The Last Ink

This is one of the last WitchDoctor images I drew in ink before the Tablet PC. This is the cover to Zero Hour - a prequel to the Bootleg series where Jovan wakes up and realizes he can see. The shot derives from a scene where Jovan goes to the mirror in his bathroom and sees himself for the first time in a ling time; the chains and the masks appeared in a series of traumatic visions that follow and create the obstacles of the episode.

The masks always represent the actual spirits (LOA) of the story and the pantheon of ancestral and natural spirits. The cane represents Legba who is Jovan's guide through most of his adventures.

Another important aspect of this shot was to show Jovan's whip scarred back. In the Middle Passage episode WitchDoctor is possesed by the Rada spirits who empower him as he endures the trials of enslavement - ultimately Doc bears the scars and the endurance of his ancestors.