Nick Davis's Blog, page 22

Here We Go! Alt World Studios Is Coming To Baltimore Comic Con Artist Alley A82

Here we go! Our home town convention Baltimore Comic Con starts on September 2 through to September 4 and Alt World Studios (Me, Tristan and I) will be there at Artist Alley Table A82. It is going to be stonker! See you there!

When And Where And How To Find Artist Alley Table A82

When And Where

Baltimore Comic Con 2016 – Artist Alley Table A82

Look For The Cuddly Defenders and Alt World Studios Banner just past the Kids Love Comic section!

Friday, Sept 2 – 1.00p.m to 7.00p.m
Saturday, Sept 3 – 10.00a.m to 7.00p.m
Sunday, Sept 4 – 10.00a.m to 5.00p.m

Location: Baltimore Convention Center (Pratt Street Entrance)

Tickets available at the Door or Online Here.

Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21201

What Will Be Here?

Gosh… Baltimore Comic Con is the convention to hit up on the Mid-Atlantic coast if you love comics! This is the event to go to and it is going to be packed full of stuff. For more information about what is going on at this three-day event go here. Most importantly though I will be there with Tristan the Teddy Bear and the entire Alt World Studios set up at Artist Table A82!

Random Art Sample Gallery












What I Am Bringing 

Limited Run Of Mr Button’s One Shot Comic Book
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Comics:

Out Of The Attic Part One & Two
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Graphic Novel: Friends
The Teddy Bear Tales Illustrated Adventures One and Two
The Wonder Tales – Once Upon A Time Adventures Stories

Books One & Two & The Daughter Of Frost
Fabula Zero – Exposition Graphic Novel
Hero Ted: Origins All-Ages Superhero Teddy Bear Adventure Comic
The Cuddly Defender Toys: Tristan, Horace, Archer, Wilma and more!
The Cuddly Cthulhu
The Mashup Sketch Card Prints

Heroes and Villains Mashed Up with Teddy Bears, Powerpuff Girls and My Lil’Ponys
Full Size Prints – including Groot, Silly lil’ Deadpoool, Rocket Raccoon and more…
Original Art, Sketch Cards, Teddy Bears and more…
The Rag Doll Plushy Toys of Charmingly Geeky – Deadpool, Harley, Doctor Who Rag Dolls and more!

Rag Doll Plushy Sample Gallery

See y’all there!

It Is DCEU v The World… Again… Again… With The Suicide Squad

First lets start this post with this – it is possible to be a fan of something and still be able to criticize it, this act does not make you less of a fan, it just means you expected better. With that being said it looks like the latest release from the DC Expanded Universe (DCEU) Suicide Squad has been largely lambasted by the critics for being another DCEU train wreck.

It Should Be East Right?

I mean it shouldn’t be hard to make a Suicide Squad (SS) movie, it really is just the Dirty Dozen, but with Super-villains, heck you could copy the script of the first Dirty Dozen movie and you would be right on track of what SS is all about. You have Will Smith, being full on Will Smith and dressed Margot Robbie in a skimpy outfit, add a series of D-list characters that you can kill in spectacular ways and the entire DC universe to play in. The freedom of SS is can be silly, scary, serious and have a lot of action all at the same time. The very concept of a squad of Super-villains press ganged into doing the Governments super-secret dirty work is pure storytelling gold.  It seem’s though it isn’t the way… The first warning sign was this…

David Ayers ‘Fuck Marvel’

Followed by – David Ayers ‘I made this movie for the fans’

The phrase ‘I made this movie for the fans’ is never a good sign, I cannot think of many movies that have turned out to be good because they are made for the ‘fans’. Most have been five-finger stinkers, or over-stuffed yawning epics (Watchmen, the entire Hobbit trilogy… etc). Saying you made the movie for the fans means you just want to set off the Rabid Fanboys turning this into an DCEU v the world thing again, I had enough of this crap with BvS.

Oh, The Rotten Tomatoes Conspiracy

Then the critics came, at this time the Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score is 33% (which is bad) – view the Suicide Squad Score Here (opens new window)

Which in turn set of the Rabid DC Fanboys, who first off proclaim anyone who didn’t like SS are Marvel Fanboys and don’t like anything DC anyway and you say anything different your wrong and it is a conspiracy, and you just hate DC (which I really don’t as DC were the first USA comic books I ever read and the Giffen Justice League was blew my mind). Or another growing favorite is Disney are paying for bad reviews, or the critics are not fans so they don’t understand what the movie is all about. Indeed one Rabid Fan Boy has started a petition to remove Rotten Tomatoes (opens new window) saying it is biased (you can can’t make this stuff up). It is entirely possible this is another bad movie… You know like F4.

