Tommy Lombardozzi Does An Awesome Rocky... Um, I Mean ROCKET Raccoon Variant Cover For Me!!!!

 

With Guardians of the Galaxy doing gangbusters business in the cinemas right now, it is only to be expected that parent company Marvel Comics would make a push in print with all the characters involved. Rocket Raccoon, Star Lord, Guardians, Nova, and Thanos all have been playing major parts in the comic universe through individual titles... and characters from the "cosmic" side of the Marvel Universe have been popping up in every major title. So on a trip to one of our local mom & pop comic shops (Pinocchio Comics in Brooklyn) I looked over and I seen a stack of Skottie Young's new Rocket Raccoon #1 variants sitting there. They had all 3: The one with Rocket with a huge gun, the one with Stan Lee, and a white blank cover. Now I am not one of those comic collectors that will get caught up trying to track down variants and chase covers... its not my style. But I have been talking to Tommy (resident artist here at CCD) about doing something with one of these... having him create me a unique cover image (a 1 of 1) that is hand drawn. But I have been waiting for the right one to come along, and since Rocket is one of my favorite characters ever and I started collecting monthly comics again with the launch of this particular title I figured now was as good as a time as any. So I bought it, turned over to Tommy, and awaited the results. My man TL did NOT disappoint.... he did a bang up job on this awesome cover, and took the character way back to it's roots as being inspired by the Beetles song "Rocky Raccoon". Great, just great.... TL also happened to snap some incredible WIP shots of his initial sketches and the finished product. So great... thank you my friend. This has definitely "Rocketed" to the top of my collection as one of my favorite books (see what I did there). Check em all out after the jump...

 BUY SOME OF TOMMY"S ART NOW AT HIS WEBSITE....

The original cover by Skottie Young

The blank Variant cover I gave Tommy

Initial sketch and pencil on the variant cover

B & W before color

background details

The raccoon of the hour close up

Wider detailed shot

Top of the title card has a play on Rocky Raccoon lyrics changed to fit the character

The Finished BOOK!!!!!!

And a back cover inscription for Me.... Thanks TL! 

     

The Faces Of A Thief, 2 Thugs, An Assassin and A Maniac... What Do You Get? Sean Hamilton's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Face Mash-Up !!!

My buddy Sean Hamilton is back at it again, this time taking on the hit characters of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. In his latest 'face mash-up' piece he takes on the new Fab 5 and uses their distinct facial features to meld them into one cohesive facial pattern. You get the crown of Groot's tree head, the flowing purple ponytail against the green skin of Gamora, the red tattoos of Drax, the furry brow of Rocket, and the mask and 80's headphones of the man called Star Lord... all in one piece! Pretty great. Sean is a very talented dude and has been knocking out amazing art pieces over on his webpage but, he is also finding time to be in the podcasting game with the guys over at the League of Geekz. They have some interesting takes on everything from pop culture, and Sean gets to chat with his fellow podders about toys, movies, comics, TV and much more. Where does this guy find the time? Another great artistic endeavor done well by Create Ink Studios. Make sure you try and cop this puppy when Sean adds it to the online store. Check it out after the jump....

Rocket Raccoon: A Musical Parody by Animfantastic x Town In The City

When I was a kid, my dad would play the Beatles constantly.... In the car, at the house... always with The Beatles. I developed quite a love for the Fab 4, but there was one song in particular that always held a soft spot for me. 'Rocky Raccoon'. I don't know why, but the songs lyrics (although dealing with adult themes of relationships, adultery and gun play) are quite appealing to kids. Maybe it is the sing-songy melody of the tune, or the drawl that Paul is using when singing the lyrics. Whatever it is, the song just jumped out of their catalog to me as a favorite. So, years later when I encountered Rocket Raccoon in the pages of Marvel comics it was hard to ignore the influences of the 'Rocky Raccoon' song over the character and story arc. Rocket is dating Lylla (like Lylla in the song), they are searching out a sacred book called Gideon's Bible (a direct reference to the song), and his best friend is a walrus named Wal Rus (clearly a link to the walrus of 'The Magical Mystery Tour' album). No wonder I always was drawn to the character of Rocket in the comics. Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen create a magical character and world that was clearly rooted in the Beatles music... which is amazing! So when I came across this great video finally acknowledging the links by mashing up the two... well, I was sold immediately. Animfantastic teams up with Town In The City to produce the video, and while it is silly... who cares? It is a song about a talking Raccoon after all, so isn't is supposed to be silly? Enjoy the mashup after the jump...

