Big success for LUCHA LIBRE at Angoulème, a lot of sales and tons of people. This is a picture of our booth with (from left to right) Fabien M., Gobi, Witko, Lucie Firoud and Bill.

We are currently at the tail end of production on the Red Demon and Mini Gobi figure. Vinyl prototypes of both figures have been approved. We are now doing paint application tests. Since Mini Gobi is significantly smaller than our other figures (he's about 4 in/10cm tall) we decided to package him in a polybag with a header card. Below are our preliminary designs to the header card. As much as I love how it turned out, we had to change it to include a UPC barcode. Check out the warning label I wrote up. Anyone who has met the charming Gobi will understand!

Alejandro Jodorowsky is an artist in all facets of the word: actor, director, playwright, orator, comic author, tarot reader...am I forgetting something? I just had the pleasure to watch his first film, "Fando Y Lis", via Netflix. As with many of his films, there is a mystique to "Fando Y Lis". Back in 1967 when the film debuted at a film festival in Mexico, the audience was so upset with the film that a riot broke out in the midst of the showing. The film is not too disturbing by today's standards. But it is filled with poignant commentary on life and humanity. The version I saw also happened to have an inciteful documentary and interview with Jodorowsky. Check out the intro to "Fando Y Lis" and a clip of the interview below.

Originally released in 2002, <a href="http://www.dccomics.com/features/100percent/100percent.html" target="_blank">100%</a> encapsulates <a href="http://www.paulpope.com" target="_blank">Paul Pope's </a>many strengths as an artist. Pope's work is an interesting amalgam of the American, Japanese, and French comic aesthetic. He is one of the few cartoonists that have conciously mixed the 3 dominant comic storytelling approaches to create a style that is organic and expressive.Based in the near future, 100% focuses on the dynamics of various romantic relationships. Despite it's futurist backdrop, Pope never loses sense of his strongly developed characters. Most of the clever futuristic technology visually symbolizes characters' emotional states throughout the course of the story.Paul Pope's linework is filled with a chaotic energy that captures the unique atmosphere of the city and it's inhabitants. 100% is a wonderful work from one of the most interesting US cartoonists. Check out some pages below! <a href="http://static.flickr.com/97/248458650_a8a81a0d85_o.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Here are a few images from a zany American comic! The G0dland comic series is written by Joe Casey, illustrated by Tom Scioli, and published by Image Comics. Since the debut of the first issue in July 2005, there have been 12 issues released.The spirit of the G0dland comic harkens back to the trippier days of Marvel comics by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (with a dash of some of Kirby's New Gods!). Scioli's art is chunky and energetic. Every character design looks like a favorite vintage toy you never had. Casey amps up the pseudo-cool and funky with dynamic scripts that never take themselves too seriously.Check out some of my favorite pages below. You can also read a digital version of the first issue HERE.

Here are a few illustrations by one of my favorite American Cartoonists: Darwyn Cooke. His professional comic career began shortly after being a lead artist of Batman: The Animated Series. You can feel Bruce Timm's influence, but his love of the 1950's bleeds through stylistic influences. His inks and pencils are innocent yet powerful. His skill feels classic and timeless. I wish he did something of his own creation...but his talent for design, illustration, and storytelling are wonderful. His work includes a stint on Catwoman, DC's New Frontier mini-series, and the new Will Eisner's Spirit ongoing series.