2012 New 52 Martian Manhunter Comicpalooza Commission by The Reverend Dave Johnson

As I mentioned here repeatedly in the months leading up to Houston's Comicpalooza convention, one of the artists I was most anxious about getting a piece from was Dave Johnson. I was introduced to his work through Chain Gang War in 1993, and enjoyed watching his style evolve through projects like Superpatriot, Penthouse Comix and a plethora of great covers on books for which his frontpieces were often the selling point. I especially enjoyed his too-brief runs as cover artist on Steel and Captain America. While someone like Scorch or Bette Noir would seem more in line with the rock n' roll meets noir sensibilities of his art, he can also knock out a superior straight super-hero when he's so inclined. I pretty much had to make this a Martian Manhunter piece due to the projected expense, but I wanted to throw in a twist. Since DC Comics had yet to release the design artwork for the New 52 Martian Manhunter, and the revised look seemed to compliment Johnson's style, I figured he could supply a proper "study guide." I was also hoping to get either a Joe Kubert or Howard Chaykin Silver Age Alien Atlas as a bookend for the concept, though neither ultimately materialized.

Upon first arriving at the con, I repeatedly stalked through artist alley, specifically looking for Johnson. Since he was my "big ticket" artist in terms of price and there was potential cause for concern that he might fill up his commission list early, I felt the need to address whether I was going to work with him or not as soon as possible. Once I saw the reverend and fellow guest/commission prospect Andrew Robinson had settled into an endcap booth, I zeroed in. I knew Johnson was going to cost me $300, and I was hesitant to spend that kind of money on one piece. Still, I've been a fan for nearly twenty years, and my girlfriend egged me on. It also didn't hurt that a sweet Nick Fury commission that I'd seen online and built my expectations around was right there in his portfolio.

Johnson seems to be kind of quiet, surprisingly. I goofed with his business representative a little as he took down my information, but it was a somewhat sober transaction altogether. Johnson was busy working on a nifty Iron Man sketch, and later I'd get to see his Lobster Johnson (no relation presumably, and no euphemism certainly.) The man slings good ink though, as you can plainly see!

I'd also wanted to get a black & white Andrew Robinson B'rett, since his spaghetti western-meets-punk rock seemed ideally suited for the attitude of the gunslinging yellow-skinned Martian crook. Even going in though, I realized that after having to cut my con budget, it would be unlikely. I confirmed from his quote sign that it would run $250, which was too rich for my blood, so I had to move on.

I needed to leave the con a bit early, but I got a text from Johnson's rep that he'd finished, and ended up indulging in a preview thanks to the instant gratification generator that is Twitter. Johnson also tweeted a preliminary sketch, so it's cool to see his process. I got back to the booth the next morning to claim my piece. Like Joplin and her Mercedes Benz, my friends already had one, so I had to make amends! We both have a Kevin Maguire, but Anj's still up on me by a Chaykin. Curses the fates! I will have satisfaction, sir!

You want to know my favorite thing about Johnson's take on the New 52 J'Onn J'Onzz? Despite the spookier look, he's still a friendly face who totally has a stash of Chocos. Truth.


One of the major reasons that I splurged so gratuitously at the con this year was to have some swell material to lead into the blog's fifth anniversary this September. In the tradition of Comics Alliance's Best Art Ever (This Week) and Comic Vine's Awesome Art Picks, every week for the next four months will feature "Best Awesome Alien Atlas Art Picks Ever (This Wednesday,)" or y'know, something like that. Hopefully they won't all end up on Twitter/deviantART/Blogs/CAF or the aforementioned columns in the meantime, as I hope to have some sweet debuts and some surprises that no one would ever see coming. Above are teaser snippets for the beauties, but for now, I figure Dave Johnson started us off right...

Martian Manhunter Mego-Style action figure & box by Black Knight Customs

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Over a year ago, I stumbled upon a photo stream featuring an Alien Atlas and Tiny Titan dual Mego custom set, and then as usual set it aside. Other blogs making the same sorts of discoveries and actually posting about them have kind of needled me into finally getting my own done, so here we go!

