#also got started on the base linework for everyone else

[gurlgallade]

Progress on the sprites. Four now has two buddies. The buddies do not have arms yet.

[a-n-conrad]

Painting (Steve Rogers x Reader)

[Summary: You decide to paint your friend, Steve Rogers, realizing that no one had ever painted him without his uniform. However, things start to get heated after you start to daydream during your painting session. (She/Her pronouns)

Warnings: SMUT (18+, but with emotions), Not Canon Compliant (Because fuck you, Marvel.), Swearing, unprotected vaginal sex

Request: From my request survey (https://forms.gle/D9rsJtkERoBPaKvv8)]

You and Steve Rogers were widely considered to be an unlikely pair. There were a lot of things that you didn’t exactly agree on. Steve was a lot more social, being bold and outgoing. You were a bit quieter, preferring to avoid the company of a crowd. Steve was prone to waking up early to exercise. You stayed up into the quiet hours of the night, choosing instead to get a majority of your sleep in the morning. You weren’t exactly fond of Steve’s workout routines either, though you would join him on a short jog on occasion.

While you were technically considered an Avenger, you were really only brought out to fight for emergency circumstances. You had some incredibly powerful, incredibly volatile powers, but you really had no interest in using them unless it was completely needed. So you ended up making a few deals. You’d be treated like an Avenger, but you were basically benched unless some drastic, world-ending issue came up. So until then, you were kept on hold in Avengers Tower, spending most of your time painting in the studio that Tony had gotten set up for you.

Despite this power, and despite your title as an official Avenger, you were still a bit of an outsider among the team. You tended not to talk to them a lot, becoming a bit easily overwhelmed by the chaos that the team seemed to radiate. But surprisingly, you and Steve got along incredibly well.

You had originally bonded over your love of art. You loved Steve’s drawings. You admired the linework and shading in his drawings. He could do so much with just a pen, let alone if you gave him a few colors. He admired the amount of emotion you managed to instill into every single painting that you made. No matter what you painted, whether it was a portrait, a landscape, or something entirely different, it was always filled to the brim with the emotion that you had felt while painting it. It was like looking through a window into your soul. It was so honest and refreshing.

Eventually the two of you started to talk a bit more while you worked. It started pretty tame, just discussions of how your day was or general questions about each other like “What’s your favorite color”. But eventually you moved on to the harsher topics of your lives. Steve would talk about how exhausting it was to be the face of America, to be held on such a pedestal while also being expected to sacrifice everything at the drop of a hat. You talked about how cold and dehumanizing it felt to be seen by the American government as nothing more than a weapon, a walking nuclear bomb.

Your struggles overlapped at certain points. You both spent a lot of your time being used by the government. You were both seen as tools more than you were seen as people by a lot of the general public. You were a weapon and he was an idol, some sort of trophy. So you bonded a lot over your shared struggles as you talked to each other and worked on art side by side. And when the hard stuff got a bit too heavy, you’d sit and talk about art. About subjects that you just loved to add to all of your work. About what each shade of every color meant to you, about the emotions that you saw in every tiny color shift.

It was so nice, for both of you, to have something like that. The studio that you spent time in was so safe and peaceful for both of you, since the other Avengers tended to avoid it. And the two of you had started to see through each other’s masks enough to truly get to know each other. Steve couldn’t remember the last time someone had known him as Steve Rogers more than they had known him as Captain America. He had Bucky, but Bucky was far too busy with his own issues for Steve to even consider burdening him with anything else. But with you he could truly be himself, even if that meant getting angry, sad, or frustrated.

So the two of you had become incredibly close, despite your differences. And every day that you had some free time without any big meeting or mission, you would be in the studio helping each other with art. It was a good way for you to relieve stress, just relaxing with each other. It was one of those days that you came to a realization.

- - - - -

“Has anyone ever painted you?” You asked suddenly one day as the two of you sat side by side in the art studio. He looked a bit surprised, and then he looked confused.

“Of course. There are murals of me up all over the place, (Y/n).”

“No, there are murals of Captain America,” you responded, shaking your head, “They don’t really look that much like you. You really only look like that when you’re working as Captain America. So has anyone ever painted you? As Steve Rogers?”

He looked surprised again. And you could tell as the emotions cycled through his face that he didn’t really know how to respond. You supposed it was a bit of an odd question. And you knew that it was a bit odd to think of someone and their superhero persona as two different people, but Steve couldn’t disagree. He wasn’t Captain America all the time, and he loved that you understood that, “I suppose I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess not.”

You hummed a bit, “That’s a shame. It feels like a waste that everyone paints a costume. You should let me paint you sometime.”

You said it in a way that he wasn’t sure if you were serious. Your face was entirely serious when you said it, but you said it so casually, not even really looking at him, “Really?”

You finally looked up at him, noticing the pure confusion on his face, “Of course. I mean, you’d have to sit still for a while, but honestly, you could probably just sit and sketch for a while. You just seem too good of a subject to not be painted without the costume.”

Steve wasn’t really one to blush, but it was quite the compliment coming from you. He had women trying to hit on him all the time now, being Captain America, but that never really felt heartfelt. It had been a fairly long time since he had actually felt a real connection with someone. But to hear you compliment him, thinking of him as Steve Rogers instead of Captain America, made his heart flutter a bit. And the fact that he knew that you were rather picky about the subject you painted only made it more effective.

“I, uh, think that’d be cool,” He responded as soon as he was sure that he could trust his voice not to crack, though he couldn’t hide the slight stutter. It was honestly endearing how much his personality changed when he wasn’t working. While he was still headstrong and stubborn, he was a bit less confident. He knew he could win a fight. He knew that he looked good on television. But he didn’t really know how to interact with people in the new modern age. He was lucky to have the friends that he did. At least, that’s how he felt about it.

“Wonderful,” You hummed, starting to put away all of your supplies, “Why don’t we pack it up for the day and I can start painting you tomorrow if we aren’t too busy?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

- - - - -

The next day was surprisingly slow. You had to say that you were thankful. You had been looking forward to getting to paint Steve, even though you knew it was making him a little nervous. You were honestly excited to have a new project, and part of you was excited for the opportunity to stare at Steve for a bit without it being considered weird. He was easy to admire, both physically and on a personal level, so you found yourself staring more often than you’d like to admit. You were pretty sure that you had been lucky enough to avoid being caught though.

He was physically gorgeous. Obviously. But something about the way that he looked when he was drawing was nearly angelic. The way he furrowed his brows just a little and turned his paper at odd angles to make sure that the proportions of his sketches were right was adorable. The look in his eyes when his work started to come together made your heart melt. When he got a bit frustrated and would run a hand through his hair you could feel your heart skip a beat. You felt a bit dumb to be drooling over your friend, but you had to admit you were falling pretty hard for him. So you’d use this painting as an excuse to admire him without any questions.

He was already blushing a bit when he came into the studio, and you had a feeling that part of it was from Tony teasing him. He had a habit of giving the two of you a bit of a hard time about how much time you spent together. But the blush was still adorable. Something about Steve when he was nervous stole your heart. He was surprisingly soft when he had the space to be.

“So, uh, what’s the plan?” He asked as he strode over to your work station that you had already gotten set up.

“Just pull a chair up in front of me. You can get comfortable, start sketching, and I’ll get a base outline and block out as much as I can. Just let me know if you need a break and try not to change your pose too much. At least until I can get all of the base shapes right,” You instructed, trying to keep your voice even. You were surprised at how well you managed to hide the fact that you were completely lovesick.

“Alright, sounds good,” He responded, pulling up a chair and getting himself situated. He crossed one of his legs over the other, resting his ankle on his other thigh to give himself a place to set his sketchbook. You tossed him his pencil once he got himself settled, and then you got to work.

You had to admit you had started to get a bit frustrated with how easily you managed to get distracted by him while you were trying to paint. You had hoped that maybe painting him would help. You had no reason to get distracted from your painting when you were painting him. At least, that’s what you had thought before you started sketching out the form.

