Photos: Cartoonists draw female superhero models in a Tacoma bookstore

The Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians, or C.L.A.W. hosted its Real Life Comics sketch session last night at King's Books. The fez-wearing cartoonist and guests drew the lovely, local cosplay group Super Sirens as they role-played poses. Weekly Volcano intern Sean Contris has the deep background on the event here.
Weekly Volcano photographer Steve Dunkelberger shot a thousand photos of the event, including the ones below.
LINK: More C.L.A.W. Real Life Comics photos

Iron Man Turns 50: The Many Armors of Tony Stark

In terms of popular culture, March 1963 was a pretty influential month. The debut album of a British pop band called The Beatles is released, the Alcatraz Island federal penitentiary was closed for good and issue #39 of "Tales of Suspense" was released by Marvel Comics. In the issue of this comic book, a millionaire bachelor scientist named Anthony Stark made his comic book debut along with his mechanical alter ego, Iron Man. Since then, the character has gone on to appear in hundreds of comics, television shows and has been the focus of two feature films (with the third coming in two months). Throughout Tony Stark's tenure as 'Shell Head,' he has had quite a few different versions of his famous Iron Man armor. While this article is by no means a complete list of every suit of armor he has worn, we've done our best to hit all of the highlights. So, without further ado, the armors of Iron Man!

THE REGULAR ARMOR SERIES

 

Mark I

 

A war prisoner, Tony Stark was forced to create a weapon by the Communist leader Wong Chu. He called Chu's bluff and outfitted a suit of armor with several technologies he had already been perfecting and thus the Iron Man Mark I armor was born. Fitted to it were the now famous boot-jets, a magnetic field disruptor, a blow torch, and finger saw.

 

Mark II

 

The very next issue of "Tales of Suspense" featured the already upgraded version of the armor. It differed from its predecessor by changing the color scheme from silver to gold and many now defunct features such as an attached megaphone. This was also the armor that Tony used the very first time The Avengers formed together to stop Loki. It is often referred to as the 'Golden Avenger' armor.

 

Mark III

 

Created because he was almost killed in a fight with Mister Doll, the Mark III has become the design and layout for the armor that made Iron Man famous. This sleeker and more lightweight design has been the staple of Iron Man's armor for decades and the first time his mask was ever equipped with the fabled “horns.” It's often referred to as the 'Ditko Armor' because famous Marvel artist Steve Ditko designed it.

 

Mark IV

 

Two years later, the Iron Man armor would get another upgrade. The Mark IV armor's primary difference, and largest addition to the Iron Man mythology, is the use of the repulsor rays. The helmet for the Mark IV was also a more slick and rounded design from the pointed 'horns' of the previous version.

 

Mark V

 

Over ten years would go by before Iron Man upgraded his standard armor once again. The reason Tony upgraded this time was due to a fight he had with a villain known as 'The Freak,' who you might know as Happy Hogan. Yes, Tony Stark's bodyguard was turned into a radioactive monster due to an accident at Stark's lab and caused enough damage to the Mark IV to warrant an upgrade. This was also the armor that James Rhodes wore when he briefly replaced Tony behind the mask.

 

Mark VI

 

Another decade would go by before another suit of armor was created. Initially made as only a test model, Stark was forced to use it in a battle alongside James Rhodes in the regular Iron Man armor. The Mark VI was a throwback to the original armor but less bulkier. It used the same color scheme and had more rounded edges than its predecessors. 

 

Mark VII

 

Later that same year the Mark VII would show up and be just as different of a design from the previous incarnations as the Mark III was to the Mark II. The Mark VII is widely known as the “Silver Centurion Armor.” It changed the color pattern from red and gold to red and silver and featured the biggest addition to the armor in its new found “Chameleon effect.” Using this effect, the armor could blend into the environment around it.

 

Mark VIII

 

This armor was created to battle another armored villain called Firepower. It was designed specifically to negate his powers and was successful in defeating him. The armor was outfitted with the ability to travel through space and also featured a universal communicator. Stark thought the armor was far too powerful to be in the world and worried it might fall into the wrong hands. Tony decided to destroy the armor at first but had a change of heart.

Godzilla Loses Top Spot to Kittybot Doraemon

Over the last half century, Godzilla has battled King Kong, the Japanese army and overgrown creatures of every origin –but what finally took down the 100-meter radioactive lizard, alas, was a feline robot one-hundredth its size.

