The Canadian Transformers Convention, TFcon, is this weekend in Mississauga Ontario! Once again, I was brought on board to illustrate a comic to act as a prelude to the popular  live script reading event, which will feature convention guests Neil Ross, Scott McNeil, and Wally Burr.

Read all 8 full color pages right here.

It’s an epic, generation spanning story written by former Ninjamaster Phil Gervais, and it will reach its conclusion when members of the audience audition for the other characters and perform the rest of the story on Saturday’s Live Script Reading. Even I don’t know what’s going to happen next!

TFcon is always my favorite convention and I’m really looking forward to it this year because it’ll be the first time back in the Toronto area since I moved. It’s going to be awesome. I’m also really looking forward to the Faction Feud, where my team, the Ninja Consultants, will once again do battle for Transformers trivia supremacy. Last year, we lost by one answer in the final round, and we are out for revenge!

TFcon 2012 – Maximals and Wreckers by *ninjatron on deviantART

I am looking to have a special print for sale at the show, which will combine 2 images from the comic into one. It’ll be a great memento to get signed, provided I can make it happen. Come say hi to me if you want one or just want to chat. Hope to see everyone there!

Sayonara.

I’ve been really busy over the past several weeks, working on the usual annual project I do around this time of year, but I managed to set time aside on Tuesday to go see “The Amazing Spider-man“.

First off, I’ve got to say that I really liked it and I’m somewhat surprised to read that a number of people do not. It seems that the main issue is that people are offended that there is a Spider-man reboot film so soon after Spider-man 3. Well, it’s pretty well known that they were always planning to make this movie. Spider-man 4 was in the works but fell through when the director pulled out of the project, so this new “reboot” got bumped up. The studio had to make another Spider-man film or the rights to the character would eventually revert back to Marvel (which would be awesome, but whatever).

So basically, due to the circumstances, this new Spider-man movie has to exist, but at least they took the opportunity to do something different with it, and so what they came up with here was a very interesting, fresh take on the story. Most of the familiar elements were there, just presented in a new way. It was fun to see what was done differently and what was kept. And let’s not forget that the Sam Raimi films deviated from the original story of Spider-man in several regards. This new movie is closer to those classic Stan Lee stories in some ways, and I think it’s better for it. I like the mechanical web shooters better than Toby’s wrist goo and I like that Gwen Stacey got the spotlight instead of Mary Jane.

The key point in this movie, what is to me the very essence of Spider-man, is the concept of suffering. Physical pain, guilt, anger, rejection, trouble at school, trouble with girls; How Peter Parker deals with these things, in and out of the mask, and then rises above it is what makes the story of Spider-man what it really is, and I think this movie did a great job with that.

Overall it’s a smaller, smarter, darker, grittier, more personal version of the Spider-man story and I appreciated it for those reasons. I also builds the world up very well and leaves lots of room for further stories. What I liked best about it though was how awkward and weird and gangly Spidey looked and acted in his costume. In my head, that’s what Spider-man is supposed to be like. Something about it just felt more real.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Sam Raimi movies too. There are things those movies did well and others that perhaps could have been better if handled differently. The perception of those movies has been changing over the years, as we can judge them a little more clearly now that they aren’t so new, but it’s great that we have multiple versions of the same story to compare with each other and create a larger whole. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how all the different films stack up over time. At first blush though, I really liked “The Amazing Spider-man” for what it was and if you didn’t, well too bad for you and better luck next time.

Sayonara.

My new personal art project has made its debut! Powered by Tumblr, Ninjapocalyse is a frequently updated art blog that will be full of crazy characters.

Originally, I wanted to just have some kind of daily sketch blog, but as I got to work on it, other concepts began to solidify and it became something even bigger. You see, over time, I’ve collected a lot of ideas for different characters. Some are weird, some are cool, some are just plain stupid, but they all beg to be drawn. So, I am drawing them, and my idea was to bring them all together by creating a world where anything can happen and everybody fights!

Fueled by my love for comics, anime, video games, and action figures, this is a world where ninjas, superheroes, robots, aliens, zombies, monsters, warriors, and all kinds of other characters can do battle. Rather than be a web comic or ongoing story, Ninjapocalypse will simply feature simple, fun illustrations of these characters, with a short written biography, and you the viewer get to imagine which characters are friends, which characters are enemies, and how their universe expands with each new arrival. It’s as if this is a cartoon or toyline that never existed. You can read “The Story of Ninjapocalypse” for more on what this is all about.

Ninjapocalypse will operate as a separate entity from SykoGrafix.com, but there will be a connection and it’s my hope that they will co-exist and make each other better. It will update with a new character every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5pm EST for the foreseeable future.

In addition to the Ninjapocalypse website itself, there will also be updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. In fact, updates about anything I do will be on those sites, so you can follow there to keep up with everything I’m up to. And you can help Ninjapocalypse by spreading the word on your social network and sharing it with your friends

I’m really hoping that people dig this new concept, but even if everybody hates it, it’s still something I just had to try. There will be so many characters, and I think that once a whole bunch of them have been revealed, people will start to see what I’m trying to do and everyone will be able to pick a favorite.

In other news, I’m almost ready to move all my stuff to my new office studio. I hope to get some new entries here on SykoGrafix sometime soon after that’s all settled.

Sayonara.

So, who’s thirsty?

