Gather round for storytime. Once upon a time, 15 years ago, ATM machines were not as common as they are now. So when I was visiting, I think it was the Chicago Comic Con, a friend agreed to front me some cash in return for my check. I’m sure I found many more cool things to buy than I expected at the show.

Now, the thing you need to know about this, boys and girls, is that banks used to send you back your actual paper canceled checks. So my friend, Mike Chary, decided to surprise me by visiting several of the notable guests of the show and asking them for itsy-bitsy sketches on the check itself. So when I got my bank statement, this is what was in it.

Top middle is by Steve Rude; the person on the right is by Tim Levins (Copybook Tales, Batman Adventures). Counter-clockwise from top left, you have Sergio Aragones, Amanda Conner (I think), Steve Lieber, Mark Crilley, unknown Wonder Woman (although I think it was a Golden Age creator), Stan Sakai, Tara Jenkins, and Matt Feazell. I know, I know, I should have written it all down at the time. But I didn’t know I was going to stumble across a silly piece of paper 15 years later and be surprised all over again by how cool comic people can be.