For me the jury is out, I’ve not seen Suicide Squad yet and like all the DCEU movies I won’t be catching it until its digital release (I am a poor artist after all). I feel the critics could be right, that the Fanboys are over compensating, and somewhere in the middle will be the true worth of the movie. I will find out for myself in a couple of months.

So Just Stop It

You’re being very, very silly and actually being offensive. It is entirely okay to like a bad movie so much you think it is amazing. I love Flash Gordon for example (okay bad example the movie is a glorious straight-faced camp fest). But breathe… Because it is allowed as a fan to expect something better of the character, story, universe that you love. (see my opening quote).

Since DC announced their partnership with Warner Brothers, and that they were bringing their characters to the screen in direct competition with Marvel Studios we’ve been served some pretty badly put together movies. Man of Steel, Batman V Superman and from the critic score Suicide Squad.

But, DC is more grown up, more serious than the Kiddie Marvel product, is the DC Fanboy response. To this I say I agree that DC comics have always been more serious than Marvels product, but have you see Winter Solider or Civil War? Both are benchmarks of what you can do with the Superhero genre and both are pretty serious movies in tone and subject matter. You can be serious, a little funny, full of action, tell a good story and most importantly be superheroic.

It Is Okay

As I end my Op-Ed piece I have this to say, it is okay to expect something better. DC’s Pantheon of characters are rich in history and are more deeply embedded in America than Marvels. Everyone knows who Batman and Superman is, everyone knows how both characters will act and react, we have had 70+ years of them in action.

The problems DC is having right now speak to direction and feeling of playing catch up to Marvel. I’ve always said if they took a moment and looked to their animation division (or just released animated features) they would be beating Marvel hands down in the theaters. I hope DC makes it, I want to see the Justice League on the screens before WB decides they’ve poured enough money down the hole and pull the plug.

At least we have Wonder Woman to look forward to and that actually looks like a complete tonal shift in storytelling for the DCEU, and looks better for it.

One Last Thought

I still feel though feel that DCEU is doing it all wrong… They need to go completely Silver Age and embrace the Final Frontier world they created, the visuals, the storytelling, the hypertech would make for such a compelling world DC would see unbridled success… onwards!

It’s The End Of The World Again… Again… Again…

Well, here we go again… Apparently July 29, 2016 is Armageddon, the end of the world again… again… again… How many times has this been predicted now? I’ve lost count. Anyhow, Armageddon is upon us, the apocalypse, the end times, revelation, rapture or what ever you want to call is here again. So, if you reading this it means…

The world is still turn and life as we know it carries on.

Sorry… No Armageddon for you!

But, How Was The World Supposed To End This Time?

Well, we’ve had two promised rapture events right? That is from recent memory, this time around it is the poles shifting, or the rising of the Anti-Christ, or something like that. Anyways, here is a video to explain all about it.

Okay, we got that out-of-the-way? Prophecy right?

I can safely say there is no firm date that the world is going to end when attached prophecy… Last time prophecy was cited it was a con man taking money from folk who really should know better. You want to take part in the rapture? Then just be a good person, live your life, love your family, have fun and use the skills that you have… Because honestly none of us are getting out of here alive anyhow.

Living in fear of certain doom is not living at all.

The High And Lows Of Owning A Pitbull Service Dog

Meet Achilles, he is a Boxer/Pitbull mix… A big ole’boy (he is eight years old), full gait, huge head, wagging tail, brown puppy dog eyes and softer than butter on a warm summers day. Oh, and he also a Service Dog in training for my wife.

Achilles came into our life after a trip to BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter), we didn’t plan on getting a new dog, we went to adopt a new cat; as a companion for our older cat. We did a tour of the adopted dog kennels and we met Achilles, the first thing he did was wag his tail, walk to his door and then lick our fingers- the second thing he did was steal our hearts and we adopted him.

One thing that stuck out about Achilles was his gentleness, he was a huge softie, the second thing was how well-trained he already was. This old man’s previous owner had taken the time to teach him the basic commands, house train and walk to heel – I actually can verbally walk him without a leash if I wanted too. He even had a few surprises, including picking up his leash, hand to paw and understood hand signals. This got us thinking… My wife (who is disabled) was in need of a Service Dog, nothing fancy, just an animal that could pick things up, and help her if she fell down – Achilles seem’s to be a perfectly sized candidate for this.

