The Justice League of America 100 Project

The Cully Hamner cover is my favorite from the Heroes Initiative JLA 100 Project.

The Heroes Initiative is an organization that…

…creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit more than 50 creators and their families with over $950,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

One of the cool fundraising ideas that the Heroes Initiative came up with was the JLA 100 Project.  Heroes Initiative in collaboration with DC Comics got over 100 artists to create an original JLA cover on specially printed blank Justice League of America #50 covers.  The original art was then auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative.  In additional the 100+ pieces were collected in special edition hard and trade paperback books again with the proceeds going to support the Hero Initiative.

You can see all 100+ pieces of JLA art here.

14 Reanimated Facts About “The Bride of Frankenstein”

Mark Mancini and Mental_Floss present 14 Reanimated Facts About The Bride of Frankenstein.  Here are three of my favorites…

4. LOOK CLOSELY AND YOU’LL NOTICE THAT THE MONSTER’S WOUNDS APPEAR TO HEAL.
In the original Frankenstein’s thrilling climax, the monster seems to meet its demise inside of a windmill that’s caught fire. So when we first see the creature in Bride, the big brute is riddled with obvious burns. Also, a lot of his hair has obviously been singed off. For subsequent scenes, however, makeup artist Jack Pierce incrementally toned down the burns and replaced some of the hair. This created the illusion that the monster was slowly recovering from its injuries over the course of the film.

6. BORIS KARLOFF OBJECTED TO GIVING THE MONSTER ANY DIALOGUE.
Although the creature had been a mute in the first movie, Whale decided that the reanimated corpse ought to pick up some basic language skills during the sequel. Both Karloff and the studio disagreed quite strongly, but in the end, Whale got his way. Sara Karloff—the actor’s daughter—explained her father’s reservations in the DVD documentary She’s Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein. “He felt it would take away from [his performance in the original film] and I think he was wrong,” she said. “History, cinema history, has proven him wrong.”

14. IT’S NEIL GAIMAN’S FAVORITE HORROR MOVIE.
“It’s a lot of people’s favorite horror film,” said bestselling author Neil Gaiman of The Bride of Frankenstein. “Dammit, it’s my favorite horror film.” In the above clip, Gaiman recalls staying up late as a boy to catch both Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel in a televised double-feature. What did he think? “Frankenstein was a huge disappointment to me,” Gaiman admitted, but he fell in love with the atmospheric Bride and remains a fan to this day. He is especially fond of the climax, which he cites as his favorite “two to three minutes of film, ever.” Another celebrity admirer is Guillermo del Toro, who, in a 2008 conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, ranked The Bride of Frankenstein as one of his top five films.

The Walking Dead 100 Project

The Ken Lashley cover is my favorite from the Heroes Initiative Walking Dead 100 Project.

The Heroes Initiative is an organization that…

…creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit more than 50 creators and their families with over $950,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

One of the cool fundraising ideas that the Heroes Initiative came up with was the Walking Dead 100 Project.  Heroes Initiative in collaboration with Image Comics got over 100 artists to create an original Walking Dead cover on specially printed blank Walking Dead #100 covers.  The original art was then auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative.  In additional the 100+ pieces were collected in special edition hard and trade paperback books again with the proceeds going to support the Hero Initiative.

You can see all 100+ pieces of Walking Dead art here.  The Walking Dead 100 Project books are sold out but you can see a larger version of Ken Lashley’s cover here.

The Uncanny X-Men 100 Project

The Adam Kubert cover is my favorite from the Heroes Initiative Uncanny X-Men 100 Project.

The Heroes Initiative is an organization that…

…creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit more than 50 creators and their families with over $950,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

One of the cool fundraising ideas that the Heroes Initiative came up with was the Uncanny X-Men 100 Project.  Heroes Initiative in collaboration with Marvel Comics got over 100 artists to create an original X-Men cover on specially printed blank Uncanny X-Men #12 covers.  The original art was then auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative.  In additional the 100+ pieces were collected in special edition hard and trade paperback books again with the proceeds going to support the Hero Initiative.

You can see all 100+ pieces of X-Men art here.  You can purchase a hardcover or a softcover (and help support the Heroes Initiative).

The Hellboy 100 Project

The Dan Bereton Hellboy cover is my favorite from the Heroes Initiative Hellboy 100 Project.

The Heroes Initiative is an organization that…

…creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit more than 50 creators and their families with over $950,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

One of the cool fundraising ideas that the Heroes Initiative came up with was the Hellboy 100 Project.  Heroes Initiative in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics got over 100 artists to create an original Hellboy cover on specially printed blank Hellboy and the BRPD 1952 #1 covers.  The original art was then auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative.  In additional the 100+ pieces were collected in special edition hard and trade paperback books again with the proceeds going to support the Hero Initiative.

You can see all 100+ pieces of Hellboy art here.  You can purchase a hardcover or a softcover (and help support the Heroes Initiative) here.

Rob Smith’s Barney Ross

I’ve known Rob Smith Jr. for decades. In addition to being a talented artist, Rob is one of the most passionate, committed and dedicated people I’ve ever met. Rob absolutely loves the state of Florida, nature, art, politics, reading and more. Rob’s enthusiasm is contagious and he is always on the go. Another thing I admire about Rob is he doesn’t just talk about his passions, he gets actively involved.

Rob gifted me with  his take on Sly as Barney Ross a few years ago and sadly it didn’t get posted until just now.

You can check out Rob’s site and learn about more of his passions!