Captain America 4 and The Fantastic Four . . . you need to do better Marvel!

Over the years I've seen quite a bit of foreign cover art for reprinted ROM issues and stories. Mostly they were made up of lifted images of both clip art and cover art from the Marvel series. In other cases it was more like mediocre fan art style reproduction from the original series. But in a handful of cases they were actual original art work created for those foreign reprints. This one here, which is based on the cover art from ROM issue 20 is my favorite original art foreign cover although there's also one from Strange Magazine (French) that features ROM and The Sub-Mariner that I think is a close second . . .

https://romspaceknightart.blogspot.com/2014/04/of-spartans-spaceknights.html

  It's been a while since I've posted any public art based on comic book/science fiction pop culture. I recently discovered this pretty cool mural in downtown Oakland Califonia. Kinda surprised to find this rather patriotic Steve Rogers Captain America in such a "progressive" town like Oakland which might as well be renamed to Wokeland these days. Speaking of all things Captain America, we all know that Captain America 4 is debuting in theaters in just a couple weeks from now and it's pretty much a guaranteed box office bomb. 

  Rumor has it that the would be SABRA appearance has been stripped of her Israeli identity. Needless to say that pisses me off but it comes as no surprie that Woke Disney/Marvel Studios would cave into BDS post october 7, 2023. But it's also the least of this movie's productions problems with all the reshoots, multiple failed screen tests and the latest comments from actor Anthony Mackie. I'm really feeling like that whole MCU story arc with Steve giving Sam the shield should have just been wrapped up with the Falcon Winter Soldier mini series. It wasn't with out it's problems but overall I really enjoyed it to be honest. I'll pass on this one I can wait till it shows up on streaming.

 

As I was reading this online article from late last year about this series of variants based off the classic Marvel Two-IN-One series I realized that issue 99 was the second to the last issue of the series. So glad they decided to get ROM into the mix before it's end it was one of my favorite Marvel team ups ever.
 https://comicbook.com/comics/news/marvel-the-fantastic-four-the-thing-two-in-one-variant-cover-series/

 

Around Hanukkha last year I thought it might be fun to rework the recent ROM and THING fan art from Ron Frenz by substituting ROM for Sabra by artist Darryl Banks. I think the Banks Sabra blended pretty seamlessly into a Marvel Two-In-One issue that would have been awesome. Speaking of all related things Ben Grimm, I'm not seeing that not so Fantastic Four shit either in theaters. Sorry but not sorry Pedro, you're not Reed Richards. Because despite his work on The Mandalorian I can't stand him as a person. And on top of that, Norrin Radd is now going to be Nora Radd as I understand it. No thank you to all that!

 

It's 2023 but I'm still missing the 1980s

Ya know how some times you just find yourself in the mood to showcase a given collection of something that makes you happy? I think often that might happen toward the end of  a year or more at the beginning of the next one.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR48t3di9Iw

Here's a youtube video I discovered recently that's worth having a look at. It won't have much of anything you haven't seen or heard before but it is very well produced. And it some how has managed to visually "repackage" and present the source material in way that makes the video not feel so redundant and boring like the majority of ROM related features on youtube.  

 

I haven't done any ROM related fan art yet this year nor have I come across anything that I thought any good. I the stuff I have done this year has been to some degree in response to a lot of the hate I saw online in late 2022. First up is this Contest of Champions fan art. I just don't understand all the hating on the Disney Plus She-Hulk series. I mean it wasn’t without it's problems but most of the social media bashing on it was so over the top especially when it came to all these right wing type hang ups. And ofcourse around the same time Marvel announced the upcoming debut of Sabra into the MCU which  predictably stirred up the usual trolls made up of leftist antisemites and people from certain corners of the muslim world with anger management issues. 

If you happen to be a Star Wars fan then you no doubt noticed all the hating on the first season of The book of Boba Fett. Again, it wasn't with out it's problems but over all I think it had way more pros then cons plus the season finale was awesome. So I say fuck all the haters on all that to.

 

January 28th Update: I was hoping to have some fan art to add to this posting but I seriously doubt anything new that doesn't suck will turn up any time soon so I decided to dig into my archive collection. After some minor tweaks here and there to enhance it I'm presenting it again for your viewing pleasure. This was originally done by Greek artist Kapandais Nikolaos who also happens to be a collaborative partner and friend.

ROM Annual 3

ROM Spaceknght 50 tribute fan art

 

This piece is a combination of what is mostly black n white art work borrowed from 4 different artists and arranged together and colored in photoshop. The Torpedo is by Anderson Mendes, ROM is by Steve Butler, Starshine is by Kapandais Nikolaos and the Dire Wraith and Skrulls are by me. 

 

As you can see by the signature this Ron Joseph piece was done 7 years ago and although I've posted Ron's stuff here in the past I never posted this one for reasons I can't explain. Well, I'm gonna correct that little oversight right now.  

