Big Lick NOVA 2023! Part III: Rick Leonardi

 

As much as it pumped me up to see that Jim Shooter was returning to Big Lick NOVA, my excitement went into overdrive when I learned of Rick Leonardi attending. I don’t exaggerate in the slightest when I say my mind had been at that convention for two months leading up to it.

Leonardi holding the commission sketch I bought from him!

For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Leonardi created the original published artwork for Spider-Man’s black suit. It’s the art that was showcased in numerous preview magazines hyping up to the release of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and even predates The Amazing Spider-Man 252, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 90, and Marvel Team-Up 141. These preview magazines are not only scarce, but quite expensive. Being a massive Spider-Man fan, I am happy to say that I own one of each, and my plan was to have them all signed by Rick (and Jim Shooter).

Leonardi also gets credited as one of the individuals behind Spider-Man 2099. When I found out his autographs were only a dollar each, it was a no brainer to get him to sign every issue he penciled or did the cover for. This is also where it was beneficial to have a weekend pass, as after thinking about it the night of the first show, I decided that as the creator of the character, I wanted to get my entire run signed.

First full appearance of Spider-Man 2099

1st appearance of Jennifer D'Angelo,
a priest who later becomes Goblin

Direct Edition

Newsstand Edition

1st appearance of Flipside, a robot
that took on the identity of
Spider-Man 2099

1st appearance of Strange, a female

Sorcerer Supreme of the 2099 Universe

1st appearance of Kron Stone as

Venom 2099

Variant cover of issue 35

Connecting cover art by Jae Lee

featuring Venom 2099 attacking

Spider-Man 2099

Connecting cover art by Jae Lee

featuring Venom 2099 attacking

Spider-Man 2099

Cover art inspired by Amazing Fantasy

#15 (1962)

1st cameo appearance of Goblin 2099

Connecting cover depicting Spider-Man

2099 versus Venom 2099

1st full appearance of Goblin 2099

1st cover appearance of Goblin 2099

Second-to-last-issue

Final issue

Let's not forget that Annual that came out!

There were also a couple one-shots that hit the stands, one of which Leonardi did provide pencils for.

1st appearance of Spider-Man 2211, a

high-tech Timespinner Spider-character

that exists in the future and 1st

appearance of Hobgoblin 2211,

the daughter of Max Borne

Also signed by Mark Waid that same day!

He even contributed to a 2099 sketchbook.

What was fun about having Mr. Leonardi sign every book in the 2099 run was watching his reaction to the various artists who came after him. He was genuinely excited as he rattled off the names of the people who's work he instantly recognized. He emanated the glee of a young child seeing something they thought was cool for the first time.

In addition to all of this, I also got the few issues of The Amazing Spider-Man that he penciled. While he didn't directly work on issue 252, the first appearance of the black suit in that title, I had him sign it for nostalgia sake.

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day,
as well as John Romita Jr. and Brett Breeding
during my visit to Galaxycon 2023!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Mark Bagley
when I met him at Galaxycon 2023!

He also crossed over into other Spider-Man titles, as well as contributed to additional one-shots.

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Anniversary issue celebrating 30

years of Spider-Man and Gatefold

poster of Spider-Man 2099

with Spider-Man

While The Amazing Spider-Man 365 is credited as being the first preview appearance of Spider-Man 2099, Web of Spider-Man 90 actually predates it. The book has a fold out poster which features the character.

Gold 2nd Print!

Wizard Magazine mail-away issue

Certificate of Authenticity for Spider-Man 1/2,
which I also got signed!

Also signed by Mark Bagley
when I met him at Galaxycon 2023!

Marvel Tales is a series I wish I had more of, and may have to fully commit to completing a run on. It's notable for essentially becoming the reprint series for the numerous Spider-Man titles. These two below reprint issues 252 and 253 of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

I even got a few Spider-Man related books signed by him that he didn’t necessarily do. Specifically, the aforementioned issues noted above that showcased the first appearance of the black suit Spider-Man in the various ongoing titles, as well as my Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars issue number eight.

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter when I
first met him at Big Lick NOVA 2022!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

In particular, he seemed very interested in the various promotional books, giving the impression of not really know about them. He appeared almost intrigued that his promotional art got published in the assortment of magazines. For now, I'll focus on just one of them from Marvel Age 12, as well as the rest from this series that he contributed to.

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Renee Witterstaetter
and Michael Golden that
same day, as well as Mark Bagley
when I met him at Galaxycon 2023!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

I kicked around in my head whether or not I would bring one of my Marvel Legends Retro figure with me, and I'm glad I did. 

Also signed by Jim Shooter that same day!

There was a dealer that had this same figure signed by Jim Shooter, Michael Zeck, Brett Breeding and John Beatty, which I almost purchased. However, at the end of the day, I just didn't feel it would end up being important to me if I didn't get the signatures myself. Hopefully one day, because there are several books I want signed by Zeck and Beatty. Of course, in hindsight, I could have already had mine signed by Breeding.

Lastly, I purchased a consignment job from him in a series I am calling, “Peter Parker Pondering”. The idea came to me that when I ask artists for commission work in the future that I would essentially ask for the same thing, ultimately getting a series of the same work, but with various takes and iterations from different perspectives and artistic approaches. The theme is relatively simplistic, and goes with the name of the work. It’s a drawing of Peter Parker holding his red and blue suit in one hand, and his black suit in the other, pondering which one he will wear.

I love what Leonardi did with the black suit, with the symbiote hand reaching over Parker’s shoulder, as if getting ready to grab and make the decision for him. When finished, he commented that the piece was really fun for him to do, and even asked if he could take some photos of it for himself.

Rick Leonardi made himself accessible to fans by charging only one dollar per book, and this made it easier to be generous to him by donating to the Hero Initiative, which was a fund he collected for. I was happy to not only pay him for the books, but match that in donations. He even signed my pamphlet!

I held off on posting some additional items here which he signed, but rest assured, those are coming soon...

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