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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jan 11, 2016 22:08:17 GMT -5
Icctrombone's creator controversy thread got me thinking about artist and writers one might meet in person and how they deal with their fans. Like Byrne has the reputation of being egotistical and apparently Shooter was a hardass.
Maybe people can share their stories of who they met. And people can ask about who people have met. Jim Starlin being my number one favorite creator; what's this reputation like? Either from interviews and reading accounts on him. Or by meeting him in person.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 11, 2016 22:39:11 GMT -5
Gosh, I've met a ton of pros over the years, some of whom have become personal friends and one of whom became my boss. The highlights would include Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Steve Rude, Archie Goodwin, George Perez (who retouched a panel on one of my sample pages), Jim Shooter, Wendy Pini, Sergio Aragones, John Romita, Mark Evanier, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano, Trina Robbins, Len Wein, Paul Gulacy, Doug Wildey, Paul Levitz, Los Bros Hernandez, Brent Anderson, Nick Cardy, Ramona Fradon, Marie Severin, Chris Claremont, the list goes on and on. Oddly enough, despite having several opportunities, I've yet to meet Stan Lee. The only even mildly unpleasant encounters I've had were with Jerry Robinson, Martin Nodell and Sam Glanzman, all of whom I met late on the last day of various conventions which is probably why they were so grumpy.
Cei-U!
I summon the warm memories!
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Jan 11, 2016 22:48:44 GMT -5
My two bits based upon limited contact with most of these guys:
Chris Claremont was the nicest guy in the world. Met my seven year old twice and was absolutely enthralled with her, even before she revealed that she'd actually read some X-Men issues and loved Kitty Pryde. He held up an entire line of fans with stacks of comics to be signed in order to listen to everything she had to say.
Neal Adams is a nice guy so long as you don't revere him as a comic book god. He doesn't love comics, and doesn't understand comic book fandom. He's a commercial artist from the old school when comic book creators weren't yet young enough to have grown up on comics themselves.
Stan Sakai is the nicest guy in comics.
Sergio Aragones is a close second.
So is George Perez. The dude will take all the time in the world to pose for a picture or talk comics with you even if his line is a mile long.
Guy Davis is astonishingly humble and will talk to you for as long as you'd like to talk with him.
Don Rosa is a pretty abrupt and irritable guy who is constantly disappointed that Americans don't appreciate him the way that Europeans do. He's used to being treated like a rock star, so I don't blame him. I've just stopped wanting to meet him at conventions as a result, even when he has no line and all the time in the world to talk.
I've probably met Katie Cooke three times now, but she's always too busy to really talk to, so I have no idea what she's like. She signs her name, smiles at you, and moves you along.
I'm sure I've met more folks than that, but this is who comes to mind right now.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 11, 2016 23:37:50 GMT -5
I met Norm Breyfogle a few year's back and even commissioned a drawing from him. At the time, he was offering head shots and full figure images for a very reasonable price and I asked what he would charge for a recreation of a cover. Not one of his - but of Detective Comics 319 featuring Batman's battle with Dr No-Face. I had the comic as a kid and always loved it and asked him to simply come up with whatever image he would have envisioned if he had gotten the assignment today. Anyhow, he said he wasn't really familiar with such a request which I had thought would have been fairly common within the artistic community (ie. asking Neal Adams, for instance, to do a take on Tec 27 would seem to me to be something he'd get asked a lot). He seemed hesitant to suggest a price out of concern that I might feel being taken advantage of since he genuinely didn't know what he should charge for such an image. He cited me a price based on the number of figures and scope for the drawing and while I told him it was a great deal based on what I heard artists charged for such work, he still sought my assurance that I didn't feel as if I were being ripped off. I told him if anything, it was the other way around. I also noticed a hesitancy on his part to accept my compliment that he was the first artist who convinced me that Batman's look really could terrify a "cowardly and superstitious lot". "What about Neal Adams?" he asked to which I explained my position that while Adams' Batman could definitely intimidate criminals, he didn't really project a suggestion of the supernatural as Breyfogle did.
Right, so back to the cover. He did a beautiful job on it and had it finished the next day. It looks like a piece of original art for a cover that was never used. We also talked a bit and he was extremely personable. As per my request, he used the Dick Grayson Robin for the scene and he mentioned that he always thought that for all the flack that costume got, he really thought it was cool. He also told me that he had met Sheldon Moldoff (who drew the original cover) at a convention and put his foot in his mouth by telling him how great he looked for his age.
If I ever figure out how to post images from my computer on here I'll scan the image, but this is what I asked him to re-interpret.
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Post by Spike-X on Jan 11, 2016 23:59:54 GMT -5
I...have to go lie down now...
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Post by Spike-X on Jan 12, 2016 0:02:35 GMT -5
If I ever figure out how to post images from my computer on here I'll scan the image
It looks like the only option is to upload it to an online image hosting site such as Photobucket, then post the image-embed code it gives you here. |
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Post by JKCarrier on Jan 12, 2016 0:34:06 GMT -5
The only even mildly unpleasant encounters I've had were with Jerry Robinson, Martin Nodell and Sam Glanzman, all of whom I met late on the last day of various conventions which is probably why they were so grumpy. After manning a convention table myself a few times, I had a LOT more sympathy for creators who come across as grumpy or distant. Being "on" all day, meeting and greeting, can be mentally exhausting. Especially for cartoonists, who in my experience tend to be a bit more introverted than average. That said, I've never really had a bad experience with any pro I've met. Even John Byrne was perfectly pleasant the couple of times I met him in the '90s. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 0:57:05 GMT -5
I met George Perez a couple of times in my life and a little more a year ago - I won a complete set of JLA Satellite Artwork from him and I was speechless and every single one of the 15 artwork that he created was individually signed. He is one of the nicest guys around. I talked to him for about 20 minutes with bunch of his fans and enjoyed listening him.
