but specifically for young guys just starting out. John Buscema came in and did a chalk talk thing. I sat in a room with maybe 20 other artists at a long table, and I listened to John Buscema for two or three hours. I specifically remember meeting Javier Saltares that day. It was phenomenal. Just fantastic. I still have some note paper I was scribbling and sketching on when I was there that day. That would have been late ’86 or early ’87.
drawing comics. I was so excited to be doing this one fill-in. And I was going to get a chance to work with Al Williamson. Beat that. MM: Do you remember what issue that was? LEE: My first issue was #284. Matt Murdock had amnesia. He was walking around wearing a New Orleans Saints baseball cap, hanging out in Hell’s Kitchen was a young black girl named Nyla. So, he was out of costume a lot. In fact, I think for the first couple of issues, when I drew the Daredevil costume, it was actually Bullseye wearing the costume.
MM: So let’s talk about your Daredevil experience. What happened after you sat there that night, and drew those sketches, and sort of felt inspired? LEE: I just committed to go after what it was I wanted to do the next time I went in, which was going to be Daredevil. Two or three weeks later, I was delivering a job and getting a new assignment, and I went to Ralph Macchio’s office, who at the time was editing Daredevil and Dr. Strange. He offered a back-up story for the latter book, which I took, the whole time Daredevil being on my mind. We had a pleasant meeting. I hung out with he and Mike Heisler, his assistant at the time. And as I turned to leave, I got one foot on either side of the threshold, and I—it was almost like asking a girl out on a date; I was nervous. I knew if I left I would feel very defeated, like I didn’t do what I set out to do. So I glanced back at Ralph, and in the most casual tone I could muster, I said, “By the way, Ralph, if you ever have need for a Daredevil fill-in, I would gladly take a hit out on your worst enemy for the chance to do it.” I think that is almost verbatim what I said. And I was going to just let it hang for a second and then say goodbye again and leave, but before I finished my sentence, he and Mike kind of looked at each other, “Oh, why didn’t we think of that?” I think they actually said that. At the time, John Romita, Jr. had taken on a special project, something that was taking him away from Daredevil a little bit. I could have walked out and missed that opportunity. Instead, I learned a big lesson: You don’t know until you ask. I went home with a script and was more excited than I’d ever been 49