The Laughing Man - A Joker Fan Film That Will Blow You Away!!!

We live in a golden age of comic book based Fan Films... the work that people like Bat In the Sun and others have done over the past 5-7 years is often BETTER than the work turned out by regular studios. So when I come across a Fan Film that is getting a lot of buzz, I am not skeptical... as a matter of fact, I am INTRIGUED. Intrigued way more than I am for more studio fare. Give me a Super Power Beat Down over another mediocre mainstream project EVERY SINGLE TIME! A pair of Mexican brothers, Diego and Julio Hallivis, are hoping to join the club of people who got it more than right with their comic fan film "The Laughing Man".

X-Men, Wu-Tang and Wrestlers... Oh MY! The Eclectic Artwork Of Erle Tompkins

You know that saying "never judge a book by its cover" that is always thrown around so willy nilly? Yeah, I never really subscribe to that theory. I tend to be very observant of people on purpose... and I can usually figure out people pretty well. I have an especially keen 'bullshit detector' sense as well... one that very rarely fails me. I had made the acquaintance of a very talented artist, Erle Tompkins, a few years back and I must say that in this case I was completely off in my judgement. His cousin Frank introduced us, and we hit it off right away with geek talk galore (mostly about comic book movies). He told me he did some art, and I told him to email me. He never did... and I assumed that he must not be very talented. I would see him from time to time, and always it was pleasant to see him. But every time we chatted, still no email and still no artwork. So I just chalked it up to him being not all that good and getting cold feet sending it to me. This weekend I ran into Erle, and he pulled up an X-Men movie universe piece he had just finished working on. Although I was looking at it on a 5 inch I Phone screen, I instantly realized that my man Erle had something... and I couldn't wait to see more. I told him that he needed to email me this instantly, and that I wanted to see more immediately. I made him do it right in front of me so he didn't "forget" to do it later. I forced his hand... and I am able to write this article about his awesome art because of it.

See more after the jump...

J.E. Mark Takes Batman' Rogues Gallery And Makes Them Real...

I love fan art, especially fan art that depicts the residents of Gotham City. But my man J. E. Marks has taken the Bats villains to a new height with his realistic illustrations of the Rogue Gallery. These versions of Poison Ivy, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze and Harvey Dent make my skin crawl... they are so realistic and life like, and yet they highlight the comic attributes that we know and love about these characters so much. I think my fave may be the Penguin, even though she is probably my least favorite villain of the group. Mr. Freeze is pretty amazing as well. Check out more of Mark's work by clicking here, and see the best of the best after the jump...

Help Bring The Web Series 'The Batman Chronicles' To Fruition

I am a big proponent of web series, because they allow real fans of properties to make some fantastic short films and TV shows on a micro budget. These fans are usually enamored with a particular character and put forth maximum effort to tell their version of the story. The Mortal Kombat web series and the City of Scars Batman series come to mind as awesome examples of what can be done with a good creative team and a little bit of money. The newest web idea to come across my path is 'The Batman Chronicles', which hopes to tell the story of a young Batman and his first encounter with the Joker & the Red Hood Gang. I am currently reading Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns (a great read and wonderful gift from my fiance Tara from Christmas), which similarly tells the story of the early days of the Bat. That book deals with The Penguin. I am eager to see what these guys do with The Joker, especially since the dude playing him seems to have a good balance of Nicholson and Ledger in his performance. But they need your help. They are running and Indie GoGo page to raise money for the feature, and you can click here to make a donation to get the series made. Take one look at this trailer and you won't think twice about sending them a few bucks. Enjoy it after the jump... and help make this wicked rendition of the Batman a reality!

Artist Spotlight: Nik Holmes

I came across artist Nike Holmes's work after Jeff sent me an email featuring the artisit's 'Super Lion-O Bros.' piece. I loved his work, so I clicked on his Deviant Art page to see more. boy am I glad I did that. He has a ton of cool mash-up inspired pieces that I found awesome and I wanted to share with you guys. Click after the jump to see the rest of my faves and get more information on where you can see Nik's awesome work.

The Bulgarian Banksy Strikes Again!!!!

This is a military statue in Bulgaria that depicts the Russian Red Army. Statues like this litter Western Europe and harken back to the days behind the Communist curtain that Russia cast over this portion of the world. They are left as a reminder of the tough times:

Now take a look at the same statue... superhero-sized by an anonymous street artist that is being referred to as the "Bulgarian Banksy". At first glance, you can see Superman front and center. But you can also see: The Joker, Bumblebee, Santa Clause, Supes, Ronald McDonald, Captain America and Robin.

The Rocky Horror DC Comics Picture Show

This wonderful piece of artwork is entitled 'He's the Hero' by Leigh Kellogg.  Everybody knows how much I love 'Rocky Horror...', so this mash-up with some of DC Comic's mightiest heroes is a must post for me.

That's Wonder Woman as 'Janet', Superman as 'Brad', Robin as 'Columbia', Harley Quinn as 'Magenta', Joker as 'Riff Raff', and Batman as 'Dr. Frank-N-Furter'. Here is what the artist had to say about it:

Here's a piece that I did late last year for a Rocky Horror live show group. It’s an homage to the original movie poster showing the cast with a superhero twist, and was used as part of a promo for a special show. I also did the chorus line of legs, but as a separate piece so it could be moved wherever the printer wanted. “He’s the hero, oh yes, the hero."

OK... so who would you guys have play the wheelchair-bound 'Dr. Scott', greaser 'Eddie', and the monster himself 'Rocky'? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lego Iconic Vol#2

I am such a huge Lego nerd that words can not explain. Soooo I've decided to use my favorite blog site CCD.com as an outlet to get some of this stuff that I see every day, built out of bricks, out of my skull and onto the blogosphere where it can't hurt my cerebral cortex. Each month I'll be posting the best of the best hoping to inspire the Lego maniac in each of you...young and old.  Enjoy!

Lego and Dr. Who enthusiast McMorran not only created a stupendous little Dr. Who & Tardis but also, took it along with him to the huge BrickCon convention and placed it within other builders' dioramas, with their permission, ofcourse, furthering the good doctor's adventure. Can you locate the Tardis and Doctor in each? Sweet!

click 'READ MORE' below for more Lego-stravaganza!