Link Ink: Adorable Ackbar, Jersey’s New Con, Optimus Prime’s New Look

Art: Following up on yesterday's Darwinian examination of Pokemon is today's look at the pocket monsters through a traditional Japanese art lens. [Kotaku]

Fashion: Are these costumes the sexiest renditions of Raphael, Cobra Commander and Optimus Prime ever known to man, or are they just ridiculously stupid? You be the judge. [io9]

Puppets: If this is a trap, it's the most adorable trap I've ever laid eyes upon. [Agent M Loves Tacos]

Conventions: Snooki will have an all new arena for getting punched out when the Wizard World convention tour heads to New Jersey this October. [Wizard World]

Creators: C.B. Cebulski reports that Marvel Entertainment hired 144 new creative freelancers over the course of 2009. [Chesterfest]

Hollywood: Dark Horse Publicity Coordinator Jim Gibbons highlights the casting changes he'd like to see in future comic book movies, based on an article he wrote during his brief tenure as a freelance writer. [Enemy of Peanuts]