Yo Joe June, Day 10: Duke and Roadblock!

 I was very excited to meet Rod Whigham at Heroes Con 2009! He drew such a memorable run on GI Joe with some of the most exciting stories! Rod is extremely down to earth and was more than happy to meet fans. It seemed like the guys in line ahead of me had met him before and all knew exactly what they wanted from him. It also seemed like every character they requested a sketch of was a pivotal character from one of his stories and I didn't want to just copy what everyone else was getting. 

Yo Joe June, Day 10: Duke and Roadblock by Rod Whigham! 

At this point in my GI Joe sketchbook I had a lot of good characters but they were a pretty random mix. I needed a few of the "big guys!" So, I went with 2 of the biggest names on the team, Duke and Roadblock. Why not knock out 2 of them out at once! 

I always loved the throw away line in GI Joe that referenced that Duke, Roadblock and Flint had all served together and I was always bummed that it never came into play. When I picked up my sketch from Rod, I felt like he took inspiration from Duke and Roadblock's 1st appearance in issue 22 of the comic book! And that is just a killer scene, what an intro! Sure, Mike Vosburg drew that issue but I was fine with Rod being inspired by it. Of course, Duke and Roadblock team-up a lot in the comics. 

I really wish I had more chances to see Rod, he's such a friendly guy and I love his art! It just takes me back to the 80's in all the best ways! I do have more art by Rod but I'd be more than happy to see him at another convention.