Limited Edition Birthday Souvenir :: Back Cover

somewhere some time ago, i read a little comic about an artist who wagered that he could steal his friend's jacket by drawing it. as he drew the jacket, it disappeared from his friend's shoulders and appeared on the artist. i related to that story enormously.

it's hard to explain but, when i draw a great t-shirt or toy, i sometimes do feel like i own it. like i have stolen it somehow.

the items on this page represent gifts that i wanted to give christine. we are experimenting with a one present per birthday rule. but drawing all the potential presents almost felt like i was giving her the real things. just letting her know that i had noticed them all and thought of her.

the design of this page is based on my memory of a classic comic book ad for a company whose name i can no longer remember. Batman or Captain America asked children to sell stationary for the company. every order was worth points that the child could exchange for prizes. my brother and i did it one year. the business made no sense to me then. why would someone give me a bike or even a baseball mitt for free? it never occurred to me that i was actually working for the mitt.