Astonishing X-men Cyclops - Jim Towe '24

My friend, legit, I DIDNT know John had died. Damn. What a juggernaut we lost in not just comics but storytelling in general. Congrats on this piece. I'm sure he would e adored it. I too always loved his Cyclops! 

I choke up every time I recount meeting him. I got to speak to John for a good long time at his table in '23. 

I had brought a couple Astonishing X-Men covers for him to sign if I was luckly enough to catch him at his table. He wasn't taking remarques. He graciously signed the couple of books and we discussed Cyclops at length. He shared how much he adored Cyclops because he represents someone who always has to be in control because of his powers. Scott always has to manage his powers in a way other X-Men don't which makes him stronger than Wolverine (ha, take that everyone!).

Without knowing, he flipped to my favorite page in his run and talked about how much he tried to portray Cyclops' raw power. My OA grails are the two pages he was giving me the rundown on there and then. 

I told him how much I loved Cyclops and he went through some of my commissions on my phone, he really liked Darryl Young's cover recreation. While I took back my phone, he took one of the books he had already signed which was a B&W variant. He pulled out a red marker and filled in Scott's visor and with a wry smile said "I gave you a little remarque."

I'm still shocked he's gone. Last year, I was fortunate enough to find/afford one of the only pages featuring Scott and Jean together from his run. Jean says to Scott he's only just a man. John may have been just a man, but to me, he was so much more.

FANTASTIC Powerful illustration!

Wow, very cool Cyclops commission, and I'm intrigued by the optic vortex, congrats!