Cool Art: 'The Dark Knight' by Doaly

'The Dark Knight' by Doaly.

"My thoughts on the final poster was like the previous to take from a monologue from the movie and chart the characters progress, in this movie batman played the role of guardian of the city even when the city didn’t know how much he did for them. I wanted this to echo as part of the city itself and there's a cheeky nod to the Joker within the poster as you couldn’t have Dark Knight poster without him but you’ll have to take a closer look to find him." - Doaly

Cool Art: 'Alien Ying Yang' by Matt Ferguson

'Alien Ying Yang' by Matt Ferguson.

This is a 16” x 20” numbered screen print, in a limited edition of 40. It's also part of the Hero Complex Gallery art exhibition 'Imagined Worlds', an art show inspired by the worlds of Guillermo del Toro, Terry Gilliam, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and Ridley Scott, that opens January 17.

There will also be 10 signed AP editions available shortly after the show from Matt's store. Follow Matt on Twitter @Cakes_Comics for the on sale announcement.

via

Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Cover Art: Lawrence Sterne Stevens

Continuing my look at the weird and wonderful cover art of the vintage Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror pulp magazines and paperback books. This week, the art of Lawrence Sterne Stevens.

If you love vintage pulp cover art too, visit Pulp Covers and Galactic Central for lots more.

'Game Of Thrones' S4 Trailer

'Game Of Thrones' returns April 6 on HBO (US) and April 7 on Sky Atlantic  (UK).

Cool Art: #McQuarrieMonday 'The Empire Strikes Back' by Ralph McQuarrie

Concept art from 'The Empire Strikes Back' by Ralph McQuarrie.

#StarWarsSaturday: 'Star Wars' Manga Cover Art by Adam Warren

Through my TheGeekyNerfherder Instagram profile, I post a lot of pop culture, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary and vintage, retro art (mostly seen on this blog first). Follow me on there if you like that kind of thing. I also post an image that highlights a particular artist or topic each day of the week.

Monday is #McQuarrieMonday and features art from legendary concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. Tuesdays are #VallejoTuesday and highlight fantasy artist Boris Vallejo. Wednesdays feature fantasy artist Michael Whelan for #WhelanWednesday. Thursday is #KellyThursday and showcases the art of fantasy artist Ken Kelly. Fridays are #FrazettaFriday and is in recognition of legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta. Saturdays are #StarWarsSaturday, and I round out the week with #PulpSunday and art from pulp magazines and paperbacks.

I'll be featuring those on this blog too, and as it's Saturday, I'll be starting with #StarWarsSaturday, and here is cover art by Adam Warren from the Manga adaptations of the Original Star Wars saga.

Cool Art: 'Maiden Skyways' by Carlos Valenzuela

'Maiden Skyways' by Carlos Valenzuela.

This will be available soon as a print from Under The Floorboards. Follow them on Twitter @thefloorboards or on Facebook for the on sale announcement.

Cool Art: '47 Ronin' by Vlad Rodriguez

'47 Ronin' by Vlad Rodriguez.

This is available as an 18" x 24" hand signed and numbered print, in a limited edition of just 50 and costs $39. Go here to buy.

Cool Art: 'Artistic Freedom' by Orlando Arocena

'Artistic Freedom' by Orlando Arocena.

Cool Art: 'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' #6 by Dan Dos Santos

I've already featured Dan Dos Santos' cover art for 'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' here and here and here. And in an interview with both Publisher Mike Richardson and Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie at Dark Horse Comics, CBR revealed the last of the covers by Dan Dos Santos in this six issue series from Dark Horse.

Cool Art: Blurppy's Poster Posse Project #5 - 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' Part 2

Following on from yesterday's post of very cool 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' fan art, check out this selection of a load more awesome fan art from cool blog Blurppy's fifth #PosterPosse project. Looking forward to seeing what Project #6 will be!

