Bat-Mite! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad (Tim)

Cate wanted to draw Bat-Man, but I made a counter-proposal … Bat-Mite. An annoying, magical elf from another dimension who has plagued Bat-Man since the late 50s, this little imp has always had a special place in my heart. (To learn more, click here and Wiki.) Thanks to a recent appearance on “The Brave & The Bold,” perhaps Bat-Mite is on the verge of a Renaissance period.

The girls had a lot of fun with this one. And, I think it’s their best work to date. And, I am here to tell you, Grace did complete her drawing in five minutes. Not bad, huh?

Zatanna! by Jill Pantozzi, Cate (4), Grace (6) & Tim (36)

Late last week, the fabulous Jill Pantozzi .. AKA “The Nerdy Bird” … wrote about 5 Minute Marvels on her blog (which features one of the best catch phrases in the business — “Has Boobs. Reads Comics.”). If you ever want a woman’s perspective on comics, I highly recommend you check out Jill’s blog, in addition to that of our bestest buddy, Kelly Thompson. THANKS, JILL!

In her entry, Jill mentioned she might be tempted to draw DC Comic’s magical heroine, Zatanna. So, the girls and I took her up on the offer. And, the girls were inspired to do some of their best work, yet. (P.S. If you’re wondering why the backwards writing … that’s how Zatanna casts her spells.) So, as Zat would say, “!Sgniward eht yojne” 

Captain America! by Cade (5)

Thanks to a Twitter post by @ElizaBetty, a colorist for Marvel Comics, I came across this tremendous Captain America created by her nephew, Cade … who is cool enough to have his own Twitter account. Go Cade! Please draw with mom and dad or your uncle and aunt and send it in!

 

Sir Justin – The Shining Knight! by Cate (4) and Dad (Tim)

Cate saw a Shining Knight action figure and wanted to draw him. But, when she heard his real name was “Sir Justin”– the same as her beloved uncle — well, let’s just say she attacked the drawing with verve and vigor.

Agent Fishy Fish! by Grace (6)

Grace was up for drawing tonight, but wanted to freestyle a bit with the creation of undercover sealife … ENTER, AGENT FISHY FISH!

The Thing! by Jack (4) & Dad (Jonathan)

Another installment from the Williams family (see Ella and Tricia below), this time Jack and Jonathan take on the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing! It’s clobberin’ time!

Apache Chief! by Cate (4) & Dad (Tim)

I must confess to having a softspot for Apache Cheif, Black Vulcan and Samurai from Superfriends. So, I jumped when they released action figures of this hapless trio at Christmastime. Cate saw Apache Cheif and had t draw him … and Grace, well … not in the mood to draw tonight.

Firestar! by Cate (4) & Dad … and, ASPEN! by Grace (6)

Tonight, while the Locke family took on Spider-Man, Cate and I decided to draw another member of the Amazing Friends Trio … Firestar! (I know I’m her dad, but I really do love Cate’s mask on Firestar.) Poor Iceman is feeling left out.

Grace wasn’t feeling superheroish tonight, so she decided to draw our dog, Aspen … who is a hero in her own right. And, the name in the bone IS inspired.

Spider-Man! by Wyatt (4) & Dad (Steve)

Following in the footsteps of his sister, Wyatt Locke gets into the act. Welcome, sir!

Squirrel Girl! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad

This was soooooo easy. When Grace and Cate learned there was a super-powered girl who hung with squirrels, there was no further discussion necessary on who to draw.

P.S. For the unitiated or those who think this character is a joke. Well, she beat Dr. Doom in a fight. And, that’s  no lie. 🙂

The Hulk! by Miller (8), Drake (13), Delaney (4) and Dad (Justin)

It’s officially a tradition, folks. The Ballew quartet sends us this gamma-irradiated collection of awesomeness starring the Incredible Hulk!

Thor! by Ella (5) and Mom (Tricia)

A 5MM premiere for the work of Ella and her mom. Ella is one of Grace and Cate’s best buddies, so the fact that they’ve gotten her thinking about … and drawing … the mighty Norse god of Thunder is, well, smashing!

