"Line-Up" ("Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2")
It seemed fortuitous deciding to do a new year of the gallery when the first movie on the schedule was "Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2". When I did the last official entry back in 2014 homaging "Snowpiercer", I was still trying to get over not having Tony collaborate with me. I gave it my best shot but upon reaching the half-way point, I realized I was only torturing myself. As stupid as it sounds, I wasn't ready to pick up my pencil yet. So, I walked away with no foreseeable ambition to return. But if I had continued, the next homage scheduled was the original "Guardians of the Galaxy".
As it turns out, that was just one of several cases of irony. Over the course of the next eight entries following this illustration, there was a new addition to the long-running "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga, But more importantly, we returned to the world of "The Mummy", the franchise which began this whole gallery, incorporating some of Tony's artwork into the piece. Eight illustrations all containing little trivial things which showed not only was it the right time to come back, but I needed to come back.
Of course, in doing so, and keeping in the spirt of the James Gunn directed Marvel film, I had to take the piss out of myself by addressing the elephant in the room. Some folks thought I was being unfairly harsh to myself. But it was all in jest which added to its charm. However, what I particularly love about this piece is the easter eggs I incorporated into it. Tony often referred to his character Frump as a real bitter cock. You'll notice he's sporting the chest tattoo of a rooster. The only character in the Plight universe who could be the group's Rocket would have to be Rakkoon. And one of Tony's favorite material possessions was a small bamboo plant he kept which serves as the inspiration for our ragtag group of outlaw's Groot.
Overall, a good piece to kick off an overall good year. - Jake