Neal Adams and Kevin Smith?

Neal Adams has drawn many comic book stories. I wrote recently about how the gentleman was my favorite comic book artist in my younger days. I conducted a phone interview with him in 1978 as Superman vs. Muhammad Ali as being released (and at some point in the future I will be sharing with you the resulting newspaper article that I wrote.) The original artwork to his iconic Action Comics #419 cover was the pride of my collection for over two decades. He still dabbles in comics every now and again but his name is not on the tip of everyone's tongue the way it once was. I attended his one-man panel at C2E2 last year and the cavernous hall was far from full.

Kevin Smith has written some comic books over the years, but as a lark and not as a career. I have liked all of Mr. Smith's movies, but it's been a bit since he made one. These days he focuses his energy on his cable television (un)reality show and I make a point of telling you every five minutes how very much I detest that putrid show. His appearances at comic conventions seem quite popular, but his panels seem to always require an extra ticket which I don't bother to ascertain.

How in the world do these two dissimilar creators fit together into one article? Good question.

It seems that Neal Adams and Kevin Smith are going on tour together. No, they have not formed a folk duo. They will be giving one-day presentations to people who want to break into the comic book business. The day will begin with a two-hour question-and-answer session with both of the headliners, then there will be one hour for lunch (box lunch included with ticket), then a two-hour block will begin with a presentation about contracts and creators' rights before shifting over to more questions and answers. Mr. Adams will look over your portfolio if you are one of the five contest winners.

Ticket prices for the day range from Basic for $89 to VIP for $179. The session will be held in May at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Details can be found over at this website. Future sessions are mentioned for Los Angeles and Chicago and Toronto but dates have not been announced.