You felt yourself losing focus as your brush moved smoothly, the incredibly thin, light paint building a form that you found yourself wanting to know a bit more intimately. You tried your best to stay focused on the canvas in front of you, but you couldn’t stop your mind from drifting. You imagined what his body looked like under his clothes as you blocked out the lights and shadows of the fabric that rested over his abs. And the vivid image in your brain, the detailed picture of his body that you had conjured up in front of you, followed your brush as you worked.

The brush slid smoothly across the canvas, outlining his muscles, almost all of which showed through his thin t-shirt. Your brain almost instantly conjured up a matching image, the fantasy becoming more and more dynamic as you went on. It shifted from regular images of what his abs looked like when he was shirtless to more detailed images. Thoughts of his biceps flexing a bit as he held himself over you, his arms covered in sweat. Thoughts of his hands sliding across your skin. It only got worse as you moved down, eventually reaching the point between his legs.

“(Y/n)? Are you alright?” Steve’s voice finally broke you from your thoughts, his eyes which had been focused intently on his drawing when you had last looked were now trained on your face, scanning for any sign as to what was causing you to space out, “You don’t normally get distracted when you’re painting, is everything alright?”

“Oh,” You tried your best to pull yourself back to reality, though the fantasies seemed to be burned into your brain, “Yeah, sorry. I was, uh, spacing out a bit.”

“Do you want to take a break for a bit? Maybe we should get up and stretch,” He suggested. You nodded in response, hoping it would help you refocus on your painting.

It didn’t help much, though, as Steve stood, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt lifted up just enough to show some skin, and his pants were riding fairly low. Your eyes almost involuntarily moved to look at him, landing right about the button to the jeans that he was wearing. The muscles in his hips and stomach formed an almost perfect V shape leading into his pants.

“(Y/N)?” You had been caught staring. You tried your best to look casual, relaxing your posture. Your mistake was to try to lean on the table, setting your hand directing on your palette, which was covered in paints.

You froze, and Steve’s eyes landed on your hand, the red and blue paint gushing out from the sides. You felt like an awkward teenager, doing stupid ridiculous shit in front of your crush. You watched intently for a reaction from Steve, not really knowing what to do and hoping that the way that he reacted would give you something easy to respond to.

He raised one of his eyebrows at you, a look of confusion, with a small hint of amusement under the surface painted across his face, “You seem to have set your hand in your paint.”

“Uh, yes, it would seem so,” You responded awkwardly, finally lifting your hand out of the paint. You still really weren’t sure what to say, and not knowing where to put your hand so that you wouldn’t smear any paint anywhere wasn’t really making you feel any better. You cleared your throat a bit, trying to think of something smart to say, something that wouldn’t signal exactly how far gone you were into your fantasies, but instead you just signaled to Steve how flustered you were.

You knew that Steve had never been the biggest ladies’ man. From what he had told you, he was actually pretty awkward growing up, but the confidence that washed over him as he finally figured out what was getting you so flustered was visible. He walked closer to you, standing close enough to emphasize how tall he was, “Got something on your mind, sweetheart?”

“Oh, uh,” You stuttered, not sure what to say. You could tell that he knew from the smirk on his face, but you could feel your face heating up as you thought about explaining your fantasizing to Steve. He smirked even more as you got visibly flustered.

“It’s okay, honey, I don’t mind if you stare a little,” He said, standing a bit closer, his hand moving to hold your chin. You swallowed deeply as his fingers brushed against your skin softly. Your eyes locked with his as his hand tilted your chin up just a little.

As much as he was keeping up his confident, masculine persona, you could see the complete warmth in his eyes. He softened completely when you looked at him, pure admiration in your eyes. He had to admit it warmed his heart to see you looking at him like that, like he was your whole world. And maybe it was because he felt the same way. He had been falling in love with you slowly, and as he looked at you, he wanted to find every way possible to express it.

“Can I kiss you?” He whispered, his voice soft.

“Please.”

His lips were much softer than you thought they’d be, but you didn’t think about it too much as his lips moved against your own. It was soft at first, but it began to escalate quickly, getting rough and more passionate. His hands moved to your waist, pulling your body into his own, and your hands moved to his face, too focused on the kiss to notice the fact that you were smearing paint across his cheek.

He pulled back, allowing you to get a breath of air. That was when you noticed the red and blue streaks across his cheek, “Shit, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about,” He brushed it off, before pulling you into another kiss. He truly didn’t seem to care at all about the paint, choosing instead to focus on you.

This kiss started off much more passionate, building even further. Before long he pulled away again, pulling a groan from your mouth as you instinctively wanted more. Your complaints were silenced, though, as he began to kiss down your neck, nipping slighting at a few select spots, leaving marks for you to see later.

“If you want me to stop, just say it,” He said, as his hands started to move towards the hem of your shirt. He was moving slowly, giving you the chance to stop him at any point. You didn’t.

Before long, your clothes were entirely discarded, scattered haphazardly across the floor. Steve’s followed shortly. Neither of you could keep your hands to yourself, feeling the curves of each other's bodies as you continued to kiss. Both of you were desperate, the tension that neither of you even realized had been building finally crashing to the ground around you, any sort of restraint being thrown out the window.

However, you had to take a few moments to admire his body. You knew that it was perfect, he was a super soldier, of course it’s perfect, but you didn’t really know how perfect until it was right in front of you. There was no way you could’ve imagined it in a way that did it true justice. The warmth under his skin, the pace of his breathing, the firm feeling of his grip on your waist. Those were things that you could never have imagined fully.

He lifted you up without any issue, placing his hands under your thighs, carrying you to the work table and setting you on a clear section of the table without breaking the kiss. His hands slid across the tops of your thighs before grabbing your hips. Yours moved from his cheeks to rest on his bare chest, smearing a bit more paint across his scalped chest. You could feel his erection brush against your leg as he leaned over you, the two of you trying to get as close to each other as possible.

You were breathing heavily, your brain clouded with need, both new and left over from your earlier fantasies. Fantasies that were coming true, “Please, Steve.”

“What is it, Sweetheart?” Steve asked, looking down at you, his pupils blown wide with desire, “What do you want?”

You began to grind against his thigh without really thinking about it. He had to admit that something about you needing him this much turned him on, but he wanted to wait until you said it before he did anything, “Please fuck me.”

He would’ve liked to have a bit more foreplay, but both of you were so needy, having built up to this for so long with so little release until now. So he complied with your request. He pulled you quickly to the edge of the table. You were forced to lay your upper body down completely so that he could pull your hips to hang over the edge a bit. He took a few moments to rub himself against the entrance to your pussy, coating the head of his cock with liquid that was practically dripping from your pussy. Finally, he pushed himself into you slowly, making sure to monitor your reaction for any sort of discomfort. You were indulging in the feeling of him slowly stretching you out, completely enjoying the feeling of having him as close to you as possible.

He started moving after he was sure that you were comfortable, his hands beginning to wander your body, squeezing at your hips and breasts, basically any part of you that had a bit of squish, something for him to grab. His mouth latched on to the base of your neck, leaving a deep, dark hickey. You could feel every movement of his hips, his cock brushing against your internal walls again with each thrust.

You couldn’t hold back your moans as he found the perfect spot to hit, one of his hands gripping one of your hips tightly to hold you in place as his thrusts gained momentum. He started picking up speed a bit, taking care to continue to hit the spot that made you moan the loudest. His other hand slid down further, his fingers making their way between your folds. He was surprisingly quick to find your clit, not that you were complaining. Your eyes practically rolled back in your head as he started to rub small circles over it, keeping pace with his thrusts.

You were practically putty in his hands, falling apart as he found every way to make you moan. Touch, squeezing, kissing, and biting exactly where you needed him to. You had no idea how he knew exactly what you wanted, but you didn’t really care as a knot began to build in the pit of your stomach.

