Heeeeeere's Dave:
 |
| Got mine last weekend... |
 |
| As seen here. |
My thoughts on price are: triple the cost of the cards, plus the maximum for shipping, at a minimum. Fifteen bucks American at a maximum. Dave said the cards will cost $1.50, so three times that is $4.50. Plus $2.50 for international shipping is seven bucks. Yeah, I think $15 American is reasonable. But, please, feel free to comment on your thoughts.
Comics Link. Well, that's over. I didn't win nothing. Looks like Dave made out like a bandit though...
Next Time: How many Cerebus titles are there anyway?
12 comments:
Hey Everybody,
Dave asked me to write a few notes on how this Birthday Card came about from my perspective. So here goes.
It all started back in the mid 80's when I first discovered a comic about a little grey aardvark. It quickly became my go to comic and has pretty much been that way long after Dave and Gerhard finished it at 300 (a re-read occurs on an almost yearly basis)…anyway…in 1987 a book called Anything Goes came out - Issue number 3 to be specific - this issue featured an AMAZING cover image of Cerebus by none other than Neal (frickin’) Adams - with a pose that was based on Neal’s own creation - Armor . I loved it! It was…no…is…incredible.
Fast forward many years. Many, many years (I don’t want to say decades even though it applies). Neal was going to make another appearance at a local convention (he had come several years prior and I got a mandatory Batman head sketch from him but I didn’t think of asking for a commission at that time). So I decided to look at his commissions prices and see what’s what. After my initial sticker shock I decided I would bite the bullet and get a commission from the master. But what to get. I already had a Batman head sketch, I always liked his Deadman, there was also his Green Arrow/Green Lantern, Black Canary…etc. etc. but I wanted something he would not normally draw.
CEREBUS!
I went through the Official Neal Adams commission procedure and contacted Jason Adams (who handles the commissions) about getting on the list. I submitted a few Cerebus reference images to Jason, just in case, so that Neal would know what I was hoping for. But it is Neal Adams, so I was sure I would be happy with whatever he decided. Among the images I sent was the Barry Windsor Smith cover to Swords 5 which, if you look at the medallions and toes, that cover seemed to have a bit of an influence on the final piece (although Neal did do the same style of toes for Anything Goes).
Day one of the show I go straight to his booth. He hasn’t even unpacked yet, and this is a man with a lot to unpack…the real estate he has on the convention floor is massive. There are usually about 5 show volunteers guarding the perimeter to ensure no one takes anything. So I introduce myself, “Hi, I’m the guy that asked for the Cerebus drawing”, he smiles, tells me he had a lot of fun doing it. I said “you probably don’t get many requests for Cerebus”, and he surprised me by saying he has had a few over the years There goes my individuality). He brings out the drawing and BAM! Amazing! I immediately loved it, the pose was perfect, the expression was perfect, my favourite part - that foreshortened arm extending outwards…classic Adams. We talk about Dave, about Cerebus, about Neal, about stuff. The man is incredible.
After the show was over, and I had this amazing image to look at, I thought to myself…you know who might like this? Dave. Dave might like this.
By the way, Dave also wanted me to stretch this story out so I’m going to continue this on another day, or later in this post.
If anyone feels like talking about this, or contacting me please leave a comment under this one.
Thanks
Dean
Dean,
All I can say is Kneel before Neal!
Yes, I am a bit of a fan of thegreatestpecillerofalltimeNealAdams.
I look forward to reading the rest of this
A few years ago, at the Minneapolis Wizard World Con, held at the convention center (two blocks from my apartment building), I went to see Ger and Shel and hung out with them for a large part of the day. But, I finally told them that I had to go see Neal Adams, who had a coupla tables just down the row from them.
Surprisingly, there was only his volunteer standing around, and a few people asking (paying) for autographs. I studied his prints while I waited for them to leave. And, then, I approached with my copy of the Following Cerebus Neal Adams Interview issue. I asked ($25) him to sign it and he gave me a nice, classic sig in gold Sharpie, on the cover.
And, then, I told him that I knew Dave and I asked Neal if he could tell me about the interview process with Dave. He looked at me, smiled that winning smile (seriously, is there anybody you know or have met who has more of a textbook "winning smile"?) and went to town. There was nobody else around. I had trouble hearing him over the noise in the convention hall and I had to lean down, propping myself up with my cane, and so I asked him if I could sit down. He graciously said, "Sure!", and I sat down next to him behind the table.
