So I’m afraid that I need to begin this particular Newsletter with a bit of an indulgence. It’s not without connection to the sort of thing that we typically speak about around here, yet it’s likely to be of interest to relatively few. Nonetheless, I need to write about it, so I’m afraid that you’re all stuck for the next couple of paragraphs.
First off, I have to say that title hit me really hard. This past Sunday at about midnight I had a pretty bad heart attack that has me with three stents now. I saw the word and everything else I'm doing just fell away because that word just drew me in. BTW, I've been rereading stuff and looking back a lot and I want to say thank you for your contributions to the medium I love. I love heroic fiction and you do it/shepherd it properly. I also admire your authenticity online.
As to newspaper related secret IDs no longer working, I used to lean towards private investigator, thinking benign Equalizer, as access to people with problems but that would only work street level. I did love the Superman WGBS era but even back then I think I realized they were just ignoring the logistics that made it not work. (Doesn't mean I'd turn up my nose at a mini set in that era though) The best I can come up with is something like an Internet influencer/philanthropist where they have access to global feeds for problems that need their help and a built-in excuse for the alter ego to be in the same area of the world as the hero. Of course, with Superman, he could go back to farming in Smallville and his super brain and super senses would be all he needed to be a global hero. The character would just need a regular cast as good as he's always had to make that work.
Oh and I'm finer than I have any right to be considering it was discovered I'm also diabetic with high cholesterol. I'm looking for the best fit for a GP, doing what I can before that without professional guidance to lower cholesterol and sugar intake until I find them, and returning to work half days tomorrow for a week before returning to full time if all goes as well as I expect.
Oh man, the search to replace Guice was horrible. The book was running late since it wound up getting scheduled before it was ready to be scheduled. That was a small part of Guice leaving...he couldn't make our schedule and do the other projects he was more interested in. I called everyone I could think of who's art looked in anyway similar to Guice. Most of them said the same thing..."I don't want to have to flow Guice on this sort of project, he's way to good." Meanwhile Denys Cowan had expressed interest. Now we all LOVED Denys' work, but it was nothing like Guice's and generally you don't want clashing art styles on a limited series like this. But...we al agreed at the end that it was better to have a fantastic artist who was really excited to do the book, than someone who was maybe a little more similar is style, but just had no real mph. Denys turned that 3rd issue around in about two weeks and it was brilliant.
I figured All-Star Comics #3 was your $1,400 comic.
I knew you had a copy - and I knew you valued it highly.
It's coverless isn't it? Or maybe the cover is just detatched.
I have a BB28 myself (graded a 1.0) but I've sort of made peace with the fact that I'll likely never afford an AS3. That would be the next goal though, first ever comic book team.
Tom, my condolences for your lost. Sounds like a great friend, thank you for sharing him with us this morning. Thank you even more for posting his song list! The Dents are a band that i have not thought about in YEARS, but your post is the second mention of them I've seen in the few hours I've been awake this morning about them!
Once upon a time i used to roadie for a country punk band from Colorado called Drag The River, and they released a split record with the Dents. "Last One Standing" was my favorite song on that record. Someone on Facebook mentioned that record this morning. So as i type this, I've got the LP on my turntable and rocking out in my living room thinking about comics, touring and friends i lost along the way.
Thank you for helping influence me to put this on this morning. It's a nice reflective morning. And DANG! The Dents are/were such a GREAT band. ❤️❤️❤️
My sincere condolences on Frank's passing, Tom. There are no good words to ease the loss of an old friend, and it weighs more heavily the older each of us gets. So you have my sympathy and good wishes this week.
Regarding Siegel, Shuster, Gaines, and Superman: I suspect, unfortunately, that this is indeed one mystery for which we'll never get an answer that is, if you'll forgive me, bulletproof. Everything about Nicholson/Detective/All-American/National Comics' dealings were so cloudy, and Liebowitz in particular was so guarded, that the presence of any kind of written documentation for a sweetheart deal seems decidedly slim. Then again, you never know what papers might unexpectedly turn up in an auction some day.
This week's question is more lightweight and contemporary: what's your preferred mode of creator and editor communication these days? The pandemic years saw a general move toward ongoing, online collaboration within comic lines (often much more frequent than the old creator summits), and the X-line in particular was pioneering in its use of a running Slack channel. So how have you been, or will you be, going about this during your tenure? Is the X-Slack still a going concern, or do you have different preferences for that sort of collaborative bull session?
Sorry for your loss, Tom. Thanks for including Frank’s strip, I love it. As a MA resident, Ramones fan, and the son of a father who loves soaps, I felt an unexpected if superficial connection to Frank’s story. Apparently he wasn’t a General Hospital man because according to the strip he was back to work by 3:00pm - oh well, nobody’s perfect. Thanks for sharing the ups and downs. All the best.
You mentioned a Bill Sienkiewicz Deathlok cover, which didn't reproduce as well as the original. Is that always an issue with painted covers? Would an Alex Ross original look radically different from what we see reproduced on Fantastic Four?