You practically screamed his name as the knot finally snapped, Steve continuing his motions, continuing to rub your clit, as you rode out your climax, your whole body feeling as though fireworks were shooting through your veins. Your walls tightened with the waves of your orgasms, the fluttering feeling clear to Steve as he continued to bury himself inside of you. Soon after your climax finished, you could feel his thrust begin to get a bit sloppy, focus clear on his face as he tried his best to hold on longer.

He couldn’t hold on that long, though, soon giving in to the building pleasure. He came hard, his hips snapping into your own and his head being buried in your neck to hide his curses as he came completely undone. You could feel the thick hot ropes of his cum coating your insides as he finished. You both stayed like that for a few moments in order to catch your breath.

As you started to come back to reality, you finally noticed the mess you had made. Steve’s hair was a mess, blue paint sticking some of the tips together. You couldn’t even remember when you had grabbed his hair, but the paint smears left a clear map of where your hand had wandered. The blue and red stripes across his face and chest were clear, too. In fact, you had gotten paint all over his sculpted body, the blue smears outlining his muscles.

“We should probably clean up and get back to work, huh?” He eventually sighed, his eyes never leaving your body.

“I suppose.”

(A/N: Thanks for reading! If you want to send me a tip for my writing feel free to tip me over venmo! My venmo is Al3x13l. Tips aren't required, but as a broke college student, they are appreciated.)

[cherry-bomb-ships]

Howdy Ruby! I like to thank people who leave nice things in the tags so here's me saying thank you for your sweet words on my Ozymandias art, I'm zazzed you enjoyed my linework!!

While I'm here, I'd like to leave an ask (i usually do): if you were to assign, based on personality, one of your f/os (you pick!) as a season, which season would they be and why? Also, what about you? What season would you assign yourself based on your own personality?

Cheers!

Sunny @tex-treasures

Awww thanks for this ask! I'm glad you liked my tags, I meant what I said! Ur linework is really nice :D I love when ppl do that thing where the lines are a darker shade of the color!

And omg what an interesting question! Honestly I could probably go thru my whole list and assign each f/o a season but I don't waaaanna do that, so let me just put who I think represents each season best off the top of my head! :3

For my favorite season, spring, I think Jamie is a really good fit! 💖💖💖 To me, spring is all about life coming back after winter, and in the same way, Jamie is so vibrant and full of life despite growing up in an environment that basically wanted him and everything else in it DEAD. Plus, you can't tell me that the bright beautiful colors we associate with spring don't also match his colorful personality super well too! 🥺💖💖💖💖 (Also when it comes to assigning myself a holiday, this is the one I'd go with!)

As for summer, honestly I'm gonna go with Spy on this one. Hear me out 😅 Summer probably thinks that it's the hottest shit and that everyone loves it for that, and while it IS right about being hot, thats why everyone fucking hates it so much. I think I could say the same thing about Spy hsnxhf

Moving on to fall, I gotta go with my cuddly bear Jim on this one 🥺💖🥺💖 I cant help but associate him with fall, mostly because the first 2 seasons of Stranger Things take place in that season, but also just because of the vibe in general! Fall is all about winding down, getting cozy, and feeling warm both with the warm colors from the leaves and maybe a warm drink to add a blush to your cheeks as the temperatures start to fall too. And just that quiet coziness is so PERFECT for Jim 🥺💖💖💖

And last but not least, winter... Don't @ me but I'm going with Cortex on this one 💀 When I lived in Cali and Florida, we didn't really have a winter??? We basically just had Long Fall, but I got to finally experience winter in Indiana and Ohio at the start of this year, and let me tell you it SUCKED. So, just like the way Cortex makes me feel, its mostly infuriating and really hard to deal with the entire time 🙄 But... there are a few moments that are really special, and that makes it almost (ALMOST) all worth it 😣💖💖💖 Oh and also with global warming, winters are now pretty short. Just like he is LMAOOOOO 😂😂😂

[curestardust]

if you want: (copy-pasting from my previous review cause it didn’t change) well, it’s BNHA lmao / amazing animation / amazing music / shounen / superpowers and heroes / to have a good fucking time

BNHA S01 review: (x)

DAMMNNN

For the techinical aspects, feel free to read my previous review. The music, the voice-acting. everything brings the same quality as S01, most notable of which is the animation. I was sorta worried that the longer run time will lead to more sloppy shots and such but I really shouldn’t have, it’s just as amazing as it was in the beginning.

Season 2 has 3 arcs. The sports festival, the internships and the final exam. As someone who grew up on Yuu Yuu Hakusho, I was obviously excited for the sports festival arc as it brought us something that every good shounen has: a tournament. The internships bring our attention back to Midoriya while the final exam serves as a nice wrap-up to the season. 

Being such a franchise, as interesting Midoriya’s journey is, it needs some great side-characters which we get plenty of. The characters set-up as more important in season 1 get some really great character building moments, solidifying their personalities and goals. We also have a few more who get thrust into the highlight, namely Todoroki, who serves as a great middle-ground between Midoriya’s sweet and Bakugo’s intense personality.

The rest of the class also get some time to shine, bringing us closer to them and making it feel like we’re truly watching a whole class’s journey instead of just a select few. Alas, they didn’t have as much relevance as in the USJ attack in S01 but still were enjoyable to watch.

All in all, I’m truly amazed. There was some filler and some slower points in the anime where my attention wavered for a second but BNHA always managed to bring me back, making me exhilarated throughout the whole thing.

I can’t wait to dive into S03 and see where these characters’ roads lead to and how the story progresses. (9/10) (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

if you want: tragic gays / gritty, dark and depressing story / 80′s USA with a focus on the mafia and a bit on gangs

WARNING: Banana Fish contains a lot of possibly triggering content. Please be careful if you’re sensitive to: Pedophilia, Rape (the act is never shown just the aftermath) (both are brought up, talked about and happen multiple times)

Banana Fish, or as it’s affectionately called, “Banana Gay”, was my last anime left over from the Summer season.

BF is...horrible. But in a good way. But also in a bad way...what I’m trying to say is that if you become attached to the characters’ in the beginning, you won’t be able to take a single breath throughout the whole runtime of this anime. Literally every episode has some sort of twist or event that made me wanna scream “NOOOO” and it just doesn’t let up! There are very, very few slower parts where you can finally relax for a second but then you blink and the craziness starts all over again. It’s like a really exhausting roller coaster ride.

So what is it about anyway? BF is based on a manga by the same name that was written in the 80′s. It takes place in the USA and we follow a boy named Ash. He is basically the powerful pet of the mafia boss and the leader of the gangs in the downtown area. We start out with Ash rebelling against the mafia. The rest of the anime is just a combination of gang wars, manipulation, shootings, murder and all kinds of disgusting shit that’s typical for most fictional stories taking place in the USA in this time period.

And while the premise and the execution is alright, it’s not interesting enough to draw such a fanbase as it did. And this is where the “Gay” part comes in, as Banana Fish is basically just a tragic love story. And yes, love story, without quotation marks cause if any of these 2 were a woman, people would 100% call it that so no one can say anything, period. Anyway, in the beginning we are also introduced to a young Japanese guy called Eiji, who comes with his friend, a photographer, as his assistant. Ash and Eiji’s very first meeting sets them up as a peculiar pair. Eiji comes off as very naive, sweet and innocent and yet he isn’t scared of Ash despite knowing that he is a gang leader. This fascinates Ash and we go from there, basically. Their personalities are like ice and fire. Ash becomes incredibly attached to Eiji and wants to protect him at all cost (even with his life if necessary). Eiji returns the sentiment, although in a much more subtle matter. Their relationship is what kept me personally completely invested but it was fucking painful cause nothing seems to go right for these two, sigh.

From a technical standpoint, Banana Fish has as many flaws as positives. As I said, if you get attached to the characters, these flaws will be easier to ignore but they are still there and due to this being a 2-cour series, some of the annoying stuff is there long enough to actually become annoying. 

