A regrettable reminder to wish a dead comic book friend happy birthday sent me down a Marvel memories rabbit hole, reminding me of what it was like to know Stan Lee before he had hair, the cherry pie that almost got me fired, the day Archie Goodwin did parkour across Bullpen furniture, Len Wein turning us into a Mickey Mouse operation, Marie Severin’s most inventive prank, my faux fight with Don McGregor, performing Time Square guerrilla theater with Steve Gerber, the time I was on Candid Camera (or was I?), and more.

And here are a few things which will illuminate the anecdotes I share in this episode —

A mid-’70s Marvel Bullpen pic
with Irene Vartanoff, Chris Claremont, Bonnie Smith, and Roger Slifer

Here’s Len’s full story of why I’m wearing a Mickey Mouse hat in the photo above.

Giant-Size Defenders #5 (July 1975) credits box