Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Avatar contest update: Contest cancelled for now

Hey gang.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but we were giving you all time to respond before we officially ended the avatar contest. Plus, I just couldn't type the words! (sniffsniff!) But the boss didn't feel that we had enough of a response to continue the contest with so little time left. He wants his money's worth, after all.

Therefore, we are not ending the avatar contest for good, but only for now. We are going to work on promoting ourselves (and the contest along with it) some more, and then maybe in a month's time we can try again. The boss reasoned that with summertime still with a month to go, many of you might still be working on other plans - like vacations. :-)

So take heart, friends! We'll try again! :-D

Normal posting to resume tomorrow.

See ya!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Avatar contest update: Only a week to go

I've gotten a couple of comments asking about whether we (that is, the boss and I) will have another contest similar to what we're having now. The short answer is that it does not seem likely, because I still haven't gotten the amount of responses that I want to see for this contest. And friends, as of tomorrow there is only a week to go.

I'm posting this blog entry a little later in the day than usual because I've been talking about this with the boss on what we should do. This is what we decided: If by Tuesday we haven't gotten enough of a response to calls for entries, then we will discontinue the contest. Understand that we really, really hate to do that, but with so few even stating an interest, it won't be much of a contest, and the whole point of this was to be able to have several entries to choose from.

However, if we DO get more responses, then we will extend the deadline by a week. However, I want actual responses from you all, and not just from "Anonymous". To those of you who already have expressed an interest, then you don't need to do the following, but to the rest of you who are interested but haven't gotten around to telling me, then this is my call for you to do so quickly. Contact me by e-mail and let me know that you are definitely interested. My e-mail address is: bustyherochick@yahoo.com

I can't emphasize enough that if we still lack a decent amount of response by Tuesday, then the contest is off. We have ideas for other contests but we don't plan to pursue them unless this first one succeeds. Please, friends - I want to see this through, but the boss deserves to see some actual effort from more of you if he is going to be agreeable to part with his hard-earned money.

The contest is not cancelled yet, but it is on life support.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Basic info about me and my "universe"

Today's blog entry is for creating a link in the sidebar for future reference. It's mainly for those who have found my blog and want to know a little about me and what I'm about. Any questions and so forth, let me know - that goes especially for those of you who are new to my blog.

Superhumans and superhuman theory, along with a brief recent history

Department of Superhuman Studies (DSS) staff

Gender differences in super powers

The nutshot question

Info on me and my powers

Info for artists

That should pretty much cover the bases, but if I think of anything else, I'll just add it to this blog entry.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Avatar contest update

Here we are, the middle of the month, and it also happens to be the middle of the time that the avatar contest will take place! :-D

This blog entry is also going to serve as something of an update: So far, we've gotten very few entries. Perhaps you artists are working on making it the very best you can do. Or maybe you have other things going on in your life right now. OR - perhaps you are doing like a lot of artists usually do, and are waiting for the last minute before even starting on the sketches! LOL

After all, July 31st (the end of the contest) seems SO far away, and it appears that you have tons of time to get started! Well, the only thing I can say to that is - IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH NOW! See how fast that time went by? And I betcha that the rest of the month will go by just as quickly!

Tell ya what - do me a favor, willya? At the very least, please let me know how many of you plan to enter a submission to my contests (color and B&W avatar art) by either posting a comment here or sending me an e-mail. I just want to have an idea how many of you plan to give this a shot. I mean, c'mon! $1oo and $50 for a freakin' avatar! It's not like I'm asking you to do a whole comic book!

If we get very little to no response to my call for who plans to participate, then we might consider canceling the contest. We don't want to do that - trust me - but if we are not getting the kind of interest out of this that we hope we would get, then that defeats the purpose of having the contest. So drop me a line, okay? I want to believe that I have more interested readers out there than I think I have right now.

In other news, unless the creative bug hits me Friday or Saturday, then this is likely going to be the only blog entry I will make this week. Things are kinda nutzo for me in real life right now, so I gotta take care of these other things. Take care and see you next week!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Comics talk - New DC experiment

This week and for the next 12 weeks, DC Comics is trying an experiment each Wednesday that I think is pretty interesting.

It's called Wednesday Comics, and it's a comic made into a Sunday newspaper size and format. Here's some info from that link:

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In July, DC Comics gives a fresh twist to a grand comics tradition with WEDNESDAY COMICS, a new, weekly 12-issue series by some of the greatest names in comics today!

WEDNESDAY COMICS is unique in modern comics history: Reinventing the classic weekly newspaper comics section, it is a 16-page weekly that unfolds to a sprawling 28" x 20" tabloid-sized reading experience bursting with mind-blowing color, action and excitement, with each feature on its own 14" x 20" page.

