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

[micmack]

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

 

About 5 years ago, Bill and I were at the same "New Members Induction" dinner at the Society of Illustrators. I didn't realize it until they showed a slide show of the new inductees when my art came up and his came up right after. I introduced myself (more like an artist collegue than a rabid fan) and he mention something like, "Yeah, I like your work. We could do lunch sometime here at the Society.."

 

Never heard from him again. Take it for what it's worth...

[matewan1990]

Face to face, I haven't met that many artists, but, of the ones I have met, Bill Messner-Loebs was pretty cool and so was Chuck Wjotkewicz (former Justice League of America artist). Bill drew me a sweet Wolverine McAllister piece and Chuck sold me the first original, published art pages I ever owned. I'm even trying to get Chuck to do a fanzine cover for me of the Doom Patrol for an upcoming issue of Comic Book Issues, the first issue of which I'm currently working on.

While trying to interview artists, I've had a few who weren't very nice, but I won't mention any names.

Usually, it's the dealers, the agents and the representatives that are terrible to deal with, and not the artists.

Bill Loebs was great because I confused him with Bill Willingham and talked at length about how I loved his Elementals. Get this, though — I had prepared to meet him by reading some Journeys by Loebs and had even read his Mr. Monster story in Vanguard Illustrated. But, when I got there, I was so nervous to meet him that my brain went offline and off in another direction.

But, Mr. Loebs was nice about it and told me Willingham was a friend of his so there wasn't any problem.

Arrgh! Boy, did I feel stupid.

Mike B.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Every time I've seen him at shows Aragones has been really generous with everyone. Two Wondercons ago we ran into him in the morning a few blocks from the show and he talked with us the whole rest of the way.

 

I guess the previous comment in this thread shows that it's hard to be nice and "on" all the time even for a legendary fun guy like Aragones.

 

Marc

[Weird]

One guy who stands out as being the most cordial, cool guy was Moebius. I think it was the 1987 Atlanta Fantasy Fair (may have been '86), so I was like 14. I think Marvel had brought him over as they were doing those reprints of his stuff in graphic novels. He had no one talking to him at his signing (I think his wife was sitting with him, they were basically alone), so I took him the first Marvel graphic novel and a Heavy Metal he had done some stuff in.

 

Anyway, he was so happy to see a young fan that he really chatted me up and took the time to do a head sketch in the graphic novel and sign my books to me. What a great guy and I'll never forget how nice he was and how eager he was to please a young fan. I am really glad I got to tell him in person how much I enjoyed his work.

 

Shiitty thing is I can no longer find the graphic novel (I think someone ripped it off, but I do have the Heavy Metal issue, at least).

[Sharkey]

good thread topic, Larry!

 

THE GOOD:

John Romita Jr (and Sr.) I was fortunate to live down the street from John Jr. when he lived in Iowa City. I organized and promoted 2 shows that featured him as the comic artist guest of honor, and we donated the admission fees to charity (the local food bank). We also held a charity auction and John was instrumental in getting us a bunch of REALLY cool items for the auction, including a Platinum Spider-Man #1 which was a SUPER sought after book at the time. We ended up raising about $1600 for the food bank -- not bad for a small local show!!! He was the ultimate wonderful guest: he signed autographs and signed photocopies of a sketch he had done of Spidey and the Green Goblin for anybody who wanted one, and spent literally the entire 8 hours of the show signing and talking to fans, kids, and dealers. Nobody was turned away and he never once showed any fatigue even though he had to be exhausted. Truly a gentleman of the comic biz and a great "face" for Marvel. I bought my first OA from John Jr. and then to my utter happiness he introduced me to his dad, John Sr. at a Chicago show in the early 90s and he did a quick Spidey head sketch in my sketchbook, on the page right after a head sketch John Jr. did of Daredevil. Those two pages will be with me to my grave. After meeting John Sr. I can see where John Jr. got his personable demeanor. They were a great father/son duo to chat with for a far-too-brief encounter at the Con.

 

Joe Linsner and Greg "Dark One" Williams I won't recount this whole story in detail cuz I've told it before ("oh, jeez, Grampa's telling the Linsner/Dark One story again...."). But my wife and I had the pleasure of "having" to take these two out for dinner at a show when the promoter got tied up with other guests. A very fun couple of guys and nice as can be. I'll always be fans of their work.

