Nesskain's Harry Potter Comic Tributes Are Phenomenal

We've spotlighted Nesskain’s aptitude for tackling dreamy, atmospheric subjects and otherworldly coloring before, and his fan artwork for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series are certainly no exception.

His tribute strips, one for each of the seven books in the series, easily ascend to the heights of some of the very best Potter-related fan art out on the web to date. Every panel is infused with an aura of high adventure, brilliantly-rendered cerulean pallets and dynamic composition that makes every page feel definitive and climactic.

It should come as no surprise that the story of "the boy who lived" has inspired whole mountain-ranges of fan art since its debut in 1997. But Nesskain's are just leagues ahead of what I've seen lately, reminding me a lot of Kazu Kibuishi's work on the 2013 re-release covers.

Scholastic Books would do well to offer him a license to adapt the entire series. These panels are proof alone he would do the books justice. Check out the rest of the pages after the break (the caveat of spoilers should go without saying). Nearly each one is better than the last.

The Awesome Art Of Toniinfante

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Today's art of post takes us to Barcelona, Spain with the work on Toniinfante. As both a comic book artist and illustrator, his distinct style reminds me a little of Ashley Wood's work, which emphasized movement throughout with wild brush strokes and splashes of color here and there.

Rather than using paint though, Toni seems to accomplish this same effect with ink, adding a wild sense of action to quite a few of his pieces. Although he dabbles occasionally with more painterly work, he seems to be most at home with his ink pen close by. Toni spends his time juggling plenty of fanart, original comics and illustrations to keep things fresh. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

The Colorful Art Of Gobi

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Gobi (Baptiste Gaubert) is an incredibly talented artist originally hailing from Nimes in France, where he was raised on a healthy diet of Japanese and American animated cartoons growing up. Having that inspiration mixed with his mother teaching him about sculpting and volume thanks to her ceramics background lead him down a creative path, coupled with videogames, 80's movies and other sources of creative empowerment.

Fast forward to now and Gobi is part of the Catfish Deluxe collective, comprised of a bunch of friends with similar tastes dedicating their time to developing original comics, television series and more under a collective roof. Gobi's work really reminds me of the good old days of Capcom with it's colorful, line art driven style and the distinctly stylized treatment he creates his characters and environments with. His work is bold, confident and lends itself very well to animation. Along with his friends he's developed series including Tequila, Tcho!, Apocalypse Joe and most recently Goligo. If anything I'm left wishing these series would make the jump overseas, because they're pretty damn beautiful..Either that or it's time to fast track those French classes. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

The Sketchy Art Of JP Valderrama

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If there was one thing to capture my attention with artists, it's Akira fan art, which is what immediately drew me into the work of JP Valderrama. JP has an incredibly distinct style, using a sketchy look and filled in with some amazing color work. The results as you would expect are amazing. Using his distinct style JP's work covers a multitude of pop-culture references from comics, cartoons, to movies and they all end up looking amazing.

After the jump are a few more pieces, check them out!

Judge Minty: The Nearest We'll Get To A Dredd Sequel

The Awesome-Robo staff has varying tastes from a number of different perspectives. But one thing we all agreed on last year was that one of the most entertaining action films of last year was the adaptation of the 2000AD comic: Dredd. We talked about the film a lot on our Podcast, and despite a huge boost from social media sites during the home media release, we had the revelation this week that a Dredd sequel seemed unlikely. Luckily though, we have one fan made Dredd inspired film to keep us occupied till the franchise eventually gets rebooted. Although I couldn't see why they'd bother to do that with the latest version.

This short film is scripted by frequent 2000 AD contributor Michael Carroll and adapts the storyline made famous by John Wagner and Mike McMahon published in the 2000 AD comic in 1980. The film actually has appeared at a number of film festivals with large critical acclaim, but it wasn't until the official 2000 AD site brought it to my attention that I caught wind of this project. The production team has announced that it will be free to watch on streaming sites Youtube or Vimeo between April or May, and if you are a fan of the franchise I would highly recommend checking it out.

The Avengers - Concept Art By Phil Saunders

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Though the film was released last year (and the world has moved onto the next big superhero film rumour) it's hard to deny the impact the Avengers had on cinema. It was a fun filled film with some of the best CGI in recent memory (Check out the ILM VFX reel if you haven't already, it fooled quite a few of us), especially as a comic fan. It's always interesting seeing each concept artists take on a certain idea, and what the art directors eventually end up going with as the final design. As a collective effort, this process of pooling from a large number of artists in an iterative fashion has always worked out well for studios that dedicate to the full process. We have featured a number of pieces from the film before and each one just gets more impressive.

Concept artist Phil Saunders just recently released some great concepts he created for The Avengers. Phil worked early on to create sketches and develop designs for the Leviathan, Quinjet, Helicarrier and Iron Man’s MK7 suit.  Check them out after the break!

