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Axe Cop is one of the biggest success stories from the world of web comics. Who knew that a story told by a 5 year old and illustrated by his 29 year old brother would be so popular? If you are not familiar with Axe Cop, it is a comic series about a cop who uses a fireman’s axe to chop crime to pieces and often rides a tyrannosaurus rex. It is full of the randomness, plot twists, and robot moon battles that you would expect from the mind of a little boy. In other words, it is ridiculously entertaining. Fox agrees and decided that Axe Cop would make the perfect cartoon for Animation Domination HD, a new block of late night cartoons that is supposed to draw viewers away from Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.

Yeah, I think I’d watch this.

Neither Malachai Nicolle, the young writer, or Ethan Nicolle, the artist, aren’t Seth MacFarlane, so it is a little surprising that their work will be on Fox. I thought MacFarlane had some sort of monopoly on animated airtime there. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the sudden twists and turns of Axe Cop will fit into animated airtime. I am especially curious to see how long episodes will be. I feel like 15 minute episodes in the vein of Aqua Teen Hunger Force would be the way to go if the Axe Cop television show stays as random as the comics. That kind of manic story jumping could grow wearisome if it went on for a full 30 minutes every episode, as those longer episodes usually require a bit more of a structured story element to keep the audience interested. Too much structure would rob Axe Cop of its unique charm, so Fox will definitely be walking a fine line with the development of this series.

I also wonder if Fox is scouting other web comics to turn into animated series. The popular web comic Least I Could Do has been working on putting together an animated series for quite a while now, and the adult humor in that strip would certainly fit a late night cartoon block. If I was to choose one web comic to become an ongoing television series, my vote would have to go to Anthony Clark’s Nedroid comics. 15 minute episodes of Beartato and Reginald being random and lovable would be the best thing ever. Basically a grown up Adventure Time without having to grow up.

Go read about Beartato if you like being happy.

Lance Briggs is a beastly linebacker in the NFL. He spends his days making running backs hate their chosen professions. He also happens to be a huge comic book fan, and even has his own comic devoted website, Lance’s Comic World. That is ridiculously awesome. It is pretty much impossible to not want to hang out with Lance Briggs after reading that. Much like a great comic book, this story gets even better as it goes on. Lance Briggs has actually created his own comic book for Top Cow Productions!

Behold the glory!

Briggs’s comic, Seraph, is actually part of a contest that Top Cow is holding to discover their next great comic book. You can download and vote for Seraph here. I read it already, and it is actually quite entertaining. I’d say that Briggs has an actual chance at having his comic picked up by one of the larger independent comic companies whether Top Cow takes it or not. The writing is good, and the art isn’t too shabby either. It looks like this Bears linebacker could be carving out his next career for when his gridiron days are over.

This is one comic book nerd that probably wasn’t picked on much.

How many people remember Beast Wars? I was reminded of that series a week or so ago when I was sorting through a box of comics with a friend and we came across some IDW Beast Wars comics. For those unfamiliar with this awesomeness, Beast Wars was a Transformers series where all the robots turned into animals instead of vehicles. Optimus Prime became the gorilla, Optimus Primal and Megatron remained Megatron and turned into a badass tyrannosaurus rex. I need to pick that figure up. Megatron always seems to have the coolest vehicle/animal modes. Anyways, my nostalgia led me to pick up some Beast Wars figures, one of which is Drill Bit, the Predacon bore weevil Transformer. Check out my review of this figure below:

I have been sorting a lot of my comics recently and I came across a Transformers/G.I. Joe miniseries. It piqued my curiosity, so I sat down and read all six issues. It was a fairly entertaining story with the Joes and Autobots teaming up against Cobra Commander and the Decepticons. What really stood out was how badass Snake Eyes was. This silent ninja became one of my favorite characters of all time just because of this miniseries. The dude has his face turned into hamburger meat during a fight with Storm Shadow and can’t stop the bleeding. That sounds like it would be a good time for a tactical withdrawal to patch up before returning to the fight. Or, if you are the kind of guy who intimidates Chuck Norris, you set your face on fire to cauterize the wounds. I think you know which option Snake Eyes went with.

All this happened before he fought the giant robot dog.

Yes, Snake Eyes is literally face meltingly awesome. He also finds time to straight up stab a shark, which is way better than just using a can of shark repellant. This leads to the obvious question of who is more badass, Snake Eyes or Batman? If we are basing this off of shark encounters, Snake Eyes definitely wins. Otherwise, it’s a pretty close call. Let us know who you think the better man in black is in the comments section.

