SwanShadow Thinks Out Loud

Writers of fiction frequently get asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” The obvious answer is, “From my brain, duh.” Most writers not named Harlan Ellison are too polite to respond quite that bluntly.

Since I don’t write much fiction, this question is usually directed toward my Common Elements commission artworks: “Where do you get the ideas for all those bizarre matchups?” To which I reply…

From my brain. Duh. (Take that, Harlan Ellison.)

In humbler truth, I don’t always know where my Common Elements concepts originate. Usually, it’s a random thought, triggered by some equally random event or factoid. But then, if you know me in real life, you understand that’s just me. My brain is constantly kicking out random ideas, some of which spew forth from my lips or keyboard entirely without filter.

The others sometimes end up as Common Elements commissions.

The concept behind today’s featured artwork languished on my to-do list for several years, so the impetus for it has long since swirled down the drain of my vanishing memory. I think I might have been watching a TV documentary about the British Invasion of the early 196os when the concept just sort of fell together, as things in my brain often do. Whatever the genesis, that singular era in popular music history spawned this grouping of the Fourth Doctor (because Tom Baker will always be The Doctor to me), Cyborg, and the third incarnation of the Blue Beetle, a.k.a. Jaime Reyes.

You know…

A Be(a)tle, a Stone (Victor, Cyborg’s real identity), and a (Doctor) Who.

***drops mic***

Credit to artist Ibrahim Moustafa, co-creator (with writer Christopher Sebela) of the Eisner-nominated digital comic series High Crimes, for bringing my whacked-out notion to life. A special thanks to my fellow collector Jerry Livengood at Serendipity Art Sales for managing a smooth commission experience.

And that’s your Comic Art Friday.

This entry was posted on July 25, 2014 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Celebritiana, Comic Art Friday, Hero of the Day, SwanStuff, Teleholics Anonymous, That's Cool!. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.