The Amazing Spider-Man Concept Art by Fabian Lacey

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Today marks the release of Amazing Spider-Man 700, and whilst the comic marks the end of an era and the final moments of Peter Parker (for the next few months, at least) I thought I would celebrate it by showcasing some concept art of the film based on the world famous franchise. Fabian Lacey has done a number of pieces of stunning pieces for a variety of films, including Tron Legacy, Green Lantern & Star Trek. These paintings revolve around the Lizard & the battle on the bridge as Spider-Man attempts to reduce collateral damage in an ongoing battle.

Whilst the scene in the film wasn't this dramatic, the pieces showcase the type of production art required to flesh out scenes. Check out the rest of the pieces after the break!

'Man Of Steel' Superman Trailer Gets Sweded

Oh boy am I excited for Man Of Steel. I don't think I've seen a less revealing trailer, leaving us wanting more. Superman is one movie property that just hasn't worked out in a reboot sense and hopefully Zack Snyder will get it right this time in a directorial role (Suckerpunch showed us just how horrible of a writer he is). The entire Awesome-Robo crew is relatively excited for the film, and it was only a matter of time before the trailer got sweded.

In case you didn't know, the term Sweded originated in Michel Gondry's 2008 film 'Be Kind Rewind' which revolved around films in a VHS store being erased and recreated on a shoestring budget of under $5. See the man of Steel become the man of Copper! It's pretty clever and is an exact remake of the trailer, down to doll-flying animation and the acapella soundtrack, using only an iPhone. Check out the original trailer after the break!

Mythbuster Adam Savage's Doc Ock Costume For Patton Oswalt

Halloween may have been yesterday, but one of the greatest stories from the holiday came out within the last day. Patton Oswalt, comedian and all around nerd, tweeted that his daughter wanted a costume to match her Spider-Girl costume. The mighty-helpful Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame answered the Bat signal and created an awesomely ingenious rendition of Doctor Octopus (The Spiderman 2 edition).

The 'sentient' arms are made of wraps of durable, lightweight armature wire covered in foam, resulting in easy posable arms. On a plus note, the weight of the foam arms were placed onto the costume wearer's shoulders rather than the waist and back to prevent a Bane-like back breaking scenario. Adam makes costume making look a little too damn easy. Also, how much for that Spirited Away 'No Face' in the background?

The Art Of Travel Foreman

Travel Foreman is a relatively new name in the comic book scene, but he's already left quite an impression thanks to his stark, contrasty style. I don't really read comic books often, but when I saw the work he did for the incredibly dark, visceral reboot of DC's Animal Man (A relatively obscure character), I knew this was one of the best things to come out of the entire 'New 52' reboot. The Animal Man relaunch went on to become a NY Times bestseller due to the rave reviews it received.

Travel embraces the surreal and the twisted in his work, and his fresh visual take on superheroes has already garnered him a steady stream of work on comic series like God Of War, Iron Fist, Loki (Featured above) and others. Check out some of his other work for Animal Man after the break!

DC Unveils Their Minimalist Poster Series!

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I recently bought a number of fan comic prints from a number of sites. I'm in the middle of redecorating and I wanted to have some unique wall candy based around comic books I liked. Had I known DC were going to produce a unique art series, I might have waited and given my money directly to the source. The company recently announced a line of collectible posters that truly surprised me with their sheer variety, yet they all shared a similar, minimalist theme.

Available in 12x18" ($19.95) and 24x36" ($34.95) varieties the posters hone in on DC's most prominent characters and themes, including iconic location posters (including Crime Ally) and a number of storyline-centric designs based around vehicles, locations, heroes and villains. Check out the full collection after the break!

Daredevil Sizzle Reels Show What Could Have Been

Comic book movie rights are very tricky things, especially when Marvel doesn't own the rights of a number of franchises. Some of you might not be aware of this but back in the 1980's, Marvel decided to sell the rights of a variety of their franchises to Fox because the idea of self producing films was a dream, especially something as huge as the Avengers. These franchises included Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Blade & Daredevil which is the subject we will be discussing today. Marvel & Fox had been fighting over the rights for the franchise for the last few months; with the original contract dictating that if a film based off the franchise is not put into production after a certain amount of time, Fox loses the rights and they revert to Marvel. It's why we got the somewhat unnecessary Amazing Spider-Man this summer, and why we got the awful Roger Corman Fantastic Four film in the 1990's that never officially got released: Let's just put it like this, Fox doesn't want to lose the rights to anything that could potentially make them some money.

In regards to Daredevil, the talks fell through and the rights for Daredevil have now reverted back to Marvel. Yet before this issue went down, Fox was actually working on a second take at the Daredevil franchise. Desperate to start production before they lost the rights, they approached director Joe Carnahan who wrote a draft and made two sizzle reels (depending on where Fox wanted to go with the franchise). The director released the sizzle reels (a demo reel or proof of concept intended to demonstrate a potential movie/show/project ahead of its creation), which use a number of pieces of other movies, motion comics takes on classic Daredevil artwork and a somewhat retro score.

Perhaps this Daredevil would have been a great adaptation, but like Superman Lives we may never know. Take a peek at what would have been with the PG reel above and the PG13 reel after the break!

Bizarro Classic - Rob Pratt's Superman Returns

This mini animation is a Superman tribute, featuring a villian you might or might not be aware of. Bizzarro, also known as the 'reverse' Superman is the complete antithesis for what the superhero stands for, complete with a reverse S symbol on his cape. The hero was first introduced in 1958 and has become a staple in the Superman universe ever since.

