant dernier story-arc d'Ennis sur la série MAX s'intitule "Long Cold Dark" et ce titre m'a toujours semblé être un potentiel nom de cocktail. Résumé du récit : Frank Castle est confronté au retour du terrible Barracuda avec dans la balance la vie de sa toute petite fille dont il découvre l'existence. Une histoire très violente mais émaillée de moments touchants, effleurant les restes d'humanité du Punisher.

As I said, Garth Ennis writes Frank Castle mostly as a non-drinker, so if Frank had to drink something called "Long Cold Dark", it might only be a huge pot of cold coffee. But let's expand suspension of disbelief and explore potential drinks. First it seems quite obvious a cocktail with this name should be a long drink, cold (like most of the cocktails) and dark. That last one is the true limiting factor. I might have gone with a rum and coke but that would have been too much of a cheat. But then, I stumbled across some cans of Ginger Beer in an asian shop (Ginger Beer is not very easy to find in France)

Frank is tough enough to drink cold coffee
Le café froid ne fait pas peur au Punisher

Le Punisher d'Ennis étant non-buveur, s'il fallait coller à l'esprit du run pour trouver une boisson nommé 'Long Cold Dark", on se retrouverait sans doute avec un grand verre de café froid.
Aussi, messieurs les puristes, il faudra pour la suite de l'article intensifier votre suspension d'incrédulité.
Le breuvage idoine se devrait d'être un long drink, froid et... de couleur sombre. Ce dernier point étant le plus problématique.
Un rhum-coca pour faire l'affaire mais ça serait quand même un peu de l'arnaque.
Et puis je suis tombé sur des canettes de bière au gingembre dans une épicerie asiatique (je n'en avais jusqu'alors jamais acheté).

Then I tried to tinkered the "Dark and Stormy", based on dark rum, ginger beer and lime juice. I thought replacing the rum with bourbon and adding bitters might result in something interesting... well, not really. The drink was not very dark nor tasty. Adding some cold coffee was the last step before pouring the glass down the drain.
J'ai alors essayé une variante du Dark and Stormy, cocktail à base de rhum, bière de gingembre et jus de citron vert. J'ai remplacé le rhum par du bourbon, ajouté un peu de bitters pour un résultat bof, bof. Pas très sombre et goût pas terrible. L'ajout de café froid à la mixture fut la dernière étape avant le vidage dans l'évier.

I had to find another idea. I considered an Irish Coffee with a skull motif traced on the cream atop the glass but it's supposed to be a cold drink and never tried to draw anything on cream. Plus, cream is white, it wouldn't quite match with the cocktail's name anymore !
Je devais trouver une autre idée. Je songeais à une variante d'un Irish Coffe avec une tête de mort dessinée sur la crème. Mais je recherchais un cocktail froid et le dessin sur crème, je le sentais moyen. De plus, celle-ci étant blanche, cela ne correspondait pas à la "noirceur" recherchée.

I then gave up aiming at a dark black final color and went with this :
J'ai finalement renoncé à une couleur trop sombre et suis parti là-dessus :
1 1/2 oz of Appleton Estate Extra Rum / 4,5 cl de rhum Appleton Extra 12 ans d'âge
1 oz of sweet vermouth /3 cl de vermouth doux
1 oz oz of lime juice /3 cl de jus de citron vert
1/2 oz of Grand Marnier / 1,5 cl de Grand Marnier
a dash of bitters (angostura, Peychaud or else, your choice) / quelques traits de bitters
Stirr in long tall glass, add ice cubes, fill with ginger beer.
Mélanger dans un grand verre, ajouter des glaçons compléter avec la bière de gingembre.

Well, not so dark
Pas si sombre, ce cocktail

Well, it turned out not great but drinkable. If your ever try it, pre-chill the glass and use a score of cubes so you won't add to much ginger beer. It would overwhelm the other ingredients.
Le résultat, sans être génial, était buvable. Si jamais vous essayez d'en faire un, rafraichissez le verre par avance et remplissez bien le verre de glaçons pour ne pas avoir à rajouter trop de bière de gingembre, elle risquerait de dominer le goût des autres ingrédients.

I had to sneak a DD in my 100th post
Une apparition de DD dans ce 100ème post

As it's my 100th post, I wanted to give a nod to my wife and my daughter. Thanks to them, my life is very far from being long, cold, dark.
Pour ce 100ème post, je voulais aussi saluer ma petite famille, sans qui ma vie serait peut-être trop "Long, Cold, Dark".

