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.

Philly Non-Sports Show

Okay, I must be losing my mind. I had gone to the 50th Philly Non-Sports Card show back on May 2nd and picked up a few Durons there.. but forgot to post them. I had mixed feeling about the show. I guess I'm used to the Toy and Collectible shows from Pittsburgh being held in big Convention Center rooms and had assumed the Philly show would be the same and was rather surprised when I made it thru the line to the show to find the room was maybe 1/3rd or 1/4th as big as I thought it would be. Luckily it was jammed with tables- tables full of sketch cards and autographs and non-sports cards. That brought about more mixed feelings... so many tables yet so little room to walk around- the aisles were just jammed with people. So most of the day I spent walking in a slow shuffle and a sweat (ya, that room was HOT!). I picked up the Duron "Chewy" (pic enclosed) at one dealer's table, then was lucky enough to pick up a "Yoda" Commission from Sean Pence, and also meet Brian Kong, Rich Molinelli, and Kevin Graham. I had also pre-ordered an "Anakin" Commission from Jim Kyle, but he was running late. Then when he got there he said it wasn't quite finished- could I come back in an hour? I agreed, and my nephew talked me into buying two boxes of cards to rip while we waited.. a "2008 Star Wars Clone Wars" box for me, and a "Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II" box for him. I knew unless I got a hot box he'd get twice as many sketches as me in his box, so I had to make mine count. I found my sketch first. Now I've gotten into this habit of keeping a card in front of the sketch then sliding the front card down to reveal the sketch from the top.. when I saw the first few lines at the top I just had this inkling... I've seen enough Duron's to know his style, and as I slowly slid this one down I thought it was one of his. Then came a splash of color and I was really excited! Finally, I couldn't wait any longer- I pulled the top card away to reveal this awesome color "Ahsoka" sketch. WOW! I was so pumped. I had been lucky enough to pull a color Yoda a few months earlier, so this one was going to fit in nicely in my collection. As for the "Chewy" I had bought, being a profile sketch I loved the shading and the way Mike drew his eye, mouth, and especially his nose. What a cool card! Buying one of Mike's cards at a show is always cool, but pulling one from a box is like finding buried treasure. It made the 4+ hour drive home alot more enjoyable. That's all for now- thanks for reading....

Oh, and a happy belated birthday to my Sweetheart Mandy :)

I've been lucky enough to pick up some of Mike's Indy Masterpiece sketches for a really reasonable price, so much so that I probably have more of his sketches from this set than any other. Mike loves Indiana Jones, and it comes thru in his art. I tend to gravitate towards the humorous sketches- like the dazed Nazi who got knocked off the truck- or Marion's Drinking Contest from the original movie (it just strikes me funny how Mike drew the guy she was drinking against)- or how Mike made the size differential so great in the Bald Guy fighting Indy (his hand is HUGE.. it looks like he's going to squash Indy's head like a melon). I think they're all great cards.

On another note, on this day I hope we all remember not only those who fought for our country in the past, but also those currently in the military serving our country. You're all heroes to me. Thanks for reading...

Galaxy 4 Sketches

I've been horribly lax with my blog lately, and not because I haven't picked up any Duron pieces- I've picked up a bunch in the past month- but because of personal reasons I've just been a slacker. So I'll try to put a renewed effort into my blog starting today. I'll start with Galaxy 4, one of the best non-sports sets to ever come out. The Vader/Sidious sketch by Mike is one of my favorites, depicting the scene where Vader picks up the Evil Emperor and throws him down the chute to stop him from killing his (Vader's) son Luke. Luke believed there was still good in his father, and Vader proved him right with his repentant act. I love how Mike drew the Ben "Obi Wan" Kenobi sketch- his caricature style is what first drew (no pun intended) me to his stuff.. easily recognized as Ben Kenobi, but the big eyes, nose, and ears giving him character. Finally the young Obi Wan sketch- it was the first sketch I pulled out of the 4th (and last) case of Galaxy 4 I opened, so it was a great start to a case- first box- Duron sketch. No caricature style here- Mike just draws him clean with great lines. I'd have to say the only thing more I'd have wanted in this sketch was the light saber colored in, but I think Mike only used color for his Return cards. All in all, three great sketches by Mike, and I'm glad to have them in my collection.

On another note, I think I read in Mike's blog that he's going to be cutting back on Non-Sports sets to concentrate on other projects, which is kind of a bummer to me, but also understandable. I always look forward to new sets coming out and the chance to pull one of Mike's cards, so if I have to wait a ittle longer, well, that's just part of life. I'm pretty used to waiting. Until next time, thanks for reading...

