Deviant Art: Raven

Been a busy weekend this weekend.  The neighbor's apple tree fell in our yard so I have been out with the chainsaw and cleaning up wood.  So here are some pictures of Raven, my other favorite DC magic girl.



Raven from Titans by ~MLauNeim on deviantART


Raven by ~KidNotorious on deviantART


Raven by ~CeruleanRaven on deviantART


Raven Inks by *Jon-Moss on deviantART


Raven Rising by =JamieFayX on deviantART


Not creepy, just different. by *oO-Fotisha-Oo on deviantART

Have a great Sunday!

UGH. Do we have to do this one again?? IP theft, Part 2

Here is a comparison of the map from Tracey Alley's book and the map from the Expert set.

Tracey's map

The Known World from the Expert Set

And both at 50% opacity.

So not just redrawn, but maybe even traced.

In better news I am going to pick winners later tonight!

Zatannurday: Tumblr

I have been playing around with Tumblr of late.

No idea what to do with it that I can't do here.  But all the cool kids seem to have it. http://timsbrannan.tumblr.com/

The thing is it seems to be perfect for pictures.
So I went on and searched for a bunch of Zatanna images.

http://comicbookcosplay.tumblr.com/tagged/zatanna
This one is great, all sort of Zatanna cosplay on Tumblr.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/zatanna
This is just a search of posts tagged "zatanna".

Here are some of my recent faves.

Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword: Gail Simone on Red Sonja #1

Reblogged from Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword: Gail Simone on Red Sonja #1

From: http://robojapan.blogspot.com/2013/03/gail-simone-to-wield-red-sonjas-sword.html
and http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2013/03/red-sonja-gail-simone/
and http://www.comicsalliance.com/2013/03/01/red-sonja-gail-simone-dynamite-comics-emerald-city-2013-fiona-staples/

Gail Simone, one of the biggest names in comics right now, is taking up the sword and mail bikini of Red Sonja in a new Red Sonja #1.
In addition cover art will be done by Fiona Staples, Nicola Scott, Colleen Doran, Jenny Frisson, and Stephanie Buscem

Here is Fiona Staples art for Issue #1.

According to Simone:

"It's like this...even most of the best female heroines when I was a kid were pretty polite. What I love about Sonja is that she isn't polite, she says what she means and if you give her any lip about it, hello, sword in the gut. She's smart, she has a heart, she has some compassion. But when it's go time, she's a hellraiser, a mad general, she's a sword edge virtuosa, she's death on wheels. She is the woman you never want to mess with. I can relate, Sonja. No offense to all her guy writers, but THIS Red Sonja is about sex and swords! It's everything you love about Red Sonja, except with more monsters getting stabbed in the eye."

Red Sonia #1 is out in July.

More Mykal Lakim

So there is more going on in the saga of Mykal Lakim.  I am probably giving this guy more attention than he deserves to be honest.  I am also aware that by doing so I going to inevitably send someone to his site that sees his stuff and buys it.  If so then I just ask that you come back here to let me know what you honestly think of it.  If you hate, tell me why, if you love it, also tell me why.

Wil Hutton over at Aggregate Cognizance has also been following this drama and has a number of posts on it. http://rivetgeek.blogspot.com/search/label/mykal%20lakim.

There is also this thread over at White Wolf talking about it.
http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=67770

The new claim (new to me) is that Lakim is now saying that White Wolf ripped him off.
No. Really.

Wil Hutton has also been doing some digging into his posts over at Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Mykal_lakim
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Mykal_lakim
In particular all the pages he created for his own games and their near immediate deletion.  That's not the issue really, RPGs get deleted all the time from Wikipedia.  It's the drama he brings after the fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_deletion/Vampire:_Undeath_v.1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_deletion/G.A.M.E (love the "P.S. White Wolf blows)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Articles_for_deletion/Dark_Phoenix_Publishing,_Inc.

And this rant on users' pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Nishkid64&direction=next&oldid=190786257
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Alexf&diff=prev&oldid=393979249, i love how all his "fans" will be boycotting Wikipedia.

Why bring all this up?
Well obviously this guy has some stones on him if he thinks he an stand up to White Wolf or that Wikipedia cares about his temper-tantrum.

I think the only reason that WW has not sued the guy is because he is too small for them to have noticed yet.

Zatannurday: World's Finest

This image is floating around the various game blogs this week.
It comes from Kyle Latino and it is pretty cool.

http://kylelatino.deviantart.com/#/d5t9pg6

All my favorite DC characters playing a game of D&D.  And to further make this more about me (!!) I also worked at Pizza Hut in college.  The Mt. Dews are a nice touch.

Kyle has a lot of cool stuff on his Deviant Art page and his own webcomic.