Spearheaded by DCU Editorial Art Director Mark Chiarello, whose past editing credits include BATMAN BLACK and WHITE, DC: THE NEW FRONTIER and SOLO, each page of WEDNESDAY COMICS spotlights the continuing adventures of DC heroes, including:

• BATMAN, WEDNESDAY COMICS' weekly cover feature, by the Eisner Award-winning 100 BULLETS team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso
• ADAM STRANGE, by writer/artist Paul Pope (BATMAN: YEAR 100)
• METAMORPHO, written by New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman with Art by Eisner Award-winner Michael Allred (Madman)
• THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN, written by Walter Simonson (Thor, MANHUNTER) with Art by famed DC cover artist Brian Stelfreeze
• DEADMAN, written by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck, Art by Dave Bullock
• KAMANDI, written by Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS) with Art by Ryan Sook (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, ARKHAM ASYLUM: LIVING HELL)
• SUPERMAN, written by John Arcudi (The Mask) with Art by Lee Bermejo (JOKER)
• WONDER WOMAN, written and illustrated by Ben Caldwell (Dare Detectives)
• GREEN LANTERN, written by Kurt Busiek (TRINITY, ASTRO CITY) with Art by Joe QuiƱones (TEEN TITANS GO!)
• TEEN TITANS, written by Eddie Berganza with Art by Sean Galloway
• SUPERGIRL, written by Jimmy Palmiotti (JONAH HEX) with Art by Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL)
• HAWKMAN, written and illustrated by Kyle Baker (PLASTIC MAN, Special Forces)
• SGT. ROCK, written by Adam Kubert (SUPERMAN: LAST SON), ilustrated by legendary comics artist Joe Kubert
• THE FLASH, written by Karl Kerschl (TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE, THE FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE) and Brenden Fletcher, illustrated by Karl Kerschl
• METAL MEN, written by Dan DiDio with Art by Ian Churchill (SUPERGIRL)

WEDNESDAY COMICS will arrive in stores folded twice to 7" x 10", with the first issue set to reach stores on July 8.


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I got the first issue yesterday, and it's very interesting. Given the size of each page, that should be plenty for the artists to work with. I hope this experiment pans out. I plan to get the whole 12-week run. I'll be sure to let you know which stories are my favorite and which are my least favorite.

Have a great weekend, y'all, and see you next Tuesday!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Avatar Contest change: Black and White art now being accepted

Over the weekend, me and the boss discussed the idea that some of you might prefer to work in black and white; and that there might be times in which we would have to use a black and white avatar in such instances that a color document is not possible (faxes, for instance). So with that...

We are now going to have a separate category for black and white art! Same basic rules, just that now you can try your hand at a black and white avatar! And yes, you can submit one entry for color, another for black and white. The prize for the color art is still $100, but the prize for the black and white art is $50. If you happen to be so excellent as to be the winner for both color AND black and white, then you could get $150 total out of this!

Thing is, though - if you're going to submit work to both the color and the black and white contests, then note that THEY HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT WORKS! LOL

In other words, we will not accept a color and a black and white version of the same art! Yeah, we thought of some of you lazy asses trying to get away with submitting the same work to both contests! Nope, if you're going to win both contests, then you gotta work for it! :-D

And besides, we want you to challenge your creativity in this, because color and black and white art present different creative impressions, so it's best to work with each format's strengths rather than trying to present the same art in both formats. See, we're trying to help you guys be better artists!

Anyway, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, but it's pretty straightforward, don't you think? :-)

Good luck, whether you try just one of the contests or both!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Avatar Contest Begins Today!

It begins today, true believers (and you'd have to be a true believer to be my fan when I don't have a comic yet! LOL) - The BSC Avatar Contest!

Come one, come all! Show off your art skills to cyberspace and to the world!

Here are the previously mentioned rules regarding the contest, and this link tells a little about myself if that helps you with your art (as well as having some art for reference). Here's a link to an additional artwork that my current avatar is based on.

If you have any other questions regarding the contest, please let me know - and hey, spread the word to all your art friends, okay? ;-)

Most likely, this is my last post for the week, and I'll see you next Tuesday, although I might write a 4th of July special this weekend if the mood hits me.

Anyway, you guys have a great and safe 4th of July! I plan to visit many an outdoor cookout, as well as attending as many fireworks shows as I can. I tried once to view the fireworks from up in the sky instead of down below, but trust me, it's much better from the ground. You can't hear the crowd's "OOOs" and "Aaahs!" from up in the sky. Such events are best viewed with a crowd instead of alone.

It's holidays like this that makes me appreciate the country we live in - warts and all.