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Tales from the past, Black book recovery #3
One week ago (November 18th) I got a PM from 
Brombear asking me "Didn't you have a couple sketchbooks stolen a few years ago?" and provided me an Ebay link. There to my shock was one of my missing sketchbooks up for sale on Ebay for $1500!! Back in the day, we artists often carried "Black Books" and exchanged sketches with other artists. Sorta like a private gallery. Soon the fanboys discovered this trait and soon everybody was doing them. Not so much any more nowadays.
The seller even went into great detail about me, who I was, where I lived, along with info on numerous artists featured within the pages. The book in question went missing at San Diego Comic Con in 1997. I had assumed another artist took it home to add to it and either mail it back or deliver it to me at another con. (With VERY few furry cons at the time.) After several months and cons, I figured it was simply stolen at a room party.
Til Bill showed me the link. I immediately contacted Ebay to notify them the book was stolen. But they kept circling me around to simply contact the police. The seller lives in San Diego, I contacted the San Diego Police, they pretty much gave me the "Your kidding right? A Sketchbook from 1997? Sorry, not important to us to pursue an investigation."
I then notified Madison police and talked to a cop, He asked for links, which I provided, and stated my case. He asked "Did you report this back in 97?" I said no, explaining why. He then said a detective will contact me later.
The next day I heard from 4 others "You know a sketchbook of yours is on Ebay? For big bucks!" I started to panic, contacted
EOCostello to get his opinion since he's a lawyer. He offered to send the seller a letter, representing me, wanting the book back. I was more paranoid somebody else would contact the seller and alert him I was aware of it and he'd make the book disappear again.
Then I heard from the detective, he was impressed with the art and concept, since he was a comic book fan. I gave him further details, even said I'm willing to NOT press charges providing I get the book back immediately, intact.
Within a couple hours I get a call back from the detective "Heres the sellers name and number, call him immediately, then call me back." Which I immediately did. The seller seemed VERY Eager to talk to me and return my book. He told me he "Found the book" sitting on a bus bench in 97. I asked why he didn't contact me or ship it back since my info was all there. "I just forgot til now!" was the answer. I made arrangements to have the book shipped back, insisting on a tracking number as well. I then an hour later got a text back with tracking info. And the Ebay listing was deleted. I called the detective back telling him the details. He was telling me that its not uncommon to have things that were stolen to pop up 5, 10, 15, 20 years and longer after the heat was down being sold on Ebay. I got VERY lucky!
The book is mostly filled, and sadly six contributors are now deceased. This book was one of three stolen from me over the years, One was themed 'Color', and it was 98% filled, and with maybe 2-3 pages in inked only, all was in color. I noticed some artist razor bladed out a few choice pieces early on, I suspect who did it, then the book itself vanished. it vanished shortly after this book vanished. And another artist told me while visiting a certain other artist, that they saw a stack of black books in a closet and spotted one with my name clearly written on the page ends (Easier to spot in a stack of other books) . I asked that artist why they didn't grab it, they thought I allowed that artist to take it home to work on it. Which I NEVER would have. The other book was a story boarded book of a project I was working on about a Polish Jewish cobbler and his two sons in the start of WW2. I had like 75-78 pages fleshed out and written. That vanished at Anthrocon.
But TWENTY SIX YEARS LATER, my book is back!
This page has Daphne Lage doing her version of Red Shetland, the late, great William Blackfox , literally a few months before his death, below that, the late Jim Hardiman doing Red as well. But next to it comes a drawing by
Comus , based on a particular individual on the next page to be posted, plus its story.
Brombear asking me "Didn't you have a couple sketchbooks stolen a few years ago?" and provided me an Ebay link. There to my shock was one of my missing sketchbooks up for sale on Ebay for $1500!! Back in the day, we artists often carried "Black Books" and exchanged sketches with other artists. Sorta like a private gallery. Soon the fanboys discovered this trait and soon everybody was doing them. Not so much any more nowadays.The seller even went into great detail about me, who I was, where I lived, along with info on numerous artists featured within the pages. The book in question went missing at San Diego Comic Con in 1997. I had assumed another artist took it home to add to it and either mail it back or deliver it to me at another con. (With VERY few furry cons at the time.) After several months and cons, I figured it was simply stolen at a room party.
Til Bill showed me the link. I immediately contacted Ebay to notify them the book was stolen. But they kept circling me around to simply contact the police. The seller lives in San Diego, I contacted the San Diego Police, they pretty much gave me the "Your kidding right? A Sketchbook from 1997? Sorry, not important to us to pursue an investigation."
I then notified Madison police and talked to a cop, He asked for links, which I provided, and stated my case. He asked "Did you report this back in 97?" I said no, explaining why. He then said a detective will contact me later.
The next day I heard from 4 others "You know a sketchbook of yours is on Ebay? For big bucks!" I started to panic, contacted
EOCostello to get his opinion since he's a lawyer. He offered to send the seller a letter, representing me, wanting the book back. I was more paranoid somebody else would contact the seller and alert him I was aware of it and he'd make the book disappear again.Then I heard from the detective, he was impressed with the art and concept, since he was a comic book fan. I gave him further details, even said I'm willing to NOT press charges providing I get the book back immediately, intact.
