Friday, April 22, 2011

Walking with Superman: The Contest (once more, with feeling!)

I'd like to think that I've learned a few lessons from the last time, so here's the scoop:

The Task: Draw a cover for one of the 275 previous issues of "Walking with Superman"
    The Deadline: Tuesday May 17, 11:59 PM CDT (day #300)
    Prizes: The top three places will win awesome stuff! Here's some of the awesome stuff in my awesome stuff pile that I'll pull the prizes from:
    • All-Star Superman Vol. 1-2 TPBs
    • The Walking Dead Vol. 1 "Days Gone Bye" TPB (get it?)
    • Freakazoid Season 1 DVD set
    • Jimmy Olsen: The Jack Kirby Adventures Vol. 1-2 TPBs
    • The Physics of Superheroes Spectacular Second Edition book
    • "Look, Up in the Sky!: The Amazing Story of Superman" Documentary DVD
    • A Hallmark Superman ornament
    • Some assorted good comics, including the "Dark Knight Over Metropolis" three-parter and "Invincible Iron Man" Annual #1.
    So, start working on those entries, Fortress faithful! And I'll start working on promoting this contest better than I did the last time around. You can link your entry in the comments here, or send them to:
    And I'll see you here in 25 days for the big #300!
    Edit: Just to be clear, lest you think I'll be judging this on artistic ability alone, please remember my artistic contributions. Entries will be judged primarily on how awesome/hilarious/excellent I think they are.
    Edit: Just to sweeten the deal: Over the course of this thing I've created several new characters and revived quite a lot of old ones, just in case someone wants to do a bit of redesigning/designing along with cover artistry. Here's a list:
    • The Kings of Rock: Jailhouse, Burnin' Love, Crazy Arms, Little Sister, and the King, Elvis-inspired villains.
    • Monumentarch: The would-be supervillain who steals monuments.
    • La Encantadora: The Joe Kelly-created villainess who last appeared (to my knowledge) in Action Comics #773.
    • The Kings of Rock's cyborg kung-fu Elvis impersonator henchmen
    • Escudo: the Cuban-American superhero with a magical shield and force field powers.
    • The Chicago 7 and C.A.P.-1: Chicago's premier super-team (including Kodiak, who becomes a giant humanoid bear, and his sidekick Cubby, who is an intelligent young grizzly) and their robotic gangster arch-enemy.
    • Boilermaker: Indiana's mechanical superhero.
    • Terra-Man: The alien-equipped eco-terrorist cowboy, last seen in "52" #3 and as a corpse in "Blackest Night" #4.
    • Alpha Centurion: Ancient Roman hero with hi-tech alien armor, last seen (to my knowledge) in "Alpha Centurion" #1.
    • Vampire Hunter Anna Vordenburg and vampire vigilante Moonrise.
    • Vaxan Byzar: an alien from a primitive world who has been stranded on Earth, where he uses our advanced technology to defend Randall, SD, from the strange threats the town seems to attract.
    • Gus Gorman: computer programmer from "Superman III"
    • Proud Mary; Rush and Silence: the ghostly pilot of the haunted steamboat Hell's Fury. Rush and Silence were mentioned (but never shown) in Jeph Loeb's "Superman" #179, implied to be African-American.
    • Slugger: the baseball-themed villain who turns out to be Superman in disguise.
    • The Young Heroes: Thunderhead, Bonfire, Frostbite, Junior, Zip-Kid, and Off-Ramp, along with friend-turned-enemy Monster Girl and Mayor Jeremy "Hard Drive" Horton, last seen in "Young Heroes in Love" #1,000,000.
    • Los Atómicos and El Rudo: superheroic luchadores Angela (with Earth Angel-style abilities), El Menagério (who can take on animal characteristics), Hijo del Salvador (enhanced strength, speed, agility, and durability), and their mysterious leader El Primero (who wears a white suit and a gleaming mask, but coordinates the action from behind the scenes), along with their nemesis El Rudo.
    • La Máscara de Tezumak: the mask of Obsidian Age-era warrior Tezumak, which grants its wearer armor and abilities similar to his.
    • The bands from The Supergroup Saga (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6): including but not limited to rapper Elinel, Knights In Shazam's Service, Arrowsmith, '90s one-hit wonders Kirby Danger, Chang Tzu and the Fu Fighters, Starrship, Bat Halen, Operation Isley, Scaring Crows, Siobhan and Kara, Rick Dragon and Human Sex Bomb, Carlos Sivana, Slade, Kobra Starship, Emperor Fiddler and his prog-rock band Yz, and Clark's supergroup Freedom.
    • Dexter Michaels, the Were-World: an astronaut transformed into a living planet.
