Gambit # 11 cover art (Reunited after 12 years!)

REUNITED AFTER 12 YEARS!

In the late 90’s I collaborated with the incredibly talented Steve Skroce on a bunch of covers for Marvel. One cover in particular, Gambit # 11 featuring Daredevil, was stolen from me while attending a comic book convention in Pittsburgh in ‘00. I’m generally very engaging at shows and the fans at this con had been supportive of me and my work from the beginning of my career. Nobody ever tried to steal anything from me before, so I was a bit caught off guard when this happened. I shut down my booth and walked the entire convention floor (with clenched fists) looking for the dumb-ass who was stupid enough to steal something from me right off of my table. I told the convention promoters and they put staff members at the exits to check bags and portfolios, but he was long gone. I was informed of a website that assisted professionals in matters of art theft, but they couldn’t help me back then. So, needless to say, I never thought that I would ever see that cover again or receive any information in regard to its whereabouts. That was 12 years ago.

Fast forward to June of 2012. Jason D wrote in an email...

“Rob,

Please contact me. I have information about the Gambit cover that was stolen from you.

Jason”

...It turns out that Jason (someone I have never met before) bought the cover a few years ago on ebay and was completely unaware that it had been stolen several years prior. So he reached out to me expressing that he wanted to return it. When I offered an exchange of artwork to show my gratitude for the return of the cover, he graciously declined. Wow! With all the bullcrap that I’ve seen and experienced in my 30 years in this industry, a story like this is refreshing, to say the least.

Thank You Jason for being REAL.

R.


*For those who don’t know…

Steve Skroce was known for his work on Cable, X-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, Gambit and Wolverine for Marvel comics. He also worked on Doc Frankenstein for Burlyman Entertainment and did the story boards for The Matrix movie franchise.