I was just given leave to post this drawing. This year’s the 75th Anniversary of the original Captain Marvel. FCA Editor Paul Hamerlinck (for whom I’ve done several covers over the years, a number of which can be found here on my site) was writing an essay in honor of Cap’s 75th for Jon B. Cooke’s Comic Book Creator magazine. Paul asked if I would like to contribute an illustration to potentially accompany his essay, and left it up to me what to do. A 75-year-old Cap seemed simultaneously like both an unexpected and yet obvious way to go.
I wasn’t sure if either Paul or Jon would go for this idea. Maybe it would be a little too weird for a tribute. But I guess their senses of humor must sometimes go a little towards the weird too.
Paul’s essay, accompanied by my illustration, will be appearing in issue #10 of Comic Book Creator, shipping in November to your finer local comics shops everywhere.
Thanks, guys! This was fun!
Happy 75th, Cap!
Well done, Mark — although I’d like to think that Cap wouldn’t have quite so many lines and wrinkles at 75! Or maybe none at all. Billy might, however. How would a person age if he spends part of his time in an alternate body ? Or.… Or we could forget all of that and just have some fun with the whole thing! Which is what you did here.
I’m glad you like it, John!
Yeah, I wouldn’t think Captain Marvel would actually age in comics (unless the writers did a story where that happened. Hmm; would’ve been interesting to see what Otto Binder might have done with that). But going absolutely literal for this 75th Anniversary piece just seemed like the right way to go, to try to do something funny and different.