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Two House of Mystery stories Paul Levitz passed on

Posted by: Scott    Tags:  comics, DC Comics, Paul Levitz    Posted date:  April 6, 2011  |  No comment


A few weeks ago, I found a bunch of rejections from Paul Levitz for stories I’d submitted to DC’s House of Mystery, and then last week figured out exactly which stories he’d passed on. And because I’d found two of those unused plots, and have no shame, I told you I’d let you see the synopses I’d submitted.

If you can look past the typos and handwritten corrections of a pre-computer age, you’ll see the format in which I was submitting ideas to DC’s mystery line (even though the plots failed to win over Paul). Luckily, as you can see here, I had more hits than misses.

First up, “A Ghastly Tale,” which Paul rejected with the note, “No in-joke industry stories please.” As you’ll see, it was about a comics artist patterned after the EC great Graham Ingels.

Next up, “Video Vengeance,” which Paul rejected by saying, “Good little story — but would cause legal problems, I’m afraid. Sorry.”

Until finding my plot, I had no idea what those legal problems could have been, but now that I see the story was to be set in the Museum of Broadcasting (today’s Museum of Television and Radio) and would have featured the likenesses of Bruce Lee, Robert Stack, Robert Vaughn, Leonard Nimoy and other actors as their iconic characters, I kind of get his point.

BTW, I became a member of the Museum of Broadcasting the year it opened, but a few years after I left New York, I let that membership lapse. Since I hardly ever made it back to Manhattan, it no longer made sense, though I have to admit I regretted losing that extremely low number on my membership card.

Anyway, when you read these long-ago words … please be kind. The kid who wrote them would appreciate that.





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