And so began his training, Achilles is a fast learner and now has his skills mostly down to rote and has improved the quality of life for my wife tremendously. You could argue correctly that along with his service, he acts like an emotional support dog for her as he is very emphatic. The only thing we need to continue to work on is environment training i.e – store/public gatherings.

He does well in stores, great on crowded streets, is patient and calm at conventions. He still gets a little distracted, but down to rote again he is almost there now. Yesterday, he went out to the local Mall, a new environment for him and he handled it perfectly, he walked on heel, helped my wife, obeyed all his commands and flew the flag for service dogs everywhere.

The only problem is, he is a Pitbull cross, and although I would argue that I’ve seen so many Boxer/Pitbull cross breeds like Achilles (at BARCS he was one of five) that it is a breed of its own now, he still has that stigma over him. This means when walking him around the Mall we saw two types of folk.

The folk that said he was a good-looking dog, or just smile as he pads past tongue lolling out
The folk that glare at him, like he was going to attack them at any second

We’ve pretty much got used to the Type 2 Folk, (some folk just have had bad dog experiences), this big-headed, brown-eyed, full of slobber dog can look a might intimidating. It doesn’t stop it from being hurtful, here he is tethered up a response leash to an obvious disabled woman, wearing his service dog colors and walking perfectly. Doing his job and all you can do is glare at him – instead of thinking here is a super-smart dog helping, they think the worse of him.

We also get the high, as I waited outside a store that was playing insanely loud music, I think its to make the customers as uncomfortable as possible so they buy faster, which Achilles was also finding intensely uncomfortable. I got into a discussion about Service Animal training with an older couple, and as they leave, a disabled lady in a mobility chair comes up and he puts his paw on her knee, and sits up to his full size to make himself easier to pet.

That day in the mall not only was he a billboard for service animals everywhere, but he also raised awareness that Pitbull breeds are as smart, as loyal, as loving as any other working dog breed that is out there right now.

I am very proud of him.

We go home, unload the car, Achilles gets out, the Neighborhood kids are out and they all love him, so we let him go over to say hello (they are all hanging next to our yard and asked to pet him) – a reward for being simply amazing at the Mall today, he loves the attention and we always see it as a teaching moment for the children, that Pitbulls are just regular dogs (and you should ask permission before petting). One of our Adult Neighbors appear, then backs away behind her car, saying she doesn’t like ‘that dog’ off his leash. I sadly gather him up on his handling harness and take him in the house, being glared at all the way.

A hard low.

Sometimes folk suck.

Resources

BARCS
This Is A Service Animal. He Is Also A Pitbull
Pitbull Service Dogs
Organization Sets Out To Train Pit Bulls As Service Dogs For Veterans
Public Access Training For Service Animals
Service Animal Training

 

Say His Name! Say His Name! The Cuddly Cthulhu Is Coming To Melt Your Mind With Cuteness!

The Cuddly Cthulhu – $29.99

Release Date 07/31/2016
He will melt your mind with cuteness!!!

The Cuddly Cthulhu, is custom-made in the USA by Dotsbears exclusively for the Cuddly Defenders Teddy Bear Line, this cute destroyer of reality is handmade and stands about 20 inches in height and has five points of articulation to bring on the end of the reality.

Listen to the Call of Cthulhu, the old one is waiting for you to order today.

The Cuddly Cthulhu is available for Pre-Order and will be released upon the world on July 31st, 2016. First run quantities are limited so reserve your Destroyer of Reality today.

The Cuddly Cthulhu is completely child safe, with hard-wearing hypoallergenic fur and stuffing, all eye fittings are safety locked, and joints are nylon cuffed for hard-wearing non-snap action.



The Cuddly Cthulhu – $29.99

 
Customer Reviews

The Dynamics Of Losing Weight (or how I cheated myself to win)

It has been a long while since I last posted an article about my journey into losing weight and getting fitter, you will be pleased to know I am still on this journey and now sitting at 225lbs (down from 260lbs this time last year). On my last post about my #Daily10 journey I had stated I was switching gears and looking at maintenance over losing weight – the conclusion being I’m at the point now that muscle mass would be lost instead of actually weight. I am simply 5lbs away from the weight I was in my twenties and I don’t think I can get any further.

How To Cheat Your Way Here

Losing weight isn’t about going on the fad diet, or about joining a weightloss club, or 30 days plans… It has nothing to do with that… Losing weight, getting fitter is about a mental change, about wanting to feel better and without that switch going click in your head you will be incapable of making the change you want. The old maxim ‘you have to want it’ is true. This is a mental game.