MTV and Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment have teamed up to create what could be the most amazing contest of all time. Two lucky winners will actually get to work with Stan Lee himself to create a comic. Also $10,000, which isn’t too shabby. Writers and artists, now is the time to show off your comic writing/drawing skills for a big payday and the chance to work with a living legend.

Now that I have your attention, you are probably curious how this whole thing works. The first thing you have to do is go check out the treatment that Stan Lee has written for the comic you could be working on with him, The Seekers. You can find that here. There are aliens with crazy powers, mysterious figures, and naked chicks, so it sounds like a pretty good story so far. You can read the beginning of The Seekers story at that link, which you will have to do if you want any chance of winning this contest. Writers have to write 10 pages of script for what happens after what is revealed in the treatment, along with doing their own treatment for a 110 page graphic novel for The Seekers. Artists will need to do 5 pages of art covering what is described in Stan Lee’s treatment. The best submissions will ultimately be voted on by comic fans and the winners will be picked by Stan Lee, so add in some ninjas and robots and dinosaurs to your version of the story to make sure you win. For more information on the contest, visit MTV’s site.

There is sure to be a lot of competition here, as $10,000 and Stan Lee are pretty good motivators. I still plan on winning the writing portion of this contest though, so step your game up artists. I don’t want to be working with any hacks. Also, writers who have read this article, I was just joking. This contest doesn’t exist and you shouldn’t click on any of the links.

One thing you’ll notice when you walk the floor at San Diego Comic Con is the fact that there is a whole lot of cool stuff to look at. With the sheer number of booths around, it is a pretty good strategy for booths to put the coolest stuff they have out on display to catch the interest of passersby. I think it is safe to say that my interest was caught so much I’m pretty sure I got whiplash. Here are some of the coolest things I saw while wandering the floor of SDCC 2011.

Costumes from The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is arguably the greatest comic book movie of all time. What makes it so awesome is how Christopher Nolan has made a world around Batman that is grounded in realism. When we see Batman on screen we don’t think of a buff dude in his pajamas or anything ridiculous like that. Seeing the actual Batman costume on display at SDCC was equally awesome. It was the kind of thing that made me want to put it on and go out and fight crime. The greatness didn’t stop there, though. Right next to the Batman costume was the outfit the Joker wore in the movie, complete with the clown mask he wore during the bank robbery at the beginning of the movie. I went from wanting to fight crimes to committing them in a very short span of time.

Captain America Costume

I was really pumped up on Captain America during SDCC. There were early showings of Captain America: The First Avenger all day that Thursday, which I had to go to, and just so much promotion for Cap. Marvel was even giving out little hand fans that were printed like Captain America’s shield. The coolest piece of Captain America promotion was definitely his costume, which was on display under the guard of various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I was kind of hoping that some Nazis would show up so I could put on the costume and give them a good old fashioned American but-whooping, but that’s mostly because I have an overactive imagination.

Mike Mignola

There was one point during my SDCC experience that I did a double take. That was walking by Mike Mignola’s booth, which was tucked out of the way in a corner of the convention center. I had to a double take to make sure I read the name right, since nobody was over by his booth. This was very surprising to me, since Mike Mignola is the creator of Hellboy. Hellboy, as you may know, has been turned into two full length feature films, and a variety of animated movies, not to mention the popular comic book line, so I was pretty surprised that there wasn’t a line of people waiting to meet Mignola. He was very nice, but I guess his awesomeness was just too intimidating for most people.

Ghost Rider’s Motorcycle

Why yes, I do agree that the first Ghost Rider movie was pretty terrible. Nicolas Cage might be a huge comic fan, which I like, but I still don’t think he should be Ghost Rider. The fact that he will be back for a second Ghost Rider movie, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, really doesn’t do much for me. Seeing Ghost Rider’s motorcycle has pretty much the exact opposite effect than the movies on me, though, so I was pumped to see it on the floor. The only way it could’ve been cooler was if it was on fire, but I heard the fire marshall wouldn’t have been too happy about that.

Lego Batman

I am always amazed when I see these large Lego structures, mainly because the most complicated thing I ever built was a tiny little space shuttle with a little car that could come out of it. These people building giant castles and Death Stars have far more patience than I ever did. One of the coolest giant Lego sculptures that I have ever seen was on display at SDCC 2011; a life-size Batman posing majestically on a gargoyle. The time and effort that must go into planning and building something of that scale must be tremendous, but that result is definitely worth it. Maybe next year I can build myself a costume entirely out of Legos.

