Another Dill sketch that I procured at Toronto Wizard World in 2011. This one’s by Marcus To, known best for his two-year run on Red Robin, a DC pre-reboot DC series.
In terms of size and girth, To probably nailed Dill the the best. Not to mention the ears and the snout. And of course, Dill wouldn’t be Dill without a lung killer hanging from his mouth. He thinks better that way.
Clicking on To’s sketch will take you to his website.
Nick’s Picks is an ongoing series where Nick reviews comics and graphic novels. They’re usually not the very latest, but they’re always worth reading or discussing.
Without getting too personal (that’s my old LiveJournal’s purpose), I struggle with situational depression. Most times, I’m a laid back, happy go lucky guy with a perchance for puns and getting excited for things like comics and yoga. When depression hits, though, I’m a a depressive, unsocial, sluggish hermit. I’d written a short story about my ongoing battle, which you can read here, if you’d like. It’s a subject that, more often than not, rears its ugly head in conversations. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s not something I’ll dismiss, either. It’s a large part of my life, whether I like it or not.
So when I saw Ellen Forney‘s Marbles, subtitled, “Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me.” I knew I had to pick it up. I’m glad I did.
Well, this looks pretty amazing, to say the least.
I’ve known Andrew for quite a few years, dating back to when we worked together at Blockbuster Video. Really good guy; probably one of the more laid back, easy going people I know.
He offered to draw Dill back when I hadn’t even finished City of Smoke & Mirrors. And while he didn’t quite capture the look I was looking for (way too lean!), he absolutely captured the style, feel, and attitude of our gun-totting armadillo. I also really like how Dill’s carapace is much higher than the coat. Andrew’s one of the few artists to include that detail and I love it.
And speaking of guns, check out the great detail on The Daymaker. I flipping love that.
As usual, clicking on the picture will take you to his DeviantArt page.
With the release of the first full trailer of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, the arguments have been reborn and the talk of boycotting the movie has been reignited. Card’s views on homosexuality has slowly become more common, public knowledge. Not only is he vehemently against homosexuality, but he is on the board of directors for the National Organization for Marriage, who seek to “preserve traditional marriage.” I won’t go into the hilarity of the idea of “traditional” marriage when it wasn’t too long ago that a Catholic couldn’t marry a Protestant or even a Caucasian couldn’t marry an African American.
No, what I’ve been struggling with is whether or not there Ender’s Game should be boycotted due to Card’s views. Continue reading
When I attended Toronto Wizard World in 2011, I brought along a sketchbook. My hope was to get several artists to sketch Dill. I imagine some of them talked with each other afterwards and referred to me as “that armadillo guy.” For the most part, though, they were very open to the idea and in fact, had fun drawing it.
I’d been familiar with Kent Burles work for many years. His worked appeared in several Palladium role-playing books, especially in some of my favourite Heroes Unlimited books like Century City. Being a huge fan of Jack Kirby’s work, I admired Kent’s very unique art that unquestionably had inspirations from Kirby.
When I walked up to his table at Wizard World, he was working on a sketch for someone else. He was still cordial and willing to do another sketch, but clearly wanted to get the sketch at hand done. However, the very moment I name-dropped Jack Kirby, he put down the sketch pad, laid down the pencil (or marker), stood up, folded his arms, and suddenly I had his complete and undivided attention.
We shared Kirby stories, such as the ones I’d read from the work of Kirby’s biographer, Mark Evanier. We both clearly loved The King of Comics and his gifts to the comic book business.
I wasn’t able to attend the con the next day to pick up the sketch, but a friend of mine did for me. I was astounded at the detail put into the sketch of such a silly character. He had Dill’s personality, attitude, and world down to a tee. The look…well, I always pictured Dill to be more rotund to go with the frame of an armadillo. But that’s a minor nitpick at best. Without taking anything away from the other artists, this is definitely my prized possession of Dill-related art.
You can see more of his jaw-dropping work by clicking on the picture.
This was the first time I saw Dill outside of my imagination. And Alissa knocked it out of the park. Clicking on the picture will take you to her DeviantArt page, where you can see more of her amazing work.
Note: Many years ago, this story was written for the intention of a volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul. They rejected it, but it did find a home at Open Minds Quarterly, a small, Canadian psychology magazine. Rereading it now, after improving greatly as a writer over the years, I can see many flaws in the writing. But because it’s published, I feel it best to leave it preserved as is – for now, anyway.
Regardless, many people have praised this story. Today, on the 75th anniversary of the first issue of Action Comics – Superman’s debut – Superman, I felt it appropriate to post this story to show how the Man of Steel is considerably influenced the man I am today.
One of A Tygenco Breiling’s great, early renditions of Dill.
Dilbert Pinkerton was killed off in his first appearance. True story.
That was the plan, anyway. He was created purely as a throwaway, nothing character. He was cannon fodder and nothing else.
Until Gilbert Stack saved Dill’s life.
Let me explain.
Some years ago, while attending York University for my Bachelor of Arts degree, I befriended someone who shared some classes with me. He greatly impressed me with his knowledge of literature. When a professor asked the class if they had heard of an author or had read a piece of work, my friend almost always said yes. His knowledge of literature astounded me and to this day, he is still the most well-read person I know.
The City of Smoke & Mirrors
The Dame was a Tad Polish
Nick Piers 