JUST FOR FUN

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from the constant drive of working on comics and just do something for yourself.  Although in my case, it’s more like “having something done for me” since I can’t draw.  I’ve been thinking about all the fannish things I enjoy and how I’d most enjoy being a part of those worlds.  To that end, I’m informally creating a kind of “Storybook” for myself where I get to participate in hanging out with my imaginary friends!

Dare Munro introduced me to The Venture Bros. :

Michael meets the Venture Bros.
Michael meets the Venture Bros.

And then Mike Rieger got me a spot on the Gatchaman team, although I first knew them as G-Force:

Gatchaman G-6, "Canary Michael."
Gatchaman G-6, “Canary Michael.”

Here’s what Mike said about this pic:  “My friend Michael considers wolves to be his totem animal.

“No, not a wolf,” my wife told him. “You sing constantly. And randomly. With songs you make up on the spot. You love sunshine and shiny things and the colour yellow. You are a canary. You are the most canary!”

Michael agrees that this is true, and this Christmas commissioned me to draw him as a canary character from Gatchaman, an anime about ninja teenagers with bird powers. Michael’s powers include the sonic tweet, a grappling-hook iPod, a small mirror with which to reflect devastating solar ray attacks, and a small dish of water to take baths in. And something involving cuttlebones.

I am told I am, for the curious, a large long-haired calico housecat, the type who are fastidious, take up a lot of space around the house, and are alternately aloof or giddy on our own mysterious schedules.”

How fun is that?  As a kid I always wanted to be part of the cartoons I saw, the comics I read.  It’s a joyful little indulgence to finally realize that young boy’s dream.

–Michael

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