Shiro favorite comic book artist

 So today I’m gonna talk about one of my favorite comic book Mr. John Romita Jr, I want to talk about his work , his style and what drew me to his particular style.

John Romita Jr is the son of another comic book illustrator John Romita Sr, he mostly worked with Marvel from the 1970 s to the 2000’s but he also worked with Icon comics and is currently working with DC comics for the Superman comics. Some of his early work was the Iron Man comic book but my first contact with him was with his run on the X-Men and Spider-Man comics.

 

Now one could argue that his style is not appealing and I might agree especially when it comes to character design. But one things he brings to his style is the gritty world in which he illustrated perfectly in his run of Daredevil.

And it was this style that illustrated the perfectly dark world of some of my favorite storyline in comics most notably “Wolverine: Enemy of the state”, “Kick-Ass” and “Punisher and Batman: Deadly Knight”. I also enjoyed his run on X-Men where he also helped create some memorable characters like Forge and Valerie Cooper.

 

John Romita Jr, although his style isn’t pretty, its gritty , puts the atmosphere for dark storyline , presents some characters in some bad situation and with a career over 3 decades long shows that he’s one of the most recognized artists in the business.

Hope you enjoyed. See you next time.

paskr18 favorite comic book artist

I was first introduced to comic books by my father and my cousin. It was during my childhood. Through my father, I was introduced to European comics characters like Tex Willer, Akim and Zembla. The first both were created by Italian artists and the later on demand of a French publisher (Lug Editions) but also drawn by Italian artist. My cousins introduced me to the DC and Marvel comics worlds. My first reading was in French (Semic was the French publisher who officially translated the major American comics brands at the time and publish them). My cousin also gave me my first English written comic: Bishop The Mountjoy Crisis.

Akim	Tex Willer	Zembla

We'll talk another time about European comics and in how they differ from American comics. The main focus in this post is my favorite comics artist from an American comics publisher. When I think of it, I grew up mostly reading Marvel comics than any other publisher. So without surprise, my favorite comics artist is one who work on various titles for Marvel. Even though I really like the art from Salvador Larocca on graphic novel X-Men No More Humans, one work of him was not sufficient criteria to call him my favorite artist. I was also a big fan of the work of the Kubert brothers and also Jim Lee. But I really think my favorite one is John Byrne.

Bishop: The Mountjoy Crisis	X-Men : No More Humans

I was first introduced to the work of John Byrne via Alpha Flight which is maybe one my favorite super-hero team (although I'm a huge X-men fan). I really like the costumes he designed for the cast of this team, most of all Guardian’s (great mix of Maple leaf and the Canadian flag colors) and also the Beaubier twins’ costumes.

What I really like about his style in general is the fact that most of the characters he draw can be easily identified with. Let me explain myself. Even though those characters have super-powers most of them have a very standard human frame (athletic frame mostly). Compare to more modern iterations of heroes who tend to have hypertrophied muscles for the males and amazingly bimbo like frame for the females.

With his version of She-Hulk he made a very feminine character without being over feminine or without too many bimbo attributes. He did an incredible job with giving his characters, at the same time, a very normal frame and a great share of athletic display.

His work with some titles I was less aware of, at this time, lead me to pay a greater attention to them. He is the one who made me start to like more titles like Namor the Submariner and the Fantastic Four. I really enjoyed reading those during his shift as main penciller.

Fantastic Four	Namor the Submariner

I also greatly enjoyed his work on X-Men during the Hidden Years era. It was a great pleasure for me to read them.

Hope you enjoy this entry of our blog. The next should be on Shiro’s own choice of favorite artist.

Enjoy this entry of our blog. The next entry should be on Shiro favorite comic artist. till then, have a great day.

ProtoformAl favorite comic book artist

During my years in high school, I’ve had a lot of contact with comics, specially Marvel. This was due to the fact that our main source, a supermarket nearby, mostly stocked in French “Semic” titles. Semic, at the time, published French official translations from DC comics, Marvel, Dark Horse and so on. For some reason, the Marvel comics’ translations were the ones that made their way to our store.

One of my first official original Marvel graphic novel was “Marvels” written by Kurt Busiek and painted by Alex Ross. Coming from the world of serial comic issues, with their basic yet entertaining art, I was blown away by Mr. Ross’s work. I was novel to the concept of painting comic panes instead of drawing. He gave life to an already interesting story. At places, there was a sense of scope and beauty difficult to have been possible to convey with regular drawings.

