THREE New Desolation of Smaug Posters

Ok, so it's getting redundant now . . . but here are not one––not two––but THREE new posters for the upcoming sequel to the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. And what's even better? They're hi-res and "clean" . . . they don't have any logos on them. Enjoy!

Hi-Res Desolation of Smaug Posters

I missed one! Thanks to Dark Jackal over at thorinoakenshield.net for posting higher-res images of not 1, but 2 (!) new Desolation of Smaug posters. Click on either image, then open the image in a new tab to get the full-res version.

Jump past the break to see the other poster!

New Desolation of Smaug Trailer Tomorrow + New Poster

Hobbit news! MSN has released an exclusive new poster for the upcoming The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

A new trailer for the Desolation of Smaug is being released tomorrow, so stay tuned: I'll get it posted up ASAP tomorrow morning.

Later . . .

Fridays at the Mathom House: Quimtuk

It's another fantastic friday, and that means we have another fantastic Middle-earth artist to acquaint you with. Today's art is by Quimtuk (and you should definitely check out the rest of his stuff), and is decidedly lighter in tone and style than a lot of the art I've shown so far . . . I think that's why I picked it. Anyways, he doesn't have a tone of Hobbit-related art, but what he does have is fantastic. Jump past the break to take a look:

The Children of Aulë: A Depressing Illustration of the Forced Migrations of the Dwarves

So I've put together geneological charts for both the elves and men of Middle-earth, and I was really looking forward to doing the same for the dwarves––they've always been my favorite anyways. However, I have to admit that after doing the work and the research to make this chart . . . I'm mostly just depressed. Those dwarfs had a crappy history. No, I'm being serious. You probably don't even want to hear about it. It was that bad.

If you don't believe me . . . well, just jump past the break and you'll see:

JRR Tolkien Sings "That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates"

I always enjoy hearing the songs of Middle-earth out of the Maker's own mouth. Enjoy!

The Men of Dale and Laketown, and the Beornings too: A Brief History of Beorn and Bard, and other Men

So have you ever wondered how a bunch of Men ended up in Dale, Laketown and the eaves of Mirkwood, surrounded by dwarves, elves, goblins and dragons and miles of wilderness? It's actually quite an interesting story that involves a lot of migrations, wars and possibly some inbreeding . . . I'm not really sure. Anyways, jump past the break to read more:

I Wish Thorin Looked More Like This:

This is my (unskilled) attempt to craft a Thorin that is more in keeping with the book. There are a lot of things I like about movie Thorin, but at the risk of offending a lot of Richard Armitage fans out there, I'm goint to admit that there are also a number of issues I have with him. Mainly, I just think he's too young, his beard isn't long enough, and his face doesn't look "dwarfy" enough.

So here is my own version of Thorin. What do you think?

And yes, I stole Gloin's beard to lengthen Thorin's. Big deal.

Fridays at the Mathom-House:

Happy Friday! I meant to get this posted up last week . . . but didn't. This week's Mathom-House will be featuring the amazing illustrations of Sceithailm, who has a gallery full of amazing stuff over at deviantart.com. All of her work is great, but to me, her depictions of Middle-earth are the cream of the crop. The texturing she works into the fabrics and skin of her characters is amazing.

Jump past the break to enjoy a feast for the eyes!

Learning to Love Azog

Now, I'll be the first to admit that Azog isn't exactly my favorite character in the first Hobbit movie. Not because I think he was poorly done or anything; I just don't understand why Bolg couldn't have been used in exactly the same way. But I really don't get why people are pouring so much hate on the Pale Orc. I mean, he wasn't that bad, was he?

Well, John Ruddy over at theonering.net seems to think so. He writes a good, well-reasoned argument and you should definitely take a look at it; but for me at least, his logic fails on a few points. So I've decided to play devil's (or is it "orc's"?) advocate and jot down my own thoughts on everyone's (least) favorite orc, in an unabashed effort to get you, faithful reader, to not hate the poor guy so much.

Jump past the break to read on!

Desolation of Smaug Photos and Plot Spoilers

So after a long drought of Desolation of Smaug info, the internet seems like its been raining and pouring Hobbit-related pictures, mostly from the Hobbit Annual. Additionally, the Annual has provided some (limited) insight into the plot of the Desolation of Smaug. If you're into spoilers, click here. If you just wanna see the pics, jump past the break!