I never owned many Megos, as their heyday was a bit before my time, plus they were pricier than the 3¾ action figures that I favored (including Mego's own Pocket Heroes*, the Cro-Magnon to the Homo Sapien that was the Super Powers Collection.) Some friends had them, and I bought some every now and again at flea markets, making them the tall guys amidst my Masters of the Universe and the like. J'onn J'onzz was a non-entity in the 1970s, so I'm confident his name was never uttered in the halls of Mego. Recently though, he's gotten one of those Mattel Retro-Action figures, which is a reasonable facsimile of period crappiness, but a bit too inhuman to truly feel Mego authentic. I'm sure I'll buy and further discuss that number for the blog when I find one cheap enough to be enticing.

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I'm not sure when this custom was made, but it was almost certainly before the Retro-Action, and is much better in general aesthetics (if even less Megocentric.) In reminds me more of the 1999 Hasbro JLA Justice League of America Martian Manhunter 9" Doll, which being my favorite mass produced Manhunter figure, is not a bad thing. The costume basics are very true to Super Powers model.

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I never saw boxed Megos growing up, since they'd moved on to the blister cards by then, so I have no particular nostalgia toward that packaging. While I like this better than the legit Hasbro JLA's, I do feel like the image chosen was a missed opportunity. The art here (anyone knows who drew it?) was already used on the Super Powers figure package and its cut-out "trading card." It would have been more fun to dig up a less familiar image, but it still came together well, and the thought surely counts!

More Mego Customs

• Aquaman 12-Inch figure & box @ The Aquaman Shrine
• The Atom figure & box @ Power of the Atom
• Firestorm box @ Firestorm Fan
• The Vixen & Steel figures @ Justice League Detroit

*For the record, I owned at various points, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Green Goblin and the Penguin. More memorably, I also had Spider-Man, Robin, and Wonder Woman, who stuck around the longest before getting stolen/thrown away/???

2011 Miss Martian color art by Ozzie Rodriguez

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I regretfully inform you dear reader that I have not commissioned any Miss Martian art to date. I tend to focus on characters for whom no one will generate art without my being the one to pay for it, and M'gann M'orzz has had a pretty solid fan following so far, keeping her drawn. When I look at a piece as lovely as the one above, I figure the lady seems to be doing just fine without my assistance. Do click on the pic, as it will take you to the artist's blog and swell progress images.

2011 Martian Manhunter Convention Sketch by Kelly Yates

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Posting tonight went up against my new True Blood Season Four set and lost, so we'll roll with a quick pic for today...

SurVILEvor Island: Despero

When I started my first Martian Manhunter fan page back in the '90s, I wanted to have a rogues gallery section without using the generic "rogues gallery" handle. Thus: Vile Menagerie. I stocked it up with the villains I knew of that had fought the Manhunter, which is to say a bunch of Justice League adversaries from the '80s & '90s. As I became better informed about the Alien Atlas' history as a solo hero, I was embarrassed by the more tenuous inclusions, not to mention keeping out villains I had personal biases against. While the results will not necessarily be binding, I wanted to open up a series of polls to get reader responses to which individuals popular opinion favors keeping or ditching as representative of the evils devoted to bringing down the Sleuth from Outer Space. While comments are welcome, the main concern is, if you put all the guys who ever fought J'Onn J'Onzz on a Survivor style island, who would you cast out as not belonging to the group? Who is too much of a [BLANK] villain? Who is the weakest link? That sort of thing.



