Spider-Man rebooted by Kate Beaton

One of five new strips by Kate Beaton in which she asks, What if...Spider-Man had been bitten by a brown recluse spider?

*Hark! A Vagrant is 37 percent off at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Fascinating site I've never heard of:

At the time of Göbekli Tepe's construction much of the human race lived in small nomadic bands that survived by foraging for plants and hunting wild animals. Construction of the site would have required more people coming together in one place than had likely occurred before. Amazingly, the temple's builders were able to cut, shape, and transport 16-ton stones hundreds of feet despite having no wheels or beasts of burden. The pilgrims who came to Göbekli Tepe lived in a world without writing, metal, or pottery; to those approaching the temple from below, its pillars must have loomed overhead like rigid giants, the animals on the stones shivering in the firelight—emissaries from a spiritual world that the human mind may have only begun to envision.

Archaeologists are still excavating Göbekli Tepe and debating its meaning. What they do know is that the site is the most significant in a volley of unexpected findings that have overturned earlier ideas about our species' deep past. Just 20 years ago most researchers believed they knew the time, place, and rough sequence of the Neolithic Revolution—the critical transition that resulted in the birth of agriculture, taking Homo sapiens from scattered groups of hunter-gatherers to farming villages and from there to technologically sophisticated societies with great temples and towers and kings and priests who directed the labor of their subjects and recorded their feats in written form. But in recent years multiple new discoveries, Göbekli Tepe preeminent among them, have begun forcing archaeologists to reconsider.

Via.

2. So did Urban Outfitters rip off an Etsy seller? Or was her design not remotely original?

3. And did Jack Kirby create all of the major Marvel characters? Or was it Stan Lee? Via.

Link roundup

1. Totally bizarre story of a nuclear power plant mishap that killed three men in 1961 Idaho. "When one of the trio was buried, his family asked to see the coffin: permission was only granted when they agreed to rush through the funeral in five minutes."

2. Fast Company chose Reshma Shetty as one its most creative people in business:

At MIT Shetty earned her synthetic-biology chops by helping engineer a strain of E. coli bacteria that smelled minty fresh, eliciting praise from experimental biologists who hated the outhouse stench of unadulterated E. coli.

3. It's Star-Lord and a sort of space Dr. Moreau in "More Than Human" by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Bob McLeod.

The Vision is so emo

From Avengers #58, John Buscema shows even an android can cry.

*Buy Vision toys at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Panel from Detective Comics #421 (December 1971).




Meet new Daredevil artist "Lanky" Frank Miller circa 1979.




Lots of fun in this 1500-panel scan of Wham-O's Giant Comics.





Magician by Jared Joslin. Via.






Hearing trumpet and labyrinth by Leonora Carrington. Via these sites.

*Buy magician posters at Amazon.

Illustration roundup

Rube Goldberg machine wallpaper by Roxanne Daner.





Captain America's great love - - Agent 13.




One of Dustin Harbin's $30 commissions.




Cool black and white art by Paul Neary in the comic story The Time Eater.




Tardis t-shirt by Rosemary Travale up for vote at Threadless. She created a wallpaper, too.

*Buy bullfight posters at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Gizmodo wants to hire a graffiti artist (and is actually inviting submissions by any type of artist). (It's a pay gig.)

2. Yet another great post by Jim Shooter about Marvel history, this time starring Bill Sienkiewicz. Click through to read about how he got his start at Marvel. Here's a taste:

Bill wasn’t invited to San Diego that year, but wanted to go. Bill was athletic—probably still is, I haven’t seen him for a while—and just the right size for the Spider-Man costume Marvel used for its character public appearance program (things like the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn).

I told Bill that if he’d wear the costume for a few events, Marvel would pay for the trip, all expenses. Save him significant dough. He agreed.

3. Nike estimates that LeBron James winning the NBA title could lead to a $4 billion bump in business in China. $4 billion approximates the entire NBA's revenues. Via.

Link roundup

1. Rad illustrator JAW Cooper is looking for work (especially in Los Angeles).

2. Allison Reimold posted a new cartoony-style mounted head and is interested in commissions.

3. Susan Storm/Invisible Woman in her Future Foundation costume bodypaint (probably NSFW).

Best Covers: Marvel solicitations for August 2011

My favorite covers from the Marvel comics solicitations for August 2011:


AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: INFESTED #1
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by BARRY KITSON, LEE GARBETT, EMMA RIOS & GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
One of Spider-Man’s most twisted foes is back, and he’s giving spider-powers to the people of New York! Good people, bad people — suddenly, Manhattan is full of great power! But what about responsibility? The road to Spider-Island starts here! Collecting material from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659-660 and #662-665.




