Halloween has always been my favorite day of the year. I’ve always loved the creative aspect of it, and of course the dressing up part! But for exactly half of my life now, Halloween has been doubly special. Right around this time 21 years ago today, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my date, a shy guy called Dale Eaglesham. We’d been talking on the phone for a couple of months, and I really liked him. We’d both gone to the same art school in Montréal, we both liked the Habs, we both liked the group Yes… I knew his brother (and assorted posse) from art school and the whole goofy bunch of us got along great. Now if only I could get this reclusive artist to actually meet me in person! I knew he was a comic book artist, but I must admit I don’t remember whether I was impressed with that or not. With so many artist friends, I guess he just fit into my quirky world.

He was working on a Conan story at the time, a 50-page issue called Masque of the Demon. As we spoke on the phone for countless hours, he described every page, and I felt as though I knew every panel and every line he drew, and I became so involved that the story started to feel like mine as well. When I finally met him in person and eventually saw the actual pages I had only heard described until then, that’s when I first grasped the magic of his work and that has never waned since.

I missed my yearly Halloween party that year so that I could meet with Dale. Best decision I ever made.

Happy “dating anniversary,” my love!

Wolfie