During the heyday of the independent comic book boom in the late 80s through the mid 90s, the Dallas Fantasy Fair (DFF) was third to only Comic-Con International in San Diego and the old Chicago Comicon. What set the DFF apart from other conventions was the support for independent creators by the person behind the show, Larry Lankford. Lankford didn’t care if you only had an ashcan preview and a dream to be published — if you made comic books on some level and you presented yourself even reasonably well, he gave you a table.
For free!
That’s a huge thing. Beyond that, though…if you made comic books and were given space, you were treated no differently than the big names bringing in guests: there was no waiting to get in, the provided space was always generous, and there was access to the pro suite, where you could chat with the people comic book geeks and pop culture fans only dreamed about paying to see at other conventions.
While rubbing elbows with one’s heroes was always cool, there was something even better about the shows…
Friendships Forged
I was fortunate to have met so many friends at the old DFF conventions; I’m still friends with many of the people I met back then. More than a handful have gone on to making a living in the industry, some now the very names people go to shows to see and meet.
The Dallas Fantasy Fair brought us all together. For many of us, the shows taught us to be serious about our dreams. While I no longer do anything with independent comic books, I carry so many lessons learned at those shows in my early 20s, all because Lankford was generous enough to let us in as guests.
Today, a good friend met at a DFF show in the early 90s told many other friends that Larry Lankford recently died. I had limited contact with Lankford, mainly just always thanking him for allowing my punk ass in for free so I could make connections and share my enthusiasm for the medium with other creators on my level and above.
The Last Show
The last DFF I attended was with my wife. We were in the process of working together on a book of our own, and while the venue had changed from Dallas Market Center to a hotel with far less room, Lankford still gave us a table. It wasn’t a table shoved off in a corner, but a spot in one of the busiest sections of the show. (It didn’t hurt that he seated us right next to Adam Hughes, one of my wife’s favorite artists.)
As the show went on, it was clear the lack of space was an issue. Lankford needed our table for a much bigger guest, and it was evident his decision to ask us to move was not an easy one for him. When the guest (Mark Waid) saw that we were leaving to give the entire table to him, he insisted on cramming the three of us behind the table. There was no way we were going to do that, even though it would have meant the chance to show Waid what we were doing. The show was tight on space, and we gladly gave up our spot, knowing how fortunate we were to be there at all.
Given a Shot
It’s easy to look back and say that Larry was ahead of others, realizing there were independent fans…so why not let independent creators in for free to draw those fans? Savvy marketers get that, now, but even today, the thought of even a well known independent creator being allowed into a large convention for free is crazy talk. It never seemed like a move to get more fans in with Lankford, though — he really seemed to take serious creating a place where all creators, regardless of where they were in their careers, had a shot.
That’s all any of us can really ask for in life: a shot. Lankford gave a shot to people like me, who never made it in comics…and he gave a shot to many who have lived the dreams we all talked about in our early 20s at Lankford’s Dallas Fantasy Fairs.
The Power of Generosity
If there’s a sad tone to this, it’s not intended. As I mentioned, I was not friends with Larry Lankford…just one of many acquaintances he gave a chance. If there’s any sense of melancholy behind all this, it’s that I’m a bit nostalgic as I think about how many great friendships and careers began at Dallas Fantasy Fairs. They were a lot of fun, a break from working in hot warehouses and believing, if only for a weekend, that something more was possible.
Most of us, on some level, have affected the lives of others in positive ways we may never know. I can name so many people who were affected by Lankford’s generosity. It was a little gesture, but I hope giving up our table when he needed it at one of his last shows was seen as the thank you it was meant to be.
We were all given a shot — and while dreams of making it writing comic books never happened for me, the friendships made because of one person’s generosity are far better than 23-year-old me could have ever imagined
. More than that, I hope Lankford’s generosity — something I’m not sure many of us even realized was as big and rare as it was at the time — lives on in those he helped make their dreams a way of life.
I’m pretty sure you’re just telling it, but it turns out to be a lovely tribute to a man whose generosity nurtured generosity in others. I remember those days, too, not as an active participant but as one who heard the stories when came home.
A really nice article about a guy who obviously touched and affected many lives.
They were definitely great times. It’s weird: so many people in their early 20s jump right into more schooling (I was no exception), but I did poorly in college because I was more concerned with writing. We all believed our dreams could come true because we saw it happen at the conventions. We saw friends getting work doing what they loved more than anything else. At school, others talked about just getting jobs and doing what was right (often right by what their parents deemed right). So it was quite a place, being around so many others who wanted something more than just another job.
Not that I’m knocking a steady gig; I have friends who work in comics who struggle — and not a year passes by where the community doesn’t raise money for an older creator who is ill and without insurance. It’s not an easy life, making comic books. But most friends who made it the way they pay the bills, or at least strongly supplement income, got some kind of start at those old Dallas shows, and more than a few are doing very well for themselves. It was a great thing to be around in our early 20s: access to the people we looked up to, support from others, and believing that life didn’t have to be all about punching a clock.
Thank you for posting such great memories of Larry. I didn’t know him during that time of his life. I just heard of his passing from a friend and caught your comments from a search. He worked for me in sales and then we worked together on the board of directors for Keep Dallas Beautiful. He also helped me with some fund raisers for teachers when he was with EcoPhones. He was such a caring person who was able to reach out to everyone while at the same time being so detail oriented and driven. He was a wonderful individual and I will greatly miss him. Thank you for giving me additional perspective on Larry.
Greta,
You’re welcome — and thank you for sharing your experiences knowing him. From everything I’ve heard from people who knew him, whether before, during, or after he ran conventions, he was always generous and helpful to everyone he met. Really, in the world of the old Dallas Fantasy Fairs, I was at the bottom of it all, but he always made sure to come by all the tables and make sure everyone, no matter how big or small they were in the industry, had everything they needed. He helped a lot of friends with their careers; practically launching a couple almost single-handedly through the right introductions and guidance. It’s something I know I’ll never forget…
I suppose this is a bit late but better late than never. Larry Lankford and I were friends for quite a while. The person who rarely gets mentioned in all the history of Dallas conventions though was Larry’s mentor, Larry Herndon. I’m sure if Lankford were here today, he would agree that almost everything he learned about putting on conventions, he learned from Herndon. Herndon was a pivotal figure in Dallas fandom, and as much as anyone created it in the early 60s and with it, the conventions, including DCON, and he and I worked together on many projects, including said conventions and also The Nostalgia Journal. I still remember Larry Lankford as a pudgy 12-year-old at the Dallas mini-cons, hanging on Herndon’s every word. Years later, when HE was putting on the conventions (dressed much more stylishly), Lankford was always nice to me, inviting me to the after-hours parties and treating me like a sort of elder statesman of fandom. He didn’t have to do that, but he did and I often thought it was a kind of tribute to Larry Herndon, who had passed on by then. Larry Lankford was a great, smart guy and he left us far too young.