Our first candidate is a fellow who would likely enjoy such a game, Despero. The alien tyrant was created to battle the Justice League of America in their first eponymous comic book. While the Martian Manhunter was on that team in their first two battles against Despero, he was in no way a "spotlight" member, with the Flash specifically being the primary hero of their first encounter. J'Onn J'Onzz wasn't around at all for Despero's third appearance, either. However, Despero next kidnapped J'Onzz and forced him to play a game imperiling his former teammates, threatening the lives of everyone on Mars II to extort cooperation. One might take that personally. His fourth defeat and imprisonment (by Martians!) led Despero to cast himself into the Flame of Py'tar, disintegrating and reintegrating into a new, more deadly form. The Martian Manhunter was one of three members present who had faced Despero before, and was the only member still around during Despero's most famous rampage against the JLI in 1990. The Alien Atlas and the JLI fought Despero again a couple of years later, enslaving him to the will of the robot L-Ron, and forced Despero to physically serve as a member of the Justice League Task Force for two years. Following that group's dissolution, L-Ron struggled to contain the psyche of Despero, who fought Supergirl and Young Justice. Despero actually possessed Martian Manhunter briefly during one of those episodes.



Most of Despero's appearances in the new millennium have not involved the Manhunter. J'Onn J'Onzz was tied up in a story arc in Superman/Batman that involved a Despero scheme, and the Kalanorian seemed particularly intent on lashing out at the Alien Atlas during one of the last JLA arcs. That said, the Martian Manhunter has only ever beaten Despero once through his own power, has otherwise tended to be a punching bag for the Kalanorian, and hasn't faced the despot in six years. It has been argued that Despero is a Justice League villain who just happens to face Martian Manhunter as part of that unit, and it is true that J'Onzz has never faced Despero outside of the direct influence of the League. Given his increased visibility in recent years, Despero could also be argued as being a greater DCU villain, popping in books as diverse as Booster Gold and Trinity.



Cast your own vote on the matter in the sidebar. Results will be noted in the comments, and perhaps mentioned when the next candidate comes up on... SurVILEvor Island!

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Tim Seeley & Mike Norton

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Also featuring Superman, Supergirl, Batman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and Jade. What, no Miss Martian or Batgirl? Are J'Onn and Bruce to be taken as a couple? I can see that, actually.

By the way, Seeley's Hack/Slash is a great read for fright flick fans. I've reviewed the first two trade collections on my PG-13/Soft R "whatever" blog, ...nurgh...:

1. First Cut 
2. Death By Sequel

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.


ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2012 “Heroes + Villains: Martian the Manhunter” photography by Philip Bonneau

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Normally, if another blog covers some bit of material that crosses into Martian Manhunter territory, I prefer to run in the opposite direction. I'd rather sit on a post than be samey-samey. However, The Aquaman Shrine made mention of a fantastic photo essay that hasn't popped up anywhere else I've visited lately, and it's too good to pass up.

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Atlanta artist Philip Bonneau likes to dress people up as super-heroes using inexpensive household items, but he has a frou-frou explanation to keep up his indy cred while pimping the LGBT-friendly exhibition. As he told The Advocate, "This show allows for the models to embrace the chance to be those characters they were denied and is proof you can be anything you want to be, if you have the confidence to be yourself." Most awesomely, one respectably convincing guy decided who he wanted to be was J'Onn J'Onzz, the Manhunter from Mars. Well, I suppose alopecia may have played a role in the decision.

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For once, I really dig the use of obvious but effective gags in these pictures (and the replacement of Chocos for the brand quality if reduced fat real stuff.) I'm also really glad they managed to avoid any crotch shots, which I cannot say for the rest of Bonneau's Flickr photostream. Featured heroes get as obscure (though appropriate) as Black Condor, but you might want to wait until you're at a secure personal computer, depending on how sensitive your HR department is to thinly veiled frank n' beans and/or transvestites in Wonder Woman garb. "Issue #2 – DC Comics Universe" is only the halfway point in the project, so if you're interested in offering support for further work, scope out the Kickstarter page.

2012 Comicpalooza Commission Reference Sheets

As I've mentioned elsewhere, with the blog's fifth anniversary coming up, and several times more money to spend than in previous years, I planned to go boffo with this year's commissions. Ultimately, I revisited the 2010 reference sheets for four pieces, while 2011's were only useful in three. I wasn't happy with a lot of those images, so I added new reference in abundance for this year.

Attentive readers may have noticed that I've added a fair amount of new biographical entries this year for the Martian Manhunter's friends and foes. Behind the scenes, a lot of that work was coming together with art reference in mind. I had to rush a number of these out at the last minute though, so they're incomplete or cluttered, purely to make sure the artists had a reliable basis for designs and color schemes to work with.

