A (Highly) Logical Commerical

I try to avoid embedding too many videos here, but this happened a few hours ago.

My World : Rex Coronado

Rex Coronado is the executive director of C.H.I.E.F. (Command Headquarters International Espionage Force). The son of Mexican immigrants, he is deeply proud of the United States, and will fight to defend it with his last breath. He wears sunglasses at all times to disguise the fact that he has a glass right eye. Rex is cantankerous seemingly beyond reason, but has been known to display a sharp sense of humor when least expected. Never one to be underestimated, he will do whatever it takes to accomplish his mission.


Creating this individual profile for Rex Coronado almost feels like cheating. The text is lifted verbatim from his entry in my "Non-Supers Profiles", and one of the points of that piece was that I wouldn't be drawing those guys.

Well, that was the plan. But Rex here has evolved into something a little bit more than just a non-super supporting character. As he kept turning up in other profiles, it only seemed fair to give him his own dedicated entry. So here we are.

An interesting thing happened in the creation of this picture. What you see is my first pass at Rex. I kept trying to improve on it, but ultimately decided that there was too much about this version that I liked. I hadn't intended Rex to be either bald or have such odd proportions, but found myself going along with it the more I looked at him. I mean, nothing is written in stone that a secret agent's suit can't be ill-fitting.

Truthfully, Rex is still kinda boring visually in my style. The shades help, as does the tie, but really - I'm not entirely suited to make "normal" looking people look dynamic. Still, this will do until someone else can take a crack at him someday.

Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson by Kabuki Katze (2007)

Sara wasn't the only one who did surprise artwork of my characters in 2007. The date on the above image sent to me by Kabuki Katze is May 22, 2007. I have no recollection of her reasoning as to why she set pencil to paper to draw Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson. But boy, am I glad she did!

I have a number of "work in progress" sketches like this from Kabuki kicking around in my folders, but I usually don't post them. I have to make an exception here, because this is as far as this particular piece ever got. Despite the fact that she included a color guide, Kabuki never did anything else with this one. Why? My memory is fuzzy, but I believe she expressed a dissatisfaction with the proportions of the characters? Perhaps she will pop in here and explain. That is, assuming she hasn't hunted me down like a dirty dog for posting it in the first place. See, there was a reason I sought permission prior to launching this nostalgic series! Muhahahaha!

Kidding aside, I loved this picture. It didn't hurt that it was one I got to see live and in person in her sketchbook. The memory of it was so indelible that it led me to commission Kabuki to do the Cap/Shelly pic you previously saw here and here. So in a sense, it is only appropriate to close out the 2010 portion of our review of vintage Cap art with this sketch, since it is in many ways the genesis of all the Kabuki Katze commissions you have seen here at OWARI during the calendar year. Hats off to ya, Kabu! (And I'll be sure to spotlight more of your recent work before we hit 2011!)

But don't think for a moment this is the last bit of pre-2010 artwork I have up my sleeve. There will be more in the coming year. Watch for it!

Elders Of The Universe

If you read my brother in battle Kazekage's Witless Prattle (and if not, why not?), you know that he has been going through the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe one issue at a time for our perverse amusement. This is doubly amusing for me, since I'm the guy who sent him a full 15 issue run of the thing not long ago. You can read those entries under the "Marvel Handbook" tag right here if you are so inclined. Trust me, it's fun.

Oh, perhaps I should mention that I have guest-written one of these summaries. That would be this one:

ELDERS OF THE UNIVERSE--While these write-ups have done an excellent job of beating these guys with a lead pipe in their individual entries, I just want to point out how impressed I am that SOMEONE decided to gather together a bunch of second-rate characters and make them into a "race" hinged on the high concept that they are eccentric old men...FROM SPACE. What I'm trying to say is that we were this close to seeing Howard Hughes as a cosmic villain dubbed "The Hider".


The more I think about it, the more fascinated I am that the Elders of the Universe exist as a collective at all. I am pretty sure that was not the original intent for the earliest characters grouped under that label. Heck, I haven't really been able to figure out who declared them "the Elders of the Universe" at all! But yes, the high concept is that 1) they are very old and 2) they bring new meaning to the word "obsession" in a way that even the band Animotion couldn't have imagined.

