MTU122

Conspicuously missing from my Summit City Con recap is my Dave Wachter commission. And that was by design… because it deserves its own blog entry!

When it comes to comic-related money well spent, Dave Wachter will always have my support. I didn’t buy anything at the Summit City Comic Con. Although technically I wasn’t charged for it until this week when the campaign ended, the Athena Voltaire page I got from Steve Bryant was already accounted for when I pledged my support weeks ago. And the commission I requested from Dave was paid for at least a month ago, but, man, was it worth the wait!

I have always loved Marvel Team-Up #122, featuring Spider-Man and the Man-Thing. It’s one of the issues I reference in Deus ex Comica and falls squarely in the category of “indelibly tattooed in that portion of my brain still ruled by a 12-year-old boy.” I also have come to know Dave as a master of monsters. He loves drawing them, and that affection comes through in his painstakingly gorgeous art. So it was a no-brainer to commission him to recreate this classic cover from my youth.

Dave gave me a sneak peak at the piece when we were at the Pittsburgh Comicon. It was basically finished then, but without the lettering and cover dress. He mentioned to me then his ideas for how he was going to do the issue title and all, but it didn’t really sink in for me until we were standing at the bar at the Summit City after-show party and he explained the effort and time he invested in getting that lettering just right that I truly appreciated what he’s accomplished here.

Dave has once again outdone himself.