Marvel Robots by Keanu 432

The robot has been becoming more and more prevalent in pop culture. Yup, everything has its way around. Vampires were hot about 5 years ago, then zombies. It is the robots time to shine. Pacific Rim, Transformers 4, Almost Human... yeah, its time for the robot overkill. Enter artist Keanu 432, who decided to re-imagine some of the classic Marvel characters as if they were robots. You certainly get the feel that this is how they would look if they were robot like beings. These are quite good, and he has other cool stuff over at his Imgur page. Check out the Marvel Robots after the jump...

This Is Why I Absolutely Love Marvel Comics No Matter What They Do....

Even though I am a 34 year old man and have known many adult comic book fans, the core audience for comics is and always will be children. Kids are who the comics are made for... and most of us life long fans started out as wee lads and lasses reading the funny pages. So now that comics have become a billion dollar industry and Marvel Comics is on top of the heap, it is nice to see that they still no how to do something great for a child in need. Enter Anthony Smith, a 5 year old boy with hearing problems. He uses a blue hearing aid device to help with his condition, but being a stubborn 5 year old he didn't want to wear it because it made him feel different than the other "normal" kids in his school. He also said "I can't wear a hearing aid because Superheroes don't wear them". Cue up Anthony's super mom Christina, who emailed Marvel Comics wondering if there were any superheroes in the companies vaunted history that had hearing problems so that she could use it to help Anthony want to wear his ear piece. A few weeks later Christina received a package that featured artwork for a new superhero, The Blue Ear, a hero who uses his hearing aid to hear a pin drop on the other side of the state and fight crime!!!! They sent Anthony some fantastic artwork featuring a young Blue Ear ready to fight crime alongside Hawkeye, as well as a grown up Blue Ear on the cover of his own book ready to fight crime! They also made Blue Ear an honorary member of the Avengers. How wonderful is this!!! Marvel has also teamed up with Phonak, the maker of Anthony's hearing aid, to produce a stand alone comic featuring one of Marvel's most recognizable character, Iron Man!!! The book will be made available for free to be given out at hearing doctors office around the country, and hopefully Iron Man and Blue Ear can inspire more kids to get over their trepidation for wearing hearing aids. It seems to have worked, as Anthony is thoroughly taking to wearing his hearing aid since he feels he is now a superhero. Great idea and execution by one of the big corporate entities in the world. Check out all the pics after the jump...

The Hawkeye Initiative: Leveling The Playing Field For Female Characters In Comics

Women do not get a fair shake in comics. That is not debatable. Male characters are often displayed in a better light, get more storylines, and overall experience many advantages over their female characters. But the most glaring difference has to be the way the characters are drawn. Women are often drawn in short, revealing costume... very objectified and hard to take serious. Men are often portrayed in regal and majestic forms, and taken much more serious then their female counterparts. Is it fair? Nope. But it is the way it is. So The Hawkeye Initiative was started to help level the playing field. The creators of the blog have asked artists to take an objectifying panel or cover that features a female character and re-draw it using male superhero Hawkeye in place of the woman. Give Hawkeye short shorts, back breaking poses, and remove a few of his ribs for the slender look. This is such a fun idea, and it lends itself well on two levels. One, the pics that are being submitted are funny as shit. I especially love the ones that highlight Hawkeye's bulge... very realistic! But above all it does a good job showing how ridiculous these female characters have been portrayed throughout the years. Balance is a virtue. if you wouldn't draw Hawkeye like that, why Power Girl or Wonder Woman? Check out the blog by clicking here and see my personal faves after the jump...

Johnson Ting Re-Designs Some Of Marvel's Finest

Artist Johnson Ting has been setting the internet afire the last few days with his re-designs of four key Marvel Comics characters. I had to share these with you guys because if you haven't came across them on the intrawebs yet, you need to have seen these! Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Deadpool & The Punisher all go under the knife by Ting and get a bit of an Iron Man Armor-esque twist to their costumes. Click after the jump for all four designs...