The Artist responds to my Stan Sakai posting yesterday and obliquely comments on much that we have been discussing.

It reminds me of my con-sketch anecdote. A guy asks for a sketch and I say ‘Only if you’re buying a book.’ he says, ‘Okay, what’s the cheapest book you have?’.
“I’m selling the Bacchus Color Special at cover price, three bucks.” ‘Will you draw a sketch if I buy one of those?”
“yes.” I sigh.
So he pulls out his pad. As I’m starting in, “Can you make it a drawing of me?”
So now he’s making things difficult and I’m beginning to feel restless. But I start sketching the generality of his physiognomy. He butts in again: “Can you make it of me, but have me being stabbed to death by a London prostitute?”
Now I have to angle the thing so that he’s falling over.
“And make the prostitute Marie Kelly.”
I’m starting to feel pissed off now. I finish the job as quickly as I can.
At the last moment a thought occurs to me. I execute it.
As Marie Kelly murderously brings down that blade and the blood spurts, I give her a word balloon. In it she is saying: “Take that, you cheap bastard!” and I make sure it has the guy’s name on it.
He seems pleased and thanks me.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Commissions… bah, humbug!

    I think I’ve done two or three in my entire lifetime, and none were comics-related.

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