So what characters do you think everyone is playing?
I'd like to think Zee would try out something like a Barbarian like Dresden did when he played "D&D" in the books.  Batgirl plays the cleric, Black Canary plays the Wizard (to irritate Zee) and Hawkgirl plays the thief, but she is not enjoying it as much as she might like.

He also a cute retro Zatanna.


Zatanna by ~kylelatino on deviantART

Stop by his DeviantArt page and comic and have a look!

Ugh...Here We Go Again.

Just when I was beginning to forget about Jim Shipman we get another one.

This time I am not going to post any of this guy's "art" since he is sending out DMCA notices to all sites doing this.  Effectively silencing all his critics.

Who is this guy?  Mykal Lakim of Dark Phoenix Publishing.
What is the charge?  Stealing art is the big one, but he is also accused of blatantly ripping of White Wolf's games.

First the art.
Steven Trustrum of Misfit Studios has been collecting all of these.
You can see all the art and the comparisons on his Plus page.
The amount is not Shipman staggering, but still very damning. Of course the balls this guy has claiming his stuff is original is just as staggering.

If it were only one person making this claim that's one thing.  But this is Matt McElroy and he is not prone to this sort of thing.  More to the point he is a professional and would not make claims like this lightly.
Also he is not the only one.
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/02/02/swipe-file-j-scott-campbell-and-dark-phoenix/

Secondly is the content of his books.
Matt McElroy also covers some of that in his link, but your best bet is read the RPG.net forum threads.
A review, http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15765.phtml
Discussion on the review, http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?667642-RPG-Vampire-Undeath-reviewed-by-Darren-MacLennan-(1-1)
and finally a discussion on the books and art that got Lakim permabanned, http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?665698-Holy-White-Wolf-Ripoff-Batman!

Now keep in mind that I have seen dozens of D&D-clones in the last few years.  Some are built on the SRD others are rip offs.  This seems to be a different sort.

You be the judge and report back here if you see it or see it differently.

Edited to add:  I added Steve's link instead of Matt's.

Zatannurday: Happy Birthday to my Brother!

Wednesday was my brother's birthday!

Here is a a Zatanna drawing he sent me earlier in the week.

Love the rabits!

Daniel has done art for me before and you have seen some of it.  You have seen more if you picked up a copy of my Witch book.

The Xothia

Xothia of the Rock by Daniel Brannan

Halfling Witch

Halfling Herb Woman by Daniel Brannan

Druther

Druther by Daniel Brannan

Thanks so much Dan!!

Justice is Returning

I have been really, really negligent in keeping up with posts on my supers character Justice.  In fact it looks like the last time I posted about her was March.

That's just not right.

So I do plan on posting some stats.  But in the mean time here is something to keep you entertained.

A commission from my friend David Reynolds of ShadowGirls fame.

Not sure what the Penguin's name is yet.  But I do know she finds him in her father's Fortress of Solitude.

As for Stats, I am hoping to do some FASERIP/Marvel/4C, Super Babes, Villains & Vigilantes and some Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul.

EDITED TO ADD: David is taking commissions again. http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d5rjqrc

Zatannurday: *Other* Costume Choices

So Zatanna, as many comic book heroes has a distinctive costume.  Her's also happens to double up as her stage costume.  That doesn't mean though she is immune to mixing it up a bit.

Course some of her choices have been odd, bizarre and others downright ridiculous. The most interesting thing about her latest costume is that it is mostly normal looking.

Well leave it to the fans to make changes they think need to be done.  Here are some new costume designs I ran across recently.


Reittuls Emutsoc by *inspector97 on deviantART


Sorceress Zatanna by *inspector97 on deviantART


Zatanna Circus Style by *TorqueArtStudio on deviantART


Zatanna says Hi by powerbook125 by ~talha122 on deviantART
Changed her fishnets here.


zatanna by ~edgarlll on deviantART
and here.


Zatanna Zatanna By Duss005 by ~talha122 on deviantART
No fishnets here.


All Those Zatanna's by =penguincoco on deviantART
I like this one, all the different animated Zatanna costumes.


Zatanna 2 by ~FrozenSceptre on deviantART
Something of a cross between her JLD outfit and her classic one.


Zatanna by ~melodramaticmelon on deviantART


ZATANNA original art by RODEL MARTIN by ~rodelsm21 on deviantART


Zatanna by *Szajnie on deviantART
First time I have seen her in some pink.


And one more

Zatannurday: Zatanna Covers

Recently the Justice League Detroit Blog recently did a post  on the top 20 Zatanna covers.  It is worth checking out.
http://justiceleaguedetroit.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-top-20-zatanna-covers.html

While I liked the covers that were picked I didn't always like the reasons or the order.
So here are some of my favorite covers and why.  I am not putting them in any particular order.

