I believe that by this point, it had already been determined that Evan Dorkin's contribution to the jam would be provided after the convention. I still tried to get in a few quickies like
WildStar before turning the piece over, because I still wanted it to be a HeroesCon 2017 piece mearly "finished" after the fact. Despite not being an official Image founder, I felt that Dale Keown came in early and was important enough to rate inclusion. I'd already been refused by indie/self-publishing legends like Jim Steranko and Frank Brunner, so I figured Neal Adams of all people was a huge longshot. No creator came closer to creating an Image Comics before the Marvel Exodus than Adams, one of the most important figures in the history of comics, and easily one of its greatest and most influential artists. Also, while Bernie Wrightson is his most obvious antecedent, Keown's style seemingly owed no small debt to Adams.
Again, we're in the last hour of the show, I see Adams on Pitt as a total Hail Mary, and was frankly shocked when he said yes. Adams drew some of my earliest favorites as a comic book fan, so it was a big deal to get original work from him on short notice at a reasonable rate. He knocked it out while I watched, and admittedly this is a layout at best, but it still pleased me immensely to get something I specifically asked for (and will unlikely ever be replicated) by someone of Adams' stature. Also, frankly, Neal Adams is an intimidating guy with an imposing reputation, so the fact that I also own a
Martian Manhunter head sketch and got Adams to agree to a very brief (by design) interview is a source of pride to me. I've had nothing but entertaining experiences with Neal Adams.
