Favorite Memories of the Comic Art Hobby 3 3

[Flambit]

7 hours ago, comicfanboy007 said:

Hearing these Tales from the Con makes me so happy. SDCC 2017 was the first time I have missed since 2006 and I realize I was lucky to have gone that many years. I know these is a lot of griping about how the con has changed but I still think the energy and excitement that permeates the air of San Diego for that weekend is something special. Fortunately I am going this year and I am so excited to be going back now more than ever since I have really immersed myself in the original art hobby. Thank you so much for sharing these.

Absolutely!  I've only missed, I think, three SDCCs since 1983.  Hit me up when you're down there this year - we can say hi!

Hoping to make Brian Peck's dinner - had to cancel at the last minute last year, but really want to go and meet some of you all in person!

[Panelfan1]

48 minutes ago, Flambit said:

Absolutely!  I've only missed, I think, three SDCCs since 1983.  Hit me up when you're down there this year - we can say hi!

Hoping to make Brian Peck's dinner - had to cancel at the last minute last year, but really want to go and meet some of you all in person!

the new restaurant he chose this past year was excellent.

[Flambit]

Here’s one last dumb story.   

SDCC, 1986.  I was at an art dealer’s booth, only remember vague details.  Man and a woman, younger couple.  Random stacks of art at least 8 inches high, and at least 6 to 8 stacks.  No binders and no mylars - not even anything on their wall behind them that I remember.  I vaguely recall they had a ton of panel pages and literally nothing specific about what they had sticks in my head, except for two pieces.  One was the cover Green Lantern 195, I believe by Joe Stanton.  It jumped out at me because the cover had no trade dress that I recall, and is this super powerful image of a GL in the shadows holding the power battery.  $50. I set it aside to buy, and continued looking.  

I reached about 3 pages from the very bottom to the stack and found the Giant Size X-Men #1 cover production stat.  Right at the bottom, below even the discount pages.  Trash.  “What the hell?”  The dealer explained that it wasn’t the original art, and briefly outlined how stats are created.  My funds being what they were, though, I could only buy one.  So I went with the GSXM stat - hey, at least it will look cool on my wall, right?  Got him down to $45, too (I don’t know what was with me always trying to talk people down - I must have been super annoying).  

So almost immediately after leaving his table, I get hit hard with this deep buyer’s remorse.  I just paid $45 for what is a glorified photocopy.  $45 back then was a fair amount of money for me.  So I decide I’m going to try and just get rid of it.   Not even flip it - I just want my money back.  (In those days, you could get an NM GSXM1 for $75, and that was the key book for me and my friends - even more so than Hulk #181 - and I had bought, essentially, what amounted to a copy of the cover only, for 2/3 of that price). I *may* have even tried to get the dealer to buy it back, I genuinely don’t recall. If I did - he wouldn’t. 

And to be fair, there actually are very small slivers of original art on the stat, along either edge where a production artist had to re-draw both edges of the image that got cropped out when the stat itself was shot (edge of Storm’s cape, the page tearing, some of the speed lines).  But nothing consequential.  

Anyway, a couple of my friends from school were at con - one had just bought the cover to UXM 161 for, like, $100 or whatever it was (although I wouldn’t actually know this until we got back into town).  Bottom line, they had no money.  I asked them if they wanted to buy this thing for what I paid.  No.  I asked if they wanted to go in half on it, and I’ll try and sell it/split the money?  No. They basically thought it was stupid.

God dammit.  So now I’m walking around con with this thing - there were no coat check booths back then, you had to cart your around with you.  And I notice, that a couple of people have stopped me asking to take my picture.  I start to realize that people think I’m walking around with the actual art!  At this time, I don’t think it was widely known that there were two pieces used in production.  I would say, “Yes, this was used to shoot the cover, but no, this isn’t the actual art.”  But people still seem to be interested, nevertheless.

Finally, I’m talking to this dealer and just looking over his books and he’s fascinated with this thing.  “Hey, I’ll trade you this,” and he offers me a sharp looking copy of Daredevil #1 - whites are bright, corners are sharp.  No CGC back then, but it was definitely a 9.2, maybe even a 9.4.  I explained that it wasn’t the actual art.  He said, “Honestly, I don’t care - I think it would be really cool to own that!”  I told him I’d really think about it.

