“Alphabetober” 2021
I wanted to do “Inktober,” but I made up my own rules. A drawing for each letter of the alphabet, one per work day, black-and-white vector illustrations representing as many different objects, characters or places as I could think of using that day’s letter. Tools: Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom Cintiq tablet.
A is for Android
Alert! An ambivalent android cut an apple with an axe and accidentally amputated his arm. He should have eaten an artichoke instead. Maybe some aloe will help.
B is for Buddies
The big black bird abandoned his branch to have beers with his best buddy, a bonehead in a bandanna.
C is for “Cara mia”
A cantankerous cat condemned Gomez’s cri de coeur, but he couldn’t care less as he clutched his cadaverous companion in the crepuscular candlelight.
D is for Daedalus
Daedalus drank his dinner, despairing over the death of his darling descendent as, past Demeter and Dionysus on their daises, and a row of Doric columns, a dramatic downpour dampened his already dour demeanor.
E is for Elphaba
Eluded by emeralds, Elphaba embarked on an epic expedition to the land of Ev. The nomes’ evil eyeballs espied her exploration, unaware of the enervating egg nearby.
F is for Freddie
Fabulous Freddie went foraging in the forest, fiddling a folk tune amidst the ferns and fungi.
G is for Godzilla
Gargantuan Godzilla grappled with a gaggle of galling geese near Gotham. Glimpsing his struggles, a grazing goat tried to guess the giant’s game.
H is for Horns
Hellboy was harried at the haberdashery, where the hatmaker hadn’t heard the history of his horns. He suggested a pair of holes might help, but Hellboy wasn’t having it.
I is for Ichabod
Isolated indoors, ill-fated Ichabod had an inkling the insects weren’t entirely in his imagination.
J is for Jedi
Jumpy Jack won’t be so jocular once he’s jousted with a judicious Jedi.
K is for Krampus
The kid chanced upon Krampus, Kris Kringle, and the Kraken, casually knocking back some Kahlúa in the kitchen.
L is for Loch Ness
Leia and Leeloo looked for the Loch Ness Monster in their laboratory, laughing and listening to Led Zeppelin LPs.
M is for Manager
Michael sipped from his mug and marveled at the majestic mountains while mulling over his monograph. As to the mystery of how he managed to make it to the mountaintop, it might have been Meredith and her minivan. Anyone want mojitos??
N is for Nancy Drew (and the Case of the Nefarious Novelist)
As she nipped over to the neighbor’s one night, Nancy noticed Nabokov nabbing a nymph with his net among the nectarine trees.
O is for Octavia Butler
Overhung by Orion, Octavia composed her opus on an Olivetti under an old oak. Odin and Oya were on hand to observe, lured by offerings of olives and oranges.
P is for Picard
Pandora proposed playing Pac-Man in the pub to a perplexed but pliant Picard. “I have a premonition I’m going to prevail,” she preened as he proffered another pint.
Q is for the Queen
She had her qualms about Q’s quiche, but questioned whether it was worth quibbling over his qualifications.
R is for Rosie the Riveter and the Rabbit Ronin
Duty required them to rebuff some rioting ruffians.
S is for the Sanderson sisters
Sideswiped by a Sasquatch while slalom skiing on the south slope, the seditious sorceresses were startled, to say the least.
T is for Terry Pratchett
Though he took his time thinking through Thanatos’ theory, Sir Terry tactfully conceded that it must, indeed, be “turtles all the way down.”
U is for Ursula
Under an umbrella and astride a unicorn, Ursula didn’t understand she was about to be unseated by a U.F.O. Perhaps leaving her home under the sea was…unwise.
V is for Valkyrie
As she viewed the vineyard, vivacious Valkyrie realized the volcano venting vapor nearby was about to increase the value of her vintage.
W is for Walt Whitman
Whilst writing under a willow tree, Whitman witnessed Walter White walking into a Winnebago, and wondered what he was working on.
X is for the X-Files
Investigating an X-File on the X-Men, Agents Mulder and Scully had to call Professor Xavier in for questioning. Exacerbating the experience was Xena, who couldn’t stop giggling at the x-rays.
Y is for Ygritte
Ygritte was trying to do yoga with Yoda, but couldn’t stop yodeling. She wasn’t even mindful enough to notice yawning Ymir, or the yearning yak. Alas, poor Yorick!
Z is for Zoolander
Zig-zagging away from a horde of zombies, Zoolander missed getting rescued by the zeppelin zipping by. Would it be too zany to ask for some Zinfandel?