 

Honorable mentions:

* William Stout: Did a great sketch for me at Dallas Fantasy Fair when I was the only fan who asked him for one in an entire day. Go figure!

* Mark Schultz: I asked for a sketch but he forgot to bring his drawing utensils. But he was a trooper and did a FANTASTIC sketch of Hannah and a dinosaur with just a ball point pen. He apologized profusely for not having the tools of his trade but I was as happy as a clam. And clams are happy, yes sir, they are.

* Kevin J. Taylor: Did a phenomenal and very explicit adult sketch....then realized he did it in my wife's sketchbook, not mine. There was a great moment of hilarity as what he'd done dawned on him. But it was totally ok because my wife likes his work quite a bit -- turns out that sketch is one of her favorites, not just because of the art but also because of the story that goes along with it.

* Eric Larsen: A great guy to talk to because he truly loves comics. He's a fan and a collector on top of being a creator, and his appreciation and reverence for Jack Kirby makes him more than ok in my book!

 

 

THE BAD:

I've been very fortunate to not have any bad experiences with artists in person. I've heard lots of stories of prima donnas and rudeness but just haven't experienced it myself. I hope my luck continues as I'd hate to have a negative experience with someone whose work I really admire and have it color my appreciation of their talent.

[AlexH]

I've met a ton of artists and writers, and most seem quite friendly.

 

The Best:

 

Mike Kaluta - Very personable, and always happy to talk to people. The first time I met him, I had been helping out at a convention, and on the last day I asked him for a sketch. I pulled out my wallet to give him some money for it, and he refused. He said that I helped him out that weekend, and the least he could do was a free sketch. And it was fantastic. he spent over 30 minutes on it. Great experience.

 

Andy Lee - The first time I met him, he made me feel like I was his best friend. He is such a pleasure to talk to. If you ever get a chance to see him at a convention, take 15 minutes to watch him draw. He really gets into his work.

 

There are just so many out there that are awesome to speak to. I've had some negative experiences, but nothing major to mention.

[Jeffro.]

Jordan Raskin - Met him at The Javits Center show back in 95. Very arrogant and stuck up. What an ego for a nobody.

 

Yeah, I know, Jordan who?

But this event still sticks out in my mind.

 

Jim Calafiore (at the same show) was extremely nice

 

Way too many "nice guys" to mention.

 

Saw Joe Kubert and John Serverin at the Words and Pictures Museum in Northhampton Mass. ( aint there anymore ) They were both great.

 

Met Mike Zeck once and he seemed a bit annoyed. Just think he was having a bad day. Murphy Anderson - Great. Barry Windsor Smith - Great (he gave me his iced tea!!!)

 

Way too many to list

[Kakapo]

I bought a cool Silver Age collection from a retiring dealer last year, and he chatted a bit about artists he'd met in the good old days (1980s) when American artists would come over to conventions in the UK. He said that Mike Kaluta was a great guy, very funny and friendly. He told me that Steranko was also fun, and he'd sign your books for free if you wanted it to say "To (name), Steranko", but if you just wanted the "Steranko" you were going to sell it so he'd charge you for it! Fair play to him!

 

He'd also met Wrightson twice, and both times he'd been a bit grumpy; the first time he'd written it off as Wrightson having a bad day, but the second time may or may not have been a coincidence!

 

Neal Adams signed his (and now my, mwahaha) Green Lantern 76, but I didn't get any anecdotes about Adams from him.

 

Second-hand gossip, I know, but I thought I'd share...

[*paull*]

I found Wrightson to be a bit grumpy as well. I was a big fan, but I was soured by the experience.

[nik]

A couple of the nicest artists I have spoken with would be

 

1 Scott Eaton

2 Michael Bair

[143ksk]

worse. howard chaykin.

 

Here's a story for you. I believe it took place at the second Chicago Comicon in 1978. I was much younger then

 

I approached a table with original art and started looking through it. It was all by Chaykin (whose work I really didn't appreciate at that time) and I made a disparaging comment along the lines of "Chaykin sucks!" I then looked at the guy behind the table and boy did he have a sour look on his face. He also was wearing a name tag that said "Howard Chaykin."

 

As to best artists, I have had very pleasant experiences with Evan Dorkin, Mark Schultz and Michael Jantze. But my absolute favorite artist/writer is Pam Bliss. If you like offbeat, whimsical comics, then her work is for you. Here's a link to her website and collected works Dog and Pony Show.

