Art Department Weekly - Spring 2012

ADW

art department whenever spring 2012

hello again toy fair byrne in hell life between issues PLus: five things das poop forget you

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stoRm tRoopERs Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star...

EAt it Brookelyn, Diego and Patrick complete in the Cinammon Challenge—ingesting 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in less than 1 minute.

There is video.

Spitting and gagging do ensue.

hoW Do thEy Do it?

I’ve often wondered how luchadors lace up and tie the back of their masks. Have they become so used to the process that they can lace up and tie a mask on their own heads or do they have a handler who does the job?

I asked around the office. diego says: Handler, preferably a girlfriend who can double as his manager. tom says: They probably pre-lace it, and then put it on their heads, and simply tie it once it’s on their heads.

Way to make it sound so simple Tom...

Mystery solved.

“It’s the fucking internet” -nick

“When I was teaching pole class, someone kicked me in the head with their stiletto” -brookelyn

“I didn’t have boobs back then, that shit hurt” -katie l.

“No, you watch basketball at night” -kal

“Gotta load up on some booze, my mom’s in town” -brian

“I missed my chance to enter the SI Swimsuit contest. Of course I say that as I find a stripe of peanut butter on my stretch pants” -katie l.

“Please get some of the pep pounded out of you” -nick

dubbs? what dubbs?

s c i om R

(yes, that’s the same caption as a year ago.)

c RNE co

ryne, born March 2, 2012 (he blames his big brother kal for the lack of issues.)

uLtiMate sPider-Man

luis missEs you When other people want to share what’s new or interesting, they do it somewhere on the internet. But that’s not us. We want to publish it on paper. Sure, your Tweets might entertain, enlighten and inform, but our magazine kicks ass. Or at least it did until life kicked its ass to the curb. But we’re back again—at least today we are.

Luis wanted to write another shameless plug for me (hi, I’m Madeline, his wife/ghostwrier), but this is about the Dubbs, the amazing little rag you’re reading. It’s hard to believe we produced close to 70 issues before disappearing.

But we did—editing, designing, checking color... Why not just go online? Wouldn’t that be faster? Easier?

We tried to put this sucker online. We have a website. We started a Twitter account. We made a group on Facebook.

But none of it caught on. The internet is for everyone, but the Dubbs is just for us.

If you are a reader, it is because someone physically shared a copy or you literally stumbled upon it. Even if all of our content were to direct you back to an electronic screen, the Dubbs needs a closer proximity. We are coworkers. Or we were. Or we could be.

Another year has gone by and most of us are all still working for magazines. As much as Steve Jobs and the cost of printing and distribution have dictated, magazines are still here.

Back when a URL was simply enough reason to declare print dead, Uncle Jack said no. Print is a different experience.

I once asked Unlce Jack, “Print or web?”

We were at a drunken celebration of synergy and potential ad dollars. Uncle Jack was shutting down my magazine (or at least me and my coworkers were under that impression) because it did not interest advertisers. I won’t tell you his answer—the party was loud and the bar was dark. In the movie version of my life, the DJ kicks up the music and even in HD the lights make it hard to read lips. You’d be longing for the novel version. I digress...

Print or web?

For the Dubbs, we’re all print. It’s slow, but at the end of the process you get to hold something we created—a more intimate experience. Which sounds kind of gross when we’re talking about reproducing your coworkers’ thoughts, but it really is more fitting when we’re sharing baby pictures and our nicknames for MPA presidents.

Maybe someday the Dubbs will be faster. Maybe there will be an ap for that.

For now, we just hope you enjoy. And share your thoughts with dubbsubs@ yahoo.com.

I was more than a little skeptical when I read that Marvel was killing Peter Parker (in their Ultimate Universe) and replacing him with a brand new character.

