So it's been awhile since I posted a custom Comic Book cover by Mike, but I just got a new one today (subject for a future post) so I thought I would reach into my small collection of them and bring one out for today's post. I honestly can't remember where I got this one at, but I believe it was an Ebay purchase. 

   This one is a Darth Vader and Stormtroopers on a Darth Vader #1 comic blank cover variant edition. Vader. Lightsaber. Stormtroopers. It's awesome! If you ever have the chance to commission an artist like Mike to do a custom comic book for you, go for it! At Cons, many artists will bring both blank cover comics ready for commissions, or comic books with the artwork already done and ready to buy. It's a fantastic way to support an artist you like. And there are many different comic book titles to choose from, so you can find a book for pretty much any character(s) you want drawn. 

   Back to today's comic book, it reminds  me a little of the opening scene of "A New Hope" where Vader was coming aboard Princess Leia's ship. I think all the shooting was over by the time Vader boarded the ship, so I don't remember him having his lightsaber drawn, but that's why I said it reminds me "a little" of that scene. I also like how Mike uses the familiar (to Star Wars fans) background designs on each side of the cover. Another thing I like is that Vader has his fist clenched as a signal of dominance, and it's very cool how Mike has Vader towering above the Stormtroopers, showing off his impressive size. And that brings me to my last point for this post- another big plus of getting a custom Comic Book cover is it's a bigger piece of artwork to enjoy. I love sketch cards, but there is so much room for an artist to work on when they do a comic book for you. 

   Well, that's all for this week. Thanks to all for stopping by and reading! 

#starwars #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #darthvader #vader #lordvader #sithapprentice #Sithlord #jamesearljones #davidprowse  #Stormtroopers #lightsaber #anewhope #empirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #thephantommenace #attackoftheclones #revengeofthesith #theforceawakens #thelastjedi #riseofskywalker #rogueone #anakinskywalker #anakin #comicbook #comic 

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    Another recent pick-up and again from Topps first Indiana Jones set from 2008- Heritage. My last Indiana Jones post was a card from the very beginning of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and this one is also very early on in the movie... Indy's "reunion" with Marion. 

IJ: "Hello Marion"

Marion: "Indiana Jones... always knew someday you'd come walkin' back thru my door" 

Okay, "reunion" might be a stretch. Indy turns his head after that line and she punches him in the face lol. Payback for young love gone astray. 

   I'm a big fan of when Mike "frames" in a sketch with a border, like he does with this sketch. I also like the perspective of this sketch- the far away shot so you can see the shadow on the wall. I went back and watched that scene today and Mike nailed it. I also like how Mike does the shadows in this sketch, as in the shadows on Marion's clothes and even in the top corner of the card. It's the little things like adding a shadow that make Mike a master of his craft. And this sketch was from 2008! He's gotten even better since then. 

   I've been a little under the weather today, so that's it for today. Thanks all for stopping by and reading!

#indianajones #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #raidersofthelostark #harrisonford #indy #marionravenwood  #marion #karenallen #indianajoneskingdomofthecrystallskull

@michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

    More Chewbacca love!!! Who doesn't love Chewbacca? You in the back with your hand up... get out!

   If you go back to my "Chewbacca punch!" post from October 14th of last year, you saw five of Mike's versions of Chewbacca. A good friend of mine (Justin) traded me today's Chewbacca- It's an earlier one, from Galaxy 5. It's fun to see how Mike's style has morphed over the years. In fact, another good friend (Brian) has tried (so far unsuccessfully) to get me to do a blog post about Mike's style thru the years. I told him if he writes it, I will gladly take the credit and post it lol. This Chewbacca sketch isn't really detailed, but it doesn't have to be- it's still a great depiction of Chewy. I like how Mike almost always draws Chewbacca with the ammo belt around his shoulder. And this version of Chewbacca looks more like a dog than a Wookie. That's okay though. No matter what version he draws, Mike always finds a way to show the essence of a character. Maybe I'm biased. Okay, no maybe about it... I know I'm biased. Mike's art just speaks to me. 

   Anyways, that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

#starwars #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #chewbacca #chewy #petermayhew #anewhope #empirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #theforceawakens #thelastjedi #riseofskywalker #soloastarwarsstory

@michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

    Samwise Gamgee. "Sam". Frodo Baggins' best friend and gardener. Frodo's loyal companion, and some say the true hero of the Lord of the Rings saga. Sam was played on-screen in the latest Lord of the Rings trilogy by Sean Astin, and voiced by illustrious actor Roddy McDowall in the "Return of the King" animated movie in 1979. I have been a big Sean Astin fan since "The Goonies" and "Rudy". I do have to mention, since this is my blog, that Sean ripped my heart out at a Con in December of 2019. Sean and Billy Boyd were to be at Steel City Con outside of Pittsburgh so I bought tickets for the show and got a CUSTOM PIECE OF ARTWORK made by (you guessed it) Michael Duron featuring all 4 Hobbits of the Shire (Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin), and what did Sean Aston do? Cancelled on the show two days before the show started! Noooooooooooooo! I was bummed. Okay, enough of my personal Sean Astin tragic heartbreaking schedule changing disappointment. 

   One of Sam's greatest attributes is his loyalty. When Sam said he was going to show up somewhere, he did. He didn't let his Shire agent schedule a conflicting gardening job. He showed up! He didn't disappoint hundreds yea thousands of fans or Fellowship members, whichever the case may be. 

   That's all for today folks.. too many painful memories of a Sean Astin-less Con flooding my memories. 

