This has nothing to do with music, but the death of comic book artist Rich Buckler deserve a mention here, since we're fans of his work and contribution to the comic book industry.
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John writes:
Bleedingcool.com said Rich Buckler died of cancer. I saw Buckler and his wife at SpringCon (Minneapolis) years ago, nice guy. I happened to be in Paris just prior and mentioned I saw his gallery exhibition while there, which knocked him out.
 Vu writes:
The first time I saw Rich Buckler, he was at Fallcon 2003 (04 October 2003). I rarely take photos with artists, celebrities, or musicians - but I had to get one with Rich because I knew that Buckler was the guy that gave George Perez his first professional break. R.I.P.  Sad day yesterday (20-May-2017). We lost a legendary comic artist. When I had an opportunity to meet Rich Buckler for the first time at the 2014 ACC, I knew I had to get a commission from him. So I contacted him prior to the show, and arranged 2 commissions. One was the penciled Joker which I have already posted in my Joker gallery, and the second was this one.
The concept for this commission was that, George Perez (one of my all-time favorite artists) was going to be in attendance at the 2014 ACC also. I knew that George was mentored by Rich when George first entered the business. So, I need a jam that would pull the artists together. Nothing says partnership more than Superman and Batman...The World's Finest. I explained to Rich in detail what I wanted, and how I wanted the characters posed. When I arrived to the show, Rich had his Batman competed. Throughout the show, when I was walking by, he would keep asking me to see it, and he kept touching it up. When I picked it from Rich, it was n Friday night. Friday night was vendor night, and most artists were not going to be in attendance until Saturday and Sunday. Rich got into the show Friday night, with just a couple of hours left. I told him who I was, so I could pick up my commissions. He had to run to the restroom, so he asked me if I would watch his table for a few minutes. Upon his return, I sat with him for about an hour, and we talked. He signed other items I had brought with me. He was just absolutely a nice guy! Fast forward to next day, Saturday. I needed to get George Perez to do Superman, knowing that he usually only does the quick head sketches (which I will posting many many of in the upcoming months). When I reached my turn in line for George, I showed George what I wanted and explained to George why I wanted it. He was hesitant at first, but agreed for a reasonable fee above his normal fee. The reason George agreed to do it, was because Rich had outlined in pencil the Superman pose. George just had to fill in the blank, so to speak. I was in heaven after I obtained Superman from George! Towards the end of the show on Saturday, I was at getting another sketch from George (actually the last sketch of the day since the show was closing), and who should be waking by...Rich Buckler. The 3 of us were chatting, and George completed my sketch. I asked if I could get a picture of the 2 of them posing the same way as Superman and Batman. Almost in unison, they both said "ABSOLUTELY!" George was in great spirits, and got into Superman serious mode for the picture. Of all the shows I have attended, none have ended on a more perfect note than this. Sorry for the lengthy description, but I feel Rich Buckler deserves the recognition for making this sketch possible and turning a fan's show experience into one of his most memorable show moments! Thank you George and Rich! And Rich, forever may you Rest In Peace! My only regret at this show, was not getting a picture with both of them :-(
    George Perez, in an interview in Wizard #35, talked about how he accidentally got into the business:
I got in with [Factor Unknown], but meanwhile Sal Quartuccio [now head of Sal Q Productions] had shown my stuff to [artist] Rich Buckler. Rich need an assistant and called me up with an offer. I was working as a bank teller at the time. My first published pro work was on Rich's first issue of Deathlok, Astonishing Tales #25. He gave me a two-page cartoon sequence at the end showing how he and Doug Moench came up with Deathlok from discarded ideas in a trash pail. My art being what it was at the time, I penciled everything except the Deathlok figure. By being Rich's assistant, people at Marvel got to know me. And people like [editor] Jim Salicrup and [writers] David Kraft and Bill Mantlo saw my work, liked it, and got me my first work under my own name. George Tuska needed a break on the Man-Wolf feature in Creatures on the Loose and Dave Kraft liked working with me, so he asked me to stay. Around the same time, I was given a fill-in on the Sons of the Tiger feature in Deadly Hans of Kung Fu #6, but Bill Mantlo asked for me to stay on as well. Thanks to them, I was given regular work fairly quickly. That was around 1974, only two years out of high school. Within six months after that, Rich Buckler fell behind. Since I was Rich's assistant, they asked me to pencil what was supposed to be a Fantastic Four annual and turn into two issues of the regular book [#164-#165]. |
ASTONISHING TALES #25 (Aug 1974) 
ALBUQUERQUE COMIC CON 2014 (11-12 Jan 2014)