Sponge Bob Squarepants! by Jordan (8) & Dad (Steve)

Two for two! The Locke duo sends in another offering with even more impressive skill in 5 minutes. Nice work. And, remember kids … we’re not all about superheroes here. Draw what you like as long as you have fun!

Volstagg the Voluminous! by Cate (4), Grace (6), Dad & JIM MCCANN!

All I can say is  … WOW! Jim McCann, writer of Marvel’s upcoming Hawkeye & Mockingbird series and the world’s foremost Dazzler fan, sent in this drawing of the chubbiest viking from the pages of Thor … Volstagg the Voluminous! Dig it! The girls lover drawing the beard. Thanks, Mr. McCann! Follow Jim on Twitter here!

Wolverine! by Jordan (8) & Steve (44)

A 5 Minute Marvel first! Jordan and Steve found the site while cruising the InterWeb … and turned in this drawing of the ferocious X-Man … Wolverine! Guys, I love the cross-hatching work. I hope this is the first of many.

Silver Sable! by Delaney (4) & Dad (Justin)

Another terrific offering from the Ballew clan — a Marvel mercenary … Silver Sable!

Magic Trixie! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad

She may not be a super hero, but Grace and Cate love Magic Trixie … a really cool comic/children’s book drawn by the uber-talented, Jill Thompson. In addition to brilliant art, Magic Trixie is an easy reader intro to comics for girls and boys alike! You can buy it here!

Spider-Man! by Justin, Miller, Delaney and Drake

A 5MM first! Four drawings in one night! This is an awesome quartet of web-slingers from my old childhood buddy, Justin, and his kids! We hope this is the first of many, Mr. Ballew!

Tomato-Head Boy! by Cate (4), Grace (6) and Dad

Grace decided to up the ante tonight and invent her own super hero … Tomato-Head Boy! His power? You guessed it … he can shoot ketchup out of his cranium! Man, I love that little girl!

Cate added curls and I went with a future version … Tomato-Head Man.

Bat-Man! by Matthew (5) and Matt

Here’s another terrific offering from Matt,editor of Cosmic Book News,  and his son Matthew!

She-Hulk! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Cate

Grace and Cate were a little preterbed by fact that the Jade Giantess looked a little mean in the Avengers Hankbooks, so decided to go for the “Not So Savage She-Hulk” … Grace: “She’s just looks too angry …”

Jack Kirby Saturday! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad (36)

It was my pick tonight … so I went to some of my favorite characters … the residents of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World. And, for kids, Kirby is fantastic … bold shapes, lots of contrasting light and dark and very interesting and colorful characters. The girls both said their favorite part was drawing Big Bear’s crazy hair …

Legion of Super Pets! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad (36)

Okay … so we took, like, 7 minutes on this one. It was my night to pick … but it didn’t take much arm-twisting. Today, the girls and I took on one of the silliest corners of the DC Universe … and one of my favorites as a child — the venerable Legion of Super Pets – Krytpto (Dog), Streaky (Cat), Comet (Horse), Beepo (Chimp) and Proty II (Umm … alien blob.) To learn more about them, click here and wiki yourself!

Rogue! by Cate, Grace, Tim … and Kelly Thompson!

Grace and Cate’s new bestest internet buddy, Kelly Thompson, put a wonderful story about the girls and 5 Minute Marvel’s on her supercool blog, 1979 Semi-Finalist, today. Thanks so much, Kelly!

Kelly’s a talented writer. Check out her site … visit early and often. And, you can catch her column, She Has No Head!, over at Comics Should be Good.

Best of all … Kelly joined in the fun with this cool drawing of the X-Men’s Southern Powerhouse, Rogue. P.S. Looking at Cate’s drawing, you may be tempted to think Rogue is really religious. Not so. She has a shock of white hair that Cate interpreted to be “a star.” But, after drawing, Cate said, “I was too tired to draw a star. So, I drew a cross.” So, there you go.

 

The Mekon! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad

Every week, the very talented boys over at Comic TWART pick a character and draw it together … and magic happens, Sound familiar? Well, this week, it’s the British sci-fi comic strip, Dan Dare … kinda the Flash Gordon across the pond. So, Grace and Cate wanted to get in on the action and drew Dan Dare’s nemesis…THE MEKON!