#lordoftherings #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #fellowshipofthering #thetwotowers #returnoftheking #samwisegamgee #sam #seanastin #roddymcdowall #thegoonies #rudy #steelcitycon #lastminutenoshow #schedulingconflict #whyseanwhy

Note: Although I was disappointed by Sean's late cancellation, all references to that subject are just my attempts at comedy. I have and always will be a big Sean Astin fan!

    I'm always on the lookout for Mike's sketches, especially from Star Wars products from the early years of my collecting (2008-2009). My first ever set was 2008 Clone Wars, and my second was the glorious return of the Galaxy line with Galaxy 4 in early 2009. Being only the second product released since I had gotten into the hobby, I wasn't aware how big of a deal this set really was. I'd have to say one of the coolest things about Galaxy sets was the base cards were made thru artist submissions. Galaxy 4 also had a sketch card per box, even more rare "retail red" sketch cards (found only at Target stores), the first ever Star Wars die-cut sketch cards, artist autographed Galaxy Two base cards, printing plates, and limited edition reprints and autographed reprints of the ultra rare "Lost Yoda" promo card. This set had it all! 

   I saw this Anakin on Ebay, and it was a little above what I would have really wanted to pay for it. I originally wasn't going to bid on it, but a friend generously offered to help if I wanted it. Luckily for me, two days before the card was to go off I made a sale on Ebay for literally the exact same price as the starting bid for the Anakin sketch. Problem solved. On the last day I bid, and I was the only bid, so I had it!

   Just by the looks of it, I'm going to say this is a "Attack of the Clones" Anakin, because he has no scar above and below his right eye. And I think that ponytail is also a dead giveaway of AOTC Anakin. Full color, great facial expression, love the background- this is a top notch sketch and I was very glad to add it to my collection. 

   That's it for today. Thanks all for stopping by and reading!

#starwars #michaelduron #Locoduck #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #anakinskywalker #anakin #sithlord #sithapprentice #darthvader #vader #lordvader #haydenchristensen #galaxysketch 

@michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

 

    I was 14 years old when "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came out in the summer of 1981. I left the theater wide eyed and with my jaw open. What a story! So much action! The Han Solo guy playing the main role of Indiana Jones! It was totally awesome! George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had made movie magic. Raiders hooks you from the very beginning. The rugged hero looking for lost treasure. Betrayal. Spiders. A series of booby traps. A gold idol. More betrayal (c'mon Indy- pick your guides a little better!). Near death. A giant boulder. A chase scene with poison arrows and darts and more near death. And finally escape (which included a giant snake named "Reggie"). The movie just started and you have an action scene that left you breathless and will live in your mind forever. 

   As I have said before, Mike loves Indiana Jones. And you can see it in the sketch cards he had done for these 3 sets in 2008. Today's sketch card is from the Topps Indiana Jones Heritage set, the first of the 3 Indiana Jones sets Topps put out that year, and the one that was the hardest to pull sketch cards. And this one came from the action scene at the beginning of Raiders. Indy had just grabbed the idol, the collapsing cave booby trap is activated, and Indy is running back thru the poison dart traps which are triggered by the weight activated pads built into the floor. You can see darts flying all around Indy in the movie, as well as in this sketch.  Indy is running hunched over, and you can see the top of the idol cradled in his arms. I love the shading that Mike did on this card. I don't talk about it enough, but Mike always does a great job with his shading, and it adds great depth to the cards.

   I love, love, LOVE it when a sketch card can transport you back to the theater seat, into that scene, and you are watching the movie again for the very first time. That's what a card like this does for me. I love it, and I hope you do too. 

   Thanks to all for stopping by and reading. I'm glad 2020 is almost behind us, and hopefully 2021 will be a much better year. Happy New Year to all!

#indianajones #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #raidersofthelostark #indy #theidol #poisondarts #satipo #spiders #belloq #thatsjustmypetreggie #sallah #arkofthecovenant

@michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

    Boromir.  Eldest son and heir of Denethor II, Steward of Gondor. "Captain of the White Tower". Elder brother of Faramir. 

   When Gondor was asked to send a representative to Elrond's Council, Denethor chose his son Boromir, a mighty warrior. He volunteered to join the Fellowship to protect the One Ring on behalf of Gondor. He believed the mission to destroy the One Ring was folly, that the ring would be better served in protecting his beloved Gondor. This weighed heavily on his mind and heart, amplified when the Fellowship visited Galadriel in Lothlorien. Galadriel could read his mind and knew the desire in his heart. This desire eventually drove him mad, and he attempted to take the Ring  from Frodo at Amon Hen. Frodo used the ring, escaped, and Boromir realized the error of his ways, begs for Frodo's forgiveness, and died a hero's death defending Merry and Pippin from the Orcs and Uruk-hai. 

   At the Council of Elrond during the discussion of what do with the ring, Boromir says the line that has now become a very popular meme... "One does not simply walk into Mordor. It's black gates are guarded by more than Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great Eye is ever watchful." 

   Boromir was played masterfully by Sean Bean, and I have been a fan of his since. 

   This card is another in the Fellowship of the Ring series that Mike did for me, and I believe it's the first Boromir card by Mike that I have had. I think that Mike really nailed this one, especially Boromir's outfit. A great sketch and I love it. 

   That's all for today- thanks to all for stopping by and reading. Have a blessed holiday season!

#lordoftherings #michaelduron #locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #boromir #fellowshipofthering #thetwotowers #returnoftheking #lordelrond #gandalf #frodobaggins #bilbobaggins #samwisegamgee #aragorn #legolas #Gimli #boromir #merry #pippin #gondor #theonering 

@michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio