What Interaction With A Comics Creator Will Always Stay With You?

Taurin Clarke: "Meeting Arthur Adams in 2016, warning him I was going to fanboy, but asking him to take a look at my work. He looks, squints, puts his glasses on, smiles – then he leans over to Mark Brooks and says "Mark. this guy is better than you" (Obviously joking) What he said after tho- "You've got skill and chops… What're you gonna do with it? You absolutely should be published". Hearing that from one of my all time favorite artists… even as an adult, made me rethink my whole outlook. A few years later, after putting together a real portfolio, a chance email from @kharyrandolph , a hookup from @hellocookie and an impeccably timed shout out from @MitchGerads and I was able to secure my first major gig. Three years later, I'm still here and loving it."

Chris Battle: "Met Sergio Aragonés when I was 11; He told me to keep drawing & 30 yrs later when I saw him again & told him about my animation career he was so genuinely excited to hear it."

Marissa Louise: Sergio Aragones said he loved my work and knew who I was when he was resting at my table I have no idea if that is true or not, but it really was a special feeling. I've always loved his work.

Ben Kahn: "When I didn't have a single credit to my name, a total know-nothing kid trying their best to make a comic, JG Jones treated me like a professional and a peer. He made me feel like I could make it in this industry, and I've never forgotten that kindness and respect."

 James Silvani: My mom and I met Charles Schulz when I was ten and showed him some of own comic strips. He said "Wow. You're better than I was at ten. Keep it up." Not only did that encourage me but it purged any thought my mother had of me becoming a dentist.

EL Anderson: At a con Louise Simonson said "freelance comics editor? Is that a viable job?" And I explained kinda, because of image & kickstarter et al, and she laughed and said "that sounds TERRIBLE, I hope it turns out AMAZING!" Great lady, A+ combo of realism & encouragement in 1 sentence.

Tim Seeley: When I was 19, I showed my portfolio to @AllredMD. He said my stuff was cool and took a page of pencils, inked a panel and gave it back to me. My mind was blown.

John Allison: I was shown extraordinary kindness and courtesy by @GeneHa early in my career. A huge boost to my fragile confidence. I have tried to take it as an object lesson in how treat less experienced artists.

Jack Lawrence: Very early on in my career I was treated with extreme kindness by four people, at (mostly) different events, and I will never forget that welcome at a time when I was, quite frankly, shitting myself. So thank you, @MIKECOLLINS99, @seangallowayart, @MarkBrooksArt and @leinilyu !

Séamus Patrick Burke: Me being nervous in front of Amanda Conner. She gently took my hand and said, "I was the same way when I met Frank Miller."

 Robert Wilson IV: At one of my first cons, Neal Adams walked by my table and greeted me and my pals with "You boys making money?" When we said yes, he slammed his fist on the table and almost shouted "THATS WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR!" and walked off.

Alex Jaffe: Jim Starlin once told me "Here's the only difference between Marvel and DC: the editors at Marvel are tyrants, and the editors at DC are idiots."

Fabian Nicieza: About a month into my new job at Marvel in 1985, I was assigned a Marvel Age cover article to interview Stan Lee. Scheduled with Stan's assistant, make the call, put on hold, then THAT voice comes on the line and first thing he says is, "Fabulous Fabian…" And I felt immortal.

Jon Moisan: When I was an intern in the X-Office I went to a Chris Claremont signing and told him I was helping out on his comics and he looked at me with disdain and said "And why should I care?" and then signed my comic without looking back up. I was legit crushed.. At LACC I saw a moderator ask Frank Miller if he'd ever collaborate with Lynn Varley again only for him to politely say they had moved on. The moderator then asked if he'd ever collaborate with her romantically; Frank got real mad and said it "wasn't any of his f-cking business"

Alex Paknadel: Years ago, I pitched Will Dennis (then at Vertigo) at a show. He strained every sinew to set it up at DC, but they ultimately passed and I came down to Earth with a bump. 24 hours later he told me to expect a call from Boom! Studios and launched my career. Nobody does this alone.

Jason Loo: 2012, Leonard Kirk took a photo of my cosplay and said it's the best Multiple Man cosplay he's ever seen. 2 years later, I created Pitiful Human-Lizard under the same publisher w/him where we toured cons across Canada. Learned a lot about his process and still a supportive gent.

Lilah Sturges: The time I ended up driving Matt Wagner—whom I had never met before—to a restaurant in Fort Worth from a con and we got lost in the middle of nowhere and he looked at me with no trace of humor and said, "You're taking me out here to kill me, aren't you?"

C. J. Hudson: I met Rags Morales at a con once and told me that falling out of love with comics is easy to do if you go all in as a creator. That creating as a hobby will always be more fun. I think about that a lot.

Alan J. Porter: Waiting to get into SDCC early one morning standing next to Darwyn Cooke chatting about our mutual appreciation of Will Eisner.

