First look at Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Here's the first official look at Chris Hemsworth as the title role in the upcoming THOR movie, which will be released next year:

Looking very good so far.... I'm glad they've kept the costume similar to the comic version :o)

Sal Buscema... Comics Fast & Furious Artist

I've made no secret that my all-time favourite comic artist is the legendary Sal Buscema. A huge influence in my own work, Sal's dynamic artwork and excellent storytelling made him one of Marvel's most popular and well loved artists. Thanks to the Official Walt Simonson fanpage on Facebook, I found out that TwoMorrows Publishing has released a book solely devoted to Sal's career.. titled Sal Buscema: Comics Fast & Furious Artist.

This book features an excellent in-depth interview with Sal, who talks about his 40 year long career in comics (and still going strong!). He also discusses how he broke into the comics business and working with his brother, the equally legendary John Buscema. It also includes a gallery of his artwork... which features some of Sal's favourite published work, plus some of his own personal work as well. My copy of this book arrived the other day, and I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who is a fan of this amazing artist. You can either order the book from TwoMorrows, or Amazon.

The 60th anniversary of EAGLE.... and Dan Dare.

With the 60th Anniversary of the classic UK boys comic Eagle upon us, I've been taking some time out to read the Dan Dare: Pilot Of The Future collections published by Titan Books.
Now, my first introduction to the Dan Dare character was during the 80's, when IPC Magazines relaunched the Eagle for a newer audience. This version of the comic was very different from it's '50's incarnation... who was originally created by artist Frank Hampson and was the headline character of the original comic (running on the front page for many years of the original titles run). This new Eagle was made up of mostly photo-strips, featuring characters such as Doomlord, Manix and Joe Soap. The Dan Dare strip featured was different from it's 50's predessessor as well, in the fact that although it was a traditional drawn strip... the title character wasn't the ORIGINAL Dan Dare, but in fact his great, great grandson - who took up the mantle to face his ancestors greatest enemy, the Mekon (who was indeed the original from the 50's strip... and had survived by being banished out of space inside a metor). The modern version featured some great stories, with wonderful artwork by the likes of Ian Kennedy, Carlos Cruz and Oliver Frey... and as a fan I was always intrigued to read the original Dan Dare's adventures. I was lucky enough to read a few, courtesy of re-prints/second hand books... but it wasn't until a couple of years ago when Titan started publishing the original stories in hardback form that I truly was able to appreciate how wonderful they are. Considering these stories where written and drawn in the 1950's, both the stories and the artist who produced them were well ahead of their time. The artwork, by Hampson and his studio is simply beautiful to behold... artwork in the early collections can look a little basic, but really comes into it's own from the collection Man From Nowhere (Safari In Space featuring some of the most beautiful work I've ever seen in comics). I'd recommend to anyone out there who loves good comic art to pick up these collections. For more information on where to get these wonderful collections, please click here.

Incredible Hulk Library interview with yours truly

Julio Molina-Muscara, who runs the excellent Incredible Hulk resource site incredible-hulk-library.com recently got in touch with me in regards to doing an interview for his site. As a long-time Hulk fan turned professional Hulk artist, it is a real joy for me to know that my artwork is being noticed by Hulk fans around the world. I'd like to thank Julio for this opportunity to be featured on his site.... you can check out the interview here.

The New Doctor

Saturday April 3rd, 2010.... a day that heralded the start of a new era for the long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. The highly anticipated first episode of the new series, now starring Matt Smith in the title role aired tonight.... and was the first full episode to feature the 11th Doctor. I'm not going to post a review of the show.... I just want to say that Matt Smith is FANTASTIC as the Doctor, and is a worthy successor to the excellent David Tennant, who raised the show to whole new levels of popularity during his tenure as the 10th Doctor. This episode also introduces us to the ever-so-slightly attractive Karen Gillan... who excels in her performance as new companion Amy Pond.

The 11th Doctor is here.... and the Tardis is in very good hands.

Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow

When I had heard that director Jon Favreau had cast Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow in the upcoming blockbuster sequel Iron Man 2, I had my doubts.... that is, until I saw this:



Iron Man 2, which also stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson will be in cinemas worldwide from May. You can visit the official site here.

My work with Joe Rubinstein

Over this past year or so I've been honoured to work with one of my all-time favourite inkers, comics legend Joe Rubinstein. It was an absolute dream come true to work with one of my long-time favourite artists, and I am very proud to be able to share this work with you.