New CSBG logo! Nice!

Well done to the art guys and gal too.

God, that retro style on the Crime Syndicate from Mr. Trumbull is just gorgeous. It makes me want to go pull out my “Crisis” JLA reprints right now.

the Mr. Mxyzptlk & Q is hilarious! I love it.

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t been around, I’ve been busy! Let’s get to commenting right away!

Star Trek theme this week, eh? I’m kind iffy on the series, it is interesting but has never been my favorite. Let’s see what our Stars do with it.

Borg Queen mash-up with Emma Frost: Gee, I should have seen this one coming. THAT said, doing it Magazine Cover style was pretty clever, and the blurbs/snipes are genius! Good job!

Mirror Universe Kirk & Spock meet the Crime Syndicate: Now THIS one I did think about once, after all they are the two best known Evil Universes in fiction, I believe. Extra points for using everybody’s original suits too!

Mr Mxyzptlk & Q: Another natural. And a WONDERFUL homage to DC Comics Presents, a series I used to collect. Thanks!

Machine Man vs Borg: Arrgh, I wish people would stop using Nextwave Machine Man already. A better take would have had Aaron comment on how tragic it is that he longs to be human, while the Borg had their humanity taken away from them.

Captain Kirk & Captain Mar-Vell: OK, this was hilarious, mostly for Spock’s expression. And great art!

Sulu & Northstar: This wouldn’t be that bad, if Sulu didn’t have such a stupid look in his face (yes I know it’s a gay joke. Still.) Good art at least.

Rom:Spaceknight assimilated by the Borg …And? I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be good or bad. Is he under their control, or is he the Borged heroes’ last hope?

Donna Troi: It took me a moment to realize that this was a homage to the classic “Who is Donna Troy?” Teen Titans story. It works, but I wonder how many non-comic fans (or many comics fans, in fact) will get this one.

Transformers and the new Star Trek: Ok, that was funny. Though it looks a little odd, kinda yellowish. Maybe in imitation of animation cell art?

The Enterprise encounters Unicron: Neat idea, and well executed for the most part- except the art looks too sketchy, like it needed to be finished. Better inking?

Wolverine fighting a Mugato mistaking it for Wendigo: That mugato is going down fast, since it doesn’t have Wendigo’s regeneration ability. Good work btw.

The Borg go to Apokolips: GREAT piece, except that the Borg cubes have always looked silly to me. But that’s not the artist’s fault.

A very good week overall! My favorite is still the DC Presents take, but still, nearly everything was enjoyable. Thanks everybody!!

The Superman vs. Jean-Luc Picard one is effing great!!! I love the longbox photo in the background. Nice touch!!!

It works, but I wonder how many non-comic fans (or many comics fans, in fact) will get this one.

Sijo, I think that at least once a week whenever I’m drawing my piece. It’s just the nature of the beast — most of our gags require at least a bit of comic book knowledge to really “get” them.

The Enterprise encounters Unicron: Neat idea, and well executed for the most part- except the art looks too sketchy, like it needed to be finished. Better inking?

Personally, I think Daniel deserves kudos for turning out a 6-panel story when the rest of us did single panel/cover gags. Nice work, sir!

Oh, and welcome back, Sijo!

Beautiful work everyone, really great stuff!

I have to say, that Bones’ inability to comprehend the inherent duality of the transformers got the biggest laugh out of me, but the Sulu/Northstar was right behind it!

Sijo, we missed having you around! I was afraid that you finally stirred up the wrong internet forum and found yourself on the wrong end of some vigilante justice.

As for my piece, I will always use the Nextwave Machine Man because I love him. The day I create a maudlin machine man bemoaning his lack of humanity, is the day they put me in the cold, hard ground.

Holy crap, every piece was great, but I would prefer to see less submissions of Machine Man and Emma Frost.

Another stellar week, Liners!

This week’s standouts: John Trumbull’s Ordway-esque Mirror Universe homage, Xum’s back-issue bin team up, Thea’s Northstar/Sulu team up, and Daniel Cox’s evocative “Gold Key” like Star Trek story.

This week’s winner for me is Marco D’Alfonso’s McCoy/Transformers bit. The art is great and it made me smile the most…. a great combo of both subject matters! Excellent!