Head on over to Blurppy to see the rest.

by Rich Davies

Coming Soon To Image Comics; 'Wytches' by Scott Snyder & Jock

As announced at the Image Expo, yesterday in San Francisco. Go here for more exciting announcements from the Image Expo.

"Scott Snyder (Batman, Superman Unchained, SEVERED) and Jock (Batman, Wolverine, SNAPSHOT) will team up for a new, ongoing horror series called WYTCHES. Everything you thought you knew about witches is wrong. They are much darker, and they are much more horrifying. 

WYTCHES takes the mythology of witches to a far creepier, bone-chilling place than readers have dared venture before. “I like taking classic monsters and reimagining them in a fresh, contemporary, and much scarier way,” said Snyder.
Snyder and Jock have worked together previously on the Batman story “The Black Mirror” in the pages of Detective Comics and Snyder knew from the get-go that he wanted Jock on board. 

“It’s great to finally have Scott Snyder back at Image,” said Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. “We loved working with Scott on SEVERED, and he has only gotten better since then, so it’s really wonderful that he’s teaming up with Jock on what is without a doubt one of the creepiest books we have ever published.” 

WYTCHES is a new ongoing fantasy horror series coming to Image Comics in 2014.

'The Simpsons' Tribute To Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli

Cool Art: 'The Battle of Five Armies' - "The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield" by Lucas Graciano

'The Battle of Five Armies' - "The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield" by Lucas Graciano.

This 'The Hobbit' inspired painting is 30" x 40" Oil on Masonite and is the cover art for The Battle of Five Armies board game from Ares Games.

"One of my first illustrative drawings when I first started attending art school was the iconic scene of The Battle of Five Armies from the book The Hobbit. It was a decent effort, but an ambitious image to tackle, especially for a new art student. I had always wanted to illustrate the scene again at some point. So, when Ares Games emailed asking me to illustrate their The Battle of Five Armies board game cover, I jumped to the opportunity." - Lucas Graciano

Head over to Lucas' blog for a couple of closer detail shots plus the final cover.

Cool Art: Blurppy's Poster Posse Project #5 - 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'

Cool blog Blurppy, have exclusively revealed their fifth #PosterPosse project, and it's another collection of very cool art!

Head on over to Blurppy to see Phase One of their stunning art for the Marvel film (which will be out in cinemas March 28 UK and April 4 US), and check back tomorrow (Friday 9.09am PST) to see the second part of the 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' poster project!

Check out a selection of them below. And if the first part is anything to go by, #PP5 Phase Two promises to be marvelous indeed!

by Matt Ferguson

Short Film: 'Junk Head' by Takahide Hori

"In the distant future, humanity is hurtling down a path of ruin. Global environmental destruction caused by chemical contamination, radioactive fallout, and UV rays coming through the patchy ozone layer has lead to deterioration of the human genome. 

In an attempt at escape, humans expanded their sphere of daily existence underground, but they were decimated by an ancient virus that had been sealed there. 

The outbreak of a new virus saw the population reduced even further, and human society reached a critical point in the fight to preserve mankind. 

It is during this crisis that a surveillence camera sent underground discovers clones that were unexpectedly able to reproduce, and an investigation is launched.
It is unclear how far the underground extends. 

The ecology of the uniquely evolved clones is also unknown. However, in order to carry on the species, mankind desperately needs that genetic information."

'Junk Head', a stop motion animated short film by Takahide Hori, took four years to produce, and there are plans to make a follow-up. Takahide has set up a funding project via IndieGoGo, where he's looking for $100,000 to get the two-year project off the ground.

Cool Art: Gallery1988 presents 'Fairy Tales: A Print Show'

This Friday, Gallery1988 presents 'Fairy Tales: A Print Show', featuring artist interpretations of your favorite childhood fairy tales. The opening reception is Friday January 10th from 7-10pm at Gallery1988 (West), 7308 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046. The show will run through February 1st.

Check out a preview below.

Cool Art: 'Mount Doom' by Jian Guo

Stained glass style illustration, inspired by JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord Of The Rings' by Jian Guo, It's also available as a print through his Deviant Art Store.