The story itself is going in a 100 different directions with many players on opposing sides. There was a huge problem which only became prevalent near the last third of the anime. That is, there was seemingly a limit as to how high the stakes could be. We start from more minor stuff but with time the threats become bigger and the stumbles become deadlier and deadlier. However, at one point it starts to seem like we’re going in circles. The situation literally can NOT become any more deadlier and thus sometimes it feels like we’re reliving the same plot points over and over again, just in different settings. This isn’t helped by the fact that some characters are hellbent on their decisions and no matter what happens they will not consider anything else.

The animation and the music are both really good but some cracks show through. With the music, it uses multiple genres: melancholic classical instruments and pulsing synth heavy electronic tracks for example. All of the tracks are really pleasant to listen to however they were not used in the best way. Some scenes were missing some background music to elevate our emotions. The art style and animation are a bit unique but you can get used to it in a few minutes. Choppy linework and muted colours create a nice aesthetic with fluid animation especially during combat. Unfortunately, it does have some wonky shots but that wasn’t what annoyed me most but the inconsistent shots. From one angle a character is looking at the wall then when the camera switches to another angle they’re looking at the speaker. From one angle they have their arms crossed, from the next their arms are at their sides. It’s kind of minor but I still couldn’t help but notice and get taken out of the story for a few seconds.

To wrap up...I don’t like the ending. Don’t worry, I won’t be spoiling anything however I got accidentally spoiled on it and I’m honestly glad cause I’m pretty sure I would’ve started screaming like a lunatic if I didn’t. The ending feels a bit rushed. Banana Fish tries to quickly wrap up most plot points but we don’t particularly see their outcome. It was...uhm. Well, let me just say, I wasn’t satisfied and will now on just ignore the canon. mkay. 

I really wanted to downgrade this to a 7 because of the ending but it was a pretty wild and entertaining ride so I don’t think that’d be deserved. Banana Fish is definitely not for everyone but if you are interested in stories set in these settings you might give this a go (and now goodbye, time to read the manga) (8/10) (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

[houseofvans]

Art School | Q&A with Todd Francis 

We had such a blast at Antihero’s “Worst of the Worst:” A Todd Francis Retrospective opening at the House Of Vans Brooklyn that we figured we’d keep the party going with a Todd Francis interview! There’s no rest for the wicked, and we found out exactly what that means when you’re Todd Francis–who shares with us his highlights from Brooklyn, experiences working at Antihero, and what his strangest bit of inspiration was for coming up with a graphic.   

Antihero’s “Worst of the Worst”: Todd Francis Retrospective hits LA August 12th at Subliminal Projects. 

Photos: Jonathan Mehring

Welcome back, Todd! Can you tell folks how the idea for the Worst of the Worst retrospective came about?

Its funny, I did an art show at Austin’s No Comply Skateshop last year during South by Southwest as part of Vans’ 50 Year celebration, and my former rep Yong-Ki Chang and I started talking to Doug Palladini about how we could do a pretty sizable art show based on my decades of work with Antihero.  Considering most of the Antihero team is sponsored by Vans, it made perfect sense.  From there, it was off to the races.

And it started with the House of Vans Brooklyn retrospective! What were some of your favorite highlights from that first opening night in Brooklyn? 

Brooklyn was a really great time, I was blown away by the turnout.  For me, the highlight was the set that HO99O9 played; they were so goddamn good.  I knew they’d be good, but man, people were losing their shit.  Julien was in the pit, which made my night.  Having The Blackouts playing music for the whole first half of the night meant a lot to me too.  And some people came up to me and told me what big fans of my work with Antihero they are, that’s always really nice to hear, and humbling. The Art Talk the next day was pretty fun.  Hopefully I didn’t ramble too much.  Mostly I just talked about how lucky I’ve been in my association with Antihero.  Someone asked me about my daughters, and it kind of choked me up a little.  I’m sure that was pretty uncomfortable for everyone in attendance.  Oh well!

What were some of your early artistic influences?  What kind of stuff did you find funny that you think has influenced your work?

I grew up digging through old copies of Heavy Metal magazine and comic books, and Mad magazine was a big one for me too.  When I was really little, I dug Richard Scarry books a lot too, all the little details and stories buried on each page were fun to dig through.  But movies like The Jerk, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, and especially all the Mel Brooks movies, those all had just as huge an impact on me as any two dimensional artwork ever did.  I spent my entire teenaged years quoting all those movies with all my deranged neighborhood friends.

What’s your favorite skateboard graphic? What was the first board graphic you remember being fascinated by or just in awe of?

Probably my all time favorite skate graphic was Natas’ first panther graphic on SMA, the yellow one.  He was a friend of mine at school, and seeing that bright yellow deck on the wall in a shop just blew me away.  I look at it now, and its not like its the most incredible piece of art ever drawn, but at the time, It blew me away, because this guy I knew had his own name on a skateboard.  Pull the personal side of things out of the equation, and I was always amazed by all of VCJ’s early graphics with Powell.  My first nice deck was the Ray Bones Sword and Skull, and I would stare at that artwork, and the Powell Dragon top graphic, and I just couldn’t understand how those things could be drawn so well.  The details and the linework just blew my mind.  

When you were creating your iconic skateboarding graphics for Antihero, what was that process like? 

It’s a pretty simple process…either Julien would hand me an idea, like “lets do something weird you’d see on the sidewalk,” or I’d think about how funny it’d be to do a set of graphics based on the most visually disgusting diseases imaginable.  A few sketches later, he and I would stare at it and decide if it was worth pursuing further, and how we could make it better.  That remains pretty much the same process today, where Julien might text me a one line suggestion and I’d take it and run, or I’d text him a line like “pigeons messing with people after they’ve fallen asleep” and we riff back and forth from there.  If it makes us laugh or groan, then we know we’re on the right track.

What has been your most controversial graphic? Which graphic do you always hear about from fans?

Hard to say.  The Eat Shit And Die graphics we did a few years ago got us into some legal hot water, which was a bummer because I really loved what those decks had to say about the horrors of fast food, but I’m not sure if that’s controversy per se.  I did a graphic for Real in the mid 90s called The Texas Chainsaw Pigfucker, and all the shops in the south refused to carry it, but again, I’m not sure that’s necessarily controversy.  The Stranger K9 is probably the one I hear the most about, but maybe that’s because I always love to show it, since the message it conveys is something I care so much about.  

Are there any artists out now that you’re a fan of who are making interesting skateboard graphics that you’re into?

There are a few people who’s work I’m always interested in seeing.  Cliver’s work for Paisley is something I always pay attention to, and Nathaniel Russell also does really good work, and I like to see what Magenta is up to.  Whenever Ed Templeton paints a set of graphics for Toy Machine, I always take a look, and when Thomas Campbell or Chris Johansen do a set of board graphics, they’re always amazing.  Most of the rest of the abstract, photoshop art school crud all sort of blurs together for me after a little while, but that’s probably just me.  I’m not as fired up on purely decorative work as everyone else seems to be, maybe because I’m much more interested in concepts and statements and all that.  Most of my favorite board graphic artists do fewer and fewer board graphics these days, I guess their work has matured and they’ve moved into other media.  Maybe I need to grow up.

Have you ever self edited an idea for something because you just thought maybe it was just way too gnarly?

Once or twice I guess, but I’ve also presented ideas that didn’t go far enough.  That’s the great thing about working with Julien Stranger, he takes one look at something and knows whether or not its good enough.  And if its missing something, he’ll know what it is.  And if it sucks, he’ll tell me!

What’s the strangest bit of inspiration you’ve ever gotten while coming up with an Antihero graphic? What has been the most challenging?

Well, there was one batch of Antihero graphics I did back in the late 90s that was based entirely upon canned seafood cans from Mexico, that was pretty goofy and random.  And they came out kinda good!  I’d say that qualifies as strange.  Back when I was doing lots of the graphics for Real Skateboards in the 90s, I had to work with Sean Mandoli on his board graphics, and he only wanted to use bible passages for his art, so that was a constant, weird challenge every month or two.  

