Writer. Creator. Large mammal.

Category: 09 Reminiscences and Tributes Page 3 of 5

Forget Paris and More Items of Interest

Forget Paris

Wednesday, I told you the Secret Origin of the X-Men creative team’s Great European Expedition, so nicely documented by JayJay along with contributors to this blog yesterday. There’s a coda to that tale.

A week or two after returning from the Great Expedition, one beautiful June Friday, John Romita, Jr., international bon vivant, turned up at my office to say merci beaucoup for arranging the trip, which he thoroughly enjoyed, despite a minor contretemps resulting from his unfamiliarity with the language, specifically, French for “she’s married.”

Zut alors!

But John escaped alive, was glad to be home and wanted to buy me a thank-you grapefruit juice. That was my libation of choice in those days.
Marvel closed at one PM on Fridays during the summer. So, soon, we were off to a lunch place and hangout in the neighborhood, Buchbinders, which was at the corner of Third and 27th, I think. Bob Layton somehow heard or sensed that someone else was buying and tagged along.

Some Marvel Tales and Other Horror Stories – Part 4

My Favorite Hap Kliban StoryThe Hap Kliban story took place in San Diego, but the back story begins in Chicago. I believe this was in 1981. Could be wrong. Anyway, that year, the Chicago Con was the weekend before the San Diego Con. Because the trade show part of the San Diego Con started Wednesday (I think) it made sense to go directly from Chicago to San Diego, rather than return to New York in between.

The San Diego Con was new Marvel Publisher Mike Hobson’s first convention, I believe. He was going to join me and the Marvel con-tingent there.

Chicago was a terrific show that year. Among other things, I remember meeting this aspiring young artist, a kid named Mark Silvestri. I liked his stuff. Claremont heard about it and swooped down on him like a mutant hawk.

When at conventions I often took con people and creators, especially Marvel creators, to lunch or dinner on Marvel. It was a little thank you for all they did, for representing Marvel at the con, for general good will and PR. You know. So, one afternoon, I asked a couple of Marvel guys if they’d like to have dinner at Lowry’s. Lowry’s is a classy Chicago joint famous for its prime rib, in case you are a vegan and therefore unaware of notable carnivore hangouts.

Len Wein and Marv Wolfman overheard me and asked if they could come along. Well…both were DC guys at that point, but, why not? They’d done plenty of dinners’ worth of work for Marvel, and…why not?

More Strange Tales – Read ‘em and Weep

It’s Friday.

Friday evenings used to mean poker. Or something vaguely resembling poker. As close as we comic book people could approximate it. Unsophisticated, and yet charmingly buffoonish in its utter lack of skill.

Thirty-five years ago, almost every Friday evening, a bunch of us would gather at somebody’s place to play poker. Usually, early on, it was the vast apartment Paul Levitz shared with Marty Pasko down on Mercer Street.

That place was terrific. It was really like two fairly spacious apartments with a common kitchen and living room, which was the size of a football field. All right, maybe the living room was only the size of tennis court. The point is it was big. It was in the middle. Paul’s rooms were to the right as you walked in and Marty’s were to the left. It was a nice, new building and a nice, comfy place. And they had a big table, perfect for cards.

Regular attendees in the early days included Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Steve Mitchell, Mike Barr, Paul and Marty, of course, and me. I’m probably forgetting some people.

More Strange Tales – San Diego Comic-Con Memories

One of the Worst of Times – Slighting Russ Manning

I met Russ Manning at the Con in 1979, I think. I didn’t really have much of a chance to talk to him, just long enough to tell him how much I loved his work, how I relentlessly tracked down every issue of Magnus Robot Fighter. How many times had he heard that in the previous half-hour alone?

Anyway, just meeting him and shaking his hand was a great honor. He was very busy. Inundated by fans like me. He always took time to look at aspiring artists’ work and give them pointers and encouragement, so he was always mobbed.

Next year, I was at the Con again, as usual. I remember it had been a particularly long and tiring day. I was exhausted. As the show was closing, I dragged myself across the street from the old Convention Center to the Executive Hotel and shambled wearily into an elevator that was conveniently waiting. Or being held….

More Strange Tales – San Diego Comic-Con Memories

West and Woody

At the 1980 Comic-Con I met Adam West.

I was a judge for the costume contest. Judges sat in a marked-off section of the front row. I arrived early. I’m almost always early for everything.

As the audience was streaming into the auditorium, a little girl came wandering down the aisle. I’m not good at guessing kids’ ages, but she couldn’t have been more than seven. All the seats near the front were already filled except for two judges’ seats next to me.

