Rise of the Bounty Hunters!

Aurra Sing, Cade Bane, and Bossk never looked better. After I got my Clone Wars Widevision "Ventress" Return, Mike asked me if I'd be interested in a Rise of the Bounty Hunters Return. I had already made deals with 5 or 6 other Artists for Returns out of the product, but with Mike being my favorite it was a no-brainer. I thought back to a Return card of his from Clone Wars 2008 that I had bought that had Dooku, Palpatine, and Ventress on it, and asked Mike if he could do one with 3 Bounty Hunters on it- Aurra Sing, Cade Bane, and Bossk. He agreed to do it and wow, did he ever hit this one out of the park- a homerun! I think it's my new favorite. I particularly like some of the small details on the card- like the skull belt buckle on Cade Bane and the border Mike drew around the card. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Next thing to look forward to- a Galaxy 6 Return card from Mike! Thanks for reading...

Odds and ends..

Just a few sketches that I've picked up in the past 2 months that I haven't posted yet. I particularly like the Indy Heritage sketch from "The Last Crusade"- a great scene in the movie and, of course, a very cool sketch by Mike.
Mike said he was rushed on his "Rise of the Bounty Hunter" sketches, but I still like the two that I've been able to pick up from that set. Anyways, thanks for reading...

Ventress Return

Okay, I know that I'm losing my memory but some days I wonder if it's gone completely. Like take for an example the picture to the right- this awesome Ventress "Clone Wars Widevision" Return card that I bought from Mike... LAST SUMMER. You'd think that would be something I'd remember to put in my blog. But noooooooooo.. my oatmeal filled head didn't even think about it til just now. I was actually going to post a few new Duron cards that I've bought in the past 2 months, and then my brain finally kicked in. Maybe it's because I have a "Rise of the Bounty Hunters" Return card on the way from Mike, or that I just sent him down payment for a "Galaxy 6" Return card.. whatever the reason, here it is. And as usual, the scan doesn't do it justice. One last thing- I was reading on Mike's blog that he got engaged over the holidays, so congrats are in order! Here's hoping it's the start of a great year. Thanks for reading...

Steel City Con (Part 2)

The last day of Steel City Con I went on a buying spree- and the Galaxy 5 Cad Bane (scan enclosed) was one of my purchases. I was pretty stoked to find a second sketch of this style at the show, as I believe Mike didn't do very many of them.

My first ever Duron sketch was a LOTR Masterpieces II "Gandalf" sketch, so I've always had a soft spot for Mike's Lord of the Rings sketches. I made a great trade with Ian (itd64 on Scoundrel Art) for the Arwen sketch. I did have to give up my Michael Duron "4 Little Hobbits Rollin Down a Hill" sketch, but I thought it was a fair trade. Thanks again Ian! I'll try to do a better job of posting. Thanks for reading..

Meeting Mike part 2..

It's about time. I've had the Caricature since early May, and finally got it matted and framed. Like I said in "Meeting Mike part 1", I had told Mike about how I enjoyed opening up cards and how the first sketch card I ever bought was one of his Gandalf sketches from Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II- so that's what he drew. I hadn't shaved in a few days, so he nailed it- right down to my chubby cheeks and my glasses. Mike's not only a great guy but he has the talent to match. Anyone who has the chance to pose for one of his Caricatures should- he does great work. So here it is... and thanks for reading...

Pittburgh's Steel City Con

Sorry I haven't gotten back to my story about meeting Mike, but I'm still trying to get my caricature framed to include it in the story, so until it's done I'll have to pick up that story later. Anyways, I was at Pittsburgh's Steel City Con today and picked up these two great Duron sketches. Just thought I'd share them with the Duron fan's out there that read my blog. Thanks for reading..

Meeting Mike! part 1...

It's been a crazy year to put it mildly! I decided last Christmas Day that I'd go on the family vacation to Disney that my youngest brother had been planning for 2 years (better late than never right?). Then, 4 days after Christmas I felt this terrible pain in my abdomen- I had ruptured a hernia, had to have emergency surgery, and ended up spending the next 25 days in a hospital 40 miles from my home. The pain was so bad after the initial surgery I could barely walk for the first week. After another emergency surgery and a gaping hole left in my abdomen, I was finally released to go home. This was putting me behind the 8-ball financially as far as the vacation was concerned. But I kept getting better and found a way to get the money for the trip, all the while thinking about how one of the most exciting things about going to Disney was possibly meeting Michael Duron, who I knew worked for Disney. I sent him an email thru Scoundrel Art two weeks before the trip.. but heard nothing back from him. I was getting worried. Then two days before I was leaving I saw him on Facebook- so I hurriedly wrote him a message saying "I was going to be in Disney and was there any way we could meet?" He wrote back.. "I'm not working next week." Trying not to sound anywhere near as disappointed or heartbroken as I was, I wished him a good evening and went off to lament my bad luck. Of all the weeks for Mike not to be working, why was it that week? Oh well. I sucked it up and figured I'd make the best of it. When we got down there my brother had it all planned out for us.. Epcot on Saturday, Animal Kingdom on Sunday, Magic Kingdom on Monday, etc, etc. Sunday we got to Animal Kingdom and my brother headed off to Guest Relations- and came back smiling. Let's go this way he pointed. So off we went, and as we came around a corner he said "I have a surprise for you.. he's over there".. and he pointed to a shop with some people milling around. "Huh?" was my response. "Just go" he said. As I got closer I saw a guy in a colorful green shirt.. and I recognized his face from a Topps Interview he had done for Indiana Jones.. it was Michael Duron! Too cool! Turns out my brother had been talking to Mike for months making plans to surprising me with a meeting. I sat down at his Caricature stand and we just talked. Soon I realized that he was doodling, but I was too busy enjoying the conversation to think much about it. I told him about how the first sketch card I ever bought was one of his Lord of the Rings Masterpiece II "Gandalf" sketches, and how I was pretty much addicted to opening boxes of Non-Sports products where I have a chance to pull one of his sketches. Soon my family was crowding around behind him with wide eyes, and then it finally dawned on me.. he was doing a Caricature of me (ya, sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch). Amongst my family were my nephews and my niece- the youngest being 5 and the oldest being 11. Mike let me see some of the cards he has been working on and finished, and ended up giving my niece Shelbie one of his Ahsoka Star Wars Fan Days cards (her favorite Star Wars character- see the enclosed scan). We talked for about an hour , and then I got to see my Caricature... it was sooooooooo me! I was blown away.