Okay, since I’m SO impressed by what everyone did this week, I’m going to pull a Sijo and comment on everyone’s piece.

Axel: Really nicely drawn, and a great blending of the looks of the White Queen and the Borg Queen. I really like the subtle coloring you did on her flesh as the color is drained away. Love the Cosmo-style captions.

Xum: Once again, I’m really impressed by the mock LIID logos and trade dress you use for your pieces – I wish you’d send me those files! This is totally a cover I could have seen them doing back in the DC Comics Presents days. Makes me nostalgic for when covers normally hinted at the story inside instead of just being pinup shots… I like how you inserted it into the photo background. Any particular reason you decided to do it that way?

Sean: I like the gag & the layout a lot, but I think I agree that it would make more sense with the more-obviously mechanical original design for Machine Man (Of course, I just plain like the Kirby design BETTER, so maybe it’s my prejudices talking).

Steve: This one just blows me away. Clever gag that I wouldn’t have thought of, terrific likenesses, nice expression on Spock, and your coloring technique is GREAT! I want you to come over and give me tutorial. You even made the Mar-Vell costume look good, and I usually haven’t cared for that one (I think it’s because you choose to render all the dark blue parts as true BLACK – it really improves it!)

Thea: Kudos for thinking of the “Excelsior!” connection between these two – that really helps elevate the obvious gay joke. Nice coloring and rendering of the Excelsior bridge from Star Trek VI and it’s great seeing the old Marvel Comics trade dress on the cover (Always loved that cover box of the characters beaming down!).

Now I’m really wishing I’d done my piece as a mock cover, too. Maybe I can do a revised version…

Chaz: Nice job! I really love how you sprinkled in some assimilated comic characters into the BG. Smart to clone some of the Borg in the BG. That still must’ve taken you forever to place them all, though.

Bill: I already told you on Facebook, but WOW, I’m loving how this turned out. You nailed the Perez layout, but the extra gags you peppered in really helped put it over the top. My favorite is, “The New Enterprise-C. There’s no stopping us now” since I remember that old DC slogan. Nice NTT-style TNG logo. Hand drawn?

Marco: Great, clever gag (I’m saying this about most every piece, aren’t I? Oh, well – it’s all true!). This one made me smile. I love the rendering on the BG in particular. You people are too damn good with the coloring – I’ve got to up my game!

Daniel: Again, really impressed whenever any of you folks can find the time to turn out a multi-panel piece. But the continuity nut in me is wondering, “Why is there a TOS bridge on the TMP Enterprise?” (Nice TMP quote on Bones’ “Jim, you’re pushing”, BTW). Unicron being V’Ger certainly would’ve given that movie a more effective ending… ?

Josh: I was really tempted to draw this one myself, but I’m glad you got it instead! Great layout. I want to read this story!

Nick: Again, I want to read this story. Nice job!

The character of Sulu was not a homo.

The best of these is the Bones/Ratchet piece. Brilliant. The others are weak.

Thank you all for the kind words. To answer the question on the long box presentation, it is in honor of this week being Comic-Con International. Having this cover found in a quarter bin seemed… natural.

I should thank a co-worker of mine for finding the hi-res photo from the world wide inter-web. I will ask him exactly where he found it so I can give credit to the originator of the photo.

And if it did exist, it would be pretty amazing to find that issue of “The Line It Is Drawn Presents” in near-mint condition, for I am sure a number of comic readers would be wringing their hands after reading the story while still holding on to the comic…

Xum

But George Takei is a proud and out gay/homosexual male. So the joke is both funny and appropriate.

Am I just being dense? What’s the joke in the Mar-Vell one? I feel dumb.

And continuity nerd in me, says, “Brian this actually Line it is Drawn #98, not 97.”

Great job Xum, all around with execution and creativity. Marco’s had me busting up as well..

The joke with Sulu is funny and you get it, but Captain Cosmic is right, Sulu wasn’t gay(he had a daughter for sure).
Hysan, I think it’s the Mar-vell, with the split, making fun of Kirk’s halting speech habits…

Ah! Now I get it….makes sense.

I guess I was just so amused by Sulu’s facial expression it didn’t matter to me.