The part that was the most of interest to me was the little “making-of” section at the end of the Trade Paperback (TPB). I could totally understand how he did so well, he used live models for his characters, even used carton cut for Galactus’ helmet. His depiction of Gwen Stacy simply made me fall in love with the character, and the person he used as model was just as gorgeous.

No more were there crude depictions of the characters living in this world. This was a work done with a lot of attention to detail, and a love of realism. It is still my favorite book in all the titles I’ve collected.

Around the same period I got this book, I also obtained a copy of Universe X. Although he was not the main artist, Alex Ross’s name was on the cover and that motivated me. Looking at screenshots I could readily see that his influence on the design and direction of the TPB was quite sufficient to satisfy me. Other examples of his work are “Kingdom Come” and “Batman: War on Crime” both from DC Comics. These last two can serve to further show the particular style of this artist. The beautiful details, the impression of realism in a world of wonders and dreams.

Anyone can recognize these classic icons of American pop culture, yet there aren’t so many drawers/painters out there to have produced work of such vibrant and indelible interpretations collected or not into full albums.

Alex Ross is my favorite comic book artist of all time. It is of course a matter of opinion, but who can truthfully argue against me that he isn’t one of the best?

Top 3 personal favourite Games for Fighting, Platform and Racing games

Hi everyone,

In this post, we will share our personnal top 3 games for three specific video games genre : Racing games, fighting games and also platform games. Those choices will reflect our personnal experience with those kind of games.

paskr18

Racing

A racing game, I really enjoyed playing was Excitebike, released in 1985 on Nintendo Entertainment System. The feature I enjoyed the most was the possibility to create our own personnal racetrack. Give me a lot of amusement when I was younger.

My next entry is not a single game but mostly a franchise: the Gran Turismo franchise on the Playstation gaming system. I really enjoyed the fact you could collect that so many different cars (since completing collection is one of the reason I play some games, this is just a huge enjoyment for me). I also like the tracks and the variety of places you could race in.

My final choice would be RC Pro-Am on NES. I spent some many hours on this game playing against my brother and cousins in my youth. Such good memories. It was so fun to run radioguided cars.

Gran Turismo Series	RC Pro-Am	Excitebike

Fighting

My first entry will be Virtua Fighter 2 on the Playstation 2 system. I really like the fact that the fighting styles were actual martial arts moves and that there was no use of energy like attacks. I also like the fact you were able to prevent and counter an enemy attack.

My next entry will be Tekken 2 on the Playstation 2 system. I like it for mostly the same reasons I like the Virtua Fighter 2.

My final entry is Samurai Showdown on the Playstation 2. As I am fan of medevial Japan stories, I was pleased with the use of japanes swordmen for a fighting game. I like the moves and also the stories.

Samurai Showdown	Tekken 2	Virtua Fighter

Platform

I will pick my top 3 platform games now. My top 1 choice for this kind of game is Super Mario Bros. 3. I like the new additions in the powers that Mario can gain. I really like also the level design. I do like the flying racoon costume.

My second choice is Eathworm Jim. This game was just awesome. The moveset was enjoyable, the level design was very pleasant. Using himself s a whip was a blast.

My final choice is Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Genesis. I like the speed and the level design on this game. They also introduced in the latter installement some good sidekicks (Knucles to name only one).

Earthworm Jim	Super Mario Bros. 3	Sonic The Hedgehog series

ProtoformAl

Racing

I’m not gonna start in reverse and build suspense or anything. My top racing game of all time is undeniably “Dirt 3”. First time I launched this baby I was massacred, it felt like playing Grid all over again with ten times the punishment because in fact the tracks actually “look” easier than Grid’s. But once I got the feel, once I found that sweet spot of car tweaking, I was one with the machine. And it is like riding a bicycle, even after months without playing, I slip in like a glove. One of the things that still amaze me is how well it aged graphically. Sure, it doesn’t hold up to great scrutiny and the menu is lackluster, but it works for me. Laid back, playing on a big screen, one with the road…the world just floats away. There is only the next curve, the next challenge. More than just the best rally game out there, it is still the king of racing game for me. Don’t believe me? Go play……………..

My second top racing game is the one that made me fall in love with manual transmission: “Gran Turismo 3 A-spec”. Back when it came out, 13 years ago (dammn that’s far), I was blown by the graphics, the sound. I admired their take on racing, it was a first in terms of simulation. I hadn’t ever played a game where you actually have to earn a license (!) to be worthy of driving certain class of cars. I don’t think I’ve seen that in any other game since then. But the meat of my love for GT 3 was the manual transmission. It was so well done. Friends and I had battles one on one, to see not simply who could accelerate and break properly (boohoo auto-trans noobs!!), but it was a battle for control, and ultimate test of skills. Over the years, I’ve gotten a bit lazy and dropped the manual Trans most of the time. I kinda fell out of love with racing games. Grid and Dirt pulled me back in and for that I am grateful.

