Here is an idea I’m revisiting.
A few years ago, at Fan Expo in Toronto, I was commissioned to do a satirical homage to the now classic cover to The Walking Dead #1 featuring the Archie Comics characters. It was one of those ambitious commissions where it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I also thought that it was a very solid idea that was ripe for a print so I always really wanted to come back and re-do this with more detail. I haven’t had the opportunity until very recently so I’m glad I had the chance to do this. Hopefully, I’ll have the time to ink this one and get this off to my usual colorist, Anwar Hanano before THIS year’s Fan Expo!
Here’s an interesting coincidence about the original commission… As I said, I was commissioned to draw the original during Fan Expo. The commissioner got me early in the show but this being a fairly elaborate piece it was going to take some time. I told the buyer the piece would be ready on Sunday, the last day of the show. On Sunday morning, I still hadn’t finished the piece but I was pretty close to crossing the finish line on it. I went to the convention center very early so I could set up and get right to work on the piece before the crowds showed up. It was still a while before the show opened to the public so the con floor was pretty empty. Only a few artists and exhibitors lingered about. It was actually a nice quiet place for working.
As often happens when I’m really into a piece, my head was down and I’m not paying attention to what’s going on around me. I was however aware that someone was standing right in front of my table looking down at me. I looked up and to my surprise it was none other than Tony Moore himself, the original artist of The Walking Dead and artist of the original piece I was satirizing. He was looking down at my piece smiling. “That’s so cool,” he told me. We chatted for a bit. He was a very nice guy and complimentary of the piece. I, of course, am a big fan of his work so it was very nice to get the “official” nod from him.
I hope Tony would get a kick out of this one too!
This piece is also part of this summer’s mash-up theme where I’m combining characters from different publishers into one piece. Who else would you like to see me mash-up? Please let me know in the comments below!
Thanks, Everybody!
