Manhunter by Simonson

My friend, Joseph, wrote to me a week or so ago, told me he was going to the New York City Comic Convention and said that, though he would be working the con, he would have an hour or two to go get some autographs. Since he knows that I live in Japan and find it hard to make it over to the cons, he asked me if I wanted him to get me something. So, not wanting to be too much of a burden, I thought I would maybe ask him to get one autograph for me. I looked at the guest list and, though there were lots of people I'd like to meet, Walter Simonson was very near the top of the list.

So, I sent him some money to pick up the new Walter Simonson graphic novel as well as a comic book he wanted and asked him to get Mr. Simonson's autograph for me. He agrees, and, as we continued to shoot the breeze, he asked me what my favorite Simonson works were. I mentioned the old DC comics backup series, Manhunter, which ran in the early 1970's in Detective Comics. He is a little younger than me (Ha!) and, to my small surprise, he was not that familiar with the character. I sent him something I found on the web about the series and added that I always wanted to get Simonson to do a Manhunter sketch for me.

So, fast forward to today when Joseph sent me a message on Facebook asking me "How cool am I?" To which I replied "????" Then he sent me a picture of this Manhunter sketch signed by Walt and personalized to me. Woh!

It turned out that my friend, who is so cool that Mr. Freeze asks him for coolant tips, was in the vicinity when Mr. Simonson asked the assembled masses if any of them would like a free head sketch and he raised his thumb. Mr. Simonson reportedly picked ten people at random and he was number 7. Instead of getting a Bullseye sketch for himself, he remembered my ramblings about a comic I read when I was eight years old. What can I say? Thanks again, Joe. I sincerely appreciate it and will try to return the favor one of these days and I look forward to holding this sketch in my hands in the near future.