Metamorpho

Whew. Generally speaking, my job is not that stressful. Exhausting, yes. But not stressful. There are usually so many layers of process between me and making a mistake that I have no trouble sleeping at night. But this week has been different. All the layers have been stripped away because of insane deadlines and outrageous workload and so my blood pressure is in the red zone this week. So I needed something to relieve the tension.

I haven’t had much drawing time lately. I made a deal with Heywood Jablomie to draw something especially for him but once that was laid out, I could only work on it at home. And it’s next to impossible to draw at work. But since I’ve had a couple moderately late nights waiting for Suzanne to get off work, I’ve had this chance to knock out a quick drawing.

Over on his Perhapanauts blog, Todd posted a great drawing of Metamorpho that Ramona Fradon had drawn for him. Literally, that was all it took. My pencil was in my hand in seconds. I’ve never been a rabid fan of Metamorpho but I have an affection for the C-Listers, both Marvel and DC. I picked up the Showcase edition of Metamorpho reprints a year or so ago and loved, loved, loved the artwork. But the stories weren’t really my thing. However, the great thing about comics is, even if the story doesn’t hold your attention, there’s always the chance that the artwork will. Ramona Fradon’s stuff is like nobody else’s and I could stare at it for hours.

If you think about it, Metamorpho is a really silly concept and wonky character design. But it works. That’s one of the great things about superhero comics. Pretty much all of it is silly. But it’s only when you try to take the silliness out of it that you notice it. Metamorpho is a fun character. And a hell of a lot of fun to draw.

Okay, that’s all I got. I’ve got to get home early and get some sleep. I’m running (Okay, walking. Well, limping.) in the Ukrops 10K tomorrow morning. After 10 weeks of training, I exacerbated a case of tendonitis (plantar fasciitis) in my right foot that’s so bad I’ve been limping around for almost a month now and had to see an orthopedist. After tomorrow, I’ll be taking it very easy. The plan was to run the race this year but that’s just not possible. So maybe next year. Cross your fingers.

Cross them as well for the VCU Rams basketball team. They’re playing in the NCAA Final Four tomorrow against Butler. After the race, Suze and I are going to grab a bite to eat and then sack out for a few hours and then try to find somewhere with an open table and a TV and watch the game. Unless you live in Richmond, you wouldn’t believe what this has done to our little town. This is unheard of around here. We just don’t see our schools or local sports teams in big national events like this and it’s really brought out the best in Richmond. The whole place has VCU-fever. I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been waiting nearly 25 years for a VCU football team and maybe this will be the spark they need to make it happen. Not to get ahead of myself. So be sure to watch the game this Saturday and root hard for our guys Rodriguez, Burgess, Skeen and the rest. And if you need a laugh, check out this link to THE ONION that Christian sent me:

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/ncaa-schedules-vcu-for-final-four-playin-game-just,19871/

I know they’re joking but I wouldn’t put it past the NCAA. They haven’t exactly been making a big deal out of our improbable run to the Final Four.

Okay, I’m out! Later.