More from the pages of this how-to pamphlet that Stan Lee self-published in 1947 Morris Weiss was a writer and artist for Timely in 1947, and here his working day is fictionalized by Stan. Apparently Morris and his wife Blanche would routinely talk about Stan Lee day to day. This definition of a synopsis is … Continue reading Secrets Behind the Comics 5
Well it just goes to show: you never know what is going to resonate with an audience. Last week's kickoff installment of Comics Creators in the Wild received more notices and attention than I ever would have thought it would. So that being the case, I figured I ought to follow up on it sooner … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 2
Just like with our sequences on vintage comic books seen out and about in the world, so too do I have a relatively large collection of vintage photographs of writers, artists and editors either at work, in public or just generally goofing around. So why not show some of these vintage pictures off? Collected from … Continue reading Comics Creators in the Wild 1
Continuing on in our review of this 1947 behind-the-scenes pamphlet published by Timely editor Stan Lee Here, Stan brings back Mario Acquaviva to talk about the skills involved in lettering comics, and he shows off some pages from a recent Sub-Mariner story. I have no idea where this story actually ran, so I can't pull … Continue reading Secrets Behind The Comics 4
More secrets revealed by Stan Lee in 1947! Alan Sulman isn't terribly well remembered these days. So it's nice to have these names and caricatures. It's also nice to see what a script looked like at Timely in 1947. Stan helpfully provides empty panel layouts for the readers of this book. Syd Shores was a … Continue reading Secrets Behind The Comics 3
This past week I was called upon to do some work on the upcoming AUGUST 1961 Omnibus that Marvel is going to be releasing as part of the 60th Anniversary of the publication of FANTASTIC FOUR #1. The massive book will collect all of the other Marvel titles that were also on sale on or … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: The Cover to FANTASTIC FOUR #1
The early days of the Marvel Age of Comics, it must be said, were a pretty ramshackle and fly-by-night period. For all that these comics in general have come to be regarded as timeless masterpieces in certain circles today, at the time they were being produced, they were still largely no more than a way … Continue reading Lee & Heck & Hartley: The Misguided Mix-Up of TALES OF SUSPENSE #67 & #68
I picked up this issue of TALES OF SUSPENSE during that selfsame first visit to The Batcave, the comic book specialty shop located just off of the South Shore Mall, the first ever genuine comic book shop that I had been to. And I bought it for a singular reason: its age. I could tell … Continue reading BHOC: TALES OF SUSPENSE #30
Here's the second portion of SECRETS BEHIND THE COMICS, editor Stan Lee's self-published pamphlet which purported to give the inside story on how comic books were made. Even in 1947--and this applied to virtually all of the publishing house of the period, not just Timely--the Editor was the Key Man. This section does give us … Continue reading Secrets Behind the Comics 2
This was yet another back issue that I picked up during my first trip to the Batcave, the very first full-on comic book specialty store that I had ever been in. I was drawn to this issue for a single, specific reason: somewhere in my travels, I had learned that this issue reprinted the 1950s … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #20
The Tom Brevoort Experience 