Jabba and Salacious B. Crumb & Mr Ballsack...

Okay, maybe the guy's name isn't Ballsack, but just look at him and the name seems natural. I picked up these two sketches recently- the "Ballsack" one off the Scoundrel Art Message Board from Darkmatter (Steve), and the "Jabba and Salacious B. Crumb" from a friend (Rob). Salacious B. Crumb- I had seen the character before but wasn't sure of the name, so after someone on Scoundrel clued me in, I looked him up on the Web in the Wookieepedia. Salacious B. Crumb was a Kowakian monkey-lizard known for his shrill laugh and sadistic sense of humor. Jabba found him amusing and offered him the role of Court Jester, allowing him to live if he amused Jabba at least once each day. I'm not sure how Mike does his sketches, but I'm always drawn to the eyes. Maybe he starts from the eyes and goes out... or maybe not. All I know is, the eyes seem to give depth to his characters. Check out the eyes on the Jabba & Salacious sketch- both characters.. along with Jabba's tongue I think they're the signature feature. Anyways, I think they're cool. Until next time, thanks for reading...

Ventress...

I've been hearing about Star Wars Galaxy 4 since November. It's a landmark set for Topps, revisiting the very popular Star Wars Galaxy sets of the early 1990s, but this time with even more hoopla and anticipation brought about by probably the greatest sketch card set ever produced. Most of the best sketch card artist were included in this set, and everyone puts out their best work for Star Wars.. it's the pinnacle of Non-Sports. Artists were able to pull from any and all references including the 6 full-action movies: "Star Wars" (later renamed "Episode IV A New Hope"), "The Empire Strikes Back" (Episode V), "Return of the Jedi" (Episode VI), "Episode I The Phantom Menace", "Episode II Attack of the Clones", and "Episode III Revenge of the Sith", plus the 2008 Animated movie and subsequent TV Series "The Clone Wars". Artist have even chosen to pull characters from Star Wars Books, Comic Books, and Reference Materials. In short, the best of the best Artists doing everything and anything Star Wars. The results have been fantastic. I ordered one case, ended up buying a second case the day it arrived, and a third case a week later. My favorite artist is in the set- Michael Duron- and so far I've only been able to pick up one of his cards from this set- a cool Ventress sketch. His multi-character sketch cards have been selling strong (a Darth Vader and Darth Sidious sold for $110+), so I'll keep trying. In the meantime, thanks for reading...

Clone Wars Returns

When Michael Duron posted on Scoundrel Art in August that he was selling his Clone Wars Return Card sketches for $75 each AND throwing in a bonus sketch, I jumped at the chance to pick up the best of his best. For those who don't know, "Return Cards" are sketches that the artist designate to the company (in this case Topps) to be sent back to him/her to sell on the open market, and these cards are usually the best ones done. I had been lucky enough to get two of Mike's Clone Wars Returns- a three character sketch of Dooku, Ventress, and Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine), and a two character sketch of R2-D2 and C-3PO. As bonus sketches I had asked for a Princess Leia and a Padme Amidala. I couldn't wait to get them. The initial picture Mike had posted when selling his Returns was an early one, and the sketches weren't even colored in and finished, but I knew they'd be cool. Then Mike broke the news about his personal problems, so I sympathized with his situation and realized I might have to wait awhile to get my Returns. No problem, as my girlfriend Mandy can attest, I'm a patient man. Suddenly Mike fell off the face of the earth... no posts on his blog, no word from him on Scoundrel, PM and emails went unanswered. Alot of us were hoping everything was okay and were worried. It's not like I exactly know him personally, but we've exchanged emails and had conversations in Scoundrel Arts PM's, so it feels like I do. As September, October, and November went by I was trying not to worry, and then finally I got an email from him in mid November asking what he owed me. I sent him back the info and waited. The rest of November went by, then December, and January.. finally on January 30th I got a package in the mail from Mike.. my Returns were here! My expectations were high, but when I pulled those sketch cards from the package, they exceeded them all. Awesome detail, brilliant coloring, and capturing the essence of each character. Plus the bonus cards were awesome! The Princess Leia Mike had chosen to draw was a scene sketch of her in her slave outfit with the chain in her hand that she used to kill Jabba the Hutt.. and Jabba was behind her dead (I loved the x'd out eyes and the tongue hanging out). Padme Amidala's sketch was her holding a blaster and is a cool likeness- just a great sketch. And, as a bonus for making me wait so long, Mike threw in another bonus sketch- a hilarious Darth Maul sketch. They were worth the wait. Thanks Mike, and thanks all for reading...