Novenber 22, 2005

I can’t begin explaining Imagi-Nation without starting with Leo. As quoted in Imagi-Nation:

He is the forefather of my fictional realm, my most ancient abomination. I created him barely in my adolescence and I have been in awe ever since. The latter characters were drawn in various times after Leo. He is a perfect fighting machine, a monster of mythical proportions. He stands above seven feet tall. His thick sandy light brown mane curls down his huge shoulders and back. He has piercing deep green cat eyes, and the top of his nose is naturally wrinkled, which gives all cat-men an appearance they are always in a nasty mood. His rugged, square jaw possesses carnivorous white teeth that frighten the bravest of men, especially when he roars. Most of his upper torso is yellow with black and brownish leopard spots, while his lower body is tan brown. He was bred and trained to be a warrior. Even though cat people interbreed with other species of cat-people, it is truly rare that one of the offspring would exhibit both parental lineages on their coat. He is the Prince of Warriors; his dominion is as far reaching as my own imagination. He is magnificent! The antagonist as well the guardian of my story; if you defeat him, you should know how the story ends.

He was drawn in the spring of 1983, in art class. I had finished my assignment early and was drawing my favorite Star Wars character, Chewbacca, when I suddenly started to add leopard spots to his upper body. A lion’s mane came next and coloring. I was in awe of the final product; so much, I began to create protagonists using classmates as models. Many times did I attempt to write a story or create a comic book with Leo, but I never did finish any. So in in the late 1990's, I discovered the plot I was really happy with. I could finish the story started when I was twelve.