Chalkboard Drawings: The “X-Men” edition

I draw a picture of myself on my classroom’s chalkboard everyday. I collect those pictures as camera phone photos and post them on Sundays. See the rest here.

Sort of wending my way through the Marvel Universe, this was to be an X-Men week until a couple of things derailed it. Firstly, we had a snow day (or a cold day, or whatever) on Tuesday. Secondly, I decided to do a Super Bowl themed drawing on Friday… of a kind.

Most of my X-Men knowledge either comes from the mid 1990’s, either through the animated series on FOX or the cabinet arcade game (“WELCOME TO DIE!”)

chalkboard photo posts: the all marvel comics edition

I’ve done a better Wolverine in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever drawn him with his mask on.

thrift store finds: the uncanny x-men by tor books

(Thrift Store Finds is a mostly-weekly “column” of sorts where I discuss some of the cool books I’ve happened upon in my neighborhood’s St. Vincent DePaul store. Please don’t mistake me for an expert on any of the things I am writing about… I’m just a fan of a bargain.)

Today’s Thrift Store Find: The Uncanny X-Men, published in 1990 by TOR Books.

sketchbook: random scribblings from june 13th

I recently found Scott Morse’s awesome Magic Pickle trade at Half Price Books and unreservedly love the thing. I wish I had heard of the series before last week!

Oh, I also received a HORRIBLE haircut at SportsClips the other day. I’m awful about getting my haircut since getting married- my hair is fairly simple, and to save money, I’ll go pretty much anywhere Ellen finds a coupon for to get a trim. SportsClips though? Jeez. Firstly… I’m not a huge fan of sports in general, so I don’t need eight TVs blaring the results of last night’s football game at me while someone clips my curls. Secondly… the woman shaved off the part of my beard that connects my beard to my hair! I look even stupider than usual now!

christmas comics cavalcade: the 1992 marvel holiday special

Today we’re looking at The Marvel Holiday Special from 1992.

1992 was one of the first Christmases where I had saved my own money to buy people presents. I bought my father a sci-fi paperback titled The Price of the Stars from the Waldenbooks in the Newburgh Mall. I chose that book as a present for Dad based entirely on the cover of the book, which had a lady in some kind of space-pirate outfit, replete with eye patch. I guarantee Dad never read that book, but I can at least say that my other purchase went to good use, as I picked up this comic for myself.

Adorned in a truly excellent Art Adams cover, the Marvel Holiday Special contains eighty pages of original holiday themed stories featuring Marvel’s best and brightest superheroes. As I grew older and into a more jaded comics reader, I gradually came to the realization that most of the annuals that Marvel put out in the 1990’s seemed to consist of stories they’d had sitting in a dusty drawer somewhere for ten years. Annuals were where younger new artists and writers were given a chance to prove themselves… which as a practice is great for the novice, but not always fun for the reader.

chalkboard post 2010 – #14

I was going to do an all X-Men themed week until I realized that I didn’t know how any of the other X-Men look! I know how they looked back in the 1990’s when the cartoon was on TV… but I don’t have a clue now! I think I’m going to do a Fantastic Four themed week, starting tomorrow… they’re a bit more consistent in their fashion choices.

November 3oth is Mark Twain’s birthday.

I was falsely under the impression that CBS was airing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this past Thursday. I was wrong.

I was kind of impressed that most of my students knew who this was. Of course, I suppose we’re not too far removed from a time when Cartoon Network showed old cartoons like Space Ghost… and true, most kids recognized him from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast… but still, with how quickly  pop culture moves these days, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been forgotten.

FREE IDEA: Hanna Barbera should do a new version of Space Ghost a la Batman: The Animated Series, where they treat the character seriously. I know Space Ghost was never all that serious, even in the ’60’s and ’70’s, but it’s SUCH a great Alex Toth designed costume. I’d love to see the character lavishly animated someday.