Irene and I drove to New York Tuesday and spent the night, which as it turned out wasn’t the best time to have done so, because it meant we woke Wednesday to an ice-coated car. (On April 16?) And the long drive home last night, which didn’t get us to bed until after 3:00 a.m., exhausted us. But it was all worthwhile, because the purpose of our trip was to spend another delightful afternoon with dear friend and comic book legend Marie Severin.

We love Marie, and always have. It’s been decades since either Irene or I worked in comics, and since then, she’s the only one we met back in those days whom we make a consistent effort to connect with rather than leaving it to chance encounters during conventions. Marie feels like family, that zany aunt we all wish we had but which most of us only get to meet in movies or on TV. (more…)

A bunch of my New York pals have been posting selfies with perennially rumored-to-be-dead actor Abe Vigoda, all taken last night at an opening cocktail party for the exhibition of Drew Friedman’s Old Jewish Comedians. When I checked Wikipedia to learn how old Abe Vigoda was anyway—he turns out to be 93—I learned the even more startling fact that his brother was longtime Archie Comics artist Bill Vigoda!

After being wowed by that surprising bit of news—which I feel as if I should have known—I remembered … Hey, I’ve met Bill Vigoda!

Considering the fact Bill Vigoda died in 1973, it was a looooong time ago, when I was still but a comics fan, not yet having been hired to work at Marvel Comics. To alleviate my jealously over those friends having gotten to hang out with brother Abe, I thought I’d take my own selfie with brother Bill.

And so … (more…)

As I flipped through the March 2014 issue of Marvel Previews late last night—which I’d downloaded to my iPad, as that’s how I do most of my comics reading these days—I came across a listing for the upcoming Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Volume 5, which will include my seven-issue run on that title.

Made my heart glad to see those comics getting renewed life. Back when I wrote them, I’d never have dreamed they’d be reprinted in a hardcover book.

If you ever wanted to get your hands on those issues without having to pore through the ’70s bins at your local comics shop, now’s your chance!

Sam Maronie, who recently sent me a photo I’d entirely forgotten of the only costume I ever wore to a con, has turned up two more. According to Sam, these were taken at the 1974 New York Creation Convention at the Hotel Commodore.

In the first pic, I’m dueling with fellow fan Dave Simons.

A heavily cropped version of this was published in F.O.O.M. back when I edited the magazine for Marvel. (more…)

After a two-year absence, the always entertaining Dial B for Blog is back—and if you’re interested in comics at all, I suggest you visit the site often.

Robby Reed combines his encyclopedic knowledge with top-notch Photoshop skills to create fascinating and beautifully designed posts on topics such as the secret origin of Batman, the legacy of Jack Kirby, and an in-depth 10-part series on logo master Ira Schnapp.

Check out the archives, because there’s plenty more where those came from.

Sockamagee!

Remember how I told you I’d only worn a costume to a convention once?

I’m going to have to amend that statement. Samuel Maronie, old pal and proprietor of the pop-culture blog Sam Maronie’s Entertainment Funhouse, mentioned over on Facebook that he had a photo of me in costume threatening legendary Marvel Comics inker Joe Sinnott with a broadsword—a moment in time of which I have no memory!

The strangest thing about not remembering this encounter? When he sent me a copy of the pic, I saw that I’d signed the thing in 1993! Which makes two things I no longer remember.

In any case, feast your eyes on this …

I was 19 years old. (more…)

We’ve all heard stories of comic book burnings from the ’40s and ’50s. We know these stories were more than merely apocryphal—but how many burnings actually took place?

Nicholas Yanes is trying to answer that question.

As part of his dissertation on the history of Mad Magazine and EC Comics, he’s been reviewing primary sources in search of accounts of those public protests, and has been able to find 16 documented cases.

But there were more, weren’t there? Or … do we just think there were more?

He’s put out a call in hopes that the Internet group mind can locate any others that exist. So if you have any info, reach out to him on Twitter or Facebook.

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…)

I wanted to wish Flash Gordon a happy birthday today—after all, his first strip appeared in newspapers on January 7, 1934—but then I took a look at that first strip, which I don’t recall having seen before …

… and I winced. You might wince, too.

Yep. It all began with “howling blacks.” (more…)

Sean Howe, author of the wonderful Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, uploaded a recording to YouTube today of Stan Lee speaking at Princeton in March 1966.

There’s a ton of fun stuff you’ll want to hear, such as the boos that erupted when Stan mentioned Steve Ditko’s departure from Marvel and the cheers that arose when he brought up the Silver Surfer.

Plus there’s plenty of ammo for Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby partisans, such as when Stan called Ditko a “peculiar guy” who’s “a little eccentric,” and said that he hadn’t “spoken to this guy for over a year,” or when he talked about how surprised he was when the Silver Surfer turned up in the Fantastic Four, an event which had caused Stan to ask, “Who’s this naked nut running around?”

But what most piqued my interest, and caused me to consider a question I should have asked long ago but for some reason never thought to, was Stan’s explanation of the Marvel method, which begins at the 17:35 mark.

(And don’t worry—the audio quality picks up after the first few minutes.) (more…)