Update 2: cyclist sketch from Comic-Con 2006
Update: got another painting (Kambei from Seven Samurai) at APE 2005

The two items I'm happiest to have received at Comic-Con are both paintings by Scott Morse. After I got an awesome sketch from him in 2003 I picked a bunch of his stuff and became a fan of his illustration style. I tried to get another sketch in 2004, only to find out that he had stopped doing sketches and was only taking commissions for paintings. I nearly commissioned a sketch, but chickened out at my lack of funds.

This year I was determined to get a painting, no matter what the cost, and luckily, due to the generosity of Team Uni (especially honeyfields) I ended up with two paintings. Morse had some limited edition Little Book of Horror: Frankenstein books that he had done paintings on the inside cover for. After watching me covetously eye the limited edition, honeyfields picked one up for me as a very, very, very early birthday present.

The second painting is goes along with my sketch from 2003. In 2003 I asked for a Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) sketch from Seven Samurai. I debated getting paintings for all seven samurai, but I decided this was a daunting and prohibitively expensive goal. Instead I went for a Toshiro Mifune Sanjuro painting: gruff, base, improper-yet-honorable samurai. Next year I'll probably go for a Kambei painting (Seven Samurai) and perhaps one of these days a Ran painting so that Morse can spray bloody red all over the canvas.