#50 The Mignola Fez

mignolaI wanted to do something a bit special for the big “five oh” fez and I’m happy to report that is exactly what we have here. I am thrilled to present the Mignola Fez, a design done with the specific purpose of capping the pate of Mike Mignola, the genius that created Hellboy, BPRD and my personal favorite: The Amazing Screw On Head. Do yourself a favor and watch the animated pilot below. As you might have noticed in my previous designs, I have an affinity towards skull. Ever since I was a kid I enjoyed drawing skulls, both cartoonish and realistic. When I first came across Mike’s work I was blown away with his use of light and shadow. He managed to create so much detail while not shying away from ominous swaths of stark black ink. Not only did his art embrace this use of darkness but his story telling evoked the greatest parts of the ancient fairytales. You know, the ones that had real consequences and weren’t afraid to crawl under your bed and set up shop in your subconscious. Needless to say I found great inspiration in his work. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Mignola at the 2009 Comic Con and that is where I first asked about making him a fez. Originally I suggested making a fez with the logo of Emperor Zombie but when the time came to put something to thread I was given free reign to create something for Mike’s approval. Suddenly I felt like I was obligated to create something that wasn’t just a reference to a Mignola character but a design that strived to better represent the art of Mike Mignola. After indulging in some research and a good deal of procrastination, I decided instead of referencing a known character I would rather try to capture the character of one of the many gorgeous and chilling portraits he includes in his collections. The floating skull, the high collar and the golden crown are recurring themes in Mignola’s illustrations and I felt that would be a good place to start. Mike-MignolaThis project was one of the most intimidating and thrilling ones I have done and I am honored to know that it might rest upon Mike’s brow while he creates the world we so enjoy to visit. I am actually very happy with how this came out in the end and I am very excited to share it with you now. Today we had the opportunity to hand deliver this fez to Mike, meet his lovely family and even take a quick photo. I did try my best to not completely geek out on him he while he signed an edition of Hellboy for me. We hope to offer a limited edition of this design for all of my fellow Mignola fans out there. Be sure to sign up for the Newsletter if you would like to be notified when these are available. Be sure to visit the Art of Mike Mignola website - http://www.artofmikemignola.com/ - for all things Mike Mignola. Now enjoy the Amazing Screw on Head pilot:
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