So I just saw THOR this weekend and enjoyed the crap out of it. This is a movie that for many reasons should have sucked. It had all the ingredients of an embarrassingly bad turd of a movie, and yet it wasn't. Not only did it not bomb, it was a lot of fun. I could tell the audience was loving it too. In some movies you have to suffer through the slow parts to get to the good stuff. Every minute of THOR was entertaining. Just watching him drink beer or eat breakfast was fun. It all worked because of the characters. Thor, played by that-dude-who-played-Kirk's-father-in-the-new-Star-Trek-movie was what would make or break the film. He nailed it. Just the right balance of corny superhero and believable Viking warrior. Not the greatest epic of our time, but  if thats what you're expecting form most movies, you've got the wrong frame of mind. Sometimes you've just got to go with it. Not to spoil too much for those who haven't seen it yet, but clearly Thor and Loki will be key players in next year's Avengers movie. I think Loki will be manipulating things from behind the scenes. First the Hulk will go on  a rampage, and the other heroes will join together to stop him. Bruce Banner will join them, and by the end they'll be fighting Loki's army of ogres and trolls from Asgard. Thats my prediction. Marvel's Ultimates and Ultimates 2 should be the playbook for the script. (Pick this up in trade paperback if you haven't by now) If its anything close, it will be an explosion of awesome that will echo through the halls of nerd-dom. But I may have to adjust my expectations a little.  Regardless, any movie with Samuel Jackson, Scarlett Johanson, Robet Downey Jr/Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye (look for his cameo in Thor) and Captian America (can't wait to see that next ) has already won in my book.

DH  

Posted by frankandjane at 12:33 AM EDT

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Nearly finished inking in the 7 pages of chapter 1. Now I'm ready to start coloring things in. Before I start, I wanted to play around with the cheeleader uniform colors. Wasn't sure I wanted to use the same colors you see on the cover page. What I did know is I wanted two versions, a lighter version most of them would wear, and a darker version the head cheerleader would wear. This is because darker colors fit Molly, the head cheerleader's personality. Also, she's the blonde one, and I've discovered that blonde girls look hot in darker colors.

Here's a few different uniforms I had Nikki try on for me:

I think I like the last two verions. More vivid. Also, this fits with the red/black colors I use for the website design.

These are just color tests, the final colored pages will look more finished.

Let me know what you think!

DH

Posted by frankandjane at 6:46 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 8 May 2011 6:48 PM EDT

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Here's a sketch I did as I was figuring out what the robot was going to look like. On the one hand I wanted it to look like a samurai since it was going to wield a dino slaying sword, but not like the anime samurai robots you're used to seeing. I wanted it to look like it was government made: a little clunky and not pretty. At one point I was thinking of using a tank turrent for a head. I knew I was on the right track after this sketch:

This is R.A.D.D. (Robotic Atomic powered Dinosaur Destroyer)

I liked the extra joint in the arms allowing for poses that a person can't make. After drawing this, my buddy Frank came up with the idea of giving him feet that look like he has samurai -like sandals on.

Here's a peek at inked in art from page two showing the final look of the robot.

DH

Posted by frankandjane at 2:08 AM EDT

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Here's a picture I've posted previously. This time partially inked in. I'm liking how this one is turning out. This is Nikki the cheerleader. She's gonna be one of my favorites.

And here's a look a a T Rex inside a spacehip. This is what DRC is all about. Notice his tail poking out the back of the ship. I guess it can survive the vacuum of space. I like how his little arms can operate the switches and buttons like a baby in an exersaucer. I plan to make DRC Tshirt designs with this picture soon.

DH

Posted by frankandjane at 1:54 AM EDT

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Here is what the first panel of page 1 will look like:

and like last week, here is another version (that I didn't use, or ink in):

The first version, I think is a little more exciting. Reality itself seems to be warping by the action.

I wanted to show an Americana setting. You've seen space ships attacking cities, and even farms, but not something that looks like its out of Maybury.

