You could probably finish reading the Stern Cap in one sitting, since it was such a brief run. Great stuff.
Okay, long-winded post coming up...
I've never(!) been to a comic convention but when I saw that I had the chance to meet artist Mike Zeck yesterday at Florida SuperCon, I bought tickets immediately for me and the Mrs.
Zeck comes across as a quiet, soft-spoken guy, and, I kid you not when I say that he flashed a smile and his eyes lit up when I asked him to sign my copy of
Master of Kung Fu #82. He said "It's nice to see one of these again." He talked about artist Gene Day and recalled his MoKF inker fondly, talking about how both he and Day loved martial arts stuff and so they had that in common when they began working together. Zeck even wryly commented that Gene would do any and all work asked of him just so long as he had plenty of cigarettes, coffee, and doughnuts to fuel him, all of which Zeck pointed out, contributed to Day's early death.
I also said, without a hint of hyperbole, that he, Zeck, was the "savior" of
Master of Kung Fu, as it had been on perilous artistic ground since Gulacy's departure. Zeck laughed and said, "Yeah, because the guys they had on it couldn't turn the work in on time."
Also met former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter--really nice and charming(!) guy, quite different from all the negative things I've read about the man concerning his years at Marvel and how he "chased off" the talent. I also met Jim Shooter on Sunday, who signed anything and everything anyone put in front of him! One pot-bellied, long-haired-but balding type had no less than fifty books that Shooter signed without question, even if the majority of said books only involved Shooter by virtue of his being E-in-C at the time. Shooter was telling stories the whole time and having a good time with the small crowd that had gathered around his table.
When it got to my turn and the one Avengers comic (#214) I brought for signing, I told Shooter that he, by virtue of being Marvel's EiC, was an architect of my childhood. He smiled and you could tell he was touched by the compliment. Shooter replies to remarks by telling anecdotes about his time in Marvel and how Stan Lee's work made him feel and how inspirational it was. I then told Shooter that the very comic he was signing made an impression on me, which is when Ghost Rider "smoked" Iron Man and Iron man was stunned and panicked by what had happened to him. Shooter laughed, said "Ha! I'm glad I made an impression!" Obviously pleased to know that something he wrote made an impression on a reader.
What a thrill.
On a negative note, I was turned off by the CGC vultures and guys like the fifty-books-to-be-signed guy and another greed merchant who was a neurotic mess; worrying about where and what he wanted signed. Those types aren't true fans but rather speculative creeps who are the major reason the comic industry is in the shape its in and why artists have to charge for their autographs (though small fees they are; except "Man of the People" Neal Adams who charged $30.00 a signature, whereas "Evil Ruiner of All Comics" Jim Shooter didn't charge
anything for autographs or photos.