My wife & my daughter / Ma femme et ma fille

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails
Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

samedi 13 novembre 2010

Comics & Musicals

Comics Should Be Good is a site I visit regularly. They have a lot of recurring features, one of them is titled "The Line is Drawn" and it involves doing mash-ups of comics and other stuff (video-games, movies, pop music, tv series). Once a month, they open the doors for guest artists in the Reader Art Gallery. Mixing comics with something else was too appealing for a Redshaker boy, so I was eager to participate. This November, I tried to do something with the theme "Comic books characters and musicals mash-up".
Je visite régulièrement le site Comics Should Be Good. Parmi leurs thèmes récurrents, il y en a un sur le dessin : "The Line is drawn" qui se propose de mélanger les persos de comics avec d'autres univers (jeux vidéo, cinéma, séries TV).
Une fois par mois, la participation est élargie à tous dans la Reader Art Gallery.
Mélanger les comics à d'autres choses, le Redshaker ne pouvait qu'être partant.
Ce mois-ci, j'ai essayé de faire quelque chose sur le thème "Persos de comics et comédies musicales".

The comic-book ? Daredevil, of course. The Musical ? A story taking place in NYC, with star crossed lovers. The Result ? Kung-Fu fighting and dancing in the streets of Hell's Kitchen !
Le comics ? Daredevil, bien sûr.
La comédie musicale ? Une histoire se déroulant à New York avec deux amoureux au destin contrarié.
Le résultat ? Un duel chorégraphié dans les rues de Hell's Kitchen !



Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

dimanche 31 octobre 2010

DD : Different Destinies

In my previous post, I mostly moved Daredevil through time and adjusted his outfit accordingly. In this one, I've considered more important changes like Matt changing his allegiance.
Dans mon précédent post, j'ai principalement baladé DD dans le temps en adaptant son accoutrement en conséquence. Dans celui-ci, je considèrerai un tournant plus radical pour le personnage : un changement d'allégeance.

The Red Devil of USSR / Le Diable Rouge d'URSS
The Black Widow is my favorite female partner for Matt. I've said it before. But what if she had been a double agent and had managed to convince Matt to join the Soviet Union ? Daredevil might have joined the Reds... When I googled the russian translation of Red Devil, I got : дьявол красный. Hence the letters on the uniform.


La Veuve Noire est ma partenaire préférée pour Matt. Je l'ai déjà affirmé à plusieurs reprises. Mais que ce serait-il passé si elle avait été un agent double chargée de recruter Matt ?
Le Diable Rouge aurait pu passer à l'Est.
En recherchant la traduction russe pour Diable Rouge sur Google, j'ai obtenu : дьявол красный.
D'où les lettres sur l'uniforme.

Daredevil Noir
There's been a mini on this topic but though very well illustrated, I felt the story was too predictable. When placing DD in a "noir" universe, why not totally redistribute the cards and making him a Crime Boss with at is sides, Karen Page as the blonde babe and Foggy Nelson as a Hitman ?


Il y a eu une mini-série sur cette thématique mais malgré de très chouettes illus par Tomm Cokker, j'ai trouvé l'intrigue un poil trop convenue. Tant qu'à plonger Daredevil dans un univers noir, pourquoi ne pas considérer une position plus ambigue pour le personnage ? Daredevil en roi de la pègre avec, à ses côtés, Karen Page en jolie poupée et Foggy Nelson en porte-flingue, qu'est-ce que vous en dites ?

Captain Chicken
I had fun with the two musings above but for me DD is and shall be a hero. An ambiguous one, maybe, but a hero. That's why Shadowland is just blah for me. And I'd trade all the dark atmosphere of this recent years for a lighter tone. Captain Chicken is the costume Matt might have had if his school-mates had called him with a different nickname (as told in this fanfic/fanart I did a few years ago).


Les deux destinées alternatives me sembleraient intéressantes à explorer mais pour moi, DD est et devrait rester un héros. C'est pourquoi Shadowland me laisse plutôt froid. Et je troquerais volontiers les ambiances sombres de ces dernières années contre un peu plus de légèreté.
Captain Chicken, c'est l'alter-ego qu'aurait pu adopter Matt si ses méchants petits camarades d'école l'avait affublé d'un autre sobriquet (comme raconté dans ce fanart/fanfic que j'avais fait il y a quelques années).

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics