Weekly Sketch Group 85

[Manji]

Got another request from Dr. Stupid Jr. this week and don't forget if you have any suggestions for the WSG just PM me. Now on to this week's topics.

Redesign or Update the Black Racer from NEW GODS (with an image posted for reference):

http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/bigimages/blackracer.jpg

http://fastbak.tripod.com/bracer2.jpg


or

The White Queen


Have Fun.

[hadesillustrations]

I haven't participated in a while and I had a free minute:
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u225/hadesillustrations/whitequeen.jpg

[girdoggy]

http://www.image-filer.com/out.php/i2431_EmmaFrostInksColors3.jpg

[cold-blooded-angel]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/cold-blooded-angel/emmafrost.jpg

[Shan Bruce Lee]

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/_Blind_Master__/EmmaFrost.jpg

I couldn't get the feet right

[spidey976]

Hmmm .. .interesting ... I might try to get a quick White Queen in on this one ... but I am pretty sure J.G. Jones JUST redesigned the Black Racer. Here is a shot from Final Crisis where he is right on Barry Allen's butt ... they call the character "death" which is the Black Racer.

http://comicartcommunity.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=29378

[Macksamillyon]

never heard of black racer before.... curious, why the skis???

[CrazyDiamond]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/CrazyDiamond2005/whitequeen.jpg

[Bruce Lee]

never heard of black racer before.... curious, why the skis???

In the '60s Jack Kirby created one of Marvel's most popular characters, the Silver Surfer, capitalizing on the surfing craze of that era. As a result, the Silver Surfer was wildly popular amongst college goers back then, and helped break comic books out of the "comics are just for little kids" stigma. Suddenly people in their 20s were buying "funny books", an act that would have previously been scoffed at, as comic books have been labelled as for kids, and readers of comics were seen as "childish". Comic books are more accepted today because of guys like Jack Kirby who sought to expand the medium aiming books at different age groups, and the Surfer is largely instrumental with Marvel Comics reaching a new and different audience than the 12 and under market of the Gold and Silver Age.

Jack Kirby created the Black Racer in his DC Comics series THE NEW GODS. I can't say for sure why he made the Black Racer sport cosmic skis, but I assume he was trying to come up with another Silver Surfer type. Instead of a cosmic surfboard, cosmic skis. I don't think Black Racer represents one of Kirby's best ideas, but who would have thought that a cosmic surfer would have worked? You never know how something will go over with people until you try it out, I guess.

Anyway, I was hoping to see some people take a stab at redesigning the Black Racer, but I guess bOObs will always triumph in the weekly sketch groups. Heh.:D

[krikkit13]

Well, I love skiing, so I don't know that I can pass this up! I'll try and get something off tonight or tomorrow.

If I had to venture a guess as to why Kirby went with skis - the 70s and early 80s were a boom time for hot-dog skiing, and it was a pretty big hit with the counter culture - not to the same degree as surfing, but similar.

I'd guess that the Silver Surfer's popularity also had a lot to do with the psychadelic aspect of the character and stories too, right?

[Bruce Lee]

Well, I love skiing, so I don't know that I can pass this up! I'll try and get something off tonight or tomorrow.

If I had to venture a guess as to why Kirby went with skis - the 70s and early 80s were a boom time for hot-dog skiing, and it was a pretty big hit with the counter culture - not to the same degree as surfing, but similar.

I'd guess that the Silver Surfer's popularity also had a lot to do with the psychadelic aspect of the character and stories too, right?

I'm sure his popularity had something to do with that. The hippy generation must have seen the concept of a "cosmic surfer" with silver, metal skin as being "far out" and trippy. Combined with Kirby's stylized drawing, and it must have really made a connection with the counter-culture generation.

[hadesillustrations]

There's another DC skiing character - the Scarlet Skier - that I thought was a direct parody of the Silver Surfer (he's in water skiis and is towed behind a booster unit ahead of him). His nemesis is Gnort, the moronic, but lovable, Green Lantern. I thought it odd that I'd heard of the scarlet Skier and not the Black Racer.

[Rey de las Cabras]

Here is my attempt at the Black Racer. The reference pics are all different and not very big, so I just took that it was a dude on skis in armor. Pose is ripped from photo reference of a guy on skis because I just couldn't see a way to put him in a hero pose with the skis on and not make it look goofy.

http://images.7syllable.com/blackRacer.jpg

[hadesillustrations]

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u225/hadesillustrations/blackracer.jpg

[babycakes]

Here's what I had time for:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/rodin_e/sb_whitequeen.jpg

I like it enough that I'll probably finish it up and add some color. Not feeling the hair on her left hand side, so I'll have to redraw that.

[midLfinger]

Quick Emma:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/midLfinger/EmmaFrostCyclopsPic.jpg

[theGOBLIN]

Here is Black Racer redesign sketch.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6486/blackracersketchdy5.jpg

[Paulo_P]

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/PauloBP/frost.png

[cold-blooded-angel]

Hades - I dig the almost Astro Boy boots. nice redesign