In honor of Luke Cage, which debuted today as a Netflix series, and in memory of my young teen years as an annoying fan with a sketchbook, may I present a drawing done for me by Billy Graham, the legendary artist who drew that character for Marvel Comics in the ’70s.

Though I’d eventually come to know Graham as a fellow creator at Marvel, this undated drawing was done long before then, likely in 1972, or at the latest, 1973, back when I was just another pleading kid.

We never got particularly close later during my comics pro years, so he was just an acquaintance with whom I’d have the occasional conversation, but whenever our paths did cross in the Bullpen, he was friendly, and seemed like a nice guy.

I wish he could have seen the character to whom he’d contributed so much get this level of attention, but alas, he died in 1999.

You’ve all been so well behaved during my recent run of gardening neepery that I feel I owe you something special. So here—unseen as far as I know since it was first published 38 years ago—is Billy Graham’s take on the comics fan scene as printed in the program book for Phil Seuling’s 1972 July 4th weekend Comic Art Convention.

What’s that, you say?

No, of course I don’t mean that Billy Graham. I mean the other Billy Graham, the comic-book artist best known for drawing Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.

Give it a read and start getting in the mood for the San Diego Comic-Con, which is only—gulp!—10 1/2 weeks away!