Okay, if you've been following my blog for a while, you may remember a Mike Tyson something-or-another post I made about a year ago. Well, here's where that project ended up. And no, I hadn't exactly worked on it nonstop for that entire year. This, my friends, is a case of what they call 'procrastination'. While I did have plenty of other projects in that time span, I really am worthless without a deadline, and so I always screw myself and wait til the very last minute to turn it in. I seriously need to take a time management course or something.
If you follow boxing, or sports in general, you're well aware of the shocker that took place in the heavyweight division 20 years ago. 'Iron' Mike Tyson was as close to a sure bet as we had ever seen in the ring. He was an undefeated and indestructible superhero who would annihilate everyone who stood in his path. NO ONE gave his opponent, James 'Buster' Douglas an ounce of hope that fateful night in Tokyo. When something impossible happens in front of your eyes, it's something you'll remember forever. Mike Tyson's defeat changed not only the landscape of the division, but the rest of his life as well. That's why I decided to capture this historic event for my contribution to Gallery1988's 'The Greatest Moment in Sports' show which starts March 4th - 26th.
The 'Manga' look was influenced by the fight taking place in Tokyo. I was definitely inspired by video games like 'Street Fighter' when it came to the action. I highlighted their trademark moves (a la Ryu's Fireball or Guile's Sonic Boom) with Tyson's uppercut and Douglas' jab. All the Kanji was written by my coworker, Chisato. I believe the upper left says 'Final Battle', the stamp on the upper right says 'Iron', and the red headline type says 'War'. She does have a sense of humor and knows I can't read or write a word in Japanese, so I wouldn't be surprised if she screwed me on the translations. Oh well.
Like the Battlecat poster I finished last month, this really is a departure for me from a style standpoint. Lots of inking and a ton of mistakes made this a lot more time-consuming but a whole lot more fun too. Anything new is always a challenge and I'm never sure how it'll turn out in the end, but I hope you like it.
The poster itself is a 3-color silkscreen printed by the fine folks at D&L Screenprinting. It's pretty damn HUGE at 24" by 36" and there's 100 of them that are signed and numbered. I'll post prices as soon as that's figured out.