Thursday, October 25, 2018

Thom Zahler Commission


I am continually floored by the generosity of the comic community on line. And I have been lucky enough to find myself in a section of fandom who are the nicest and most generous group of people I know. Just last month, the Sutherlands sent me a great Ron Randall commission.

Yesterday, I received a package from The Irredeemable Shag, one of the co-founders of the excellent Fire and Water Podcast Network. At the Baltimore Comic Con, he saw this original drawing by Thom Zahler and picked it up for me. What a tremendous gift and what a perfect commission.

There is so much to love about this. This is classic Bronze Age Supergirl and Brainiac Five. There is a playful feel to the piece. I get the feeling that Supergirl is trying to sneak up on Brainy to give him a hug but he knows she is swooping in and has put his force field on. Her dreamy expression and his self-satisfied half-smile say so much. The addition of the force field line adds a little kinetic feel as you get the sense Supergirl as kind of bumped into it.

Add to that a feeling of depth with the color palette, from the shades of purple in Brainy's worksuit to Kara's hair, and you get a superior piece.

Given the addition of Brainy to the Supergirl show, this piece feels even more relevant now than usual. Of course, long time Kara fans love this relationship. Heck, even as an old man I can say without shame or embarrassment that I ship them.

I loved Zahler's Love and Capes comic and just found his Warning Label comic on-line. Totally visit his site for fun stories too!

But the real story here is the generosity of Shag. Thank you so much for the gift! Totally unexpected and appreciated! I owe you one!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, God, that piece is so... so perfect! The characters, the expressions, the coloring... all of it!

"I get the feeling that Supergirl is trying to sneak up on Brainy to give him a hug but he knows she is swooping in and has put his force field on."

So Querl is playing "hard to get" for once? Brainy, she will not fall for it.

Anonymous said...

Anj, I see that troll keeps harassing you in the tv-show threads.

Anj, don't let him bother you. Anyone who thinks you take issue with people being treated as people knows nothing about you or your political leanings. Anyone who thinks you regard Supergirl as masturbation fodder knows nothing about you or your great site. Their claims are so ludicrous like those ones of that person who used to blame you for the existence of Gates/Igle's run seven years ago.

Clearly that person can't care less about Supergirl or comics and is an attention-seeking troll who thinks that you are an easy victim to harass. Don't let him get you down.

Anj said...

Thank you second anon - I needed to hear that.

Anonymous said...

I'm First Anon RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT??
:)

Nice pic I am a old school friend of the Bronze Age Supergirl and any playful depiction of her most beguiling and intriguing romantic entanglement is Aces High with Me.

JF