So about this time I’m starting to think, “Well, ok, maybe this thing might be worth keeping,” and almost immediatley this English dude makes a beeline right for me.   He’s this fast talking, real in-your-face type.  “Mate, how much do you want for that?  I’m heading to the airport right now, so if you want to make a deal, we need to do it!”  I looked pretty uncool - a kid with braces, bad haircut, geeky, and I’m holding, what looks like this all time key piece of comic book history.  Clearly I’m a rube.
“Look,” I sighed, “This is not the original art!”  I pulled it out of the plastic sleeve and showed him.”  
“Wow… thanks for being so honest,” he said.  
Honestly, the hard sell thing was freaking me out and I wanted him to leave me alone.  

At the end of the day, I’m on the shuttle with my friends, and we’re going back to our hotel - I’m pretty sure the con hotel that year was this late great dive called Hotel San Diego - long gone now.  It was one of those places that, in a bygone era, would have been beautiful: the lobby had balcony that ran along the back wall and this ornate open view elevator with those old timey fancy gated doors and it would descend from the second floor.  So we’re on the bus, and, of all people, Len Wein is sitting behind me.  “Hey, that’s really cool,” and he’s pointing to the stat.  He proceeds to tell me exactly why they had to make it — and I wish I could remember the specifics of what he said now, but I was a kid and just wanted to go eat or something.  But it had to do with creating the washed out effect on the original X-Men in the background and that the OA itself was too big.

Here it is for the curious:

[Catwoman_Fan]

39 minutes ago, Flambit said:

Here it is for the curious:

Show off!   Of course you didn't get Len to sign it.  Sheesh, kids!

So impressive! Is it on paper or board? Any production markings on the back?

[Flambit]

It didn't even occur to me to have Len sign it.  I'm not even entirely sure I knew who he was at the time.  I probably knew his name - I was pretty up on creators - but I was a kid, and I guess he didn't make a big impact on me at the time.  

There are some production markings on the back consistent with covers of this vintage.  It's on the back of a standard art board and it's about what you'd expect: it's a montage of stats layered on top of one another to form the cover.  The whole thing is about an inch shorter than a standard cover (there's a dead space at the bottom).  

A few years ago, it finally did occur to me to have Len sign it.  Years ago, he was a regular every new comics day at the Golden Apple's satellite store out in the valley (and later, at a store called Galaxy of Comics).  In the Golden Apple days, when it was on Reseda Blvd, in the early 2000s, I was a regular and got to know Len a little bit.  We would make fun of that Alex Ross full image poster of Batman: "How could you be afraid of a guy that wears a satin cape?" (I love Alex Ross btw). Then, last year, I saw him at SDCC - I was going to bring the piece up to him - but I was so rattled by how sick he was, as I hadn't seen him in years. I sort of stammered some question about the Golden Apple, and then asked some variation of the same question again because I was so nervous, I guess, or just in shock and trying to make conversation. He snapped at me that he had just answered that question, and I scurried away. I could tell he felt bad about snapping because he said something like "It was nice to see you again." But I just felt so terrible to see the guy in so much pain, hunched over, just struggling to sit up... And then he was gone a couple of months later.

Always bummed that was my last memory of him.  He was a really cool guy.  Never quite got over of seeing him like that.

[grapeape]

1996 SDCC My brother and I meet John Romita SR. for the first time. He makes this really cool Spidey drawing for me.We are all from New York. We talk about New York. He tells us about the good old days at Marvel. He continually pauses from my drawing/sketch to reminisce. As much as I'm enjoying it all I feel a tinge of guilt as a line of people are waiting for autographs behind us. This was the first ever piece of original art for me. John Romita is one of the nicest people I ever met. Thank you John.

[MarvelComicsArt]

Both John Romita SR and his son John Romita JR are the nicest individuals i have ever met at any convention .

Salt of the earth people. I have so much respect for the both of them.

TALENTED AND VERY HUMBLE!

Great sketch and a fantastic story! congrats

Edited March 15, 2018 by MarvelComicsArt

[grapeape]

2 hours ago, MarvelComicsArt said:

Both John Romita SR and his son John Romita JR are the nicest individuals i have ever met at any convention .

Salt of the earth people. I have so much respect for the both of them.

TALENTED AND VERY HUMBLE!

Great sketch and a fantastic story! congrats

Thank you! Yes JR Jr is also a swell guy. I met him yeas later. John Romita Sr. is indeed the warmest fellow one could have the joy to meet. He is beyond patient with the fans. In fact as I say he is overly generous with his time. I literally had to pull myself away from our great discussion out of respect for all the other fans waiting. Other people cut from similar clothe were Jim Mooney and Gene Colan. Marie Severin, Mchael Golden and I could go on. Also met Big John Buscema the year before he passed away.We talked about the Silver Surfer and Dan Adkins. He admired an original art page he had drawn but hadn't seen for almost 40 years. Grea hobby!!!

[Brian Peck]

I have been a fan of Jean Grey/Marvel Girl since I first read X-Men #8 by Jack Kirby. In 1994, X-Men #30 Wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers was published. I was on the hunt for the artwork. About 4 years later I found the wraparound cover at Spider-Web Art Gallery. The interiors for the wedding issue was tougher, the penciler Andy almost never sold his art and never had seen any interior art on the market. 
I found Spencer Beck an art rep was helping Andy sell some art so I inquired about the wedding issue. Spencer informed me Andy would sell his part and Spencer has contacted the inker Matt Ryan and he agreed to sell me the pages he owned. After paying alot for all the pages, I discovered 3 pages were missing. Andy never sold and of his art and neither had Matt… a mystery. This was back in 2000, 6 years after the book was printed.
Fast forward 6 more years…… and I get an email from Spencer Beck wanting me to call him. I called and he told me a story.
The staff at the Joe Kubert School of Art were cleaning out the basement of the school, I think they were renovating it. They found a rusted out old desk belonging to Andy Kubert. Andy said just to throw it out since it was useless but when they started to dismantle it to move it they found.......
a ton of original art by Andy including 50 plus covers..........
an envelope containing three pages from..............

X-Men #30
Andy mentioned this to Spencer who remembered someone one was trying to put the book back together. He then contacted me.

With Spencer's help I was able to do a deal with Andy for the three remaining pages. 

[Flambit]

2 hours ago, Brian Peck said:

I have been a fan of Jean Grey/Marvel Girl since I first read X-Men #8 by Jack Kirby. In 1994, X-Men #30 Wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers was published. I was on the hunt for the artwork. About 4 years later I found the wraparound cover at Spider-Web Art Gallery. The interiors for the wedding issue was tougher, the penciler Andy almost never sold his art and never had seen any interior art on the market. 
I found Spencer Beck an art rep was helping Andy sell some art so I inquired about the wedding issue. Spencer informed me Andy would sell his part and Spencer has contacted the inker Matt Ryan and he agreed to sell me the pages he owned. After paying alot for all the pages, I discovered 3 pages were missing. Andy never sold and of his art and neither had Matt… a mystery. This was back in 2000, 6 years after the book was printed.
Fast forward 6 more years…… and I get an email from Spencer Beck wanting me to call him. I called and he told me a story.
The staff at the Joe Kubert School of Art were cleaning out the basement of the school, I think they were renovating it. They found a rusted out old desk belonging to Andy Kubert. Andy said just to throw it out since it was useless but when they started to dismantle it to move it they found.......
a ton of original art by Andy including 50 plus covers..........
an envelope containing three pages from..............

X-Men #30
Andy mentioned this to Spencer who remembered someone one was trying to put the book back together. He then contacted me.

With Spencer's help I was able to do a deal with Andy for the three remaining pages. 

That's pretty awesome.  Those pages could have languished unfound forever.  You're so lucky to get an entire book put back together.  It's one of my goals to get an entire book of something one day.   

What's more insane is Andy - how do you just lose 50+ covers?  Crazy.  

Didn't you own most of a Byrne FF book?

