Comic Creators - Artists, Authors, Etc...

[bminor]

Does anybody have any interesting stories of meeting, knowing any comic book creators, artists, authors from the golden age?

I personally having grown up in Minnesota, have none.

B.

[darkmark (RIP)]

I interviewed a bunch of them for Comics Interview and at conventions and met more that I didn't interview.

[Yoc]

I've only met a handful of creators.
Al Williamson, George Perez and Bill Willingham.  All were very gracious with this young kid.

[bminor]

Darkmark,

That is a vague response. You met some.

Well... WHO?

B.

[darkmark (RIP)]

Hmmm.  Well...
Interviews:  Will Eisner, Murphy Anderson, Al Williamson, Archie Goodwin, Mark Evanier, Steve Englehart, Gardner Fox, Dick Sprang, Jerry Grandenetti, Arnold Drake, Martin Nodell, Marie Severin, Don Heck, Gene Colan, Michael T. Gilbert, Roy Thomas, Alfred Bester, Doug Wildey, Neil Gaiman, Dan Spiegle, Jim Steranko, Don McGregor, and some I'm forgetting.
Meetings:  Jack Kirby, Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Steve Gerber, Dave Kraft, Gil Kane, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, E. Nelson Bridwell, Julie Schwartz, Stan Lee, Mark Waid, Tony Isabella, Bill Willingham, Chuck Dixon, Walt Simonson, Weezie Simonson, Alan Moore, Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Jim Shooter, whole buncha other people.  Not all these folks are Golden Age, but what the hey.
Work with:  Len Wein, Carmine Infantino, Jim Valentino, Henry Martinez, Rich Howell, Mark Gruenwald, Don Heck, several others.
Hope that helps. 

[Roygbiv666]

Say, does anybody have any interesting stories of meeting, knowing any comic book creators, artists, authors from the golden age? 

[Yoc]

Jim Amish sure does... tons of interviews in Alter-Ego.  Often the high-light of each issue.
Mr Williamson was very nice to me but I was too young to know an intelligent question to ask.
Mr Perez had an insanely long line-up and people weren't encourage to ask questions.

[narfstar]

Irwin Hasen was very nice at Heroes Con. I was a big fan of his Dondi strip in the early seventies so we talked about that.

[darkmark (RIP)]

Hmmmm, okay.  First off, Jack Kirby...I met him 1st in San Diego, where he told me, "I draw destructive ducks."  (Shortly after Destroyer Duck appeared.)  I said, "I know, sir," and tried to corral him for an interview, but not much luck.  Another year, in Chicago, Mark Evanier gave me an invite to Kirby's surprise birthday party, and I was there!  We yelled "Happy Birthday!" to Jack and I took pics of him cutting the cake.  I don't think I met him again before the end.  But one of my funniest meetings w/ him was when he was sitting at the Eclipse table with Dean Mullaney, Jerry Siegel, and Steve Gerber.  Jack wore a Yankees cap and I remarked that it reminded me of Steve's story from HAUNT OF HORROR #1.  Since it was about a psycho killer who wore the same kind of cap, Steve cracked up and almost fell out of his chair.

[Yoc]

That's a fun story DM!
I'm sure the gang would love to see a Kirby birthday pic if you felt it was ok to share.

[paw broon]

This is good fun and I have met and had nights out with some comics creators here in Scotland.  Not many of them were G.A. But Mr. Eisner was one and having dinner with him and Archie Goodwin in Café Gandolfi, just up the street from the shop, was a huge high point in my life.  The nicest people you could hope to meet.  Not a very interesting story, bminor, but there it is.  I should remember more about the chat as there were only 5 of us but I was so taken up with it and in awe. And there was the small matter of the odd libation.
Irwin Hasen turned up at a con. (this is getting boring) but I chatted to him while other chanty rasslers got sketches and I forgot.
Non. G.A. - Bill Sienkiewicz was at a series of signings in Scotland and some of us were in McShane's flat with the great man for the odd drink and ,of course, some numpty asked him how to pronounce his name.  He replied, "Bill".
I'd be more than happy to regale you with just what great company Dave Sim is (what a constitution) but I'm sure you all know what happened when we took him to Strathclyde Uni. Students Union. All I remember, to my eternal shame, is the first hour and a half.  But there is a pic of him, me and a couple of others on the back of Cerebus (I forget the number)
Mike Richardson bought dinner for a small party of 3 of us, in the hotel we were staying in, 20 odd KM outside of Angoulême - we were all there for the amazing annual con. - and he was good dinner companion, his only request being that we didn't talk about comics.
This wont mean much to most of you but I know someone who now lives in the house formerly inhabited by Dudley D. Watkins, arguably the greatest artist to work in British comics (Well, he is, in my opinion)  What a claim to fame, eh?
Enough ramblings, I have comics to read.

[darkmark (RIP)]

Well, here's another I recall:  I was walking with Al Williamson to the room where we'd set up gear for a videotaped interview.  We talked a little about his alias "Baldo Smudge", which was used in an old CREEPY story he drew, "The Success Story", which see.  I told him I always thought that story had a happy ending:  a bunch of friends came over and pitched in to help him make a deadline.  He laughed.

[bminor]

These are all great stories! I wish I had some of these wonderful experiences here in Minnesota.
When I was a little boy in the seventies I spent several summers in the small town of Menagha, Minnesota,(current population 1300), located in the upper central portion of the state, in lakes country,
We stayed at a cabin on Blueberry Lake just north of town.
We would spend a week there every summer, our family would be out on the lake every day fishing.

I was then as I am now a rabid comic book fan.

Years later I am on the internet reading about comic creators.
I have always been a big fan of artists'. Well one day I was reading a biography of Wally Wood.
It turns out he was born in Menagha, MN on June 27, 1927.

I just did a new search on Mr. Wood. Growing up, he and his family lived on a farm in Becker, MN just 30 miles from my home town of Anoka, MN.
I have driven though Becker hundreds of times. I have always loved history, now I am going to have to find out where this farm is.
B.

[bminor]

Somebody MUST have some more stories about creators of comic books....

[bminor]

Has anyone ever had an meeting/encounter with the mysterious Steve Ditko?

B.