(by Tony D.)

     The hero of this little book was to be a wholesome, all-American kid.
     I suppose, physically, he was inspired from my younger brother, Adam, who was red-haired and freckle-faced when he was little. I wanted some type of characteristic that defined his age, so I thought of having the missing front teeth as tell-tale detail.
     Boy, was it a real challenge to get Jimmy’s design just right! I hired a model to pose for reference, but I didn’t want to just copy the photos. Instead, I wanted to exaggerate his features. I made his head large, his nose and cheeks really flushed. There was much reference to Norman Rockwell’s work as I tried my feeble attempt of capturing an old-fashioned kid.

     Jimmy’s outfit was another story altogether. I loved dressing up in costumes when I was young, and we (my sister and brother) always improvised. So his clothing is like a mishmash from a closet raid. The welder goggles and scarf were reminiscent of the World War I aviators. But, “The Little Prince” also wore a scarf (and traveled space), so there was a homage to that favorite.

     Lastly, since I knew there would be many things going on around Jimmy, I used a gimmick to keep your eyes on the kid. His design utilizes all of the primary colors (red, yellow & blue). No other characters had this color combo, and so Jimmy could always stand out in a crowd (of Mars Men).