who was the coolest artist you ever met and the worst artist you ever met

[desertdogg]

here.s a good question for everybody to chime in on. who was the best/ nice artist you ever met and who was the worst artist attitude wise. you ever met.

 

i have met tons of great artist 95 % of the were very nice , but then there are the 1 or few with major attitude. heres. mine. # 1 nice and # 1 bad.

 

 

best. ty templeton. this guy was so nice. that wrote his address and ph# on the back of the page. and told me if i ever in his neck of the woods. toronto canada. to drop by for a brewski.

 

worse. howard chaykin. i was at a show once back in the day. i had a cody starbuck sketch that was by chaykin but it was not signed. so iam at his table. he doing a sketch next to him was jamie hernandez, of love and rockets. and i had under my arms. the cover to thriller # 3 by trevor von eden i had just brought

 

jamie was saying how good of a book it was. and i told him that i really did not understand the storyline until issue # 5 when howard blerted out. what,s to understand . i totally got the story from the very 1st issue.

 

so then he was done with the drawing he was doing and i showed him the cody starbuck sketch. and asked had he done it and could he sign it. he look at it and said oh my gawd, were did you get this thing. i thought i threw this away. get that away from me. away away. waving his hand like he was some queen. what a total d--k

 

that was 16 years ago. and i would hope the guy has mellowed out some by now.

 

larry ;]

[rex graine-migration]

It's really hard to narrow down to a favorite artist. Probably my two favorites have been Adam Hughes and Mark Schultz, guys whom I've considered friends.

 

Murphy Anderson is the nicest, sweetest man. Sam Glanzman is funny and salty and full of Navy stories.

 

Al Williamson, Billy Tucci, June Bridgman, Scott Hampton, Tim Truman, and on and on. I could list dozens and dozens.

 

On the other hand, it's really hard to think of an artist that I've disliked. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're having a bad day. Or if they seem a little stand-offish, I try to attribute it to shyness rather than arrogance.

 

That said....

 

The one time I saw him, Carmine Infantino did not look happy to be around people. But, who knows, he may have had his reasons.

[heinlein99]

Living out here in the boonies, I've only got to meet a handful of comics people. I was at the Pittsburgh convention a couple of years ago and got to meet both the Hernandez brothers, comic heroes of mine, and they were both perfectly polite and nice. Julie Schwartz sat at a table and spoke for about an hour to several of us, and it was nice hearing it straight from the lips of a man who was instrumental in the worlds of comics and science fiction.

 

Tony Millionaire (Maakies) seemed like a bit of a jerk. He didn't speak to me directly but at one of those Artists' Panel things before a crowd. He really said some stupid-@$$ things.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Murphy Anderson is the nicest, sweetest man. Sam Glanzman is funny and salty and full of Navy stories.

 

Sam Glanzman is super! He's on the Yahoo Big-Five collectors' list by the way and chimes in from time to time. His work is sooo underappreciated.

 

Marc

[chrisco37]

Great question, Larry!

 

Hard to narrow it down to just one in each category, so I've put a few under each category.

 

Best:

 

JG Jones - Just an incredibly nice (and talented) guy. Met him for the first time at the Dynamic Forces FanFest in 2004. I had just bought a page from him thru his agent and was there to have him sign it. When he saw the page, he flipped out and chatted it up with me for about 10 minutes (despite a huge line waiting for him to sign things). Saw him months later at WW-Philly. He had a huge line again and when he saw me in line, he yelled to me, "Come on, man! You don't have to wait!" Let me cut right to the front (much to the dismay of the others waiting).

 

Ron Frenz - This was way back in my early days of collecting (I must've been 13-14 years old). Just remember how nice he was to me and the other young kids in line. Still have my signed copy of ASM #252. He talked with the adults too, but was just really cool to the kids.

 

Dan Jurgens - Met him this year at WW-Philly while volunteering at the ACTOR booth. Really nice, down-to-earth, and easy to talk to. Really cool with fans. For 2-3 hours each day he never took a break from doing amazing sketches for fans.

 

Eduardo Risso - Of course I was going to say him! Met him at Dynamic Forces also. Although communication was hard (he barely speaks English, and I don't speak Spanish), he was incredibly gracious and humble (even though I was in uber-fanboy mode). Couldn't have been nicer. Like JG Jones, also allowed me to cut ahead in line to sign pages (my never-ending thanks to Dave, Paul, and Brian on this one )

 

Worst:

 

Alex Maleev - He's the winner of biggest a-hole. A total jerk (as is his rep, Anthony Snyder). Met him at WW-Philly two years ago. Couldn't have been more disinterested and put out to be there. Even though he was in the middle of his DD run (popularity was rising), hardly anyone was at his table. Barely acknowledged fans. I've never had an artist (or rep) basically ignore me when I was trying to negotiate a $200+ convention commission (most artists are thrilled if you want to buy a head shot for $20). I ended up not getting a thing because of his attitude.

 

Jim Starlin - I have no idea why, but the guy just doesn't like me. I have no other explanation.

