Howdy. Yesterday — the first day of Comic-Con International 2017 — somehow felt like the nineteenth to me. This is not to say I didn't enjoy it. I've enjoyed to some extent every day of every one of these I've attended — and I've been present for at least one day of every one of these things. I'm just not used to feeling Fourth Day Fatigue on the first day. I'm hoping the process has just reversed itself; that today will feel like Day Three, tomorrow will feel like Day Two and by Sunday, it'll be like I just arrived.
Breakfast was with my friend and editor — two descriptors that cannot always be hung on the same person — Charlie Kochman. Charlie is responsible for the new, revised edition of my 2008 book, Kirby: King of Comics, which debuts today and which I'll be signing later this afternoon at the booth for Abrams Books. If I were a better promoter of my own work, I'd have the booth number handy to give you.
Got to wander the hall a bit and then it was time for my first panel of the con: Spotlight on Mike Royer. I've known Mike since a day when neither of us could have imagined he'd become the main inker of Jack Kirby's work…and in the opinion of many, the best. I hope my interview of him made folks appreciate the exemplary professionalism that Mike brought to that job. Jack's work had been previously lettered and inked in New York by people selected by the office there…and the office there liked it that way.
Jack was living in Southern California so though officially the editor of his comics, he couldn't see or impact much about them between the time he finished the writing and penciling, and when the books went off irrevocably to the printer. For that reason alone, he wanted to have his work finished by someone closer to him — someone who would deliver the pages to him, not the New York office. (There were other reasons, as well. He felt the folks in the office were trying too hard to make his work look like everything else they were publishing, plus there were security breaches. The fellow then inking his work was also inking for Marvel and showing Jack's work around that office.)
In his spotlight, Mike said, "They gave in to Jack's demands because they were sure I would fail." That's true but it was more important to them that Jack fail. They did not want to believe that someone could deliver a finished, ready-to-color-and-print work without their input. But Mike did not fail, which meant that Jack did not fail. Mike never missed a deadline and everything he did was solid and professional.
It was also very, very good but that was almost a bonus.
We discussed that and his work with Russ Manning and what he did for Warren (Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella) and for Gold Key and on the Marvel Super-Heroes cartoon show, and later for Disney for a couple of decades. He really has had an amazing career.
Later in the day, I was on "The Mark, Sergio, Stan and Tom Show," or as most folks call it: The Groo Panel. This year, it was without Tom Luth and as usual, we talked about upcoming projects. I'll do a separate post about those in a few days as we are still using our convention time to firm up some plans.
Saw a lot of old friends and made some new ones. Were I not due for a breakfast meeting, I would tell you more about it. Later.