Successful super-villains tend to develop a unique style - a gimmick or modus operandi that identifies their crimes and builds a distinct reputation. In some cases, villains use their style as part of a multi-faceted approach to crime. In other cases, villains take a single gimmick and beat it into the ground, dig it up and beat it some more.

Our villain this week takes that single gimmick - time - and combines it with a ridiculous outfit. I present Clock King, the timing-obsessed super-villain. And not the Tempus Fugate version that showed up in the Batman cartoons - this is the Clock King straight from Green Arrow's rogues gallery and Justice League Antarctica, clock-covered costume and all. Go check him out.

Quick shot from my "primer box", where I prep Minimates with a coat of primer before I start repainting them.

See the samurai-looking Minimate on the right? While I was putting him together, he looked like a mess - glued-on bands attached to different colored parts. But now with a coat of primer, all the detailing starts to pull together and it looks like a complete figure. I can't wait to start painting him now. You should see him in his completed glory when I start my next theme month.

It takes conviction to become a really good super-villain. It takes the inner strength and confidence to rob a bank, threaten the innocent or wear a seriously ridiculous outfit in public.

Our villain this week has that confidence and the ridiculous outfit - it's 8-Ball, the billiards-themed super-villain. I invite you to go check out the villain who's committed to his gimmick.

Not all villains are dumb. Smart people can be evil just as easily as stupid people - they just use bigger words while committing crimes.

So this week we're presenting an evil scientist - Egghead, the arch-foe of Henry Pym (aka Antman, aka Giant Man, aka Goliath, aka Yellowjacket, aka the Wasp). Go check him out in all his super-smart glory, won't you?

Anyone can be a super-villain. It's easy - just commit some thefts or murders, and you too can be wanted by the police and super-heroes. With those kind of low requirements, there's a lot of super-villains out there.

But not every villain is as infamous as Dr. Doom or Lex Luthor. Some don't have the power or abilities, or don't get the lucky breaks, or are just really bad at being evil. But no matter how obscure or lame, they're still villains, and therefore they make the V List.

So join me as we celebrate some of the forgotten or lame super-villains in Minimate form. First up is Chemistro, master of the alchemy gun and obscure foe of Power Man, Iron Fist and Iron Man. Please go browse and find out what the heck an alchemy gun is.

You've seen the work-in-progress photos - now you can check out the finished customs. My Aladdin and the genie customs for this year's Charitymates auction are now finished, so I wish you would go check them out (Did you see that? I made a funny in that last sentence).

And come back next week when I kick off another theme customs month called the V List. It's a look at villains who may not have accomplished as much as Dr. Doom, but their hearts are still chock-full of evil and bad intentions.

Just about done with the painting - the only thing left is the genie's goatee. And with that, I can call these two done. Unless something goes horribly wrong, expect to see these two complete next week.

Lots of work done on painting Aladdin and his genie this weekend. It's just hard to tell when they're all in pieces across my workbench like that.

If you're making a genie, you're going to have to make a magic lamp to accompany him. I just finished making my Charitymates genie a lamp out of Magic Sculpt. With the last of the sculpting done, I can move on to painting these Minimates this weekend.

Since the Three Questions Contest was really just a random drawing, there was no reason to have you answer questions when you entered. But sometimes, this web site feels so lonely. So I wanted to know what you, the audience, were thinking. Let's see what you guys had to say for the last two questions of the contest:

Question 2 - What characters would you like to see customs of in the future?

I got a wide variety of responses for this one - everything from James Bond to Killer Moth to Eric the Red to Abraham Lincoln. But there were two things that the majority of suggestions had in common:

Question 3 - Which would be cooler - a MODOK Minimate, or a Howard the Duck Minimate?

I feel the best way to present the results to this epic question is with a pie chart.

As you can see, out of the ten people who voted, six chose MODOK, while three people chose a duck without pants. And one person split the difference with a write-in vote for MODUCK, which was against the rules, but I'm allowing it because the idea of a giant mobile robotic waterfoul head is brilliant. Start publishing that immediately, Marvel.

What does all that mean? Based on this very small sample, Minimate fans prefer a MODOK Minimate to Howard the Duck 2 to 1. Which means MODOK would sell, but a 2-pack of MODOK and Howard the Duck would sell to at least 90% of Minimate fans. Diamond Select - think about the MODOK / Howard the Duck 2-pack! That would be like printing money! Numbers don't lie!

So that's what I learned from this contest. Thanks to everyone who participated - I'm always happy to hear from people. And come back soon because I might post some more customs. Or pie charts.

In this case - not so much. Only five people could be the winners of the Three Question Contest and a recipient of a Free Comic Book Day Minimate, and those people are Ethan W., Tony S., Chad O., Ryan A. and Joshua H.! And the winner of the bonus Minimate for being the first to correctly identifying the custom is Sergio G.! Big congratulations to all the winners!

So who is the custom in the photo? That was Red She-Hulk. And I will be the first to admit that she has never appeared in a comic book (and therefore isn't a "real" character) and that would make it a lot harder to guess who it was. So I made guessing her identity a bonus and not dependent on winning the drawing. Honestly, I didn't expect anyone to guess Red She-Hulk, but I wanted to see what you guys would guess (I'm kind of a jerk like that). So I was happily surprised when Sergio nailed it two days into the contest, but then I was shocked when the next two entries also guessed Red She-Hulk. My compliments to everyone who guessed correctly - I underestimated you and your abilities to spot a She-Hulk.

