Bowen full-size Thing statue

The first Thing statue I purchased was in 2004, as a result of having my first comic story published. Part of what I received for the comic was a gift card to Things from Another Universe, and I used that to buy the Bowen Thing mini-statue. It wasn't until a few years later that I found out that there was a larger version of that same statue. I guess it took 17 years, but I finally managed to grab the full-size Bowen Thing statue, and oh boy, do I love it.

Randy Bowen sculpted quite a few statues from Marvel in the early 2000s, and he recently released another Thing statue. I definitely have an affinity for his work. His Thing is a nice combination of Kirby and Byrne, with thick, flat fingers and toes, and a huge brow that reaches halfway around his head. This is the stocky, bulky Thing of the '60s-'80s.

The colors on this statue are all so rich. I love the lighter orange and yellow that make up the well-segmented rocks. The blue and black trunks are a shiny contrast to the flat color of the Thing's skin.

The base of the statue connects with those of the rest of the Fantastic Four. They're all rather expensive and Reed's statue has a habit of breaking, so this is probably going to be the only one I get. But it's a heck of an addition to my collection.

The base comes with a classic Thing logo and an individual number. This one is #2372.

The box itself is wonderfully branded. The front panel comes with the Thing's patented trademark.

One side shows the statue from different angles.

The other has an infographic lifted from an early issue.

I also picked up the slightly less impressive, but still pretty cool, Marvel Legends Human Torch figure from Kenner. This one is made to look retro even thought it's brand new. The colors, again, are really nice. Johnny is the only FF member for this line so far, but hopefully they'll have the rest of the team before too long!

"Eye of the Beholder" webcomic with Ruben Cordero, page 8

Here we are at the end of this particular story.  Yes, it's a sad occasion, but weep not - I write other stuff, too.  Like Teddy and the Yeti.  You should totally buy it.

And speaking of shelling out good money for things with my name attached them, "Eye of the Beholder" is published in the collection Strip Search from Dark Horse Comics.  This book is available at lots of places, like Amazon (click on the links!), Things from Another World, Mile High Comics, Midtown Comics, heck...if you give 'em the ISBN (1593070993), big stores like Barnes and Noble will order it for you!

I'm really lucky to have been a part of this project, and I can't thank talented individuals like editor Adam Gallardo and, of course, artist Ruben Cordero, who is a heck of an artist and a heck of a guy, enough for everything they did to bring this dream to life.  This is the story that convinced me to try to make comics on a semi-regular basis, and I'm thankful for the opportunities it's granted.  May everyone who wants one have their own "Eye of the Beholder".

I'll post some "extra" stuff in a few days - character designs, sketches, pages in progress, etc. - things that haven't been published before.  It should be a fun way to wrap this short story up.

"Eye of the Beholder" webcomic with Ruben Cordero, page 3

The moment  I found out that "Eye of the Beholder" had won Dark Horse's monthly contest and would soon be printed in its Strip Search collection, I ran to the phone and called artist Ruben Cordero on the phone at his office at work.  As soon as he picked up on the other end, I yelled "Congratulations, you magnificent bastard!", thinking he had probably been to the website and therefore had heard the good news.  Instead, he didn't even know it was me.  "I'm sorry," he replied, somewhat tersely, "who is this?" I meekly explained the situation and once we were on the same page things went more smoothly.

The prize package from Dark Horse was actually quite nice, even though we had to split it in two.  For my half of the haul, I managed to snag a number of cool things, including a copy of Comics Between the Panels, signed by co-author and Dark Horse editor-in-chief Mike Richardson, the second volume of the beautiful Xenozoic Tales collection and some "Shag Tiki" stationary by Amanda Visell.

Ruben and I also split a $150 gift certificate to the online comic shop Things from Another World, with which I bought one of my first Thing statues - a Bowen full body design that's still one of my favorites (Bowen does great work, let me tell you).

All in all, just another reason I was spoiled by this, my first comic publication.  I hope you enjoy page three - I'll post the next page on Saturday...and probably write stuff in between now and then.  So keep checking back!