 

Doug Mankhe - I was 16 at the time and he came to a local show (this was when he was doing "The Mask", and a few years before the Jim Carrey movie). I got into a fight with this guy over the cost of a sketch. The show was poorly run and at a Holiday Inn. He wanted $25 for a pencil drawing of the Mask (this was when you could get a inked drawing from Mike Zeck for $10). I was already in the hole $25 for the unadvertised admission (a crazy price even today for what the show was) and only had only brought $50 to the show with me (more than enough for me back in those days). We argued over it for a bit and, yeah, I bought it (and yes, it's pretty frikkin' cool - I still have it). But, who fights with a kid? In hindsight, I was just as much to blame, but it really left a bad impression.

[desertdogg]

thanks guys for chimeing in. i know they are a lot more story,s out there good and bad there don,t be bashful lets hear them.

 

chrisco37. maleev. rude. who would have thunk it. a guy that draws that well.

 

i love the mankhe story. i would have loved to see that, an artist and a fan in a heated debate over the price of a sketch.

 

larry ;]

[Bronze_Age_Fan]

Never met the guy but I've heard from a few people that John Byrne can be a bit prickly...anyone here met him?

[Smokinghawk]

Nicest by FAR is David Mack. He's so considerate of his readers, so eager to talk and not brush us off, and happy to answer questiosn without just giving a quick response and moving on. The guy's been through a lot, and it seems he hasn't forgotten that other people struggle too, and that he;s in a position to help make someone's day.

 

I'm pleased to own seven of his fully-painted and drawn pages from Daredevil.

 

Has anyone here met Sienkiewicz? He seems decent in interviews, but I've never heard an account of someone meeting him.

 

[*paull*]

I'll have to think some more about the worst category, but here's a list of my favorites to meet in person:

 

David Mazzuchelli - Very friendly, outgoing and appreciative to his fans. Great guy.

 

Jim Steranko - Extremely friendly to his fans. Jim has a reputation as being an egomaniac, but he's anything but with his fans... he's very approachable.

 

John Totleben and Steve Bissette - Great guys... very friendly and fun.

[Kevin76]

Best

I haven't really talk to many artists at all,I saw Todd Mcfarlane at the boston convention back in 1991,but never got a chance to meet him,so I was bummed about that.Dave Sim was really nice,I met Neil Gaiman.. that guy is a total maniac,he's real nice but com'on,a bit odd in a sense, all black clothing in July anyone?

 

Worst

Bob Almond,He's an egotisical maniac who think s he's god's gift to comic book inking.1st of all, he lives 2 towns over from me and was looking for an inking assistant to ink backgrounds on pages.He gives you some Vellum and photocopies to see how you do and goes from there.This went on for about 2 weeks and in that 2 weeks all I heard was how good he was and how he got this line this thin with a brush,and how his rejected inking samples are much stronger than mine and he was using synethtic brushes I'm only gonna give you $15 a page and no credit He lives in an aptartment in New Bedford,MA (think bronx,ny area people) While he said my stuff was looking pretty good near the end of my inking career with him,everytime he saw 1 bumpy line he'd throw a hissy fit (this guy was acting like they never invented white out) He also went on to tell me how an editor is like a God..I wanted to shoot him right there.Listening to your boss is one thing,but acting like he's god is another.While I was there he went and showed me his bernie wrightson collection since I was a fan,About a week after he told me he was going to "sideline" me and to keep sending him stuff,I got a letter from him asking If I wanna buy like 3 prints he had for like $300... . Looks like Mr Amazing needs some cash A while back I ended up buying the print I liked off of eBay for like $20.

[chrisco37]

Jim Steranko - Extremely friendly to his fans. Jim has a reputation as being an egomaniac, but he's anything but with his fans... he's very approachable.

 

I agree 100%! I had the pleasure of meeting him at this year's WW-Philly. Got lucky and walked by his booth just as he was done setting up. There were a few fans in front of me. He talked to each and everyone of us. Shook everyone's hand and addressed each person by their name. He gave a few minutes to each person and talked about whatever that person wanted to talk about. I asked him about his style (mainly his Strange Tales/Fury work). He said his background in film was his biggest influence. He said instead of trying to be a "comic artist", he tried to be a "comic cinematographer". Also, asked him about his favorite comic artists (past and present). Very interesting stuff. I almost put him in my initial post, but didn't want to ramble too much (so you get it in this post instead ).

[comicartfan]

I met Steranko at this show in Framingham, MA last year and he's a good guy. He does have this confidence that turns off alot of people; which can come across as being uppitty. - True, he doesn't do sketches and photos aren't allowed, but I think he'll sign anything and talk to you for hours.

[october]

Coolest:

 

Stan Sakai: Does great fan sketches and just seems like a really nice guy.

 

Sam Glanzman: I sat next to him at a con dinner in SD last year and he was very cool. He gave me a sketch the next day at the show as a gift.

 

Mike Kaluta and Rich Kozlowski also stick out in my mind as being particularly nice and fan friendly.

