Captain America in Tokyo by Jim Cheung

I met Jim Cheung, along with a group of other talented artists, when they visited Japan recently. They were being assisted by my friend, Yoshi, who invited me down for the weekend to spend some time with the gang. Yoshi had been doing a lot to help them all out, whereas, since I live in a different area of Japan, my main contribution to their trip was getting them to try fugu.



Regardless, during their trip, we all went to the First Annual (they hope) International Comic Book (Kaigai Manga) Festa in Tokyo. Unlike Peter Nguyen, whom I helped out quite a bit during the day, Jim was not scheduled to draw anything in their equivalent of Artists' Alley, but, when a fan offered the right price, he agreed to draw something for a Japanese fan. So, while he was doing that, I sat between Jim and Peter and helped them communicate with the Japanese fans who came by while I watched them create some really nice art. (It was a real treat, guys.)
.


While Jim worked on what turned out to be a nicely detailed headshot of Iron Man, I asked him if I could commission him to do a similar drawing of Captain America. He said yes, but he took time to finish Iron Man with all the touches he was adding to it and it was getting very close to the end of the event. Also, I couldn't help but notice that he was coughing and looking a bit under the weather so I just let my request slide. Later, at an after-party for the event, Jim remembered and asked me why I didn't remind him, and he just kind of nodded when I told him my reasoning. Heck, I was happy just with the experience of it.


Anyway, the day after the festival, I had taken the bullet train back home to my house, which is on the Sea of Japan side, and had gotten back to my regular routine, when Yoshi emailed a photo of a Cap sketch that Jim had gifted me. It surprised me and made my day. Thanks, Jim, for adding something even more special to an already memorable weekend. You are welcome to visit my place at any time.