The little girl asked me if she could sit in one of the seats. I said that those seats belonged to two other judges who would probably show up soon, but she could sit there until they did.

I asked her name, which I forget, sorry, and where her parents were. She said her parents couldn’t come because they had to take care of their table in the dealers’ room until the room was locked up. But she wanted to see the costumes.

I asked if they knew where she was. No.

More Strange Tales

HAPPY BASTILLE DAY!


Len Wein Teaches Me a Lesson (and, oh, by the way, Roger Stern, too)

Roger Stern started working at Marvel in December of 1975, two weeks before I did on the first working day of January 1976. 

Rog came from Indiana.  He had previously published or co-published a slick fanzine called CPL (Contemporary Pictoral Literature, I think.) that had been devoted to Charlton Comics.  He had been hired as an assistant editor.  Among his first duties, I think, was editing letter columns.

(NOTE:  Letter columns were commonly put together by the writers of the individual books, who would sort through the fan mail, select letters to be printed and write the answers or comments.  A few lettercols were written by someone other than the book’s writer.  If that person couldn’t or didn’t want to do his or her own letter column, a staffer or other freelancer would do it.  For instance, lettercols for the Kirby books were done by someone other than Jack.  Writing a lettercol in those days paid $25, I think.)

I had been hired as associate editor.  Rog and I both sat in the big editorial room outside the Editor in Chief’s office, which took up a corner of that room.  We were the two new guys.  We became friends, and remain friends…at least until he reads this.

Superman, the Playboy Club, Decorating Higgins, the Secret Theater and More Strange Tales

Superman 

My first year as Marvel Editor in Chief was a tough one in many ways for everybody on staff.  We all worked our butts off to get caught up, make things better and keep Marvel alive.

I suppose I could look up the date, but I’m pretty sure it was late in the year, during cold weather, anyway, that the long-awaited Superman movie came out.

I figured the editorial and production people deserved a perk.  An early Christmas present, if you will.  No, I’m not going to say “holiday present.”  I’m old.  I get the senior citizen discount.  Give me a PC break.

Anyway…the movie opened strong.  It was a hit.  With a large group, the only sure way to get in without standing in line for hours, at least for the first few weeks after the premiere, was to go to the first show in the morning.  No, I’m not going to say “standing ON line.”  I’m from Pittsburgh where one stands IN line.  I get the Allegheny Plateau discount.  Give me a west-of-the-Hudson break.

Ten More Comics’ Creators’ Quips and Quotes

1.  Julius Schwartz explaining his self-inflicted nickname:  “They call me ‘B.O. Schwartz.’  B.O.  for ‘Be Original.”

2.  Artist Paris Cullens one late night at VALIANT when we were ordering burgers, regarding his life-long love affair with cheese:  “I’d eat a baby’s butt if it had cheese on it.”

3. Marvel Production Manager Danny Crespi to peripatetic production staffer John “Squid” Morelli:  “Squid-o, I’m going to glue you to your chair.”

4.  Big poster on Larry Hama’s door:  “DOGMA IS.”

5.  Marvel Photostat Operator and comedic genius Stu Schwartzberg:  “I’m ripping the company off.  Every time someone asks for a 90% stat I give them an 89% stat and pocket the difference.”

6.  Marvel Publisher Mike Hobson, when things got out of hand (every day):  “For the love of God, man, throw me a rope!”

I have often borrowed that line….

Gene Colan

On Friday, I found out that Gene Colan had passed away. 

Gene was a great artist and a fine man.  He will ever remain an honored and revered giant of our industry.  I had the privilege once of visiting his home and seeing some of the non-comics art and illustrations he created hanging here and there.  Beautiful.  Masterful.  Breathtaking.  Our little business is far poorer for his absence and the wide world has lost far more than it will ever know. 

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Please stop by again later today for another post.  The Origin series will continue tomorrow.

Look, Up in the Sky…!

JayJay here. I was going through some old stuff recently and came across this Chicago Comicon program that Jim gave me back in 1984. It inspired him to write the following. Finally my pack-rattiness pays off!

One day, I’m sitting at my EIC desk and my assistant says Mike Gold is on the phone.  Mike, among other things, was one of the organizers of the Chicago Comicon.  This was 1984 and the theme of the Con that year was Superman.

Mike asked me to do the cover art for the program book. Not could I please get John Byrne or some other Marvel star artist to do it.  He wanted me to draw and ink the cover.

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