37 Days, 93 Backers: One Goal
I bought my first Comic Con Vendor Table for Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh ahead of my first Kickstarter for the concept of The Asaniverse.
Difficult to sell a Kickstarter concept when I didn’t even have concept art, the Kickstarter failed, but I met two Artists.
The First…
…was an American comic book artist, co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
During his career, Adams co-created the characters Man-Bat, and Ra’s al Ghul for DC Comics. He also co-created the character of John Stewart, the first African-American, Green Lantern.
Before that Neal and his friend, Writer, Dennis O’Neal created this legendary sequence.
I took this panel and made a poster thanking him for including someone the looks like me in a comic book. He shook my hand and seemed really touched when I presented it to him
He was so touched, the young man with him came over to my table to personally thank me and tell me how much that meant to Neal.
I thank him and told him it was sincere.
Neal Adams defied the “never meet your heroes” trope as my esteem for him grew exponentially after the only time I was fortunate enough to meet him.
It was until after Neal’s passing I found out who that young man was,
“It wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly got it. It wasn’t until I sat at tables at conventions next to the same people I would watch treat my father with such reverence that I understood.
He was their father too. Neal Adams’ most undeniable quality was the one that I had known about him my entire life: he was a father. Not just my father, but a father to all that would get to know”
As one of Neal’s other “Sons” I had no idea that Josh was my “Brother”
Rest In Paradise Neal Adams
The other Artist I meet Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh, LOOKED like a superhero with his Mohawk haircut, Writer / Publisher, Victor Dandridge, made the formal introduction when I was visiting his table and said I needed a versatile artist.
With all do respect to all of enormously talented Artists working today, I sincerely believe the most, talented, creative, original comic book artist / illustrator / designer working today is my close friend, primary creative partner and Asani Entertainment’s principal artist, the great, Ren McKinzie.
And it couldn’t be more appropriate that today almost ten years to the day we met, my SECOND Kickstarter ended with a decidedly different result….