Up first a Catwoman cover from Catwoman 50.  I like how you know this is a Catwoman book but Zee is larger  than life.  Plus it is a great bit of art and sets up the story well.

Zatanna #1 of the legendary Paul Dini run.  MUST reading for any Dini or Zatanna fan.

Not the first Justice League Dark cover, but I like how Zee is front and center here.   Surrounded by magic and featuring her new costume.  Love the look on her face. 

I rather like this one. It has all the things we expect to see in a Zatanna cover except for maybe her top hat.

 Fishnet on the arms didn't start in JLC.  I love how her eye seems to be glowing.

Love this cover too.  I like the black/dark blue lipstick.

 Everyday Magic is just a great collection I love the title.  I also love this cover.  Zee is not hyper-sexualized, but still attractive and feminine in her tux.  Plus I dig the boots.

More stars and more "Cute" Zee.  I like Adam Hughes art and I think he does a particularily good job of drawing women that look like women.  Like Frank mentions on Justice League Detroit. This reminds that Zee can be sweet, but she is no stranger to the dark.  Speaking of which...

I am on record as not being a big fan of Identity Crisis.  But it is/was such a pivotal moment in the history of the character I would be remiss if I didn't include it.  Plus this cover has other things going on.  First it features Zee in her "Supers" costume.  Not often seen anymore.  Also she is once again front and center here.  She is the focus, not the Gods standing around her.

An iconic cover.  More of the fishnet gloves too.

I like this cover. It has a lot of the iconic Zatanna imagery.  Her hat, fish nets, magic.  It has been said that among the supers a woman in a tux, top hat, tails and fishnets looks sorta...well dull.  I don't think so.  They have messed with her style before and this really is the one that works the best.

Going back a bit here.  This is the collection of the earliest Zatanna stories.  The cover is newer than that rest of the book, but that is cool.  I think it also very evocative of what Zatanna is all about.

There are others to be sure.  But these are the ones I most wanted to talk about.

Evil Red

Evil Red on eBay

.

My  youngest brother is selling some artwork.
Frankly I'd love find a good game for this as a cover.  Some sort of twisted childhood idea where you play ultraviolent kids rampaging through fairy tale land.

Fantasy Art: Stainless Steel Dragon

I am not feeling so hot today so I went shopping on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow from some dragon art.

In my search a company called Stainless Steel Dragon came up and they have a few products.  I had a few bucks burning a hole in my pocket so I decided, what the heck.

The first thing I grabbed was the Ultimate Fantasy Photo Art Collection.
I grabbed it because it came up in a search for "Dragon art", there are no dragons in it. That was something of a disappointment, but I kept on going, after all there are a 150+ pages here.


The art varies from semi-serious, to cheesecake. It is all photos with fantasy style trappings and backgrounds. There are some topless women here (and me, fair is fair), but it is all of an artistic sort.

There are not many images here I can use in my games, but the ones that I can seem perfect. There is an African-American male vampire in this is perfect (and they must have also thought this since we get a couple of him), but my opinion was changed with the picture of the "witch" on page 101. Again it is a case of the right thing at the tight time for me. NOTE To publisher: I appreciate the names of the models, but is there anyway to know what page they are on? Ok, just who is the model on page 101?

The models are all attractive and we get a variety of types, genders and ethnicity here so that is certainly a plus. One of my first thoughts was there are a lot of good visual images here for a Ravenloft game or some other dark fantasy.

There are also 24 pages of "character sheets" featuring the various models (again the witch on 101 is back on page 150), plus a blank and a back page. Suitable really for most games, but certainly a FRPG in mind.

So while it was not exactly what I was looking for and I also like to buy art I can reuse somehow, I can't fault the publisher any of those.

Great fro printing out and using in a game as a visual aid. Or if there is a character you really want to detail then it's perfect if the character you envision is here.

NOTE To publisher 2: maybe small thumbnails of the pictures on the character sheets might be good on your website? That way if someone sees something they like they have a good reason to buy this.

In truth you get a ton of images for $5 (when on sale). Can't really complain about that.

EDITED TO ADD. You can find some of the images on their website, http://www.fantasyphotoart.com/
I found my witch and picked up the jpg for a buck.

I also checked out some of the other images on DTRPG/RPGN to fill in for other characters.  Here is what I grabbed.

Fire Witch
Blue Moon
Water Nymph I would like to have one of this model as a witch/warlock too.
Succubus
Sword Maiden

All are huge HiRes images.  Most are right around 2542 x 3386.

I had actually picked up AoV: Fantasy Art (Reflections of Voldaria) in some sale a while back and forgot about it.

Looking forward to more.

Zatannurday: More Art

Some more Zatanna art that I have found the last few weeks.

No theme, just some great art.



