Back when I first got into comics in the early ’80s, I was a bit lost when it came to the back stories of my favorite Marvel characters. Well, the collective Spidey Sense of the Marvel honchos must have been tingling as they produced “The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe” as regular installments starting in 1982. In encyclopedic fashion, the issues pieces together the history of various heroes and villains in Marvel history. I collected as many of the issues as I could, poring over the data sheets of every character from Marveldom.

Flash forward 30 years and a handful of various comic artists are breathing new life into the classic OHOTMU. The OHOTMU Reduxe Edition blog is similar to other recreation sites like Covered, Relaunched, and Repaneled where today’s comic artists take classic images and bring their own style to new illustrations based on the source. They’re equal parts tribute and artist showcase.

The OHOTMU Redux effort is led by the great artist Calamity Jon Morris. Morris brought us the Cornered blog for recreations of comic cover name plates. The new site has only been in existence since June 13 and has already featured contributions from over 25 different artists.

My pre-teen eyes didn’t realize it way back when but it’s now easy to see how much of a rush job the original creations were. There were never more than two illustrations of each character, the largest of which was one a plain background. Perhaps that’s why this Redux effort is so appealing. These artists are giving even the most obscure characters considerable attention and care. If the artists can skewer the subjects just a little bit—like in the case of Brodie Brockie’s Doctor Octopus—well, that makes it even more awesome.

Are you headed to the San Diego Comic-Con this year? If so, you’ll want to make sure to stop by Booth 1802 and pay a visit to our friend Alex Deligiannis. Alex has been making amazing sketches every day this year and will be selling mini-prints of a select few. He’s picked 20 of his favorite sketches and has printed them on 5×7 cards. You can pick up your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (in classic red mask or cartoon colors), Spawn, Link, Dick Tracy, X-Men, The Maxx, my personal favorite, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and more.

In addition to the awesome mini-prints, Boom! Studios is selling a SDCC-exclusive variant of Peanuts #1, with a cover colored by Mr. Deligiannis himself. Make sure to check out Alex’s post to see more photos of his prints and find out more info.

If you’re a geek and use the Internet much you probably remember seeing Dave Rapoza’s awesome TMNT prints a while back. Dave specializes in punching your nostalgia in the face with his ultra-realistic style and his latest target is the Red Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He’s teamed up with ACME to release this print at SDCC and on ACME’s website sometime soon. I don’t think a Power Ranger has ever looked so badass.

You can check out Dave’s website and the Red Ranger print page on ACME’s website, and stay tuned for an announcement on when they’ll be available online, if you’re lame like me and won’t be attending SDCC.

As a critic, I’m supposed to offer my unbiased opinion on a piece of media that I’ve been given. I’m supposed to set aside my own personal preferences and examine art – whether it be a cheesy 1980s TV series or an Oscar-winning modern classic – without letting my feelings interfere with my final verdict.

Well, I’m afraid I just can’t do that in this case.

Because, you see, I’ve been a fan of Luke Chueh’s artwork since my then-girlfriend-now-wife turned me on to it in 2005. She had seen his paintings online and instantly fell in love with them. I had a similar experience when she showed me his website, and I saw for the first time his unique style, motifs, and message.

Chueh’s art is almost always described using the same adjectives and phrases – “cute, but dark”, “adorable, but sad”, “funny, but deep” – and even though these have become cliché at this point, that doesn’t mean they aren’t true. Much of Chueh’s work features animals that look like costumed out-of-work actors on their way to a kid’s backyard birthday party, ready to snap a photo with a group of seven year-olds because it’s the only gig they can get.
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Alex Deligiannis is a friend of the site, having designed our awesome Sasquatch, the logo for our Bubble Pipe Podcast Network, and generally being a cool dude. Recently Alex started posting one sketch a day on Instagram, and I knew right away I had to post another Instagram Roundup to show off some of his art.

He got my attention with some TMNT sketches, including badass new versions of Bebop and Rocksteady. I asked if he’d ever drawn Leatherhead, and he came through in one of his sketches soon after. I love checking Instagram and finding a new sketch every day, and you should follow @AlexDeligiannis or check out the hashtag #DeliDoodle to follow his progress.

He’s had series of Mario, TMNT, Street Fighter, and Avengers sketches, and they’re all awesome. He’s still pretty early in the project, and there’s months of great art to look forward to. You can follow Alex on Instagram, Twitter, or on his blog.