From the Archives: Self-Portraits From The Erlangen Comic Salon

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As you saw in the previous post, I attended the Comic Salon in Erlangen, Germany, in 1994. It was my first comicbook convention, and I guess I was a bit uncertain what to expect. As comics events go, this was quite interesting... the city embraced the show with the Lord Mayor having breakfast with many of the guests, the train station had advertising to promote the festival, and there were comics displays in the local bookstore window. 

Wandering around the convention hall, I soon realized that various guests were drawing free sketches for attendees. I quickly departed for the nearest stationery store and purchased a drawing pad. What follows are various self-portraits I commissioned from the guests. Many artists do not regularly draw self-portraits, and most hesitate before drawing. 

Scott McCloud visited Erlangen to promote the German editions of Understanding Comics and Destroy! He was situated up on a mezzanine, and seemed a bit forlorn. 

The next day, I visited him again, and had him draw an abstract version of himself.

This is a pencil sketch of/by Henrik Dorgathen. He won the Max und Moritz Preis for Best German-Language Comics Artist. Space Dog, a story told entirely in icons, had been published the year before, but I was short of funds, and Mr. Dorgathen graciously drew this quick sketch. 

This artist, unfortunately, is lost in my memory. He is German, but that's all I can hypothesize.

This is Hunt Emerson's self-portrait. Mostly unknown in the United States, he is probably best known for his adult humor comics, such as Casanova's Last Stand. 

Finally, we have Neil Gaiman, who is not known for his artwork (although he did create one of the first 24-hour comics). Since this was back in 1994, he was not yet a rock star, and the line, while lengthy, moved quickly. 

Don Rosa, on the other hand, had to hand out tickets for his Duck drawings. Of Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, and Don Rosa at the Ehapa booth, Don Rosa was the most popular. (Yeah, that was typical of Erlangen.) Joe Kubert was also there, signing archive editions for another publisher, but he was only autographing his books.) The next Salon is in June 2010. I suspect the festival has gotten more popular, although the comics scene in Germany is still a bit nascent.

From the Archives: Neil Gaiman

While travelling around the world in 1994, I spent two months in Europe, mostly visiting family in Hannover.

While there, the biennial Comic Salon in Erlangen was taking place, so I took the train south to northern Bavaria. The Salon was quite amazing, as the entire city embraced the culture and art of the medium! The salon itself was small as compared to other comics shows I've attended... The MoCCA Festival is probably the closest comparison to what I experienced in 1994.

My German is passable, allowing me to survive well enough on my own. I knew very little about the European comics scene, attending mostly because many American (and British) guests had been invited by German publishers. I learned first of the Salon because of Don Rosa, then met Will Eisner, Hunt Emerson, Scott McCloud, Joe Kubert, and Neil Gaiman. What surprised me the most were the free sketches most artists made for attendees! I quickly bought a sketch pad from an art store, and collected many sketches. I was extremely fortunate to be one of the first to get a sketch from Don Rosa, who actually produced FINISHED artwork... pencilled in blue, then hand inked! Not a quick sketch, but what would be considered a commission... I asked for a Guardians of the Lost Library motif (the story had just been published in May) and he delivered! Of the others, I asked for self-portraits of each artist, since many do not publicly produce them.

I had spent three months in New Zealand while travelling (and would have stopped my wandering there had immigration not been so difficult), and found all of Neil Gaiman's early stories for 2000 A.D. He graciously signed them, and then even agreed to a quick self-portrait. This might be the only time he has done this, so I am sharing this with the world. The original is on A4 paper.

Later, during the Max und Moritz Preis reception (the awards ceremony was held at the Opera House, preceded by a comedic gymnastic performance), I eavesdropped as Mr. Gaiman told a cautionary tale of an actual industry professional. Of course, I've kept it to myself, as it is not my story to tell.