Snicketopia

I owe a tremendous debt to Brett Helquist: it was his artwork that made me notice the series in the first place, and his I defer to in all matters of visualizing the books, to the extent that I seriously studied it for a while in the hope that my artwork could blend in with his.

Esmé Gigi Genevieve Squalor - the city's sixth most important financial advisor, and soooo in. The resemblance to Stacey from TLC's What Not to Wear is not entirely subconscious. Who is more Esmé than her? (Good gravy, I deplore that show!)
Jacques Snicket - Contemplating the nature of evil. (I was playing with Photoshop on this one... here is the line version)
An Earlier Jacques - Protesting his innocence. Before I fixed the mouth on this one, he looked oddly goose-like.
Aunt Josephine - Before I studied Mr. Helquist's style, and before the movie came out. Not that the movie changed much in my mind.
96 Hours Later - Between their arrival at the Village of Fowl Devotees and the first night at Heimlich Hospital, the Baudelaires do not sleep for 96 hours. Violet is very tired. (I'm sure the others are too, but Violet is the one I can draw from memory.)
Quigley Quagmire - I am inordinately fond of this picture... I drew it when stuck on the bus in miserable traffic, after copying every illustration out of The Ersatz Elevator in the hope of gleaning some Helquisty magic.
Jacques and Quigley - This isn't really a scene from any of the books, but it could have happened... in Monty's library, where they research late into the night. A bit too late for Quigley, but one gets the impression that Jacques is (was! alas...) a night owl.
Duncan Quagmire - Drawn well before Quigley, and in my own style, so there is little family resemblance.
Isadora Quagmire - Another bus drawing; I had neither Quigley nor any Helquist illustration for reference, so once again she's not too identical.
Mr. Snicket's Childhood - a literal depiction of what is described in the interview found on the audio version of The Bad Beginning.
Slippery Slope Day - I drew this the day The Slippery Slope came out. I was inordinately giddy, and probably disturbed several people on the bus.
K. S. - If you don't know who this is, don't click the link. Read The Grim Grotto all the way to the end, instead.
Orlando - This wasn't intended to be the henchman who looks like neither a man nor a woman, just a sketch with interesting proportions, but I couldn't help myself.
Mrs. Baudelaire's Arm - I have been trying, off and on, to draw the photograph the Baudelaires find in Heimlich Hospital. This is a doodle I did at work where I did nail down what Mrs. Baudelaire's arm would look like, at least.
Early Klaus - I first encountered these books via the audio recordings at the library (which I 'read' while working) and decided that if I were to draw the characters, they would be in a combination of my style and Edward Gorey's. It didn't really work.
The Sadistic Studio - I did this for a friend of mine who was employed at a place that was, at the time, unfairly demanding. The characters are caricatures of her and two of her colleagues who I'd also gone to school with. I think I got a bit carried away with the crosshatching, but I'm proud of the cover text.
But I'm Not Harry! - This drawing was inspired by a conversation I had with a lovely and marvelously talented person named Katie. I said that the reason I'd not picked up the Snicket books sooner was that I thought, at first, that they were Harry Potter ripoffs, due mostly to Klaus's appearance on The Miserable Mill. This prompted her to write the following, which I had to illustrate as soon as I read because it was so hysterically funny, appropriate, and perfect:

With a grand gesture, Bellatrix Lestrange stepped off the platform and dragged a frightened looking boy out of a chair. He was wearing a suit with a large rip across the shoulder, and his hands were bound. As Bellatrix dragged him to the platform, Voldemort could see that he had something that looked like a scar on his forehead. Voldemort also noticed that he had dark brown hair, just like Harry had, and that he was wearing glasses, just like Harry. But unfortunately, Voldemort could also see that he wasn't Harry Potter. He wasn't as tall as Harry Potter, and he wasn't quite as thin, and his eyes were brown, not green. But most of all, Voldemort could tell it wasn't Harry Potter, the way you could tell a stranger wasn't your uncle, even if he were wearing the same polka dot coat and curly wig your uncle always wore. Voldemort looked at the boy being dragged up to the platform, and realized with a sinking feeling that he had been jumping to conclusions about Harry's capture.
'Ladies and Gentlemen', Bellatrix said, 'And not-quite humans. I give you Harry Potter!'
'But I'm not Harry Potter!' the boy cried. 'My name is Klaus, and–'
'Silence!' commanded one of the meanest looking Death Eaters. 'Death Eaters rule number 920 clearly states that no one may talk while on the platform!'
'Use Cruciatus on him!' shouted Mr. Crabbe, pointing to the trembling boy on the platform. 'We haven't used the Cruciatus curse on anyone in a long time!' Several members of the Death Eaters nodded their heads. 'That's a good point,' one of them said.
'He's Harry all right,' said Mr. Nott from the far side of the room. 'He has a scar on his forehead, and he's wearing those same round glasses!'
'But lots of people wear glasses!' Klaus cried. 'And this isn't a scar! My sister's hair ribbon just got caught in my glasses.'

Those of you who have also read these books far more times than is mentally sound may recognize this passage as the scene in The Vile Village where Jacques is caught in a case of mistaken identity – but with a few strategically changed names and minor details, it becomes the most brilliant and hilarious crossover I've ever read . . .

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