Here's another one that's been around for years now but I never posted it before for whatever reason. But I think it deserves a second look obviously. The scene here between ROM, Firefall and The X-Men's Dark Phoenix certainly suggests an interesting story going on here. Would have been nice to get artist Scott Reed's take on his inspiration for this piece.

Here's some more stuff from Ron Joseph with some embellishments from me again. In this case I added ROM to this scene of The Soviet Super Soldiers trying to take down The Hulk and added a little bit of depth with some shading effects. Check out the original source material from Joseph at these links...

 https://www.deviantart.com/ronjoseph-artist/art/THE-HULK-vs-the-SOVIET-SUPER-SOLDIERS-11x17-888596989

https://www.deviantart.com/ronjoseph-artist/art/ROM-vs-THE-HERCULOIDS-pencils-pg02-544320560

 

Here's some unpublished Michael Golden Micronauts art I came across last year. It would make for a nice coloring project. albeit a bit a labor intensive and time consuming one.

Happy 2020: A year in review of 2019 fan art

https://www.deviantart.com/nikoskap

For all you Micronauts fans who have a soft spot for BUG we've got something else cool for you to check out right here . . .

https://www.deviantart.com/nikoskap/art/Bug-Galactic-Warrior-825215921

So, at the cost of sounding immodest I'd say the bulk of the good fan art that turned up in 2019 probably came from myself and my Greek friend. His solo work as well as our collaborative efforts have been featured quite heavily in the hand full of postings I've done this past year. Unfortunately, most of what I've seen other wise has been a mixed bag of disappointment ranging from . . .

 ...stuff that was just plain weird, obscure and borderline incomprehensible. Then you had pieces that were so amateurish from an illustration skill stand point to others that were utterly lacking in creativity or otherwise imagination. But there was...

 ...also some other work in which the artists did combine genuine illustration skills with some sense of creativity (the number of those pieces was a short list to be sure) to the point where their art work was more or less in the spirit of the Marvel series and evoked some sense of nostalgia. I would like to think that 2020 will have in store more of the kinda of fan art that reminds me of the good ol days as opposed to the dull and uninspiring crap I usually find but I doubt it.

February 23rd Update: Any fans out there of The Mandalorian? Great show, and the only good thing out there when it comes to live action Star Wars along with Rogue 1 in the past 19 years. I recently did some fan art on a greeting card for a buddy of mine.

Last year I did something similar for Okoye and Misty Knight who are some of my favorite ladies of color from Marvel Comics...

Starshine Unleashed

My Greek friend Nikoskap has been hitting out of the park lately with a lot of good Starshine themed sketch art that's turned into some collaboration pieces between us which I felt deserved a little more exposure beyond twitter, farcebook and deviant art. Clearly this blog is not entirely defunct as I had intended November of last year I keep making exceptions for the occasional posting.

September 6th Update: And speaking of all things Greek, I just dropped this in the mail earlier in the week let's hope The Enigma Force and the Gods of Galador insure it's safe arrival...

Fan art . . .the good, the bad and the bizarre

Think of this posting as a public service announcement. Kinda like an emergency broadcast on your TV once in a while.

https://www.deviantart.com/nikoskap

The two works above are examples of the good. Well illustrated and creative while also being faithful to the source material. Everything below, would be good examples of the bad and the bizarre which unfortunately are far more commonly found then the good stuff. Yeah I know I'm kinda of being a dick by doing a posting like this but truth be told I had wanted to do this since early last year but had always felt it was kinda of crossing a line. But now, with this being a semi-retired blog these days I'm not really too worried about making new friends or my reputation. I'm just so very happy to finally really make this point.

All this shit should be banished to Limbo

I really love it when I come across some kind of ROM related fan art that reminds me of the good ol days of when I had a new issue of ROM or some kind of tie-in to look forward to every month. None of that kind of shit does that for me. When I see that stuff it's like that feeling you get when you see a dead animal on the road or people who spit in public all the time.

San Francisco's Mission District

March 30th Update: And speaking of good art. Here's some local stuff of a more large scale and public nature.

Oakland's China Town

June 12th Update:  I wanted to do something different for a change and feature ROM with his translator. I always thought that was a cool reveal from issue 50 so I imagine at some point ROM would have had to use his translator during his time hunting down the dire wraiths within the Skrull empire.

Rom spaceknight 50

June 20th Update: It recently occurred to me that I've never done any fan art of the male dire wraiths so here we go.

June 22nd Update: The greatest of the spaceknights vs Deathwing, nuff said. You might say this was a David and Goliath kinda match up.

June 29nd Update: Here's something from artist Lou Russo worth having a look at if you're a ROM fan who also happens to like Star Trek and ALIENS (the first two movie only) like I am. I'm not a big fan how he draws ROM most of the time but he came out ok here and as always I give Russo high Marks for creativity. The link below has the full size image...
https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1559313

July 18th Update:  Looks like I had one last sketch card up my sleeve as the saying goes.

