Harold is into his second day of what he is calling Steeven’s Sketches. What that means is that for this entire week, Harold will be sketching characters from my stories, or stories that Harold and I work on together.
Today’s sketch is from the OGN the two of us are working on together called My Super Mid Life Crisis.
So I introduce you to Peter Pembleton who in an integral part of the story … I’m just not going to tell you how.
Here’s a sketch for a character from the upcoming My Super Midlife Crisis.
For the moment this guy is just called The Pizza Dude Boss, because that’s what he is. Our hero works at a place called Pizza Dude, and this fella up here is his boss.
I basically described the character’s physical look to Harold as a blonde ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic and Harold nailed it.
DEAN
10. Silverhawks
9. Pirates of Dark Water
8. Thundercats
7. Bravestar
6. G.I. Joe
5. He-Man
4. Batman: The animated series
3. Superman: The animated series
2. Justice League Unlimited
1. Avatar: The Last Airbender
HAROLD
10. M.A.S.K.
9. Transformers
8. Thundercats.
7. Gotchaman/Battle of the Planets
6. Justice League Unlimited
5. Voltron
4. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
3. Samurai Jack
2. Robotech
1. Avatar: The Last Airbender
KEITH
10. Spectacular Spider-Man
9. Gargoyles
8. Robotech
7. Fullmetal Alchemist
6. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
5. Planetes
4. Samurai Jack
3. Justice League Unlimited
2. Batman: The Animated Series
1. Cowboy Bebop
Honorable Mentions: Batman Beyond, Gundam Wing, Voltron, Transformers, Superman: The Animated Series
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “No Avatar, Keith?” Well, I haven’t yet seen enough of it to comment fully, but what I have seen is just awesomesauce.
RYAN
10. Batman: Brave & the Bold
9. Voltron
8. Thundercats
7. Spider-Man & his Amazing Friends
6. Spectacular Spider-Man
5. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
4. Transformers
3. Avatar: The Last Airbender
2. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
1. Justice League Unlimited
Honorable Mentions: Silverhawks, M.A.S.K., Batman: TAS, Super Friends, Afro Samurai
STEEVEN
10. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
9. Batman: The Animated Series
8. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
7. Battle of the Planets
6. Robotech
5. Star Wars: Clone Wars
4. Avatar: The Last Airbender
3. Thundercats (new series)
2. G.I. Joe
1. Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Honorable Mentions: M.A.S.K, Voltron, Superman: The Animated Series, Galaxy Rangers, Transformers
DEAN
10. The Crow
9. Pitt
8. Prime
7. Marv (Sin City)
6. Dawn (Cry For Dawn)
5. Lusiphur (Poison Elves)
4. Nexus
3. The Elementals
2. Invincible
1. The Tick
HAROLD
10. Atomic Robo
9. Allen the Alien (Invincible)
8. Dale (Walking Dead)
7. Super Patriot (Image)
6. Tug (Crossgen)
5. Obregon Kaine (Crossgen)
4. Qubit (Irredeemable)
3. Rose (From Bone)
2. Groo (Dark Horse)
1. Confessor (Astro City)
KEITH
10. Knives Chau (from Scott Pilgrim)
9. Hellboy
8. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
7. Allen the Alien (from Invincible)
6. Atom (from Pluto)
5. Rick Grimes (from The Walking Dead)
4. Tetsuo (from Akira)
3. Gesicht (from Pluto)
2. Tony Chu (from Chew)
1. Fone Bone (from Bone)
RYAN
10. Barbara Thorson (I Kill Giants)
9. Afrodisiac
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
7. Astro Boy/Atom (Pluto)
6. The Tick
5. Tony Chu (Chew)
4. Usagi Yojimbo
3. Pitt
2. Gesicht (Pluto)
1. Fone Bone (Bone)
STEEVEN
10. Rick Grimes (Walking Dead)
9. The Tick
8. Phoney Bone (Bone)
7. Allen the Alien (Invincible)
6. Marv (Sin City)
5. Invincible
4. Elvis Chestnut (Proof)
3. Atomic Robo
2. John Prufrock (Proof)
1. Frank Einstein (Madman)
The smell of grease consumed Arthur, blocking out everything but the heat that billowed up off the deep-fat fryers. He stared blankly into the four steaming vats of oil in the narrow cook aisle inside the Happy Hamburger Drive-In Restaurant.
On one side of the aisle was a large grill, bun preparation area, and condiment bar. On the opposite were the four fryers with french-fry scoop station. All done in gleaming stainless steel because it was easier to clean.
