Kim Bené sends this nice tale about John Broome, who's being honored (posthumously, alas) this year with one of the Bill Finger Awards for Excellence in Comic Book Writing…
I was a kid in elementary school when the second Green Lantern made his appearance in Showcase. I bought it as quick as I saw the cover, as I have indeed bought most of the Green Lantern books since. The character "spoke" to me. I loved the science fiction aspects of the story lines, it made sense that a test pilot would make a great super hero, and the idea of an intergalactic police force was just…well, comforting. Most of all, I liked the way Hal Jordan could train himself to focus his concentration since my inventive mind was constantly wandering off the subject at hand. His power ring was only as strong as his power of concentration was to control it. He could use it to move planets and fly through space and create huge green dragons and boxing gloves! So Hal was always an inspiration to me to concentrate and focus my mental energies on college tests, writing jobs, conversations; indeed everything about every day life.
So there I was in San Diego on the first Wednesday night preview of Comic-Con in the fancy lobby of the big curving hotel next to the convention center. I wasn't actually staying there due to monetary considerations, but I knew it would be a good, convenient, quiet place to wait for a friend to join me before walking over to the confusing masses at the nearby center.
I was sitting on a small sofa in the lobby when a thin, distinguished looking older gent in a crisp white shirt covered by a beautiful cherry red sweater sat down next to me. His sweater caught my eye, then I noticed he had a Comic-Con badge hanging round his neck. The badge was the green one that said "Professional." I'm not in the habit of bothering people in the media since I know they usually don't like it (I'm in the TV business myself) but the Con being much smaller then, it seemed appropriate to speak to fellow attendees, especially the one guy in the lobby not dressed in a Spider-Man or Batman costume or an appropriately themed baggy T-shirt and cargo shorts. He was quite dapper.
I turned to him and smiled and said: "Here for the Comic-Con?" "Yes," he replied. "There seems to be a lot of people here. Are they all for the convention?"
"Yes, and every hotel near the convention center is just like this filled with Con folks. It's the biggest convention of the year here, with 50,000 people wandering around next door for three days."
"My, the comic book business has sure changed since I left it."
At this point, my eyes searched out the name on the badge I read off the name: "John Broome." Hey, I remember that name…but it couldn't be that John Broome, my favorite writer and inspiration of my youth. He had to be dead. I hadn't heard a word about him since the early 1970's. But how many guys in comics have that name and would be at Comic-C? There he was, sitting, quietly looking slightly perplexed.
So I said, "Is this your first Con?"
"Yes, though in fact I haven't seen an American comic book in years. I've been out of the country. Do these people all read comic books?" he replied.
"Oh yes, they do. Comic books are big business now. What did you do in comic books?" I asked.
His modest reply was: "Well I wrote a lot of them, along with some teaching and such. When I got out of the business, I thought comic books would be disappearing soon."
"So you are the John Broome, one of the major creative folks behind the Hal Jordan Green Lantern series? The Atomic Knights? The Justice Society of America? Cool science fiction stories from the 60's? You're one of my all time favorite writers, Mr. Broome. Thank you for inspiring me when I was a kid, and for all those great science facts I accidentally learned through reading your stories." I could hardly contain myself.
He looked at me like I was one of the strange looking aliens in one of the stories; "Yes, I suppose I am that John Broome. I'm surprised one of the first folks I talk to in the U.S. actually knows who I am." Apparently, he was waiting for his wife and didn't know what to expect.
Fortunately, in my carry case I had some comics I hoped to trade next door…and one was a Green Lantern! And a Paper Mate sharpie, my preferred writing implement was in the pocket of my Hawaiian shirt! Reaching for them, I quickly but politely asked "Mr. Broome, I'd be honored if you'd sign my Green Lantern book. It's issue 63…not one of yours, but it's all I have with me and without you there would probably be no issue 63!"
Again, he looked at me like I was from another planet. Here was one of the greatest comic book authors of all time and apparently, no one had ever asked him to autograph anything! But being polite and well spoken, he smiled and nodded and signed it, just as a well dressed elderly woman came by and said: "John, I've been looking all over for you!"
He signed and then said to her: "Oh, I was just signing an autograph for one of my 'fans' and I swore he winked at me, took her hand and they vanished into the crowd. Later, I learned they had lived in Japan for many years where he taught English to Japanese diplomats, and that the Comic-Con had tracked him down and flown him in that night to honor him throughout the Con. Back when he was writing comics, you weren't allowed to sign your works, and there were no fan convention so apparently Mr. Broome thought he was still unknown and he apparently had no idea how much his work was remembered and appreciated. I like to think my little "welcoming committee" of one was the first of many surprises in store for him that week.
Needless to say,that issue has many more famous signatures on the cover page, all folks connected with Green Lantern in some capacity, everyone astonished at the first name at the top of the page, and every one honored to sign it, too. It hangs on my wall in a plastic case, still inspiring me to concentrate my will power on the job at hand.
Thanks for the lovely story, Kim…though I have a couple of corrections. As wonderful as the folks at the Comic-Con are, it wasn't one of them who tracked Mr. Broome down and got him to that convention. It was the late Richard Morrissey who not only arranged for Broome to be there but even paid for much of the air fare and passed the hat for the rest. The tale of Rich and the good he did with that effort is told over on this page. And a partial transcript of the great convention panel I hosted with Mr. Broome (probably my favorite of all the panels I've done) can be read through several columns beginning with this one.
Mr. Broome did have credits on a few of the comics he authored, and there were comic book conventions during the few years of his writing career. But he was travelling at the time and if he was ever in a city where one was being held, he didn't know about it.
But none of that changes the fact that it was, as Mr. Broome called it, the best weekend of his life. He not only got to be reunited with several old friends, he got to see how many new ones he had…how much his work was loved and respected. Too many folks leave this planet without ever grasping how much of a difference they made. I'm glad that John Broome was not one of them.