Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Steve Lavigne collaborate on a "Jake Black Benefit Print"

A few months ago, Steve Murphy had the cool idea of getting me and Kevin Eastman to work together on a drawing (something we had not done in many years) which would then be used as the basis for a print, the proceeds from sales of which would go towards helping our friend Jake Black out with his medical expenses. (Readers of this blog may recall the other Jake Black Benefit print that me and the other Mirage artists produced (http://plairdblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/jake-black-benefit-print-at-fcbd.html) and sold at "Free Comic Book Day" in New Hampshire.) Murph managed to convince Kevin to pencil up this drawing...



... which I proceeded to ink...



... and then that version was zapped off to Steve Lavigne so that he could do his digital color magic on it, as you see here in the finished 11 by 17 print.



(Please note that this is a somewhat poor quality digital photo of one of the prints -- the colors are much more vibrant in the actual copies.)

And here, direct from Murph, are a few more details about the print, which will be premiered at this years's San Diego Comicon:

"There are only 100 of them, each is signed by Peter Laird. This group of 100 is SDCC exclusive and will cost $25 each. All proceeds to benefit Jake. In addition, since Kevin is attending the con, people will have the chance to get Kevin to sign it as well.

We will also be selling the "Mirage group jam" prints at SDCC, for $20/each, also benefiting Jake."

(Note: Steve Lavigne will also be attending the SDCC, so buyers of this print can get Steve's signature on it, too.)

And here's a fun little thing -- while inking the piece, I would stop about every minute or so and take a digital photo of the art. When I was done, I put all of those photos together into this (somewhat shaky) "time-lase" movie of the inking process. -- PL

Jake Black benefit print at FCBD

Some of you may be aware that our friend Jake Black, writer on several issues of "Tales of the TMNT", was recently diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. We're all rooting for Jake, and to help out a little with his medical bills, the dudes at Mirage put together this jam drawing, which we have made into a print to be sold for the first time at Free Comic Book Day in Rochester, NH, tomorrow. Mike Dooney started it off with his Leonardo, then I added Donatello, followed by Dan Berger's Casey Jones, Jim Lawson's Michelangelo, and Eric Talbot's Raphael. Here's the black and white art:



Our old bud Steve Lavigne agreed to color the piece, and although we didn't give him a lot of time, I think he turned in a sterling effort. Here's what the art on the final print will look like:



I'm pretty sure we'll be selling this 11 by 17 inch print for $20. Eric Talbot, who unfortunately couldn't come with us to this FCBD event, did sign all one hundred copies that we brought with us, and all the guys will be happy to add their signatures tomorrow for anyone who purchases a print. All proceeds will go to Jake. -- PL

(Art © 2009 by the respective artists, characters ™ and © 2009 Mirage Studios.)

To get more info on Jake and his health status, check out his blog at http://jakeboyslim.blogspot.com/2009/04/breaking-news-update-april-6.html