9"x 12" pencil on paper. Not For Sale. With the "Roots" series I wanted to go back to where I started and apply what I've learned, as well as remind myself what art was to me when I started out, so I don't lose connection with that. For me it actually started with sports icons but my mind was soon consumed by comic books... I spent a whole summer making up my own characters (seriously shoeboxes full) and my own comic universe, most of which were based off of spiderman drawings. I just loved how the artists contorted spideys body, he was always my favorite to draw though he wasn't necessarily my favorite character. Since he inspired so many of my characters I figured it was fitting to have him start the series off. I chose this cover in part because it is a newer cover, and also because of the lack of action and overwhelming emotion, pretty uncharacteristic of the spidey covers, with this in mind I hoped to reinforce the idea that this is looking at an old style in a new and different way, applying what I've learned, and I think it reflects well the direction my art took, very moody and emotive opposed to the visceral and energetic. Cover originally done by Clayton Crain.