Day 23 | Monk Manchu, Private Eye
2012 – DAY 23
All characters are created by my 5 year-old son, The Junior Partner.  He has either drawn these characters on his own and I have recreated them here, or he has sat at my elbow dictating design and conceptual ideas like a creative, but frenetic, taskmaster.
MONK MANCHU, PRIVATE EYE
After staring at some of the Hellboy statues in the home office, the Junior Partner, mentioned that Hellboy looked like a big red monkey with a giant gun.  I threw together a sketch on a post-it of a chimp holding a giant Hellboy gun.  The  Junior Partner then asked who he was and his story and I turned it around on him.  I suggested the name “Monk” and then the story unfolded that the chimp was a cop who solved crimes and his gun shot grappling hooks and nets, etc…  I drew a fu-manchu style mustache and gave the character sixties love beads and patterned kung-fu shirts for a hippie vibe.  Those were all vetoed and eventually the character became more of a orangutan with no ‘stache so the name, “Monk Manchu” doesn’t really fit anymore.  Nevertheless, here he is…a monkey private eye with a big gun and knows king-fu.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Teacher, Playwright, Performer & Superhero Enthusiast. My first crayon drawings were of Superman and Captain America. I always wanted to draw comics but never followed that passion beyond some self-published zines and forays into early internet comics. I've worked in various aspects of graphic design and fooled around with a spray can at various stages of my life, keeping my pen busy and full of various inspirations for the doodles in the margins of my notebooks. Inheriting an iPad changed my productivity with the ability to draw, edit, color and post onto the internet via one device in the limited time I have to mess around with my doodles and drawings. My 5-year-old son is my biggest fan and the main reason for my artistic renaissance. He's the reason I'm drawing more often and the person I draw the most for. For the 30 CHARACTERS challenge this year, he is my co-conspirator and collaborator. His excitement and innocent love of superheroes and drawing has kept my inner cynic/critic at bay and we are having a blast this year making up a whole new universe of heroes, robots and monsters for the internet. -updated Oct. 2012Subscribe
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