Said Abd El Gawad

I had some hard decisions to make this week -- which LOST posters should I hang, and which should I store. (I proposed filling the entire house top to bottom with LOST art, but this gentle suggestion was met with, shall we say, resistance.) Also, which to group together, taking into account room layout, poster style and colour, etc. Well, the job is now complete. I present, the new and improved LOSTorama!

I have been framing and reorganizing my LOST posters. These three posters nicely sum up the LOST journey -- from the crash, through six seasons of mystery, tension, and adventure, until we reach the end. 'The Crash' by Eric Tan 'LOST' by Olly Moss 'The End' by Joshua Budich

The third print released during the initial DCAAPB ARG was The Dharma Van by Methane Studios. Although I decided not to purchase it at the time of its release, I've always liked the fine detail in this print and eventually succumbed to its charms, purchasing on eBay for an amount just slightly higher than its original price tag. A main appeal of this print is the intricate craftsmanship visible throughout. Hurley's hurtle down a hillside in a Dharma van from the episode Tricia Tanaka is Dead is one of my favourite LOST moments. CU of the DHARMA symbol. The extra highlighted "5" was a source of mystery at the time. We've since learned that there was an intent at the start of the ARG to encode secret messages through misspellings and mistakes, but a few inadvertent errors led to it being abandoned. Perhaps the "5" was part of this discarded challenge. The print also feature a bit of glitter paint and also glows under black light. Apparently Methane St...

Todd Slater's portrait of Ben Linus was one of the prints I tried for but failed to buy due to a lightning fast sellout. In July of 2010 I won it in an eBay auction and feel quite fortunate to have finally obtained it for a very reasonable price. This is a print which I liked initially and which I have grown to like even more over time. Slater expertly captures the many facets of Ben: his creepiness, his arrested development, his sadness, his search for direction, his struggle between decency and evil. The way in which Ben holds Bunny #8 demonstrates his emotional detachment. To him it is simply a means to an end. This man had a quite a journey from Season 2 to Season 6. I'm glad to hear that we'll see a little bit more of Ben Linus in his role and vice-protector of The Island on the Season 6 DVD. I'm not a huge fan of rabbits, but have to admit that this one looks pretty cute. The print also features a barely-visible set of DHARMA station logos. I have print #206 o...

I've always wanted a Drive Shaft T-shirt, and DCAAPB-2 finally forced my hand via this T designed by Marky of Glamour Kills.

Of the eleven T-shirts created for DCAAPB-2, only one has sold out to date -- Smoke by Brandon Rike.

Although the initial DCAAPB series was confined to posters, the second expanded to include both posters and T-shirts. I purchased a shirt named Not Penny's Boat designed by artist Olly Moss. The inside label of the T-shirt is also kind of cool.

Ken Taylor's The Smoke Monster is one of my favourite prints from DCAAPB's first round, thus I was very happy to see that he created a second poster for DCAAPB-2. Kate and Claire depicts the tense scene from the episode Sundown when Smokey lays waste to The Temple while Kate and Claire look on from the (relative) safety of Claire's cell. In all honesty I was just a teeny bit disappointed when I first saw this print in person. The colours are not as vibrant as those in The Smoke Monster (though to be fair, it is meant to take place within the shadowy confines of The Temple), and Smokey itself seems a little less cool in this print than in the first. Still, I really like the comic-book style composition here and I like the character portraits. This depiction of scary-Claire is just that -- scary! In fact, I'm getting a little queasy looking at her right now. Although I wouldn't call this a dead ringer for the character, there is a quality to it which to me ful...

Jeff Soto enters the DCAAPB scene with a very striking print entitled Jacob and the Man in Black . I loved this print the instant I saw it, and quickly raced through the purchase screens with the expectation that thousands of others were equally enamored. I was quite surprised when much of the fan reaction turned out to be somewhat negative. I'm no skull expert, but this one looks pretty awesome to me! The red glow of unknown origin really adds some menace and mystery. Two sides -- one dark, one light. The symbolism of the struggle between Jacob and MIB, between good and evil, is nicely illustrated with the intertwined vines. Which flower will bloom, and which will die? I like the fact that The Island's origin remains a mystery. More Easter Eggs -- each of The Numbers make an appearance on the skull. I'm print #102 of 500.