While you may not be interested in sporting events, the history of Olympic Mascots ties into such familiar Beat territory as licensing and furries. According to the Smithsonian , the Germans, who innovated the pictographs we spotlighted earlier, also invented the Olympic mascot with Wendi, a lovable dachshund who introduced the 1972 Summer games in Munich. It was only the beginning of a parade of characters hated and loved, but most often hated.
The Brooklyn Nets will be buying their comics at Bergen Street Comics
On our periodic forays to Bergen Street Comics we’ve been watching the new Barclays Center go up a few blocks away, so it’s good to know that
comics loving Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez knows where to get his books:
No-Han Mania!
So thrilled I got to see the end of this game and the Mets no-hit dearth—a 50-year legacy of 9th inning heartbreak—ended.
Nice art: Not much longer now
Ben Towle’s baseball sketches remind us that pitchers and catchers have already reported.
Super Bowl champion NY Giants get their own graphic novel
It’s a story of twists and turns as only a 9-7 season can be, but perhaps the most incredible thing about
this online graphic novel chronicling the New York Giants’ championship season is that it is being created by someone known as Chris in Philly. Preferring to remain anonymous—surely because his fellow Philadelphians would egg bomb his house if they knew about it—Chris is using Photoshopped archival materials to tell the exciting story of how Eli Manning led his team to a Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots. It’s a classic story of the underdog coming out on top.
Watch the Guardian Project baffle an arena full of hockey fans
Looks like the NHL is pretty serious about these Stan Lee/Neal Adams superheroes. Above is the 2nd intermission show that was put on complete with video projections, a guy in a costume, a mysterious villain, and narration by Stan “The Man” Lee himself.
Surreal "Guardian Project" may be Stan Lee's greatest achievement yet
When it was announced that Stan Lee would be “creating” a bunch of superheroes to represent the 30 NHL hockey teams, it kind of whizzed by in the blizzard of such announcements of projects Lee was working on this year — he’s surely the world’s busiest octogenarian. However, as the characters are unveiled in anticipation of this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game where they will “come to life” via some unholy method, it’s becoming clear that these characters may in fact be his Clarinet Quintet, his Black Paintings — a twilight exploration of the themes that have preoccupied his work for a lifetime.
Separated at birth?
“Your feeble skills are no match for the dark side!” — Patriots coach Bill Belicheck channels his inner Palpatine.
Marvel's NBA-Mashup
This week’s NBA preview issue of ESPN The Magazine includes special Marvel-themed makeovers of all the teams, and Comics Alliance has the entire gallery. Here are a few to get warmed up: