Mike Royer on creating a 'Kirby' Green Arrow for DC Comics stamps

The whole interview is interesting, but there's one question in particular that's relevant to us...

Stroud, Brian D.  2012.

Mike Royer Interview.

Silver Age Sage (April):

http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/royer_1.shtml and

http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/royer_2.shtml

BDS: Did you get credit for the postage stamp that features your Green Arrow?

MR: No, no. What really gripes me about that…I tried to set the record straight in the Jack Kirby Collector, but I don't think it ever resonated with anybody. Everybody talks about the "Green Arrow stamp inked by Mike Royer." DC sent me a scan of a photo-copy of a western Jack Kirby 1950s character named Bullseye. He was in fringe, leathers, a cowboy hat with a feather, pulling back on a bow and inked by somebody who inked his own personality over Jack's pencils, rather than inking it the way Jack would have inked it. DC asked, "Can you take this pose and make it an early 1970's Jack Kirby/Mike Royer Green Arrow?" Which is exactly what I did. It's his pose, his stance, his dynamics, but I made it Green Arrow with his entirely different costume, all the folds, etc., and everything else the way I believe Jack would have penciled it in the '70's, so I don't think it's fair to just say that it's "Green Arrow inked by Mike Royer." It was printed on a comic book; a special one-shot reprint of Kirby's '50's Green Arrow and then a few years later it winds up being on a postage stamp. Its first day issue was at Comic Con in San Diego and I think they figured they might sell $200,000.00 worth of stamps. A buddy of mine in the Post Office gave me the Post Office newsletter stating that they sold over $500,000.00 worth of stamps at Comic Con the first day!

BDS: Whew!

MR: I think I must have signed at least two or three dozen first day envelopes for the Post Office employees. Or at least you'd like to think it was for their employees. Not a week goes by that I don't see a Mike Royer signed first day signed envelope on eBay for $5.00. If I'd known that, I'd have grabbed as many as I could and taken them with me. "One each for my kids and one for myself."…that's all. Just like the Grant Simmons, "Come in and take anything you want!" All right, I took what I wanted (for family) rather than something I thought might make me some money down the road. Oh well….