More Marvel-ous Gameday Art
Mike Hawthorne, who is Puerto Rican American, created the Eagles’ Gameday Poster, presented by Toyota, for Week 3. Hawthorne made the poster comic-themed, which is his expertise as he published his first book in 1999 and has done work in books such as Batman, Spider-Man, Deadpool, and more.
Growing up seeing the challenges his mother faced with xenophobia and racism coming to the United States, Hawthorne feels prideful that Latino Heritage Month is being recognized.
“It’s always an honor to have done something with the Eagles but doing it during this particular celebration is extra cool for me and for my kids, too,” Hawthorne said. “The fan base for Philly in general is very multicultural, and I think it means a lot when that’s acknowledged. It’s a huge honor for me, especially right now.”
In 2020, Hawthorne published a book titled “Happiness Will Follow,” which touches on the struggles he and his mother faced being Puerto Rican in New York City. Hawthorne said the book is more about his mother than himself, but he got a firsthand encounter of what she faced when he was growing up.
“I realized that most of us that live in America have some version of a story like this, whether you’re from Ireland or Eastern Europe or wherever,” Hawthorne said. “Everybody has a story where somebody came here and had a hard time. … I think everybody realizes that if we’re honest that all of us have struggled a little bit or somebody in our past has struggled to get a foothold in this country. I think for me, that was the real driving force for getting through that story, which was very difficult to share, but important.”
This week’s poster is Hawthorne’s second he has done with the Eagles, his first coming during the Panthers game last season. He said he spent about a week working on this one, and it took him roughly six to eight hours a day.