Your answer to my "why are the X-Men hated & feared" question raised a larger one...
Is there official or unofficial canon re: what the general Marvel Earth public — not gov't agencies — knows about the heroes & villains running around outside their windows? People hating the X-Men implies it's common knowledge who's a mutant and who isn't, otherwise they would just be another costumed team. But how about in a broader sense? I'm not asking about secret identities, rather a general public "who's who" understanding beyond "Hulk destroys things" or "the FF live in the Baxter Building."
I know you are not probably going to be able to answer this because it’s about the X-Men so I’ll try to be as general as possible. I think and correct me if I’m wrong that the X-Universe has had more introductions of new classes than any of the other major Marvel properties. I believe Avengers has has Avengers Academy, Young Avengers, and the Champions.
As you’ve previously stated there is a plethora of X-Men characters and the ones that sell books are typically the A-list mutants.
Marvel is really big on bringing in new readers but move on quickly because of business needs; which does make sense but this is where in the X-World we get so many characters that don’t get spotlight.
The generations that I see and others will disagree are:
New Mutants
Generation x
Academy X-Men (New X-Men, Hellions, and the other squads)
Young X-Men
Generation Hope
Jean Grey School squad
New Xavier School squad
I guess my question is how does editorial balance trying to make a line that sells but also giving the fans moments with lesser known or popular characters? Sometimes years go by without seeing characters or certain team dynamics that fans love. Would it not be okay to allot one shots or mini series for some of the teams that fans want to see together for even one mission? Like once a year.
And yes I am an Academy X-Men stan but don’t hold it against me. Lol
We are constantly told that certain things won’t sell but I don’t see how giving one-shots or little mini series could be bad and help sustain some of the fan thirst for some of that content.
Hopefully this didn’t come off agro and I guess it ended up not really being a great question but just something I hope gets taken into consideration.
A Marvel mystery I've always wondered about is how far the IRON MAN/DAREDEVIL combo series that was talked about in a Bullpen Bulletins was to actually happening. (We did have Marvel Super Heroes reprints with both around that time, would that have just become their book?)
I also wondered why it wasn't Iron Man who took over Tales of Suspense rather than Captain America who got the #100, since he was there first.
Thanks for sharing the very moving story about the loss of your friend, Tom. My condolences 😢
First off, I have to say that title hit me really hard. This past Sunday at about midnight I had a pretty bad heart attack that has me with three stents now. I saw the word and everything else I'm doing just fell away because that word just drew me in. BTW, I've been rereading stuff and looking back a lot and I want to say thank you for your contributions to the medium I love. I love heroic fiction and you do it/shepherd it properly. I also admire your authenticity online.
As to newspaper related secret IDs no longer working, I used to lean towards private investigator, thinking benign Equalizer, as access to people with problems but that would only work street level. I did love the Superman WGBS era but even back then I think I realized they were just ignoring the logistics that made it not work. (Doesn't mean I'd turn up my nose at a mini set in that era though) The best I can come up with is something like an Internet influencer/philanthropist where they have access to global feeds for problems that need their help and a built-in excuse for the alter ego to be in the same area of the world as the hero. Of course, with Superman, he could go back to farming in Smallville and his super brain and super senses would be all he needed to be a global hero. The character would just need a regular cast as good as he's always had to make that work.
Oh and I'm finer than I have any right to be considering it was discovered I'm also diabetic with high cholesterol. I'm looking for the best fit for a GP, doing what I can before that without professional guidance to lower cholesterol and sugar intake until I find them, and returning to work half days tomorrow for a week before returning to full time if all goes as well as I expect.
Oh man, the search to replace Guice was horrible. The book was running late since it wound up getting scheduled before it was ready to be scheduled. That was a small part of Guice leaving...he couldn't make our schedule and do the other projects he was more interested in. I called everyone I could think of who's art looked in anyway similar to Guice. Most of them said the same thing..."I don't want to have to flow Guice on this sort of project, he's way to good." Meanwhile Denys Cowan had expressed interest. Now we all LOVED Denys' work, but it was nothing like Guice's and generally you don't want clashing art styles on a limited series like this. But...we al agreed at the end that it was better to have a fantastic artist who was really excited to do the book, than someone who was maybe a little more similar is style, but just had no real mph. Denys turned that 3rd issue around in about two weeks and it was brilliant.
Thanks Tom!
I figured All-Star Comics #3 was your $1,400 comic.
I knew you had a copy - and I knew you valued it highly.
It's coverless isn't it? Or maybe the cover is just detatched.
I have a BB28 myself (graded a 1.0) but I've sort of made peace with the fact that I'll likely never afford an AS3. That would be the next goal though, first ever comic book team.
I'll survive with my Archive edition for now. :)
According to this list of all the books you worked on as editor at Marvel since the early 90's...
http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/main/features/creator.php?creatorid=2825&credittype=Editor
...is there still some corners of the whole Marvel Universe you haven't worked on at some point ?
