Had a really nice conversation with Scott Shaw! today (the exclamation mark is obligatory).
Mr. Shaw! is the co-creator (along with Roy Thomas) of CAPTAIN CARROT and his AMAZING ZOO CREW! (again, obligatory)- in every sense CCAHAZC! was one of the defining books in my comic collecting addiction. The book only ran for 20 issues (and a 3 issue special some time later) but what a magical 20 issues for a kid like me.
Most everything I learned about comics, I learned reading CCAHAZC! For example- I learned that comics come out on a monthly basis. I learned that comics have a numbering system that enables you to track which issues you have and which you need and puts the books in a chronological reading order. I learned that specific people did specific jobs on the book.
Mostly though, I just had a really good time reading and re-reading those books. I re-visited the first 13 issues of CCAHAZC! and, I'm happy to report, they hold up pretty well.
Mr. Shaw! told me he was a little embarassed by the amount of text he found himself writing into some of those old issues, "I half expected to start seeing the characters drawn hunched-over to fit in all the dialogue." But I say, that was and is part of the charm.
It's an amazing thing to meet one of your childhood idols. Even more amazing when said idol is one of the 'good' guys. Mr. Shaw! is definitely one of those.
Didn't want to forget this one.
