Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 14, 2025 | 2 comments

A FRANCO FRIDAYS (early) birthday salute…

By FRANCO

I sat down and it was a big deal for me to be there. There was a lot of big-name talent sitting at the table. What the hell was I doing sitting there? I kept thinking that over and over. I sat mostly quiet because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself or have anyone find out that they had made a mistake and say I shouldn’t be there or they shouldn’t have invited me. It was my first big DC Comics function/dinner and if you couldn’t tell, I was nervous as all get out.

I checked my phone to see if there were any messages from my wife. “Is that the new iPhone?” came a voice from across the table. Her name was Marsha. “Yes,” I said and turned the phone around to show her all the things about it. I showed her pictures and apps and all the cool things the phone could do. Rudely interrupting was the hand of the person next to her; it pushed my hand with the phone in it away and back toward myself.

OK…

Undeterred, I turned the phone back around and proceeded to pick up where I left off with Marsha. Again, the hand came and pushed my hand back at me. What followed next was a long, obscenity filled (though amusing) tirade of why technology was evil and how it’s ruining our society. The whole table stopped and watched this happen. When he was finished there was a silence that was deafening. Everyone looked at me.

Not one to miss the opportunity for levity and a slight comeuppance, I punched a few buttons on my phone and I turned it so that the man could see it. The New Frontier, the latest animated movie release from DC started to play. I had just downloaded the movie the day before. The look on his face as he realized what was playing was enough to make him throw his hands in the air, yell “FUCK!” and storm off!

There was that booming silence and the stares from everyone at the table again. That’s it, I thought. I just got fired and this would be my last DC function. Also, feeling I had offended him I went to go find him. I told him I was sorry and he laughed and said something to the effect of “Are you kidding me? That was the best argument you could make!” He laughed, I laughed.

It was Darwyn Cooke.

Art Baltazar, Darwyn, and me

My favorite cover was the one he never did for us. I know that sounds stupid but it’s true.

Darwyn Cooke — whose birthdate is this weekend (Nov. 16, 1963) — was an amazing creator. He could write. He could draw. He was a crusty, lovable curmudgeon.

Over the years he would defend my collaborator Art Baltazar and me whenever anyone dismissed what we were doing as not really comic books. He would always say, “Us cartoonists have to stick together.” He understood us. He encouraged us. He praised us when we won our first Eisner Award.

We were cartoonists.

One of my favorite Darwyn Cooke covers

I adored Darwyn’s artwork. Loved everything he did. He made it look so simple but conveyed so much. A giant among talents.

One of the last times I ever saw him was at a convention. He came up behind me and asked why I never asked him to draw a cover for Aw Yeah Comics. I was stunned. It wasn’t for any reason other than him being an artist of such caliber, working on such high-profile projects, that I never considered it. Imagine, Darwyn wanting to do a project so small and it was not Batman or Superman.

I told him this and he just gave me one of those dismissive looks and waved it off. He said we were friends and that I shouldn’t even think that way. Holy cow, I thought. He was serious and he would have done it. The fact that he came and told me that just made my head explode.

Soon after, we found out he was sick.

He didn’t tell many people. When he died it was a shock and it hit me even harder than I thought it would. He was a good guy. A curmudgeon, but a real stand-up guy. He will always be a giant in the industry and I will never forget all the swear words he hurled at me, and the genuine kindness as well.

I miss that cartoonist.

Happy birthday, Darwyn.

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Want more FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS? Come back next week!

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MORE

— Get Ready for CHASE SPEEDINGTON AND THE LAST DRAGON’S BREATH. Click here.

— SUCH TIMING! Drawing Lessons With BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN. Click here.

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Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners.