I was really into comics a while back so once in a while I would go out of my way to check out new artists, or books that seem to get good reviews. I had seen Ben Templesmith's work before, but my real introduction to his amazing work, and to Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, was when I was literally introduced to Ben by a close mutual friend. I met him at the San Diego Comic Con a few years ago and we got to talking. After the show a group of us went to a local bar to grab a drink and shoot the shit for a bit. Ben and I got to talking and my sculpting came up. As I recall he seemed interested and made an offhand comment about wanting to have a sculpture of Wormwood made sometime. After thinking about it for a bit I just decided that it would be a fun project to do. I was keen to see if I could capture a sense of his style in a physical sculpture. The next year at the Comic Con I saw him and gave him a pair. He seemed pretty happy with the end result and even said something about wanting to get them produced and available to sell, although I never really heard if that went anywhere... I must add that Ben Templesmith, as well as being an amazing artist, is one of the nicest, most outgoing and most gracious people I have ever met. And that is saying a lot. I am happy to say that it has been my pleasure to hang out and drink with Ben from time to time since our first meeting, although it always seems to be during Comic Con. Looking forward to this year.