What’s on the horizon after the Vans & Antihero Skateboard Retrospective finishes up on Aug12th at Subliminal Projects in LA?  

Well, the work never ends.  I’m going to continue to create new stuff for Antihero and Penthouse and everyone else i work with, and i’ll try and work on being a better father to my teenaged daughters.   I would love to take The Worst Of The Worst overseas, so audiences abroad can see this crazy show we’ve worked so hard on.  And I’ll hopefully be bodysurfing every morning at the Venice pier.  See you there.

Follow Todd Francis Website: http://toddfrancis.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/toddfrancisart

[elleleuthold]

Get to know the writer:

I was tagged by @caffeinewitchcraft in the Writer’s info meme. Thanks, this was fun!

1. Name?

Elle. It’s been a nickname for a while, and is now a penname.

2. Five words that describe your writing?

A mess of character emotions.

3. Literature / art / films you’d recommend?

I always have trouble with this question. But if you like history, I recommend Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Lowen for American history, and I just got Rejected Princesses for Christmas and am quite enjoying it. In fiction, I heartily recommend the Discworld series (don’t feel like you have to go chronologically) and Every Heart A Doorway (<3 multiple worlds and an ace protagonist). For classic fantasy, I go Belgariad for the cleanest, clearest hero’s journey I have ever read, and for classic sci-fi I’ll say the Ender’s Game series, because it was the first to really open my eyes to the ways adult actions and popular narratives shape children/the future. If I had to choose only one book to read over and over forever it would be Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. My favorite short stories are You, an Accidental Astronaut by Sonja Natasha (@heysonjanatasha), and How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps by A. Merc Rustad (just go read all their stuff). My favorite poet is Richard Siken; Crush destroys me every time I pick it up.

I’ve also read a lot of good books this fall (I started following @lgbtqreads, @disabilityinkidlit and @richincolor which are great if you’re looking for more diverse options). Lies We Tell Ourselves is a really impactful story about desegregation, racism and lesbian coming-of-age in the South; Not Otherwise Specified is Contemporary YA about a black bi girl in Nebraska and I loved it to pieces, and I’ve been reading the Wings of Fire series at work, which is a highly-addictive kids series about dragons and prophecies.

Gah, this is turning into an essay, um. I like a lot of art, but I am terrible about remembering pieces or artists. The stuff I like best usually has evocative linework and minimal, but bright, colors. For film, I’ll say Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ghost in the Shell (the anime, subbed), Steven Universe and the first two seasons of Elementary. Also Life, by NBC (it’s on Netflix), which is the best detective show I have ever seen, hands down. Characters, writing, plot, music, cinematography, everything is amazing. I also play a lot of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, which are games where you fight against injustice and other threats the government refuses to acknowledge exist, and also you can kiss love interests of whatever gender you feel like.

4. Images, symbols, and settings you associate with your work?

Smooth, damp rocks by the riverside, a blank sketchbook page and a cheap pen, too many research tabs in the browser, worn book spines, copper glinting in sunlight and the wind in my face. Also, I seem to write a lot stories that involve escaping various types of prisons for some reason.

5. Themes / concepts you are hesitant to write about?

Abuse and assault, and also non-mainstream-American/English/Japanese cultures, mostly because I’m afraid of getting things wrong. I very much want to write a multiplicity of situations and cultures but am still mostly in the research stage. On the abuse and assault topic, I am also squeamish.

6. What would you tell someone who’s nervous about starting out?

Everyone’s nervous. The greatest writers you idolize have self-doubt. You gotta start anyway, because no one else can tell the stories you can. Start with whatever your favorite pet idea is. Frame it in words. Get it on paper. But don’t confine yourself to that. Write it when it’s fun, and write other stuff the rest of the time. You might need to practice more to really do it justice, and that’s okay. Take prompts, write sprints and drabbles and fanfic and poetry. Do NaNo, enter challenges with daunting deadlines. But above all else, finish a story. However long, however short. Finish something. I learned more from finishing one piece and editing it than writing 100 unfinished snippets, and each successive piece I finish adds to that knowledge.

And if you’re comfortable, post it. If you’re not, share it with someone, even if it’s unfinished and you’re just stuck. An alpha reader, a beta editor. Ask your friends and followers to look at a carefully controlled google doc. Ask me. If I can’t look something over for you myself I’ll do my best to put you in touch with someone who can. Writing gets about 1000 times more fun when you’re not doing it in a vacuum.

7. Three of your writings you’d recommend to people who’d like to know more about you?

Well, I haven’t posted much here yet! But this faerie snippet is based on my favorite fairy tale ever, The Ballad of Tam Lin (the original has some skeevy bits but I have a few novel adaptations I adore), bridesmaid is probably the most personal of what I’ve posted so far, and Exit Arc is the most polished piece. I’ve been writing in fandom for years (Heroes, Doctor Who, Marvel, Band of Brothers, etc), but I’m trying to keep this account just slightly separate from my fanworks. If you’re interested in my fics, I’d be happy to share that info via ask or message.

8. What pushes you to keep writing?

I’ve learned in the last few years that words are even more important than I realized, and stories are on a whole level above that. I spent a few years in academia, and a few years in magazine editing, and while I still loved words in the end, those experiences conspired to convince me that words were infinitely mutable and no story could be true in any lasting way. But then I started working in schools, with kids of every age between six and 18, and I could see, again, how important words were, and how much impact stories could have. I started reading more nonfiction and stories other than fanfiction again. And I looked at the state of published fiction and determined that most of it is not a vision of the world I want those kids to grow up with. Most published fiction I see on shelves and in magazines doesn’t even represent my own generation, let alone theirs. Things are getting better, more inclusive and representative, but a lot of publishing companies are run by people like my old boss, who gladhand around in an exclusively white, straight and male club and think that trying new things and helping people achieve their dreams should take a distant backseat to making money.

So I guess what I’m saying here is that what drives me is a desire to see more stories that reflect a world I want to live in, where people who haven’t been traditionally recognized in popular literature not only exist, but go on adventures and save the world, because everyone should have access to that dream. I want more stories about hope and friendship and the importance of taking care of ourselves and standing up for each other, because we need more of that in the world. I want to see more stories that break genre barriers and refuse to follow the same old patterns, and stories that actively criticize those patterns, because those are the stories that teach people to think outside prescribed lines. And I can’t sit here, feeling these things, and not contribute.

and i will tag... @fontess, @mm-mendell and @eggletine (only if you feel like it, of course!)

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/the-simple-optical-illusion-that-makes-an-image-look-like-its-drawing-itself/

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

iStock

iStock

Artist James Nolan Gandy invents robot arms that sketch intricate mathematical shapes with pen and paper. When viewed in real time, the effect is impressive. But it becomes even more so when the videos are sped up in a timelapse. If you look closely in the video below, the illustration appears to materialize faster than the robot can put the design to paper. Gizmodo recently explained how the illusion works to make it look like parts of the sketch are forming before the machine has time to draw them.

The optical illusion isn’t an example of tricky image editing: It’s the result of something called the wagon wheel effect. You can observe this in a car wheel accelerating down the highway or in propeller blades lifting up a helicopter. If an object makes enough rotations per second, it can appear to slow down, move backwards, or even stand still.

This is especially apparent on film. Every “moving image” we see on a screen is an illusion caused by the brain filling in the gaps between a sequence of still images. In the case of the timelapse video below, the camera captured the right amount of images, in the right order, to depict the pen as moving more slowly than it did in real life. But unlike the pen, the drawing formed throughout the video isn’t subject to the wagon-wheel effect, so it still appears to move at full speed. This difference makes it look like the sketch is drawing itself, no pen required.