Things are heating up as the upcoming movies R.I.P.D. and Deadpool fight for the honor to have Ryan Reynolds as the main character. Recently, Deadpool had the upper hand in wooing Reynolds as his co-star Zach Galifianakis left R.I.P.D. and Fox had hired a director for Deadpool, making it seem like the more stable and realistic project. It was basically Fox’s way of saying that they were very serious about getting a Deadpool movie made. R.I.P.D. has just struck back by hiring Jeff Bridges to replace Galifianakis.

As you might know, I am a huge Deadpool fan and would very much like to see Ryan Reynolds in that role. With that said, how hard would it be to turn down a chance to perform with an Academy Award winner like Jeff Bridges? I couldn’t do it. He’s The Dude! This actually makes me slightly more interested in seeing R.I.P.D., a movie based off comics about undead cops solving undead crimes, while at the same time making me worry about what will happen with Deadpool. While nothing official has come out yet, the rumor mill seems to be pointing to Ryan Reynolds joining the cast of R.I.P.D. and leaving Deadpool in an interesting predicament.

Ever since the Deadpool movie was announced, Reynolds has been promoting it while everyone just assumed he would reprise his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, except have Deadpool done right this time. Who knows what will happen to this movie if Reynolds doesn’t sign on? After assuming that he was Deadpool for this long, it is hard to picture anybody else being the Merc with a Mouth. I guess it is still possible that Ryan Reynolds will do both movies, even though he has said he is not sure he will have time for that since he is kind of really popular in Hollywood right now. Either way, I think he will still be the king of comic book movies what with his roles in Blade and X-Men and Green Lantern.

Free Comic Book Day 2011 has come and gone, somehow still managing to leave my wallet much lighter than it used to be. While comic book stores used their large sales to lure me into spending my hard earned cash, there were indeed many free goodies to be had. All the big companies put out their free comics, trying to walk the delicate line of enticing new readers while still keeping faithful fans happy. Here are some of the best that Free Comic Book Day 2011 had to offer.

Marvel: The Amazing Spider-Man

Marvel did a great job with their Amazing Spider-Man comic this year. Of course Spider-Man is a well known character because of the Tobey Maguire movies, even to people who aren’t particularly interested in comic books. That makes him an excellent choice for Marvel to use to bring in new readers. What I really liked about this comic is that it did a great job of giving background on what’s going on in Peter Parker’s life for new readers wrapped inside an enjoyable stand alone story for current fans. This is exactly how a Free Comic Book Day comic should be.

DC: Green Lantern

With the Ryan Reynolds movie coming out soon, it is no surprise that DC decided to use Green Lantern to bring in new readers and spread some brand awareness. The art is great in the comic, and the story itself is pretty good. It is the retelling of the Green Lantern origin, with some new parts thrown in. It was nice to see that they went to the effort to add in those new parts for people familiar with Green Lantern and his origin story as an attempt to keep things interesting, but it was definitely intended more for newer readers. Still it is a good story, that’s why they are doing a movie of pretty much the same thing. It also had a nice preview of the upcoming Flashpoint story line based around Flash.

Image: Super Dinosaur

Robert Kirkman is the golden son of Image, so it was the obvious move to have one of his comics be the one to draw in fans. Walking Dead is not exactly the most family friendly title around, so his new comic Super Dinosaur was put out for the kiddies instead. I really liked this for a couple reasons. One, everything by Robert Kirkman is good. Two, Jason Howard has some great art. Three, they didn’t just reprint the first issue as a free comic, something which has been done before with other titles. Instead, this free Super Dinosaur comic was the origin of Super Dinosaur. This is one origin story that hasn’t been retold a hundred times yet, so enjoy it while it’s new.

Indie: Red 5 Atomic Robo

Red 5 Comics produces one of, if not the best, indie comics with Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener’s Atomic Robo. The brief explanation of Atomic Robo is he is a scientist/sentient robot/action adventurer built by Nikola Tesla. He is also hilarious. They hit it out of the park with their Free Comic Book Day comic featuring the villainy of Dr. Dinosaur, who uses his superior mental might against his mammalian foes at a science fair. Dr. Dinosaur is an idiot, but a highly destructive and entertaining idiot. He is the kind of character you love the minute you read him. I have to say that Atomic Robo was the best comic of Free Comic Book Day 2011. If you didn’t get a copy, track it down.

One of the biggest events of the year for comic book fans is just around the corner. Free Comic Book Day 2011 falls on Saturday, May 7th, and gives comic book fans a chance to get some free goodies at their local comic book shops. Among the comic books being given out this year are copies of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Darkwing Duck, and a special origin issue of Robert Kirkman’s new series Super Dinosaur. There is even a special Green Lantern model for the game Heroclix being given out at some comic shops, along with other goodies. I am definitely excited about picking up anything by Robert Kirkman for free.