Since none of the printers in the house have color these days, I took a flash drive down to FedEx Express (Detective Comics Comics?) to get copies. The glossy stock and vivid color were a huge improvement over my old material, although the paper seems thinner and less durable. What's really nice is that I didn't hesitate to fill the page with somebody else's ink, making for big bright reproduction. Perhaps best of all, for some reason I got most of my copies for about twenty-nine cents. I went back the next day to finish up some scraps, and with tax that price was doubled.

About half of these pages relate to commissions I picked up this year, but I didn't get all of my reference back with the pieces, so not everyone is represented across these three years worth of images. Also, a number were taken directly out of comics provided to the artists, of which I only lost one. Amateur sleuths should have all they need here to make educated guesses, and I will point out that many of the ponies are already out of the barn across individual blogs/tweets/galleries/etc. For now though, I plan to start posting about one piece a week through September, probably on Wednesday. Do come back for those, won't you?

The Villain's Journey: Despero vs. Malefic

Still worn out from the con, I've tried catching up on some blog reading today, This included Every Day Is Like Wednesday, where J. Caleb Mozzocco offered his own deleted scene from Justice League #9. Three commentators erroneously assumed Steve Trevor was being tortured by the Martian Manhunter, when it seems pretty obvious to me that the shadowy figure is in fact Graves, star of the upcoming story arc "The Villain's Journey." To confirm this, and without recalling the new character's name, I googled the title of the arc. As it happens, the internet seems to have actually offered up an antagonist's take on Joseph Campbell's monomyth, a consistent pattern of action followed by heroes in world mythology. An overview of this concept is laid out here, but you can cut to the chase and view Remus Shepherd's canonization of the villain's journey here. I thought it might be interesting to look at this blog's top voted Martian Manhunter villain of 2011, Malefic, and this year's champion Despero, and see whether they fit the mold provided.



Despero started out as the tyrant ruler of Kalanor in Justice League of America #1, making him its "Master." However, Jasonar and Saranna escaped him to develop an anti-weapon on Earth, constituting "Loss." Despero pursues them, and mind-controls the Justice League of America to keep them from interfering, a "Denial" of terrestrial mores. This was compounded by his offering the Flash a supposed game of chance similar to chess, only to cheat using his telepathy. The League's, and more singularly the Flash's defeat and seeming damnation, along with Jasonar's capture, made it appear that Despero had slain his "Dragon." However, Snapper Carr used the anti-weapon, which "Foiled" Despero's plot. The only stage not reached in the very first story was "Echo," which was covered in Despero's second appearance in Justice League of America #26, when his return to power was explained.



Pulling back over the course of his publishing history, Despero's overall arc continues to fit the mold. He again becomes the "Master" after his rebirth in the Flame of Py'tar, gaining mastery over matter. This in itself is an invocation of a variance, "Final Rituals of Power," in which the oft-defeated original incarnation is discarded like a serpent's skin in favor of the more effective innovation. However, because of his history of "Loss" to the Justice League, he feels compelled to return to Earth to prove his supremacy. In another optional variation, the "First Invasion of Evil" sees Gotham City twisting into a monstrosity of Despero's own design. This leads to the "Denial" of convention by having Despero immediately defeat Batman and Vixen, turning both into distressed figures in need of rescuing and upon whom torment is inflicted. With a manifested "Dragon," Despero appears to slay the JLA. However, his return to greatness is "Foiled" again by the least of the current League, Gypsy and Vibe. However, as he was dispatched by flames, an "Echo" of Py'tar signaled a probable return. This exact cycle was repeated in Despero's first battle with the JLI, as he "remastered" his mohawk form, murdered Steel and Gypsy's family, killed everyone, had his victory revealed as illusory, and leaving behind a fetal form that would mature into an engine of destruction again and again. L-Ron even rode along for a cycle, having initially mastered Despero's corporeal form, only to steadily devolve into an echo of his former glory by being reinstalled into his robot form.



