I’m going to keep it brief, word-wise today– but I’ve got a lot of stuff to show you. Today’s sketch is a fond look at the way Todd and I used one of my all-time favorite SPIDER-MAN villains– THE LOOTER. LOOTER got his powers from the gas from a small meteor he was studying as a scientist. After breathing the escaping gas when he opened the meteor, he received powers that were similar (except for the clinging to walls) to SPIDER-MAN’S– but he decided to use these abilities for ill intent rather then good. Todd had the wonderful idea to have THE LOOTER treat the meteorite that granted him his powers in an almost romantic way. He was so enamored with his powers and go grateful for the meteorite that gave them to him that he constantly spoke to it and cooed over it like it was a beautiful woman rather than a hunk of space rock. I loved this… it was so hilarious and fun to draw. THE LOOTER– weird, loony…. and very dangerous. I thought he was a perfect SPIDER-MAN bad guy.

This image will be offered as a limited-edition print at BALTIMORE COMICON this weekend. It’s from a sketch I posted here a couple of weeks back– but now wonderfully inked by the incredible Chris Brunner and colored by the equally amazing Rico Renzi. They are offering this as well as several other exclusive limited edition prints by artists attending COMICON under the INDIGOINK imprint. I’m thrilled and honored to be in this group of artists– and the image directly below this is the flyer for the artists and signing times that will be happening at the INDIGOINK booth.

So come by, buy a print and get it signed this coming weekend if you’re attending the show. As you can see, there’s some wonderful images to choose from.

That’s it for today.

This is Entry 275.

Mike

I’ve got so much to do before leaving for BALTIMORE COMICON this week that I’m going to have to keep the posts relatively brief until I get back. I thought I’d keep with the theme of looking back at the fun times Todd and I had on SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN by posting a sketch of the Wall Crawler with one of my favorite SPIDER-MAN supporting characters/foes/friends– THE PROWLER. I always loved the PROWLER design (by, I think, the legendary John Romita, Sr.)– and Todd was hip to working in the character into SENSATIONAL, even though Hobie Brown– the PROWLER’S secret identity– was paralyzed at the time. A disgruntled recently fired hospital employee steals Hobie’s PROWLER gear when he’s brought in after his life-altering injury and starts using the costume for petty thievery and revenge on old enemies. Of course, SPIDER-MAN has to get involved to clear the PROWLER name. It was a blast to do, as were all the stories we worked on…..

R.I.P. Steve Irwin– aka the CROCODILE HUNTER. Apparently Irwin was killed by a stingray while filming a segment off the Australian coast yesterday. I watch a lot of ANIMAL PLANET, and had watched a ton of Irwin’s adventures on his various shows on the cable channel. I had sort of moved away from checking out his shows the past couple of years– but I will always remember him as being a super-high energy and person who was ultimately enthusiastic about wild animals and wildlife conservation. I remember clearly one CROC HUNTER episode in which an old female croc Irwin had kept on his preserve for many, many years died of old age. He cried like a baby and had a very emotional eulogy and burial for her in his compound. Anyone who loves animals– even ill-tempered dangerous and very ugly ones like that old female croc– is MORE than alright in my book.

Rest well, CROC HUNTER.

This is Entry 274.

Mike

Yesterday I wrote about a 3-issue story arc from Todd’s and my run on SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN that teamed the Web Head with DOCTOR STRANGE. Today, I’m looking back at another favorite arc of mine from that time– another three-issue story (15-17) that sent SPIDER-MAN to the SAVAGE LAND where he met up with KA-ZAR and SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL. Jonah sends Peter to the Savage Land (aided by SHEILD) to cover a story involving the melting of the ice caps surrounding the bowl-shaped territory. While there, Peter sneaks off and meets KA-ZAR– and aids him and SHANNA in evacuating the peoples of the Savage Land from the rising flood waters inundating their homelands. In the meantime, the melting ice frees a long-frozen STEGRON, who begins to command the dinosaurs of the Land to attack all the humans he can find. Also added into the mix is the INCREDIBLE HULK, who gets in a tussle with an ancient creature called the CHICKEN COW, and in their pitched battle in a network of underground caverns, they end up smashing their way into the Savage Land. It turns out that the ROXXON corporation, brought in by SHEILD to help stem the melting of the glaciers is actually speeding up the melting in order to flush all the inhabitants of the Savage Land from their homes so that they could exploit the rich oil reserves they had discovered there. Of course, SPIDER-MAN, KA-ZAR and SHANNA as well as the HULK all team up to tackle this mess together. All these various elements come together to create a wonderful story that moved at breakneck speed and was a ton of fun to draw.

The CHICKEN COW monster came from a song with the same title that was born from the mind of a fellow named Wesley Willis. He suffered from schizophrenia– but this debilitating affliction also led to him creating some of the most bizarre and entertaining songs I’ve ever heard. They were truly strange– but very funny and bright in their own way. Todd turned me on to the Wesley Willis experience and sent me a tape filled with his songs. After hearing it, and talking with Todd– we came to the conclusion that we just had to find a way to get the CHICKEN COW (one of our mutually favorite songs from WW) into the Savage Land story arc. Unfortunately, Wesley Willis passed away at age 40 from leukemia…. but his music lives on.

This story arc ended up being so much fun to work on– KA-ZAR and SHANNA, THE HULK, STEGRON and tons of dinosaurs– and a bizarre monster named the CHICKEN COW. This one had it all– and it was a wonderful playground for this humble artist. I don’t know if the story sold out quickly, or the folks high-up at Marvel just really enjoyed it– but they quickly collected the three issues into a mini-trade. And the toy division (TOYBIZ) also created SPIDER-MAN and STEGRON action figures based on how I drew them. That was a huge thrill to see… and I still have fond memories of the whole experience.

This is Entry 273.

Mike