Doraemon, a stubby, animated robot cat with a pocketful of magical tools beat out the king of all monsters last week in box office attendance records, according to Toho Co., the producer/distributor of both series.
Toho said the Doraemon film series has sold just over 100 million tickets during its 30-year-run compared with Godzilla, which had held the top spot for audience attendance in a 28-production series since its last episode in 2004, mobilizing 99 million moviegoers over its 50-year history.
Arguably the most beloved cartoon character in Japan, Doraemon was created in 1969 by two legendary manga artists going under the name Fujiko Fujio. Kids lapped up the misadventures of Nobita, Doraemon’s underachieving human sidekick, and his friends. The story of the mechanical cat — sent from the future to live with Nobita by his grandson — soon took to the TV airwaves, and hit the box office with a bang. The series has defined childhood for many Japanese children, so much so that an overhaul of the voice actors in 2005 caused an uproar, mostly among adults who grew up watching Doraemon on Saturday evenings.
The latest in the film series, “Doraemon The Movie: Nobita in the Secret Gagets Museum” has so far sold 1.9 million tickets since its March 9 release. Toho typically releases Doraemon films each March to coincide with the end of the Japanese school year.
Doraemon’s creators acknowledge the difficulty of keeping fresh a 40-year-old franchise built on children’s fascination with magic tools in the age of smartphones. In 2005, Doraemon’s director Kozo Kusuba told the Sankei Shimbun: “The original story is not about the magical tools, but the drama found in the ordinary, only triggered by extraordinary tools,” adding, “We’ve banned cellphones and game consoles in the series to maintain the magic of Doraemon.”

Steve Jobs manga portrays the man as a dreamy, drug-fueled genius that Japanese girls could love

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It doesn't star Ashton Kutcher, and it isn't written by Aaron Sorkin, but it might be more interesting than both: it's the Japanese manga adaptation of Steve Jobs' life. You could be forgiven for thinking that the juice has been squeezed out of this particular story, following 2011's official biography by Walter Isaacson and a brace of upcoming movies — but if ever there were a medium that could put a new spin on an old tale, a manga series would be it. Today's publication of Mari Yamazaki's Steve Jobs, then, is a somewhat notable event. The first volume is now available in the May 2013 issue of girls' comic anthology Kiss, oddly enough, and it's quite unlike anything I've read before.

Yamazaki has pulled off the artwork beautifully

The manga is actually an adaptation of Isaacson's biography, and credits it as the source material on the bottom of the first page. Told from Isaacson's perspective, it begins with Jobs repeatedly nagging the biographer to write his story — a conversation that persists over the first fifteen pages before a call from Jobs' wife Laurene Powell finally breaks Isaacson's resolve. The first thing you'll notice in these opening pages is that Yamazaki has pulled off the artwork beautifully; far from the spiky-haired caricatures that may come to mind when you think of manga, Jobs has been brought to life in a semi-realistic monochrome style that is never off-putting, but stays true to the Japanese manga tradition.

Once Isaacson has been persuaded to write the biography, the manga jumps back to Jobs' early years. It's here where we start to see Yamazaki play to her perceived audience — Jobs is rendered as a cute, doe-eyed kid who worries about whether his adoptive parents love him. From then we see Jobs grow into the man who founded Apple with the realization that he is "special," a developed interest in engineering, and school pranks that establish a slightly bad-boy persona.

Context is important, here: "Steve Jobs" is appearing in the pages of Kiss alongside regular tales of high school love and drama, and that's the lens through which readers will view it. Jobs is as much a household name in Japan as anywhere else, but the manga already pushes its luck by starting with a fifteen-page deliberation on the writing of its protagonist's biography — however, the story quickly turns into something more reader-friendly.

From candy to LSD in two pages

Once Jobs is of college age, Yamazaki swiftly transforms him into the type of character any teenage reader could fall in love with. In one memorable two-page spread, Jobs goes from accepting a bribe of $5 and candy from his influential teacher Imogene Hill, to replying "Sure!" when encouraged to try LSD by a long-haired peer in college corridors. Yamazaki plays on Jobs' rebellious side, including an incident where he accidentally leaves a gigantic bag of marijuana in his car at the age of 15. Jobs' father Paul discovers it, but the argument isn't resolved on page — in the next panel, we see Jobs laying down and smoking in a field, thinking to himself "I'm special, so I'm a free person." In a country where drug use is still genuinely counter-culture in most circles, it seems the archetype of the misunderstood genius works just as well.

The manga's final panel shows Jobs' first meeting with a shaggy-haired, bearded Steve Wozniak, with the Isaacson narration elaborating "And that was how the two Steves met;" no further explanation of the Apple co-founder's identity is given. And maybe that's okay — from this first volume, Steve Jobs sets out to tell the tale of the mercurial genius' life in broad, emotionally charged strokes. The unusual mix of theme and tone, mixed with some excellent art, is what'll make me pick up the next volume when it's released next month.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/25/4144246/steve-jobs-manga-portrays-the-man-as-a-dreamy-drug-fueled-genius-that

The sociological origins of drawing dicks in videogames

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As Nobel-prize chasers search for a cure to HIV, and Bill Gates squanders his fortune on new and innovative vaccination methods, one topic has remained unexplored: why do gamers insist on drawing dicks in videogames? Kotaku's Stephen Totilo tackles this question head-on in a newly-published investigative report titled Why Do People Love To Draw Dicks in Games? Totilo argues that dick-drawing has long been engrained deep within our culture, providing the pre-18th century Cerne Abbas Giant and an ancient petroglyph as evidence. The writer sought help from the scientific community to back his theory, and was told that, just as animals may use an erect penis to assert dominance over others, human males (in particular adolescents) draw them as a declaration of status. The topic was the subject of some disagreement, but psychologist Nando Pelusi gave perhaps the most reasonable answer, stating:

"Usually, penises get covered or sheathed, otherwise males tend to feel very self-conscious; I think that shame evolved as adaptation to social forces that had real consequences for most of human history where punishment and group cohesion could mean life or death, especially for males establishing their status, so graffiti is usually done secretly and anonymously. Few people are indifferent to an erect penis, because it is either a challenge, or come-on, or declaration of status. Males do most graffiti, and pubertal males are most interested in their newfound obsessions; anything relating to status, making your mark — sometimes literally."

