Soon, nearly every story I wrote for Marvel Comics (save for a Master of Kung Fu, all issues of which I believe are in limbo due to rights questions with the Sax Rohmer estate) will be back in print. That’s because on June 24, 2014, Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Volume 5 will be published, collecting my seven-issue run of the space-born superhero Mar-Vell, bookended by a few issues created by others.

Here’s the cover, which uses art from Captain Marvel #50, in which I separated Mar-Vell and Rick Jones.

And here’s an alternate cover, which I believe is for those who’d prefer their volume to carry the numbering system of the complete Marvel Masterworks run, rather than that of the individual title. (more…)

While the death of Peter O’Toole, whose work I admired in such films as Lawrence of Arabia, The Ruling Class, and My Favorite Year, saddened me, I was far more moved by learning today of the death earlier in the week of Tom Laughlin, who starred in, directed, and co-wrote the 1971 movie Billy Jack. O’Toole was, of course, the far better actor, but in terms of which man affected me the most, there’s no contest. Laughlin kicked me where it counted.

And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I saw Billy Jack multiple times when I was a teenager, had its dialogue memorized, imagined myself standing up for the downtrodden in that famous ice cream shoppe scene (so iconic it was later spoofed by Paul Simon in a Saturday Night Live sketch), and for a time even wore a BILLY JACK FOR PRESIDENT button.

So when Marvel Comics decided to devote an issue of its Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine to the phenomenon as a tie-in to the 1974 The Trial of Billy Jack movie, who better to write a think piece about the meaning of it all than the guy who was nuts about the first film? (Beneath that wonderful Neal Adams cover you could also find a second article on the sequel by Black Panther/Killraven writer Don McGregor.) In order to make my point in the essay, I managed to drag in Paul Kersey from Death Wish and Jesus Christ from, you know, The Bible.

As I reread the piece now, I can see that it’s overly influenced by the stylistic pyrotechnics of Harlan Ellison and Tom Wolfe, it suffers from the fact that I was still a beginner at this writing thing, and it contains all the self-righteous earnestness of a college dorm room bull session.

And yet, through it all, my love for the Billy Jack films and the work of Tom Laughlin is evident, so I think it’s still worth sharing on a day like today. (more…)

Way back in the ’70s, Marvel’s Sol Brodsky commissioned me to write an Incredible Hulk coloring book. I wrote the script, turned it in, got paid for it … and then never heard a thing about it ever again.

Not until last week, when I spotted a cover from 1977 over at The Marvel Age of Comics Tumblr which had me wondering … is that the same coloring book I wrote? I couldn’t be sure, but luckily, within a few hours, Paul Di Filippo alerted me to an eBay auction, and I jumped, exercising the Buy Now option so there’d be no chance I’d lose out.

Well, now that I’ve had a chance to read the thing—all 230 words of it—I’m going to say that this is the coloring book I wrote all those years ago. And I’ll keep saying that until someone comes along to contradict me. (more…)

A new short story of mine is just out, the second this month. You can find “Things That Never Happened” in the new issue of Postscripts. It’s the fourth story of mine to be published in that hybrid magazine/anthology.

When the editors asked for a note to introduce the story, here’s what I had to say:

“We’d all like to be forgiven, and we all wish we had the capacity to forgive, but what if true forgiveness was an impossibility? Could we still find a way to grant or receive it anyway? I set up a situation to examine that theme, and came up with a scenario which many of us might someday find ourselves facing, mixed with aspects I hope none will ever have to face anywhere but in the pages of a story.”

If the thought of reading new fiction by me isn’t enough to get you to pick up the new Postscripts, then check out the full table of contents: (more…)

Early this morning, I bemoaned the fact I’d never seen a copy of the Incredible Hulk coloring book I’d written for Marvel Comics way back in the ’70s, and wasn’t even sure it had ever been published. Before noon, Paul Di Filippo pointed out that a copy was up for auction on eBay.

And in a few days, that copy will be in my hands.

Is it the same one I wrote a third of a century ago? As I peruse the scans the seller had posted in the listing, I think so. But my memories of the script are vague, and with each page containing only a few words, there’s no way I can recognize my style.

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Way back in the ’70s, around the same time I wrote those Mighty Marvel Superheroes Fun Books and The Captain Midnight Action Book for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Sol Brodsky commissioned me to write an Incredible Hulk coloring book.

I wrote it, got paid for it … and then never heard anything about it again. I never knew whether the project had been published or abandoned. I always wondered what happened, though, because I’m a completist of my own work, and so I’d occasionally search online for any mention of the thing. I never had any success, though, and hadn’t thought about the book for years.

But then a few days ago, The Marvel Age of Comics linked to a cover over at The Vintage Toy Archive, and the mystery was over. My script for an Incredible Hulk coloring book had gotten published.

At, least … I think it was my script that got used for that 1977 coloring book. I no longer own a copy of the script, and have only vague memories of the plot. Did I write about the Hulk visiting the circus? I think I did, and seem to recall a circus, but I can’t be quite sure. It would make sense, considering the character’s history with the Ringmaster. But it could be only a false memory at this point.

No way to fully solve the mystery until I get my hands on the book itself, or find a site where someone has uploaded all the interior pages. Either of those should spark a few memories. At least I hope they would.

But considering it’s taken 33 years before I came across even this small crumb of proof, I’m not holding my breath. If you’ve got a copy and can help me out, though, let me know, OK?

Ramona Fradon, one of my favorite comic book artists, turned 87 today. So—happy birthday, Ramona!

Though I have fond memories of the Aquaman stories she drew that appeared in the back pages of Adventure Comics throughout the ’50s and into the ’60s, I think I truly fell in love with her artwork from The Brave and The Bold #57 (January 1965), introducing Metamorpho, which she co-created. I was nine years old.

At the time, I never dreamed that she’d someday bring some of my own words to life (or that there’d even be any of my own words to bring to life), illustrating a 5-page horror story, “My Mother, the Witch,” fourteen years later for House of Mystery #273 (October 1979).

When I searched for the proper image to celebrate Ramona’s birthday, I was surprised to find that complete story online. And not just the pages as printed, but her original artwork, thanks to an online auction, which means you get to admire her clean lines exactly as she drew them.

So check out the complete story below!

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If you’ll be heading to the World Fantasy Convention next month, make sure to drop by the launch party for Psycho-Mania.

What’s Psycho-Mania? An anthology about “psychos, schizoids and serial killers” edited by Stephen Jones, and featuring an introduction by Psycho author Robert Bloch, who’s caricatured on the cover below.

(You can see an earlier version of the cover here.)

I don’t know where at the convention the launch party will be occurring, but if you’re in Brighton over the Halloween weekend, look us up. You want a chance to read my story “The Trembling Living Wire,” don’t you?

But that’s not the only publication of mine coming up … (more…)

Remember that 5-page Thanos story I wrote way back when dinosaurs still walked the Earth? The one that, surprisingly, ended up being part of Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day promotion last April?

Well, a digital copy is available as a free download right now through both the Marvel app (if you’ve got it) or simply via the company’s site.

I have no idea how long the offer will last, so if you want to check out the sort of thing I was writing in 1977, without having to haunt comics shops in search of a copy of Logan’s Run #6, then now’s your chance.

I got my first look today at the cover to Psycho-Mania!, edited by Stephen Jones, which will contain my short story “The Trembling Living Wire.” The anthology will be published by Constable & Robinson on October 17th.

If you plan to be at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton … I hear rumors (or should that be rumours?) there’ll be a launch party!

I’ll be there. Will you?