Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger by Todd Nauck
When I started collecting comics in 8th grade, Marvel had recently introduced 2 new, unique heroes, Cloak and Dagger. I first encountered these characters in their first mini-series. Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson were teen runaways that met on the streets on NYC. They became friends. They were abducted by drug dealers experimenting a new drug on runaways. Though previous kids died from the drug, Tandy and Ty had latent mutant abilities awakened by the drug.
Ty developed a connection to a dark dimension, contained by his cloak, he could teleport himself and others through. But it gave him a hunger that could only be sated by light that would be stolen from those that entered his cloak.
Tandy gained the ability to project light and throw psionic “light daggers” guided by her will. These daggers can steal vitality of an opponent or have curative effects. As an endless source of light, Tandy could project enough light to stave of Ty’s hunger.
Ty and Tandy began a war against the drug crime trade and an aid to young runaways as Cloak and Dagger.
One of the great things about this mini-series (and beginning of their first regular series) is that this is where I became a fan of artist, Rick Leonardi’s work. Rick has a great sense of form and movement to his figures. His storytelling is strong and exciting. His detail and line work give plenty for the eye to play with. I consider Rick Leonardi one of my biggest influences in my comic book art career.
I recently decided I would try my hand at drawing these 2 classic characters. It’s fun to draw characters I’ve enjoyed reading since I was a kid. As I draw them, it takes back to those memories of first discovering them. I remember getting a big box of Marvel comics each Christmas of my teenage years. My mom would order the pack of 30 Marvel comics from the JCPenny Christmas catalog. I’d spend the next few days devouring those stories. I think that’s how I came across my first issue of Cloak and Dagger.
I love coming across a Cloak and Dagger comic from a bargain bin to help complete my run. It’s a fun treasure hunt to my past.
This piece was drawn with Sharpie markers, Pigma markers, and White-Out on cardboard. View this piece at my Facebook FanPage and DeviantArt page.