FEAR ITSELF: DEADPOOL #3 (of 3)
Written by CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS
Penciled by BONG DAZO
Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN
Memo to Deadpool: next time you gussy up a loser villain so you can beat him easily and scam people out of their hard earned money, make sure you don’t accidentally actually make him more powerful than you. Of course, that assumes you’ll be willing to show your face after getting beaten by the now-unstoppable-but-still-incredibly-lame Walrus. Deadpool puts the hammer down and drives home the most irreverent tie-in of the year!




JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #626
Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover by STEPHANIE HANS
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN
Loki has assembled his team for his secret mission in the shadow of FEAR ITSELF. Now, he just needs his equipment. Is there anyone Loki won't won't turn to get the power he needs? SPOILERS: No, probably not. The question has to be whether the young boy has the guile to survive turning to them, and whether the promises he makes to secure the chance of a tomorrow will only ensure that the tomorrow will see Asgard as black as a cinder.

You can see more of my favorite comic book covers here.

Link roundup

1. Fascinating article about Stanley and Livingstone by Jess Nevins. (If you've enjoyed the various League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes, then you should definitely pick up his companion books.)

2. Steve Wing writing about comics:

And take the Hulk. The Hulk was this rampaging engine of destruction, sure, but still, deep down, he was basically a nice guy. That is, he was the reverse of how we actually were in seventh grade, me and Rick and Jerry: all too nerdishly nice on the surface, but underneath raging.

Via.

3. First 15 minutes of L.A. Noire.

4. First five minutes of Duke Nukem Forever.

Link roundup

1. How about a ringtone that yells Trollllll.

2. Ant sculpture on sale at the Dali museum.

3. You watch every episode of the 60's Spider-Man cartoon at Marvel. Via.

Illustration roundup

Lots of great (and silly) Thor by Kirby pages in this gallery. You can buy Kirby's Thor collection at Amazon.




This is a dating don't.




Editorial illustration by Tomer Hanuka for the NY Times.





Spider-Man and Daredevil by Moebius (from a gallery of Moebius art). (It's interesting that Moebius is so famous, yet doesn't have a single comic in print at Amazon.) Via.




Pen Ward looking for a drinking buddy the other night.

Link roundup

1. The established video game reviewing press has known for at least a week that Brink was a disaster.

2. Steel Divers, which is supposed to really show the 3DS off, was essentially completed for the DS and then repurposed for the 3DS.

3. Captain America wallpaper.

Illustration roundup

NBA player Andrei Kirilenko's tattoo. Via.




Samus by Tom Waterhouse. Via.





Cumulus by Jason Bennion and Christian Nauck for this contest.




The Enchantress and Frog Thor.



Lady Gaga fashion concept by Mike Keefe - - one of several posted here. Via.

*Buy Frog Thor toys at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Samurai Jack and Aku via these sites.




Strikeforce: Morituri ad circa 1986. Via.




Batman by Matt Taylor.




Piachu by Pavel Lagutin. Via.




Tintin short first by Dan Hipp.

*Buy Samurai Jack toys at eBay.

Kobe and the Infinity Gauntlet

The NBA playoffs meet the Marvel Universe. Via.

Link roundup

1. This review will make you think strongly about buying a first gen iPad instead of the iPad 2.

2. And if I had a tablet, I'd definitely sign up - - a year of Marvel's Unlimited Digital Comics is $60, and right now it's 30% off with the code Thor302011.

3. Portal dual screen wallpapers.

*Buy iPads at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Because dragon's are overdone, a fire-breathing swan. Merlin's Ring is available at Amazon and eBay. Via.




Orangutan with magnetic powers used magnetism in a suspect manner via this list of goofy Fantastic Four moments. The existence of this comic is an indication of how much education has improved, right?




Tattooed Black Manta by Dave Mott.




Longshot and She-Hulk by Jesse Hamm (I think).




Barbara Gordon/Oracle by Adam Hughes.

*Buy Batgirl toys at eBay.

Illustration roundup

Dave Wachter shows off a new commission: "the request was for a character made from the combination of a Star Wars character and a GI Joe character. Hammerhead and Chuckles are the two I chose."




Mondo's poster for Rabid. Want to guess the artist?




What If...Conan Were Stranded in the 20th Century cover by Bill Sienkiewicz available at eBay. Via.




BPRD: Monsters #1 variant cover by Francesco Francavilla.




Samus by Zekes. Via.

*Buy Mondo posters at eBay.