    • The Agents of Liberty: U.S. Marshals with special hi-tech costumes based on the original Agent Liberty.
    • Kickflip: an Extreme Sports-themed hero who gained his powers during Bloodlines.
    • Mad Mod and his Pack: Mad Mod is the new incarnation of a classic Teen Titans villain. The Pack are Darci, the Barbie-esque robotic female from Superman Animated Series episode "Obsession," Flash villains Peekaboo and The Folded Man with 50s-styled redesigns, and Johnny Angel, a satanic greaser.
    • Theo Burr and Percy Fawcett: A time-traveling adventuress and her treasure-hunting time-lost nemesis.
    • Mr. Hamlin: the loan shark whose deals have unexpected costs.
    • Mountain Man, Yeti, Agents of B.I.G.H.O.R.N., Black Diamond, Avalanche: The hulking bearded hero of Aspen and his partner whose petite body hides the strength--and occasionally the shape--of a furry abominable snowman. Black Diamond is a secret society whose foot soldiers are snowboarding ninjas. Avalanche is an ice avatar, similar to Brimstone.
    • Troika: super-powered Carggian recruit to the 30th Century's Legion of Substitute Super-Villains.
    • Nuclear Man: the revamped villain of "Superman IV."
    • Samuel Goodman and Maushop: a Pilgrim hero and a Native American giant.
    • Dreamer: heroine whose precognitive powers come from Joseph's coat of many colors.
    • The Black Convoy and Capt. Chip Hammer: Couriers to the supervillains and a super-highway patrolman whose hi-tech motorcycle becomes an arsenal of weapons and a suit of mech-style armor.
    • Sgt. David Yu: a metahuman Army Ranger.
    • Superman Red and Superman Green: Red Kryptonite's yuletide effect on the Man of Steel.
    • Skyman and the Justice Squadron: Alternate-reality JLA, where Superman was raised by the military and Clark Kent never existed.
    • Bizarro-Santa: the backwards elf whose sleigh is pushed by Bizarro reindeer.
    • Frosty the Ice Elemental: a living snowman with incredible power and a stylish hat.
    • Skyknight and the Barnstormers: Naval superhero squadron, code-named after Naval airplanes.
    • Outburst: young magnetic superhero and one-time leader of the Supermen of America. The team was last seen (to my knowledge) in "The OMAC Project" #6.
    • The Dogcatcher: An interstellar bounty hunter who specializes in Sirians and G'newtians.
    • Terro the Ultra-Hound: Ultraman's super-powered mutt.
    • Orion and Sirius, Canis Major: Orion and Sirius are the ancient hunter and his hunting dog; Canis Major is the super-powered canine pet of Alpha Centurion.
    • The Sloth and the Hunter: A stone-age villain and his super-intelligent nemesis.
    • Bxtr: Mr. Mxyzptlk's 5th-dimensional puppy.
    • Solaris: a solar-powered supervillain last seen in "Kobra" #3.
    • Organic Meta-Human Annihilation Construct: A brand-new OMAC, created by the union of Batman's Brother Eye satellite and the 853rd Century Superman's nemesis Solaris, the Tyrant Sun.
    • Dr. Love: the metahuman matchmaker.
    • CARnivore: the haunted monster truck that unites with its driver to become a terrible biomechanical beast.
    • Danite and Seagull, the Patriarch: the married protectors of Salt Lake City and a cultist whose large, brainwashed family draw superpowers from him.
    • Karb-Brak: the super-powered alien last seen (to my knowledge) in Action Comics #476.
    • Idol, Missile, the Lightbox, Blitz: the Antimatter-Earth counterparts of Icon, Rocket, the Shadow Cabinet, and Static.
    • Captain Bizarrvel: Captain Marvel's Bizarro World duplicate, with the strength of Solomon and the wisdom of Atlas.
    • The Phosgene Phantom: a World War I-era poisonous spectre.
    • Astonicus and Astoundia: a vaudevillian villain who fought the JSA by duplicating their powers, and his granddaughter who uses his amulet in the modern age.
    • Dev-El the Overman: Superman's 25th century descendant who hunts Kryptonians with a dagger made from Red Kryptonite.
    • Ultraboy and The Battalion of Ultra-Brigands: Universal Boy, Titan Girl, and Thunder Teen, the future of villainy in Earth-3's 30th Century, and Ultraboy, the teenage tyrant who would grow up to become that world's Ultraman.
    • The Alliance: A San Francisco-based super-team dedicated to LGBT rights and improving gay-straight relations.
    • Superman Blue and Superman Gray: the Man of Steel, split by time travel and fighting both for the Union and the Confederacy.
    Phew!

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