We highly recommend heading over to Kotaku for the full and graphic report.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/22/4134702/the-sociological-origins-of-drawing-dicks-in-videogames

Medscape Humor > Cartoon Caption Contest March Cartoon Caption Winners: You Got Rhythm!

For our March cartoon caption-writing contest, entrants found humor in an unusual situation: a doctor using an iPod as a stethoscope, with both doctor and patient grooving to music apparently emanating from the patient's heart. Entries ranged from clever double-entendres ("I hear an oldie -- 'Blowin' in the Wind' -- or is that 'Breathless' by Jerry Lee Lewis?"), to tongue-in-cheek marvels at the wonders of technology ("Having us add a ringtone to your pacemaker was a brilliant idea!"), to amusing faux diagnoses with a musical slant ("You have contracted mono and thalassemia in A minor lupus 80"). But our winning captions for March were really tough to beat...beat...beat.

First Prize: $75 American Express® gift card:
"Lup-dup a loo-bop a wop-bam-boom!"
Second Prize: $50 American Express® gift card:
"Cardiac exam is significant for a normal S1 and S2 with a III/IV Mambo beat best heard at the left sternal border."
Third Prize: $25 American Express® gift card:
"I like your syncopated arrhythmia!"

And Honorable Mention to:
"Dance Fever Epidemic."
"Ah ah ah ah stayin' alive."
"Responding to internal stimuli."
"Nothing makes a patient happier than a little Doc & Roll!"
"Sounds like Gene Krupa on tom-toms!"
"I hope you like my prostate exam playlist just as much!"
"Heart's Rock Café."
"And the beat goes on!"
"There's a song in my heart."

 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780841

Two’s Company, Three’s a Tale

‘The Drawer Boy’ at Abingdon Theater Arts Complex

Alexander Dinelaris

Drawer Boy Alex Fast, left, William Laney and Brad Fryman at June Havoc Theater.

Actors must be thrilled when handed Michael Healey’s play “The Drawer Boy,” no matter which of the three characters they’ll be tackling. It’s such a beautifully written piece, humorous and heart-wrenching but never overwrought, that all you have to do is ride the vehicle the author has provided. You can concentrate on your performance, not on dredging humor out of unfunny jokes or tears out of unconvincing moments.

 

 

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And the three actors in the Oberon Theater Ensemble’s fine production at the Abingdon Theater Arts Complex make the most of the opportunity, especially William Laney and Brad Fryman as old friends who share a farmhouse in the Canadian countryside. It’s 1972, and Mr. Fryman plays Morgan, who, we gradually realize, has for years been caretaker of Angus (Mr. Laney), a man with impaired mental capacities.

Angus’s condition results from an injury sustained during World War II, and there’s a story behind it. It takes a stranger to bring that story to the surface; this is a classic outsider-intrudes-on-a-closed-world play.

The stranger is an actor and writer named Miles (Alex Fast), who turns up at the door asking to live and work with Morgan and Angus so that he can learn about farming for the purposes of writing a play about it. Mr. Fryman finds the dry sense of humor in his character, who has great fun pulling Miles’s leg with nonsensical chores and fanciful stories about bovine anxiety.

The performance that locks it all in, though, is the one by Mr. Laney, who is unforgettable as the confused, childlike Angus. In the early going Angus is unable to remember basic things from one minute to the next, including who Miles is and what he’s doing in their house. But Mr. Healey has called for a character who is more than just a simpleton, one who always leaves you suspecting that there is potential behind the eyes. Mr. Laney, under Alexander Dinelaris’s direction, hits that target expertly.

“The Drawer Boy” continues through March 23 at the June Havoc Theater in the Abingdon Theater Arts Complex, 312 West 36th Street, Manhattan; (866) 811-4111, oberontheatre.org.

Fonte: http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/theater/reviews/the-drawer-boy-at-abingdon-theater-arts-complex.html?_r=0

 

Drawing of pirate wins at Chalk Walk Art Festival

Nate Baranowski of Street Canvas Design won the judges' grand prize and the people's choice award Sunday for his chalk drawing of a pirate at the Chalk Walk Art Festival in Tampa.
The annual festival, hosted by the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts, features chalk artists sponsored by local businesses.
Though Baranowski won top honors, another chalk artist drew attention for his poignant creativity.
Ron Hawkins used a dead butterfly as the finishing touch on his Peacock in the Pond chalk drawing. Hawkins said the butterfly landed next to him Saturday night as he worked on the drawing.
"I thought it was just cold and would come back to life, but it just died," said Hawkins. "So now it's part of my artwork."


Fonte: http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/drawing-of-pirate-wins-at-chalk-walk-art-festival/2109576