Bill Williams shares, Once upon a time, I was looking for an artist for a new project I wanted to launch. I reached out to my buddy and comic art dealer Phillip Anderson and asked him if he knew anybody good and in my price range. He gave me a couple of numbers and I made a call or two. That’s how I met Robb Phipps.
Robb was a huge comic book fan and he had just come off of some work for Malibu Comics. He drew some of their Mantra comics. We made a deal and I sent him a script. Over the years there were a few phone calls as I sent him scripts, cash and finished comics. Robb was always pleasant and talented. He was also tolerant as I inked his pencils, still feeling my way as an artist.
I published ten issues of Heroic Tales starring the AMAZON character that we created. Diamond stopped carrying that comic because of weak sales and Robb and I eventually parted ways. A few years later, I needed someone I could depend on, so I called Robb. We caught up and his kindness made it seem like the years that had passed were very few. I hired him again to revisit some of our characters in a new webcomic I was creating. Amazon guest-starred in SIDECHICKS. Once again, when the work ran out, we lost touch.
A product of an interesting homelike, Robb struggled with self-esteem issues. He never thought he was good enough. He struggled in private, doing commissions for his loyal fans and working on a 100 page graphic novel. He finished the pencils on that project and got a little work done on the inks, but he’ll never finish that last job.
Robb had been ill for some time and eventually nature took its course. Robb Phipps died on Father’s Day this year.
This is my favorite panel from the Amazon comics. In this panel, I finally felt like I matched Robb’s pencils. In the comics, Amazon is an outsider looking for a place to belong, a place to be happy. I hope that Robb is finally in that place and finally at peace.
About Author
