One thing I love almost as much as trading cards is comic books. Recently I've been feeling bad that I stopped reading my comics, and I've made an effort to remedy that. I'd accumulated a several-year backlog that felt insurmountable, as I subscribe to around 30 titles a month and had fallen off the reading wagon several years ago. I was never going to get around to reading all those books, so I picked a monthly shipment a few months ago and started reading from there. Reading a few books a night gets me through my pile in about a week, and I don't have to feel guilty anymore about buying books and not reading them. Will I go back someday and organize and read all the stuff I missed? Maybe. Probably around the time I go back and sort all the trading cards in my collection shed. It might be easier when/if some of my kids move out in a few years and I can claim a room of my own for sorting.
One thing I really enjoy is collecting artwork of favorite characters of mine. Sometimes I seek out commissions, and sometimes I buy artwork that's already been done. Reaching into the wayback machine (this post was originally created in September of 2018), I'll try to recall some of the particulars of the artwork shown here.
This first one was definitely a commission, a Power Girl sketch cover from artist Alessandro Micelli. I forget most of the details, but he was offering commissions at some point and I was able to get on his list. When commissioning Power Girl artwork I generally ask artists to focus on her strength rather than cheesecake poses. I think he delivered on this one, done in his signature style. You can check out his work on Instagram.
I believe this She-Hulk illustration was also a commissioned piece, from artist Kate Carleton, who now apparently is Kate Dykstra. I like her art style and have purchased several pieces from her over the years, although not recently. My purchasing of artwork has slowed down over the years, and it's pretty rare for me to add something to my collection these days. She can also be found on Instagram, and is also taking commissions in her webstore at the moment.
These next two are sketch covers I picked from a group of pre-done artwork. The artist is Doug Riggsby, who appears to have dropped off the face of the earth at some point in 2019. If I recall correctly, I purchased the covers through his daughter, Emily Riggsby, who is/was also an artist. Her Facebook page has been taken down, so I'm not sure where you might locate either of them to get artwork. Some stuff is still available on eBay from various sellers.
The cover on the left features Vampirella of comic book fame and Count Chocula, the cereal mascot, with a joke alluding to the Count's sugary origin. The cover on the right shows She-Hulk mistaking Tigra for Tony the Tiger, and Tigra retorting with a Jolly Green Giant barb.
The final piece of artwork in this post is a dynamic illustration of barbarian Red Sonja, who has a long history in comic books. The artist is Scott Dalrymple, and I believe I purchased it directly from the artist's eBay store. I don't have a link to the eBay store, as the purchase was made several years ago and I lack the ambition to research it tonight. He can be found on Instagram, though. I particularly like the word perspective on this one.
Not a lot of commentary to go along with the artwork in this post, as I can't recall most of the details anyway and it's getting a bit late in the day as I write this. The kids are hoping for a snow day tomorrow, but it seems unlikely given the weather report. We'll probably get just enough snow to make the commute miserable. I do enjoy getting my art portfolios out from time to time to look at the artwork I've accumulated. It's not a huge collection, but it's good enough for me.