[desertdogg]

143ksk. . now that was funny. i bet that look on his face was priceless. good story. larry

[Paradise_Comics]

Now this is an interesting thread.

 

I have met a lot of professionals in the last five years. The majority of them have been great. There are only 3 or 4 of them I was not impressed with and wouldn't deal with again.

 

Here is a list of the people I have really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with in no specific order

 

Will Eisner

Andy Lee

David Mack

Brian Bendis

Phil Jimenez

Kaare Andrews

Adi Granov

Warren Ellis

Jerry Robinson

Michael Kaluta

Darwyn Cooke

Jimmy Palmioti

Amanda Conner

Don Rosa

Stuart Sayger

Dave Sim

Darrick Robertson

 

These are all people that were kind enough to come to our conventions. They were fantastic in every way and went above and beyond the call of duty. True fans of the hobby.

 

Other people that deserve to be on the list are

 

Brian Azzarello

JG Jones

Jim Lee

Rudy Nebres

Pat Oliffe

Stan Lee

Michael Turner

Mark Miller

 

Some are kind enough to agree to come to our next show in April 2006.

 

Of course the Toronto contingent are fantastic. There are too many to name but I truly enjoy hanging out with this talented group. We have gotten into trouble on a few occasions but it has always been fun. In fact I'm heading downtown to meet a few of them right now. Wish me luck.

 

I'm sure I have missed a few dozen names. I hope they don't hold it against me.

 

Thanks

Peter Dixon

Paradise Comics

www.torontocomicon.com

[Paradise_Comics]

And of course here are a few that I forgot

 

John Romita Sr and Jr.

Billy Tucci

George Perez

Howard Chaykin

Tom Mandrake

Buzz

John Cassady (truly one of the nicest guys)

 

and probably still a ton more

 

Peter Dixon

Paradise Comics

www.torontocomicon.com

[bobpfef]

Matt Feazell is the coolest guy in comics, IMO.

 

Sergio Aragones was very nice to me and my friend in Chicago, talking with us for several minutes, looking through our mini-comics and did a free cover for one of our small press comics. A few years later saw him at a Minnesota show and showed him the published cover and he was completely disinterested and almost rude.

 

Will Eisner was very nice to me when I was met him at an academic conference where I was delievering a paper on Al Capp and Shmoo. He was doing a talk with Scott McCloud at the same conference. McCloud also is a very nice guy. Bill Loebs is very friendly and has a great laugh. Hilary Barta, Paul Fricke, Zander Cannon all were geniuenly interested in our self published stuff and were very friendly.

 

Phil Foglio was a real jerk when I was trying to chat with him at a Chicago show.

[Hart1000]

Best=

Bret Blevins, Anthony Carpenter, Richard Moore, Will Meugnoit, John Heebink, Shawn Moll, Eric Canete, Neil Vokes, Drew Johnson, Mike oeming, Eric Coile....to name a few.

 

 

WORST=

Tony Harris!!!

[pkveronese]

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

 

Byrne was actually extremely nice and considerate when i met him (at DragonCon in '97). I was 16 at the time, and he was pretty cool to me.

[COMICKINGS]

I was in line getting a John Byrne book signed in 1993 (at the Pittsburgh Comiccon I believe) for a friend of mine and I was the next guy in line and the John Byrne was just ripping McFarlane and some of the Image guys saying how they ruined the market and all this other stuff. It sounded like jealousy to me how these guys had gone on outside of the mainstream and made a killing and Byrne was at the start of being a has been.

[CGCMINT]

The best:

 

Jerry Robinson,

Dale Eaglesham

Leonard Kirk

Marshall Rogers

Phil Jimenez

Michael Bair

Yannick Paquette

Ty Templeton

Steve Rude

 

The worst (in my opinion):

 

Mark Bagley

Howard Chaykin

Keith Champagne

 

John

[pkveronese]

The best:

 

Jerry Robinson,

Dale Eaglesham

Leonard Kirk

Marshall Rogers

Phil Jimenez

Michael Bair

Yannick Paquette

Ty Templeton

Steve Rude

 

The worst (in my opinion):

 

Mark Bagley

Howard Chaykin

Keith Champagne

 

John

 

How was Bagley? I never here of him doing many conventions.Does he just not like doing them?