Gandy frequently shares behind-the-scenes videos of his mechanical art on his Instagram page. You can check out some of his non-timelapse clips like the one below to better understand how his machines work, then visit his website to browse and purchase the art made by his ‘bots.

And if you think his stuff is impressive, make sure to explore some of the incredible art robots have made in the past.

[h/t Gizmodo]

Tessa Angus

Surprising Sculptures Made From Fallen Feathers

Kate MccGwire, Orchis, 2012

Tessa Angus

Kate MccGwire is a British sculptor with an unusual medium: feathers. Her surreal, undulating works often take the form of installations—the feathers spilling out of a drain, a stove, a crypt wall—or stand-alone sculptures in which antique bell jars, cabinets, or trunks contain otherworldly shapes.

MccGwire developed her obsession with feathers after moving to a studio barge on the Thames in 2006, as she explains in a video from Crane.tv recently spotlighted by Boing Boing. The barge was near a large shed full of feral pigeons, whose feathers she would spot on her way to work. “I started picking them up and laying them out, collecting them,” she remembers. “And after about two weeks I had like 300 feathers.” At the time, concerns about bird flu were rife, which made the feathers seem “dangerous as well as beautiful.”

When not supplied by her own next-door menagerie, the feathers for her artwork come from a network of racing pigeon societies all over the UK, who send her envelopes full every time the birds molt. Farmers and gamekeepers also send her fallen feathers from birds such as magpies, pheasants, and roosters.

The cultural associations around birds are a big part of what inspires MccGwire. “The dove is the symbol of peace, purity, and fertility,” she told ArtNews in 2013, “but it’s exactly the same species as a pigeon—which everyone regards as being dirty, foul, a pest.”

The same duality is present in her own work, which she frequently shares on her Instagram account. “I want to seduce by what I do—but revolt in equal measure. It’s really important to me that you’ve got that rejection of things you think you know for sure.”

You can see some pictures of MccGwire’s work, and watch the video from Crane.tv, below.

Amazon

13 Stunningly Beautiful Coloring Books for All Ages

BY Alvin Ward

February 7, 2018

Amazon

The rise of adult coloring books comes with a similar, exciting trend: extremely ornate and beautiful coloring books. These tomes make aesthetics the first priority by utilizing the work of extremely talented illustrators. Check out some coloring books with unusual and stunning artwork, perfect for when you’re looking for something a little different.

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Thanks for helping us pay the bills!

1. DOODLERS ANONYMOUS EPIC COLORING BOOK; $13.21

Doodlers Anonymous is a collective of artists that works as a home for eccentric and unconventional illustration art. For this unique coloring book, 90 contemporary artists from all over the world came together to lend their illustrations. Each page features a different artist and a different style.

Find it: Amazon

2. OUTSIDE THE LINES; $14.70

If you’re unimpressed by 90 different artists, how about 100? All sorts of creative minds—like animators, cartoonists, fine artists, graphic artists, illustrators, musicians—offered their talents to make this incredible coloring book a reality.

Find it: Amazon

3. ANIMORPHIA; $11.93

You may know artist Kerby Rosanes from his Sketchy Stories blog. Rosanes creates mind-bending scenes of objects and animals bursting into tinier objects and animals. The wildly detailed illustrations promise hours of coloring enjoyment. For added fun, certain pages are intentionally unfinished and encourage the colorer to draw their own designs.

Find it: Amazon

4. MID-CENTURY MODERN ANIMALS; $5.17

Illustrator Jenn Ski has a flair for mid-20th century art and design. She created a series of coloring books in this style that ranges from folk art to botanicals. This animal-themed coloring book features simplistic but beautiful designs that are perfect for animal and design lovers alike.

Find it: Amazon

5. NATURAL WONDERS; $5.77

Patrick Hruby’s artwork is striking for its solid blocks of contrasting colors that pop right off the page. Now you can pick your own color scheme for his blocky, minimalist style. The 32 illustrations feature natural scenes of animals, flora, and landscapes. There’s even a guide in the back of the book that shows what each picture looks like with color.

Find it: Amazon

6. CHARLEY HARPER COLORING BOOK; FROM $6

American illustrator Charley Harper is also an artist known for his blocky and colorful artwork. These pieces are perfect to translate into black and white linework to put in a coloring book. The horizontal coloring book features Harper’s iconic drawings of birds and illustrations he did for Ford Times. When you’re done, you can peel the work right out of the book and stick on a wall or fridge.

Find it: Amazon

7. MANDALAS; $8.67

This book of 92 intricate, beautiful mandalas makes for a meditative coloring session. Pair with yoga to achieve maximum zen.

Find it: Amazon

8. SECRET NEW YORK; $10.87

Created by Paris-based artist Zoe de Las Cases, this coloring book focuses on the little things in New York City. Color your way through Manhattan to Brooklyn, one tote bag or sneaker at a time.

Find it: Amazon

9. WILD SAVANNAH; $9.48

Illustrator Millie Marotta creates extremely intricate coloring books that are so beautifully detailed, they almost don’t need to be colored. Her patterns of the savannah’s flora and fauna offer a great way to relieve stress and be creative.

Find it: Amazon

10. TATTOOS; $7.29

This book features classic images like anchors, skulls, and roses. Once you’re done coloring, you might be tempted to get the completed work tattooed on your arm.

Find it: Amazon

11. MAGICAL CITY; FROM $7.52

Illustrator Lizzie Mary Cullen takes cityscapes and deconstructs them into swirly abstract designs perfect for the creative colorer. Cullen took inspiration from cities like London, Rome, and Luxor when creating this unusual coloring book.

Find it: Amazon

12. THE ART OF NATURE; $8.35

For the budding scientist in your life: A coloring book filled with scientific drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are 60 pages of vintage illustrations of animals and flora to fill in.

Find it: Amazon

13. ALEXANDER GIRARD COLORING BOOK; $9.93

Bring home the illustrative magic of Alexander Girard with this coloring book that transforms some of his work into simple line art to color. Girard, also known as Sandro, was an interior and textile designer who made some extremely charming and retro artwork.

Find it: Amazon

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[recentanimenews]

The 10 Best Faces of Anime: 2017 Edition

The human face – one of our species' most entrancing, fascinating traits. Capable of revealing the depths of the bearer's soul or hiding a person's true intentions, the face is the external cradle of emotion, the heart's fairest and yet most complex messenger. Tonight, on NOVA...

  Just kidding! You're not here for a deep dive into the nuances of human faces and delicate insights into what the expressions we make say about who we are, what's important to us, and the human psyche – you want some gosh dang goofy anime faces, and I'm here to provide. Good anime faces are one of the medium's greatest treasures, with each new season of anime bringing with it a brand-new set of contenders reaching for the crown of best anime face. Some of these contenders bide their time, breaking out truly stellar faces for a moment of ideal impact, while others seek to make their mark with torrents faces.

  Let me tell you, it was no easy task to break down an entire year's worth of quality anime faces to a list of just ten of the best contenders, but I have tried my darndest and present before you the fruits of my labors. You can either read all the reasoning, or just look at the pictures and start yelling in the comments. Your choice! And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the top 10 best faces of 2017 anime!

  #10. Aguri Dies (Gamers!, Episode 3)

Gamers! (Pine Jam, Summer 2017) was sneakily good in a lot of ways, feeding us rich material on the smugness of nerd self-deprecation, touching little reflections on romance, and a late bounty of dunks on video games courtesy of my favorite character in the show – Aguri. But there was one area where Gamers! needed no subtlety: its excellent face game. Trying to narrow down the faces from this show was a truly daunting task, but this one wins out for a number of reasons. First, the mismatched combination of heavy, marker-like lines and traditional thinner lines provides an odd contrast that frames Aguri's deformed facial features – her mouth trailing off her face is probably the detail that makes the whole thing work. But the most impressive thing about this face? I don't have the foggiest clue what it was in reaction to, but it still works devoid of any context. In many ways, that's emblematic of what makes silly anime faces great – their ability to stand on their own apart from the context of their show. How about that? Weren't expecting actual analysis on silly anime faces here, were ya!

