Art...I mean, ARN Anderson in ink

Arn Anderson. Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Boxing has always been my favorite sport...well, actually it's the only sport I watch. However professional wrestling has always held a very special place in my heart. I mean, you have a ring, physical combat and cool championship belts on the line plus villains ("heels"), heroes ("babyfaces" or "faces") and comic book-style storylines. Sure, it's theater-in-the-round but what's not to love?

And anyone who knows me knows my favorite athletes in this genre will always be Hawk and Animal, the Legion of Doom themselves, the Road Warriors. But if I had to choose an all-time favorite singles wrestler, it would be the "Enforcer," once a member of the dreaded Four Horsemen, Arn Anderson.

Yes, Anderson was clearly recognized for his association with Tully Blanchard, with whom he held the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice and the WWF (now WWE) Tag Team Championships once but Arn might be best known as (as least, in my opinion) the greatest NWA World Television Champion ever.

Now although the belt itself did not read "world" in its inscription, it was coined thusly during Dusty Rhodes' first reign, However Anderson made it a world title by his own insistence and tenacity, defenses and possession (four times and the record for the most combined days - 870) itself. With that came prestige fewer "mid-card" championships could boast. It was a championship belt I desperately wanted as a pup (among many others we wrestling fans coveted but couldn't buy because 1) they were unavailable to the public and 2) even if they were, they'd be far too expensive to buy. That would late change with the emergence of really neat replicas. At the very least, I wanted one because Arn Anderson simply made that championship so damn cool.

Svengoolie in ink

 

Svengoolie. Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Alas, October, "Inktober" and Halloween are sadly behind us. However we never lost the Halloween spirit in our home, so I took a short break from a V.I.P. ("Very Important Painting") to knock out a marker sketch of America's favorite horror movie host, Chicago's own Svengoolie (Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"))!

"BERWYN!"

"No, Chicago..."

As many of you may already know, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and its run-up all throughout the month of October has always felt special to me. The change in season and temperature, horror films of all sorts and eras, playing seemingly non-stop, and just the fun and imagination the season inspire are all take-aways I get from watching "Svengoolie" on MeTV every Saturday night at 7 pm, Central time.

It's a feeling I experienced way back in 1979 until the mid-'80s, as a pup, when the "Son of Svengoolie" first crept into our homes. One of my favorite memories (believe it or not) was when Sven played "Revenge of the Creature," which was to be presented in 3-D, on July 29, 1982. As an 11-year-old (the same age as our daughter today!), I was over the moon with the idea that we could watch a 3-D film in our own home! My dad rushed us over to the 7-11 in Oswego (our favorite one-stop shopping destination for comic books, microwave burritos and, later, VHS rentals) to pick up our special 3-D specs and returned home to adjust the TV.

I manned the vertical and horizontal on our living room TV as Sven gave specific instructions on fine-tuning until you "see one uniform color" (That's really the only instruction I recall at the time).

Unfortunately it didn't work out so well but I still enjoyed the show, as per usual.

Jason Voorhees in ink

Jason Voorhees of "Friday the 13th." Micron pen (.05) Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), red Sharpie and grey and brown Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Since I was able to make time for one more "Inktober" piece before October comes to a close, I asked myself, "How can you render a version of Michael Myers from 'Halloween' and not draw Jason Voorhees from the 'Friday the 13th' franchise?"

This time, however, I went more with an old-school comic book approach, adding flat colors (well, three. Red, grey and a lighter brown variant) to the finished inks (.05 Micron pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, .05 Sharpie roller pen, red Sharpie and grey and brown Copic markers in a 5.5" X 8.5" Daler Rowney sketchbook.

Michael Myers in ink

 

Michael Myers of "Halloween." Micron pen (.05) Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and Sharpie roller pen (.05) in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

It's October, kids, and you know what that means! Horror movies! And what better film to represent my favorite holiday (and my wedding anniversary!) than "Halloween"!

Now I'm sure you all have your favorite version of the original concept (mine is Rob Zombie's 2007 reimagining) or sequels (of which most have been retconned out of existence...with the exception of "Halloween Kills," which is coming out this Friday! I'll be firing it up on Peacock!) but I believe we can all agree on one thing: Michael Myers is and will always be one of cinema's most frightening and prolific murderers. Relentless, unfeeling and ice-cold with a soul as black as his eyes...

That said, October is also an equally fun time for us artists, whom participate on different levels (some daily - bless their hearts! - some sporadically - like Yours Truly!) in something we call "INKTOBER"!

Yes, Inktober. A month in which we grace paper, sketchbooks and the internet with scribblings of the inky persuasion. So, I combined two loves - horror and art - for my initial foray this year, an ink drawing of "The Shape" himself (done in .05 Micron pen, Pentel Pocket Brush pen and .05 Sharpie roller pen in a 5.5" X 8.5" Daler Rowney sketchbook)!

(It didn't even hit me until know that this is the second John Carpenter character - here's the first piece - I've rendered this year. That's pretty neat, man.)

If I can make the time (my plate is delightfully getting fuller, especially with cartooning commissions on which  I've been regularly working!), I'll do my best to get out some more "ink-only" pieces to share with you fine folks before the month ends.

Robin Williams in ink

Robin Williams. Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and Sharpie roller pen (.05) in a Bob Ross sketch journal (5.5" X 7.75"). Art by Coyote Duran

The late great Robin Williams was one of my idols. By no means is this a revolutionary statement. Many of my childhood peers felt the same way. However, as opposed to their reverence of "Mork & Mindy," I saw an artist who possessed a wealth of wisdom. With every bit Mr. Williams fired off in 1986's "A Night at the Met," I felt like I was part of the gag, an insider, someone in his elite inner circle. I was privileged company.

When I was younger, my best mate coming up in our old neighborhood, Jeff Jacobson, once told me I reminded him of a young Robin Williams. Whether or not being funny, kinetic or simply annoying was the case will forever be unknown but I took that statement as a compliment of the highest degree.

After Mr. Williams passed away, I rendered a portrait for a local monthly pop-up gallery for the theme "Humor"...

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...and I did it in less than 24 hours before showtime. Why? Because I'm an idiot and a servant to procrastination. But no matter how much people liked the aforementioned piece, I promised to do better next time. An that time was nearly seven years later when I honored my Bob Ross sketchbook with an ink drawing of Mr. Williams (Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and Sharpie roller pen (.05) 5.5" X 7.75")

And I guarantee this won't be my final Robin Williams piece. This one simply had to be done in my Bob Ross sketch journal, a sketchbook reserved for legends, some whom have left too soon.

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Commissions? Hit me up at artofthepaw@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @CoyoteDuran, on Instagram @CoyoteDuran and on Facebook @CDCreationNation.