'THE THING IN THE CRYPT'

And Other Things From The Attic...

We’ve been having a big sort-out the last couple of days, when I came across one of my old drawing pads. At first I couldn’t find a date anywhere to accurately assess my age. I recall that I got the pad at Xmas, but wasn’t sure which one. However, on the cover it has me in ‘5C’, which was fifth form, so 1983. And being after Xmas makes me 14 at the time.

I remember I abandoned the first piece because I couldn’t get the legs right! Typically I didn’t do much in the way of backgrounds back then, preferring figure work. I was bold enough to try and make up the horse though! Love how I hid one of his tiny feet in a dark scribble of poorly realized grass in pure frustration…

This ‘he’s got a sword!’ gag is fun, but again - no background at all!

Then there’s this, my first ever attempt at adapting a story as a comic strip - as I talked out in a much earlier post where I shared the ‘script’ for this! And it’s Conan of course! The heroic fantasy love is clear throughout the sketchbook.

I stopped part way through the next page. Most likely because I felt I’d messed something up (I’m certain it was the guys on the ground here. I can almost feel my young frustration echoing up through the years...) And I never went back to it.

Then there’s this pic of Conan and Red Sonja patently copied from Boris Vallejo artwork. I was a HUGE Boris fan! Probably the best figure work, but then here, at least, I wasn’t making it up so can’t really claim credit!

Thanks for entertaining my younger self! Fun seeing those roots from 43 years ago. Madly my first professional work came only a short four years later…