Tom, my condolences for your lost. Sounds like a great friend, thank you for sharing him with us this morning. Thank you even more for posting his song list! The Dents are a band that i have not thought about in YEARS, but your post is the second mention of them I've seen in the few hours I've been awake this morning about them!
Once upon a time i used to roadie for a country punk band from Colorado called Drag The River, and they released a split record with the Dents. "Last One Standing" was my favorite song on that record. Someone on Facebook mentioned that record this morning. So as i type this, I've got the LP on my turntable and rocking out in my living room thinking about comics, touring and friends i lost along the way.
Thank you for helping influence me to put this on this morning. It's a nice reflective morning. And DANG! The Dents are/were such a GREAT band. ❤️❤️❤️
My sincere condolences on Frank's passing, Tom. There are no good words to ease the loss of an old friend, and it weighs more heavily the older each of us gets. So you have my sympathy and good wishes this week.
Regarding Siegel, Shuster, Gaines, and Superman: I suspect, unfortunately, that this is indeed one mystery for which we'll never get an answer that is, if you'll forgive me, bulletproof. Everything about Nicholson/Detective/All-American/National Comics' dealings were so cloudy, and Liebowitz in particular was so guarded, that the presence of any kind of written documentation for a sweetheart deal seems decidedly slim. Then again, you never know what papers might unexpectedly turn up in an auction some day.
This week's question is more lightweight and contemporary: what's your preferred mode of creator and editor communication these days? The pandemic years saw a general move toward ongoing, online collaboration within comic lines (often much more frequent than the old creator summits), and the X-line in particular was pioneering in its use of a running Slack channel. So how have you been, or will you be, going about this during your tenure? Is the X-Slack still a going concern, or do you have different preferences for that sort of collaborative bull session?
Thanks for sharing about Frank, Tom - it's inspiring and fun to read about the friendship of weirdos who found one another.
Two issues of Fantastic Four in the same month is a pleasant surprise! Any particular reason for the anomaly?
Sorry for your loss, Tom. Thanks for including Frank’s strip, I love it. As a MA resident, Ramones fan, and the son of a father who loves soaps, I felt an unexpected if superficial connection to Frank’s story. Apparently he wasn’t a General Hospital man because according to the strip he was back to work by 3:00pm - oh well, nobody’s perfect. Thanks for sharing the ups and downs. All the best.
I’m so sorry you lost your friend. Thanks for sharing a little about him. It’s a wonderful tribute.
You mentioned a Bill Sienkiewicz Deathlok cover, which didn't reproduce as well as the original. Is that always an issue with painted covers? Would an Alex Ross original look radically different from what we see reproduced on Fantastic Four?
I listened to your friend's songs and it was a very nice selection :-)
Your answer to my "why are the X-Men hated & feared" question raised a larger one...
Is there official or unofficial canon re: what the general Marvel Earth public — not gov't agencies — knows about the heroes & villains running around outside their windows? People hating the X-Men implies it's common knowledge who's a mutant and who isn't, otherwise they would just be another costumed team. But how about in a broader sense? I'm not asking about secret identities, rather a general public "who's who" understanding beyond "Hulk destroys things" or "the FF live in the Baxter Building."
A great tribute to your friend Frank, Tom.
I know you are not probably going to be able to answer this because it’s about the X-Men so I’ll try to be as general as possible. I think and correct me if I’m wrong that the X-Universe has had more introductions of new classes than any of the other major Marvel properties. I believe Avengers has has Avengers Academy, Young Avengers, and the Champions.
As you’ve previously stated there is a plethora of X-Men characters and the ones that sell books are typically the A-list mutants.
Marvel is really big on bringing in new readers but move on quickly because of business needs; which does make sense but this is where in the X-World we get so many characters that don’t get spotlight.
The generations that I see and others will disagree are:
New Mutants
Generation x
Academy X-Men (New X-Men, Hellions, and the other squads)
Young X-Men
Generation Hope
Jean Grey School squad
New Xavier School squad
I guess my question is how does editorial balance trying to make a line that sells but also giving the fans moments with lesser known or popular characters? Sometimes years go by without seeing characters or certain team dynamics that fans love. Would it not be okay to allot one shots or mini series for some of the teams that fans want to see together for even one mission? Like once a year.
And yes I am an Academy X-Men stan but don’t hold it against me. Lol
We are constantly told that certain things won’t sell but I don’t see how giving one-shots or little mini series could be bad and help sustain some of the fan thirst for some of that content.
Hopefully this didn’t come off agro and I guess it ended up not really being a great question but just something I hope gets taken into consideration.
What can fans do to get these types of one-shots?
A Marvel mystery I've always wondered about is how far the IRON MAN/DAREDEVIL combo series that was talked about in a Bullpen Bulletins was to actually happening. (We did have Marvel Super Heroes reprints with both around that time, would that have just become their book?)
I also wondered why it wasn't Iron Man who took over Tales of Suspense rather than Captain America who got the #100, since he was there first.
Any thoughts? I know it was way before your time.