Alex Heberling

This was commissioned by Joe, one of my readers.  He liked Garanos’ short-lived armor and wanted to see what she’d look like in it with the spines extended.

I’ve been drawing Garanos for a long time, but the fact that this design was so short-lived would probably make it surprising for my regular readers to know how iconic it is for me.  I’ve drawn her in various iterations of this armor since her creation, but since it proved to be impractical to illustrate over and over in the actual comic, it didn’t last for more than a few pages.

This piece was one of three artworks I submitted to the Toon Award Exhibition in Okoboji, IA, an exhibition for students aspiring to enter the comics industry.  I also submitted a copy of Garanos Volume I and The Shepherd.  I managed to get my entries in just under the wire, since I only just graduated in December.

To my surprise, I recieved a letter on Monday telling me that my artwork has been accepted to the show!  It didn’t specify which piece or pieces were accepted, but the wording of the letter seems to indicate I did in fact get something in.

As the opening reception and awards ceremony are just over two weeks away, I may or may not be able to get out to Okoboji to attend the awards weekend, but having my work in the show is certainly a great honor and I hope my work is good enough to attract some favorable attention from the professional cartoonists who will be there.