Notebook Special page 1 splash (Steranko homage)

Besides the art drought, there were a couple of other reasons I had to have this piece. First and foremost, it pays homage to probably my second favorite comic cover of all time. Jim Steranko’s classic, iconic, and legendary cover for Hulk Annual #1 (see Additional Images). If John Buscema hadn’t gone and drawn the masterpiece that is Silver Surfer #4, that Hulk cover might very well be my favorite cover of all time. Not that it matters because I’ll never own either of them. Haha!

The other reason had more to do with the novelty of the piece. The entire story, entitled Ready Freddie (of which this is Page 1), was drawn on sheets of standard college ruled notebook/binder paper. I thought that was just so cool. Of course there’s a part of me that wishes he had just used a blank sheet of plain white paper that didn’t have a bunch of blue lines running through it. But at the same time, I thought using binder paper was a pretty inspired and fun idea. And even though I’m usually not one for nostalgia, seeing this very cool pencil drawing on this type of paper specifically, really took me back to my school days and the countless hours I spent doodling in my notebook during class. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one here who used his notebook more for drawing than actually taking notes. Of course very few (if any) of my drawings ever turned out THIS good. Haha!

Anyway, my thanks to the lovely and talented Steve Mannion for ending my drought with this wonderful piece.

As always, appreciate everyone taking the time to stop by.