I’m celebrating Jim Starlin’s birthday by dipping into my collection of comic-book convention sketches and posting yet another drawing done back when I was an annoying teenager (as opposed to an annoying adult). This one was done in the early ’70s, probably 1971.

The sketch is of Jim’s fanzine superhero, Doctor Weird, Master of the Macabre, who appeared in Star Studded Comics starting in the mid-’60s.

At the time, Jim was just starting to make the move from fanzines to working in comics professionally, while I was still a fan only. Six years later, in 1977, by then a comics professional myself, I had the misfortune of taking over as the writer on Captain Marvel following Jim’s acclaimed run … which meant that I had to open a lot of hate mail!

Happy birthday, Jim!