My Veitch Commission!!!

So, Rick Veitch has always been my favorite comic creator. I first got exposed to him via Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" which is the greatest book of all time by the way. He started drawing "Swamp Thing" on issue #37, appearing regularly as artist after issue #50. He left the book in a famous battle with DC over a story about Swamp Thing and Jesus. I think his books are some of the most compelling and interesting stories I've ever read, I count "The One", "Maximortal", and "Abraxas and the Earthman" as some of my favorite stories ever.

When my grandmother passed away earlier this year, I found myself in possession of a small inheritance, enough to please my wife by using a large portion of it "responsibly" and still having a little to splurge on a toy for us both. She got an iPhone, I ordered myself a commission piece of art from Rick Veitch. Originally I'd been thinking of getting a portrait of Swamp Thing, maybe with The One... but as I was thinking about it, I was struck with brief, fleeting genius! Veitch did a series that ran for 21 issues starting in 1994 where he illustrated and explored his dreams, and the dreams of other notable comic creators. As a boy, I had a recurring dream every night for YEARS, and it seemed like the perfect thing to have him illustrate.

In the dream, I am eight or nine years old. I'm walking on the gravel path in between a seven foot hedge, and the sidewalk/street. Every time I reach the end of the block, I turn around and head back in the other direction. Every once and a while, a monster pops up from the other side of the hedge, opens up my head (which is apparently fixed on a hinge) and removes or replaces a tool. The tools vary, but are all standard tools, hammers, screwdrivers, saws, etc. The monsters are Sesame street style monsters, but scarier... although it is implicitly understood within the dream, that they will not hurt me.

And that's it...


Every night, for years.

The first scan I got from him was the layout. This was just a rough sketch, designed to;

1. Give me one last chance to make changes
2. Give him chance to figure out what he's going to draw

I tried not to give him TOO detailed a description of the monster, part of the point of having a Rick Veitch sketch, is to have some of Rick Veitch's imagination trapped in there too. I like how the monster turned out, very "Evil Grover".





Next was the finished pencils. Here everything is laid out, pretty much as finished as it'll get. The ninja turtle on my sweater is from one of the reference pictures I sent him. My other grandmother knitted it for me, and he has also worked on the original TMNT comic during his career. It seemed appropriate.

I was practically shitting myself when I saw this scan. It's perfect.







And here is the finished piece! I haven't technically received it yet (it's in the mail!) but it's already replaced my children as the awesomest thing in my house. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to afford page #2!