Scooby-Apocalypse #1 Sketch Cover - Scooby-Doo Meets Stan Lee

It's not often that I draw both a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, especially one that my half-sister idolized for years like I did Spider-Man at her age. So when a commission came in to do a crossover of MARVEL-lous proportions, I was really surprised. This is a sketch cover variant of Scooby-Apocalypse #1, but the client requested that the book be an homage to those title cards on "The New Scooby-Doo Movies." For those who are too young to remember, there was a time when Scooby-Doo creators decided a new strategy and have celebrity guest stars on their features when the usual format was becoming stagnant. Celebrities of the day like The Harlem Globetrotters, Dick Van Dyke, Phyllis Diller, and even Sonny and Cher voiced their cartoon counterparts. To do my version of Stan Lee in the spotlight and in HB design proportions was a challenge that took some thought. I had to make sure the hair and the iconic shades mirrored that of Lee's. I went the extra mile with Stan's notorious quirkiness and pinned his catchphrase "Excelsior" on his cardigan sweater. Etched in ink and mixed media, this is also the first time I incorporated adhesive lettering for the titles because there was no realistic way I could sketch the font in a concise manner. The fact that the client will attempt to have Stan sign this book at SDCC made it all the more imperative for my expertise in presentation and precision to be on its A-Game. Overall, only one word can sum my relief and endorsement of this project: Scooby-Dooby-Dooooo!!!