Artslam!: Revenge of the Superheroes took over the Limelight on August 9, and I got to be one of the artists involved. I’ve never done anything like that before (and I’m not much of a painter — I’m more of a Photoshopper), but it was alot of fun and I’d definitely do it again if they’ll have me back.

It’s a little late, but I’ve got pictures from the event after the jump — including my painting of The Joker from Dark Knight (R.I.P. Heath Ledger) in various stages of completion. The photo above is by Rob “Deadbeat Hero” Perez, who organized the whole event and also did a stencil-art version of The Joker that came out really cool.

On Saturday afternoon, I did a fairly tight pencil sketch (freehand, of course) that I realize doesn’t look much like Heath Ledger … but Heath Ledger didn’t even look like Heath Ledger in Dark Knight. So there.

Angelle about to start painting Storm (circa 1990s X-Men).

Tattoo artist Shaggy’s “She Loves Me Not,” starring The Hulk.

Effexor 75mg about to work on a skateboard.

And here we go: I blacked out the background …

… And started working my way up to his face.

Outside, Rob “Deadbeat Hero” Perez (pictured) and ZA1U5 were spraying up in front of Limelight.

“Frank smash puny buttons!”

Angelle’s Storm is actually a Zombie Storm!

Shaggy adds some fine details to The Hulk.

Jason and his pen-and-ink drawing of Superman.

Fletch works on his piece by the Limelight television.

Deadbeat Hero’s finished Joker piece.

ZA1US’s Alex Ross Joker stencil.

My own Joker painting is starting to look halfway decent (the face is the fun part, so I saved it for last.)

I wasn’t planning on adding blood to the black background, but then I thought, “No. There will be blood.”

Zombie Storm in all her undead beauty.

Just as I was about to pack up, someone swooped in and offered to buy the piece if I dedicated the playing card, which I left last to finish some other time, to him and his friends. His persistence paid off, and he went home with the painting that night. I don’t know if this makes me professional artist, but it might. Watch out, art world.

This piece cost me many hours of sleep, but was a ton of fun to work on. In this week’s Current, Ashley Lindstrom takes a look at how the “third screen” (i.e., iPhones and other portable media devices) will impact movie theaters and how we watch films in general. (The “second screen” is TV.)

My editor suggested tying the story in with this summer’s movie season, so I rounded up some of the more recognizable characters so far (sorry, Iron Man), stuck them in a movie theater, but gave them all iPhones (except for Maxwell Smart back there on a shoe phone, and Sex and the City’s Samantha, with a cocktail). Even though Harrison Ford looks more like Mel Gibson (or Ed O’Neill), I actually really like this piece, particularly WALL•E — is it possible to love a character before you’ve seen the movie he’s in? (Too late, I want one.)

Finished cover after the jump. The new issue is on newstands today and online at sacurrent.com!

In Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner spent more time brooding than smashing and his big final battle consisted of … transferring his rage to his jellyfish dad. The general consensus: Less sulk, more Hulk.

You can’t fault Marvel Studios and director Louis Leterrier for giving the people what they want, even though they’re only half-right. The Incredible Hulk, a reboot of Lee’s film, makes smashing its top priority – but does so at the expense of character development, dialogue, and plot (you know, the “boring” parts). But for the audience to invest in a fully CG protagonist that speaks five words of dialogue the entire film — one of which is “smash” — there has to be more going on when ol’ Jade Jaws is stuck inside puny Edward Norton.

You can’t fault Norton, though. His additions to Zak Penn’s script — mostly characterization and meatier dialogue — make up the 50 to 70 minutes cut from the movie to reduce time between smashings. While Leterrier knocks the action scenes out of the park (the battles are cleverly staged — although CGI fatigue sets in during the final 20-minute slugfest), everything else feels truncated and oddly paced. Norton’s natural intelligence is a good fit for Banner, but his relationship with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) is underdeveloped despite the easy chemistry between them. Perhaps they’ll go deeper in the inevitable sequel (Hulk II: Norton Gets Final Cut).

Speaking of sequels: In many ways Hulk is an (un)official sequel to Iron Man, firmly setting itself in the same cinematic universe. (Spoiler alert!) Hulk’s final scene doesn’t even belong to Banner, it belongs to Tony Stark: Robert Downey Jr. drops in to tease the possible Avengers movie previously hinted at in his own film. In comic books these are called “crossovers,” and they tend to gobble cash like Galactus. Time will tell whether or not the formula will apply to movie tickets, but a true onscreen Marvel Universe is an exciting prospect that every comic-book nerd (myself included) has dreamed of.

However, Shellhead’s cameo ultimately steals Hulk’s thunder: Instead of “The End,” we get “To Be Continued,” and Hulk doesn’t engender much excitement for more smashing on its own. But the thought of Captain America, Iron Man, and the other Avengers in a big-screen adventure? That’s more than enough to stay tuned until next issue.

The Happening is coming out on Friday (against the suddenly-looks-awesome Incredible Hulk — not the best idea, there, Fox) and everybody’s making a big deal about the “fall” of M. Night Shyamalan. Cynthia Hawkins takes the floor in defense of the director in this week’s Current, and it’s an interesting read (there’s even a mini war of words in the comments section of the story) — the illustration above was meant to evoke a sort of American tabloid trial for our beleaguered auteur.

Personally, I went from really digging his movies (Unbreakable and Signs sit on my DVD shelf) to becoming annoyed at him after The Village — which I felt gave itself and its shockingly trite “twist” too much credit for what was otherwise a moody, occasionally scary period film with spotty, stilted acting. Topping it off for me was Shyamalan’s appearance at the end of the film, post-reveal, in a scene that is wholly unnecessary and grinds the movie to a screeching halt. The only reason I could think of for the scene’s existence was that the writer-director-actor wanted to step out from behind the curtain and take a bow after his big, dramatic twist blew audiences away. If I had a tomato in the theater, I would have let him have it.

I skipped Lady in the Water, and if I see one movie this weekend, it’s gonna be Hulk (I’m reviewing it in next week’s Current). But judging from the red-band trailer, it looks like Shyamalan’s taking off the kid(-friendly) gloves. Could be really good stuff. He’s obviously talented, and worth another look — but the prospect of a Shyamalan-athon is a little daunting (that’s a lot of pregnant pauses).

You must be 17 or older to watch the trailer below (or, at least, not eating anything).