A BIRTHDAY SALUTE to the protege turned master in his own right… By PETER STONE Everyone (almost everyone) knows the story of how Bill Sienkiewicz got into the comic industry. How he showed up at Continuity Associates to meet the great and powerful Neal Adams, his artistic idol, and to show his portfolio. Did he have a chance in the comic world? Neal flipped through Bill’s portfolio and then bellowed (as he was wont to do) to get Jim Shooter on the phone. Two minutes later, Neal told Jim Shooter that he had to hire this young man immediately. It wasn’t because Bill drew like Neal, it was because Bill was a talented young man who could really draw. That was always what Neal was looking for. Artists who could draw. Bill’s entry to the world of comics was far smoother than, say, Frank Miller’s. But both got in, proving that there is no common path. It’s all about working as hard as you can and being in the right place at the right time. Bill — who was born 66 years ago, on May 3, 1958 — didn’t just enter the comics world, he exploded, with his early work on the Hulk! black-and-white magazine, drawing the Moon Knight feature that soon turned into a monthly comic. In the magazine, Bill was still channeling Neal, but when he moved through the issues of Moon Knight, his style rapidly became more and more stylistic and exciting. The culmination of the transformation was the 1982’s Issue #26 — “Hit It!” Bill was freeing himself from his past influences and searching for new ones. The New Mutants became a perfect example of an artist morphing into a new form. The Demon Bear Saga was so unique and almost esoteric that it became the focus of the New Mutants movie, even if they didn’t follow Bill’s visuals. His covers were his way of experimenting  with painting and even 3-D images. No, not computers… 3-D being what he could attach to the art. Industrial metal, tape, wood or whatever he thought looked cool. It was the butterfly emerging from the cocoon and starting to flap its wings. He becomes a talented cover artist, illustrating a ton of Marvel Comics covers. But then he puts his foot to the floor and produced Elektra: Assassin and...