Monday, December 27, 2010

Mike Deodato Jr invades Pittsburgh!

Starting in 2011, the Comic Book Pitt blog will be putting out more news, reviews, opinions and original content on a regular basis. To get things started, I thought I'd put down my thoughts about last week's conversation with Mike Deodato, Jr. For those who have been living under a rock for the past 25 years, Mike has been a mainstay in the comic book industry, a true professional and a veteran artist who still feels like he's learning about his craft.

Through the wonder and magic of the Internet, Mike was hosted at Pittsburgh Comics for a one-night book signing. I took a chance and contacted Mike's friend and agent David Campiti from Glass House Graphics about stealing a few minutes after the signing for a quick conversation.

On Wednesday, December 22nd, I rolled up to Pittsburgh Comics with my good buddy Speedwagon and his wife, Lady Speedwagon. We both had some comics we wanted to get signed and were excited to meet Mike, although since this was going to be my first one-on-one conversation with a professional comic book artist, I felt like I was going to crap a brick.

I decided to ease into things by getting my books signed first, then I noticed some fans walking around with original sketches from Mike. Like most comic book aficionados, I'm a sucker for original art, so I couldn't help but ask Mike for a quick sketch of one of my favorite Marvel characters, Moon Knight. Speedwagon followed suit and got a sketch of Thor.







Soon, the signing was over and it was time for the interview. I knew it wasn't going to be an hour-long conversation, but I was nervous nevertheless. Anyone who's listened to the podcast knows I tend to ramble a bit, so I was afraid of sounding like a goof, but it never happened. Mike was terrific to talk to, a total professional and an unbelievably nice man. If you have ten minutes to spare, give it a listen.

Thanks again to David Campiti, Colin McMahon, and of course, Mike Deodato, Jr. If you ever have the chance to talk to him at a con, by all means, take advantage.

(Me, Mike Deodato, Jr. and Colin McMahon, owner of Pittsburgh Comics)      









No comments: