The first of two episodes recorded at the Baltimore Comic-Con — which is the last Eating the Fantastic episode of 2022 — was a bit like stepping into a time machine for me. That’s because guest Al Milgrom was the artist for my ’70s run on Captain Marvel, and therefore the co-creator of Dr. Minn-Erva, portrayed by Gemma Chan in the Captain Marvel movie. But Al’s so much more than Captain Marvel.

He edited The Incredible Hulk, drew The Avengers, and both wrote and drew Spectacular Spider-Man. During his early days in comics, he lived in the same Queens apartment building as Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, and Bernie Wrightson. His career at Marvel lasted far longer than mine, for he was the inker of X-Factor for eight years (1989–1997) and edited Marvel Fanfare for its full 10-year run (1982–1992). But his impact wasn’t limited to Marvel, as over at DC, he co-created Firestorm with previous guest of the podcast Gerry Conway. He also worked at nearly every existing comics company during his career, including Archie, Dark Horse, Image, Star Reach, Warren, and more.

We discussed our time working together on ’70s Captain Marvel, how he responded when Gerry Conway asked him to provide cover sketches for Jack Kirby, his memories of meeting Jim Starlin in middle school (and what Joe Orlando said about the duo when they brought their portfolios up to DC Comics), what he learned working as a backgrounder for the legendary Murphy Anderson, the day Marie Severin and Roy Thomas sent him on a wild motorcycle ride to track down Rich Buckler, how the artists on Marvel’s softball team always played better than the writers, why (and how) he works best under pressure, how he became a triple threat writer/artist/editor, the conflicting advice Joe Orlando gave him about his DC Comics covers, what not to talk about with Steve Ditko, how Jim Shooter got him to edit at Marvel, and much more.

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Because my seven-issue run on Captain Marvel will soon be reprinted as part of a Marvel Masterworks edition, I pulled out the original art I’d received for having written those issues. I don’t recall the full details of what share of the finished art the penciller and inker received, but I ended up with two pages per book. And sometimes the backs of those pages are as interesting as the fronts.

On the flip side of page 10 from issue #49—the first issue I wrote—is a rough pencil sketch of the villain The Cheetah.

I assume the sketch is by Al Milgrom, the penciller for that issue. Here’s what the character looks like inked and in color, as seen from his introduction on the cover of Captain Marvel #48, which is the previous issue. (more…)