Ma, Simon :: Comic Art

Manhunter Convention Sketches – Walt Simonson

Artist: Walt Simonson (All)

14 Comments - 176 Views - 13 Likes

Manhunter Convention Sketches – Walt Simonson Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Manhunter Convention Sketches – Walt Simonson
Artist:	Walt Simonson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Convention Sketch
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	176
Likes on CAF:	13 14
Favorited on CAF:	1
Comments:	14
Added to Site:	9/2/2024
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Back in the early 1980s there was a message in the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page encouraging fans to write in to their favourite comics creators to request their autographs. For a teenage schoolboy who never in a gazillion years thought that they would ever own a piece of original comic art let alone meet their artistic heroes this was a big deal. The two creators I wrote to were Denny O’Neil because he was my favourite writer, and Walt Simonson because he had such a flamboyant signature it seemed like a work of art in itself. I probably still have those autographs somewhere as I rarely throw anything away, but it is for that same reason I cannot lay my hands on them, as they must be buried under a ton of stuff.

The other reason I wrote to Walt Simonson is because he co-plotted and drew my favourite comic of the 1970s – Manhunter. I should assume that anyone reading this is fully aware of the history of Manunter but this century I was at a comic convention ready to get in line to have my copy of Manhunter The Special Edition (the one with the extra silent chapter) signed by WS when the friend I had met up with at the convention told me that they had never read the comic. That was a state of cultural deprivation that I couldn’t bear so I gave him my copy of the comic and gave up on joining the queue for a signing. As Mitch says in Out of the Past, “Nothing in the world is any good unless you can share it”.

It must be annoying to be told by a fan that their favourite example of your output was something you did near the start of your career and that there has in the meantime been 50 years’ worth of additional work. In my letter to WS asking for his signature I did say that I thought X-Men and the New Teen Titans crossover was the best-drawn comic I had ever read, which I truly thought at the time. Additionally, it was because I so enjoyed WS’s run on Thor that in the mid 1980s I signed up to do a course in Old Icelandic with an expert in the field who was probably second to only EV Gordon in expertise and renown. (Okay, other than Tolkien as well.) I was not the most industrious pupil, I have forgotten all the vocab and grammar, and nothing tangible came of me taking the class but when you are young and given rare opportunities like that you should take them as you never know what will stick. At the end of the course to show my appreciation to the tutor I gave them a copy of The Raven Banner (for obvious reasons) and also my unpersonalised, signed and remarqued by the author first edition (the Pantheon paperback) of volume 1 of Maus, because that represented a little bit of sacrifice on my part.

I was amused when Shemp uploaded his terrific Manhunter drawing on CAF back in June because he wrote that he passed on “Head sketches or rough full figures” and even though my two drawings are unlikely to be the actual drawings he discounted because I picked them up on eBay many years ago and many years apart they do illustrate exactly the type of examples he decided against getting.

I did meet Walt Simonson at the annual London UK Comic Convention back in the, I think, late 1980s and in preparing this upload I was wondering why I did not have a photograph of him because although it was not uncommon for me to have a photo of a creator and not anything signed or a sketch from them, it was very rare for me to have something signed but without an accompanying photo. And then it suddenly came to me the reason why and it was almost as if I had blocked it out of my memory because it was so embarrassing; too embarrassing to recount I originally thought but then I realised that perhaps I should put it down in black and white so that it will sting me into never acting so stingily ever again, and perhaps act as a cautionary tale for others. Don’t be a skinflint, people. I was queuing up to have my items signed by Walt Simonson and sitting next to him was his wife, Louise. I was aware of her work but I had never read Power Pack so could not call myself a fan and as I felt did not want to use up one of my limited number of film exposures on her, but that it would also be offensive to her to ask for just Walt’s photo I did not ask to take any photos at all thinking I would bump into Walt on his own some time during the course of the weekend. Of course, I never did. Ahh, we were all young and stupid once; I can claim to be only one of those now. Since then Louise Simonson co-wrote the very entertaining Havok/Wolverine Meltdown miniseries but also there is that saying. “Beside (and it is “beside” and not “behind” as some dolt misquoted back in April of this year) every great man is a great woman”. The obvious solution would have been to request a photograph of Walt and Louise Simonson together, but that it has taken me over 30 years to think of that gives new meaning to being unable to think on one’s feet. Thank you, Walt, for all the wonderful work you have produced in the past five decades; and sorry, Weezie.

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About the Owner

	Simon Ma ( 2 ) Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2013
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED KINGDOM
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Rick W
Member Since 2017

Posted on 9/2/2024

Sweet pair o' Simonsons!

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

Rick W wrote:

Sweet pair o' Simonsons!

Ha! I see what you did there. You could be referring to the two Manhunter drawings, or you could be referring to Walt and Louise. Thank you for the comment.

<> Shemp
Member Since 2003

Posted on 9/2/2024

Great pieces! Both of them! Congrats. Walt and Louise are a fantastic couple, they are very nice. Met them a couple of years ago.

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

<> Shemp wrote:

Great pieces! Both of them! Congrats. Walt and Louise are a fantastic couple, they are very nice. Met them a couple of years ago.

Thank you and yeah, the Simonsons seemed very pleasant and that is a unanimous opinion amongst professionals and fandom; no one seems to have a bad word for them.

<> Shemp
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 9/2/2024

Ha! I have nothing sketches, I buy them all the time. I was only going to get one example of Simonson's Manhunter so it had to be the right one for me.

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

<> Shemp wrote:

Ha! I have nothing sketches, I buy them all the time. I was only going to get one example of Simonson's Manhunter so it had to be the right one for me.

You and me both. Isn’t there a saying “Buy cheap, buy twice”? although I think that is usually reserved for consumer goods but the dictum can apply to comic art. Your drawing is definitely worth the premium you paid for it (whatever that was).

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

Posted on 9/2/2024

The vintage of the sketches has its own appeal whether loose or tight.

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

Marcus Wai wrote:

The vintage of the sketches has its own appeal whether loose or tight.

Yep, Walt Simonson is one of those artists who came onto the comics scene fully-formed; he has been just honing his style ever since.

Danny Hoskins
Member Since 2021

Posted on 9/2/2024

Very cool!

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

Danny Hoskins wrote:

Very cool!

Thank you, sir!

F M
Member Since 2005

Posted on 9/3/2024

Very cool and thanks for sharing.

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

Posted on 9/26/2024

F M wrote:

Very cool and thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your appreciation!

Michael Sullivan
Member Since 2021

Posted on 9/3/2024

As much as I appreciate these Walt sketches of Manhunter (my favoritework of his, I also appreciate the lengthy and thoughtful write-up that accompanies them. So many pieces I decide not to leave a comment on because "if the owner has nothing to say about it, why should I?" I love the personal context that goes with these pieces, it makes them that much better.

Kudos.

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

1 - Posted on 9/26/2024

Michael Sullivan wrote:

Kudos.

Thank you for your kind words, and also for your entertainingly-curated institute. We seem to be on the same page and enjoy relating and reading personal responses to pages of comic art and/or the associations that people have with them.

Coincidentally you share the name of the hero of one of my all-time favourite films, The Road to Perdition, which I am sure you know originated as a graphic novel. Michael jnr is the hero because of what he does, or more precisely what he does not do, towards the end of the film. That in a roundabout way makes you Superman, which is apt for a “DC kid”.

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