Thing sketchbook, part 20

It's been a long, long time since I've posted any updates to my Thing sketchbook routine. That's because my first sketchbook, purchased over 15 years ago from Waldenbooks, had exactly one blank area left, that being the inside back cover. I handed it to my pal Jeff McComsey a while ago with specific instructions. Now that it's been returned to me, I can say that the first Thing sketchbook is (mostly) complete. There are two entries that I might try and have inked at some point, but for now...all spaces have been filled. And there are 97 drawings of the Thing included!

Let's look at the last two entries, plus anything that's changed since I initially posted about them:

Jeff McComsey - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

This drawing resides on the inside front cover. It's a partial recreation of one of my favorite Thing stories - Marvel Two-in-One #50. Jeff drew the top half, all the way to the sketchbook's spine. Here's what the original George Perez/Joe Sinnott cover looks like:

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

Not only did Jeff draw the Two-in-One recreation in 2013, but he finished up a sketch that he had started two years earlier at the Baltimore Comic-Con. At top is the 2011 version...

...and this is the finished version, completed at the Pittsburgh Comicon.

Derek Fridolfs/Ian Nichols - New York Comic Con 2013/Comic-Con International 2017

I met Derek Fridolfs at the 2013 NYCC show, and asked him to draw Ben Grimm from Marvel's Ultimate Universe. As those books were winding down, the Thing shed his rocky exterior in exchange for some energy-based powers. Also he was purple.

I thought that this was an entry that could use some color, because it's so different from what we usually think of when we consider the Thing. So at Comic-Con in 2017, I passed the book to my friend Ian Nichols and he added some watercolors to the inked version.

Chris Burnham - Comic-Con International 2016

This is the last actual page in the sketchbook. I knew that I didn't want to take any chances with the very last entry into the book, so I scanned artist alley at Comic-Con and found Chris Burnham, who might be best known for his Batman work with Grant Morrison. Chris was a little nervous when I told him that I had been carrying the book around since 2003 and was giving him the last page, but he stepped up and added another memorable Thing to the book.

Then he took a picture with the book! Love that Pac Man lanyard.

Jeff McComsey - 2019

And now here we are - at the end of the book. Jeff held onto the sketchbook for, wow, a couple years, and he tells me that he kept it in a fireproof safe while in his possession. But he finished it up in style, drawing this partial recreation of 1983's Thing #1 on the inside back cover. Here's a look at the original, from John Byrne and Ron Wilson:

Like I said, there are two entries in the book that I'd like to have inked, so this might not be the very last time to break open the sketchbook. And I started a new sketchbook at New York in 2016, so there are plenty more Thing posts to come. But this book will always hold a special place for me. I'm kind of surprised that I never lost it! I don't know that I'll ever be able to top it.

Thing sketchbook, part 16

I haven't posted any entries into the Thing sketchbook for a while.  Time to rectify that terrible (almost unforgivable, really) mistake!

Derek Fridolfs - New York Comic Con 2013

I only spent one day at the 2013 NYCC, and I only got one sketch there as well.  This one comes from Derek Fridolfs, who might be best known as an inker on a number of DC books with Dustin Nguyen.  As the Thing sketchbook isn't just for the "classic" Thing but Thing offshoots as well, it was high time to get a drawing of the Thing from the Ultimate universe.  This Ultimate Ben Grimm started out looking fairly similar to the Marvel proper version until after the Ultimate Fantastic Four version was cancelled, at which time the character busted out of his rocky cocoon and gained energy powers...purple energy powers.  He has since gained the ability to shift into his rocky form as well (probably because it looks cooler), but nevertheless, this is a unique version of the Thing and it's welcome in the book for sure.  Glad I was able to add it to the list.

Ryan Dunlavey - Comic Book Jones 2013

The December, 2013 Comic Book Jones anniversary signing event was marred just a bit by a snowstorm and some bad driving conditions that followed, but I had fun nonetheless.  Steve Becker, April Murphy and I made it to the store just in time for an icy snow to start falling from the sky, and by the time we left later in the evening, we were sliding all the way across New Jersey into Pennsylvania.  Also in attendance were Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey of Action Philosophers! and Comic Book Comics fame.  I was able to chat with them for a while, and Ryan was kind enough to add this poker playing Thing to the sketchbook.  This is the first reference to the Thing's floating poker game that travels across the Marvel Universe, and it's a good one.

April Murphy - Comic Book Jones 2013

April Murphy might be better known for her tattoo designs and prints, but I was able to get her, at the same Comic Book Jones signing, to draw the Thing in the sketchbook.  At that point, it's not like we were going anywhere, so perhaps I cornered her at the right time and only had to cajole her a couple times before she acquiesced.  I believe that as she was drawing this, I snuck out of the comic shop to go and buy some Mug Cream Soda.

