After checking my letterbox this yesterday and then again this morning, I was sure that the comics loot from Maz (and a friend) would not be arriving today (Saturday).After lunch with E, and a relatively long drive home because the traffic was so heavy, the concierge guys downstairs passed me a package as I walked through the front lobby - whoa, it was the package from Maz, it has arrived indeed!
Maz has kindly over the past months diligently helped with acquire past MTMTE comics with covers that I previously missed out on. Mostly, these were the nice Milne covers. Now, 'hidden' in this lot of about 10+ comics, I knew there was a gift from another collector buddy, that was passed to Maz to include in this comics package. Prior to today, I had no idea what it was, but just knew it was 'a surprise'.
After opening the package (immediately on reaching home), I soon discovered that this gift was likely to be a comic - because all that the package contained were comics. To compound matters, there were not 1 but 2 comics with double backing-boards, one on the front and another at the back, so that the entire comic was covered / concealed.
Ok, it's probably one of these I thought.
I removed the boards for one of them and it was the Roche cover for MTMTE #1. Ok, this I was expecting because its one of them that Maz told me he had obtained for me.
So, I opened the next one... and here it is.
I was stunned beyond words. I just gaped at the comic. I saw...
- "For Brandon"
- I saw it was Bluestreak
- I saw it was signed by Milne!
I was floored. This was jaw-dropping - to have a sketch by one of my favourite modern TF artists (since his work on Megatron Origin) of one of my all time favourite TF characters - Bluestreak. Significantly of course, was that Bluestreak is not on the Lost Light and therefore not part of the More Than Meets the Eye comic that Milne is the regular artist on. Meaning that there isn't really a Milne rendition of Bluestreak out there. This might be one of the few!
I'm really honoured.
This is a close up.
After a good 10 minutes of staring and my mind finally coming back to Earth, I started asking - 'actually, what comic is this sketch on?'.
Here it is it - it is part of a wrap around cover.
It is actually the cover to the Drift miniseries issue #4 that is exclusive to the C4 Central Canada Comic Con - Pop Culture Expo. As I understand it, this variant cover is rare enough on itself, not to mention having Milne actually sketching on it.
This is the original cover, or how its meant to look, from Milne's DeviantArt page.
From what Milne said on his page, it sounds like the original intent of the way he structured this cover was so that he could sketch for fans at the convention. He said "i purposely made it a double spread cover with an area on the back cover for a sketch that you can get from me at the convention. i also made it a snow background since the convention is in Winnipeg, and at the end of October, it can be pretty cold out there. not sure if there will be snow there, but it will be somewhat cold ".
With the Bluestreak sketch that my friend got for me, I guess, the purpose of the cover has been fulfilled? heh.
Seriously my friend (you know who you are), I don't know how you pull it off, and I don't know how you manage to do fantastic things for Maz, for me, even for my wife, but know that its very very very much (to the power of infinitum) appreciated from the bottom of my heart.
This here is a very significant item to me (and I have not even mentioned the other significant item from you, heh).
Thank you my friend.
~ HD
that is one awesome gift!, nice folks dem transformers collectors! ,frame it and get the deluxe Drift toy (if you dont already have it) :D
ReplyDeleteI'd like to frame it, but this being a gate-fold cover, is leaving me a little unsure. Perhaps I will need something that could allow one to see it from both sides. Or I may have to open it up and flattened it so the whole gate-fold cover can be seen?
DeleteI do have the Deluxe Drift toy (Takara United version), which I understand nowadays is quite pricey....
That is amazing for sure! I didn't care for Milne's work early on, but he has improved upon his craft so much that he is indeed one of the best TG artists out there today.
ReplyDeleteI really like Milne's work.
DeleteI first saw his work for Megatron Origin, but there, I think he was done a diservice by the colourist, who seem to colour every very dark and a lot of the detail of his work was lost.
With the Drift mini-series, he really came into his own and with MTMTE, he's really hit his stride and the work for MTMTE is simply magnificent. It's one of the few instances in comics where the quality of the story and the quality of the art matched (most times, its either one or the other - good story, not so good art; good art, but poor story).
NIIIICE. I'll be posting MY recent art acquisition later today. :P
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Can't wait to see yours Paul
DeleteAwesome, that's a really great gift. I've met Alex Milne a few times at TFcon in Toronto. Very friendly and down to earth, he should be there this year again, hint hint. lol
ReplyDeleteMan, icy, that's a *hint*! Time to make a trip to Canada and meet Milne and you and a few other guys mayhaps?
DeleteI was wondering what all of that was under the sketch. That is some awesome looking artwork, sir. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThe snow patterns were under the sketch (and some pencil draft lines). Thanks for the kind words dude!
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