Me, I cheated my way there… I am a foody, I love the taste, texture and sensation of different foods, I also have the old psychological block of growing up with the eat everything that is on your plate or you don’t leave the table (thanks Mum!). Hence you could pile my plate sky-high and I would eat anything on it. I guess if you entered me into an all you can eat contest I would be the World Champion.

So, what I did was simple, I cheated myself, I did this in increments… I slowly cut down on my food intact from a whopping 3000 – 4000 calories to 2200 calories by reducing the amount I ate daily and I started walking. A little at first, 10 minutes at lunch time until I was covering an average of six miles a day. I knew the gym wasn’t for me ( I never enjoyed the Gym even when I had to train), but what I did get in these incremental steps was results. I was losing weight.

I had successfully cheated myself there…

Be Happy With Your Goals

This sounds stupid right? But, you have to pick the goal you can make and be happy about it. I knew I could get to 240lbs when I first started and that was my goal. It was realistic and would afford me a better living standard, with less weight my knees and back would not under so much pressure.

I got the 240lbs and reset my goal to 235lbs, which I slowly crawled towards and found out one of the unspoken issues of weightloss… Your underwear gets very baggy and ermm… bunches… With my weight going down it, so did my clothing size and I found myself sleeping better at night (the wife reporting that my snoring had all but disappeared at night).

I hit my 235lbs mark… And jumped to 230lbs deciding that would be the maintain weight that I could keep and still indulge my foody senses once in a while. This was the hardest part of my journey as I bounced two pounds shy of my goal for almost a month. You have to accept fluctuations will happen, any given day we retain 3-5lbs in water weight, so keep that in mind when you weigh yourself on a scale.

Evolution, Not Revolution

I have been on this journey since November 2015, it has been a journey of increments, of an evolution driven approach over revolution. I wanted to do this my way, my rules and take an approach that would work for me. I had made that mental leap in my head that I had to start looking after myself better, I found the way to cheat myself there and I did it.

I am still doing this today… I maintain my six miles a day average, my calorie intake rarely exceeds 2300 and I feel good.

If I can do this… Then you can to.

Your Comic Book Superheroes Get Mashed Up With The Powerpuff Girls

Like all things this all started very innocently… To grow my art style I decided to have a go at drawing the Powerpuff Girls, with there bold, but simple shapes, and heavy lines I wanted to see what I could take from this clean style. In an evening I had drawn Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup, and had a blast drawing them. From their I drew Bubbles dressed as Supergirl for my Daughter… And it sort of exploded…

I was asked to draw Harley Quinn as a Powerpuff Girl, and with that I decided to add Batgirl and Cat woman. I was having so much fun I didn’t stop there and I ran the gambit of various Superheroes from DC to Marvel.

The Powerpuff Mash-Up Gallery

All Powerpuff mashup’s were drawn on Bristol Sketchcard paper with black ink, and colored with blended inktense derwent pencils, with some digital editing to add the occasional background. This was an awesome exercise in taking two very different sources and mashing them together to make something fun, and pretty unique parody illustrations… Onwards!

Alt World Studios Is Coming To Sci-Fi In The Valley In Altoona PA

Back to back shows! We are coming hot off a successful Awesome Con 2016 and landing directly in Altoona, PA for the most marvelous Sci-Fi In The Valley. I am looking forward to seeing you all there after having to miss last years show because of a family emergency. So, this weekend catch Tristan and me at Artist Table P21 – P22.

When And Where

Sci-Fi In The Valley 2016 – Artist Alley Table P21-P22 (Lower Level)

Look For The Cuddly Defenders and Alt World Studios Banner!

Friday, June 10 – 2.00p.m to 9.00p.m
Saturday, June 11 – 10.00a.m to 8.00p.m
Sunday, June 12 – 10.00a.m to 5.00p.m

Location: Blair County Convention Center

Tickets available at the Door or Online Here.

Blair County Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Drive, Altoona, PA 16602

What Will Be Here?

 

Gosh… Sci-Fi in the Valley is a great pop-culture event and if going to be full of stuff for you to do. For more information about what is going on at this three-day event go here. Most importantly though I will be there with Tristan the Teddy Bear and the entire Alt World Studios set up at Artist Table P21-p22 (Lower Level)!

