We got a convention sketch from AW which was a bit disappointing; he was pressed for time, and it ended up being more of a loose layout idea rather than something more finished. It was still a fun piece however, and we had no complaints about it, but AW later commented that he felt that he'd overcharged us for it. We ended up going to the after-show dinner along with all the guests and dealers, and sat across the table from Al, Cori, and their (then) quite young son Victor. Dinner was a fiasco, as for some reason the restaurant couldn't handle the volume of patrons, but it did have other advantages.

Food was scarce and a couple of hours in coming, which allowed for plenty of time to chat. The upshot of that was an invitation to visit AW at his studio, which we did that summer. The studio at that time was in a converted carriage house out back of the house, 2 levels, and a true artists' dream. Stuffed with great art, both from AW as well as other great artists, plastic models for reference, books, all kinds of great stuff. Bret Blevins was sharing the studio with AW at he time, and I've never envied anybody as much as I did him, working out of that incredible environment. AW commented again that he felt he hadn't quite given us our money's worth with the sketch at the show, and gave us each a Corrigan strip to (in his eyes) make up for it.

Over the next few years, we made a number of visits, sometimes combining it with a trip to the original Frazetta Museum. AW was inking full time for Marvel by then, and it was always a treat watching him work. He and Cori were far more gracious with their time than they needed to be with a couple of young fans, which remains among the true highlights of our collecting experiences. AW was one of the truly great inkers, particularly over his own pencils, and his knack of making ordinary scenes look interesting was incredible. Like many of the previous generation of comic artists, he mastered making a powerful composition out of each panel, as well as the page as a whole, something often lacking in some more contemporary artists' work.

AW himself is the model for Corrigan in these strips, with writer Archie Goodwin as the villain. The strips have tanned a bit over time from the old frame they were in, which was something I didn't know about early on; now, although it's more expensive, I opt for archival quality materials, including the glass, to frame any piece of art, which makes a huge difference in viewing, as well as preservation of the originals.

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