Artists: Michael Dooney is a machine

Michael Dooney has kind of shot to the top of my hero list this week.  And I'm still learning just how good this guy is!

I saw Michael's work at the end of the second day of Comic-Con.  We'd spent the majority of our time in the high traffic areas of Artist's Alley almost forgetting that some of the best artists are along the L-shaped back wall area.  It's a little quieter, so I had more time to talk with him and look though his work.  And it's impressive.  First off, he is the master of a million mediums.  A quick scan of his Deviantart gallery shows watercolors, pencil work, markers and digital.  It seems he can draw, paint and sculpt (yeah, that's right) just about anything, from the cartoony to gorgeous pinup to some of the best Transformers and Ninja Turtles stuff I have seen.  I don't know of many artists that are this good or disciplined at one medium or style, let alone the half dozen or so he's got going on.
Is that enough to make him my hero?  No.  But here's what is.
Imagine you're a kid.  In math class.  Drawing cyborg dinosaurs with machine guns battling on the moon.  (In other words imagine you're me at nine)  There's a short list of things a kid like that would want to be when he grows up.  And Michael Dooney has done most of them.  In addition to being an artist and author (His TMNT graphic novel Challenges is never mentioned without the word "acclaimed" nearby), he's a toy designer.  Yeah.  Seriously.  And to be honest, I never really thought that was an actual job.  It's a job we all wanted after we saw the movie Big.  But who actually does that?  He does.
Oh and he has also done nose art for military aircraft.  Seriously?  Let that stew around for a second.  Did anyone realize this was a job anyone has done since WWII? 

The pieces I spent my time admiring at his table are part of a collection he's done featuring female comic heroes and villains in a late 1800s setting. I have no idea where I will be able to hang these, but I couldn't leave without getting Catwoman, and of course Wonder Woman.  (seriously, I'm becoming an addict.  help me.)

Oh, and  in case your 9 year old self was anything like mine:

Boo-yah!

Find more at his website.