2014 The Conjurer Comicpalooza convention head sketch by Shane Davis

If I recall correctly, Shane Davis was in town for Comicpalooza 2013, but when I asked about a commission, I learned that he was only doodling quick "S" shields in copies of Superman: Earth One. He was back in 2014, so I took another shot at getting a piece, and was surprised that he was game this time. I'd previously had him pegged to do a Ma'alefa'ak, or to subvert expectations, the Human Squirrel. By this point though, I had numerous pieces of both those characters, and opted for someone I'd neglected so far, The Conjurer. He was one of J'onn J'onzz's first novelty/super villains, as opposed to the usual run of the mill hoods, and I like the idea of a stock stage magician going rogue with variations on old standbys. He's only ever appeared once though, and he wasn't even the primary focus of the story, which was more about John Jones trying to catch the Conjurer without his powers while stuck with a reporter following him throughout the case. I think there's enough in the name and premise to revisit in a modern story, and Davis does a nice job imaging how that would look in this pencil sketch. Unfortunately, try as I might, the pencils are so light and fine that I can't get the piece to scan worth a flip. I finally opted to take a digital picture, which wasn't a huge improvement, but the best I could do. The piece is part of one of my first attempts at a jam, and sits next to James O’Barr's Scorch bust.