Lieam of Mouse Guard! by Cate (4) & Dad (36)

Thanks to a nasty … and very sudden … attack of strep throat, Grace is taking the night off. Cate wanted to draw something fuzzy, so we went with the valiant Lieam of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard. Whether you like comics or not … pick up that book and read it. You can get it at any book store or comic shop. It is tremendous! Check out the Mouse Guard Web page, here!

P.S. It’s my fault Cate and I misspelled “Lieam.” 🙂

The Invisible Girl! by Colleen Coover

Okay, so … wow! This morning, I opened up my e-mail to find this beautiful note and drawing of Sue Storm from the super-talented Colleen Coover of Periscope Studios and Marvel’s new series, Girl Comics! Check out Colleen’s Web site here!

“This sounds like a great way to encourage your girls’ imaginations and creativity. Here’s a pic of the Invisible Girl (or WOMAN, if you want to be “in continuity”) I did just now. I offer the caveat that this drawing was done on my computer in Manga Studio, but hopefully, that will not count points against me. I had my timer on for five minutes (and I only cheated by 30 seconds or so…)

A big fan of Grace and Cate;
Colleen Coover”

Scroll to see Colleen’s picture, but first … a word of thanks from Grace and Cate! (Umm … sorry about the “We love you.” They’re kinda’ forward like that.)

And, now, the awesomeness …

Ken Hale – The Gorilla Man! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad

It was Cate’s pic tonight and one glimpse of Gorilla Man in the Travolta Suit on Paul Tobin’s Web site was all it took — and, we all decided to give poor, Mr. Hale a snaggle tooth. Don’t ask why.

Mr. Fantastic! by Grace (6) & Dad

Grace definitely got the leadership qualities of Reed Richards, but she decided to make him a ball, rather than to should elongated arms and legs. And, with the short, spiky hair … I’d like to think she’s channeling the “Ultimate” version of Mr. Fantastic here.

The Incredible Hulk! by Alexa (2 1/2) & Matt Bergin (33)

A second offering by the Bergin clan … The drawing is nice, Matt, but I think you’ll agree that the purple squiggels make this picture sing!

Join in the fun … send us your art!

Cate, Grace and I hope you have fun at 5 Minute Marvels, but we hope you get drawing and join us. Whatever you want … super heroes, cars, cartoons, Star Wars, etc. Just as long as you draw together and have fun!

Click here to learn about how to contribute to 5 Minute Marvels!

Dazzler! by Cate (4), Grace (6) and Dad

Grace and Cate want to dedicate this drawing to Jim McCann and the faithful Glitterati who keep the fires of Alison Blaire burning brightly. (All I had to do to get the girls to pick Ms. Dazzler was to whisper three little words … Disco Ball Necklace)!

Galactus! by Alexa (2 1/2) & Matt (AKA Dad)

Another fantastic contribution! This time from moderator of Comic Blog Elite and creator of Division 18, Matt Bergin, and his daughter, Alexa. The power cosmic is strong with this one! Matt, you’re gettin’ that girl off to a terrific start!

Super-Mimi! by Cate (4), Grace (6) & Dad

To wish their grandmother (my mom), Pat Miner, a very happy birthday, the girls wanted to make her the superhero! Happy Birthday, Mimi!

Wonder Woman! by Ava and Eliot Lytle

Mr. Freeze! by Jessica (7), Mom and Jason(4)

Scarlet Witch! by Cate (4) and Grace (6)

Magneto and Quicksilver! by Dad and Grace (6)

Clayface! by Mom, Jason (4) and Jessica (7)

The very cool Saunders family has offered up their second drawing … and it, too, hails from Bat-Man Rogue’s Gallery! People, this is awesome!

Valkyrie! by Cate (4), Grace (6) and Dad

And … as I was on the road the last two days … the girls wanted to take on a bit more, so we wanted a little female fury in the form of Marvel’s coolest Norse lady … Brunnhilde, The Valkyrie!