Thing sketchbook, part 10

It's pretty astounding that I've now got over 50 sketches in my Thing sketchbook...the recent Pittsburgh Comicon put it over the top.  I'm now past the halfway mark in my book.  Woo!  Now that I've got more to show, here are entries 46-50.

Patrick Block - Pittsburgh Comic & Collectibles Show 2011



Fellow Pittsburgher Patrick Block has spent years drawing Donald Duck and similar characters for pretty much whomever has the Disney comic book license at any given time. When I asked him to draw in this book, I guessed that I might see the Thing as a duck when I got it back. Instead I got a great, classic shot of the Thing with a no-doubt Uncle Scrooge reference to boot. The detail - all the money floating around - makes this sketch an instant classic.

Daniel Leister - Pittsburgh Comic & Collectibles Show 2011



Daniel Leister regularly draws the book "Hack/Slash" for Image comics, and every time I see him I feel like I'm pestering him (or fellow creator Tim Seeley) to take a look at my work. They probably hate me. But Daniel drew this confident-looking Thing at the very end of the show in no time flat.




I handed him the book without much explanation, and as I went back to my table, I thought, "did I even mention that every sketch in here is of the Thing?" It would have been terrifying to open the book up to see 47 sketches of the Thing and one of something - anything - else. But what I got was basically a clinic on how to draw the character.

Brittany Michel - Pittsburgh Comicon 2012



Brittany Michel draws the webcomic "Snow By Night" (www.snowbynight.com), and she recently had the title of "person next to me at the Pittsburgh convention". She's got a great fantasy style and I was impressed by all of the little character drawings she had in her sketchbook. Some deft haggling got me this great, unique Thing sketch. Love the smile.

Stephen Lindsay - Pittsburgh Comicon 2012



Stephen Lindsay created the book "Jesus Hates Zombies" and - little known fact! - came up with the title for the FUBAR books that I'm involved in. He also has tattoos of the Hot Dog Knights from Adventure Time, which puts him right up there in my book. I tossed the sketchbook at him on the first day of the show, and he came back with a drawing of the Thing with nipples. That's a first for the book, and as such I like it.

George Perez - Pittsburgh Comicon 2012



George Perez is a longtime fan favorite comic book artist who drew the main Fantastic Four title (as well as Marvel Two-in-One) in the 1970s. During his time on the book, the Thing lost his powers and reverted to plain ol' Ben Grimm. The solution to this problem? Reed built him a Thing suit and business resumed pretty much as usual. I did my best to push George in the "Thing suit" direction and eventually my prodding paid off. What a great piece by a classic artist.

That's all for now.  I'll hopefully be adding a few more entries at conventions later in the year, so stay tuned for more great sketches of the Thing!