These are the ships the dinosaurs arrived in. Next week you'll see how the dinosaurs fit inside of them

DH

Posted by frankandjane at 3:18 AM EDT

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I saw Sucker Punch about a month ago. Seems late to do a review of it now, but sometimes your initial impression of a movie changes over time. Maybe more movie reviews should be done weeks later.

I feel Sucker Punch didn't quite get the credit it deserves.  In fact, I might do a whole series of reviews of under-appreciated movies. (expect discussions on the movies Jumper, Blade 3, and the Star Wars prequels, yeah you  heard me)

There has been criticism that the story was weak, or the premise was ridiculous. These are from people who don't get it. Sucker Punch has insane asylum strippers taking on 50 foot tall samurai, zombie WWI soldiers, ogres and robots. Its like Zack Snyder read my mind. Like "Snakes on a Plane", Sucker Punch wins just by showing up. There were times I was laughing out loud at the sheer level of awesome.  Would have liked more of these scenes, but I can't hold that against the movie.

These were dream sequences inside of dream sequences. I had to ask myself though, would it have been better if it was just 45min of the action scenes strung together instead of a full movie with the outside story of the girls trying to escape. The answer is no. A certain level of emotional impact was added by this. Events in the outside world were reflected in the dream world. Also, there was a feeling of tradegy after seeing the girls as all powerful warriors who can do anything in one reality being mistreatred in the other realities by jerky guys abusing their position of power.

There was a strong amine influence, not just visually (note the mecha bunny) but the story itself would have made for great anime. I wouldn't be surprised if Snyder saw the anime movie Millennium Actress, a beautiful, touching movie that I also highly recommend. In it reality is constanly changing but the core character searching for her true love stays the same. I'm convinced if it was done with real actors today it would be considered for best picture. Look it up.

Back to Sucker Punch: It was hightly entertaining and in the same genre as Dinosaurs Robots Cheerleaders. In fact it could have been called "Dragons Robots Strippers".  It deserves a second look. The one good thing about the less than stellar reviews it received is that it will be out on DVD quicker. Can't wait to rewatch at home.

DH

Posted by frankandjane at 2:41 AM EDT

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Right now I've completed the pencils for chapter one (7 pages), currently inking page two.

Below are two versions of the 4th panel on page 5. 

here's the setup: Despite the warning from a certain cheerleader, some dude is about to make the mistake of thinking the coast is clear and walk out into the open and stare into the gaping maw of a T Rex, with partially chewed up human parts still visible between its teeth. Meanwhile you may notice a robot flying overhead. Version One:

and version Two:

 I'm leaning towards version two. Better, more exciting view of our cheerleader heroine. A little more ambitious maybe than I can actually pull off, but I'm trying to go with the feeling that whenever the action kicks in (which should be almost always) it looks like the "camera man" is off balance and doesn't quite get everything in the shot. Any thoughts, let me know.

Also this week I bring you another version of my rough pencils (lets face it, all my pencils are pretty rough) for the new cover image. Bigger and more details filled in. I improved the dinosaur in the foreground a little. Enjoy.

Posted by frankandjane at 2:44 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 10 April 2011 2:48 AM EDT

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First Entry:

Welcome to Dinosaurs!Robots!Cheerleaders! A web comic about samurai robots, super powered cheerleaders and dinosaurs from outer space!

The first chapter will be released the 4th of July weekend. In the meantime, I will be providing weekly blog updates discussing my progress, my thoughts, and whatever else I feel is actually worth reading. I promise no entries like: "I'm feeling tired, see you next week".

For example, here is what will become the new cover page image. I wanted something that was more interesting than what I currently have on the main page. Something like this, showing chaotic dinosoaur on robot on cheerleader action. At this point its the rough pencils; I still need to work on some of the details on the robot and the girls in the foreground. Once I'm satisfied, I'll ink it in and scan it for computer coloring.  Enjoy.

Posted by frankandjane at 3:34 AM EDT

Updated: Monday, 4 April 2011 4:02 AM EDT

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