Herobear and the Kid at Christmas by Mike Kunkel

I first discovered Herobear and the Kid in the TBP collection back in 2008.

I probably picked it up because Mike did a Captain Marvel (Shazam!) mini-series.

As soon as I read HatK, I knew that I wanted to buy a commission from Mike and I knew exactly what I wanted it to be - Tyler opening presents under a Christmas tree. One of the presents should be a Captain Marvel (Shazam!) action figure and above the tree should be images of Herobear and Santa Clause smiling down on Tyler.

I tried writing Mike immediately using his Astonish Factory email and he replied. He indicated that the idea was appealing, but now was not a good time. Fair enough, but I am determined!

Time passed. Mike did a few Kickstarters that worked well, e.g., a wood block print of Herobear and a book called Timmy and the Moon Piece. Each time he did, I backed it and would ask again with the same results. Sigh...

But I am persistent. One day, Mike decided to create a 20th anniversary edition of the story. It contains every Herobear and the Kid story plus some new material AND he decided to fund it through a Kickstarter campaign. As is common with these, he offered commissions as a perk. I, of course, jumped in with both feet. The KS closed on November 3rd of 2018.

It had taken 10 years, but I was finally on Mike's commission list!

There were the normal delays getting the book done and out, but by December 2020, they were out; I got mine in June 2020. It is a wonderful collection. (Note: I visited a bit with Mike in person at HeroesCon 2019. Wish I'd had him draw in my sketchbook! Duh!).

But fulfillment wasn't complete. The commissions were to come later. As it turned out a good bit later. I got mine today - June 24, 2022.

It was the usual issues - work and the disruptions due to COVID, but Mike kept in touch and I was never worried.

When it arrived I was thrilled! It's exactly what I envisioned (only better drawn), much bigger than the original commitment (11 x 17 vs. 9 x 12), and with a number of prints (see additional images).

Bonus: Mike took a picture of himself with it and sent that to me by email. Thanks, Mike!