Cool Art: 'Kill Bill' by Rockin' Jelly Bean

Mondo will be releasing this 'Kill Bill' print by Rockin' Jelly Bean on Thursday.

The print is a 18" x 36" hand numbered screenprint in a limited edition of 520 and costs $55. It will be available online at a random time on Thursday January 9.

Follow them on Twitter @mondonews for the on sale announcement.

2014 BAFTA Award Nominations Announced

It's award season, and the UK BAFTA Awards nominations have now been announced. The 67th annual awards ceremony will take place on Sunday February 16 at the Covent Garden Opera House, hosted by Stephen Fry.

BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
PHILOMENA Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, Jonás Cuarón
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
PHILOMENA Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
RUSH Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
SAVING MR. BANKS John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
THE SELFISH GIANT: Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer) Good Vibrations
KELLY MARCEL (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
KIERAN EVANS (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
PAUL WRIGHT (Director/Writer), POLLY STOKES (Producer) For Those in Peril
SCOTT GRAHAM (Director/Writer) Shell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
THE GREAT BEAUTY Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
METRO MANILA Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
WADJDA Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer
THE ARMSTRONG LIE Alex Gibney
BLACKFISH Gabriela Cowperthwaite
TIM’S VERMEER Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS Alex Gibney

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
FROZEN Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Dan Scanlon

DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Martin Scorsese

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
BLUE JASMINE Woody Allen
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
NEBRASKA Bob Nelson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE John Ridley
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Richard LaGravenese
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Billy Ray
PHILOMENA Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Terence Winter

LEADING ACTOR
BRUCE DERN Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR 12 Years a Slave
CHRISTIAN BALE American Hustle
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Wolf of Wall Street
TOM HANKS Captain Phillips

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK Gravity

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL Rush
MATT DAMON Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS Blue Jasmine

ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE Hans Zimmer
THE BOOK THIEF John Williams
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Henry Jackman
GRAVITY Steven Price
SAVING MR. BANKS Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE Sean Bobbitt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Barry Ackroyd
GRAVITY Emmanuel Lubezki
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Bruno Delbonnel
NEBRASKA Phedon Papamichael

EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE Joe Walker
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Christopher Rouse
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
RUSH Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thelma Schoonmaker

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
AMERICAN HUSTLE Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Howard Cummings
GRAVITY Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE Michael Wilkinson
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Ellen Mirojnick
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Michael O’Connor
SAVING MR. BANKS Daniel Orlandi

MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
THE BUTLER Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
THE GREAT GATSBY Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

SOUND
ALL IS LOST Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
GRAVITY Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
RUSH Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
IRON MAN 3 Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
PACIFIC RIM Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I AM TOM MOODY Ainslie Henderson
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
ORBIT EVER AFTER Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
ROOM 8 James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
SEA VIEW Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX

Cool Art: New Concept Art From 'Dragon Age: Inquisition' by Matt Rhodes

Matt Rhodes has revealed two new concept art images for Bioware's upcoming 'Dragon Age: Inquisition'. And whilst they don't really give too much away about the game, they do give you a look at the stunning scenery of the world of 'Dragon Age'!

"The ultimate hope for a concept artist is for the final in-game art to surpass its concept art. That has definitely the case with this image. Come Inquisition’s release, I think everyone will agree that the in-game version makes this image look restrained and quaint." - Matt Rhodes

Click to embiggen for a closer look.

Cool Art: Star Trek TOS Set 18 by Juan Ortiz

Artist Juan Ortiz is back with a new set of retro style Star Trek prints.

The four prints are available as a set of plated-printed lithographs on 100-pound, aqueous-coated, satin-finish paper. Each print measures 18" x 24" and the set of four is $34.95. US and Canada fans can purchase the sets at Star Trek Shop.

Pyramid will have the images available in the UK on Wood for £39.99 (43x59cm) and £49.99 (45x76cm), Canvas for £59.99 (60x80cm) and as Framed Art Prints at £49.99 (60x80cm). UK fans will be able to purchase the items at Amazon.co.uk, ForbiddenPlanet.co.uk and Oneposter.co.uk.

