“Re-entry II" (1978) Colored: 2017

"The drawing titled Re-entry (1978), was the original version of Re-entry II.  As with the first Re-entry, the theme in this image remains the same...breaking the line. With the original, once I had decided to break the line, the next step was to come up with “what” could break that line.  I grew up watching television, and one of my favorite shows was Lost In Space (1965-68). I was hooked from the first episode, where one of the men from the intrepid Robinson family’s spaceship, Jupiter II, went on a spacewalk, and lost his tether. He fell all the way to the surface of the planet! I loved it! And so, with Re-entry, and Re-entry II I finally got to place my own astronaut in the same jeopardy.  There were a few years between the two Re-entry’s, and the most notable difference in the two drawings is that there is an Apollo spacecraft in the first version, while in the latter, a Shuttle. Now, the Shuttle is no more. Things change. Re-entry II appeared in Miles Russell’s 1992 Nonsports Illustrated produced trading card set, titled Dactyls. The following narrative, written by Miles Russell, appeared on the back of this card: “The serenity of their afternoon sunbath and shallow water foraging was unexpectedly shattered by the falling creature, who had crossed the line of no return. In the world of Dactyls, man is alien." - Rodney Marchetti