Will Robson: I went to a convention because Marvel was doing portfolio reviews. There was a panel with @CBCebulski and @RyanStegman about breaking into comics. I remember asking some sort of question to Ryan and he answered it but after said on mic to CB & everyone that he knew my work and that CB should check out my portfolio. Later on when I was getting my portfolio reviewed by CB, Ryan was doing a signing right next to us. He said to CB more encouraging words about my work in the middle of his signing. 2 months later I was working for Marvel.

Mike Hawthorne: Years ago I met Mr. Wil Eisner (at his last year at the awards, RIP). I told him he was the reason I wanted to make comics. He solemnly put his hand on my shoulder, looked deep in my eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

Chris Condon: A friend and I knocked on Dennis O'Neil's door and instead of turning us away (as he rightly could have), invited us in and chatted for three hours about life, comics, and writing. Not necessarily in that order.

Rob Jones: Too many. Drinking with David Aja & Frank Quietly post Glasgow Comic con, being recruited by Andy Lanning, getting work from Darrick Robertson, spending ages setting the world's to right with Marc Bernardin & Scott Snyder at T-Bubs, having BKV laugh at my choice of book to sign..

Danny Earls: I've had the great fortune of meeting alot of amazing creators that have been so generous in giving me their time but meeting @GailSimone
last year at TB was the biggest stroke of luck ever. Through her generosity I've got to pursue my absolute dream this past year! :)

Joey Vazquez: Getting invited to @philhester 's house after meeting him at a comic shop signing with my brother and Phil mentoring us in how comics are done. Was one of the coolest experiences I won't ever forget.

Hilary Barta: John Severin inked a Punisher parody I did for WHAT THE–?! Afterwards I called him to thank him and tell him how much it meant to me. He said "You did all the work, kid." Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I've been.

B. Clay Moore: I was a kid haunting John Byrne's table and he told me to keep quiet, sketched two Wolverine figures, finished one, and took the other over to (young) Frank Miller to finish, which he did. He then tried to auction it off on the floor, but ended up donating it to the con auction.

Nick Tofani: "Met Mike Mignola, told him how much I loved his work, especially 'The Amazing Screw-On Head'. He shared a fun anecdote about how great David Hyde Pierce was. Then I got nervous and made the taboo of asking how he developed his shading style, he looked pissed and said "practice."

Liana Kangas: Mike Mignola at MOCCA fest once so I went to ask for advice at the beginning of my career (& I'm paraphrasing here but,) he said "draw whatever the f-ck you want, and how you want to, if you don't you'll regret it." And so far still rings pretty true – and look where I'm at now!

Kelly Sue DeConnick: C2E2 afterparty. @paulazaceta asks me what I'm working on. I start to listing titles, he interrupts to clarify: "no, I mean, what skills are you developing?" We sit down and have an excellent conversation about visual pacing and rhythm.

Matt Garvey: As a punter When I met @Jock4twenty at @mrmarkmillar 's KAPOW (my 1st con) I was incredibly warm (& a bit clammy), Jock went to shake my hand…I refused, explaining about the hand situation but he still insisted & we talked out perspiration for 5 mins! The nicest guy ever!

Jim Zub: I started a webcomic in 2001 and, when I posted an end of year update filled with neurotic "Just doing the best I can. Please keep reading" energy, @scottmccloud
sent me an email out of the blue telling me he really liked the story and encouraging me to keep at it.

Keith R.A. DeCandido: When I was working for the late Byron Preiss, we took Stan Lee out to dinner during one SDCC. Stan spent most of the dinner joining Byron's then-8-year-old daughter playing with the action figures she'd bought on the floor that day.

Aditya Bidikar: Nearly 2 decades ago, I attended a @jeffsmithsbone book event in Bombay, and I was the sole comics fan among scores of kids, and he just chatted with me about his process and approach to comics for more than an hour while sketching in the kids' books and interacting with them.

Phil Szostak: Late-80s NYC Creation comic-con (either the Hotel Pennsylvania or Roosevelt?): Jean "Moebius" Giraud spots a shy young fan across the way and, unprompted, begins drawing. That signed and subsequently framed Arzach sketch remains one of my most prized possessions.

Jason Copland: The time Geof Darrow was walking down the aisle at C2E2 and looked over at our table and then stopped and came over to look at our Kill All Mosters book. And then bought it. I have never felt more seen in comics than that moment. And he was sooooo nice. It was awesome.

Dan Hernandez: When I was 8, I went to meet Stan Lee at a local con. I told him he was my idol. He smiled and said, "Good choice!" I know Stan was a complicated person, but in that moment, my hero was so kind to me. I still think about it. By pure luck, the local paper captured the moment!!

Oh and I threw in one as well. "Patty Jeres, as a young comics creator, she told me a) she knew who I was b) was familiar with my self-published comics & c) I reminded her of a young Matt Howarth. I was incredibly flattered and encouraged, more so when I discovered she was Matt's editor and co-writer at Vortex."

So… what was yours?