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"You Are One Of Us" – The Action-Packed Life Of Jim Steranko

From writer Kody Schmitt in Kansas.

This past weekend, the legendary Jim Steranko made his first-ever appearance in Kansas City at Planet Comicon. I had the privilege of attending his riveting panel, which was moderated by award-winning author and comic historian J. David Spurlock. Steranko, who is as eccentric as he is charismatic, spent the panel recalling his days breaking into the comic industry, his time as an active gigging musician and escape artist, and his proneness to dangerous situations.

A few moments before the panel began, I had to step outside to take a phone call. As I exited the room and turned to my right, I realized I was but inches away from Steranko, who was waiting by the door. He noticed my surprised excitement and extended a warm greeting. As he was explaining to one of the convention volunteers that he likes to make grand entrances for the sake of show business, I decided the phone call could wait. I re-entered the panel room and waited for the magic to begin.

Spurlock introduced Steranko, who strolled in with an abundance of confidence, charm, and character. As he approached the steps to the panel stage, he paused in comedic fashion to urge additional cheers from the audience before continuing onward. Unfortunately, the video screens that were supposed to be playing during his panel were not working. Spurlock explained that they used to have music during the entrance, but ASCAP put a stop to that. Despite this scaled-back entrance, there was high energy in the room.

This was not a traditional panel with questions and answers, but rather 50 minutes of entertaining and comedic storytelling. Steranko began with a joke: He said he was walking down the street earlier and decided to grab a bite at a place that said "Breakfast Anytime." He told the audience that he went in and ordered "bacon and eggs in the Renaissance."

He then proceeded to explain how he got his break in the industry. While working as a musician and art director for an ad agency, Steranko wanted to pitch a new comic character named Super Agent X. He had tried pitching the character to numerous New York-based publishers in the course of a day. Archie comics wasn't interested in the character, but offered him a gig doing their cover art work. He turned their offer down. He went to DC comics, who offered him a job writing scripts for existing books, but he would not be allowed to draw them. He turned them down, as well. He then went into Paramount Pictures, who loved his Super Agent X pitch and bought the rights to make an animated series. This boosted his moxie to levels unparalleled.

With only a few minutes before their offices were set to close, Steranko decided to try his luck with Marvel. Initially, Flo Steinberg, who was Stan Lee's secretary at the time, told Steranko that Stan Lee was not seeing anyone. He lifted Steinberg's arm and put his work samples into her grip and stated, "Stan Lee WILL see me." A shocked Steinberg had Lee come down to meet him. Lee was initially just interested in meeting such a ballsy character, but he ended up being very impressed with Steranko's work. Lee said they really didn't have room for a new creator, but he couldn't afford to lose him to D.C. Steranko tactfully withheld the information that he went to DC first and had already turned down their job offer. Lee took Steranko to the board displaying all of Marvel's ongoing titles and uttered the two words that changed comics forever: "Pick one!"

Steranko also described "invisible epiphanies," a phrase he coined. These are the unnoticed moments that have a significant impact on one's life and future. For Steranko, his first major invisible epiphany occurred when he was seven. While shopping with his mother, he happened across a print of The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. The psychedelic image of the impossible mesmerized the young artist-to-be, who was awestruck and motionless upon gazing at the iconic painting. This would shape his love for art and influence his own personal style.

In addition to falling in love with art at a young age, Steranko also held an affinity for reading. With "comics in his blood," he learned to read at a very young age. According to his mother, he was already able to read word balloons in many comics before he was two years old. Steranko questioned how she knew he hadn't just memorized the words; she replied that she would cover up the pictures and only show the word bubbles, and that he was often able to read the text.

Steranko spent the remainder of the panel discussing some of the reasons moderator David Spurlock refers to him as "the cat with ten lives." As a teen, Steranko became an escape artist in the vein of Houdini. He would often put himself in grave danger with only his wit, skills, and on occasion, luck to see him through. One such instance occurred during a carnival. He had two police officers tie him with rope to the side of a ferris wheel. As the ferris wheel would make its rotation, Steranko planned to untie himself and escape as the wheel reached the ground. Unfortunately, as he ascended with the wheel, he had already loosened the ropes too much. Once he reached the peak elevation of 80 feet, the ropes snapped and he began to plunge to the ground. Luckily, just before hitting the ground, one of the cars on the wheel moved into position under him, allowing for a safe and grand landing.

For a young Steranko, danger was not just an occupational hazard — it was a lifestyle hazard, as well. With only a little bit of panel time left, he contemplated which story to close with. He decided to tell two short stories, one involving a motorcycle crash and another involving a band of bikers antagonizing Steranko while he was driving a car. These stories were chosen because according to Steranko, "You guys love when I bleed."

One night, he and a girlfriend at the time were riding his motorcycle in a rural area he was not familiar with. Possibly driving a little too recklessly, he ended up crashing the bike and totalling it. Luckily, his lady friend did not suffer any damage; but Steranko, on the other hand, was cut very badly on the arm. He was in dire need of medical attention and the nearest humans were on farms miles away. He made the executive decision to use the scalding hot remains of the totalled bike to cauterize his wounds.

His other story also involved he and a lady friend riding in his car, when a band of bikers shouted something incredibly insulting to her. Steranko felt obligated to defend her honor. Even though there were many bikers, Steranko used what he called "Steranko math" to determine that even though he was outnumbered, his car had to weigh more and contain more power than all the bikes combined. As they were coming up behind him, he let on the brakes, causing them to crash into him. As they attempted to regain their footing, Steranko yelled out, "I'm getting ready to back up now." The audience erupted with laughter as moderator Spurlock claimed, "That is the story I didn't want you to tell."

I have attended many panels from many creators, and Steranko's was possibly the most entertaining and fun panel of any comic creator I have witnessed. I was lucky enough to meet with him for a short chat and autograph after the interview. We discussed music theory, Kansas City's jazz history, and life on the road as an artist and musician. These were all things I related to on a personal level. I didn't want to take up too much of his time, so I apologized in case I was overstepping my bounds. He grasped my right hand with both of his in a firm handshake and said, "Not at all. You are one of us." It was humbling moment I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

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