Duane Redhead - Free Comic Book Day 2014

Who'd have thought that I would ever get England's Duane Redhead, artist on Teddy and the Yeti and The Tick, to draw in the Thing sketchbook?  Who would have thought that I would ever get to meet him in person in the first place?  The Free Comic Book Day signing at Boston's New England Comics locations gave us the opportunity to meet and I walked away with a lot of good memories...and this awesome Thing sketch.  Initially, I had concocted some huge, impossible scene for Duane to draw, with multiple versions of the Thing standing behind each other as cosmic rays flew in the background.  This was an example of me being a bad friend, and thankfully I realized that before the trip was over.  I still probably asked Duane to draw too much, but at least he didn't have to punch me to get me to tone my demands for the book down.  As it is, I got a great Thing image with Ben Grimm in the foreground and those pesky cosmic rays saying through the scene.  This is certainly one of the more complete images in the entire book.

Joe Wos - Toonseum 2014

In the summer of 2014, I volunteered at Pittsburgh's Toonseum, a museum for comic and cartoon art. It's a great place!  Joe Wos was the head curator at the time (he's since moved on and has a nationally syndicated comic strip in the works!).  Joe has an incredible collection of cartoon art and he's as big an aficionado as they come.  I brought the sketchbook to the museum one afternoon and Joe was kind enough to draw this cartoonish Thing into the book, adding in the extra ice cream gag to boot.

Well!  That's five more Thing sketches.  There are more to come.  Look for 'em...some time.

Pictures from the 2013 New York Comic-Con, part 2

I've got a few more pictures to share from last month's New York Comic-Con!  I was only there on the Saturday of the show, but there was still a lot to see.  Let's get to it!

First on the list is this image of Sgt. Slaughter, he of WWF and GI Joe fame.  He's still got the look.  It was interesting to see him on the show floor as opposed to in the lower-level autograph section where there were a few other wrestlers from the same time period, most notably Hulk Hogan.  I suppose that the Sarge was also selling merchandise here, which might explain the difference.

This guy was, understandably, a big hit.  I wonder if he has any idea who Edward Scissorhands is.  I also wonder how a movie like Edward Scissorhands got made and released.

It's never a con without a good Adam West-era Batman costume.  Here we have him checking his Bat-Phone.

I've seen so many Zapp Brannigan costumes at conventions recently.  I wonder what's responsible for the surge!  It used to be all Fry, but now Zapp is coming up strong.  I was very happy to see the Kif costume on display.  You'd think it'd be easy enough to replicate with the green body suits that are so prevalent, but this is the first I've ever seen.  Very cool.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.  Quicksilver forgot her pants, but I guess that's okay.

Also along the convention floor was Billy West!  West, of course, is well known for his voice acting and I love him for Futurama.

Next to Billy West (apologies for the fuzzy picture) was...Darlene Love?  That's an interesting choice for the New York Comic-Con.  Love is a '60s pop singer best known for her Christmas music like "Marshmallow World" and the like.

Heritage Auctions, the company that likes to make everyone feel poor by selling great pieces of art to extraordinarily rich people, had a display at the show with some original art that is set to go on sale soon.  Of course, I was drawn to the original Jack Kirby Fantastic Four art, featuring an incredible scene with Dr. Doom and Mr. Fantastic.  The pre-auction estimate for this piece?  $40,000.  Forty grand!  Holy moly.  Obviously, Kirby's work is the most sought-after in the industry, and this is a lovely piece, but wow, I never would have imagined that it would be quite that high.  20k, for sure, but 40?  Wow.

Also on display was this Superman/JFK piece.  Again, I was surprised by the price, but more because I can't imagine that it isn't listed as high as the FF page.  It's by Al Plastino, a classic Silver Age Superman artist, it's a full page, it has a great shot of Superman on it, it's from a well-remembered and well-liked story, it features none other than President John F. Kennedy, and they're "conveniently" selling it around the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination.  It's got so much going for it.

After the show, I read that Plastino was contesting the sale.  You can read the details here - http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/24/al-plastino-jfk-superman-original-art-and-heritage-auctions/ - but here's the short version: Plastino said that he originally donated the piece to a Kennedy museum, which claims they never received it.  Now a buyer has surfaced who wants to sell it, and Heritage (who stand to profit from the sale) is backing up the buyer.  I obviously have no idea who is in the right here, but I'll hold out some futile hope that Plastino can regain possession of his work from so long ago.  It'll never happen, greed being what it is, but you can't help but feel bad for a creator in a situation like this.

On a lighter note, HERE'S PAC MAN!

Toward the end of the show on Saturday, I managed to land one Thing sketch for the book.  Here's Derek Fridolfs in the process of adding his rendition.

As I mentioned last time, there were a lot of groups in costumes at this convention.

More Futurama!  That's a great Bender costume.

And Spider-Man 2099!  It's a brave person who wears a skin-tight jumpsuit at a convention.  Love the design.

And it looks like we've got some gender-reversed X-Men here (plus Apocalypse).

I, uh, I have no comment on this last picture.  A neither do any of these hundreds of other guys surrounding this person.

More pictures to come soon!