Back to School!

An older image but one that's apropos for today...all over the neighbourhood parents are rejoicing and children are crying. Next week all the kids are back in school! Not that it means anything to me, personally. Not anymore. But when I was a kid I actually kinda liked going back to school. I was a nerd kid and getting new notebooks, pens and pencils was exciting. Once the school work started, though, the excitement quickly vanished.

So, about the drawing...it was originally done as a pitch for an Archie-like approach to the Marvel characters. I'd been drawing a teen version of Tigra for a while and used her as the main character in the pitch (which was written by Brian McLachlan of Princess Planet fame). I think the characters are pretty self-evident but I'll still leave it up to you commenters to name them all. :)
The book never happened but it sure would have been a lot of fun.

j.

Mike Wieringo 1963 - 2007

Today ended on a very sad note...I learned that this past weekend the incredibly talented, incredibly nice Mike Wieringo passed away of heart failure. Mike was one of the sweetest guys I've ever met in comics and I'm unbelievably sad that he's gone. But my sadness must pale in comparison to that felt by friends and family members he's left behind. Their loss is immense.

I had the good fortune to work with Mike. The above four pages of art are from the SIDEKICKS Super Summer Fun Special put out by ONI press. My friend J.Torres put it together. I think Mike had written J. to tell him how much he liked our Alison Dare project, and from there a friendship grew. Mike graciously agreed to draw a segment in the Summer Fun book but only if I agreed to ink it. Honest, that's how the job was presented to me and who am I to argue with Mike Wieringo! :)

My brush was merely a tracer's tool on this job, I assure you. The pencils were printably tight. All I had to concentrate on was not ruining the faces on Mike's adorable girls ( at which I hope I was successful). I met Mike later that summer at a convention in Philadelphia and I was happy to find out what a great guy he was. He ended up sitting with some friends and I for the entire night, entertaining us with hilarious stories and jokes. It's the only time I've ever hung out with Mike in person but it truly did leave a lasting impression.

We kept in touch through e-mails over the years...and only now do I realize that I didn't write to him nearly enough. I wish I could send him another e-mail right now...

Rest in peace, Mike. We'll all miss you.

Sincerely,

J.Bone