Think I'm kidding? We'll take a look at each individual Elder covered in that Handbook entry. I'm waving off discussing any further members, since eventually it got to the point that they were making up characters just to BE Elders. That sort of diminishes the value of them as a bizarre mishmash of random super codgers.

COLLECTOR - Whereas he started out small, with coins, stamps and the odd superhero team, his mania has reached the point where he now "collects" empty milk jugs and newspaper clippings of celebrity birthday lists.

GRANDMASTER - He's the guy who shows up and always wants to play dominoes, bridge, or (*shudder*) cribbage. Feared throughout the Space VFW.

GARDNER - The one who just wants to tend to his plants, so leave him alone already. Why isn't his weapon a space hose? And you kids, get off his lawn!

POSSESSOR - This clown didn't even rate an individual entry, which is a worse showing than the Gardner. This leads me to the conclusion that even the other Elders try to avoid him. He probably only "possesses" the center of the road as he creeps along at a leisurely 15 miles per hour.

CONTEMPLATOR - He's the one in the group who is always trying to "figure it out", through whatever belief system he discovered in the AARP (Alien Association of Retired Persons) bulletin. Either that, or as Lewis sagely pointed out, the one in adult diapers.

CHAMPION - The workout freak, who insists you're never too old to be in great shape. He'd be even more annoying if everyone wasn't positive he was compensating for something. They just don't want to know what it is, but the empty Viagra bottle the Gardner found in his tulips is probably a clue.

That pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the Elders of the Universe.

Funky Worm

The Ohio Players are primarily revered today for their pair of #1 pop hits, "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster". That is how it should be, because absurd urban legends aside, they are two amazingly catchy funk songs. What is sometimes lost in the shuffle, however, is that the Ohio Players charted EIGHT songs in the pop Top 40, and 21 additional songs on either the Pop or R&B Top 100s. You can't really call them a band that got lucky once or twice. They did it consistently for 20 years.

In 2010, I finally got to hear the song "Funky Worm", which was the first Top 40 pop hit for the Players. It is absolutely delightful. Part novelty record, part funk instrumental, it manages to make you laugh while instilling in your brain a killer groove that just won't quit. I am in no way surprised that it has been sampled extensively in more recent years.

Watch Atomic Rulers Of The World Here!

Are you one of those poor souls who has never had the pleasure of enjoying a Starman film? Starman, if you are unaware, is considered the first true live-action Japanese superhero. (We won't deal with Ogon Batto right now!) The character, originally named "Supergiants", appeared in a series of featurettes that were edited together into four feature films sold directly to television in the United States.

The Starman films are not only massively entertaining, but COMPLETELY INSANE. But this entry isn't about educating you about Starman. Rather, it exists to tell you that now you can fill the void in your life if you have never experienced Starman. As it happens, I recently discovered that ATOMIC RULERS (the first Starman film) is on Youtube in its entirety under its longer title ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD. Not broken up into chapters, but the whole thing in one easy video. It's a golden opportunity to see if you would like Starman! And really, why wouldn't you?

A few things you should know before you watch this:

1)I have not watched this video in full, because I already own the movie on DVD. I have already noted that the opening titles and credits have been deleted, so there could be other issues.

2)This copy is obviously sourced from Sinister Cinema's print, and I do not know if it was done with permission or not. At least I am providing Sinister with a link, which is more than the uploader did.

3)You may have to watch at least one terrible commercial.

Remember this is free, folks. Just sayin'.

So, without further ado, here it is, ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD!

ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD

The Starman films are all on DVD, but I can't guarantee their continued availability. Better snatch 'em up while you have the chance!

XOXO, Roxy

It is the first day of December, and that means there is a chill in the air in many areas. So let's take a page from our friends in the Southern Hemisphere and look at something that will make us forget those frigid temperatures.

Yep, that's Roxanne Prize, aka Firegirl, as she was seen on Blue Behemoth's Bulletin Board. I've had this larger version of that snapshot for awhile, just waiting for the right moment to post it.

Art by the super-duper Kabuki Katze!