I should have trusted in Brian Michael Bendis—the new Ultimate Spidey has been amazing. Bendis has crafted an amazing backstory that pays homage to Peter while making us care for newbie Miles Morales. USM has quickly made it to the top of my pull-list.

sarah Pichelli (one of the rare female artists in mainstream comics) is also killing it on this title.

F R NE Most days at Maxim, you’re more than likely to see Nerf darts flying over your head.

Especially if I’m taking aim at Harris’ massive head, but did anyone know that “NERF,” is actually an acronym for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam? The Nerf line started with a four-inch ball marketed on its safety for indoor play— and was a massive success.

Four million sold in its first year of availability.

sara jean who?

I had no idea who Sara Jean Underwood was. Then in different meetings last week, her name came up at the same time as these images of her at WonderCon hit(left). Apparently this former Playmate and current G4 host is trying (and succeeding) to usurp Adrianne Curry and Olivia Munn as geek-goddess. harris isn’t the only one excited Timmy (HK’s man-crush) is so excited to be a New York Jet (even if Matt may not be) that he uttered “excited” 45 times during his introductory press conference. Forty-five is actually pretty close to his completion percentage.

He’s not the only one excited.

The Jets had so many media requests they had to move this press conference to their practice bubble instead of their regular press room.

best in show Toy Fair came and went this year, and even though they denied me press passes (apparently the Dubbs needs to come out more than once a year) I’ll still cover the shows top picks.

1. Fantastic 4 Spider-Man by

Hasbro.

Spidey’s fancy white duds from when he replaced Johnny Storm in the FF.

2. g.i. joe jinx by Hasbro. This awesome figure of SnakeEyes apprentice will only be available at San Diego Comic Con in June. I want!

3. Mr. Potato Head Superman

Nuff said.

more storm troopers Because when you are now the dad of two little boys, you can never have enough references to Star Wars.

4. New52 Superman

by DC Direct based on Jim Lee’s redesign.

Words elude me...

5. Lego avengers 6. Mattel’s JLU’s blue beetle, fire and booster gold

8. lego jabba’s palace

1. Blame someone. The victim is hurt. Use your finger to assign blame.

Shame the person until he or she feels adequately guilty.

9. DC Direct new52 wonder woman

2. Check to see if nipples are hard. If not, rub forehead.

7. Neca’s drago

10. mattel’s voltron

What I always wanted as a child: A Voltron where the actual pilots fit in the lions. It’s finally here.

MattyCollector will be releasing these once a month for the rest of the year. At $60-90 per figure it’ll cost you a pretty penny to build the full Defender of the Universe.

In case of emergency

3. Kiss sensually. Now’s your chance!

4. Apply Capri-Sun straw to neck. This is important. Just do it.

5. Use hand to re-harden nipples.

Don’t let those puppies go soft!

6. Picture life together. As life

leaves body, picture how great your life could have been. Once dead, feel free to enjoy remaining Capri-Sun liquid.

picture recap

super party I thought I busted my ass last year on the Maxim Party. Then Colin announced that this year’s theme was super heroes. I quickly threw myself into the best and busiest project of my entire career.

In fact I was so excited I went home and drew that night. I designed 2 characters which ended up becoming Ms. Maxim and Lady Devil. More and more art ensued, 8 characters in total, generally done late nights after I finished my regular day of work. All of which were then inked and colored by my wife.

Between the drawing of the characters and the designing of all other event collateral, I rarely if ever got a second to

breathe. And you know what, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Getting down to Super Bowl week I was wary of how it would all come together. So much was still left to be done. Then day after day more and more signage showed up, and as it was unpacked and started to come together I was genuinely psyched.

Fast forward to the night of the event when I finally saw the models in the costumes my wife and I had designed, drawn and colored, walking around in towns built off art we created as Ludacris performed on a stage from our colors. It truly was the best professional experience of my life and a moment I will never forget.

The real hero

Most people have no idea what the inker or colorist does for most comics, let alone something like the comic characters for the Maxim Party. I know that I for one would be lost without my inker/colorist (who also happens to be my wife). When I struggled with how hair should fall or look, she simply corrected it (Lady Devil)

I

ndianapolis, in Our powers are required at a party?