Twenty or thirty minutes later, we sort of wound down our discussion of all things Dave, including Neal telling me how many times Dave called him after the interview to make sure that Dave got everything exactly correct for the publication of the interview, and I said that I had to get back over to Ger and Shel's table. I thanked him profusely for the time he took to just chat with me, at no cost, and he smiled that smile again. "No problem. Thank you!" he replied. I don't think my feet touched the ground the rest of the day.
It ranks in the top two or three of my very best experiences with any comics professional. Neal Adams is a consummate professional and a heckuva nice guy.
I submit: $20 for a signed birthday card, or $150 for a signed card and a birthday call from Dave. Or, sign up for Patreon and ... get the birthday card for free, but no call? I dunno.
Birthday Card process: Part Deux
Where was I…Oh Yeah…I figured Dave would probably appreciate a copy of the drawing for the archives - as well as a Cerebus commission that I had Michael Cho create for me (also awesome!) - so I made a high resolution scan, I printed it out almost to size (about 95% of its actual size due to the paper I had, and my printer capabilities), the Michael Cho was smaller so that one was printed to size. I printed them onto a nice heavy rag art stock with archival inks and carefully package everything up and sent it off to Dave.
I sat around checking Moment of Cerebus for the day Dave would say “Look what came in the mail!” but I saw nothing.
A couple of months passed and out of the blue I get an email from Dave. This had me curious considering Dave is a self proclaimed luddite so I thought it was probably fake. Turns out it was an email on Dave’s behalf asking if I thought it would be all right, or a good idea, to use the commission for the first official Cerebus Birthday Card, an idea he had been toying with for some time, Dave even did the mock up of the card indicating where the tone should be applied, where the type should be placed, the approximate size of the final card, as well as the placement of his always amazing hand lettered type on the front. He asked if I would be willing to “take the ball and run with it” and I figured “Hells yeah, that would be great" so I sent a note back saying cool, go for it. I figured since Dave had taken Neal and his family to Niagara Falls once that Mr. Sim would just call up Mr. Adams and move it along. I did not realize that when Dave said “take the ball and run with it” he meant he actually wanted me to contact Neal (through Jason) and get permission as well as finish up the card and take it to final print stage. It took a letter in the mail (a thrilling thing to me), as well as a phone call from Dave (another thrilling thing for me), for me to finally understand all Dave wanted from me on this.
End of Part Deux
Dean
Birthday Card process: Part - the Third
Our story continues thanks to a character limit inherent in Blogger.
I built the card digitally and I figured I could email it to Jason and do the whole back and forth…or…since Neal was going to be coming to another convention in under a month I would simply drive the 2.5 hours and take a physical mock up to him. And being the old school print guy that I am, I decided that I would actually ask Neal to sign the card with his blessing if he was so inclined.
So the 2.5 hour drive turned into 3.75 hours because Alberta got a wonderful little snowstorm that made the “counting-cars-in-the-ditch” game a whole lot of fun that morning. Once I got there I went straight to Neal’s table and, surprisingly, there were only a few people at the booth (that changed dramatically throughout the course of the day so I am glad I went there first thing), the lack of people was perfect though because it made it easier for the real estate I was about to take up as I started pulling out my letter from Dave, Dave's original email, the original drawing he did, the mock up, etc, etc. I told him what Dave was wanting to use the drawing for and he just looked up, smiled and said, “Sure, sounds good”. He said this was a different kind of thing, since the character was Dave’s and the drawing was my request and his skills, and as far as he was concerned Dave didn't need his permission and he could do whatever he wanted with it. I thought in this case it might also be a good idea to film the response as well get the sign off, so that’s why the clip was made. Now there are two forms of permission, video and hand written approvals, that allow Dave to use the drawing however he wants.
I emailed a scan of the signed off card and the video clip to Dave. Then I wrote up a note and snail mailed the actual signed off mock up to Dave for the archive - but as I had mentioned in my note and the email, if he doesn't want it I'll take it.
And now, here we are, what started off as a commission for me by Neal Adams has turned into a possible Cerebus Birthday Card for everyone to enjoy.
Sorry Dave, I stretched it out as far as I could.
The End
Dean
Dean,
Next time, one paragraph per post.
Matt
Heck, I should...
Use that.
Matt
Great story Dean, I enjoyed it! And hopefully the snow isn't hanging around Alberta, I plan on being there in two weeks time (to watch the Bruins of course, plus Jasper / Banff NP). The card looks great, can't wait to get mine next year. :)
Hey Matt, that's a great suggestion…
…next time maybe.
Dean
Thanks Margaret.
The snow is already starting to go. You might make the window before the next snowfall…best of luck.
Dean
Post a Comment