This month's random episodes are:
E05 The Enemy Within

E16 The Galileo Seven

E34 The Apple

E43 Wolf In The Fold

Take a peek at the posters in the set below and check out the rest of the Juan Ortiz Star Trek posters here.

You can now get all the posters in a special art book 'Star Trek: The Art Of Juan Ortiz' and as T shirts at We Love Fine.
Via

Cool Art: 'Berenice' by Abigail Larson

'Berenice' by Abigail Larson.

Abigail will also be showcasing new Edgar Allan Poe inspired artwork at The Poe Museum at 1914-16 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23223, along with other Richmond artists and illustrators, celebrating Poe's 205th birthday during the Edgar Allan Poe Birthday Bash, January 18-19.  

Go to here for more details.

Cool Art: 'Justice Magazine' Cheetara Covergirl Pinup by Stanley Lau

Stanley Lau is back with a new 'Justice Magazine' cover. This time the cover girl is Cheetara from 'Thundercats'.

You can check out Stanley's previous 'Justice Magazine' covers here.

Cool Art: 'Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom' by Joshua Budich

'Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom' by Joshua Budich.

This is a 18” x 24” 6 colour, signed and numbered screen print, for a private commission in a limited edition of 165.

Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Cover Art: Hans W Wessolowski (aka Wesso)

Continuing my look at the weird and wonderful cover art of the vintage Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror pulp magazines and paperback books. This week, the art of Hans W Wessolowski aka Wesso.

If you love vintage pulp cover art too, visit Pulp Covers and Galactic Central for lots more.

Trailer For 'Sherlock' Episode Three: 'His Last Vow'

A case of stolen letters leads Sherlock Holmes into a long conflict with Charles Augustus Magnussen, the Napoleon of blackmail, and the one man he truly hates. But how do you tackle a foe who knows the personal weakness of every person of importance in the Western world?
Based on the short story "His Last Bow"

'His Last Vow', the final episode of series 3, will be broadcast on Sunday January 12 at 8.30pm on BBC One.

Cool Art: 'Jonesy!' by Adam Ferrando

'Alien' inspired art by Adam Ferrando.

WTF Happened to Movie Posters?!

I so agree with this video from GoodBadFlicks, about how movie posters have evolved over time… and how boring and generic they have now become.

I blame the movie posters of the 1990's of starting the current trend. Go here and check for yourself and go here for even more proof of how generic movie posters are today.

Bring back the illustrated posters of the 1980's and before, a time when brilliant artists like Drew Struzan, Bob Peak, John Alvin and more created some very iconic posters! How many official movie posters nowadays would you hang up on your wall? I'm guessing not many. The awesome alternative movie posters from today's crop of artists are a different story though.

Check out the video and see if you agree too.

Cool Art: The Fantasy Art Of Heather Theurer

I've really been loving contemporary fantastic art recently, been snapping up a lot of the Spectrum art books by Cathy & Arnie Fenner. And here's some gorgeous fantasy art from Heather Theurer, including her take on some familiar Disney Princesses.

Check out her website for lots more wonderful art.

Cool Art: 'The Hobbit' by Carlos Lerma

'The Hobbit' by Carlos Lerma.

Cool Art: More Cover Art For 'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' by Dan Dos Santos

Dan Dos Santos is fast becoming one of my favourite artists. I loved his cover art for 'Fables #136', and his covers for the new six issue Dark Horse Comics series 'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' are stunning.

I've already featured his cover art on the first (featuring Mal Reynolds and Inara Serra) and third (River Tam) issues, below are the covers for issues two (Zoe Washburn), four (Kaylee Frye) and five (Jayne Cobb). Just one more cover to go, and I'll post that as soon as I see it.

Cool Art: 'Dragon Queen' by Lucas Graciano

'Dragon Queen' by Lucas Graciano.