The last of my top 3 was actually the epitome of the arcade racing at its time of release contrarily to my two previous choices. “Need for Speed Underground” was a blast to play. It was crazy it was fun and having first played it on PC with the best graphic card I could buy at the time, it was gorgeous. Simulation is awesome, but the things you could do in NFSU and the sense of speed was exhilarating. It wasn’t that the cars truly ran faster than GT 3 but the feeling of speed was incredible, mostly due to the relational physic between the moving car and the static environment being improved but also how each moving car’s speed related to the others, added to the motion blur when going really fast or using NOZ…….WOW. And then there was the customization. The vinyls you could add, the spoilers, tire rims etc., all of that was so novel. Cars were made to look the coolest, the “baddest” or the silliest and it all amounted to something. It wasn’t just a choice of making yourself look great but a duty and entirely part of the game mechanic.

I’m sure in 2014 some people will disagree with my choices of old racing games. Take them in the context of their own time and you’ll see how great they really were.

Dirt 3	Gran Turismo 3	Need for Speed Underground

Fighting

My top 3 fighting games are in no particular order: Street Fighter IV, Blazblue Continuum Shift, and Tekken 4. Special notice to BlazBlue for its cross genre quality (fighting/ visual novel) and the emphasis on strategy more than simple button mashing to succeed. Street Fighter is a classic, nothing new there. Tekken since it first appeared, wowed us all with its deft handling of 360 degree fighting. You had an extra dimension to work with instead of simple side scrolling maneuverability.

Blazblue continuum Shift	Street Fighter IV	Tekken IV

Platform

Super Mario Galaxy 2 like my fave X-man Wolverine is the best there is in its own category. Personally, I would not shirk from putting it as top game of all freaking time. I’ve played a lot of games that could get to that super top, Skyrim comes to mind. SMG2, hits all the right buttons for me. It is a solid platformer, all along the way things stay fresh and there are a lot of innovations and surprises. The story is not dull, the graphics aren’t super awesome in the likes of Tomb Raider (2013) or The Last of US, but for a Mario game the color palette is as vibrant as ever and the Wii handles it well. The best part is the control scheme which is easiest to handle with a friend but works great also on your lonesome. And the secrets…oh yes, many goodies hidden and a select few requiring skills beyond that of the mere mortal casual gamer. I love RPGs that’s a given, but this game reminds me why for most of my childhood Mario was the name of the game that stood on the hill looking down on all the crap trying to make a living copying what only he did best. And he’s still the King.

Megaman X2

After playing Super Mario Brothers extensively on the NES, I was rather taken aback by the first Megaman, and the next and the third. I skipped them over each time. This game was hard, gone was the simple stomping of Mario, now we needed weapons in a platformer. Worst of all, one needed mad skills and good memory of obstacles. Come Megaman 3, I had grown up and I was more ready to get into it. Over the years afterwards, I completely lost track of the series until a good friend of mine got his hand on the first Megaman X. My mind was blown. It had evolved so much, the graphics, the gameplay, and all the secrets. The sequel capitalized on that, and delivered what I rather lost hope with in a good platformer: a story that mattered to me. It was more than just blasting away enemies. I really wanted to know what was going on. It wasn’t a hard game but still it required skill as all platformers in order to perform in a satisfactory manner. We used to challenge each other with speed runs and high score competitions. Choosing the order of stages was integral to that challenge as a poor choice hindered one’s ability to overcome the next opponent and finish fast enough or with a high enough score.

Choosing the top two platformers was easy, finding a third is difficult. I’ll play it safe and go with an all-time favorite of mine: Super Mario 3. There you’ll find all the goodies of the first game, but with added open world navigation, nonlinear stage choices and the introduction of many pinnacle perks and power-ups that have become a series staple. Much of the SMG2 could not have existed without the work done on Mario 3. The fact that they made an entire MOVIE (The Wizard, 1989) as advertisement, made it even more magical. SMB3 is an awesome game but let’s face it without The Wizard it would not have become as fast one of the best-selling games of all time. In a period where the market was free, there was room for innovation and discovery. THIS was one of the best innovative game out there, and anything coming after, even if they be the best game ever, owes something to SMB3.