The CCD Podcast: Episode #15.5 - The Guardians of the Galaxy Review or I Plan For Awesome Mix Vol #1 To Be The Soundtrack Of My Life...

Wow... this may very well be the best Marvel movie released thus far... yup, I said it!!! Guardians of the Galaxy has come... and boy did it CONQUER!!! Over 160 mil worldwide, and as much critical acclaim as any comic book I have seen. So it is a perfect time for us to launch our '.5' episodes, which will be mini review episodes. Sometimes the movies will be new, sometimes old... but you get our perspective on it one way or another!!! So let's get on the journey with Groot, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, and Star Lord... come and get your love!!!! Check out the pod embedded after the jump... and please head over to ITunes where you can Subscribe, Download, Listen, Share... and then REPEAT!!!






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Guardians of the Galaxy x Tommy Lombardozzi x Erle Tompkins = FUEGO !!!

So I saw Guardians of the Galaxy at the 7 pm Thursday night show... and it was magnificent. Absolutely perfect. On every level. It was just amazing, and words can't do it any justice. So I'm going to let two of my very talented artist friends do the talking with their talent. Tommy Lombardozzi is an amazing artist who is not afraid of any challenge when it comes to character creating. So when he began getting hype for the GOTG movie release, he decided to add his own vintage loving spin to the version of the team that appears in the movie. He has Groot, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, and Star Lord... but it is the retro versions of all the characters instead of the most current inclinations!!! Great idea and execution... can't know where you are headed unless you know where you are going!!! Up second we got our boy Erle Tompkins and his homage to the GOTG. He decided to bust out his own unique Peter Quill... The STAR LORD himself! It is the movie version of Star Lord, complete with the orb and all. Suns out, Guns out... two great pieces, by two great artists. Check out all their work by clicking their names above, and check out these pieces after the jump...

The (Old School) Guardians of the Galaxy by Tommy Lombardozzi

Star Lord aka Pete Quill by Erle Tompkins

The CCD Podcast: Episode #15 - The Best Space Operas Ever or You Talkin' About Some Damn Sharks Mother Up In Space? I Will Whip A Glaive At Your Head...

The eve of the release of Guardians of the Galaxy is upon us, so you know the CCD Podcast gang had to tackle the unique genre the film fits in... Space Operas!!! Guardians is very unique in the sense that it is a space set, buddy team up, comedic ensemble film that exists in a very small group of films. So we decided to talk about the films that were similar to this from the past: Think 'Krull', 'The Last Starfighter', 'Flight of the Navigator', 'Galaxy Quest', and the like. It is a fun filled trip down space movie memory lane... so why not join us and celebrate this seldom used genre on the verge of its biggest movie release yet? Enjoy some art and the podcast itself after the jump....

The Real Rocket & Groot by Ratscape

The Guardians of the Galaxy (Raccoons Only Variant) by Joe Endres

Guardians Wallpaper by Tim Bern

Rocket, Groot & Howard the Duck by Jay Fosgitt

K is for Krull by Marco D. Carillo

Krull papercraft arcade cabinet by PaperCrafter 1

The Last Starfighter by Jeremy Dale 

And now for the main event:

Stream the episode here, or follow the links below to subscribe or download. Please share on your favorite form of Social Media... we need your help! Subscribe, Download, Listen, Share.... REPEAT!!!!!!!




