One regret about getting this jam started at HeroesCon was that it meant avoiding actual Image artists like Erik Larsen and Jerry Ordway to seek out the sort of pioneers that inspired Image's creation instead. Another regret is all the independent creators who turned the jam down. Disinterest in such a complicated proposition is completely understandable, but the ones that are really depressing are dudes like Frank Brunner who refuse to draw anything but properties they're best known for. I know what Brunner's Doctor Strange looks like, because those comics were foundational for me, and he'll frankly never top his '70s rendition of the Sorcerer Supreme. On the other hand, I've never seen him draw Spawn, and if I'm going to pay good money for a commission, I want something new and interesting and unique. Otherwise, back issues are cheaper.
Another instance of this is the legendary Jim Steranko, who will sell you all the Nick Fury, Shadow, or Captain America headshots you can afford (most of us can't afford even one.) He's a terrific raconteur with an enviable coif who wears a mean blazer and will strain your bones in a handshake, but he doesn't take requests. Al Gordon's WildStar is literally two eye slits, some tussled hair, and a black triangular blob over an optional mouth. Any artist could do this guy in about 90 seconds with a Sharpee, and I was willing to pay through the (unrendered) nose just to say I got Steranko to do it. He wouldn't budge...
...so I ran into one of my all-time top five favorite artists right near the end of the show as he was walking back from the bathroom or something, gave him the same pitch, and he drew WildStar in 90 seconds with a Sharpee on a random table in the aisle
for free. He even threw in nostrils. And that's how Paul Gulacy, of early indies like Sabre and Six from Sirius, became the second and final artist contributing to the jam that I'd previously commissioned. Hellofaguy!
