1988 SDCC Jim Hanley's Universe Party Invitation (feat. Milk & Cheese)

My second San Diego Comic Con was in 1988. The year before I had a table in artist's alley to promote my first solo creator-owned project, Pirate Corp$!. I bunked with Brian Marshall and Tony Eng of Eternity Comics (both of whom I am still friends with, to this day) and my mom paid for my plain fare. 1988 was a bit different, I still managed to have a table in artist's alley, but I had nothing to promote. Pirate Corp$! was canceled and I was looking to take it to another publisher. I had been turned down by Fantagraphics and Comico (I felt I could approach Kim Thompson at FBI and Bob Schreck at Comico because of meeting them the year before and staying in touch) and didn't feel comfortable enough to try pitching it anywhere else. I ended up finding a new home for PC$! at the end of the convention that year, flat on my back drunk when the deal was semi-sealed (it's a longer story, I should type it up for you sometime, but it's after 7 a.m. and I have therapy this afternoon so I am already overwriting this post.

To make a non-story short, my flight and hotel room that year was covered by Jim Hanley of Jim Hanley's Universe. Jim took several staff members to the con that year to do the trade show, meet with retailers and publishers, and enjoy the convention. So I managed to have a way to get back to te con, and I applied for the table and even though I didn't have a steady comic gig I was accepted again. 

The 1988 SDCC was a big deal for me for several reasons, contacts made (Fabian Nicieza, at that time in marketing but soon to be editing), finding a new publisher (SLG), meeting a lot of nifty folks (Mark Hamill!)  and having a lot of weird, drunken times (because Mark Hamill accidentally walked into our hotel room and stayed a while, but that's another post or comic page someday). I passed out in front of a noted comics artist and fell on the floor reaching to shake his hand, Winner! Also in our hotel room.

And that's the thing -- back then the show was super informal and there'd be hotel room parties and you never knew who might waltz in looking to see if they knew anyone. Jim wanted to throw a party in both our facing hotel rooms, so, he had me doodle up an invitation flyer and he got it copied at the hotel or wherever and we handed a bunch out and bought booze and stuff and opened the doors. And people were in and out all night that night. Including a fucked up Robin cosplayer and a near fight between Chris Warner and a bunch of punk rock kids. 

Them's were fun days, let me tell you. Nothing mattered much and nobody cared, a smaller group of people all mingling around so you could meet almost anyone and everyone that weekend. A lot less ego and lot more happenstance and opportunities for fun, for contacts, for free dinners, for flirting, for buying books, or driving off with some PC!$ readers I knew to go record shopping. 

But this post is about someone sending me a scan of the invitation I drew for that JHU party.  I wanted to drop a quick and easy post since it's been a few days. But of course I can't just post a picture without typing some horseshit under it even though I have to go to bed. 

It's a me. 

Another mention of the Mark Hamill WTF moment can be found in this previous post about SDCC stuff: https://www.patreon.com/posts/story-time-early-46775930