"Welcome to the Next Level"
Tony didn't draw this pin-up.
Oh sure, it looks like he did. The characters have the same sense of anatomy and structure like how he draws. And the minimal background is reminicent of some of his earlier works. Even the coloring job is exactly the kind of style he prefers. And let not forget the "PS2" on the game console looks like he wrote it. But no - I will swear up and down he didn't draw this because he couldn't have. I was with him the entire time.
It was October 22nd, 2002 and Tony had dragged me to sit in front of a videogame store at the Mall of America a half-hour before the store even opened. You see, all across America millions of gamers were focused on picking up one of the initial thousands of Sony's Playstation 2. Funny thing is, these millions of players were divided into two categories: those (like Tony) who had reserved a unit well in advance and couldn't wait to play it; and those (more or less me) who didn't and were praying to Jesus, Allah, AND Buddah that they'd come across one still unclaimed. Actually, I had reserved one but the store I ordered from had taken in more sales than they had product so I was going to be on a two-month waiting list at least. Anyhow, the point is both categories were so impatient that they HAD to be one of the first people in the store that day.
So 10 AM rolls around, the doors open, and Tony casually strolls in and buys his console along with three games. (Funny side note: before we even leave, we start hearing all about these rampages going on at other places like Best Buy and Toys R' Us from some of the other buyers coming into the store.) We get to Tony's house (cautiously because we think somebody's going to jump us on the way back) and the first thing he does is set it up and pops in "Silent Scope". And he plays that for an hour or so. Then he puts in "Shadows of Destiny" and fools around with that for awhile. But then he fires up "SSX" and the boy is hooked for the day. No joke - from 10:30 AM all the way until 11 PM at night, he only took three short breaks: picking up his kid from Kindergarden, calling Dominos to get a couple of large pizzas, and opening the door when his friend John came over. I don't think he even went to the bathroom once.
So no, he didn't draw this picture that has me looking like Where's Waldo twin brother. I was with him the whole time. - Jake