Disney's Scarecrow and Curlew

I have great affection for these Dr. Syn, Scarecrow of Romney Marsh pieces--I instigated these stories, which appeared in the defunct Disney Adventures digest. I'd been illustrating Pirates of the Caribbean comic stories for them, then a new angular animated style was set as the official look for all Pirates material, and the editors Steve Behling and Jesse Post asked me if there were any other Disney characters I'd like to work on. I suggested Dr. Syn--they had never seen the films, a three part series from 1964 starring Patrick McGoohan and a stellar cast, so I sent a (VHS!) copy to them and they loved it. Steve went to work getting the proposal approved and gathering reference, Michael Stewart began scripting episodes (the first was a cross-over with Jack Sparrow) and we were off.
This is the splash from the first solo Scarecrow story--I jumped at the opportunity to paint the stories, they were short enough to manage on a reasonable schedule. I used casein on antique Whatman board for the first four pager, casein allows for beautiful textures, and handles with a dense, almost oil-paint quality. That's his young partner Curlew behind him--originally there was an iron gallows there, but that was a bit too violent for the magazine. I worked hard on this pose, trying to achieve and effect of him surging toward the viewer, about to leap forward right out of the page--it's full of distortion. but it was the only way to get that sense of exaggerated movement.
If you've never seen the films, Dr. Syn/Scarecrow is essentially Bruce Wayne/Batman, set in 1770's England--he uses wits and intimidation, along with insidIous elaborate planning to outfox the brutal oppression of King George and his soldiers to aid and protect the people of Romney Marsh and Dymchurch. Shot on the actual locations, full of atmosphere and terrific costume design, they are great fun--I've always loved the character and this series remains one of my favorite projects among the hundreds I've worked on over the thirty years I've been a professional artist.