It's probably a good thing that not every artist feels the need to throw one more gallery of fetish artwork into the world when they re-imagine classic superheroes. In fact, sometimes it can be refreshing to see someone opt for cuteness instead of sexiness and illustrate Wolverine, Hellboy, Superman and The Joker as if Jhonen Vasquez and Skottie Young were collaborating on cartoon design concepts. Christopher Uminga creates art along these lines, and one look into his figures' glowing eyes will make you want to take one of his subjects home and jam a Ring Pop into its mouth.

I remember seeing a few of these pieces at C2E2, but the gallery at Uminga's website showcases a wide variety of masked and bug-eyed attempts at melding adorable looks with macabre implications. His Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Incredible Hulk may show signs of liver problems in their eyes, but gosh darn it if he doesn't make Mr. Freeze look like a playground pal you could share recess and an Eskimo Pie with.

Peruse a few more of Uminga's works after the jump and see for yourself who you'd want to be BFF's with if you were 6 years old and in need of a super-buddy.



[Via Wildammo]