One last Batgirl/Supergirl comic, as a kind of thank you to everyone for all your wonderful comments, postings, purchases, and everything else this year. I thought about saying “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” for those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, but since I already had the tree and santa elements in there I figured why not just run with it. Plus I think Kara would be filled to the tipping point for this festive time of year. Babs probably wouldn’t NOT have Christmas spirit, but she would also realize that Gotham’s criminal empire doesn’t take the day off either. Just as long as she can get back in time to share a hot cocoa with commissioner dad.

Anyhow, I think this’ll be it for these little Batgirl/Supergirl comics. I feel these sort of one page, costume themed gags have kind of run their course and if I do any more I’d rather draw a longer arc I have in mind. Next year my primary focus is going to be on my own comic, and there are a few exciting happenings with it that are helping me push that focus. Hopefully that will bring along some exciting news to share with you all next year as well. We’ll see.

For now I have a lot of hard work ahead of me so I hope everyone has a very merry, happy December!  And I’ll see you all next year. Or on twitter.

Let’s face it. Everyone has a crush on Batman.

So Evan “Doc” Shaner drew this nifty little 6-panel Captain Marvel comic based on this monologue his Buddy Cops collaborator Nate Cosby wrote. I casually mentioned that it looked like a great exercise and that it would be fun to draw one. And then Nate Cosby wouldn’t stop bugging me until I drew a Supergirl/Batgirl one. So here you are Nate! Hope you like (you really didn’t have to twist my arm that much).

Click after the cut for waaaay to much much thought into this.

I really love how in the seventies Kara would change outfits almost every issue. It just makes sense in some odd teenaged superheroie kinda way. I grew up with two younger sisters that had more shoes in their closet than I had shirts. One look is not enough. And I think because of how iconic the colors and symbolization of Supergirl are (and because she’s already had so many different looks anyhow) she’s one of the few characters that could get always with it on a monthly title. Okay, maybe the logistics don’t make sense. Maybe on top of the ability to fly and pummel bad guys into the earth, the yellow sun also made Kara an excellent seamstress. Or Martha Kent showed her how. Or Martha Kent makes them FOR her. Whatever the reason, I would bring that back. And I think it says a lot about her personality too.

As for Batgirl, it’s important to note she’s not just a younger female Batman. Where Batman has become almost superhuman in his ability to do ANYTHING, Barbara has to work really, really hard to do what she does! I mean, she’s naturally super bright, but I imagine she still trains and disciplines her mind and body to a ridiculous degree both day and night in order to not look like a complete fool fighting next to the likes of Batman and Nightwing cleaning up the gritty streets of Gotham City. And then along comes this wonder-teen from Metropolis who’s able to do it all so effortlessly. And with better hair. That would be a fun relationship to explore.

Making an annual favorite comic book list is kind of difficult since, although I do read quite a few books, not all of them came out in the year I’m currently living in. And honestly (maybe unfortunately) I’m far busier drawing comics nowadays than reading them. Or making lists of them. ;)

But I realized a few of my friends and peers came out with graphic novels last year and I wanted to highlight some of those. So here’s my “best of” list in semi-particular order:

Parker: The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke

Thor the Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge & Chris Samnee

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Mally

Moving Pictures by Kathryn & Stuart Immonen

Ultimate Spiderman by Brian Michael Bendis & David Lafuente

Crogan’s March by Chris Schweizer

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi

Cavemen in Space by Joey Weiser

Obviously, I had a lot more favorites but I wanted to keep the list at ten. There are still quite a few novels on my bookshelf I still haven’t gotten to as well.

Of the books being released in 2011, I’m most looking forward to Zita the Spacegirl, Mal & Chad, Astronaut Elementary, and Anya’s Ghost. Until then, I’m just going to keep reading Urasawa’s Pluto.

I know it’s been a long wait for you guys, but I’m finally gearing up to begin the weekly adventures of Cleopatra in Spaaace in only two short weeks- starting Monday, January 25th. So make sure to bookmark, rss, follow me on twitter (whatever it is you wacky kids do nowadays to stay updated on important stuff) CleopatraInSpace.com so you won’t miss out on any of the action! For now, here’s a sneak peek at the first few panels from page nine:

I’m so excited to start sharing this comic with all of you!

kinda wish i was at SPX right now. i wonder what’s happening there? at least i’ll be at baltimore in two weeks!

like my last post, this comic is kinda fan specific so don’t feel bad if you don’t completely “get” it. but i’m still pretty proud of it, especially since i completed it in only two weeks (this is unusual for me) and is an idea i’ve had doggy paddling around my head for almost THREE YEARS. plus, i love drawing kirby.

EDIT: for those unfamiliar with the game, this might lend some clarification on that last panel.

read the rest HERE!

Cow & Buffalo’s second book is here! Stuperheroes collects the popular webcomic’s entire superhero epic from August 2006 to December 2007 and includes an all-new six page back-up story, select comics from 2007’s “Journey Cow” event, new illustrations, guest art and a recipe for The World’s Greatest Sandwich featuring a special comic introduction starring none other than Mike Maihack himself. It is available now for only $10 at www.cowandbuffalo.com (shipping included)!

Also, for a limited time only, Cow & Buffalo’s first book, Adventures in Sandwich Making, is on sale for only $5 with the purchase of at least one copy of Stuperheroes. This deal is only available at cowandbuffalo.com and not any other retail market.

