Sakai, Stan - Gwimbear!

That small Houston con in March of '87 was a pretty important one for me - I first met Bill Willingham there, almost got to meet Mike Grell, and I first met Stan Sakai. I was essentially unfamiliar with Stan and his work, having barely heard of Usagi Yojimbo and only having actually seen his cartooning in one of the Munden's Bar backup stories in the late, lamented Grimjack. The story Stan drew took place in another dimension where all the characters were, of course, talking animals, and the tough-as-nails Grimjack was instead the sweet, cute Gwimbear. I thought that story was great, so I commissioned Stan to draw the titular hero for me. I spent many hours at his table, watching him draw and learning all sorts of cool stuff. He's incredibly nice, and meeting him at the con convinced me to hunt down this Usagi thing I kept hearing people talk about. I found the first trade paperback and have been a loyal fan ever since. Pencil and ink on 9x12 Bristol.