  #9. Jean's Smirk (ACCA, Episode 12)

  This shot of Jean Otus from ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. (Madhouse, Winter 2017), on the other hand, is one of the most context-rich faces in today's list. While those of you who haven't seen ACCA might be able to appreciate the smug upwards tilt of Jean's mouth and his coy eyes, the people who did watch the show have the privilege of appreciating that this smile is the culmination of an entire show's worth of political intrigue, spywork, and plotting. The twist and triumph this one smirk represents gives the audience a sort of deep satisfaction that offers an entirely different sort of appeal from the instant amusement that your typical anime face grants – and that earns it a spot on this list.

  #8. Sana's Pout (Alice & Zoroku, Episode 7)

  There's your typical anime girl pout, and then there's filling up the entire darn screen with your pouting. Leave it to an actual sulking child, like Sana from Alice & Zoroku (J.C. Staff, Spring 2017), to pull a feat like that off. In fact, Sana pulls a plethora of fantastic faces throughout the duration of Alice & Zoroku, including a ton from my personal favorite anime face genre, then > <. That being said, there's no way a pout this powerful, which conveys both her childishness and her earnest cuteness in one shot, could be anything less than the show's best face – and one of the best of the entire year.

  #7. Takao Melts (Tsuredure Children, Episode 3)

  What other sort of face are you supposed to make when a pretty girl seems like she's about to confess to your extremely low self-esteem self? It was pretty much all out war in the Tsuredure Children (Studio Gokumi, Summer 2017) camp for this spot on the list, as the show's face game was, frankly, unbelievable – with wobbly mouth smiles, tears by the gallon, blushes so numerous they probably contributed to global warming, moments of shock, embarrassment, and awkwardness galore. But Takao's face here topped them all on two specific strengths. One, his head is very round. Two, the mix of sweat, full-face blush lines, pitch-perfect pink shading, and his huge mouth are a truly phenomenal combination that make it look like he's just about to melt. #relatable.

  #6. Todoroki's Rage (My Hero Academia S2, Episode 7)

  Todoroki takes a page out of All Might's book as he storms away from Endeavor in this scene from My Hero Academia's second season (BONES, Spring 2017), complete with the intense lines and dark shadows – except, in his case, it's a face chiseled by rage instead of heroism. Pretty much everyone knows about famous BONES animator Yutaka Nakamura's contributions to Todoroki's fight, but the figure behind this epic face is anime character designer and chief animation director Yoshihiko Umakoshi. Although this shot is based on mangaka Kohei Hirokoshi's excellent original drawing, Umakoshi's distinct style still shines through in the inky lines and sharp angles. In the end, the anime version isn't hugely different from the manga version, but it's got just enough extra style to stand all on its own. You can really feel Todoroki's fury!

  #5. Drunk Chain (Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond, Episode 3)

  What's better than a sexy werewolf lady who can crush your heart with her hand while it's still in your body? How about one who can drink you under the table without batting an eye, like Chain Sumeragi from Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond (BONES, Fall 2017)? While not the most intricate offering on the list, the simple chibi-like design is actually part of the face's charm. There's a pleasing asymetry to the whole thing, what with the back-and-forth linework of her mouth and the goofy puff of her left cheek. The empty shot glass of otherworldly liquor is just the chaser that makes the face irresistible.

  #4. Gabriel's Stare Contest Face (Gabriel Dropout, Episode 10)

  I didn't watch Gabriel Dropout (Dogakobo, Winter 2017) myself, but that doesn't mean I'm not familiar with the show's inescapably good face game. The studio behind GabDro, Dogakobo, has made a name for itself doing cartoony comedies with fun animation and great faces, and Gabriel Dropout is just another in a prestigious ouvre that includes cult favorites like Love Lab, widely beloved offerings like Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, and transcendent meme shows like Himouto! Umaru-chan, but on faces alone GabDro certainly stands on level ground with the rest of the studio's productions!

  #3. Mikasa's Death Glare (Attack on Titan S2, Episode 11)

  Can an anime face be just one eye? I'm not sure, but I'm sure as hell not going to argue with Mikasa Ackerman when she's looking at Eren like that! I'm not the biggest fan the show, but this chilling moment from Attack on Titan S2 (Wit Studio, Spring 2017) got my attention in a big way simply because of how much intensity and emotion was packed into a single open eye. The much-discussed makeup animation crew (more on that here) appeared many times during Titan's second season, but I'd argue this moment is their crowning achievement – if only for how impactful and terrifying it is. 

  #2. Sagiri's Bleh (Eromanga Sensei, Episode 6)

  At this point in the list, we're well and truly into meme face territory, with Sagiri's infamous "bleh" face from the middle of Eromanga Sensei (A-1 Pictures, Spring 2017). I didn't watch the show myself, so I have basically no idea what the context is, but as we've discussed with some faces on this list already, many of the best anime faces are accomplished because they can be divorced from their shows. And, in the case of ones like this, they go on to become memes in their own right, ways of expressing emotion and feeling through our computer screens. Ah, for the face of an anime girl that expresses my true heart...

  #1. Kazuma Looks Dumb as Hell (Konosuba S2, OP)

  As much as it physically pains me not to have an Aqua screencap in this spot, was there ever any doubt that the most memorable anime face of 2017 would be this incredibly goofy Kazuma face from Konosuba S2 (Studio Deen, Winter 2017)? The face was an instant legend among the community as soon as the show aired, and went on to be discussed at length on Twitter, Reddit, and pretty much everywhere else for the entire season. As for the merits of the face itself, the bulging eyes, tiny pupils, streaming tears, garbled mouth, the general upwards slant of everything including Kazuma's hair, and the hilarity of the moment itself all pull together to make the best anime face of 2017.

  And with that, I sincerely apologize for the fact that I could not fit more anime faces into this post. As a token of my regret, here is a small album of some of the runners-up that I compiled for you all. With that out of the way, it's time to hear from you guys! What was your favorite anime face of the year, and which anime had the best overall face game? Chime in down there in the comments!

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Isaac eases his compulsive need to write about anime on his blog, Mage in a Barrel. He also sometimes hangs out on Tumblr, where he mainly posts his drawing practice as he seeks to become a renowned idol and robot fanartist. You can follow him on Twitter at @iblessall or on Facebook.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[oosteven-universe]

Die!Die!Die #6

Die!Die!Die #6 Skybound/Image Comics 2018 Written by Robert Kirkman Illustrate by Chris Burnham Coloured by Nathan Fairbairn Lettered by Rus Wooton      Honestly I haven’t been reviewing this lately largely due to the fact that well it’s Kirkman whose notoriety and fan-base are so large that it’s not something I think needs promotion. However with this week being what it was I have time to get this one in, and it’s one of the few to actually have come out on the last Wednesday of the year.      Personally I love this book, it is incredibly twisted and completely not right in the head and those are highlights for me. Also Chris is doing the interiors here and I absolutely love his work and there is not a project of his that I won’t get. Combine him Kirkman and the idea here you’ve got that perfect storm.      This is the issue where we get to see something of an explanation as to how the boys came to be. I found this to be very interesting because their father wasn’t always this dark man however he let ambition lead him and grief destroy him and the way it all plays out for us here is extremely well done by Kirkman, does everyone predominantly use his last name like it’s his only one?, and that comes as no surprise. It is gripping and powerful and it humanises him in ways I wasn’t expecting to see. So kudos for all that, I love being surprised and made to feel things while I read.     The structure of the story is sensationally well done and I love how the ebb & flow of the book just takes on this journey. It almost feels like we’re hitting one drama moment after another like the old night-time soaps, Dynasty for instance, all of which are caused by the same person and you can almost feel the crest of his sinister plan starting to come to fruition. It feels old school in some ways and in others it’s completely now and that dichotomy is beautifully melded together to make it work for me on so many levels.     There is a moment in this book that got me and it wouldn’t let me go and it’s now one of my favourite moments in comics and should be for everyone else worldwide. Of course it’s John and Nathaniel at the latter's house so you’ll have to pick this up to see it and if you already read the book then shout out and let us know if you think my opinion is shared! Between the two boys here that is one scene that is so damn good.     Which leads me into the interior work that Chris does here. His linework is just so nice to see, his style is distinct and you recognise it immediately. The way he uses that to create this attention to detail that we see on the page is truly a gift. The agents in that alley, the recounting of their youth, Nancy and John in the house all of these come to life through this strong yet delicate hand that leaves an impact upon the reader (p.s. Barnaby on the toilet YASS QUEEN). The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective show such a superb eye for storytelling. The way backgrounds are utilised to expand the moments and show a great sense of size and scope is sensational. The colours here too are just gorgeous and finish it all off with such perfection. ​     This book is why we read comics. It really is an absurd premise and sibling rivalry taken to such new levels of depravity is simply something we don’t see enough of. This is such a Bloody Brilliant book from head to toe, the writing is strong, fun and in-depth and the interiors are what makes it all worthwhile.

