Lately I’ve become preoccupied with being a comics creator. You know, writing and drawing cartoons and other funny stuff. Much of my time has been spent sketching and writing notes. Lately I’m concentrating on the digital side of art. I’ll scan my inked sketches and attempt to color them. They’re pretty crude but I’m learning.

The rest of my free time has been spent observing artists I admire. One of my biggest inspirations these days is writer and illustrator Roger Langridge. He’s best known as the man behind The Muppet Show and current Popeye series. Langridge has such a fun vibe to his work while also being technically precise. Some people say he reminds them of legend Carl Barks. I cannot disagree.

Recently Langridge posted this inked sketch on his blog. The individual who commissioned the work was not me but it easily could have been. The piece combines a favorite subject of mine, The Muppets, with the vintage Marvel Comics series I avidly collect, Marvel Team-Up.

Since I started collecting comic books in the early ’80s, I’ve been in love with Marvel Team-Up. I preferred the tidy, self-encapsulated storylines. There was no need to religiously follow each issue like you do with episodic series. The issues paired Spider-Man (usually) with another random hero in tights. It was a great way to sample the Marvel legion.
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