"Wednesdays" ("X3: The Last Stand")
Pencil Marks: There I was with a genius idea in hand for an "X-Men 3" picture. Conceptually the idea was sound, if a bit corny, but the joke would work. But only if it was pulled off precisely. If everything didn't mesh up, then it would come off too cheesy. And as full of cheese as we are, there is a line we try not to cross. Or at least I think there is.
The idea was a play on X3's title of "The Last Stand". In the picture we would have our star Erik standing in the middle of a desert, in front of a Lemonade Stand, being charged $30 for a glass of lemonade. The joke of it would be that it was the "last stand" for 40 miles. Heh heh. There would be tons of in jokes ribbing on the X-Men franchise, and tons of characters waiting in line.
The problem was I could never quite get it out correctly. Every time I tried, things would be just a bit sour. Pun intended.
It got so bad time was running out. In fact, time had run out with nothing to give poor Jake. After only three weeks our Gallery was going to see a delay. Sure, it's inevitable, but we tried to hold off until the end of Summer. You know, bad beginnings and all that.
Then like a breath of fresh air an idea hit me on Wednesday, three days before the picture was supposed to debut. I spent hours penciling and adjusting it until the results are what you see before you.
Sure, it isn't the lemonade stand; it's something better. Much better after Jake added an insane amount of easter eggs into it. This one really was a miracle I didn't expect us to pull off. - Tony
Ink Smudges: I believe the amount of time it would take someone to notice all the easter Eggs in this picture would be the exact amount of time it took to for us to complete it. Not only is there a plethora or references to previous entries in the gallery, but nods to various pop culture fandoms, items with personal history to either Tony or me, a memorable sign from a local comic shop, a cleverly hidden insult to a former co-worker, a sneak peek at an illustration which had not yet debuted, two guest artist contributions, and a few other things we'll keep to ourselves.
It's funny in hindsight to see the conversation Tony and I are having become painfully outdated over a decade later. Because of the runaway success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in particular, comic book movies and television shows adapt very closely to the original source material while everyone and their grandmother possess a decent amount of comic book knowledge. The geeks truly inherited the Earth. - Jake