Where Despero appears to be a slave to the villain's journey, Malefic rebukes it by pursuing a contaminated hero's journey. From his earliest days, Ma'alefa'ak heard the "Call" to rise up against his fellow Martians as an instrument of terror. His entire adolescence involves "Refusal of the Call," revisited often in adulthood when J'Onn J'Onzz fruitlessly pleads reason from his sadistic brother. He crosses this "Threshold" by lobotomizing his mother and mind-raping his sister-in-law. Ma'alefa'ak's "Dragon" is the people of Mars broadly, and his brother specifically, who alter his memories and strip him of his psychic abilities. This symbolic death is negated through "Atonement," the recognition that no matter how many chances he's given or liberties taken, he will never be able to ignore his essential nature and fated role. The optional "Magic Flight" came earlier with the discovery of the dark world Apokolips and his later escape with wisdom leading to Ma'alefa'ak's "Boon," the creation of "H'ronmeer's Curse," the plague that will wipe out most life on Mars. "Mastery" comes through genocide, and the assumed death of Ma'alefa'ak's brother in the confrontation that followed.



Having scaled the mountain as a hero in his own mind, Ma'alefa'ak then descends down the villain's path. The converse journey begins when Ma'alefa'ak's assumed mastery over Mars was called into question by a chance sighting of the Martian Manhunter, who constitutes a "Loss" of one in his quest to kill 'em all. The rechristened "Malefic" chooses "Denial" of many cultures in his torture of the Saturnian prince Jemm and numerous murders. Malefic chooses to first frame the "dragon," calling into question Martian Manhunter's history of heroism while simultaneously qualifying some "Final Rituals of Power" necessary before seemingly killing his brother bodily. However, J'Onn J'Onzz yet lived, redeemed himself in his friends' eyes, and ended the threat of Malefic without taking 100% of the responsibility for his execution. However, a psychic "echo" of Malefic remained, triggering a storyline in JLA Classified whose resolution Freddy Krueger would have approved of in anticipation of another sequel.

Whether jumping directly on the villain's path or chronicling a hero's journey leading into degradation, it's no wonder Despero and Malefic are among the most resonant and popular of the Vile Menagerie. The majority are freaks born impotent or freed from the strictures of formula but failing to benefit from that liberty. It may all be fruit of a poisonous tree however, since J'Onn J'Onzz has his own issues with the hero's journey...

2012 Phoenix Comicon Miss Martian Cosplay

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I spent Memorial Day weekend at Comicpalooza, where the closest I came to Martian Manhunter related cosplay was fellow members of the JLA. Houston's always been a Marvel town. Phoenix, Arizona's concurrent convention was older, larger, and more DC representative. I have yet to see any Martian Manhunter picture, but M'gann M'orzz had not one, not two, but three different cosplayers that I've seen so far, courtesy of Bleeding Cool...

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2011 Comicpalooza Commission Reference Sheets

Out of the twelve characters (and one idol) I had reference for in 2010, only six made it to commissions that year. I decided to build on that reference base for 2011, adding eight additional characters. Unfortunately, Diane Meade, Gypsy, the Prophet, the Osprey, TOR and J'en would all end up sidelined by four of the debut year characters finally getting their due. Mr. V is pictured here because I missed this page of reference last time, and because he got a piece in 2011, alongside Scorch and Malefic. Thankfully, I caught up on a few more of these guys by 2012, though it hardly seems fair that the two 2011 rookies are already doubling up while others still have none...

The Vile Menagerie: THE SWARM

Alter Ego: None
Occupation: Parasites
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: Unknown
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: Martian Manhunter #1,000,000 (November, 1998)
Height: Approx. 12" on average
Eyes: None visible
Hair: None
Skin: Metallic brown

History:
At some point after the 30th century, a still living Martian Manhunter was forced to combat the Clanetary System to preserve the integrity of the solar system. Following their defeat, he learned that their motivation for converting entire worlds into military fortresses was to combat an even greater menace, the Swarm. These alien parasites stripped planets down to a husk in service to their insatiable appetite. They could not be communicated with, there was no reasoning to be had, and their numbers were overwhelming. The Manhunter from Mars traveled 10,000 light years to meet the Swarm head-on, and began a 20,000 year war as the force pushed closer and closer toward the Sol system. Finally, the Swarm reached Earth, and J'Onn J'Onzz led an evolved metahuman army against the Swarm. The creatures' progress was finally halted, and unable to progress but unwilling to retreat, they were exterminated.

