My old pal Sam Maronie, who took so many wonderful convention photos during the mid-’70s, many of which included me, just surprised me with yet another taken at the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention.

You’ve already seen the one of me and Moon Knight co-creator Don Perlin snapped during that same weekend. I don’t know whether this one was taken before or after that one over the March 22-24 1975 weekend, but it’s definitely a different day, because I’m wearing a different shirt and yet another hat loathed by my wife.

That’s bearded me in the back, looking down.

All of those around me — the ones I recognize, anyway — are long gone. That’s Len Wein to the far left, and Duffy Vohland looking back and up at him. On the far right are Michelle Brand and Marty Greim.

That long-haired guy with his thumb to his lips might be Doug Moench — but it might also just be yet another long-haired guy. There were a lot of us back then. I reached out to old friends who might remember young Doug better, and will update this post once I hear back.

I don’t recognize any of the others in the room. If you do, let me know.

Thanks, Sam, for letting me do some more time traveling!

Another old comics acquaintance has passed, and though I hadn’t spoken to her for decades, the world still seems a little smaller today.

It’s being reported that Michelle Wrightson has died suddenly, apparently of natural causes. And though I did know her last by that name, I first became acquainted with her when she was Michelle Brand, and not in the flesh, but rather through her groundbreaking underground comics work.

This is how I remember her looking when we finally did meet, as seen in a photo of her and her husband Roger Brand taken by Patrick Rosenkranz.

My acquaintance with her work goes back just about as far as my connection with organized comics fandom itself. I went to my first convention at age 15 in July 1970, which was the same month the all-women’s underground It Ain’t Me Babe was published, featuring Michelle’s “Tirade Funnies.” I can’t say for sure that I bought my copy at that first con, but as I did buy other undergrounds such as Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary that weekend, it was either then or shortly thereafter. (more…)