Sixteen in 1974 from the artist's archives

Sixteen in 1974 from the artist's archives

 In the time I did these drawings I was really into marvel characters. I can remember working with Higgins color inks for the first time and learning how to experiment with recreating the heroes swiped from my fave pencillers, here John Romita. The swoosh I believe I lifted from ol' R. Crumb, a zap affectation I only glanced at but didn't have at the time.

 Budding foreshortening maven me. The shield to head ratio/not good. Kirby left hand all the way. the right hand glove is way overworked, whiteout with many many over-washes in ink, dry, and repeat. I remember really focusing on these and many other drawings over the spring and forward. Finishing relentlessly was the thing for me then, and still is with work I feel strongly about, as I did these drawings.

 Maybe George Tuska and Johnny Craig. Here I regulated the yellow hue with line work to various effect. I was interested in understanding by deconstructing the images of comic book heroes that really affected my visual interaction with the old, crude, newsprint comics I read as a boy. The yellowing visible on these drawings re the result of what is termed 'foxing' in a book or paper. Here the cause is cheap glue from masking tape that enabled chemical reactions, staining the paper thus.

 Always didactic in nature, here is my intentional demonstration of process as I was then learning-seeing how actual comics were being created in those days. This I think is copied from Kirby/Sinnott, my personal favorite Kirby inker of all. This drawing is on typing paper. Below and all sketches color version is on 80lb Strathmore.

I relished drawing her breast plates, they started out small, but I just kept adding rings. No fun drawing chicks in capes from the posterior aspect. Considered but rejected a color accent added to Valkyrie's  hair ties but not was a good decision still to me.