I wish I had discovered the simple joys of the Slurpee much earlier, but since I never really lived near any 7-Eleven stores, I didn’t catch on. However, I learned the error of my ways thanks to my good buddy Guber, who was sired in the Slurpee capital of the World, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnepeggers love their Slurpees. Guber lived in Montreal for many years, a city devoid of 7-Eleven stores, so whenever he was in Toronto he’d go on and on about the coveted and elusive Slurpee. I didn’t really see the big deal because Guber is kind of a weird dude anyway, but I got it eventually. They really are good.

Before I moved up here to the barren wastelands, I made a point of taking a solo journey to downtown Toronto and taking in as much of the cool places that I like as I could. Before I went back home, I made sure to get a Slurpee. Even though it was a cold day, I just had to get one because I knew it would be a long time before I got one again, as there are no 7-Elevens up here. It was a Strawberry Kiwi flavor and I still remember how good it tasted.

I mostly forgot about the Slurpee-scene and went about my way until I noticed another challenge: The Froster. Produced by Mac’s, a home-grown Canadian convenience chain, Frosters are a lot like Slurpees. I tried a really small one once, and though it was alright, but I started paying more attention when Mac’s ran a special promotion this month where you could buy any sized Froster for $1. At that price, I gave it a shot, and of course I got the largest size possible (1000 ml). I got hooked. Even though there are no 7-Elevens around here, there are 4 or 5 Mac’s in walking distance from me, and I made frequent excursions to all of them, sampling all the different kinds and multiple combinations, scrapping together a dollar’s worth in dimes and nickles each time I visited. So I drank a lot of Frosters. And the Froster would be the only thing I get, prompting many clerks to ask “That’s it?!” before I handed them my annoying handful of change.

The Froster is a decent alternative to the Slurpee. The flavors have some punch and they come in sturdy plastic cups with thick, wide straw. So they are a good product overall and not just a cheaply produced rip-off like I expected they’d be. And yet, I still miss the Slurpee. Froster can have a gritty ice texture while the Slurpee is much smoother. Slurpees also seem to have more unique flavors and I was never able to try very many. But beyond that, maybe it’s just the unattainable appeal that makes Slurpees so treasured to me in comparison to Frosters. I can get a Froster any time I want, but I haven’t had a Slurpee all year, and dammit, I want one! Much like the plight of Guber when he lived in a Slurpeeless land, not being able to have one makes me want it that much more.

What’s your favorite icy drink? Who wins the Frozen Drink Wars?

Sayonara.

The word on the street is pretty much out, but I’m not going to let that stop me from putting my two cents in and saying that The Avengers movie is awesome.

Think back to what it must have been like when The Avengers comic was a brand new thing. Comic books were pretty much the height to fantastical fiction, capable of telling stories and showing images that movies and television could never come close to replicating at the time. Movies like that would be unfathomable. There are all of these different characters, each with their own histories, and you could pick your favorite. Then Avengers comes out and a whole bunch of them are on a team together and that has got to be just the coolest thing ever.

Now think back to a little over 10 years ago. Movies like X-Men and Spider-man have come out, captured people’s imaginations, and done very well, kicking off a string of films inspired by comic book characters. Now, movie making has advanced to the point where so many of these cool comic book concepts that never could have been realized before have become real films. Most of them are pretty good, or are entertaining at least, but a few missed the mark in the storytelling department. Still, with the way these characters were being licensed to different studios, it seemed unlikely that there would be a movie crossover featuring many different heroes like Avengers. And even if that eve did happen, if you consider that a number of other movies had a hard time dealing with just one super hero character, would a movie featuring 6 or 7 even be any good?

Well, somehow, here we are. Not only is The Avengers is a real movie, they actually pulled it off and made it good. It is so good in just about every possible way, from the biggest action scenes to the smallest moments of character development. They did it. They actually did it. For everything working against it, I don’t think it can be overstated just how good this movie really is. It’s an incredible feat.

Much has been said about what it is that makes this film so great, with the level of humor being one of the main draws. While I agree with that, it’s not enough to say that it’s a funny movie. All the humor actually served a purpose: it informed the audience. All the humor, be it clever and witty or simple slapstick, told something about who the character is and where they come from. It wasn’t just entertainment on a base level, it was actually engaging! And because so much of the humor was grounded in who these characters are, it rewarded the audience for paying attention.

In the time since Hollywood really started pumping out these big comic book movies, there have been a number of them that made a lot of money but aren’t really remembered as being all that good. The Transformers movies are a good example. I like those movies fine, but they are what they are, entertainment and not much more. Avengers, on the other hand, is everything you’d ever want in a big Hollywood super hero blockbuster, but it’s also a really good movie! And both audiences and critics seem to be on the same page on this one as everybody seems to love it. So I have to wonder… is this going to change things? Is The Avengers going to raise the stakes and make people demand better quality? Money talks, and Avengers is a huge financial hit, so I think that message may be getting out there.

Personally, I think it would be great for Hollywood and the movie going audience if The Avengers made more money than Avatar and became the #1 film of all time. That’s a tall order but I’d say it certainly deserves it.

That artwork at the top was a fun, quick drawing I made earlier in the year. I’ll have it up on the site properly soon enough, along with a few other things. But hopefully I’ll get to see Avengers 11 more times first. Now who’s up for some shawarma?

Sayonara.