Long ago, on the edge of the forest. . .

[Enlarge Here]

And now for something different.

Artist unknown.

Nintendo Horrors down under

Incredibly odd Nintendo commercial that aired in Australia. Aided in terror to no end by bizarre recreations of characters in a tron style design. Now this is what computer graphic can do!

Galactus by Lee and Moeibus

Sample panels of an intriguing(unfortunately out of print) 1988 comic called Parable, which united two comic giants; Stan Lee and Moebius. Definitely worth checking out for those that can find it(although those averse to religious debate or overtones might find it plodding. I did not).

Heaven and Hell for Burton

A watercolor design/concept art by Tim Burton himself for 1989 Batman, Simple, evocative but interesting, much like Burton himself at the time.

From Pee Wees' Big Adventure to Ed Wood (my personnel favorite) Tim Burton was an amazing director full of inventions and style. Now his movies are so soaked in middle aged melodrama blandness that even lesser entries like Sleepy Hollow look good.

Perhaps Burton should have followed this thought from the Dio led Black Sabbath-now called Heaven and Hell(whatever, they put great albums, so the name doesn't matter).

Turtle Power

[Empower Here]

Raw, unleashed cover for the NES game; a bizarre and maddening metroid style one-off that was brutal in its difficulty. This image is awesome though.

(Artist Unknown)

Mars Again, Frazetta

[Enlarge Here]

John Carter, Mars, Frank Frazetta; Awesome.

The good Mega Man cover (Europe)

[Enlarge Here]

Everyone is excited about the new Mega Man game (10? Really?) and they enjoy the hilariously bad fake artwork for it, in the spirit of the infamous American cover for the first game. But how many know that Europeans got an actually good, very fantasy composed cover? Here's the proof.

(Artist Unknown)

The Prince and the Dragon

[Enlarge Here]

Beautiful image for the long running newspaper strip (by Hal Foster), emphasizing the adventure, thrills and sense of wonder one can have when a great drawing awaits in an unfolded newspaper.

Look Behind you

[Enlarge Here]

An illuminating example of how women and their ideal form has changed throughout decades and era. Makes you wonder what cruelty we will spring on them in the next century.

Incidentally, do check out all those silent stars, they were all terrific and wonderful in every way(not just looks but actual talent --Can we get that part back at least?--).

Quote off the new year

PLAYBOY: If life is so purposeless, do you feel that it's worth living?

STANLEY KUBRICK: Yes, for those of us who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning. Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism—and their assumption of immortality. As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in faith and in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he's reasonably strong—and lucky—he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life's èlan. Both because of and in spite on his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining. The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death—however mutable man may be able to make them—our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

1968 Playboy Magazine interview