I did meet Phil Jimenez once and I told him that his drawing of Wonder Woman with that cape was the most impressive drawing that he ever did in his life and he thanked me for making that comment. I only talked to him for a couple of minutes until his agent whisks him away. I wanted to talk to him a couple minutes longer.
In the mid 90's a rare vacation to Chicago Comic Con in 2003 and met in person Alex Ross, Mark Waid, and couple other guests as well and I only visit for a day and I did not stay long. I was there for 4 hours and did not buy anything because the crowd was not treating me very well.
In my own hometown Emerald City Comic Con - back in 2008 - I was there for the afternoon and briefly met Gail Simone, Tony Bedard, and David Finch. Brought a couple of things for gifts and it was a mess trying to get around. I left a half hour earlier than normal and it's really not my cup of tea attending these events anymore.
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Post by batlaw on Jan 12, 2016 1:05:01 GMT -5
Haven't had a great many opportunities to meet ma y creators and "meet" would only only consist of a brief hello and chit chat during a signing. And most of those have occurred in the last 5 years with only a handful over the 30 years previous. Fortunately haven't had any truly negative experiences. Most notable: frank Miller. Stan lee. Neal Adams. Neil gaimen. Chris Claremont. Norm breyfogle. Jim starlin. Peter David. Timothy zahn. Mike baron. Steve rude. Sal veluto. J. Tores. James o'bar. Ed mcguiness. Dexter vines. Dave dorman. Ryan ottley. Sam Keith. Cory walker. Geof Darrow. Tim vigil. Todd Nauck. Carlo barberi. Arthur Suydam. Tyler kirkham. Mike dringenberg. Surely others.
Only mild negative experiences or observations with celebrities.
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Post by batlaw on Jan 12, 2016 1:12:20 GMT -5
Wish list... Alex Ross. Mark waid. Grant Morison. Jim lee. Jose Garcia Lopez. George Perez. Geoff johns. Bruce Timm. Darwin Cooke.
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Post by tingramretro on Jan 12, 2016 3:41:11 GMT -5
I used to write for and edit a magazine about British comics, and that brought me into contact with quite a few creators whose work I'd loved for years (including Pat Mills, who I was surprised to discove only lived about 25 miles from me). Most of them were and are great people, several of whom I've stayed in touch with, but undoubtedly the single nicest man in comics in my personal experience (though sadly, it's limited to phone conversations as he lives right at the other end of the country from me) is Bryan Talbot, a scholar and a gentleman, as well as a genius (IMO).
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Post by Dizzy D on Jan 12, 2016 4:27:24 GMT -5
I don't think I ever met any comic artist or writer in real life (but haven't been to many conventions either. And few will come to conventions over here. Probably will meet some this year though as my sister-in-law really wants to go to the Dutch Comicon because Joe Hill is coming and apparently Mike Grell and Tony Moore will also be there.)
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jan 12, 2016 6:31:30 GMT -5
I've met Mark Bagley, George Perez, and Pat Broderick. All were super-nice and very appreciative of their fans. Bagley lavished attention on the youngest kids waiting in line for an autograph, which is the correct behavior. Broderick was patiently tolerant of my lame joke about Mar-Vell's hair being part of his mask, something he'd clearly heard about a million times already. He still signed my three books and shook my hand, bless him. Perez was jovial, engaging, and endlessly effusive; gave the impression he was in no hurry to see us go.
Tangential to comics, I've met Kevin Conroy and Julie Newmar. Both were very pleasant, though Miss Newmar seemed just a little apprehensive that day. I've no idea whether it was "geek-fatigue" or something else. Didn't detract from the encounter at all.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 12, 2016 7:10:26 GMT -5
I've only recently (within the past couple of years) taken the opportunity at conventions to meet creators, as my time at them was usually limited to just a few hours and I had books that I wanted to hunt down. Now that my want list is much smaller and more high-end (what I'm looking for can't be found by searching through $1 boxes for hours), I can spend time going to the creator tables. I met Herb Trimpe just a few months before he passed, and he was great to talk with. He had a lot to say about conventions and how modern collectors only wanted to latest and greatest (he was signing a stack of his variant covers for one of the Death of Wolverine books for a dealer), so when I handed him my few late-Silver and early-Bronze Age books to sign, he got a huge smile on his face. Bill Sienkiewicz was personable, but he didn't have much time to talk, as he was working on a commissioned piece. Ron Frenz was really nice. His table didn't have a lot of traffic at it (I was at the show early on Friday afternoon), so I was able to have a fairly long conversation with him about his work on Thor and ASM. I met Greg Horn a number of years ago, and he had some interesting things to say about working with Marvel. I've probably met Katie Cooke three times now, but she's always too busy to really talk to, so I have no idea what she's like. She signs her name, smiles at you, and moves you along. Sorry to hear that about your meetings with her. I met Katie at the Pittsburgh Comicon a little over a year ago, and it may have been the time I was there (early Friday afternoon), but she had plenty of time to talk and answer questions that my girls had sent along with me to ask her. Andy Price was at the table next to her and he was quite busy, although he would chat with folks while he was doing sketches; he did three for me, one for each of my girls and one specifically for me, so I had some time to pick his brain on drawing the Ponies. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 7:28:52 GMT -5
I have never met a comics creator.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be, though, to have to try to hold conversations, answer questions, AND sketch something at the same time. That is crazy.
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