One of the things that make going to Comic Conventions fun is getting to meet the artists (including writers) that created books that you enjoyed during your years of collecting.
Today I got to meet Rick Burchett and I have to say, honestly, he is one of the nicest guys I have met at these things.
He happily let us watch him work on a commission piece of Harley Quinn for a few minutes and then asked if I had some things for him to sign. I did and while he was working on the three comics I had ready he took a look at the first one and told me, “These go back a while”. I told him yes they did, since they are from the late 80s and early 90s, and then he proceeds to tell us some great back stories.
The first one was for a Justice Society mini-series that I had. His story was that the mini-series was really just a fluke in that it even got made. He had been given one of the assignments to draw one of the new books in DC’s upcoming Impulse line that featured stories that were directed toward a bit more younger crowd. However, the licensing deals with the company that owned the characters were falling behind and all these writers and artists were sitting around waiting for work that wasn’t coming for a while. They got together and started brainstorming ideas and came up with an idea for a Justice Society plot and thus was born the root for the mini-series. Since there were multiple artists that needed work, they divided up the issues and had the entire thing finished in just a few months, from conception to finish, got paid for their interim wait and then got to work on the new Impulse line.
It was really cool to learn about how artists, writers, and editors of the time worked to watch out for each other, something you hope still happens today, but are never quite sure really happens with everyone.
Rick also shared some cool news about an upcoming project or two that he asked us not to share immediately. I will honor the request and hope that I can pass along more info on his new works soon.
More updates from Planet Comicon Kansas City soon!
