Listen in as I look back half a century on what it was like being in the room with Len Wein and Dave Cockrum (or as much as I’m willing to admit) as they plotted Giant-Size X-Men #1, why my mid-’70s likeness still hangs on the wall at Marvel Comics HQ, my freelance income during the first six months of my life as a comics professional, the collaborative short stories my friends and I stayed awake 24 hours to write on Harlan Ellison’s 39th birthday, an article I commissioned for F.O.O.M. about collecting comics in 1975 which should make you weep 50 years later, how my meeting with Wicked Witch of the West Margaret Hamilton ended up being a Marvel Comics caption contest, and much more.

You can eavesdrop on all those memories via the embed below or download them at the site of your choice.

Here are some images which will enrich your listening experience, though they probably won’t make much sense without it —

My caricature on the wall at Marvel HQ

Marie Severin’s cover to F.O.O.M. #16
with her caricature of me circled

Call It Fate #1
with the first short story I ever wrote on the cover

(more…)

I’d thought I’d shared all the gems from my Marvel Comics days which I have squirreled away in my subterranean vault … until a query from a Dave Cockrum fan proved me wrong.

I got an email an hour ago asking about a villain I’d come up with for Captain Marvel #55 (March 1978)—Deathgrip!

I’d previously told you how I’d seen artist Dave Cockrum design that character’s costume, and he wanted to know whether any of Dave’s preliminary drawings still existed. And that made me suddenly realize …

Why … yes.

Not sure why I never thought to let you see this aspect of Dave’s genius before, but here it is now—Deathgrip as we in the Marvel Bullpen first saw him.

Amazing, isn’t it?

I’m so glad Dave’s dream—which I recently discovered expressed in an interview published in Fantastic Fanzine #10 (1969)—came true.

Aren’t you?

Thanks to a Tumblr post, I was reminded of a Marvel Bullpen moment I’d completely forgotten. The following response apparently appeared in answer to a reader’s letter about Wolverine’s height, and was published in X-Men #103 (cover dated February 1977).

Did we really say those things? I’m no longer sure.

If we didn’t say those things, then who put those words in our mouths? I’m no longer sure of that either.

It was probably Chris Claremont, as he was writing X-Men at the time, and the writer of a book always got first shot at putting together that title’s letters column unless there was a compelling reason against it. But all this time later, I don’t feel comfortable guaranteeing it was him and not one of the Assistant Editors.

I guess I could always track down Chris and see whether his memory is any better than mine …

I’ve been rereading my late ’70s run of Captain Marvel this weekend (for a reason which will eventually be made clear) and noticed something I should have spotted at the time, but never did. (Or maybe I did, but forgot that I had. I’m leaning toward the former, though.)

A couple of years ago, I told you about a page of George Tuska art intended for Captain Marvel #54 which was at the last minute replaced by a Dave Cockrum splash page. Well, as I took a look yesterday at Captain Marvel’s origin story, first published in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 way back in 1967, that proverbial lightbulb went on over my head.

I suddenly saw that in his replacement page, Dave had done an homage to the cover which had started it all—

—and I’d never noticed!

Cap’s walking down a city street toward the reader, filling the page, right foot forward, people pointing, the background crowd mere silhouettes … it was obviously meant to be a tip of the hat to the Gene Colan classic.

How did I not see that immediately when the art was handed in back in 1977?

A third of a century for the scales to fall from my eyes. Wow.

Surely you had all noticed this a long time ago. Why didn’t any of you tell me?

Chris Claremont, with whom I worked at Marvel Comics back in the ’70s, turns 58 today. Chris is perhaps best known for his 16-year run on Uncanny X-Men.

But Chris wasn’t always the trusted comics veteran that he is today. When I was editing the Marvel fan magazine FOOM, I asked Marie Severin to draw this image for the June 1975 issue just as Chris was at the beginning of that amazing run.

According to the caption, the image depicts “What the fans wanted to do to Chris Claremont, Len Wein, and Dave Cockrum for destroying the X-men before they saw the book. Once the finished product was in their hands, they quickly changed their minds.”

But as I look at the expression of agony on Chris’ face, I suspect that what this picture really shows is how he might be feeling inside today as the realization sinks in that another year has gone by.

Happy birthday, Chris!

Comic-book artist Dave Cockrum, who is most well known for his reinvigoration of two supergroups—DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes and Marvel Comics’ X-Men—passed away far too soon on November 26, 2006.

Dave co-created such characters as as Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm, and redesigned the costumes for countless other heroes.

I have fond memories of sitting with him in the Marvel Bullpen and watching as he designed the costume for the Captain Marvel villain Deathgrip back when I was writing that book and dinosaurs still walked the Earth. Even though Dave wasn’t the artist on that title, he helped out because he was one of the greatest costume generators ever.

In addition to his prodigious talent, Dave was also one of the good guys, two qualities which aren’t always found together in the same human being. He was a gentle man who was liked by all.

Clifford Meth recently began helping Paty Cockrum liquidate the estate by selling off Dave’s personal comic-book collection. Each comic will be delivered bagged, boarded, and sealed with a “Dave Cockrum Estate” seal of authenticity.

There are even some rarities, such as a few remaining copies of The Uncanny Dave Cockrum Tribute, each containing original sketches by Dave, plus a classic copy of X-Men signed by both artist Jim Steranko and writer Arnold Drake.

If you’ve appreciated Dave’s work over the years and ever wanted to own something to remember him by, then head over to Clifford Meth’s site and check out this list for a small sample of available collectibles. And keeping checking back for updates as further items are added.