Hello all!

I'd like to announce the first IMWAN Art Challenge! This will be a friendly non-competitive competition to showcase the many and varied art talents of any and all IMWANophiles (or however you choose to describe yourselves).

The basic rules for all these challenges are simple:

There are no rules.

Oh, sure, some guidelines (just so everyone starts from more or less the same place), but, really, this is all about having fun and showing everyone your mad art skillz.

For the first few of these (at most, there will be one a month...more likely every couple of months, depending on the turnout), there will be no losers. All you have to do to win is show up and draw something.

Eventually, I would like to have the occasional one where there is an actual prize, the winner being voted for by IMWAN-AT-LARGE, but, for the time being, we're just going to keep it the aforementioned non-competitive competition.

So. On to the first (of hopefully many) challenge...

REDESIGN A FUNNYBOOK CHARACTER!

Are you tired of Captain America's shield and red booties? Do you think Power Girl could use a smock? Maybe Batman should trim his ears a bit?

Here's your chance to remake those characters in your image.

The basic guidelines are, take any existing character who has ever appeared in a comic book (and, yes, Goody Rickles and Dan Quayle both count) and redraw their basic design any which way you want. Give Superman a beard and golf shoes. Robin could use jhodpurs and a jaunty beret, couldn't he? Whatever your dastardly heart desires.

Personally, I think the more obscure a character you use, the better. I will ask, however, that you include a picture of how the character normally appears (a scan, something from the internet, whatever), especially for the more obscure ones. Seriously, can anybody here recall just what the original DC character The Gay Ghost looked like? And, if you could, would you admit to it? I didn't think so.

I'm thinking this as being a March-long event. I'd like to start seeing entries in within the first week or so, but I'm also not going to worry about it.

Entries can be as finished as you want them to be. Just want to do rough sketches? Fine! Full, detailed inks? Super! Full-colour with lens flares and textured backgrounds? Step offa my lawn, punk! - no, wait, that's just fine, colour it up all you want

Simple fashion-design images are cool, as are action shots. Heck, stick figures won't get you booted outta here, either.

Have at it, folks - and have fun!!

Just to get everyone started (and show you all an example of what I'm talking about), here is my own entry -

BLUE STREAK.

Originally, some punk working for The Corporation, who entered the SHIELD super-agent program, he got his rocket-skates handed to him repeatedly by Captain America. Until Scourge popped a cap in his ass.

My redesign is basically a successor...who doesn't have that much to do with the original. She's a mutant with the power of super-speed flight and movement...but doesn't like to run. Or something. So, anyway, she used non-powered in-line skates and a bulletproof costume. (and doesn't really have anything to do with the MC2 character of the same name. Unless she does. I dunno.)

So, here is a picture of the original character...

And here is my redesigned version.

I'll ink for someone if they'd like.

Sure, now you've taken all the good ideas.

I'll play. but you have to promise not to laugh at the magnitude of my suck.

I, personally, won't laugh at anybody's entries - like I say, just by showing up and playing, you win

That reminds me of the redesigns Ross did for Kingdom Come.

Remember TNT & Dan the Dyna-Mite?

Meet Dynamite and C4!

[With a special tip of the cap to Grant Morrison who made this even harder by getting rid of Tex and Dan's rings. Thanks, pal.]

When science major Terri Nicole Thomas helps her family get rid of her old great aunt packrat's nest of papers, she discovers two old biochemical formulas dating back possibly as far back as World War Two. Excited by her discovery, she begins working on them in the lab, telling her biochemistry professor. Being a traitor, he has bad guys try and steal the formula from her in the lab. Much like Roy Lincoln before her, to keep the formulas out evil hands,she consumes both of them. When a thug grabs her, she slaps him in the face with her hands, creating a concussive blast that sends him flying across the room. When she blocks another thugs attack with a metal crowbar, the explosion also releases a being of sentient energy who silently helps her defeat the rest of them. When describing what happened to her friend Sherry, the history major says it was like TNT and Dan the Dyna-mite. Since her nickname was already Dynamite (because of her initials), she starts to name the energy being TNT, but Sherry tells her to get modern, so she changes it to C4.

Very cool, James

Ya know what - she does remind me of those characters Red, White, and Blue - huh. I hadn't noticed that before. Here I thought I was being all new wave or something by not giving her goggles or any other way of seeing...

Inspired by my rereading of the Robinson/Harris STARMAN, I decided to design the next to carry on the legacy.

Here it is.

Awesome, Matt!! Damn...does this mean I gotta colour mine?

Well, your coloring would just look shoddy compared to mine, so I don't think you should. Maybe once you get some more experience under your belt.

Interesting take, Matt.

Wow. Nice stuff, folks!

Lovely work all ! - Here's a image of classic Doc Strange together with my pencil sketch of the new improved (?) Mage. As you can see there's not enough brylcreem in the world to keep that mop under control. I may have a go at inking and colouring it later.

I like it, Jo.

Despite the fact that he has a "happy trail".

It's not just the mask, it's the shiny bodysuit and the big wraparound logo. The whole things comes together in very Ross design sense for me.

Very cool, Jo

I'm quite happy with how this is turning out