So check out my custom of the Red She-Hulk to find out why I made a Minimate for a character that doesn't exist - yet. And check back later this week as I take a deeper look at the results of the contest and find out who's more popular - MODOK or Howard the Duck?

The Three Questions Contest is officially over. Thanks to everyone who entered. Winners will be announced tomorrow, including the identity of the mystery custom (Hint: It's not Squirrel Girl).

Want to win a Free Comic Book Day Minimate just by sending an email? Then you're totally at the right web site. I'm giving away five Free Comic Book Minimates to five lucky winners.

TO ENTER:
To enter, all you have to do is send me an email with your name and the answers the following three questions:

1) What character am I making in the following picture?

2) What characters would you like to see customs of in the future?

3) Which would be cooler - a MODOK Minimate, or a Howard the Duck Minimate?

Send your entries to boyd(at)boydstep(dot)com with "Contest" in the subject line. I'll pick five winners at random from all the entries. In addition, I will give a bonus Free Comic Book Day Minimate to the first person who correctly guesses the character from Question 1.

RULES:
Entries will be accepted between now and Sunday May 10st at 11:59 PM CST. Winners will be announced on May 12th.

Good luck! Have fun! Wear glasses if you need them!

Here's a comic recommendation for you - go read "The Immortal Iron Fist" by Marvel Comics. Under co-writers Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, the first 14 issues have the right balance of slam-bang martial arts action with intrigue, history, and mystical immortal cities full of kung-fu masters. In fact, all those issues are collected in three nifty trade paperbacks, and are probably available right now on Amazon or your local comic book retailer. Go check them out right now - this site isn't going anywhere.

But when you come back, make sure to check out these two new customs made in honor "The Immortal Iron Fist". The first is the current Iron Fist Danny Rand, is his new, modern costume that thankfully has done away with his old disco collar. The second is the previous Iron Fist Orson Randall, who was able to shoot kung-fu bullets of energy at you. And if that doesn't sound awesome to you, you probably shouldn't read "The Immortal Iron Fist".

An update on my Aladdin customs for the Charitymates auction. Aladdin is now sporting a nifty turban and shirt tails, made from Magic Sculpt and a modified Dr. Doom skirt. The base for his magical buddy is now finished and cured, and's he's got some ears courtesy of Magic Sculpt.

I've got a few more details to sculpt on both of them, then I need to see if I can make the genie's stand more stable. And then I can finish up the accessories. And then I can worry about the decals and painting...

A look inside what I call "The In-Progress Box". In the last few months it's become the default storage space for the customs that are in the process of being made, as well as tools and sculpting supplies.

Someday these will all be finished. Someday.

These two Minimates will be my Aladdin customs for the Charitymates auction. Eventually.

Two more customs waiting patiently for me to get back to finishing their painting and putting them back together.

Let's talk army-builders. For the non-super-geeky that visit my site, "army builder" is a term used by collectors for a generic troop-like character, like a Stormtrooper. Collectors tend to buy lots and lots of these army builder characters and end up with a small plastic army on display.

Diamond Select (the fine makers of Minimates) announced last year that they would begin making army builders in each future wave of Marvel Minimates. Which is great, but it means today's customs are a shoo-in for a future release. So before the official ones are announced, I present the Hellfire Club guards, private army of the Hellfire Club and frequent foes of the X-Men. Please check them out before they amass against you.

Early design sketches for my Aladdin Minimate for the Charitymates auction this year. Want more details on the Charitymates auction? Check out this here thread.

A bunch of early new customs, three villains and one hero. The Rhino Minimate has a bad knee, so he'll be taken out back and shot and used for parts.

With a team name like the Suicide Squad, you would imagine that they would go through a lot of members. And while bunches of members were violently killed, the Squad did develop a returning core membership. Whether it was through superior skill or just plain luck, many Squad members survived their "suicide missions", and kept coming back for more.

This week we take a look at another two of the Squad's core members. First up is Count Vertigo, the manic depressive villain who's also a member of European royalty. And there's Nightshade, tragic princess from another dimension with powers of shadow and darkness. Please enjoy.

And if you're ever looking for comics to read, you could do much worse than old "Suicide Squad" issues.

In the 80's, DC Comics published a comic called "Suicide Squad". The premise was simple - arrested super-villains would be given a choice - go on a near-impossible top secret mission for the government in exchange time off their jail sentences. Sure, it's the same idea as "The Dirty Dozen", but "The Dirty Dozen" doesn't have super powers. And the comic features some strong characterization, great plot twists and rampant killing of team members. I enjoy the hell out of this comic, and would suggest that you'd pick up the trade paperback reprints of it if DC Comics would ever release them.

And so out of love of the Suicide Squad, I present the first two of four customs from the 80's run of the Suicide Squad. We'll start with the field leader of the Squad, Rick Flag Jr., who would break badly under the weight of command. And there's long-time team member the Bronze Tiger, one of the top martial artists in the DC Universe. Check them out, won't you?

I'm still alive. I'm still making customs. I may post new customs next week. Check back Wednesday or so.

Sometimes you need variety. Sometimes you have to say to yourself, "Self, today I am not eating a hamburger at McDonalds. Today I am eating a hamburger at Wendy's!" That's when you know you're living, my friend.

So instead of the usual super-hero custom I make and present here, today I bring the variety. I present my custom of the the classic Universal monster, the Bride of Frankenstein. I've thought about making her for a while, and when an opportunity came up in a recent customizing contest, I took that opportunity. Please enjoy.