To Be or Not 2-1B

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That is the Question
 A galaxy far far away gets a Shakespearean nod with "To be, or not 2-1B"
This Lucasfilm licensed shirt is available through Welovefine here.

Loki: Son of Laufey

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The House of Odin is Full of Designs 

As the ever-present foil to Thor, this Loki I've been working on is the counterpart to my previous design of the God of Thunder.
The Master of Mischief illustration had only slight revisions before being approved by Marvel and is now available as a shirt at MightFine's site here!

Much like the precursor, I did my fair share of Runic translations and Easter Egg inserting for the detail-inclined. The symbols around the scepter translate phonetically to English from a line in the Poetic Edda:

"Bale and hatred I bring to the gods,

And their mead with venom I mix."

The words are from the Lokasenna part of the Norse text and consist of insults Loki throws at an assembly of other gods and goddesses. Read more about it here, and if you want to make your own Rune scripts, check out this neat translator.

Instagram = Instantly ancient!

There are also some movie version tidbits included in the design such as the Casket of Ancient Winters (overall shape), the Tesseract (top and center!), and Loki's cold connection to realm of Jotunheim (icicles). A more elusive element in the design are the two serpents at the bottom which are from the prop book "Myths and Legends from Around the World" that Eric Selvig looks at very briefly in the film (see right).
There is an more hidden gem but you have to very sharp to find them. I'd wager fairly obscure-- First person that identifies this movie connection (either in Thor or The Avengers) and posts it on my Facebook page gets a free Loki sketch!

  

In researching, I had a great time re-watching what I thought was a great Kenneth Branaugh film. There's an interesting comparison of the mythological folklore vs. movie versions of the story here. Geeks from the monastery to modern day have kept Norse Myth alive! And by reading all this, so have you~

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Marvel Premier Sketchcards

Marvel style

Here are some pics from the art desk of nked and finished sketchcards for Upper Deck's "Marvel Premier" set.

50 character cards + an assortment of fold-out panoramic cards added to quite the task-- felt much like that Deadpool up there toward the end of it. The packs apparently retail for $200 and some of the individual cards are up on the e-bays now. I have just two of these blanks and will be up for a couple commissions soon.

Some of the AP (Artist Proof) cards will go up for sale with links via my Facebook Page this week-- Keep up and 'like' if a Spider-Man, Hulk, Jubilee, Colossus, or Nightcawler might tickle your fancy!

The assortment ready to be watercolored

Heroes with the Blues

(Mysterious 8-bit pixelization applied to unapproved cards)

::Thwip thwip::
the approved scans below:

American Greetings "Fall's Magic Spell"

Here's a Halloween e-card for American Greetings' front page for this season. See the classic porch go from Fall to Halloween thanks to one little black cat. I provided the sketches and assets while other talented folks animated and brought it to spooky life.

Enjoy here!

Comikaze Expo'd 2012

Converging with the three amigos of Ralph, Stephen, and myself--we formed the trifecta table of "Kawagiwa/Yan/Miranda" this year at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo. Boothmate Stephen Yan was decked out in full Deadpool garb and attracted a good amount of attention with his red suit and mercenary skills with guns and Seaworld brand lightsaber.

Stationed at booth #333 (and #432), news filtered in during the weekend that attendee quantities were far more than expected. The stamp of Stan Lee's name was sure to ramp up the city-wide attention.
 [A chance encounter that's a little dated, but still a source of inspiration concerning "The Man", was noted in a recent post on my storyboard blog~]

It was great to meet fellow creators in person like Megan Lara, whom I'd only corresponded with online and even snail mail. Not too far also were fellow comic creators Neil Segura and Ray Mendivil ("Forever Freshman"), the talented Houghton Brothers ("Reed Gunther"), Binary Winter Press, Dave of Savage Monsters, and the fine folks of Maiden Voyage Clothing Co. Conventions still remain one of those few opportunities to really appreciate face-to-face geeking out!

Also amazing costumes and make-up like this:

The contestants and models from the SFX/make-up competion TV show "Face Off" were attendance in full bloom:

Other active events included a Zombie Apocalypse Escape obstacle course and Harry Potter Quiddich matches. Many tumbles and bludger-ings were observed. 

As an exhibitor, my only regret was not getting to see more of the floor and talk longer with the folks at the Copic and Archaia booths. However, it turned out to be one of my most successful shows and a whirlwind weekend of fun --the evidence below!:
(Don't forget there's always the more punctual Facebook page too)

Rolling out-- next stop Alternative Press Expo (San Francisco)!