I hunted down Austin Rogers again at the convention for another commission since his Regular Show mashup from last year rocked! I asked him and he willingly complied. This year all I requested was something involving Pops and Skips, the rest was up to Austin…he’s the artist, I trust him. I let him know, I sympathize from what I learned through my friend Steve Bryant. There are customers who go on and on, as if they’re Alan Moore. By the time they’re done, it isn’t a drawing, it’s a five-minute scene from a film. He chuckled, said I was a favorite kind of patron, I let him do what he thinks works.
When I received the piece, I broke out laughing for about a minute. It’s too funny if you’re familiar with Regular Show. Pops is so friendly, upbeat and a pacifist (except for his Greco-Roman wrestling skills) and Skips is a Zen, mellow type. In many ways this is a tribute to the famous giant Bender v. giant Zoidberg battle from “Anthology of Interest I: Terror at 500 Feet.”
There’s a silver lining to this as well. The Boom Comics people saw Austin’s work and he may be getting some cover work for their Regular Show book! Can’t wait. I’ve given the heads up to Rogues Gallery how I want Austin to be a guest next year for Awesome Fest Weekend.