 

 

Worst:

 

Haven't run into any jerks yet, but Sergio Aragones was rather brusque when I met him.

[desertdogg]

smokinghawk. iam in awe of them mack pages you have great stuff does he charge a lot for a page. larry

[jonjesper]

Best:

Many! Phil Hester/Ande Parks, always willing to sketch even when you see them every show

 

Darwyn Cooke, anyone ever see his 'sketches'? The guy is amazing and puts a ton of time into making sure you get one gorgeous piece of art!

 

George Perez..spent 20+ minutes working on a free Batgirl in full color for me and loved every minute of it. A total class act!

 

Gene Ha...every time he sketches he never takes a penny. He just asks that you dontate the money to CBLDF, or Shelter etc. You bring him the receipt and you get a gorgeous piece of art. One of kind type of guy!

 

Josh Middleton, doesnt do many sketches anymore, but every year I visit with him and we have become acquaintances and he always obliges for a commission or sketch

 

Joe Linsner. A total professional. He gets it, he really does.

 

Doug Mahnke. I see him every year and he always does a great job on a commission. He talks and talks and is very interesting.

 

Skottie Young, sincere and loves what he does

 

Frank Miller...the man!

 

Worst:

the 2 worst that I have ever had the displeasure of seeing and wish I would have never met:

 

Eric Powell, to busy counting his money to do a sketch, but 5 minutes later I see him sketching for everyone. Pissed me off so bad, I never bought another book.

 

Christian Gossett, I used to teach in the same town that he lived in and we sparked up a conversation about the town etc. After about 5 minutes, I asked if it was possible for him to sketch something for me. The person in front of me had received a sketch and it appeared he was doing them for everyone. This is what he says to me with his hand out (dialect included)

"5 dolla make machine run" (in his worst Japanese impersonation)

Never ever ever bought another book and little did he know I was also a retailer. Never pushed his book and thankfully he is nowhere to be seen anymore!

[vodou]

that was 16 years ago. and i would hope the guy has mellowed out some by now.

 

Yes, he's mellowed out. Chaykin is infamous for his odd sense of humor, but he's not serious. No reason to take offense, he'd never met you before and doesn't know you. It's not about you, just a different sense of humor.

 

And by the way, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a while, enjoying the comments and will post as my (limited) free time allows.

 

Michael

[vodou]

BEST - Mike Zeck. After a few months of casual e-mail correspondence he invited me to swing by his place in CT (he's since moved to FL) on the way back from the big White Plains, NY show in 2000. Best fanboy day of my life, sifting through his flatfiles and talking comics, art, stuff.

 

WORST - I'll pass on posting names publicly but there's several people I won't make the time of day for, just like they treated me. C'mon, you're a guest at a show, put on the smiley face (fake as it may be) and perform. That's the minimum required.

 

Michael

aelhra.com

[delekkerste]

The best:

 

I enjoyed speaking at length with both Neal Adams and Jim Steranko. Two industry legends - full of ego, to be sure - but it was great meeting and chatting with them. I met Ken Kelly at a recent NY con and he was really fun to talk to. I always enjoy talking with Billy Tucci of "Shi" fame and Rich Koslowski of "3 Geeks" renown whenever I see them. Joe Jusko and I share similar collecting interests, and I enjoy talking art with him every now and then. I have met Greg Horn several times (and even considered hiring for a project which hasn't yet gotten off the ground) and he's always been cool. Stuart Sayger is an up-and-comer and is really personable.

 

 

The worst:

 

Not really an artist, but Josh Blaylock of Devil's Due Publishing really rubbed me the wrong way when I met him just before the re-launch of the G.I. Joe series. I asked him when the book was coming out and he gave me a look like, "what, how can you not know when the greatest comic book ever produced is coming out?" and replied with a huge amount of disdain in his voice. And, I spied him seeing out the corner of his eye the penciller and inker signing my copy of the Convention Special and then he went to occupy himself with something else so not to have to sign. What a colossal @$$wipe.

 

I met Bill Sienkiewicz at a San Diego Con and he had to go speak for a panel, after which he was supposed to meet me so I could give him the money for the commission we were talking about. He never came back. I tried to give the money to his representative instead, but he blew me off saying he didn't have anything to do with those things. After e-mailing his agent (different from his art rep) several times, I finally heard back from Bill many weeks later. I followed up on the commission we were talking about in my response and I never heard back from him again. I don't know; maybe he's just really busy. But, hey, there are plenty of other artists and their reps who will make time for me, so no skin off of my back...

[Smokinghawk]

smokinghawk. iam in awe of them mack pages you have great stuff does he charge a lot for a page. larry

 

A few hundred dollars each. I have more, and I'll post them sometime soon.

[desertdogg]

aeihra. mike welcome to the board. no need to lurk. ;] post when ya can. take care. larry.

 

 

smokinghawk. please share more of your mack pages when you get the chance. they look like they were worth every penny you spent. i think if he ever got the chance to do batman he would kill. a mack joker. oh yeah. larry ;]