Bullock, David: Robin

File this one under "redemption"...

So, as a very young buck at one of my first conventions, I made my way over to Bullock's table and began to tell him how much I loved his work on a Kid Flash/Robin story set in the "New Frontier" universe. As I did so, I picked up one of his sketchbooks, then set it back down... knocking over his hot coffee.

OOF.

Fortunately, I didn't damage any artwork, but he was none too pleased. His wife told him to forget about the whole thing, but he was a little agitated, insisting "No, he'll clean it up." I apologized, and he assured me "No, that's quite alright", but my grandfather pulled me away from the situation before it got heated.

For several years after that, I avoided interacting with Mr. Bullock in spite of my love for his artwork (at one point, he saw me after the incident and knowingly flashed a suspicious glance my way). However, I eventually regained confidence once enough time had passed that he couldn't have remembered that story. Sure enough, I eventually bought a preliminary sketch from the aforementioned story, and met him again a year later at an Asbury Park convention. He only recalled the latter interaction, and happily recalled completing the story with inker Michael Cho several years earlier.

I guess this is as good a place as any to recount how I ALMOST met Darwyn Cooke later that year... I recreated one of his Robin drawings from The New Frontier, lugged that GIANT edition around in hopes that he would do a doodle of Robin in the inside flap, and tracked him down all weekend. FINALLY, at Amanda Conner's table, I found him chatting with Jimmy Palmiotti, and prepared my speech. Someone at the table told me to wait a second, until a man said "Mr. Cooke, it's time", and he was whisked away to a "Parker" panel. SO close, and I had no clue about his illness... it really saddens me that I never had the chance to thank him for his work. Still, I got to see him in the flesh and hear him say a four-letter word, which is about as Darwyn Cooke as it gets.