Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson by Kabuki Katze (2007)

Sara wasn't the only one who did surprise artwork of my characters in 2007. The date on the above image sent to me by Kabuki Katze is May 22, 2007. I have no recollection of her reasoning as to why she set pencil to paper to draw Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson. But boy, am I glad she did!

I have a number of "work in progress" sketches like this from Kabuki kicking around in my folders, but I usually don't post them. I have to make an exception here, because this is as far as this particular piece ever got. Despite the fact that she included a color guide, Kabuki never did anything else with this one. Why? My memory is fuzzy, but I believe she expressed a dissatisfaction with the proportions of the characters? Perhaps she will pop in here and explain. That is, assuming she hasn't hunted me down like a dirty dog for posting it in the first place. See, there was a reason I sought permission prior to launching this nostalgic series! Muhahahaha!

Kidding aside, I loved this picture. It didn't hurt that it was one I got to see live and in person in her sketchbook. The memory of it was so indelible that it led me to commission Kabuki to do the Cap/Shelly pic you previously saw here and here. So in a sense, it is only appropriate to close out the 2010 portion of our review of vintage Cap art with this sketch, since it is in many ways the genesis of all the Kabuki Katze commissions you have seen here at OWARI during the calendar year. Hats off to ya, Kabu! (And I'll be sure to spotlight more of your recent work before we hit 2011!)

But don't think for a moment this is the last bit of pre-2010 artwork I have up my sleeve. There will be more in the coming year. Watch for it!