I too should make it a habit to present my comments to everyone. Best to get them in now before my workday hits full speed…

Emma Frost, Borg Queen
Amazing detail. The vein effect is really creepy… and very apt. I also love all of the “Cosmo” article concepts.

Mirror Universe Kirk and Spock Discover the Crime Syndicate
I agree with other comments on how cool you make the retro Syndicate look. While I do enjoy Morrisson’s retake, the classic criminal counterparts will always have a big place in my fanboy heart (as indicated by one of my trial pieces). And the Mirror Kirk and Spock look great too.

Machine Man vs. the Borg
Alas, poor Yorick-Borg… Actually, I like how this Machine Man is making a comment about robots that appears to also apply to him/it. That was the point, right?

Captains Kirk and Mar-Vell
This one had me laughing out loud (I’m not one to say “LOL”…). Brilliant.

Northstar and Sulu
Fantastic Marvel Comics cover homage. “Oh, my!” “Excelsior!” All I can say is… “Nuff said!” While the character of Sulu wasn’t portrayed as a (flamboyant) homosexual, I’m sure that was the obvious intent of the Twitterer who made the suggestion…

Rom Assimilated by the Borg
I can hear the jarring chords and a very low choir in my head as I look at this piece. Awesome.

Who Is Deanna Troi?
Brilliant DC Comics homage – right down to the UPC box slogan. I had forgotten the many looks Troi has had over the course of the series/movies. And I really do miss that era of Titans; the Games GN and this piece make me long for it all the more. At least I’ll always have the longbox. But I digress.

Transformers and New Star Trek
Another laugh-out-loud piece (I am still not going to say “LOL”…).

The Enterprise Encounters Unicron
Daniel, this is an awesome sequential piece. You could have just gone with the last panel as a pin-up entry, but your three-page comic sets up and builds the tension beautifully.

Wolverine Fighting a Mugato
Great expression and body language. I see Logan realized his mistake *after* he did some major damage. Ooops…

The Borg Go to Apokolips
Another laugh-out-loud moment. Especially the “next issue blurb”. All I can say is… finally.

Great Line work, everyone.

Xum

Mirror Universe Kirk and Spock Discover the Crime Syndicate
I agree with other comments on how cool you make the retro Syndicate look. While I do enjoy Morrisson’s retake, the classic criminal counterparts will always have a big place in my fanboy heart (as indicated by one of my trial pieces). And the Mirror Kirk and Spock look great too.

Thanks, Xum! Yeah, I considered using the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely versions from the Earth-2 graphic novel (which I quite enjoyed, BTW), but I thought the Silver Age versions would blend better with the aesthetic of TOS. When doing these pieces, my nostalgic affection for the Silver & Bronze Age versions usually win out over the current looks.

The joke with Sulu is funny and you get it, but Captain Cosmic is right, Sulu wasn’t gay(he had a daughter for sure).

Yes? And….?

Not enough Klingons :p

Must agree that the Silver Age CSA has a look that meshes better with the 60s Mirror Universe (though whichever the artist ever chooses is just fine with me ^_^)
As for the Sulu/Northstar matchup, it was more for George Takei’s status of pride that accusing Sulu of being gay (and just because Sulu has a daughter doesn’t mean he can’t be gay)
And I hate to nitpick but my friend Brad suggested Bones & Ratchet on Twitter (user name Kholdstare21)

“The character of Sulu was not a homo.”

Is that what we’re calling them now? Sheesh.

It should probably come as no surprise, but I saw several fans posting the Northstar/Sulu team-up on George Takei’s Facebook page already.

good stuff here, but i’m going to be all Trekkie nerd and complain: the Enterprise in the Trek Meets Unicron is the movie-era one from TMP, TWOK and TSFS, yet the crew are wearing the TOS uniforms!

HOLY ANACHRONISM, CAPTAIN!

fury: perhaps it’s another divergent timeline…. and Kelsey Grammer is right next to him ; )

“Imagine if the Superman from 1938 replaced 2012 Superman.”

You mean if the modern version of Superman were replaced with a version who couldn’t fly and was motivated primarily by a working-class devotion to liberal social causes?

…nah, that’d never work.

“Is that what we’re calling them now?”

No. It’s not.

All excellent submissions, by the way!

