Marvel, I am once again politely asking for a cover assignment. Dave Cockrum designed Nightcrawler’s costume decades ago and it’s still perfect. Clean, iconic, no notes. Some designs just last. Anyway. Nightcrawler. Bamf, buddies.

This week on Off Panel, comics journalism legends @laurahudson.bsky.social + @timleong.bsky.social join the podcast to talk about their new @madcavestudios.com series Exploit, its long road to publishing, how their relationship with comics has evolved, print comics journalism, and more.

The death toll in Gaza exceeds 75,000. This genocide continues. source: buff.ly/yJ97H7W

The X-Men's favorite sub: Havok, Outback Era. Classic costume supremacy, Goblin Queen chaos, and why Alex Summers only really works when he’s a little doomed. 👉 Havok Was Never Meant to Be Alpha buff.ly/is7Tn2Z

Monday but still Monday. Keeping the social story rolling. Building comics. Writing grants. Being a dad. Being a human while **GESTURES** this is happening.

According to my Oura ring, I’m “better rested,” which feels like gaslighting with charts and science my doctor does not trust.

Last year I was the perfect early morning gym psycho. Alarm hits, I’d awaken like the Winter Soldier. That has… softened in this latest Epstein era of Earth. I’m on my worst gym streak in years. Not much of an update here. Just noting.

I am recording charming internet videos and sending cold emails. I am the John Wick of spreadsheets and networking calls. Circling back is my shiny pistol. I will find you. I will politely follow up.

Good morning, friends. Creative work these days is 95% ego dysmorphia. If I can delulu my way into productivity, the rest follows. Lately my brain is a bar brawl at 8am. Broken bottle. Bar stool. Calendly link. LFG.

Built a serious content system but sometimes time is tight and Imma post vibes. No edits, too much coffee, and the reminder that my youth was wasted. We didn't have Only Fans, friends. Just MySpace. Quick updates on my Minneapolis, TWIN STAR moves, and, of course, Moon Knight.

Comics > doomscrolling. Fantastic Four #5 + good people. Feb 19. 7pm. Kona Club. No gatekeeping. Just vibes. buff.ly/HhZTxjy

TWIN STAR update! Holiday build mode. While folks were plowing cookies, we were plowing cookies AND making future comics. 👉 Clocked In. Locked In. Comics Cooking. buff.ly/cjAmWcI

I just wrote a short love letter to peak Outback X-Men. Spinner racks, Storm supremacy, feral Gen-X energy, and why it’s still my era. 👉 Why the Outback X-Men Is Still My Era buff.ly/wma1BtW #xmen

If the news has been frying your brain and you want a couple hours of human connection and good comics, come hang. GOOD VIBES Comic Book Club is back! Grab the issue. Grab a drink. Let’s talk comics. 💥 rb.gy/5424l6

Darth Vader is a physical character.Weight. Gravity. Intent. This man does not hustle. He arrives. Every step feels measured. Every movement feels inevitable. Like the universe already signed off on the ruckus that’s about to happen. Here’s a lil drawing of our guy Darth. Not sure I nailed it.

Made the Octomagon move today. Low-fi Hulk Leap. Not fancy. Just me testing ideas and sparking “what ifs.” No budget, big monster vibes. 👉 BINARYcomic.com

BINARY started because the Bay Bridge was literally dying next to its hotter, younger replacement and the sky went full “Sauron paid the PG&E bill.” I took notes. Now it’s a comic. Go read it. BinaryComic.com

BINARY BIO :: OCTOMAGON 8 limbs. 0 chill. This deepspawn tyrant thinks he’s a god and acts like it. Claims he’s transcended. Still throws tantrums. 👉 [BINARYcomic.com] 🔗 Link in bio

BINARY BIO :: KOS Descended from magic warriors. Sick. Spiraling. Still on fire. Built from the same chaotic heart as Loki, Zuko, and Roman Roy. A wayward trickster with nothing left to lose—and no quit in him. 👉 [BINARYcomic.com] 🔗 Link in bio

Sketchbook from a few days in NYC. Saw Stacy and Alex, almost saw an ex (she flaked; the brand is strong), and ended up parked in Washington Square Park making an inky mess instead.I used to teach at Parsons, and in another life I never left that city. Every time I’m back, it still feels like home.

Sigh. Hope everyone has fun yaddayaddayadda Go Team Comics and all that shit.

Get to know your mutuals. List 10 random things that you like! 1. Comic books (making & reading) 2. The origin story of chicken tikka masala 3. Bay Area 4. Celtics 5. Helping folks out however I can. 6. Chocolate chip cookies 7. Movies 8. Lifting heavy 9. Playing 2 video games a year. 10. Design

During the pandemic I was like "Everything SUCKS. I want a cute kitten" I called the ASPCA and they we like: If you're getting a kitten, we recommend you get two so that the- "Fuck it. Give me two. WHEN I CAN PICK UP THESE CATS??" That was the entire deliberation process. They were once smoll.