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Mike Vazquez Has Some Dope SD Comic Con 2014 Exclusives Ready For The Show!!!

We are on the cusp of this years San Diego Comic Con, and show exclusives from everyone involved are starting to crop up all in our Feedly feed. One of the coolest ones so far mashes up what will probably be 2 of the biggest comic book movies of 2014: Days of Future Past & Guardians of the Galaxy. Artist Mike Vasquez abandons his typical Adventure Time inspired creations to create a variant cover/poster that features everyone's favorite Raccoon in the role of Wolverine and the rest of the Guardians supporting cast on the posters behind him. He means business, and this is a great interpretation of the classic cover of issue X-Men #141. The piece was a combined effort creation between Vasquez and LogicFun (an artist from France who colored the piece). Vasquez also has some dope stickers featuring Groot, Star Lord Gamorra and Rocket (yeah, no Drax... weird), and a bunch of team Adventure Time inspired prints (Friday is Nintendo characters, Saturday is Guardians, and Sunday is Spidey & the Sinister 6) that are limited and only available at Vasquez's table. He also has a cool 35 page sketch book available for purchase. As someone who has followed Vasquez's art for a while, you will be blown away by both the look of the pieces as well as the quality of the prints. You can see more of Vasquez's work over at his Etsy & Deviant Art pages, and check out pics of everything from SDCC after the jump....

Uncolored

Finished Version

2014 SDCC Sticker Set 

2014 SDCC Exclusive Print

Vasquez's Sketch Book

2014 SDCC Exclusive Prints By Day...

  

Just Who Is This 'Groot' Anyway???

A lot of hub bub is being made over the upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie, and the trailers are very Star Lord & Rocket Raccoon heavy. While the two green members of the team (Gamorra & Drax) are both brooding and about action, the final character that rounds out the 5 may be the most mysterious. Groot is a giant walking tree, and he talks... well, he says "I AM GROOT" over and over. Kind of like Hodor from 'Game of Thrones', just with more foliage....but just who is this Groot and where did get his start? Take a look after the jump for a little background info on the Terrific Tree known as Groot.

What most people don't know about Rocket's best buddy is that originally he was a bad guy, alien invader, created by 'The King of Comics' himself Jack Kirby!!! And he also spoke a whole bunch, in typical "I'm an alien hell bent on taking over the Earth" style that was always present in Kirby's giant monster/alien stories. He was actually quite articulate. He appeared in a handful of stories (all done by Kirby), than kind of faded away...

... until making an appearance in 'The Incredible Hulk' annual #5 (1976) alongside five other Kirby-era monsters (Goom... fuck yea!) taking on the Hulk. The story was drawn by Sal Buscema & written by Chris Claremont, two guys who adore Jack Kirby and were happy to give the King and his monsters a highlight.

The plan failed (there is no way 6 monsters can put together a cohesive battle plan... just my opinion!) and he would pretty much disappear from the pages of Marvel Comics until 21 YEARS later when he appeared alongside other Kirby-era monsters in The Sensational Spider-Man #1 in 1997. Groot along with the other monsters come alive in a young Peter Parker's nightmares to terrorize him, and Peter defeats them.

In the year of 2006 it seems Joe Quesada and the other higher-ups at Marvel had bigger cosmic plans that included Groot .....but, this time as one of the good guys! After appearing in Nick Fury's Howling Commandos miniseries and 'Annihilation: Conquest' with a newer look but, able to speak and be extremely articulate. The character was extremely popular, and we would begin seeing more of him in things like the Star Lord mini series, his team up 'Annihilators' series with Rocket, and eventually 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in the relaunch.

So that's how he ends up in this interesting movie. It has been a long road for a humble King Kirby monster character, and now he is finally getting his due. Groot is also in a new team book with Rocket, so keep an eye out for that. Looking forward to seeing a golden character such as Groot get the total mainstream love he deserves. 'Guardians of the Galaxy' hits theaters on August 1st.