What I Am Bringing 

Limited Run Of Mr Button’s One Shot Comic Book
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Comics: Out Of The Attic Part One & Two
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Graphic Novel: Friends
The Teddy Bear Tales Illustrated Adventures One and Two
Tristan the Teddy Bear Goes to the Moon Imagination Adventure Story book
The Wonder Tales – Once Upon A Time Adventures Stories

Books One & Two & The Daughter Of Frost
Fabula Zero – Exposition Graphic Novel
Hero Ted: Origins All-Ages Superhero Teddy Bear Adventure Comic
The Cuddly Defender Toys: Tristan, Horace, Archer, Wilma and more!
The Sketch Card Prints – Heroes and Villains Mashed Up with Teddy Bears, Powerpuff Girls and My Lil’Ponys
Full Size Prints – including Groot, Silly lil’ Deadpoool, Rocket Raccoon and more…
Original Art, Sketch Cards, Teddy Bears and more…

I will also be joined by Charmingly Geeky, the maker of handmade Geeky gear! Not long before Tristan and I will be in Altoona, PA… See y’all there!

See You In DC At Awesome Con 2016 It’s Going To Be A Stonker

Here we go… This weekend I will be deep in the Artist Alley of Awesome Con 2016 and it looks like it is going to be a stonker of a show in DC.

When And Where

Awesome Con 2016 – Artist Alley Table R6

Look For The Cuddly Defenders Banner!

Friday, June 3 – 12.00p.m to 8.00p.m
Saturday, June 4 – 10.00a.m to 7.00p.m
Sunday, June 5 – 10.00a.m to 5.00p.m

Location: Walter E. Washington, Convention Center, Washington D.C

Tickets available at the Door or Online Here.

Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC 20001

What Will Be Here?

That is a question to ask… Vendors of all things geeky, an Artist Alley full of talent, Guests from your favorite shows and movies. For more information about what is going on at this three-day event go here. Most importantly though I will be there with Tristan the Teddy Bear and the entire Altworld Studios set up at Artist Table R6!

What I Am Bringing 

Limited Run Of Mr Button’s One Shot Comic Book
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Comics: Out Of The Attic Part One & Two
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Graphic Novel: Friends
The Teddy Bear Tales Illustrated Adventures One and Two
Tristan the Teddy Bear Goes to the Moon Imagination Adventure Story book
The Wonder Tales

Once Upon A Time Adventures Stories Books One & Two & The Daughter Of Frost
Fabula Zero – Exposition Graphic Novel
Hero Ted: Origins All-Ages Superhero Teddy Bear Adventure Comic
The Cuddly Defender Toys: Tristan, Horace, Archer, Wilma and more!
The Cuddly Sketch Card Prints – Heroes and Villains with a Cuddly Make-over.
Full Size Prints – including Groot, Rocket Raccoon and more…
Original Art, Sketch Cards, Teddy Bears and more…

I will also be joined by Charmingly Geeky, the maker of handmade Geeky gear! We are only a couple of days away and Tristan and I look forward to seeing y’all there.

The Influences Of Mr Button’s One Shot Comic Book

Hey, did you know we, as in Alt World Studios, is weeks away from releasing a new comic book? It is 76% funded on Kickstarter and is called Mr Button’s One Shot – the story of vengeful Teddy Bear out to stop the Boogeyman and his Monster under the bed one and for all. As you can tell from the artwork this isn’t your regular Teddy Bear Tale… It is in fact downright violent in a very over-the-top sort of way.

But what drove this story? It is certainly a departure from the more all-ages fair that is the Cuddly Defenders or the Wonder Tales that you expect from me. Well, the driving force behind this story is one simple thing… My influences… The comics I grew up with in the United Kingdom, the Beano, Dandy, Warlord, Battle and 2000AD, with their unique styles of storytelling which are reflected in my writing. Our comic books in the UK were always a little anarchic, and 2000AD was a highly ironic futurist comic that had you cheering for Judge Dredd (who really is a villain) and featured stories that didn’t shy away from violence and consequences of  your actions. Mr Button draws its primary influences from the 2000AD stories of my youth such as Dredd, Future Shocks, Rogue Trooper, Flesh and D.R. & Quincy.

Mr Button is very much a ‘What If’ tale – What if a Teddy Bear gets completely unhinged by betrayal at hand of his child decides to strike back? That this Teddy Bear has access to guns and explosives, and decides to go all Punisher on all the imaginary creatures that would have influenced his child? We join Mr Button in One Shot as he goes on a rampage against the Boogeyman and his Legions of Monsters under the bed… I wont spoil what happens just in case you want to back the comic book on Kickstarter.

Take a look at the book, it is illustrated by the amazing Veronica Smith and if we get a big enough response I have a whole plotted story we would like to see in print… I am sure you would like to see Mr Button go after Santa Klaus, or maybe the Easter Bunny?  Or put down a zombie horde of Teddy Bears? Anything is possible with a character like Mr Button and with your help we can unlock all the possibilities.