The month of June was almost a perfect one for me in terms of being exposed to some great professionals and learning more about some of the people & things that have influenced me over the years. It started with the mini-con (see earlier journals to see who was there, or the pictures in the gallery)where I got sit next to industry pros like Al Bigley and Andy Smith and I had kids begging me to draw them pictures. Then I got to promote a visit by Dan Povenmire, the creator of Phineaus and Ferb (and the voice of the doctor). The kids at the library's Cartooning Club then learned about Scooby Doo and came to appreciate the history of the Scooby Gang. Finally, I helped arrange a visit to another branch library by Rudy Nappi- what a humble, gracious man! Rudy Nappi was the illustrator of the majority of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, but he said something that should give every artist pause. Talking about the first magazine cover he ever did, he told the kids "I'm actually ashamed of it now." The cover featured a woman in a state of half-undress, holding a gun, with a dead body in the background. Back then he was looking for work and took just about any job he could, but now at 86 he said he looks back and wished he had a little more patience for something good to come across- after all, these were the covers he had to present when he interviewed to do children's books, and they are part of his legacy to this day.