joe randel's art dump

Downstairs renovations are close to done, thank goodness.  So close in fact that Wife and I where able to fill up our new downstairs book shelves with our collection of reading material.  Even my Bruce Timm book found a home on it.  It was neat thought to go through all our books again and see which ones we’ve forgotten and which ones we wish to read again.  One of those books is called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.  It’s about his life as a child soldier in Africa and how he made it out.  I originally saw an interview with him on The Daily Show and was so moved by his story that I had to buy his book.  It’s fascinating and horrifying at the same time.  You read it and think that this is a grown man in this situation and then stop and remember that he’s actually only twelve.

I can’t recommend this book enough.  It’s seriously fantastic and I couldn’t put it down.  I really must read it again.  What books do you own that you should read again?

It’s well known fact that I love retro things.  Cartoons, video games, it’s all cool in my books.  Well, my son today went and bought (with his own money) the entire series of the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon.  No, I wasn’t there to influence him.  I fact, my wife made it clear that this would take pretty much all the money he had on him.  He didn’t care and bought it anyway.

I couldn’t be more proud. ^_^

Unsure of what to post I decided to wander though my drawings and see if there are any old ones that I could post up.  I did indeed find one.  Another lost doodle from a few years ago… I think.  Once again, I don’t really remember drawing it but I’m happy to share.  Especially since I haven’t post anything in a while.  I do have somethings coming down the pipe line… but that will have to wait.  Until then, you’ll have to settle with this.

So a friend of mine has got me watching a new cartoon.  It’s called Venture Brothers.  I’d never heard of this show before but he said that I might like it.  He said that it has the feel of an older cartoon, like Jonny Quest, Rocket Robinhood, Spider-Man and little Scooby-Doo and he knows that I dig that kind of stuff.

To be honest I wasn’t so sure I was going to like it but I found that with in two or three episodes, I was hooked.  I found that the show really plays off the ridiculousness that those classic cartoons showed off as serious.  Plus the show seems really put together.  I was impressed at how much consistency they have put in to this cartoon.  They set up things in early episodes that they totally follow up on in later ones and make it a major plot point, which you don’t see that often in cartoons.

In short… I really like this cartoon and I too recommend it fans of the older cartoons of yesteryear.  It’s fun and stupid and unlike anything you’ve seen before.  Now if you’ll excuse me… I should try and draw a picture of Dr. Girlfriend. ^_^

This art from the season 1 box is so boss I just had to show it too.

When was the last time you bought yourself new clothing.  If it wasn’t for my wife I’d probably still be wearing what ever I had out of college.  I tend not to buy myself new things to wear.  It’s just not a priority for me.  I generally wait for Christmas to cash in on socks and boxers too.  The reason that bring this up is that I just received in the mail a new Super Mario shirt that I was able to get for free with my Club Nintendo Points.  Before this, I couldn’t tell you when I actually went out and bought myself something to wear.  Who knows what I’d look like if I wasn’t married. ^_^

Are you pre ordering Dead or Alive 5?  No?  Would some in game bikini’s change your mind?  According to the official news, “bunny style” swimwear will be given to those that pre-order the game.  Amazon orders will receive DOA Devil suits for Christie, Tina and Ayane and Gamestop orders will get the DOA Angels suits for Kasumi, Leifang and Hitomi.  Although Gamestop buyers can also opt for the $79.99 special collectors edition of DOA5 which comes in a steel case, bikini’s for all the lady characters, a hard cover book with all kinds of sexy pictures and a copy of the games soundtrack.  Are ya interested in the pre-order now?  Heck, I just want to see more pictures like the one above. ^_^