Classic Comic Creator Run-Ins

[Kan-Man]

I thought it might be interesting for folks to share stories about the comic creators they've met over the years.

I'll get the ball rolling...

The first artist I ever met was Dave Cockrum. This was around 1980 or so and my mom took my brother and me to a convention at one of those stuck-in-the-60s hotels at JFK airport. Dave was sitting behind a table with some original artwork and I told my mom who he was but I was too shy to approach him. My mother, on the other hand, will talk to anyone so she struck up a conversation with him. He seemed very friendly and gracious and if I recall correctly, signed something for both my brother and me.

Okay, you're up...

[Sir Tim Drake]

The first time I went to the San Diego Comicon, I was waiting in the gate area at the Minneapolis airport, when I overheard some people discussing original art. I noticed that one of them was a rather elderly gentleman. I went up to him and asked him if he was a cartoonist, and he introduced himself as Lew Schwartz.

It was a pretty cool way to start the convention.

[Aaron King]

I met Steve Englehart, Terry Austin, and Marshall Rogers a couple years back in the Twin Cities. I was very happy to have met Mr. Rogers before he passed away. A fan asked him for a sketch, whatever he wanted to draw, and Rogers drew a weird Sugar & Spike character.

I also met Tony Dezuniga. He tried to get me to buy issues of Jonah Hex that I already had.

[MDG]

If you're talking about meeting creators at conventions, the list is pretty long--I did have a couple of unexpected meetings.

I caddied once for Jack Davis

I met Mort Walker in the parking lot of the first Cartoon Art Museum in Greenwich CT. (I guess that wasn't too unexpected)

I accosted Julie Schwartz near Rockefeller Ctr, recognizing him from meeting him at a convention. He didn;t mind exchanging pleasantries, but when my fornd and I asked him if he'd take us to see DC, he said, "Ah, you don't want to see that. It's just a bunch of offices."

MDG

[Kan-Man]

I may have told this story before in another thread, but anyway...

Years ago, I attended a convention in NYC (they used to be at either the Roosevelt Hotel or the Pennsylvania Hotel). This particular year, one of the honored guests was Burne Hogarth. My brother was always a big Tarzan nut, so I took one of his Burne Hogarth collections without telling him so I could get it signed. I waited on a very long line and when I got to the front, I handed him the book (I was so proud of myself for doing such a nice thing for my brother.) He took the book and said to me, "are you sure you want me to sign this?" I answered "yes" and with a shrug, he signed away.

I left the room to inspect the signature and when I opened the book it read "E. Nelson Bridwell"

Apparently I was in the wrong room.

[MWGallaher]

The first two comics pros I ever met were not the typical convention attendees, but there they were at the first Memphis Comic Convention: Ron Wilson and Sam Grainger! Ron seemed like a cool guy; even though I never much appreciated his work, he was pleasant to talk to, and was extremely enthusiastic about his then-current graphic novel, Superboxers, which I and at least one other frequenter of this forum think is a very underestimated work. Grainger was like a caricature of an artist, wearing a beret and with an artist's goatee. I didn't have much to say to Grainger, to my regret...now I can think of lots I wish I had discussed with him, but at the time, he wasn't much more than an occasional Marvel inker to me.

[Scott Shaw!]

Sam Grainger was a good inker but I LOVED his pencils-and-inks on his terrific "Sentinels" backup series for Charlton...nice 'n' cartoony superhero stuff. I always wished I could had met him, but it's reassuring to learn that he was a fellow eccentric!

Aloha,

Scott!

[Asmith]

Will Eisner.

About twenty years ago. I was about 14yrs old and the convention was closing up for the day and everyone was being ushered out. Will Eisner was standing around so I asked him to sign a Kitchen Sink Spirit magazine for me.

He did so, but flicked through it and saw a reprint of the first Spirit story - which he says he hadn't looked at for decades. Next thing I know we're sitting away from everyone as he goes through that story and others panel by panel. Disecting his art, telling me stories about his old studio days. It was great. We talked for about an hour. During which time one of the main convention organisers came up to tell him his taxi was waiting for him. And Eisner shoo-ed him away for being rude and interrupting his conversation with me.

Tremendously nice man. I wish the passage of twenty years and the fact that I was somewhat 'star struck' hadn't fogged my memory of that chat so much. But my memories of his civility, good humour and obvious passion for his craft are still crystal clear.

How many times does it happen that you can meet an idol, hero, icon and find out that they are even better an nicer than you could of believed?

[T GUy]

Grainger was like a caricature of an artist, wearing a beret and with an artist's goatee.

He should've worked for ACG.