Zatanna by *Protokitty on deviantART


Zatanna Print by ~OzWonderland on deviantART


Zatanna 2_ Commission by *tombancroft on deviantART


Pooof by =MrLively on deviantART


Baltimore Zatanna Sketch by *RandyGreen on deviantART


Zatanna by *RandyGreen on deviantART


Zatanna by ~jadecks on deviantART


Zatanna Commission by *calslayton on deviantART


ZATANNA by *Vinz-el-Tabanas on deviantART


Zatanna by ~iurypadilha on deviantART


Zatanna by ~arielmedel on deviantART


sdrawkcaB eltiT by *Dangerous-Beauty778 on deviantART


Zatanna by ~digiland on deviantART


Zatanna and the Justice Bunnies by ~13wishes on deviantART


Zatanna, sweet sweet Zatanna ! by ~El-Jerko on deviantART


Zatanna Color by ~Youngjusticeaddict on deviantART

Enjoy!

Zatannurday: Deviant Art

I was out looking for artists that might be interested in submitted art to my new books. No luck in that department, but a lot in the looking for awesome pics of Zatanna one.

Here are some artists.  Make sure you go to their DA page as well and tell them how good they are.



Commission: Zatanna by *Offworldtrooper on deviantART


Zatanna Con Commission by *olivernome on deviantART


Zatanna by *shoot-o on deviantART


Zatanna by *SeanE on deviantART


Zatanna and Constantine commission detail by *MarcLaming on deviantART


July 20 - Top hat by *CallMePo on deviantART


Zatanna Motor City Con 2012 by *ComfortLove on deviantART


Zatanna - Comic Con Paris 2012 by *MahmudAsrar on deviantART


Zatanna bust by *MichaelDooney on deviantART


Zatanna by ~Klatte on deviantART


zatanna by *crisdelarastudio on deviantART


Zatanna by =ExoroDesigns on deviantART

Zatannurday: MachSabre Superwomen

One of my favorite artists is MachSabre, aka David Reynolds.

Long time readers here might recognize the name or at least his art.  David was one of the two Davids of the ShadowGirls fame and I have featured his art here many times.  I am doing that again today. Mostly because I like his art and Dave loves Supergirls.

So to celebrate the announcement that David is part of a new comic, Shadow of the Black Banshee, here are some of my favorite pieces, featuring of course Zatanna.


Zatanna by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Raven by ~MachSabre on deviantART


The Scarlet Witch by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Ms. Marvel vs. Power Girl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Hawkgirl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Kim Possible 02 by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Last Daughter of Atlantis by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Starfire by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Woman by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Spin by ~MachSabre on deviantART

This one of all the Batgirls was my desktop bitmap forever.

Chiropteras by ~MachSabre on deviantART

And of course you have all seen this one,


Commission - Tara and Willow by ~MachSabre on deviantART

But imagine my surprise when I found this one!


Willow and Tara Cuddling by =AstronSoul on deviantART

AstronSoul is just another fan like me that had D Rey make this.  I think it is cool.

The Witch: Art and Layout

Art and layout is nearly done and I can't wait to show you all this book.
So here is a sneak peak at my latest version of Page 1.

Once I have all the pieces in that page will be updated with the artists' names.

I am going to use some Public Domain art from the witch trails too.  I just love the way it looks and it takes me back to the imagery of reading books about witches at the Jacksonville Public Library.   I hope you all enjoy it as much as I am.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice are my oldest son's favorites superheroes.  So today for him here are some Fire and Ice pics!
Plus tomorrow is the first day of Fall, equal parts Summer and Winter as it were.  Since I used Fire for the first day of Summer and Ice for the first day of winter, here they are in equal measure.


Fire Ice Showcase by *petercotton on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *CrimsonArtz on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *TiuanaRui on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *HanieMohd on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Ziggyman on deviantART


Fire's Ice Cream by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


National Pride by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART


MAXIMUM Cover by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART

Art of "The Witch"

The Witch is done editing and now layout and art.

I have a bunch of art I have been buying over the last couple of years for this. So now comes the process of picking out images.

I have a few I really love and have meaning to me.
Note: All the art I am posting today belongs to me.  The artist holds the copyrights (it is still theirs) but I own the publication rights.  So these are not considered OPEN under the OGL or Fair Use.

Here are two that were done for me by my brother Daniel.   A Druther and a Halfling Witch.

Plus a magical Distaff,

These are from a former student of mine, Aitor Gonzalez. Two witches.

I am using some old Public Domain witch art to give is a period feel and some art from Larry Elmore.  

I make no apologies for that, I have always wanted to have a witch book out with Elmore art in it. 

There is a different set that will appear in Eldritch Witchery.

So looking forward to getting this out to you all!