Wow, it's been over 2 years since my last post. I had all the stuff from my childhood / teenager period posted so with new position at work and Covid Just now getting back to updating files on my computer which reminded me of this blog. Here we have 2 deigns for the Blacksmiths when I was in the Army at Ft Hood. One of them was chosen in the contest, but I had not passed my PT test and the commander was not going to let me run along side him in front of the until therefore, it was never used. Years later I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, it's my theory that I'd had from a very early age as it explains why I slept so much and why when doing exercise it caused me pain in the joints and affected my flexibility

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Queen of Stars

Alright, I'll close out "Early Super-Hero creations with another undated yet apparently very early piece (note the use of felt tip markers).  Most likely from 1982. I actually really like the design of the boots. I'm pretty sure she was inspired by Raven from the New Teen Titans. May have been from aroudn the time I lived next to a kid named Norman Naramore. We'd trade comics, but he would never let go of those Micronauts! This is also around the time I woudl save my lunch money and buy comics from the corner store ( I think it was Stop n Go back then) on the way to school. I had a teacher who actually tore up my Teen Titans #11 because I was reading it in class.

Ninjack

This one is not dated, nor complete, but it probably 1984 judging by the fact that I was still swiping John Byrne yet I was using India ink rather than markers. The outline looks like I was using a speedball lettering nib as I had no idea what tools were use in professional comics. The brush lines are most likely added after my short stint at the Kubert school. I believe I also added the name Ninjack after the fact as I recall just calling him Ninja. My version ov Wolverine most likely inspired by the Wolverine min series which introduced me to Ninjas.

Odyssey

Not sure why there was a gap in character creations between the previous character and this one. If I recall this is actually an older character revisited. Again with brush and india ink. It appears to have some Bill Willingham influence in the drawing and possibly Sam DeLarosa and/ or Bill Anderson in the inking.

 Alright, i found the scan of my original design for Odyssey (mispelled Oddysey). A rare non Byrne swipe, instead opting for a Michael Godlen pose. The characters name and probably the lightning bolt on the forehead was inspired by KISS: Music from the Elder.

The Drummer

1986, two years between this and the last piece. during that time I spent nearly a year at the Kubert school and it is starting to show. While the idea for this character is trite ( The Drummer- despite having boomerang like symbols on his outer thighs), I have begun utilizing a brush and (it appears) constructing my own figures rather than swiping.

Mr. Clean.....

Yep, gotta laugh at this one.....and... another Byrne swipe. At least I was using real india ink at this point, and who knows what type of nib (addendum: Probably a speedball lettering nib. I probably thought that was how Terry Austin inked). This is why is was so aggravating to me when ya ask a pro, "Hey, what tools do you use" and they'd reply, it doesn't matter, use whatever tools you want. Obviously, your only as good as the tools you use.

Kinetic Man

Okay, anyone tired of the John Byrne swipes yet? Well, they ain't over yet. Nothing notable I can recall about this character other than I later used a revised version of it for an assignment at the Kubert school.
Addendum: I found the scan of another version, although still not the one I did at the Kubert School. Experimenting with brush. I see traces of my influence from Josef Rubinstein here, particularly the the chunky hatch lines. Reminds of his work on Wolverine with Frank Miller.