BARRY
WINDSOR-SMITH's
2008
Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award Acceptance
Address |
|
In
the 1970s I was constantly asked when I would “do CONAN again.” In
these latter years I receive e-mails imploring me to return to ARCHER AND
ARMSTRONG. My short reply is “When pigs fly to the Moon and return
home safely.”
But
to those who really want to know, I say that the major companies’ standard
contract, deceptively titled “WORK FOR HIRE,” is a legal
but unethical instrument designed to rape and plunder young talents of
every
possible prerogative they would otherwise possess if they had the fortune
to work for more scrupulous, morally invested, publishers.
“Pause
for practically audible smirks and a smattering of light clapping
from the back,” it says here.
All that said, I assure you that I am grateful for the privilege of
joining the exemplary company of the Hall of Fame award. For this I offer
my
heartfelt thanks to each of you who made this possible.
BWS |
My
sincere thanks to the creators, editors, publishers, and retailers
who were instrumental in selecting me for this Will Eisner, Hall of
Fame, award. Over
the years I’ve strived to create what I think of as GOOD COMIC BOOKS. Stories
where characters and personalities are grounded in our collective sense
of reality, while their adventures exemplify THE AMAZING and THE FANTASTIC
by transcending the cliches known to the general public as super heroes
and super villains. CONAN
THE BARBARIAN, The FREEBOOTERS, WEAPON X, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG
and sometimes more
traditional characters such as The X-MEN and DAREDEVIL, have allowed
me to express myself in a personal fashion not often embraced by the
conventions of big business comics, where the disciplines and rigors
of writing, penciling, inking, and coloring, are assigned to numerous
teams commissioned to deliver products by the month, every month.
|