Thing sketchbook, part 11

The legend of the Thing sketchbook continues to grow.  The trip to Comic-Con brought the numbers up quite a bit.  Now I've got five more sketches to show and others waiting in the wings.  Hope you enjoy!

Antonio Crespo - Pittsburgh Comicon 2012

I've worked with Antonio on a couple projects to date and have chatted with him online, but I was able to meet him in person at the Pittsburgh Comicon this past April.  Tony showed up on the Sunday and deftly grabbed an empty table to set up shop.  I think he made more in a few hours selling his prints than I made in the entire day!  He was also nice enough to add this beauty to the sketchbook.  A full body shot!  I don't have too many of those, and I certainly don't have many that live up to this level of detail or skill.

Tim Seeley - XCon Myrtle Beach 2012

Hack/Slash introduced me to writer/artist Tim Seeley, but he's taken on a number of different projects in the past few years.  I saw him once again at XCon in Myrtle Beach, and I was finally able to add a Thing sketch from him this year.  He took the artist's challenge and quite nicely cleaned up some of the bleed through from the previous sketch.  As always, the blue eyes are a nice touch.

Jonathan Hickman - XCon Myrtle Beach 2012

Jonathan Hickman is currently nearing the end of his successful run on Fantastic Four and FF, so of course, given the chance, I had to get him to add something to a sketchbook starring the FF's strongman.  Hickman is better known for his writing, but he's also a heck of an artist.  This is one of the more unique images in the book, and it's one of my favorite as well.

Ben Edlund - Comic-Con International 2012

According to Ben Edlund, this is the first time he's ever drawn the Thing.  That means I love this even more!  Edlund is best known as the creator of the Tick, but he's had a great number of successes outside of the comic industry as well, including involvement in Firefly, Venture Bros., and most recently the show Supernatural.  He's also one of my industry heroes, so it was so incredibly satisfying to add a Thing sketch by him into the book.  As if this isn't jealousy-inducing enough, I also got a Tick sketch on a backing board.  What a great haul!  And yes, he shouted "Look I'm a monster!" as he wrote the words. Awesome.

Bob Polio - Comic-Con International 2012

Bob Polio is the art director for New England Comics, publisher of the Tick comic - and he has been since the book's inception.  He added this classic cigar-smokin' Thing to the sketchbook almost immediately after Ben Edlund drew his version.  Bob's also a baseball historian of sorts who loves the old Boston Braves.  We chatted baseball at length during the show - and as anyone who knows me understands, once I get started, it's tough for me to hit the brakes.  I was glad to meet a fellow fan of both the Tick and baseball.


Okay, that's five, so we'll take a break.  But there are more to come!  So you can rest easy, America.