Another A&E Cover

From the beginning this cover was a tough assignment. Most often, it doesn't take too much effort to come up with an idea that relates to the story but in this case I was wrestling with it up until the very end.
...The article is about how the biggest trend in the latest crop of new TV shows is fantasy. With the success of shows like "Lost" and "Heroes" there is interest in the fantastic as opposed to the more "realistic" shows that have been in favor the past few years.
...I turned to the internet and watched the trailers for all of the new shows mentioned by the writer. I saw the common thread, but I didn't have the concept to tie it all together. Desperate, I watched the clips again. I decided that the show I was most interested in was "The Bionic Woman."
...After several viewings of the trailer and associated teasers I realized I was just watching them over and over because I liked looking at the cute gals-- so I stopped because it wasn't helping me with my problem.
...When I'm stymied by the conceptual phase of an assignment my typical strategy is to just start in on it anyway. So I did. But In this case, I started a couple of times and got nowhere. It just wasn't happening.
...The solution I went with is an old concept that I'd been saving for the right moment. I listen to Old Time Radio programs-- The Shadow, Suspense, Gunsmoke, Dimension X, etc.-- and I've had this picture in my head, an illustration of an old radio sitting in a rocking chair telling stories to people sitting around, listening intently, as though it was story time.
...With the deadline looming I appropriated that concept (figuring we weren't likely to do a cover story on radio theater in the future,) threw a TV in the rocking chair and hoped it would work. It sorta did.
...I'm not really tickled with the execution of the drawing, it seems to be a slightly confused, indecisive blending of two different cartoon styles, neither one handled particularly well. If I'd have had time to revise it I think I could have made it a better presention, but at least I finished it in time.

The End
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