I thought of trying to draw him with more developed muscles, but did not trust myself to do that and still come up with a 12 year old boy. Then I thought he is still young and could be lean and strong. I think that for kids to get more bulky, they have to focus in actual muscle growth, instead of just doing activities that burn fat and raise strength. Also, Henry has not gone through puberty yet (he is totally hairless, and has the smallest penis of the group, even though he grows the biggest when hard); I prefer to just have him as a strong kid who might have bulked out more as he grew up a little more (which ended up never happening, as he no longer did farm work later on).
As for his height, even if you did not mention it, he is tall for a 12 year old, but Bill is tall for an 11 year old, so they get even in the end.
The background for the Henry James pic is a photograph. There are people in DeviantArt who share "stock images", which can be used by others to create other pics. So I drew and colored Henry, then put the photograph of a Nebraska field behind him.
That pic of Joe and his family was so much fun to draw. Even with the deformed guitar.
This next pic of Mr. Bowers will have sneakers, but I can have him wearing boots later on.
I think I can manage braids. I had Nadine with a version of one in the Joe pic. Of course, her completely black/completely white hair makes it hard to see how the braid really is.
I have "The Talisman" but I have not read it. I want to wait until I have both books. I hope I remember this post once I actually read them.
The play is "Sangre en los tacones", which would literally mean "blood in the high heels". It is a story set in a poor neighborhood in Mexico City. Even though there are murders and poverty, the play is presented as a comedy. It shows bad situations present in our country's society (and in many countries', I guess).
I have never drawn Ben, young or old.
That Ben is such a bully. Poor Henry.