A short story several decades in the making.
When I was 14, I wanted more than anything to be the next artist on X-men. I really was more of an idiot then consumed by my own dreams. I thought I was some great artist and Marvel would be fools not to hire me! Yes, I laugh over those days too. I watched too many cartoons and got my start reading Liefeld comics, to say I was naive was an incredible understatement. I thought i was going to change the world with my awesome Shadow Resistance comic and my rad X-men redesigns. I didn’t take into account I was terrible and lacked drawing fundamentals at that point. But I like to think I made up for it with unbridled enthusiasm. So off I went to my first (and for a long time ONLY) comic convention, the old Philadelphia ComicCon with another aspiring comic book artist. Long story short, I got utterly destroyed in portfolio reviews by working artists and studios. Even guys working for books I had no interest in or respect for were telling me I wasn’t good enough. In hindsight, what would you expect for a teenager with no formal art training and just a passion for comic books? But at that moment in time and in my life, I felt defeated, gutted, and shattered. (Par for the course at portfolio reviews, mind you.) I didn’t want to show anyone my artwork anymore, which was mostly class assignments, and skill tests. Most of all, I kept my binder of comic art in the bag slung over my shoulder. I sat by a wall feeling awful about myself and what I had made. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small line for table I missed with a woman looking portfolios of kids even younger than me. Notably younger kids who were smiling. I thought I’d try 1 more, and what did I have lose?
Before drawing some of the biggest lady characters in the DC and Marvel universes, Amanda Conner did Barbie and Vampirella comics. She was in Philly meeting fans, and promoting those titles. She also wanted to work on the big titles, but back then the glass ceiling in comics was much thicker, and the ladder was extremely tall. Before they were known as comic’s best married couple, Amanda and Jimmy were comic’s notorious dating couple, Jimmy Palmiotti swaggered by the booth and also talked to me about working in comics. Over an empty table towards closing time, Amanda & Jimmy took a long time to look at my art, my REAL art, the comic art hidden away in my bag and gave me real drawing advice, stories of how difficult it is to make it in comics, and that, most importantly, you NEVER give up. A lot of people will say no to you and your art, but keep focused on your goal, keep getting better, and someday, the right opportunity will present itself and you’ll be ready. Most people in my situation would and have quit that day, but I really owe a debt of thanks to Jimmy and Amanda whose encouragement, patience, and honesty made a huge difference in my life with comics.
Fast forward to last Sunday and New York Comic Con 2014, I hopped into Jimmy’s crowd funding panel. I listened to some great stories and advice from John Roberts, Hope Nicholson, and Jen Vaughn about successfully crowdfunding your comic, all the while taking notes for upcoming plans. Afterwards, I was able to chat with Jimmy and say thanks for encouraging me all those years ago. I totally missed my next panel but he said head up to Artist Alley and where to find Amanda’s table. With some clever line maneuvering I was able grab a few minutes with Amanda and thanked them both. I told them that I did it, and gave them the URL.
“I made a comic, it won an award and I’m doing it.
I’m making comics now. I took the long way around but I did it.”
So that was the highlight from the last day of NYCC 2014, I met 2 heroes of my childhood, and let them know how much what they did meant to me. That a few kind words and some grown-up perspective changed my life at comic con.
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