This cartoon really caught my attention thanks to its adherence to the retro, heavy art deco aesthetics. This animated proof of concept cartoon was lovingly fan made, and Rob Pratt even got John Newton (TV's 1980's Superboy)  to voice Superman along with other choice cast members. I absolutely loved it, and look forward to seeing what Rob Pratt cooks up next. The reverse Superman music for when Bizzarro flies in was a nice, subtle touch.

Francesco Francavilla And The Minimalist Posters Of Breaking Bad

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Call me behind the times, but it's only been through the last year or so that I've started watching Breaking Bad. I'm at the beginning of Season Four, but I had the DVD on the shelf for years before I finally stuck it in and discovered one of my favourite shows. It also turns out that I'm not the only late bloomer, as artist Francesco Francavilla has also just discovered the show and fallen in love as well. So much so that the artist has decided to use his talents to produce a unique miniposter for each episode. As well as being a fantastic Italian comic book artist working for the likes of DC and Marvel, he also finds the time to work on side projects like this, much to his fans delight.

While he hasn't quite finished his collection for Season two, Francesco has just finished the art for Season One, and his interpretations of each episode were pretty amazing to check out. Enjoy the rest of the art after the break!

Arrow Trailer: The Green Arrow TV Show Doesn't Look So Bad

Poor Green Arrow. The new 52 reboot really tried to make the character hip and young, based on his appearance on the "Superman" TV Show Smallville. The Oliver Queen I knew was a left-wing vigilante with social conscience, not some rich young kid in a Green hood. When I first heard about the TV show I was very fearful they would take the character down a similar route but as it seems the writers have actually done some research.

The trailer had references to the original comics, mainly Green Arrow: Year One, written by Andy Diggle. The story has the origin of Green Arrow which involves Oliver Queen, a frivolous playboy and a thrill-seeking activist, being betrayed and marooned on a deserted jungle island. DC have made some pretty poor adaptations for television before, though this one has certainly peaked my interests.

These Superheroes Won't Give You The Finger

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I really feel like the superheroes of today need a new hook. These 5 fingered heroes, photographed by Julian Wolkenstein and costumed by Tamara Maynes, are as cute as a button. I have to hand it to these guys, as these costumes are just fantastic, especially for the fact that they allow me to roll out my terrible hand puns from the dark corner where I've been storing them. You can check out the rest after the break!

Doctor Who & Star Trek Really Is That Bizarre

The cross-over that is still puzzling me!

IDW Publishing revealed more about the 8-issue mini-series cross-over titled Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2.

Launching in May, the comic will feature fan-favorite villains the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance. The series will be written by Scott and David Tipton, the authors of Star Trek: Infestation, with Doctor Who comic writer Tony Lee, and will feature artwork by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel).

Seems good so far but it has me wondering; will it be classic Cybermen or the new types? The Borg were actually based off the original Cybermen (in the original 1960 series, based off the fear of the advancements of surgery) where as the new series Cybermen (introduced in the 2006 reboot and were not quite as symbolic and scary) seem to copy plenty of aspects from the Borg, though that isn't a turn off. It's just very meta, though one should expect that from a Doctor Who/Star Trek cross-over.

Avengers Assemble On Block!

Lego; Bigger than Thor (Via)

We LOVE Lego here at Awesome-Robo so the fact this exists has quite a few of us very excited. This year, the Avengers will not only assemble on the big screen as a big, huge Hollywood blockbuster movie but will also be the 'Assembly Required' toy that parents loathe. Though revealed at ComicCon last year, we now have our first good look at this collection. Who wants to bet that this is already being turned into a Lego game?

If I can make one criticism, it seems that Iron Man could have used some work; his helmet head is huge! Weight proportion my Lego buddy! If you like Lego, you can check out the Lego forms of Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, a quinjet and more after the break!

Spider-Man Goes To The End Of The Earth With Brand New Costume

The new-look Spider-Man? (Via)

It's been a tease-tastic time for Spider-Man fans this month. From issue 682, Peter Parker will be fighting The Sinister Six, led by the vengeful Doctor Octopus who are back and looking for revenge! Doctor Octopus is dying and this could well be his last attempt at defeating his long time nemesis and one time almost-son-in-law.

Dan Slott promises an amazing saga with beautiful art by Stefano Caselli and the saga will begin 21st March 2012. However, Marvel has been releasing teasers of the forthcoming saga and they've been intriguing with a hint of strange. Spider-man has a new costume, but is it permanent or a one-time suit we'll never see again? It seems very ninja like and in the comics Peter has been learning the skill.

See the teasers after the break and let us know what you think!

Before The Watchmen Were The Watchmen

Who didn't see this coming?

The long awaited/dreaded Watchmen prequels have officially been announced. This summer, DC Entertainment will publish all-new stories expanding on the acclaimed Watchmen universe. The seven inter-connected prequel mini-series will build on the foundation of the original Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time. We are beyond the looking glass people. Check out more info and official covers after the break!