A cowgirl named Cookie

A few days ago I was asked about what characters and stories I have archived in my mind for future comics, but I was only able to recall two ideas, both of which I'd been kicking around since high school. I feel like an idiot- I completely forgot that ever since I went to see the Ed Rossbach exhibit at the MFA with London in October, I've been longing to do a girls' adventure story set in the Old West. I don't know if I'll get around to it any time soon, but I wanted to draw some cowgirls.

(Ed Rossbach, Old Carrol, 1989)




My first sketch was pretty lackluster. She looked too modern, and frankly, more like a calendar girl than an actual prairie-dwelling dame. Probably the next image in this sequence would be sans a few layers of clothing.




I get frustrated with myself at times... I had intended Cookie to be more cartoony, maybe reminiscent of Christine Norrie's comic style (see below), but I ended up with a cowgirl who looked A LOT like Katharine Ross from when she was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Complete coincidence, I promise.

Christine Norrie was a regular on Hopeless Savages, one of my favorite comics from my high school days.

I didn't erase the pencil lines because all of my erasers have mysteriously disappeared. I looked for them in every place I could think of, but no dice. It's entirely possible my cat stashed them in various locations around the house, in which case I'm up a creek until I get back into town to buy some more.

Stay tuned for more cowgirls and color versions as well!