Thing sketch cards, part 6

Happy holidays, everyone! Let's look at some Thing sketch cards I've picked up semi-recently!

D. Lynch - I like this card for several reasons: 1) It's a different shot of the character than what you might normally expect; 2) It's fully colored; 3) It might be drawn by David Lynch, creator of "Twin Peaks" (I mean, who can say for sure?).

Shawn Atkins - Atkins is a Pittsburgh local and even though he writes swear words on sketch cards, I like his work a lot. I picked this up at the Toonseum last summer; he's also got an Invisible Woman card there that I have to believe I'll eventually purchase.

Carl Yonder - I backed artist Carl Yonder's "Leo Cosmos" Kickstarter project and pledged at the level that got me, among other things, a sketch card, so naturally I requested a drawing of the Thing. Carl drew a mashup of his character and Ben Grimm, which is why the Thing sports hair in various places. Carl has previously drawn the Thing in my sketchbook and is a fellow FUBAR contributor!

Matthew Buttich - I found this card on eBay and watched it for an estimated million years before finally pulling the trigger on it. I think the different shades of black add a lot to this card.

Tim Shinn - This card was also an eBay find, and I love it because I love trench coat Thing, just as everyone in his or her right mind loves trench coat Thing.

This was a good batch! And there's more to come!

Thing sketchbook, part 15

The fabled Thing sketchbook is back for another round.  Let's see what's in stock for this round!

Carl Yonder - Beyond Comics signing 2013

Carl is a fellow FUBAR creator and a driving force behind the comic "Pirate Eye" from Action Lab Comics.  As he was in attendance at Beyond Comics for our big FUBAR signing, I of course harassed him into adding this great image to the book.  As Carl is the artist on a pirate-themed comic, it seemed only natural that he would draw the Blackbeard Thing from Fantastic Four #5.  It's the second of its kind in the book, but it's got a flair all its own.

Eric Spohn - Beyond Comics Signing 2013

I asked FUBAR artist Eric Spohn to draw in the sketchbook at a criminally late hour, as everyone else was either packing up or out the door, and all he did was draw a full figure rendition of the Thing in his favorite punk rock gear.  It's very Frankenstein-esque, moody and dark.  Certainly not bad for the last minute.  I'm glad Eric was willing to wait around!

Jeff McComsey - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

This entry is very much a showcase item within the book.  My goal with the sketchbook is to get a wide range or styles from a varied number of artists, to the point that no one artist has more than one sketch in the book...until now.  Here are the reasons I broke my rule:

- because this is actually on the inside front cover, serving as a frontispiece for the whole book as opposed to being "just" another entry
- because Jeff is my friend and who else can you abuse if not your friends
- because, honestly, who else could I have hogtied into doing something like this?

What we have here is a partial cover recreation of Marvel Two-in-One #50, a classic Thing tale from the likes of Byrne, Perez and Sinnott:

Jeff spent the better part of three days at the Pittsburgh Comicon sketching this out until it was perfect, and man, how awesome it turned out to be.  An early warning to Jeff McComsey: the book has an inside back cover, too.

In order to draw this cover, Jeff had but one demand...

Jeff McComsey - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

...Jeff told me that I had to let him "finish" his previous sketch from the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con.  I, of course, didn't think that it needed to be finished, but then he handed back this with such added depth.  For reference, here's the earlier version:

And we can see the difference between the two versions.  A heck of a bargain, if I can say so.

Rusty Gilligan - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Rusty Gilligan was one of my first collaborators in comics, inking the short story "The Deep" for the book Leesway from Ronin studios, which was...what, my third publication?  Something like that.  Rusty is a Marvel inker who worked on some classic books and famously worked with Stan Lee on some projects.  I got to meet him in person for the first time at the Pittsburgh Comicon, and he was kind enough to draw this classic Thing with a familiar street sign and balloon quote.

Barry Kitson - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Getting a sketch from Barry Kitson is a test of endurance.  As I learned in 2012, Kitson will graciously provide free sketches for anyone who is brave enough to wait in line for one.  He takes loving care with all the work that he does, and that means that sometimes a single sketch will take over an hour (or longer) to complete.  Due to the fact that Kitson is not a robot and conventions are not open all night, only a small handful of convention-goers leave with some art from him.  It's a fun tradition that requires one to get in line as early as humanly possible.

I gave it my best to wait in line for Kitson on the opening Friday of the 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon, but try as I did, I was only fourth in line by the time I got to his booth.  Because of this, I waited four and a half hours to land this watercolored sketch, but now that it's over, I can say that it was worth it.  Kitson put on a great show and I'm thrilled to have him add another piece and another story to the Thing sketchbook.

