Dragon Ball Artist Pays Tribute to Bardock in New Sketch

The father of Goku was introduced in Dragon Ball Z and though he hasn’t been a series regular, his influence continues to have an effect on the franchise as a whole and one Dragon Ball artist has decided to honor him with a brand new sketch. Bardock wasn’t just your typical Saiyan, finding himself given an ability to look into the future while ravaging an alien world. Foreseeing his own death against Freeza and his son eventually defeating the alien despot, Bardock sacrificed himself in an attempt to save Planet Vegeta and carved his way into Dragon Ball history!

Bardock has had a weird history in Dragon Ball Z for sure, as he was originally thought to be dead following the final standoff with Freeza but was instead seemingly transported back in time to fight one of the alien despot’s ancestors. As Bardock attempted to figure out what he was going to do with his remaining days, he developed an affinity for the alien race, and found himself gaining the ability to actually become a Super Saiyan, gaining the transformation long before his son had achieved it.

Dragon Garow Lee is one of the most prominent artists in the Dragon Ball stable, having lent his talents to the series with a number of art pieces as well as creating a unique spin-off story that followed an otaku finding himself in a Z Fighter’s shoes with “That Time I Was Reincarnated As Yamcha“:

The father of Goku recently appeared in the third feature length film for Dragon Ball Super, introducing the Legendary Super Saiyan of Broly to the franchise with a flashback to Planet Vegeta. During this brief flashback, we don’t only learn more about the Saiyan race and how their society works, but we learn more about Bardock himself as well as his significant other and mother of Goku, Gine. Though his fate remained the same, it was definitely a nice touch to teach us more about the character that was responsible for the birth of the protagonist that has become such an icon in the world of anime.

What do you think of this amazing Bardock artwork from one of the biggest Dragon Ball artists on the block? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Dragon Ball!