Peerless Power of Comics!

My indexing for the GCD often leads to interesting roads. I've been adding lettering and coloring credits to Marvel’s titles, circa late 1950’s through the 1970’s. While  going over some early Amazing Spider-Man interior credits (adding Stan Goldberg’s coloring credit, since he  colored just about all Marvel’s product from the late 1950's to around 1968)   I included info on the early letters pages and many of Ditko’s outstanding pin-ups. One credit I corrected was a house ad in Amazing Spider-Man # 1: “A Personal Message from Spider-Man”, which is actually a personal message from Stan Lee , explaining that a new letters section would soon be appearing.    "A Personal Message from Spider-Man" from Amazing Spider-Man # 1, Mar 1963, as reprinted in the Marvel Milestone Edition. Kirby and/or Brodsky art. Lee calls for letters and explains why they won't be printed in the 2nd issue .  The GCD had Steve Ditko credited with the art, but that is ...

Indexing comics for the GCD always turns up some interesting discoveries. While I was adding credits to Nick Fury, Agent of Shield I happened to check the interior to # 10, credited on the splash page to Frank Springer as artist. Over the years I've learned that published credits are not always correct. The credits are lettered in before the comic is inked, so there are instances where the inker who was originally intended to do the job had to bow out at the last moment, or was scheduled on another book that had a deadline. Mark Evanier has noted a number of these instances in his columns, but there are times other information is missing. There may be only one letterer credited, with pages completed by someone else. Occasionally another artist fills in on a few pages, or completes the book. And there are odd instances when only a few panels are done by someone else; perhaps changing a scene for story purposes. Often the origin...

My essay, originally published in Ditkomania # 79, can be read on this wonderful site that I'm proud to be associated with: http://comicbookcollectorsclub.com/ditkos-gwen-stacy/

While re-reading an interview with Stan Goldberg that appeared in Alter Ego # 18, (October 2002) I came across this cover that was reproduced, with commentary likely by Roy Thomas: Original cover to Modeling with Millie # 45 featuring Stan Goldberg's Millie figure.                   Printed cover with pasted on Millie figure by Jack Kirby . . In an email Roy Thomas explained that he never had the Kirby art, which was on an overlay. Roy also found it odd that Kirby did the correction, but as he noted, Stan didn't have many options at the time. Kirby probably happened to be in the office when Stan needed the correction, and Kirby likely knocked it out in the time it took him to light his cigar. Now, it would have been interesting if Ditko had been in the office instead... You can read more about Millie, Stan G and Jack at my original post:       h...

I've updated my June 7th post on Big Boy, since I've recently acquired an issue. I've included a scan of the splash, along with some interior info.

I emailed Stan Lee with a few questions on the NAACP comic, Big Boy and Brodsky's involvement, and while Stan didn't recall if he was involved in the NAACP comic, he had this to say about Big Boy: I wrote, Marvel published BIG BOY Comics.  Later, Marvel stopped and Sol ( or someone else?)  took over the publishing,. I don't think I wrote any of those. I believe Stan meant that Sol took over the packaging , not publishing, since it was only distributed to the Big Boy restaurant chains, not sold in stores, but note he did not say Martin Goodman packaged or published the later Big Boy's. While Stan says he doesn't think he wrote the later stories (1957 until around 1964) I suspect he did work on some of them; certainly the cover copy on many issues reads very much like his gags for the humor strips he wrote. I ordered a Big Boy comic through Ebay; when it arrives I'll try to decipher if Stan was involved in the story. I menti...

One of the exciting things about studying comics are the surprises that one constantly, and often accidentally, discovers. While I was adding credits to a number of Ditko drawn comics on the Grand Comic Book Database [ http://www.comics.org/ ] I turned to the entries for Adventures of the Big Boy , (Ditko drew one issue in the 1990s). I was aware that Timely published a few issues, some drawn by Bill Everett, but I either had forgotten or never realized that the Big Boy comic continued to be package by Marvel staffers for many years. I was fascinated to see how many issues, though. The run seems to extend into 1964: the same period Lee and company were turning out superhero, western and teen romance comics, and some of those same people were writing and drawing Adventures of the Big Boy . Early issues were signed by Dan DeCarlo, and Stan Goldberg may have either drawn or colored some stories. The cover copy features gags that read very much like S...