Powers & Weapons:
Little has been revealed about the Swarm's power, though it is assumed to be awesome in magnitude. The creatures have been shown to survive in the vacuum of space, can fly at extraordinary speeds unaided, are extremely resilient, and likely quite strong. They can also fire a laser from a cannon in their mouth.

Created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by José Luis García-López

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To say José Luis García-López turned in a great looking piece is sort of like saying sugar is sweet. It's a given. It's kind of too bad we only get to see the top of J'Onn's head, but he's the nearest and most detailed face, so it (at least) evens out. I also appreciate that he allowed Atom to go swimming in attention grabbing negative space. Even Aquaman's exclusion makes sense, because this is a flying gig, and gender equality demands some Supergirl. That's why he gets paid the big bucks.

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.


ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2010 Comicpalooza Commission Reference Sheets

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Despite having to significantly scale back my plans for this year's commissions, I still want to make sure that I have the right reference for the right artist if the right price can be agreed upon. You have to have good reference available for the artist. These guys don't have a detailed mental Rolodex of every character in their heads, and some are young enough to not even have a mental image of what a Rolodex is. Also, you might be picturing an Adam Hughes Despero, and they may be thinking Mike Sekowsky, a confusion that may leave you dismayed. Gathering quality reference in service to full figure commissions of obscure characters is time consuming, so in lieu of a post as I work on that, here's my reference sheets from the first round of Comicpalooza commissions.

I'm not sure that this is a complete set, as I likely cycled out some poor reference if I sprung for improved ones. B'rett almost got done by Andy Kuhn, but ended up waiting another year for a different artist. Blanx and Zook got head shots, while Professor Hugo was done twice over. Marco Xavier got a "gag" sketch,  while Kuhn went for Dr. Trap. J.H. Williams passed on doing Mr. V, but Phil Hester didn't a year later, so it's a  good thing I held on to that Vulture symbol. Mongul and Bloodwynd also got theirs in 2011. Bel Juz and the Marshal were going to be done up together, but that deal fell apart. Two years later, and the Marshal is the only one left from this first group not to have received a commission (and 2012 isn't looking to be his year either.) Most of the art was pulled as is right off this blog, in case you want to do some of your own...

2010 “Smash: Life on Mars?” by Daniel “Mercury-Magic”

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I was looking for some art reference, and what should pop out of nowhere but this... this... this...

An addition to my Super Smash Bros/Justice League of America Mix-Up Series.
Featuring

Kirby as the Martian Manhunter
Mewtwo as the White Martians
Knuckle Joe as Malefic
Isaac as Kanto

© "Kirby" and "Knuckle Joe" are characters owned by Nintendo, developed by HAL Laboratory from the "Kirby" series
© "Mewtwo" is a character owned by Nintendo, developed by Game Freak from the "Pokémon" series
© "Isaac" is a character owned by Nintendo, developed by Camelot Software Planning from the "Golden Sun" series

© "Martian Manhunter" is a character owned by DC Comics,
created by Joseph Samachson and Joe Certa during the "Detective Comics" series.
© "Malefic" is a character owned by DC Comics, created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake during the second volume of the "Martian Manhunter" series.
© "White Martians" are characters owned by DC Comics, created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter during the first volume of the "JLA" series.
© "Kanto" is a character owned by DC Comics, created by Jack Kirby during the first volume of the "Mister Miracle" series. Title by David Bowie.

I like finding unique things for the blog, and this qualifies. I find it very cute, and one of the rare video game mash-ups to appeal to my sensibilities. Do note the MM-symbol border. Also, there's an adowable wittle Ma'alefa'ak!