So, I’m married, I have kids and cats, and even a daughter-in-law. Naturally, the family considers my interest in comics and pop-culture a weird novelty that they want nothing to do with. I just have to compromise with them, and keep the Doc Savage posters in the basement and the Simpsons McDonalds Cups out of the kitchen.
Yeah, right.
My family is as deep into this stuff as I am. Sometimes, MORE.
My daughter-in-law, Jessica Costley, has set up a site to show off her mastery of the cake in general, and the geek-cake in specific. Since I am Master of the Land of the Internet, I get to show off some of the special cakes that arrived at my house as beautiful artwork, which I then had to watch as they were EATEN RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES!!
Enjoy. Envy me my world of exceptional baked goods!
This is a cake Jessica made for my teen son Taylor’s birthday earlier this year. He’s a huge fan of the cartoon show Archer. This not only has the tinfoil swan but (not shown in this angle of the photo, unfortunately) there are tiny little fondant ants surrounding it. I’m not sufficiently up on my “Archer” to know, but I am told that this will make Archer fans giggle with glee.
Archer cake from Taylor’s 17th birthday, February 2013
I get to eat things that look like this all the time. Best eaten after defeating the Kang/Darkseid team-up that threatened two universes!
Superhero cupcakes done for an event at The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery, my local comic shop, downtown Toronto.
This isn’t a hobby, by the way, Jessica is a professional baker, so when she goes in to work, this is the sort of thing she does:
Doin’ it like it’s no big thang.
It’s the ‘geek’ themed cakes, especially for kids birthdays, that she likes to do though.
Flash birthday cake
My sons are all huge video game fans and sometimes their birthday cake will reflect their latest favourite. Last year, Sean was all about Skyrim and Jessica was happy to oblige with this cake. The horns were primarily layers of fondant–Sean tried biting into one and his eyes crossed from the sugar rush.
Not sculpture, but cake. Skyrim cake for Sean’s 13th birthday, September 2012
This year, Sean is all about Dark Souls. Jessica made this cake topper of Solaire of Astora for his cake.
Solaire of Astora done for Sean’s 14th birthday, September 2013. A Solaire this cute, you don’t eat all at once.
And now…for her latest piece de resistance! My pals Hope Nicholson and Rachel Richey just met their fundraising goal for their Kickstarter project to reprint Nelvana of the Northern Lights comics. They had originally planned to have a party to lobby for funds–it ended up as a celebration of their success (although the Kickstarter is STILL going. Check it out and see what you can contribute–I think they might be adding in some extra goals as it continues). The highlight of the party (I’ve been told) was Jessica’s amazing cake.
Behold Nelvana, Cake of the Northern Lights.
So check out Jessica’s site, Jess Costley: Cake Decorator. And here’s the bestest part! If you live in the Toronto area, you can order one of these delightful edible objects through her site! Don’t stampede all at once, she’s only one woman. All are served on a first geek basis.
Why should I be the only one getting to swallow Thor’s hammer every now and then?
(Straight line delivered…internet responds in five…four…three…)
And now, for further nepotism:
You guys already know my wife, Keiren is a comic book colour artist, and it’s always a joy to get to show off her latest work.
There’s quite a bit of storytelling that the colourist is responsible for. Getting your eye to move to the right spot, the right detail, takes as much skill as the artist drawing the page. The lady is good at this stuff.
These are preview pages from the new series “THE FIRST HERO”, from publisher, ACTION LABS. The book was written by former Bootcamper Anthony Ruttgaizer, with art by Phillippe Sevy, covers by Lee Moder.
I’m lucky, I got to read the comic complete with word balloons, and it’s a heck of a ride. You guys have to wait, and tap the floor nervously with anticipation.
The series launches in the new year, but I’ll come back to whet the appetite now and then. There’s too many fun pages in this book to keep them ALL to myself, while I have access to the files….heee heee. The book is in the last hours of an IndieGoGo campaign so check out the link here and see what you can contribute ($5 gets you a digital download of all four issues) The F1rst Hero on IndieGoGo.
Heck…while I’m promoting…here’s a link to TY TEMPLETON’S COMIC BOOK BOOTCAMP, my one-room schoolhouse teaching tomorrow’s comic book superstars. New classes in pencilling start in a couple of weeks. If you’re in the Toronto area, we’d love to have you!
Click here to be taken to the Bootcamp site for a description of the next classes.
There might be cake.
Ty Templeton's ART LAND!! 