Free Comic Book Day has been around since 2002, and is a great way for new people to learn about comics. Many shops even have special guests come throughout the day to do drawings and signings for comic book fans. The biggest purpose of Free Comic Book Day isn’t about bringing in new customers or thanking existing ones, although those things are a large part of it, but to bring business back to local brick and mortar comic shops. With internet sales being so prevalent and a difficult economy, it is harder than ever for independently run comic book shops to keep their doors open. This is a shame, as most of these shops are owned by people like you, comic book fans. Let Free Comic Book Day use giveaways to entice you to support your local businesses and get some cool stuff! Check out the official Free Comic Book Day website for more details.

Comixology is one of the most popular comic reading apps for both the iPhone and the iPad. While it is possible to use the iPhone and similar devices to read comics on apps like Comixology, I don’t particularly enjoy them. The screen is too small to be a very good reading device. Instead we will be focusing on the pros and cons of Comixology on the iPad. First up are the pros:

• Easy to Use

Reading a comic with Comixology is fairly intuitive on the iPad. A quick double tap zooms in on specific panels, and a swipe of the finger moves you along to the next part of the story. It is actually amazingly simple to use, even my 80 year old grandfather who is still baffled on how to turn on a cell phone managed to skim through a comic with ease. The fact that he referred to it as “one of those funny books” does not lessen the impressiveness of this feat.

• Zoom Feature

Like I said earlier, a double tap on the screen in Comixology causes the comic to zoom in on a specific panel. This is great, as it first goes to a large shot of the art so it can be appreciated, then gives a closeup on word balloons making comics very easy to read. As many comic fans know, word balloons and panels can sometimes be situated in ways where it is not always intuitive which part you are supposed to read first. The zoom feature solves this problem by taking you directly through panels and word balloons in order, simplifying everything so you can focus on enjoying what it is you are reading.

• Organized

Buying comics on Comixology is great, because every comic you buy is stored in a personal library connected to an account you set up. That means every comic you buy is automatically sorted, so you can browse through your collection alphabetically, by series, by storyline, or simply type in whatever issue it is you are looking to read. Perhaps the best part of this feature is the fact that your collection is also stored online, so you can read your comics on your iPad or a computer.

• Prices

Speaking of buying comics on Comixology, one of the best parts is these digital comics are often cheaper than buying the paper and ink versions. The average price is $1.99, with many comics also being priced on sale for $.99 and even an entire section of free comics. Some of the new release comics from Marvel are $3.99, but if you are looking for bargains, they are not at all hard to find.

Now here are some of the cons:

• Limited Selection

It is a process to transfer comics into a digital format, so not every comic is going to be available on Comixology. They have comics from the big publishers, like Marvel, DC, and Image, along with many Indie titles, but there are still many series that are not available for purchase. There are only a few titles that are coming out on Comixology at the same time they are published in print form, so it can be hard to stay current on series. Comixology is definitely best for reading back issues.

• Grainy Pictures

While I just praised the zoom feature earlier, it does have its drawbacks. One of these is the fact that some images drawn in comics aren’t meant to be magnified to such an extent. This can lead to grainy pictures and word balloons, taking away from the aesthetic pleasure of a comic. This can be very annoying to some, as comics are an undeniably visual medium, and anything that messes with that can be distracting.

• Limited Updates on Series

Like I stated earlier, not every comic is available for purchase on Comixology. One of the most annoying things on Comixology is the fact that some series are left incomplete. There are many titles from years past that might have the first ten comics in digital form, but not the rest of the series. Usually they end at the conclusion storylines, but the fact that many series are updated infrequently, if at all, can be extremely frustrating.

• Crashes

Perhaps the worst thing about Comixology is the fact that it has intermittent crashes. This usually happens when trying to read a comic while downloading others, but being sent back to your iPad home screen while trying to read something is very annoying. This can happen on the title page, or in the middle of a comic, but nobody likes their reading interrupted at any point. The only good thing about this is that you are sent right back to where you left off when you open up the Comixology app again. In their defense, the Comixology crew is often putting out updates to deal with problems such as this.

Overall, I’d say Comixology is a very good comic reading app for the iPad. It is utilizing a fairly new technology to create an enjoyable reading experience for comic fans at an affordable price. It is true that there are some drawbacks and bugs yet to be ironed out, but even at this early stage Comixology provides a good amount of variety and updates are being put out to enhance the reading experience.