 Jim asked Sandy about a sketch he did of the Fantastic Four's Mr. Fantastic. Sandy: In the mid 80's, editor Al Milgrim decided to go with an all pin-up issue on Marvel Fanfare. The artists assigned were given carte blanc- no restriction on characters or other content. This drawing of Mr. Fantastic was the first sketch I came up with. Thought it was a pretty neat idea, fairly original given most pin-ups being done were full of fists and fury. This was more cerebral, and if successful, it would pull at the viewers heartstrings. But it dawned on me that it probably would communicate with maybe 2% of the audience, those who knew that one of the great superhero melodramas involved the relationship that existed between Reed Richards and Ben Grimm (aka The Thing). Reed had been responsible for Ben's transformation into the monstrous Thing and thus separating the tormented Ben from the rest of humanity. Much space in early issues of the Fantastic Four was devoted to Reed's attempts (and failures) to reverse the process. Tragedy on a Shakespearian level. Really! Anyway, the drawing was meant to depict Reed at a point of despair, presumably having been frustrated once more in his attempts to come up with the right formula to help his good buddy reenter humanhood. Much as I liked it, I just didn't think people would get it. So, I went this a drawing of the Scarlet Witch, surrounding by primordial familiars (she is a witch, after all). There was an option of doing full color on these pin-ups and so my original black and white art was developed into a "blue-line", which meant that you, the artists, painted onto a blue reproduction of the art with the black line work printed on a separate acetate overlay. Hellish way to color. Scarlet Witch from Marvel Fanfare #45 below (posted by Comicsagogo.com), along with two pieces from Sandy Plunkett's collection.  Scarlet Witch By Sandy Plunkett in 1989's Marvel Fanfare #45, a Pinup Issue  Sandy's Scarlet Witch -- Original blue-line coloring, acetate in place  Sandy's Scarlet Witch -- Coloring with acetate lifted off  Pinned to a board in Jim's office is a poster with Sandy's artwork on it --above-- which was used in the winter to promote an OU event in March 2015. Jim asked Sandy about it. Sandy: Bob Stewart, a professor in OU's Scripps College of Communication, approached me about doing this poster. Pretty straight ahead job, but (dreaded reality for a freelance artist working for an institution), the rough would have to be run by the COMMITTEE. The original idea given to me was to represent the spirit of the symposium with one superhero type of character in a three panel strip. No prob, I thought and got to it. Well, by the time the rough was shown to the COMMITTEE, the idea had been changed to representing the symposium's guest with three superhero type characters in one illustration. So out the window went the strip which had come so easily. So it goes. It was actually a good gig, Bob being a very nice fellow and a pleasure to work with on the project. Artwork connected to this project is here:  The three panel strip that went unused  Marker rough for the final illustration  Sandy's original hand coloring -- the way he was hoping it would look on the screen and poster.  Jim asked Sandy about three Dr. Strange images, which are included below. Sandy: These images bring back bittersweet memories. I had gotten a plum job: In the mid 80's a company called First Team was hiring comic artist to do prints (high quality posters) of Marvel characters. Good pay, high prestige. But it was one of those times in a young artist's like when the highs and lows of a turbulent romance were playing havoc with his ability to produce. The folks at First Team were cutting me all sorts of slack but I just kept blowing the deadlines. But I liked the idea a lot, Dr. Strange and his lithesome protege Clea, frolicking in some Ditkoesque dimension, the good doctor enchanting her a bit of stage magic from Vaudeville. Years later, I stumbled on the roughs and thought the idea was too good to go unused. I simplified the composition, settled on doing it just in pencil, and sold the original at a convention (too cheaply!). Dr. Strange and Clea from Sandy's archive:    |
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