Continuing my "BBS" series (of sketches drawn by other anthroartists over the years), I offer a work of art by one of the earliest artists I'd ever been acquainted with in my whole life...

AngelBear_OH (a.k.a. G. Raymond Eddy) first got my attention in the late 1970s (or early 1980s; I can't specifically remember when) in the independently-published APAzine "Inside Joke" - where one of his first comic strips, "Galen the Saintly" (the adventures of an angel mouse) appeared. The publication itself - distributed for free at venues like the Mini-Cinema in Uniondale, NY (which I used to go to a lot) - inspired my creative juices; not enough to turn to drawing 'funny animals' yet, but to writing reviews of comedy recordings and animated motion pictures...

But it WAS "Inside Joke" where I'd discovered the additional talents of up-and-coming anthroartists such as J.P. ("Fission Chicken") Morgan and Steven F. Scharff (the latter of whom introduced me to "Rowrbrazzle", where I DID get inspired to become an anthroartist, myself).

The editor of "IJ" - Elayne Wechsler of Brooklyn, NY - introduced me to some of the 'zine's artists, by way of her annual "Ides of March/St. Patrick's Day/First Day of Spring/"Inside Joke" Founder's Day" party. I believe THAT was the first time I'd met AngelBear_OH. Since that time, we'd kept in touch during the '80s and '90s via 'snail-mail', and afterward via E-mail.

Since that first close encounter at Wechsler's apartment, we saw each other a few more times at conventions in Pennsylvania - mainly "PhilCon" in Philadelphia and "AnthroCon" in Valley Forge - during the final years of the 20th Century. It was at "AnthroCon" in 1999 where AngelBear_OH drew one of his other anthropomorphic angels in my big black sketchbook. In this case, it's his female skunk 'Heaven Scent' - who (in her own unique way) reminds us mere mortals not to take life too seriously! (Thanks for the art, and the friendly advice!)

'Heaven Scent' © AngelBear_OH