One of the best things about going to comic book shows is getting sketches from artists. Not only do you wind up getting a unique piece of art, but its a great opportunity to talk with your favorite comic creators. I’m going to share the story of my first comic sketch, and how it wound up being Nightwing wearing Thor’s helmet.
I remember it like it was yesterday; it was Wizard World’s Philadelphia show in 2004. At the recommendation of a friend, I set out to get sketches. The first stop was Tom Raney who was signing and sketching at the DC booth. I was a fan of his then-current work on Outsiders, as well as his previous work on Thor.
As I waited online for a long time, I started wondering what sketch I would ask for. After all this was very important; it’s my first sketch. I decided that I wanted a Brother Blood sketch; after all he was a prominent villain in the first couple issues of Outsiders. Before I knew it, I was next in line and then things got weird. I’m going to write this out like a script so you can get the full effect.
Raney: (finished signing everything) So what would you like a sketch of?
Me: Brother Blood would be awesome.
Raney: Do you have a reference? Chris did those issues.
(Now I’m embarrassed, because I confused his issues with another artists. Eep)
Me: (mutters something intelligible and feeling really awkward) Ahh….could I get Nightwing wearing a Thor helmet?
Raney: Sure!
And then Tom crafted the above sketch, which is just flat out awesome! It was very nice of him to do something that was so ridiculous.
And that’s how I got my first comic sketch. You can see more of his work at his blog or his DeviantArt.
Ridiculously Awesome 