Crime Lords Month: Walking Tall

It’s only fitting that for one of the entries of Lost Hemisphere’s contributions to Crime Lords Month, that we take a look at the one D-list character that it has been my delight and joy to adhere to in a very fanboyish manner.

Wilbur Day, otherwise known as Stilt-Man.

I could hunt down data from Wikipedia, Marvel, SamRuby,  ComicTreadmill, Spiderfan, Daredevil Villains, Comicvine, even the Filing Cabinet … but what with you all being good loyal Lost, I’m sure your cerebellums are already overflowing with knowledge concering everyone’s favourite 40-foot tall dude in a chrome suit. That said, I really do recommend clicking the Filing Cabinet link, it’s hilarious…

Instead, I’m going to share with you some of my collection of Stilt-Man art. Sure, it’s nothing to do with VS, but I’ve already rambled on about the Stilt-Man card way back when in one of my first posts, with my first Stu-vivor entry. That, and it’s my blog, dammit, I’ll write about what I wanna! (*shakes fist at naysayers*)

One of the sheer delights of my convention-going experience has been hitting Artist’s Alley and demanding sketches of characters other than the usual mainliners. No Spidey, Wolvie, Bats or Supes for me. Instead, I have everything from a Tom Grummet Black Bolt to a Gail Simone Catman (yes, I know she’s a writer – it’s a stick figure with a cape and mask, but it’s still a remarkable semblance). This all started at a convention in April 2007…

(and yes, you can click the pics to see bigger versions)

	John Migliore, creator of The Grad, was my first victim, and set the pattern for me trying to get sketches of b-list characters of my choosing with creator’s own characters. This would later come in handy when getting sketches of Dazzler, USAgent, and of course, our beloved mascot Beta Ray Bill.
	Next up was the first of two brothers, Mike Kitchen. I’ve been a regular at Mike’s table whenever we’ve crossed paths, and have three sketches from him as well as a copy of each of his published comics. I’m dearly looking forward to his next work.You’ll note the tactful placement of Canada’s tallest building, the CN tower, in this sketch
	Here’s the other half of the Kitchen Bros, Blair Kitchen. He took the challenge an extra step by actually doing the sketch over two pieces of sketch paper (cleverly stitched together for the sake of displaying online – heh). I’m really looking forward to getting volume #3 of Blair’s creation, The Possum. A delightful read for all and sundry.
	Thalia Flood was there with a few of her buddies doing sketches on small squares of cardboard for free. I splurged and gave her a loonie (that’s $1 to you wacky Americans) and she came out with this wonderfully charming doodle. It’s small, it’s square, it’s Stilt-Man being nice and shading some little kid. Its quaintness enchants me.
	After seeing a sketchcard by Shane Heron of Thor in his new duds, I had to get a Stilt-Man from him. Truth be told, that Thor sketchcard is now slipped inside one of my uDeck boxes waiting for a Thor-based deck to find a new home. What I appreciated most from Shane was the gravitas he gave this piece.
	This is the greatest sketch that almost was. I love Melanie Espinola’s work. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her twice at conventions, and her art if outstanding, especially her digital colouring. Sadly, Stilt-Man suffered the wrath of the clock – the con was closing for the night and people were being kicked out of the convention centre. Regardless, I’m still a fan of this quickie, and hope to run into Mel again.
	Anyone who doesn’t recognise this is guilty of not playing enough VS and not reading enough Hemisphere. Jon “Jonboy” Meyers has not only been doing art for VS as far back as the MSM expansion, he was also the subject for our third Thursday Thirteen. This particular sketch was a surprise Jonboy gifted me with in a copy of his 2007 sketchbook.
	Eugene Commodore does more inking than he does sketching, but I was still gleeful to commission a Stilt-Man sketch from him, which turned up in the mail with a copy of his sketch book. Just imagine the speech balloon with this one – “I’ll get you nect time, HB pencil!”
	This one I just included because it was fun. Yes, an animated Stilt-Man smiley, created by… well, me actually. In one of my more light-hearted moments I put this together, and I’ve since abused my admin priveleges at a couple of forums to slide him into their smiley packs.

So there you have it, a selection of nine Stilt-Man images for you to adore. Different styles, different directions, all tall.

Unfortunately, we’ll see no Stilt-Man in Marvel Universe, it has been so declared. I guess in some ways it’s only appropriate that the most engaging tale written about Stilt-Man was the wake after his death… where Punisher took the opportunity to poison all the mourners. Just as his peers in the villain community said farewell by getting drunk at the wake and then having their stomachs pumped when they realised the bartender was Frank Castle in disguise, so we say good-bye with a wistful sigh, down a fifth of scotch, and then wonder whether we really should have gone to taco bell for lunch, cos here comes that seventh burrito…

In conclusion, I present a link to a eulogy for the tallest man in Supervillainy.