Specs: Stuperheroes features a full-color, perfect-bound cover with 112 black and white pages inside. It is a book.

i’m really proud of this one. there’s more action, more humor, more exclusive all-new content and 33% more pages than their last book. i’m drawing a sketch in every book purchased too. so what are you waiting for! :D

(for those interested, my previous hourlies can be read HERE)

i’ll be taking a short break from cow & buffalo for the holidays but i’ll have some exciting announcements related to it shortly after i return to updating it in januray.  i may still find myself posting some stuff on this blog in the meantime though. we’ll see.

i might put a pause on these cleo posts for a little while until i can catch up on some pages. hopefully it won’t be too long of a break- there are some fun scenes coming up!

also- saw the incredible hulk last weekend and thought it was great. a really fun action flick with some essential comic geek out moments.  it’s not perfect but who cares.  HULK SMASH!  plus, i love this whole marvel universe that’s being built on the screen right now.  talk about early avengers movie hype!

my summer movie ranking thus far:

1. speed racer
2. iron man
3. kung fu panda
4. incredible hulk
5. narnia: prince caspian
6. indiana jones: kotcs

mocca, as always, was awesome.  it was great seeing friends and colleagues i only get to see once or twice a year- or every two years- or every once in a turquoise, polka dotted, square moon. ryan and trade were great table mates and we couldn’t have asked for a better section right underneath the air conditioner units.  especially right after all the doors in the place were swung open for a half hour while we all waited outside for the firemen to do their jobs.

met and hung out with a lot of old and new friends- and i hate naming names because i’m bound to forget somebody- but you all know who you were (and all of you can also confirm to how “elephant like” my memory can be).  but hanging out saturday was fun.  and dinner sunday night was a blast (kean and andy make a cute couple).  i wish i could have walked around the floors more (i was pretty much confined to my table) so it was nice to be able to chat and stuff after show hours.  how else was i going to enthusiastically promote speed racer? :)

i didn’t really realize it until i got back and tallied up everything, but it was also my most profitable con ever (thanks mostly in part to the art prints i decided to bring with me this year- i’ll need to get a shop set up for those soon).  reason enough to head back up again next year, but i would be planning to anyhow just because of the amount of fun i had. mocca is easily my favorite convention.  the people there are the best, the amount of quality work the exhibitors are selling is astounding and no one really has to tug at my arm very hard for me to have a reason to visit NY.  even if it is for a quick, kinda stressful couple of days.

so yeah- see you all next year!

still- yesterday i went to go see speed racer again (i know- i should be drawing cleo instead…), this time on imax, and loved it just as much the second time as i did the first. maybe even more. i can honestly see this movie becoming one of my all time faves, which is crazy since i almost didn’t even go see it at all. folks- don’t miss it on the big screen while you have the chance! especially the big, big screen. man, imax is cool.

one of my life long goals is to see/create a zombie musical, and i wish i had more time to do better justice to this image i’ve had in my head for a crazy long time now. also, trying some new things. pushing myself to use more solid blacks and be looser with my drawing. didn’t turn out as bad as i thought it might. though it needs a ninja. there will be singing ninjas in my zombie musical too. and david hasselhoff. as maybe a ninja.

also- i drew a guest strip for fellow floridian webcomiker derrick fish this week and forgot to tell you all to go over and read it on tuesday (i was too excited to talk about speed racer). so click HERE to go over and read it. dandy & company is a pretty hilarious webcomic, so you might find yourself lingering there a little longer than you want. but derrick assures me, that’s ‘okay.’

i saw two movies this past weekend (actually three, but two in the theater)- indiana jones 4 and speed racer. and you know what? speed racer blew indy out of the water in terms of awesomeness. why is this movie not doing better?? i had so much fun and felt like i was watching something really special. the script was great, the characters were super developed, and the car racing was the coolest car racing i’ve ever seen. i don’t think i wanted to go home and play mario kart so badly in my life. there was just so much to love about this movie, all the way from the visuals to the message it was trying to tell.

unfortunately, in contrast, indy fell victim to a really bad script and a super, under-developed story line- and honestly- should never have been made. it was like an indiana jones movie for the sake of an indiana jones movie and just didn’t work on so many levels. i don’t want to go into the details, because they’re fairly obvious and most of you have either seen the movie already or will be seeing it soon. but i think this was a rushed project that was fun only in the sense of nostalgia for how much we all enjoyed its predecessors. i didn’t think it was all bad, but i went in with very low expectations and this movie met those.

the funny thing about the two films is that there are so many “wha–?” moments in both of them. but with speed racer those “wha–?” moments are instantly followed by a “haha! awesome!” while with indy they just leave you with your mouth hanging open wondering how someone thought that was good idea.

so- i know speed racer isn’t for everyone, (believe me- from the trailers, i thought it looked just as horrible as the rest of the world seems to think) but if you go in with an open mind- i think you’ll find something you haven’t really seen before. something fun and unique. something for kids and adults. something for artists and people just wanting to see some great action. something meant to be seen on the big screen. something raiders of the lost ark accomplished 27 years ago.

so, with june fast approaching and more movies on the way, here’s my ranking for favorite summer movies so far:

1. iron man
2. speed racer
3. narnia: prince caspian
4. indiana jones: kotcs

apparently cleo’s not the only egyptian queen zapping her way through the cosmos. now nefertiti is getting in on the action thanks to fellow tampa drawing buddy, keith patterson. do i detect a team-up?