(Hey, what about Star Trek/Legion? That would be a natural–oh! Right…)

Wow, you guys actually missed me? Or are you just trolling me? Eh, I’ll just assume the former and smile.

And if my posts inspire others to “pull a Sijo” and comment on EVERY one of our weekly contributors, then I’m even happier, because these folks work their butts off for us week after week, the *least* they deserve are our heartfelt impressions each.

I want to make it clear that just because I don’t like Nextwave I don’t think anybody else shouldn’t enjoy it. To each his own. Its just that I fear it might become the standard take for some of the characters involved, despite the whole thing not being serious, and fitting into regular Marvel continuity about as well as the ‘Goddamn Batman’ does DC’s. >_<

Similarly, I have no problem with Sulu being gay even if only purposes of a joke (regardless of what his actor is in real life.) Its the look in his face that feels too undignified for a Starship Captain like him. Spock's grin in the Mar-Vell piece would have fit him better.

(And I can't believe I didn't get the "Excelsior" reference until now. Oh well, I'm not a real Trekkie after all, as I said.)

Controversy! I love to stir it up!

Axel, I said it befor, I’ll say it again… Those are an impressive set of ta-tas. And John, I’m so happy you approve the mock up cover! I get the mock up inspiration from your work, actually, so that is a really nice compliment. And Dan I loved your artwork on unicron!

Great work all round, guys, good week!

I like that the boobs that Axel draws actually obey the laws of physics.

I… want that ROM one on my wall.

Yeah Daniel Cox, I wanna complain too! You also got Spock’s scope wrong…its facing the wrong way! Jesus man…don’t you get it? I want my free comics without the “sketchy” lines and continuity problems!

Sijo critiqued “Donna Troi: It took me a moment to realize that this was a homage to the classic “Who is Donna Troy?” Teen Titans story. It works, but I wonder how many non-comic fans (or many comics fans, in fact) will get this one.”

Well, Sijo, I could ask “Who the hell is Unicron?” I was never into any of the “robot” comics (no Transformers, no Micronauts, no Robotech, no Machine Man other than the mini that Barry Windsor-Smith worked on) so this one completely went over my head. I thought the piece was nicely done, but since I don’t know what Unicron is, I could equally ask “how many non-comic fans (or many comics fans, in fact will get this one?” Not everyone who’s into comics shares the same tastes.

Daniel, I like your “sketchy” lines and the seemingly imperfect feeling of it. I know squat about art, but I’m assuming that’s the style you were going for, not a sign of lazy art or drunkenness.

I think it was drunkeness. >;)

Yes, drunkenness with Trumbull’s Mum >;)

Daniel’s lines are more detailed that most of the TVC and cartoon storyboards I have seen. Just saying.

Xum

Incredible work, everyone, and thanks for the breast comments, we do our best effort on those matters… still here trying to survive SDCC…

I also enjoy looking at Axel’s breasts.

Wait…um…

Hey, I bought Hoax Hunters 1. There’s boobs on that cover. And I realized that Axel also drew 50 Girls 50, and that was all about the boobs.

I’ll stop now.

Oh, yeah, we ALL missed you, Sijo. *cough*

Kidding!

And everyone did a great job as usual, we’re blessed with great great talent.

Yes, drunkenness with Trumbull’s Mum >;)

I WANT to be mad, Daniel, but the way you say “Mum” is so damn cute, I just CAN’T.

Great work form everyone, as usual, but Nick Perks’ piece is easily my favorite because it has Kanto. You just never see enough of that guy.

“Not everyone who’s into comics shares the same tastes.”

Exactly my point. My posts reflect only my personal tastes and knowledge (or lack thereof) of art, comic books and pop culture. They should hardly be taken as definite.

But hey, at least, I try to give everyone my commentary, which I assume is what they want from us.

[...] mock-up cover of a Superman vs. Jean-Luc Picard comic by Xum Yukinori (see the full version here) perfectly expresses our feelings for him. This is how awesome Patrick Stewart is. This is how we [...]

I thought the Sulu/Northstar one was great. I could absolutely hear George Takei saying his line.

“I wonder how many non-comic fans will get this one.”

Yeah and non-star trek fans aren’t likely to get the Star Trk references…….. We should do a Star Trek / Comic book mash up but with no references relating to Star Trek or Comic books. So no jokes referencing either of those……