This 24" x 18" Oil on Masonite, was commissioned by the Mexico City Magic GP as a limited-edition commemorative playmat, given to the first 700 players to register in person for the main event, where Lucas is also appearing as a guest artist. The event is being held on February 14th and 15th. 

 
Go to Lucas' Etsy store to buy his art, from Original Oil Paintings to Prints to Limited Edition Playing Cards.

Cool Art: 'Clash Of The Titans' Prints by Francesco Francavilla & Dave Rapoza

Mondo kicks off 2014 with a set of stunning 'Clash Of The Titans' prints by Francesco Francavilla and Dave Rapoza.

Francesco's print is a 24" x 36" hand numbered screenprint in a limited edition of 275 and costs $55, whilst the poster by Dave Rapoza is a 17" x 26" hand numbered screenprint in a limited edition of 200 and costs $45. They will be available online at a random time on Friday January 3.

Follow them on Twitter @mondonews for the on sale announcement.

by Francesco Francavilla

by Dave Rapoza

Cool Art: Michael Whelan’s Endpapers for 'Words of Radiance'

Tor Books have revealed the endpapers for Brandon Sanderson’s upcoming 'Words of Radiance', the sequel to the bestselling 'The Way of Kings', by legendary fantasy artist Michael Whelan.

Head over to the Tor Blog, to see preliminary sketches where Michael Whelan shares his thoughts on the process of designing and on collaborating with Ben McSweeney for the painting.

Full Trailer For ‘The Raid 2: Berandal’

The Indonesian trailer for 'The Raid 2: Berandal'

Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Cover Art: Hubert Rogers

Continuing my look at the weird and wonderful cover art of the vintage Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror pulp magazines and paperback books. This week, the art of Hubert Rogers.

If you love vintage pulp cover art too, visit Pulp Covers and Galactic Central for lots more.

Cool Art: The Awesome Pencil Art Of Jay Anacleto

I first noticed the art of Jay Anacleto from his awesome 'Dejah Thoris' and 'Legend Of Red Sonja' cover art. The final covers themselves are pretty cool, but it's the original pencil art BEFORE they are coloured that got my attention. A quick scan on Google Images brought up a raft of very impressive art!

Jay Anacleto began his comics career with Brian Haberlin at Avalon Studios on 'Aria', and he's since worked on covers at Image, Marvel, DC and now Dynamite Comics. The art is very lifelike, with particular attention towards the shading and minute details. Pretty dang good considering he graduated with a dentistry degree and not art!

He doesn't currently have a website, or at least none that I can find, but he is on Facebook if you want to follow him and his awesome art.

Geeky Nerfherder 2nd Anniversary & My 2013 Favourites

It's now two years since I started this blog! And big thanks to everyone that visits here and I hope that you enjoy my posts of pop culture geekery.

I'm also on almost all the major social media sites too, although mostly Twitter and Instagram. So if you’re not already following me, but want to keep up with blog posts and other ramblings, here are the links to my profiles on each of these sites:

on Twitter (@GeekyNerfherder)

on Instagram (thegeekynerfherder)
on Pinterest
on Flickr (GeekyNerfherder)
on Red Bubble (GeekyNerfherder)
on Google Plus (Andy Barbieri)
on FaceBook (Andy Barbieri)

And so it's that time of year, where everybody lists all their favourites of the past year, and I'm no different. I have a big love of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so I'm always going to be biased towards those genres and I'd say it's been another good year for SF&F output too. I've enjoyed the movies I've seen at the cinema this year, including some classic movies re-released on the big screen like 'The Princess Bride' and the 'Indiana Jones' Trilogy, plus once again, there has been a lot of awesome art inspired by pop culture, and I've even managed to bag a few awesome prints this year too!

This year I've 'discovered' the pulps and developed a new found love for the Golden Age of Science Fiction & Fantasy from the 1930's to the 1950's, as well as the movies, books, comics etc that have been inspired by the stories of the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis A Kline, Leigh Brackett, Robert E Howard, Kenneth Robeson and more, but most of all, I've been enjoying the awesome illustrated art from that era, which I've been serialising on the blog every Monday (and lots more to come too).

