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On the Shoulders of Giants

moriarty

00:50 / 18.07.01

There's a comic I've been wanting to draw for awhile now which would pay tribute to those cartoonists who I most admire, and who have influenced my own work. So I got to thinking of which cartoonists I should include, and that naturally led to the parlour game where you can choose one person, living or dead, you would most want to meet.

So, if you could meet (or, if you're a cartoonist, be an apprentice to) any cartoonist, living or dead, who would it be, and why? Keep in mind that your decision can include the cartoonist's personal history, what you know of their personality, and other factors that don't have to do with cartooning.

CameronStewart

01:56 / 18.07.01

There's only one answer: Jack Kirby. Aside from the staggeringly huge amount of things he could have taught me about the art of comics, by all accounts he was one of the most genial and generous men to have walked the earth.

Apparently fans would come to house in LA, completely unexpectedly, and he'd invite them in, talk comics and tell war stories for hours, and his wife Roz would make sandwiches.

I'm disappointed that he died before I ever really got into his work - now he's an idol of mine and I'll never have the chance to meet him...

[ 18-07-2001: Message edited by: CameronStewart ]

CameronStewart

02:00 / 18.07.01

Although Milt Caniff would be a good choice also, if only because back in the day he'd have gorgeous Hollywood actresses coming to his studio every week to model for him...

The Return Of Rothkoid

02:00 / 18.07.01

While I'm not as knee-deep in my comic history as I'd like to be - or should be - I'd like to suggest that a dinner date with Charles Addams and Edward Gorey would be quite something.

bio k9

11:21 / 18.07.01

It has to be The King. But if Cameron got there first I'd take a rain check and go visit Neal Adams.

grant

13:29 / 18.07.01

Winsor MacKay.
He obviously had a psychedelic imagination, he worked in papers, and he used to go on "lecture tours" where he'd cartoon on the fly, amusing audiences from coast to coast.
And what I've read combines hip slang, childish imagination and adult sarcasm. Never cruel, only clever.

I'd also love to meet Hal Foster. I still read Prince Valiant regularly, love the detail in drawing and in historical/mythical stuff (and in the plot devices, actually). My dad always said he was a Mississippi State man, and that means he had to have at least some charm in person.

Sandfarmer

20:37 / 19.07.01

Other than the King of course...

Carmine Infantino (Who I've actually met.) His art carries so much motion and sense of urgency.

David Mack. (Who I've also met.) Multiple styles. Multiple mediums. He's a student and master of the art form and gets better month after month. One of the nicest and most intelligent guys I've ever met. He truly loves the art form and strives to put out the best work he can. He has no ego about it. He just wants to keep growing.

John Romita and John Romita Jr. The father and son behind all my favorite comics when I was a kid.

Paul Pope. I love to watch him do his magic.

Mike Grell. Just a personal fave.

the Fool

23:13 / 19.07.01

Bill Sienkiewicz. He completely changed the way I draw. His work on the New Mutants was awe inspiring.

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