Every year, Independence Day means taking the D train to Coney Island to catch the hotdog eating contest, that flamboyant epitome of American culture. For those who don’t know: The contest is an annual pop art spectacle held on the beach, which features mountains of buns and sausages forcibly disappearing into the gullets of pumped up contestants, cheered on by a crowd of fascinated spectators, journalists and beach goers.
Happy birthday, America!
Once again I managed to brave the heat to make it out to Coney “no shade in sight” Island to draw Nathan’s annual Independence Day tradition, the hotdog eating contest, except this time, I had backstage passes, aka a better view to draw from. Why? Because my friend Yasir “Doggybag” Salem had finally qualified for the event, and was on stage with the likes of Joey Chestnut and Eater X. All drawings seen here were done in real time on location, and colored in later using Photoshop.