The Super Society gathers for an emergency session

2012 edition

We’ll need as many heroes as we can find before the big game

A TK NEW YORK, INC & ELI MARKETING PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

12:16

someone has altered the countdown clock to reach zero at the Maxim Party

This has mr. nefarious written all over it.

m MHAHAHAHAHA eanwhile...

Mr. Nefarious gloats in his lair

HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHaha the

OPEN

mapxaritm y

the

mapaxritym

the

those fools will never uncover my plans in time

to be continued at...

mapxaritm y

The Maxim Hall of Heroes is the gathering place for the Super Society, the greatest heroes Earth has to offer.

This invitation is nontransferable, has no value, and admits the bearer only if the bearer’s name is on the official Maxim guest list. Must be 21+ to attend with government issued photo ID matching the guest list required.

We will be taking photos/video at the party which may be posted or published in a variety of media to document and promote the event and our sponsors. Your attendance confirms your consent for us to use such materials in any manner or media without restriction or compensation.

I

ndianapolis, in Our powers are required at a party?

The Super Society gathers for an emergency session

We’ll need as many heroes as we can find before the big game

12:16

someone has altered the countdown clock to reach zero at the Maxim Party

This has mr. nefarious written all over it.

m MHAHAHAHAHA eanwhile...

OPEN

Mr. Nefarious gloats in his lair

HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHaha the those fools will never uncover my plans in time

to be continued at...

Opposite page: The Maxim Super Society on the red carpet; 40ft Greg Jennings illustrated banner; Red Glare posing in front of the motion comic; bartender with the motion comic.

This page: the huge Lucas Oil Stadium deco’d Coke Zero stage; massive backlit entrance banner; Patron Bee in front of the red carpet comic strip; DJ booth emblazoned with party logo and graphics; Maximus flying over the park bar.

maxritm y pa

The Maxim Hall of Heroes is the gathering place for the Super Society, the greatest heroes Earth has to offer.

Life Long Dream

True, it may have only been one page and a cover, plus it simply repurposed art that I drew for other various aspects of the party, but creating and printing an actual comic really was a life long dream come true.

or when I struggled with where my eyes should be, she made it work (Gecko). When Maxim wanted more skin on some of the characters, Red Glare went from tights to booty shorts or simply when I was inconsistent with design (Ms. Maxim’s hair) she saved the day. A giant shout out to the real super hero of the event.

This invitatio bearer’s na gov

We will be taking p media to document consent for us to use

Ghostwriter

Oh, wait. This is Ghost Rider... And for some reason I didn’t shoot the finished piece before giving it away. —Madeline

Around the web snorg tees has a huge selection of pop-culture inspired, random and all-around funny T-shirts. Even more interesting is that most of the designs on the site are SnorgTee employee creations. snorgtees.com

thanks lisa turtle You could imagine my excitement when I decided I was going to read my first classic novel. Traditionally, I stick to fun, quick reads for entertainment. I’m a 7-year-old at heart, still watching Saved

by The Bell every morning on TBS for 2 hours. However one day after I moved to Manhattan I thought to myself, I’m totally grown up now… I should read a book that’s more than 400 pages and wasn’t written

by Nicholas Sparks. (Those were my thoughts, verbatim.)

“These are not the droids we’re looking for”

“Oh Brian, I just loved Anna Karenina. It was incredible how she threw herself under the train at the end!”

I turn slowly to the TV. Staring. I call my brother. Screaming. “DID ANNA KARENINA KILL HERSELF?” Jason replies, “Oh, you finished the book!” I hang up.

I never pick up a classic novel again.

—Holly

Photographer Stefan shot a different photo of two stormtroopers every day between 2009 and 2010.