But back to the present day, and here is a list of some of my favourite things from 2013.

Cool Art: 'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' Acme Comics Variant Cover by Joe Quinones

'Serenity: Leaves On The Wind' Acme Comics Variant Cover by Joe Quinones.

"Here’s a look at an exclusive variant cover I made for issue one of Dark Horse’s upcoming series, Serenity: Leaves on the Wind. The exclusive cover is for Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC." - Joe Quinones

Cool Art: 'Samara And The Burning Tree' by Abigail Larson

'The Ring' inspired 'Samara And The Burning Tree' by Abigail Larson.

"'The Ring' is definitely one of my top favorite horror films. I find it visually gorgeous, a great story, and the score blows my mind. It's really a masterpiece. This painting was a real pleasure to make!" - Abigail Larson

Cool Art: 'Akira' Vector Art by Orlando Arocena

This vector art by Orlando Arocena featuring characters from 'Akira' is pretty cool.

"I've always been a fan of Katsuhiro Otomo's creativity. From his elaborate characters and profund interpretation of society, relationships and philosophy within story telling. 

The 1988 movie adaptation of Otomo's story depicted a cyber-punk Japan in the year 2019 ( only 4 years from now...) and had an incredible influence upon me- a city boy from the Bronx-ready to embark on pursuing a curriculum of art at Pratt Institute. It's with the utmost respect, that I pay tribute to him and his story of AKIRA with this vector tribute." - Orlando Arocena

Head on over to his Behance page to see some of the WIP sketches and line images.

Trailer For BBC's 'The Musketeers'

With 'Sherlock' and now 'The Musketeers', January TV could look good.

Behind The Scenes Video Of The 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special 'The Time Of The Doctor'

Behind the scenes of The Time of the Doctor and the filming of Eleventh Doctor's final adventure and regeneration.


Production Designer Michael Pickwoad reveals the secrets of making Christmas for 'The Time of the Doctor'.

Cool Art: 'Poison Ivy' by cha-illustration

'Poison Ivy' by cha-illustration.

'The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask' Fan Film - 'The Skull Kid - A Zelda Legend'

This live action 'The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask' fan film comes from Jared Potter, who also did another video game short film, that was based on Bioshock called 'New Year’s End', which you can watch here.

The Skull Kid, a harmless but troublesome imp, has been cast out of the city of Clocktown. Deep within the lost woods he must face the harsh realities of his banishment. There, amongst the trees, an ancient evil has also begun to stir, seeking out a creature suitable to become its puppet.

You can also watch a behind the scenes video here.


via

Special 'Sherlock' Mini Episode 'Many Happy Returns'

'Sherlock' is back on screens 9pm on BBC One (UK) on New Year's Day, and here's a special prequel mini episode.

Sherlock has been gone for two years. But someone isn't quite convinced that he's dead...

Daniel Danger's Mondo Screenprint 'Psycho' Restructured As A Digital Christmas Card

This digital Christmas card was made by Danny Ratcliff, a big fan of artist Daniel Danger, and is based on Daniel's screenprint poster of Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'

"Daniel is one of my favorite artists - when tasked to make a Christmas card for the online art forum "Expresso Beans", I thought that the vibrant reds of this print would make for a classic (if subversive twist) on a digital card. Released in 2012 by the incredible Austin based gallery Mondo, this print represents the perfect pairing of artist and title - subtly yet assertively injecting his style into the piece and breathing new menace into a truly iconic license and creating something that is by turn both beautiful and unsettling."

Head on over to his Vimeo channel, where Danny explains more on the process of turning a screenprint into the finished digital Christmas card, and what Daniel Danger thought of it too!

Cool Art: 'Reindeer Princess' by Stanley Lau (Artgerm)

'Reindeer Princess' by Stanley Lau aka Artgerm.

A special festive themed illustration from the always awesome Stanley Lau.