Megaman X2	Super Mario Bros. 3	Super Mario Galaxy 2

Shiro

For this first installment of our” top 3” series we are going to bring our focus on 3 genre of video games, platformers, fighting and racing games, although we are going to use games that mix certain genre, our focus is presenting games which the main element is the genre in question.

Ok let’s start

Platform

I am going to start with the platforming genre that debuted back in the 80’s which the first one that comes to mind is the Mario bros series which mostly was side scrolling then largely evolve to full 3D environments like Crash Bandicoot series”. And now for my Top 3

1. Sonic the hedgehog 2

Back in 1992, in a world where gaming was mostly dominated by Mario Bros, Mortal Kombat and the Street Fighter series, SEGA released this side scrolling platformer for the Megadrive and the Sega Genesis consoles. This game starring Sonic the “super speedy” blue hedgehog and his sidekick Tails was success not only due to the different gameplay mechanic that other sidescroller but also with the added connectivity with a later game in the series “Sonic and Knuckles “ which you could play the game with Knuckles a character that appeared in Sonic 3.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2	Knucles in Sonic 2

2. Contra Series

In 1987, developer Konami released a run and gun sidescroller arcade game named Contra. The game focus on shooting your way through literally everything (cyborgs, aliens, you name it…). This game was such a success that it delivered more than 10 sequels with making the transition from 2D platform to 3D action game with NeoContra released in the 6^th generation. And I’m sure all of us used the 30 life cheat code at one point for the Nintendo version.

Shooting a base	Shooting a ……… heart

3. The Incredible Hulk

Finally this one was one my favorite in my old Sega Genesis, this game was released on arcade and all 3^rd generation console. It was interesting how you could go from the Hulk to Bruce Banner and back again.

As Bruce Banner

Fighting

Fighting games really have evolved not only in the visual department but also gameplay. The original one on one gameplay developed to 2 on 2 or even 3 on 3 , even style wise you can choose your fighter depending on the way he or she style of fighting suits you which can be seen in the Tekken and Mortal Kombat series.

1. Super Smash Bros series

Everybody came to the party

Although the fighting genre have many great games to choose from, my list will start with a recent franchise. Super Smash Bros came in the early 2000 and hit the gaming world by storm by combining different characters from Nintendo’s different franchises, unique and instinctive gameplay and sheer fun factor.

2. Tekken series

The Tekken series was one of the first fighting game with an actual good storyline and a different and more technical gameplay mechanic, it used to take long hours to actually find a character in which you can master his fighting style in other case you just choose to play with Eddie Gordo. What was really fun is how most character resemble real life martial artist most notably Law for Bruce Lee. This franchise as reach such a level of success with the different sequels and even a movie adaptation.

Unforgettable Characters	Resemblance between Law and Bruce Lee

3. Soul Calibur series

Another fighting game from publisher Namco, The Soul Calibur series combined great visuals, fluid gameplay and weapon combat to the fighting genre. Not as

Technical as the Tekken gameplay, it still demanded hours to master a specific fighter. Added bonus with some famous characters cameo in some of their games most notably Darth Vader.

Darth Vader vs Cassandra

Racing

1. Need for speed: Underground 2

One of the most popular and successful game in the need for speed franchise, NFSU2 focused on customization and street racing. With an extensive car collection which included some SUVs. It introduced also open world driving first introduced in the midnight club series. Also had great visual and a great soundtrack it sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

Need for Speed Underground 2	Customization screen

2. Dirt Series

Originally named “Colin McRae Dirt” after the WRC legend of the same name, it doesn’t have the fan base of the more popular titles, the dirt series have brought some of the best racing games of the 7^th generation (PS3, Xbox360, and Wii). From developer Codemasters, the people behind the TOCA race driver series and GRID series, the dirt series brings the perfect mix of challenge and fun factor in off-road racing. With a diverse discipline to choose from Rally cross to Raid races, I promise you if you ever pick up this game you will never put it down.

Raid Race

3. Forza Horizon

Now the last game in my top 3 for racing, is a spin-off of the popular Forza Series, developed by Playground Games in association with main Forza studio Turn 10 studios. The game is easily to my point of view one of the most beautiful racing game ever, great visual and excellent game physics. The game consist in participating in a racing festival in the fictional town of Horizon, Colorado. With over 300 cars to race in disciplines varying from highway races, rally races and point to point to just name a few of the amount to do in the game.

Over 300 cars to choose	Racing a plane

And those are our choices. Hope you like the post. See you soon.