You can see the full series and order prints, cards or posters at stormtroopers365.com

Anyway, I decided to embark on the wonderful 1,000-plus-page story of Anna Karenina. I won’t lie. This wasn’t easy reading. It took me a little over a month to get three-quarters of the way through… But I was determined to finish.

One morning, as I’m getting dressed for work, I put on the TV as I do every morning to watch some Saved by the Bell. Joy! It’s the episode where Lisa dates Brian, the book-worm. Lisa, the cheerleading daddy’s girl decides to play the part of a nerd to win Brian’s affection.

I go on getting ready for work as I hear the following coming from Lisa’s mouth:

Tiny stormtroopers make your day better

Buffy and the Scoobies

Artist Joey Spiotto put together a series of Joss Whedon-inspired albums.

Pictured here is Buffy and the Scoobies, Chosen. Be sure to visit his site jspiotto.blogspot. com to see his takes on other Whedon classics like Dr. Horrible and Firefly. There are also prints and tees available through his etsy site.

favorite songs ’80s movie edition

Gottlieb and Vega trade emails on the NBA All-Star Game

Quiet time in the office (a board meeting was happening in the conference room) gave us a chance to sit down and talk about our favorite songs from ’80s movies (or simply the first song you could name as I ambushed you with pad and pen in hand).

“Go Ninja Go” – Colin

“If You Leave” – Jennifer G. “Better Off Dead” – Mike “I’ve had the Time of My Life” – Brookelyn “Send Me An Angel” – Brian “Good Enough” – Nick “Hearts on Fire” – Holly “Final Countdown” – Tom “Danger Zone” – Kathy “Everybody’s Workin’ for the Weekend” – Diego “You’re the Best Around” – Luis “Crazy For You” – Ian “Don’t You Forget About Me” – Katie S. “Let’s Hear it For the Boys” - Kirsten

TG: Best moment of the ASG. Kobe shitting all over LBJs confidence (or lack thereof). AND he still passes the ball there. Love it. What a bitch.

LV: 100% LBJ is a giant pussy. All that talent in the world but doesn’t have the sack to put it on his back and be the man. What happened to the guy who put the Cavs on his back and single handedly beat the Pistons when the Pistons were clearly the best team in basketball. Where did that kid go?

TG: Dude’s afraid of failure.

Either that, or he just cares more about his brand and making money than winning.

And that’s a damn shame.

Facebook updates throughout the year ADW has been on hiatus, I’ve been taking screen shots of all the ridiculous things I see. Here are just a few that stood out the most for me.

—Madeline I love cats, everything from George Takei, and the random stuff posted by the video guy who was my cube neighbor for like a minute 5 years ago. Supposedly that is a woman honestly prepping dinner on the A train. And that is supposedly Heath Ledger on a skateboard.

Facebook update I totally thought was political commentary—at first

We were promised hope and change and ended up with a bunch of wasted money and empty promises.

Frikkin Knicks man... I swear!

Future installments of this page could be like a mini Lamebook (visit that site if you never have), but I would probably only shame my mom. One time her status update was “Hello, my name is Carol.” She has 18 friends; 15 are related to her.

Mediabistro newsfeed I totally thought referred to city and regional publisher Niche Media—at first glance

How Niche is Too Niche? The Case of Gay News Blogs. Niche isn’t always profitable. Take gay news sites and blogs—which should be perfect illustrations of booming niche sites that can monetize off a predictable and loyal audience looking for news...

five things the random things on katie santino’s mind

(Or at least they were three months ago...)

The Cinnamon Challenge

Jonah Hill

Are the boys actually going to do this? If so, can it be followed the milk challenge?

Both are essential for my life to be complete.

I hope he isn’t going to gain all that weight back, he is actually really attractive.

Happy Endings

Did I finish that episode of Happy Endings last night?

I can’t remember.

Is it Easter yet? I’m ready to eat sweets again…starting with a GIANT CAKE

tan

I hope my tan lasts!

Pasty Katie is not so cute.