Arion 21 p 2 and 3 - Duursema and Smith

Nice DPS acquisition, Christopher! For being one of so few female artists back then, Duursema really didn't get much attention. By the way, In all the decasdes since this series first came out, never ever, until now, had I ever heard anything about the fact that part of Arion's schtick is that he's "incompetent" at what he does. That's wild! I never read it, but all the promo ads as well as the covers and interiors I saw always seemed to indicate that it wasa serious character. Who knew?

Ruben - It totally agree about the marketing. It definitely wasn't a "Groo" style book so I don't want to be misleading. But, here is how Kupperberg described Arion in the first issue's background essay: "Y'see, it's about this sorcerer guy, except he's not the brightest guy in a lotta ways." 

And went on to write that Arion was stupid, just young and didn't have a lot of time to grow up. And, Paul stuck with that throughout the series. He wasn't a joke character by any means but he was a lot more human - and prone to mistakes - than Drs. Fate or Strange.

 

I think the term "underrated talent" is bandied about a bit too much (I'm guilty of it too), but it's absolutely true when it comes to Duursema.  This is spectacular!

Loved Arion back in the day too. One of my first spinner rack books was Arion #1 (and it was my first attempt at a cover recreation).  Awesome dps!

Somebody bought a new piece!!! Great pickup and story, Chris!