I want to convey special gratitude to my two most-prolific and longtime clients Damon Owens and Michael Rankins for their patience and understanding in allowing me to often bump them from the docket and get other clients done due to lateness. This is why their presence hasn’t been felt for some time but you will be seeing more of them starting with Michael’s Al Rio Dawnstar I posted a couple of entries ago. Their generosity, kindness and friendship knows no bounds and I never take them for granted.

Here we have Damon’s 68th commission from his ComicArtFans Gallery theme ‘Operation Obscura’, in this case, a one-shot (and first-timer for me) character named Sazzik the Sorcerer. He first appeared in Marvel/Atlas Comics’ Tales of Suspense#32 in 1962, a few mere months before Iron Man would debut in that series. He was rendered originally by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers and the tale would wind up reprinted in Marvel’s Dead of Night in 1973.
The interesting thing about the character is that chroniclers/historians have speculated that he may be a relative of Victor Von Doom (Dr. Doom)…although we may never know for sure.

This commission was drawn by illustrator & caricaturist Howard Bender who debuts here at my gallery. Done in brush and markers this 11X14 image on 2-ply board was completed by me on September 5, 2012.

http://www.howardbenderart.com/