Cool Art: 'FFive Days Of Christmas' by Francesco Francavilla

Eisner-award winning comic artist, Francesco Francavilla, to get everyone in the festive spirit, has been posting a series of pretty cool Christmas-themed images on his Twitter under the hashtag #FFiveDaysOfXmas, including a short comic starring one of the original pulp heroes, The Shadow.

Check out the images below.

Cool Art: '47 Ronin' by Matt Ferguson

'47 Ronin' by Matt Ferguson.

This was originally showcased on Blurppy.com, as part of their '47 Ronin' Poster Posse Project, where they got the cream of up and coming screenprint artists to come up with alternative posters for the film. You can see the other posters here and here.

This is a 20″ x 36″ hand numbered, 4 colour screenprint with metallic inks, printed on 100lb. Cougar Natural paper. It's in a limited edition of 75, costs $47 and is available through 411 Posters later today.

Follow them on Twitter @blurppy and @411posters on Twitter for the on sale announcement

Go here to buy.

Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Cover Art: Hannes Bok

Continuing my look at the weird and wonderful cover art of the vintage Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror pulp magazines and paperback books. This week, the art of Hannes Bok.

If you love vintage pulp cover art too, visit Pulp Covers and Galactic Central for lots more.

Cool Art: 'Alien' by Carlos Valenzuela

'Alien' by Carlos Valenzuela.

'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug' Production Diary #14

A look at the behind the scenes of scoring the film.

Cool Art: 'Hades and Persephone' by Abigail Larson

'Hades and Persephone' by Abigail Larson.

These are a series of illustrations of Persephone and Hades that was commissioned by a client. Awesome work. I love Abigail's art style!

Follow her art on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Deviant Art page and her online store!

Abigail has also been selected as a finalist for the Popcorn Horror "Universal Monsters" competition. Her piece is A) Victorian Bride. Vote for your favourite at popcornhorror.com/vote/

Cool Art: 'Head of Elven' Tauriel From 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug' Print by Stanley Lau

'Head of Elven' by Stanley Lau.

This Tauriel from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smag' poster is available as a Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks.

Go here to buy.

Full Trailer For 'How To Train Your Dragon 2'

It's been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snoutlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island's new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.

'How To Train Your Dragon 2' is out in cinemas June 13 2014 (US) and July 4 (UK).

Cool Art: 'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm' by Phantom City Creative

'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm' by Phantom City Creative.

Mondo is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the cinema release of 'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm' with a special 35mm screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz on January 7th. As part of the celebration, they will of course have two new limited edition posters by Phantom City Creative, for sale in the lobby.

Go here to buy tickets for the screening, which  will be available from December 24th.

Regular Edition

Variant Edition

Original Animatic Of The 'Return Of The Jedi' Death Star Battle

Ken Ralston, who worked on the visual effects for Return of the Jedi, discusses the "moving storyboard" created for the film's climactic Death Star attack sequence. The effects team shot, on tape, a simple version of the space battle with models on sticks, cardboard cutouts, and blue screen. It was crude -- sound effects were made by the crew themselves -- but effective. "I was hoping it would be in the movie," Ralston jokes. "But I guess not."

George Lucas was impressed, and spliced these temporary sequences into the live-action footage he had. From there, Ralston and ILM were able to use their "moving storyboards" as a guide for creating the actual scenes.

Cool Art: 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers' by Aaron Horkey

More 'The Lord Of The Rings' awesomeness from Mondo with this 'Two Towers' print by Aaron Horkey.

This is a 19.25" x 39" hand numbered, screen print. It's available in a 14-colour Regular edition of 505, and costs $100 and a 7 colour Variant version in a limited edition of 245 and costs $200.

Go to the Mondo Blog to see Aaron's inks and pencils on this stunningly detailed print!

They go on sale at Mondo at a random time on tomorrow, Thursday, December 19. Follow them on Twitter @mondonews for the on sale announcement.

Regular Edition

Variant Edition

Original Pen & Ink Sketch