To refresh your memory (or show you the cover if you’ve never seen it in the first place) I thought I’d post a jpeg of it here:

OK… gotta get back to work….

This is Entry 383.

Mike

Memorial Day has become the day known as ‘the unofficial start of Summer’– and a holiday in which everyone travels to visit family, or has cookouts where they grill hotdogs and hamburgers. The day is, however– and much more importantly– the day in which we are supposed to remember those Americans who gave their lives in the wars our country has been involved in since its birth. War is a terrible and ugly thing. It’s a tragedy that war has become a fact of mankind’s existence from its very beginning (however you believe that beginning came about). Modern warfare– which many believe began with our own Civil War– is especially horrific. However I might personally feel about war, though, my admiration for those brave citizens of this country who are willing to stand up and fight the battles their civilian leaders send them into knows no bounds. Today I will reflect on the Americans who have lost their lives in the name of this country. This is not a day for taking sides on whether any given war is justified or not… it is a day for thanking those men and women who have lived… and died… for us and the ideals our country was founded on.

I’ll also think about those Veterans of wars past and present who are still with us. Vets like my Father, who was in both Korea and Vietnam– and vets like Nick Cardy. Nick, who is not only one of my favorite artists from the Silver Age of comic books– but was a member of a tank crew in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. We are losing our Veterans from that generation to time as more and more of them pass on from this mortal coil– and it’s on a day like today that I’m proud to know Nick. I look forward to seeing him every year at HEROES CON in Charlotte.

So today–spend some time reflecting on those who have lost their lives in military service for us.

This is Entry 382.

Mike

Over at COMICBOOKRESOURCES.COM. there’s an article and some artwork on the new THOR series coming later this year, written by J. Michael Strazynski and drawn by the BRILLIANT Olivier Copiel. I really like the redesigned ‘costume’ that Copiel came up with for THOR’S return. It’s got the feel of the original clothing, with some nice touches thrown in– like the (what looks like) [chain?] mail he now wears on his arms and legs. I haven’t yet seen a very clear shot of the entire outfit… so I’m sure I got some of the details wrong in today’s sketch. The sketch didn’t turn out as well as I’d like, but that’s usually the case every time I draw a character or outfit for the first time.

OK… I’m going to leave it there for this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend…. it’s certainly going to be a gorgeous weekend around here in North Carolina.

This is Entry 381.

Mike

I felt like drawing something that wasn’t so…. slick … this morning. Even though they’re supposed to be just ‘sketches’, I still feel like– for the most part– they should be as close to finished as I can make them so they’ll read well enough for everyone to see. That makes me have to try to be a bit more precise with the lines than some mornings I feel like attempting. So today I was feeling a bit less inclined to try to be as sharp as I normally am– and when thinking about what I could sketch in that mode, a caveman came to mind. I watch a lot of THE HISTORY CHANNEL, DISCOVERY CHANNEL and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL on cable– and some of my favorite programs are the shows the do about either dinosaurs or early man. The WALKING WITH DINOSAURS and WALKING WITH CAVEMEN series of programs DISCOVERY CHANNEL produced were really fascinating to me. So I thought I’d indulge that interest for today’s sketch.

OK… another quick in-and-out today. Back to work…

This is Entry 380.

Mike

I’m going to have to make this a quick on this morning…. deadlines are beginning to feel like a vise around my neck. I thought it would be interesting to draw a character that I’ve only drawn, I think, one time before. That was for the cover of a trade paperback collecting stories from several Marvel characters. I don’t remember the name of the trade… but I remember that THE PUNISHER was one of the characters I had to draw. Since then, though, I don’t think I’ve ever had the occasion to draw him for Marvel again. So for today’s sketch, I decided I’d draw Frank Castle… especially since he’s one of those dark, gritty street level characters I’m certainly not known for drawing. It’s also a BIT topical in that Thomas Jane has pulled out of reprising his roll as PUNISHER in the coming sequel. Since the first one didn’t do all that well, I don’t really see what the big deal is…. but I’m grasping at straws for a connection.

OK… back to the salt mines….

This is 379.

Mike