[PhilipB2k17]

My favorite memory, so far, is meeting Howard Chaykin at a con and just talking with him for an hour (he was not mobbed, which I found ridiculous) about the comics industry (stories I am not allowed to repeat, but great!), his love for musicals, talking TV shows we both enjoy, and me giving him some good book recommendations. (Yes, I did buy art from him!) But, by far, the best was when he and I fancasted an American Flagg TV show/movie. It's since been announced, be he said at the time that he had just concluded a development deal on a Flagg movie/show. It was not yet public knowledge. After that we discussed who should play Ruben Flagg. As you can imagine, this was a pretty cool moment. I threw out my favorite: Jon Hamm.

He immediately said "He's too old." Howard said he thought the character should be a comedian, or a comedic actor, because he viewed the series as a dark comedy/social satire. It's amazing to hear from the creator of an important work like that, their intention behind the series. Also, I was freaking fancasting American Flagg with Howard freaking Chaykin.

Edited March 15, 2018 by PhilipB2k17

[CartoonFanboy]

5 hours ago, Brian Peck said:

I have been a fan of Jean Grey/Marvel Girl since I first read X-Men #8 by Jack Kirby. In 1994, X-Men #30 Wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers was published. I was on the hunt for the artwork. About 4 years later I found the wraparound cover at Spider-Web Art Gallery. The interiors for the wedding issue was tougher, the penciler Andy almost never sold his art and never had seen any interior art on the market. 
I found Spencer Beck an art rep was helping Andy sell some art so I inquired about the wedding issue. Spencer informed me Andy would sell his part and Spencer has contacted the inker Matt Ryan and he agreed to sell me the pages he owned. After paying alot for all the pages, I discovered 3 pages were missing. Andy never sold and of his art and neither had Matt… a mystery. This was back in 2000, 6 years after the book was printed.
Fast forward 6 more years…… and I get an email from Spencer Beck wanting me to call him. I called and he told me a story.
The staff at the Joe Kubert School of Art were cleaning out the basement of the school, I think they were renovating it. They found a rusted out old desk belonging to Andy Kubert. Andy said just to throw it out since it was useless but when they started to dismantle it to move it they found.......
a ton of original art by Andy including 50 plus covers..........
an envelope containing three pages from..............

X-Men #30
Andy mentioned this to Spencer who remembered someone one was trying to put the book back together. He then contacted me.

With Spencer's help I was able to do a deal with Andy for the three remaining pages. 

That's a great story. I can only imagine your excitement when Spencer told you the three missing pages had turned up. So cool that you were able to reunite the entire issue.

[Doc McCoy]

Growing up in Orlando, you're always in the shadow of Mickey Mouse. While Disney has always been amazing, it's an entirely different experience when you are there for the birth of a new theme park. It's been quite the journey with Universal Studios . . . from Jaws to Harry Potter. I was there the day the park opened, went to their very first Halloween Horror Nights (they're prepping for HHN 28 this year) and got to experience a whole new thrill when Islands of Adventure opened the summer after I finished college. While all of the "Islands" are great, of course Marvel Adventure Island was always my favorite. Given the time period of its opening, the island is dominated by X-Men art, with some Avengers, FF, Hulk and Spidey sprinkled in. Adam Kubert was the main contributing artist for the park and his work can be seen everywhere, however there is one small sitting area that features the work of another artist. Called "Shards", these six diamond pillars feature numerous Marvel characters, but one features the original X-Men, Professor X, Magneto and the Sentinels. I've eyed it for few decades now at the park and was thrilled to find the original artwork on Anthony's website, especially since I now get to share Universal with my 10 year old son. 

So here's my little piece of theme park history, the original art to "Shard #4", the X-Men, by Sal Buscema and Tim Townsend.

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Doc McCoy

[Brian Peck]

5 hours ago, Flambit said:

That's pretty awesome.  Those pages could have languished unfound forever.  You're so lucky to get an entire book put back together.  It's one of my goals to get an entire book of something one day.   

What's more insane is Andy - how do you just lose 50+ covers?  Crazy.  

Didn't you own most of a Byrne FF book?

I owned about half the book but that took 25 years to put together and the prices keeping going up. I own all the important pages to me from the issue.