#(Lance is just going to end up in the Yamcha crater again)

[arbuthnotblob]

Two proud, fierce, spiky-haired warriors face each other across a rocky chasm… but why do they both feel so strangely familiar to the other?! A battle for honour is surely about to begin!

Through Dragonball, Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest, Akira Toriyama had a massive influence on my childhood. I think it’s also pretty fair to say that Pokemon, and especially Lance, would not be the same without his stylistic influence on Ken Sugimori’s early work. So, for all the thrills and inspiration, both to myself and many others, thank you so much Toriyama-san, and rest in peace.

I had so much fun designing a Toriyama-style DBZ design for Lance, putting in a bit of flavour from both his Gen 1 red biker and Gen 2 pointed armour looks. The dramatic cape flourish also pulls a bit from his HGSS art pose, just for fun (and flair)

I learnt a lot picking apart and studying different Dragonball panels and colour spreads to make this crossover tribute, but perhaps the most striking thing was re-reading chunks of DBZ and realising just how good at weekly pulp adventure story pacing Toriyama was.

I already knew he had perhaps the best grasp of dynamic, crystal clear action panelling in the business, but his ability to pace out a weekly story and always have some new twist or wrinkle while maintaining a solid, driving central narrative really stood out to me this time. And that’s not even mentioning all the ad-libbing!

One of the greatest to ever do it in so very many different ways - I am sure his work will continue to inspire not just artists in our current generation, but many young artists in the future as well.