This panel’s from BINARY, my sci-fi monster fight comic. That’s a super-enlightened octopus with a laser sword going to war with two soldiers. If you like kaiju, cosmic weirdness, or art that looks like it fell out of a heavy-metal dream, you’ll dig this. 👉 BINARYCOMIC.com

NEW GODS is the great unsolvable riddle of comics. Every few years someone tries to tame it, to turn Kirby’s cosmic fever dream into a sleek sci-fi franchise. and every time it just… rejects them. They run right at the Source Wall and bounce right off.

BINARY BIO :: OMIROS fought in the Hollow War. Lost. Survived. Built from the same quiet rage as Cable, Mandalorian, and Furiosa. Now he haunts the ruins of his planet like a blade with no sheath. 👉 [BINARYcomic.com]

Hi there. I'm Mark. I make art and comics in Oakland, California.

I wish I got a third of the engagement here as I did on threads.

I am looking for comic book reviewers for my self-published one shot BINARY, a scf monster fight comic. Are you one? Know one? Let's talk! Happy to send a copy or share a PDF. more info here: BINARYCOMIC.com

BINARY BIO :: OCTOMAGON 8 limbs. 0 chill. This deepspawn tyrant thinks he’s a god and acts like it. Claims he’s transcended. Still throws tantrums. 👉 [BINARYcomic.com]

I always dig Ten Things over @sktchd Nice to see the @capecowlcomics shout out.

I’m ready for all new Democratic leadership. Thank you for your service, but if you’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year, I don’t want you running the country. Iron sharpens iron and as our guy Mamdami just proved, iron will absolutely speed-bag rust on live TV. #primaryallthesehoes

Moon Knight is the Batman you meet after your third espresso and a mild breakdown. Low-key one of my favorite comics. It all starts with Papa Bill Sienkiewicz, who was out here transcending his Neal Adams phase and levitating onto a plane no one’s mapped since.

This is it! The BLOODLETTER SERIES FINALE INTERVIEW with @chriscoplan.bsky.social @aiptcomics.com about my Spawn Universe series with co-writer @hackintimseeley.bsky.social Rosado, Alonso, and @andworld.bsky.social for @mcfarlanecomics.bsky.social and @imagecomics.com You know you want to read it.

Hi, I’m Mark. ✌️ Oakland-based Creative Director, comics lifer, and loyal servant to big ideas, occasional menace to mediocrity. East Coast born 🗽, Bay Area lover 🌉, tech survivor 💻. I’ve built brands for Meta, ESPN & Coca-Cola 🚀. Now I’m running TWIN STAR 🌟 a digital future comics studio.

Ryan Murphy’s Monster on @netflix is pure chaos and I kinda love it. All camp, no chill — like EC Comics with drag-show lighting. I saw a post by @rosenbergradio and it go me thinking about why I like Murphy's work. Quick plug for the GN Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by @ericpowell

If you see this, quote with a robot that isn’t from “Star Wars”, “Star Trek”, “Doctor Who”, or “Transformers”

Dave Cockrum designed Nightcrawler's costume and it has never been topped. Every “modern update” ended up on a Hot Topic clearance rack. Alan Davis drew him like nobody else. Those elegant, bendy poses. That smirk. That tail that somehow had acting notes. The man’s figure work is straight-up sorcery

@realgdt.bsky.social Del Toro’s Frankenstein from @netflix.com looks incredible. Zero scares, all heartbreak. More gothic opera than horror flick and it works. (Quick aside: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride trailer, though? BONKERS good.)

@notion.com is officially my mission control. Time vs. value is now a tracked stat. (Weighted per project and individual task, factoring in time ) Last week I worked slightly less and somehow leveled up 25%. Tony Stark bookkeeping energy. 📊💀 Less grunt work, more galaxy brain. #Productivity

I don't know how anyone plans video content. Sometimes it takes me 30 minutes. Sometimes 4 hours.

I started with 8 brand colors for TWIN STAR and now have a full, flexible, weaponized palette. Andy our Design Systems guy crafted a real color system that bakes in my (okay, questionable) brand color selections with values the UX team can use. 🎨⚡️ #UXDesign

We held a “design sprint” on my Berkeley patio. 60 degrees. Light drizzle. We did the unthinkable: we moved inside. Our Shackleton level mission? Make something fancy for investors while quietly building the world champion comics app. Championship belt pending. 🥶💪 #TwinStar

After a work session on Sunday, TWIN STAR is sooooo close to a fully clickable user flow: Storefront → Search → Title Page → Collection View → Reading List → Purchase. Deadline: Nov 14. Morale: High. Pastries: Zero. #uxdesign

Went to the final @oaklandroots.bsky.social game of the season tonight with my son and some friends. Can’t wait for next season.

Man, what is the lesser evil in music streaming right now? It’s a real race to the bottom. What are you using?

Quote reply with a cinematic Good Dog

I’m taking the internet’s advice and posting more videos. Less perfect, more output. I make comics. I build brands. And apparently, I start companies at 49 instead of buying a motorcycle. This is the official jumping-on issue.

14-year-old me didn’t worship athletes or rock stars. I worshipped Todd McFarlane drawing Spider-Man like his pen was fueled by Monster Energy. Peak John Romita Jr. is my true favorite though. Those early 2000s runs looked like a fever dream. Who’s your all-time Spidey artist? 🕷️💥