Arthur Hanrahan had the job of manning the fryers.
“Hanrahan!” A voice screamed from behind. “Fries! We need more fries!”
“Yes, Mr. Finklemeyer.” Arthur mumbled. He opened the freezer door and let out a sigh that ached of tedium. His movements were slow, robotic. Anyone watching would either assume that Arthur spent life moving through an atmosphere of jelly, or that he was just plain dead inside. In this case it was the latter. Working at the Happy Hamburger had killed Arthur’s spirit and general will to live.
Arthur placed a handful of frozen fries into a small, rectangular, steel mesh basket, and plunged the basket into the boiling vegetable oil. He stood, motionless, stoic, statuesque, gazing with feigned interest at the fries as they bubbled, popped, and hissed in the liquid fat.
Arthur could sense the frenzied activity going on behind him as F. Fredrick Finklemeyer, the manager of the Happy Hamburger, created hamburgers at supersonic speed. Arthur just stood and waited on the fries. Wishing, no praying, that there was more to life than the Happy Hamburger.
That’s when the penguin walked in. It waddled up the cook aisle, stopped at Arthur’s feet, and looked up at him expectantly.
Arthur blinked in disbelief.
The penguin blinked back.
Arthur gaped and shook his head.
The penguin gave Arthur a wink.
Arthur took a quick step back and nearly stumbled into the fryers.
The penguin flapped its flippers and squawked in a way that only penguins can.
Arthur looked from the penguin to his fellow co-workers. His skin began to crawl as he realized that only he noticed that there was a small, flightless waterfowl standing in their cook aisle.
The penguin gave Arthur another wink, motioned to the back door with a nod of the head, and waddled its way to the exit.
Arthur stood petrified.
The penguin turned, gave Arthur another wink and then waved it’s flipper in a way that told Arthur he wanted him to follow, then the penguin waddled out the back door.
Arthur used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, turned to look again at his co-workers, all of which were ignoring him, then tore off his apron, threw it to the grease covered floor, and followed the penguin.
Arthur found the penguin outside, leaning against the back wall of The Happy Hamburger.
“You’re wasting time,” the penguin said
“You can talk?” Arthur questioned.
“Of course I can talk”
“But, you’re a penguin.”
“And?” the penguin asked, cocking it’s head.
“Well, it’s just that,” Arthur paused, collecting his thoughts. “Penguins aren’t really known for their ability to speak.”
“Look, dude. Don’t worry about that right now, okay? It’s not important.”
“Okay.”
“I’m here to give you a gift.”
“Okay.”
“You have been chosen, Arthur Hanrahan.”
“Chosen?”
“That’s right. Arthur Hanrahan, come on down! You are the next contestant on the Price is Right!”
Arthur woke long enough to find the remote and turn off the television.
His last thought as slumber once more found him, was that he had to stop eating so much right before bed.
This comes from a story prompt from storydam.com which said: “In the spirit of the Wizard of Oz, write a piece in which your character gets whisked away to an alternate reality. Obviously be creative, but think outside the box: this can be a fictional piece or you can use a crazy dream that involved you. The weirder the better—remember, you aren’t in Kansas anymore!”
I didn’t necessarily follow the prompt 100%, but that’s just the way it has to be this week. I really struggled with time on this one, so I hate to write fast.
DEAN
10. Uatu
9. Valeria Richards
8. Franklin Richards
7. Aunt May
6. Starfox
5. Swordsman
4. Jocasta
3. Donna Troy
2. Starfire
1. Deadpool
HAROLD
10. Captain America
9. Batman
8. Superman
7. Wonder Woman
6. Wildcat
5. Emma Frost
4. Cyclops
3. The Atom
2. Mr. Fantastic
1. The New Gods
KEITH
10. Dazzler
9. Red Hulk
8. Vixen
7. Medusa
6. Hawk and Dove
5. Sentry
4. The Eternals
3. Starfox
2. Thunderstrike
1. Daken
RYAN
10. Jubilee
9. Ghost Rider
8. Red She-Hulk
7. Daken
6. Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
5. Shadowhawk
4. Red Hulk
3. Superboy Prime
2. Hiro-Kala
1. Punisher
STEEVEN
10. Aunt May
9. All Robins but Tim Drake
8. Scarlet Spider
7. Ras Al Ghul
6. Wildcat
5. Supergirl
4. Nightwing
3. The Teen Titans
2. Most everyone in all of the X-Men books
1. The Legion of Super Heroes
That’s a significant amount more than 10, Steeven. There’s bending the rules and then there’s just being greedy!
