Tuesday, April 26, 2011

My tempestuous past

Few are aware of my spell in the mid-90s as a "hot" artist. Profiled for Wizard magazine, I was described as "the new Whilce Portacio", in an article that memorably warned, "watch out, Trent Kaniuga!"

Hired to create an incendiary new spin on Miss Marvel by incoming ed-in-chief Bob Harras, I was run out of town on a rail when I submitted my first pages. Harras, a strong man when riled, picked me up by my coat collar and cast me into the New York foot traffic, where I was trampled for some minutes. I was so badly damaged by the shoes of the disinterested locals that when I returned, with "Bobbins", in 1998, it appeared that I could barely draw at all.

Little of this formative work remains intact, due to the rending it received in editorial hands, but here's a panel that shows you how my "no fighting, no crossovers" technique might have revolutionised the industry. Enjoy!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man, I'd forgotten all about Vision. Didn't he die in that crossover where Scarlet Witch's hair engulfed the whole of Earth?

mordicai said...

Oh man, so good.

CMRS I believe Vision is currently a teenage robot, & a member of the Young Avengers. Which totally makes sense in AWESOMEVERSE.

Dewey said...

I would buy this comic in a heartbeat.

John A said...

There's no point telling me, Dewey. I don't work for Marvel Comics.

Nigel said...

... Lotus Notes (hahahaha!)...

Unknown said...

Shows what Bob Harras knows about the comic reading demographic.

John A said...

Donal: No no, in fairness, I think he was right. As I have stated on many occasions through the years, if I was editor in chief of Marvel, each title would be modeled on a 1970s film I enjoyed. As the sharp eyed reader will notice, my Miss Marvel is closely modelled on "9 To 5", with the Dabney Coleman role no doubt filled by a character drawn to closely resemble Dabney Coleman.

Unknown said...

Dabney Coleman woud've made a great Iron Man. Lily Tomlin could be Captain America.

Unknown said...

I mean, the other way around. Captain America should be Lily Tomlin.

Sigivald said...

Dude, nobody can make Notes work.

banacek said...

I nominate Drax the Destroyer for Dabney Coleman, as I'm pretty sure he was a semibalding white guy with a mustache before he was killed in a car accident (?) on a desert road somewhere near Las Vegas (?) and then reincarnated/reanimated (?) by Thanos (?) [memory abruptly ends]

banacek said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
banacek said...

And I'd totally forgotten about the pink leotard the Scarlet Witch wears under her ostensibly revealing bodice-thing, presumably for modesty and warmth. Always very sensible, the Scarlet Witch (see also: marrying synthezoids).

Russ said...

I'd read it.

Virtualbri said...

We should petition Marvel for the Allisonverse. With 700 X titles they should have room for at least 10 of these.