Within a couple hours I get a call back from the detective "Heres the sellers name and number, call him immediately, then call me back." Which I immediately did. The seller seemed VERY Eager to talk to me and return my book. He told me he "Found the book" sitting on a bus bench in 97. I asked why he didn't contact me or ship it back since my info was all there. "I just forgot til now!" was the answer. I made arrangements to have the book shipped back, insisting on a tracking number as well. I then an hour later got a text back with tracking info. And the Ebay listing was deleted. I called the detective back telling him the details. He was telling me that its not uncommon to have things that were stolen to pop up 5, 10, 15, 20 years and longer after the heat was down being sold on Ebay. I got VERY lucky!
The book is mostly filled, and sadly six contributors are now deceased. This book was one of three stolen from me over the years, One was themed 'Color', and it was 98% filled, and with maybe 2-3 pages in inked only, all was in color. I noticed some artist razor bladed out a few choice pieces early on, I suspect who did it, then the book itself vanished. it vanished shortly after this book vanished. And another artist told me while visiting a certain other artist, that they saw a stack of black books in a closet and spotted one with my name clearly written on the page ends (Easier to spot in a stack of other books) . I asked that artist why they didn't grab it, they thought I allowed that artist to take it home to work on it. Which I NEVER would have. The other book was a story boarded book of a project I was working on about a Polish Jewish cobbler and his two sons in the start of WW2. I had like 75-78 pages fleshed out and written. That vanished at Anthrocon.
But TWENTY SIX YEARS LATER, my book is back!
This page has Daphne Lage doing her version of Red Shetland, the late, great William Blackfox , literally a few months before his death, below that, the late Jim Hardiman doing Red as well. But next to it comes a drawing by
Comus , based on a particular individual on the next page to be posted, plus its story.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1687 x 2184px
File Size 770.9 kB
William Blackfox was the author and draughter of Vixen's Keep, was he not? And what became the MU Comics reprint book in the late 1990s started out, per Mark's explanation in the GN's foreword, started out as a more humourous, slice-of-life comic strip he authored for his local SCA regional group's newsletter, I believe.
I can't remember precisely when Blackfox passed on- I believe it was around the time or shortly before or after the Keep collection was collated and printed for direct market sale- but if it was in the late 1990s I would not have known of it short of local word of mouth, as I did not have my first persistent ADSL collection at home until the fall of 2001.
I mean, I didn't know the man, and I rather would have enjoyed talking shop with him had I grokked the chance and felt I could approach someone I considered in that level of esteem, given how new I was in Furry and raw and novel as an active artist in the fandom. A lot of artist-writers have a narrative style that's difficult to mistake; my friend in Calgary, Richard Bartrop and his Zaibatsu Tears. or my original mentor Taral Wayne here in Toronto from the long-long ago, Max Blackrabbit and Style Wager, also two relatively local fellow artists into the bargain.
And Mark's style at the time was the first really solid, heart-and-inspiration mallet to the muse I took in Furry visual narrative, when it came to a mostly mundane Elizabethan-era, late-Medieval-to-Romantic period analogue of our world with exceptionally limited suspected magicks or supernatural elements, but only to that very set and subtle bar, implied more than anything. I didn't start writing my own long- and short-form narrative as an trade author until 2013 to go with my draughting work, and I never forgot how much Vixen's Keep impressed me and since reading it first and through more than a few rereads, its heartened inspiration never left my muse alone.
Whether or not I ever met this particular hero of mine in the overlap of our lifepaths, I feel sure that Mark and I both approved of the way in which we did meet, and how his creative efforts affected mine. Since I can't tell him so in person, I find some catharsis in telling someone who knew the man himself for the first time, if I may beg your pardon, Jim. Thank you for allowing me that present reckon.
-2Paw.
I can't remember precisely when Blackfox passed on- I believe it was around the time or shortly before or after the Keep collection was collated and printed for direct market sale- but if it was in the late 1990s I would not have known of it short of local word of mouth, as I did not have my first persistent ADSL collection at home until the fall of 2001.
I mean, I didn't know the man, and I rather would have enjoyed talking shop with him had I grokked the chance and felt I could approach someone I considered in that level of esteem, given how new I was in Furry and raw and novel as an active artist in the fandom. A lot of artist-writers have a narrative style that's difficult to mistake; my friend in Calgary, Richard Bartrop and his Zaibatsu Tears. or my original mentor Taral Wayne here in Toronto from the long-long ago, Max Blackrabbit and Style Wager, also two relatively local fellow artists into the bargain.
And Mark's style at the time was the first really solid, heart-and-inspiration mallet to the muse I took in Furry visual narrative, when it came to a mostly mundane Elizabethan-era, late-Medieval-to-Romantic period analogue of our world with exceptionally limited suspected magicks or supernatural elements, but only to that very set and subtle bar, implied more than anything. I didn't start writing my own long- and short-form narrative as an trade author until 2013 to go with my draughting work, and I never forgot how much Vixen's Keep impressed me and since reading it first and through more than a few rereads, its heartened inspiration never left my muse alone.
Whether or not I ever met this particular hero of mine in the overlap of our lifepaths, I feel sure that Mark and I both approved of the way in which we did meet, and how his creative efforts affected mine. Since I can't tell him so in person, I find some catharsis in telling someone who knew the man himself for the first time, if I may beg your pardon, Jim. Thank you for allowing me that present reckon.
-2Paw.
Yeah...Mark was the one behind Vixen's Keep. He also did a series for the Society for Creative Anachronism called "Warthaven". I've got to go through my stuff and scan it and upload it all. Best memory I had of him was passing by him asleep at his table at a convention and started wadding up dollar bills and tossing them at him (inside joke). His art style was very solid and he had a great wit for short comics as well as laying out longer stories.
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