NEW YORK CITY - Comic books today are a multi-million dollar business. Marvel Comics pulled in $345 million in sales just on comic books alone. When you add in movie deals and, licensing the brand is worth over a billion dollars in sales. The popularity of them seems to grow every year and, there is no sign of slowing down. Today in 2020 there are comic book shops and conventions in every regional area. When you look into the superhero genre many different companies are competing in that space. The older I get, I see this industry grow with each passing year and, I think about one of the greatest artists who started it all. Jack Kirby.
I grew up in Stratford, Connecticut and like most young boys my age, I was fascinated over comic books. Comic book conventions weren't as widespread as they are now. One would have to travel to Dallas or Los Angeles to get access to one. We would get them, in New York City, from time to time, but the audience fanbase was very small. This must sound hard to believe, but when a comic book convention came to New York in 1982, it would be housed at the Sheraton Hotel, but it was not big enough to take over the entire hotel. The hotel only blocked off one floor and, the show was contained in half a dozen salon rooms.
The big sellers at the time were The X-Men and, the hot writer at the time was Chris Claremont. He was holding an open forum in one of the rooms and, the audience could participate with story writing. I spent most of my time on the selling floor, nosing around and I scored an issue of Fantastic Four issue 13. I traded with some kid I just met in the hallway. I was also carrying a bag with me with my treasured issue Fantastic Four issue 23. To this day I don't even know how I scored that. But I brought it with me that day because I heard Jack Kirby was in the building and I wanted him to sign it.
This was a REAL cartoonist and somebody of real merit. He had co-created some of the biggest names in comics from The Hulk, The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Sub Mariner, and many others. He had a distinctive style in drawing and was referred to as the "King Of Comics". I had to stand in line in the hall with all the other kids. I was the very last one in line.
After waiting, for what seemed an eternity, the doorman motioned to me to come forward. This was such a serious moment for me that it felt a bit like a confession. I walked into the spacious room and, there was a desk pushed back against the wall near the window and there was Jack. He was very serious but very friendly. I walked up to him and, introduced myself. I pulled out my Fantastic Four issue 23 and showed it to him. I remember asking him if he remembered drawing it. He studied it for a while like he didn't recognize it. He had a very strong presence and big bushy eyebrows. I was in the presence of a genius but I didn't get tongue-tied. Jack had these amazing eyes that I knew all too well. I couldn't help but think he looked a lot like his own cartoon characters. He had an energy about him that reminded me of Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic. Finally, Jack spoke, "Yes, I do remember drawing this one" and, I asked him to sign it and, he did. I told him, that he was one of my absolute favorite comic book artists of all time. He responded kindly "Well you are one of my favorite people." and, he shook my hand.
I suppose, there are a lot of people out there who will laugh at this story and quip "I bet he said that to everyone he meets". There may be some truth to that but I got an authentic story and, a wonderful memory. I admit, I was young and naive and actually thought the Baxter Building was a real thing in New York until my mid-teens. The Baxter Building was the headquarters for the Fantastic Four. Looking back on it now the thing that really impressed me about meeting Jack Kirby was his humbleness and his warmth and sincerity. As I walked back to the hallway I knew that I had met someone impressive. It turned out to be one of my favorite memories of all time.
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