I bought some production artwork from Kitson's FF run while I waited in line, for a great price.  Since he worked on several issues of the title, I asked Kitson to draw the Future Foundation symbol in the corner of the page, to which he obliged, meaning that this is the first sketch of this version of the Thing in the book.  It counts, I tell you!

If Barry Kitson comes back to the Pittsburgh Comicon for the next go-round...I might just have to get back in line.

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Okay, that's that for this time.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the latest sketches of the Thing!

Another desktop-clearing session of RANDOM NOTES! Fantastic Four #48, the NFL's Thing, Futurama/Adventure Time and more!

It's time for more seemingly random, semi-comic book related notes that don't deserve their own post!  They may think they do, but they don't.  Don't feel bad for them.

- I made it out to an estate auction this weekend because I heard that there were some comics on the block.  When I die, I wonder if my possessions will be picked through by hungry crowds looking to get a good deal on a box of a dead guy's socks.  I guess I won't care at that point, but hey, maybe I'll inspire a nephew or crazed fan to keep all of my collection in tact.  Maybe I'll get a museum wing or something.

Anyway, I managed to get outbid on just about everything I wanted, but I did come home with about 20 or so comics, including this gem, for a great price.  This copy of Fantastic Four #48 is not in the best shape, but it's not a piece of crap either, and its covers contain one of the most famous stories of the entire silver age of comics.  It's the first appearance of Galactus, the Silver Surfer and the Watcher, and I'm happy to add it to my collection.  It's got a date stamp on the cover, which is unfortunately not uncommon for books of this era, but at least it doesn't have the damn guy's name scrawled across the top, as was the case with many of the other books I brought home.

- The Thing made a more modern appearance at the recent Steelers/Bengals tilt, captured here via the magic of...a camera phone.  Everyone knows, of course, that the Thing is actually a Jets fan, and that no one is a Bengals fan, but you do what you can in Cincinnati.  I especially enjoy the girl in the bottom left corner, who, as a Steeler fan attending a losing effort, is apparently puking all over Bengals fans.  Good job, lady.  The great Steeler comeback is underway.

- I did some dressing up of my own recently.  Years ago, I had vowed that if the Pirates ever made the playoffs again, I would attend a game dressed as a gorilla dressed as a pirate.  That time was the 2013 season, so I had to oblige the fates.  I'm seen here with Wolverine, I think.

- Futurama's last episode has aired on Comedy Central, and the show is once again on hiatus until it the inevitable resurrection.  I refuse to believe that it is gone for good - hopefully 2014's Simpsons/Futurama crossover episode paves the way for new episodes in 2015.  I have hope!  The most recent season had lots of highlights, but one of my favorites came in the form of a well-placed Adventure Time cameo, precipitated by the fact that both Bender and Jake are voiced by John DiMaggio.



- DC Comics has released a short animated video celebrating the 75 years of Superman.  It's got some real inspiring moments and, overall, it hits on a lot of the memorable points in Superman's history.  If you haven't seen it yet, it's well worth the two minutes it takes to watch!  That being said, the video probably focuses a little too much on the last 20 years, and it leaves out some fairly important parts, namely Crisis and the Byrne '80s relaunch, as well as, oh yeah, CLARK KENT'S MARRIAGE TO LOIS LANE.  As much as DC is trying to sweep all relationships under the rug these days, that's still a huge part of the history of Superman.

- A British geneticist might just have solved the mystery of the yeti, revealing the existence of a "hybrid" bear with polar bear and grizzly bear DNA.  It's a fascinating idea and it might explain all of those abominable snowman sightings.  Read about it here: http://www.dvice.com/2013-10-17/myth-yeti-may-have-just-been-solved

- I recently lettered a short sci-fi story titled "Diver Down" for fellow FUBAR contributors Mark Bertolini and Carl Yonder!  I have absolutely no idea what the plans are for the story, but it was fun to work on.

- Aaaaand finally, the always helpful SDCC blog has a post that compares Comic-Con International to the recent New York Comic-Con.  Both shows are fun but nothing compares to the big boy in San Diego, in my opinion.  Read the article and decide for yourself!

http://sdccblog.com/2013/10/how-does-new-york-comic-con-stack-up-against-sdcc/

Man, this session of Random Notes was a lot of fun.  I think I'll write another one, just for FUBAR, soon.  Although it might have to be titled "Specific Notes", then.  We'll see.