[oosteven-universe]

Blood, Skulls & Chrome #1

Blood, Skulls & Chrome #1 Second Sight Publishing 2021 Written by Hannu Kesola Illustrated by Mohammad Ramlan & Marcelo Salaza    The Texas-based outlaw motorcycle club, The Steel Knights have lost a big deal from the Mexican Cartel to rival the Lake Street Boyz gang. When the two reckless members of the MC kill the cartel's liaison, the MC soon find themselves fighting for survival against the threats from outside and within.    The opening here is fantastic and it really kind of sets the stage for the story at hand.  We see this execution of a man whom is currently being utilised to send a message to the cartel for choosing a rival gang to move their Meth.  This of course is going to set of a chain reaction of events that are going to send everyone in this crazy duster whirlwind.  Also I have to say that during this opening we see Cale and Garth and immediately you know that one is crazy and the other there’s more to than meets the eye.  Don’t for a moment think this a good thing as I don’t think one of them is more than plant to set the Steel Knights up in a most spectacular fashion.  That is my assessment of what we see and I could be wrong but somehow I don’t think that I am.    I really am enjoying the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well.  The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter do wonders in fleshing them out as people.  Also Jack’s got a lot going on and I cannot wait to learn what even the pleasures of the flesh couldn’t do to soothe him.  The pacing is superb and as it takes us through he pages revealing the story, introducing us to these characters and this world does a magnificent job in keeping the reader wanting more.    I appreciate how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge.  It is within these layers where the questions are raised and overall scope of the story starts to really take shape.  How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved extremely well.    The interiors here are really nice to see.  The linework is fantastic and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work is extremely well rendered.  Not going to lie I am disappointed we didn’t see Jack in the buff when she pushed her away, not even a shot of his arse and in this day and age no one should be afraid to show that especially when we pretty much see all of her.  I like that we see backgrounds as we do throughout the book and how they work within the composition of the panels to show us the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope of the story.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a lovely eye for storytelling.  The colour work we see is fantastic.  How the various hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great eye for how colour works. ​    This is a great book.  We don’t see anything else even remotely close to it on shelves and that alone is great to see.  The Steel Knights seem to have fallen on some hard times and I’m sure they’ve weathered worse than this but I do like how we see the reaction that Jack has to it all and how the others just seem to go about their business.  I’m looking forward to seeing where this is going to go next considering how this issue ends.  Second Sight is making a very good case on being the up and coming publishing house that you need to pay attention to as they’ve got a strong line of books already hitting shelves.

[oosteven-universe]

Crossed + One Hundred Mimic #1

Crossed + One Hundred: Mimic #1 Avatar Press 2018 Mimic Story by Christos Gage Illustrated by Emiliano Urdinola American History X Written by Pat Shand Illustrated by Raulo Cacere Lettered by Kurt Hathaway Based upon a concept by Alan Moore     This series is rated Adults Only     DISCLAIMER: graphic sexuality gore sadistic violence     Crossed is back with a giant-size new series! The world of Crossed +100 was created by Alan Moore and introduced us to an entire civilization and language set one hundred years after the Crossed outbreak devoured humanity. Now Christos Gage delves into that future with MIMIC, as one of Beau Salt’s disciples invades a military base to pick apart the best and brightest. Each issue also has a second feature as writer Pat Shand teams up with artist Raulo Caceres to deliver a chapter of AMERICAN HISTORY X, based on the events Moore spotlighted as key points in the saga.     It has been a long time since I have reviewed something from Avatar Press and almost equally as long since I have had the opportunity to read and review a Crossed book. This has always been one of those books that remains a mystery as to why I am so fascinated by it. Yes the storytelling has always seemed exceptional to me and in the beginning I supposed I was fascinated by the shock value of it like everyone else. So have I become desensitised to gore porn or is it just that in this context it’s what we’ve come to expect? Not sure there is a right answer for that really but all I do know is that while having missed Alan’s comeback I am here now and honestly I have missed these stories. It feels like something that would be more true than TWD is and given humanity’s nature and propensity towards violence well here we are.     So Mimic is a great lead for this series. Christos is a prolific writer with a series of strong books and television shows to his credit and getting to see him work his magic is utterly delightful. I don’t think I’ve seen blood & guts from him since Absolution. Now with this being my first exposure to the + One Hundred it took some getting used to. One of the things Alan did that the guys here are trying to replicate is demonstrating how teaching and the use of language have deteriorated. It’s like language was broken down and rebuilt so that familiar words may not mean what we reader think they do and if that doesn’t require a certain amount of genius to come up with then I don’t know what does.     There is a crazy thing going on in Mimic that grabs your attention and doesn’t want to let it go. Thomas, a man who showed up at the camp one day with a disfigured face and willing to work hard for his place in there was allowed entry and to stay. Julie the Archivist and he have this weird relationship where they want to learn from each other now that the events of this issue have taken place. It is crazy sure but you really need to read this to understand what Christos adds to the mix and how he’s been able to multilayer the story.     The interiors have always been pretty damn amazing. The attention to detail and the way we see the linework used in both strong and subtle ways are fantastic. Still a little too much hiding of the peen but I guess what a man has between his legs is something he’s embarrassed to show on the page. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a great eye for storytelling.     I am truly fascinated by the opening salvo here and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for Thomas and Julie as the story moves forward. Also Thomas’ story gets a start which is great and it is just enough to wet the appetite.     Pat doesn’t get nearly enough pages for the History X part of the book but with what he’s capable of he makes it work. The way this is one is told by a teenage girl writing in a journal describing events is exceptionally well done. I like that she is able to describe the troubles and gets to that point where perhaps lies hope. Hope in a Crossed world however is something rare and short lived.   That he shows us both sides of the coin here is what you should be impressed by, that and the level of characterisation he's able to bring to them in a short period of time.     Still the introduction of someone like Thomas though less schooled and cultured is interesting and for whatever reason it is women of power in the Crossed world are much scarier than their male counterparts. This one doesn’t disappoint either and well if you dare to read this you’ll understand what I mean. Regardless the story is one mention by Alan and Pat gets the opportunity to flesh it out, bring it to life and show why it got the mention it did.     The artwork here also is as important to the story. We see how the patchwork walls are made we see where in life they are with the clothing available and the materials they work with. Plus the creativity and imagination in how we see her in all her “regal” glory well trust me the attention to detail in that work is insane! I mean this extremely well done and the way the work flows is fantastic. ​     So next time around we’ll see more, learn more and get another history lesson in the meantime enjoy the madness, unrelenting gore porn sex and a level of violence mixed in with the sex that’ll leave thinking the Amazon is a good place to live. Despite of or because of the subject matter I am still drawn to the book like a moth to the flame. The stories are so well written and illustrated that you can accept everything you see.