Flame Brushes

I hate painting flames.  Trying to get the look just right is always a pain for me.  That's why I like finding something like this set of flame brushes from DeviantArt user redheadstock.  This will save me a ton of time on the piece I'm currently trying to finish.

Flattry Will Get You Everywhere!

Micropayment service "Flattr" has just opened up to public use, and being a fan of all things micropayment, I thought I'd give it a try.
Flatter is a service that allows you to deposit a sum of money to a Paypal style account, then specify any number of sites to whom that money should be distributed at the end of the month.  The amount you have specified to be disbursed will then be shared equally among the people you have "Flattred". 
It's somewhat abstract for now, but I think it's an interesting idea, so I've added a Flattr button in the sidebar at the left.  If you're a member, just click the button to add me to your Flattr list and a few shekels will be distributed to me each month, allowing me to keep producing the drawings that keep this site moving, and bringing me small steps closer to my dream of eventual financial liberation, shortly followed by complete hermitage in a tin roofed shack hidden deep in the wilds of Nova Scotia. 
If you're not a Flattr member, but produce any kind of web content, why not sign up?  Anything that can monetize creative work is good in my opnion, and it could start you working on your own tin roofed shack.  Just not too close to mine, or I'll have to sic the dogs on ye.

Powers vs. Power V. 2 Now Available

Waiting for a Watchmen sequel that's likely never going to happen?  Read every issue of Astro City and wondering where to go next?  Let me suggest you try "Powers vs. Power" by Robin Reed.
The second volume of this series has just been released in various ebook formats, with my own work gracing the cover.  Each book is a collection of short stories based on a group of original superheroes created by Robin for Metahuman Press.  I enjoyed the first volume very much and am pleased to say that the second volume, so far, is maintaining the same level of quality.
Writing prose about superheroes can be a difficult task because the visual aspect on which the medium of comics depends is missing.  "Biff!" and "Pow" don't parse the same in a non-graphic form.  This means that the stories, if they're not to be entirely juvenile, have to be a lot more character driven.  The problem is then to avoid the pitfall of turning the work into fanfic, making the characters cheap pastiches of existing heroes or winding up hip deep in long descriptions of powers and physiques.  Robin manages to avoid these dangers quite nicely and has created a cast with a fair amount of depth and personality.  Yet, the work does not cross over much into Alan Moore territory, in the sense that this is not a deconstruction of the genre.  Superheroes in this world are a good thing, and there's a good sense of fun and wonder in these stories as well.  I think these books will be enjoyed by anyone who actually likes superheroes.
Powers Vs. Power Book 2 is available in Kindle format from Amazon at the low price of $2.99, and in various ebook formats from Smashwords for just 99 cents.  If you're fan of the genre, or of good storytelling in general, I really do recommend it.