As we continue showcasing Gobi's inspired designs for his take on Avatar 2, we get a more detailed look at the Butterfly Dog. Butterfly Dogs have a long history of companionship and hunting with a particular sect of N'avi warrior. I love how seamlessly this creature design fits in the world of Avatar.

Of all the things Gobi designed, the Butterfly dog is the most fully realized. More details on the Butterfly dog will be shared soon.

Here's part 3 in Gobi's beautiful character and concept designs for Avatar 2. This time around, Gobi came up with the N'avi's version of a bluetooth communication capability. A N'avi warrior can communicate wirelessly with a butterfly dog companion using a special pair of 'wireless bugs' that uses the N'avi's hair/spinal cord link. This is especially helpful when a N'avi warrior works in tandem with a butterfly dog during a hunt (more on that later!).

I've got 1 or 2 more Avatar 2 designs to share. Expect to see those early next week.

We continue with Gobi's fabulous designs for his rendition of Avatar 2!

Below are Gobi's rough designs for a Warrior class master whose headdress is inspired by the jaws of the butterfly dog (more on the Butterfly dog design later). I also included a detailed analysis of a warrior's blowgun. Note how, in order to stay consistent with the life cycle nature of all things in the Na'vi culture, the blow gun and it's darts are harvested from special trees from the forests.

The Warrior Class master design is very rough, but I loved it so much I had to share. Hopefully Gobi will be okay that I am sharing it with you guys!

One of the coolest things about messing around with Muttpop is having a rare glimpse at the creative process for artists like Gobi, Bill and Fabien. Whether it's a for a professional project or purely for fun, the Catfish Deluxe team brings their 'A' game to anything they decide to draw.

Shortly after Avatar came out, Gobi told me that he'd love to get his chance to design some creatures and characters in the Avatar/N'avi universe. Recently I received a batch of gorgeous designs and illustrations demonstrating what Gobi would do with Avatar 2.

If James Cameron or the amazing designers at Weta are watching, you know how to contact us! :-)

I'll post more bits of Gobi's amazing Avatar 2 designs over the next few days!

Say what you will about Zack Snyder... but the man's got ambition. After taking a bit of a break by making a children's fantasy film about owls after the mildly successful WATCHMEN film, Snyder's coming up with his first film project that is not an adaptation. It's refreshing that he's showcasing what he's learned from previous film projects with SUCKER PUNCH. This film's got everything I'd dreamed of seeing in an epic action film at the age of 13. Robots, war planes, chicks, and samurais. Now we'll have to see if Snyder and his team manage to make it actually work.

Bunnywith designer toy creator Alex Pardee was heavily involved on the Sucker Punch design. Thanks to ToysREvil for keeping my excitement for SUCKER PUNCH alive.

I've been hearing a lot about comic author Nick Spencer these days. He's created quite the buzz with his work on DC's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, ACTION COMICS' JIMMY OLSEN back-up stories, and the recently released IRON MAN 2.0. I read and reasonably enjoyed his first three issues of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS (but wasn't too fond of the guest artist on flashbacks approach). So, as a creator-owned comics fan, it was easy for me to pick up the MORNING GLORIES volume 1 TPB. It helped that it was 6 issues of content (7 if you count the double-sized first issue) for only $9.99.

It's a promising concept that does more teasing than delivering. It's pulling inspiration from all the right places (stuff like THE INVISIBLES, RUNAWAYS, and THE PRISONER tv series)... but the "who the hell knows what's going on?!" approach frustrates in that LOST TV show way.

The premise is a bunch of high school students from disparate upbringings gain scholarship to a prestigious and exclusive boarding school. In a short period of time, the school has established itself as being one of the best. But there are plenty of disturbing secrets hidden around every hallway corner. First off, the kids quickly discover they share the same birthday. Then they are unwillingly put through a few life threatening "tests". Teachers and students conspire to fulfill their respective agendas. Most of the motives and goals are suggested but not explicitly shared with the reader.

The distinct personalities of the main students are effectively established from the get go. Although built on simple stereotypes (stuff like the jock, geek, emo girl, and snob) there's a depth to each student that keeps things enticing.

Beyond the elusive nature of the story's plot, my biggest problem is the artistic limitations of the book's cartoonist, Joe Eisma. Eisma and the colorist do a decent job of visually distinguishing the different characters and Eisma is competent at facial expressions. But Eisma has a very difficult time conveying movement from panel-to-panel and has an inherent stiffness in his art that makes the school's environment and the characters' body language stale. Since the overall universe of Morning Glories is mostly pedestrian (it's uniformed teenagers in a school) the staleness becomes very apparent.

Ironically, the cover artist Rodin Esquejo art has that style and vibrancy that Eisma lacks. There's a level of detail and apparent photo reference to Esquejo's art that assumingly makes it impossible or cost effective to produce the interior art of MORNING GLORY at a comparable frequency. But seeing those covers frustratingly teases on what MORNING GLORY could be (for comparison's sake the 3rd image below is by Eisma, the main cartoonist; the rest are by cover artist Esquejo).