ICHOR

Ichor /ˈīkôr/ (n) 1. the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods.
2. a watery discharge from a wound. 

During my late teen years, I was introduced to my first manga, Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro. Most of my peers were into Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane at the time. Though I was a casual fan of their comics and illustrations, I could not really identify with their works. Battle Angel Alita, however, was the first graphic novel that I felt captivated by. It seemed to have all of the ingredients a reader could ask for, existentialist angst, philosophical debates about the nature of good and evil, robots and cyborgs, martial arts and epic battle scenes, a satisfying hero's journey, cyberpunk dystopian themes, and more. 

Though my illustrative style has gone through major changes over the last 2 decades, I can't help but be drawn back to those early days of learning how to draw from the weathered pages of tattered graphic novels. Here is an illustration that took me on a nostalgic journey back to the old days when I drew just for the love of drawing and the solace it brought. #manga #graphicnovels #albertleeillustration