Since its inception last September the Salt Lake Comic Con has had no shortage of surprises for the public. The first year of the event, the convention quickly rose to the third largest of its kind in the US. This year, the sophomore convention has continued with the pleasant surprises, and this one is my favorite kind. Not only is it about comic books, it’s about Rocket Raccoon and one of my favorite artists, Skottie Young.
Although the solicit for the upcoming issue #5 of Marvel Comics “Rocket Raccoon” has already released, the penciler for the book had yet to be announced. I talked to Jake Parker, local Independent Utah comic book artist, and he confirmed a convention rumor that he would be working with Skottie Young while giving him a rest on art duties. Young will remain as the writer for “Rocket Raccoon” #5 while Parker plays the role of the fill-in artist. That’s not all to the story though, because most of the world isn’t aware of Jake Parker and why he was picked for the issue.
Parker and Young have been long times friends. It is well known in comic book circles that Skottie Young is a supporter of the comic book medium and a fan of new, upcoming and independent art. Jake Parker’s popular web comic “Skull Crusher”, his graphic novel “Antler Boy”, and his graphic novels “Missile Mouse” volumes 1 & 2 are a favorite in the indie community. During a friendly conversation a few months ago Parker jokingly told Young that if “Rocket Raccoon” needed someone to take over art duties Parker would gladly do it. Not expecting the response he received on the joke, Parker was told by Young that he thought it was a great idea.
The original art Jake Parker passed on to Skottie Young at Young’s request
Image Courtesy of Jake Parker
Marvel editors, while initially skeptical even though they liked what they saw over at Parkers website, were immediately won over when they were sent a rough drawing of Rocket Raccoon by Jake. As you can see from the original drawing by Mr. Jake Parker, his style will fit in with Skottie’s perfectly. I for one, am very excited by the news. As a fan of both Skottie Young, and Jake Parker, I can’t wait for November, when the book is due. Anyone who might be worried about dates with a new artist will also be pleased to know that Jake is on fire. I cannot give any more details about the rough pages I saw but there were many of them and they were outstanding.
You can Jake on Twitter @MrJakeParker and on Tumblr at MrJakeParker.Tumblr.com You’ll find the print Jake made up of his Rocket drawing below. If you’re interested in the print you can find him at the Salt Lake Comic Con or pick it up from his website as soon as it is made available.
Image Courtesy of Jake Parker