Women and their weapons

What would Friday be without comic art to ogle? Why, it would be like a kiss without a squeeze, that's what.

Presented for your consideration are these two fine pen-and-ink drawings I recently commissioned from a young Los Angeles artist named TG Kinobi Sangalang, who signs his work with the initials TGK. (If my name was TG Kinobi Sangalang, I'd find a way to shorten it, too.)

I've purchased a couple of TGK's creations on eBay in recent months — a wonderfully mysterious Scarlet Witch and a striking Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel's "Nightstalker" character in the film Blade: Trinity) — and was pleased enough with the quality of his art to commission a piece from him. He did a fantastic job depicting my requested character, Marvel Comics' one-woman vigilante army Silver Sable.



So impressed was I with TGK's handiwork on his first commission assignment that I immediately wanted to give him another. But what might it be?

I've just started a series of newly commissioned artworks that will feature pairs of otherwise unrelated superheroes who have some element in common. Sometimes the connection will be as obvious as similarly themed code names (e.g., Iron Man and Iron Fist, which matchup longtime comics artist Scott Rosema is presently working on). Sometimes the link is more esoteric (the masterful Geof Isherwood is going to partner Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle — in real life, an escape artist named Scott Free — with a little-seen female character called Free Spirit, briefly an associate of Captain America).

Since TGK has a real affinity for the ladies, I decided to ask him to pair everyone's favorite Amazon, Wonder Woman, with Marvel's favorite Femizon, Thundra. This was the charming and whimsical result.



I was tempted to ask TGK to draw these two heroines wearing footed flannel nightwear. That way, they would have been an Amazon and a Femizon with pajamazon. But I figured some of you would never forgive me.