Envelope fan art by David Holsey

August 14th Update: I really love envelope art especially when it arrives to it;s final destination still looking ok.

 

 

Ringing in the new year with some fan art that kicks ass!

I had been bitching to my good friend and fellow artist and ROM fan in Greece https://www.deviantart.com/nikoskap recently about how December was so fucken devoid of any new ROM related fan art that was worth a shit with November not having been much better. Now one of the reasons I consider this guy a friend is because he actually checks and responds to his emails on a pretty consistent basis which is rare these days even the other ROM fans I've connected with over the years are such assholes when it comes to that. So woe and behold after I woke up on New Year's day a sketch had been emailed to me from my Greek friend which I thought was great.

Didn't have to go to work today ofcourse and I had plenty of spare time on my hands so I decided to color it in photoshop. I know I'm not really blogging here any more these days but I'm pretty damn sure this will probably be the best ROM related fan art for much of . . or most of  . . or maybe for all of 2019 at this rate. So yeah I'm gonna post it here seeing as this is something of a special occasion although certainly not nearly as special as my Stan Lee posting.

Look what was just posted today. This is fucken awful...
http://gramha.com/media/1947937774984684833

Here's something I neglected to post all these years so I guess I might as well now. It's from the last couple panels from Avengers 243 (1984). Speaking of all all cool things from the 80s . . .

I saw Bumbleebee last weekend. I wouldn't say I loved it but I did like it and I think it was a much over due sea change for the franchise. Ofcourse it taking place right here in The San Francisco Bay Area during the 80s was a big plus for me. The movie wasn't with out it's problems though the story line had more then a few logic gaps and at times got a bit too tongue n' cheek for my taste. Although I appreciate how this one was closer to the source material I still really like even till this day the first Michael Bay TF movie but as ever all the sequels aren't worth a shit and I'd like to forget they ever happened.

Back to the 80s one more time with a totally awesome Back to The Future themed chalk drawing on this sandwich board sign outside of  High Scores (80s video game arcade) in downtown Hayward. Trust me, that's a good deal!

Jan 6 Update: Since I used to watch Lavern & Shirley when I was a kid I feel like I'm obligated to make a mention about the passing of Penny Marshal with only days having remained for 2018. I was kinda disappointed that it drew so little attention in the mainstream media I don;t remember seeing anything about on any major news outlets.

Also, here's a thumbnail preview of something I uploaded just this morning. Just did this on a whim and partly through the inspiration of other artists who are friends of mine. The link below will take you to the full size image . . .
https://www.deviantart.com/csuhsux/art/Transformers-and-Rom-spaceknight-recornered-779992170

Jan 15th Update: Well, we're now 2 weeks into the new year and not a single descent thing turned up when it comes to good ROM related fan art but there is this. But I did I happen to see this on the back of a van by chance as I was out and about last week. The 80s just seems to be every where I go.

Jan 26th Update:
HAPPY BIRYHDAY SAL!
https://www.deviantart.com/csuhsux/art/Happy-Birthday-Sal-Buscema-ROM-cover-concept-782841722

Jan 31st Update: Just happened to see this vintage Star Tours bumper sticker today. This really brings back some great memories from the early 90s when I first went on the Star Tours ride.

Funny ass Hostess Pies Marvel 80s house ad spoof with ROM and Starshine

See link below to view the rest of the full page ad

I've seen this sort of thing before and it's never been very funny. However, this one had me cracking up quite a bit it's not just funny but it's a real labor of love in both terms of photoshop work and creative concept. Well done to who ever did this. I'm only posting part of the spoof house ad you can see the rest of it (it's a full page) over at where I found it in the first place. . .
http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/2018/06/from-rom-collection.html

In honor of Father's Day this weekend I wanted to share this awesome card which features some really bad ass classic Marvel 80s (late 70s also I think) Spider-Man art work. This is actually a birthday which I got for my father earlier this week but I imagine it could double as a Father's Day card as well.

Speaking of all things ROM, Spider-Man and Marvel 80s. If you're reading this posting Preston Asceveda I'd be curious to know if you're ever planning on finishing this piece I liked where you were going with this concept.

Left click to enlarge

Once in a while I hope onto farcebook using my wife's account. And on rare occasion I even actually find something of interest. This is a portion of another work in progress fan art piece that features ROM and Spider-Man with a whole lot of other Marvel superheroes. Can't say for sure who did it but if the artist or someone who knows who it is wants to make them selves known here by all means be my guest.

Looks like that sketch also includes Luke Cage. And speaking of which, season 2 will be here in exactly 1 week and I am so stoked for it especially when it comes to seeing Misty Knight in action with her bionic arm.