Assistant Editors' Month Online

The Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones

2011-08-10T16:55:00.001-04:00

Massachusetts Brown:Raiders Of The Lost Book
(Disclaimer:"Indiana Jones", "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" and all related characters are property of Lucasfilm Limited.)
Welcome back, today we look at Marvel's short-lived Indiana Jones series, featuring another appearance by Assistant Editor Eliot R. Brown.

The Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones was published by Marvel from 1982-85, 34 issues total. It was a generally fun series that captured the feeling of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (the only "Indy" movie released at that point). The series featured work by comics luminaries like Denny O'Neil, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Steve Ditko, David Mazzuchelli, Archie Goodwin, Herb Trimpe, David McElinie and Jackson Guice. Dark Horse currently owns the rights to the reprints of these stories, you can buy them here if you're interested.

I e-mailed Brown about AEM last month, he was kind enough to write me back. He mentions this issue of Indy:

"I could not interject myself into an Indiana Jones Adventure or a Star Wars episode. Even comics has rules about time, space and realities... well, you know! It was probably Louise Jones, an unsung genius of comic craft-- who was also my boss at the time, who suggested I tell an associated story. And that worked out very well for Indy, Star Wars and even the X-Men-- which was right in the middle of some galactic space opera"

So, just like AEM's Star Wars issue, Brown shows up at the end in a one-page story titled Massachusetts Brown:Raiders Of The Late Book.
It was written by Brown with art by Brown and Mike Carlin.
Let's break down the story:

Brown is trying to deliver the new issue of Indiana Jones to Virginia Romita, Marvel's long-time Traffic Manager (and also wife and mother of John Romita Sr. and Jr., respectively). His fellow Assistant Editors are preventing him from getting the book to her on time by throwing pies at Brown! Instead of Indy's whip, he only has a T-square to defend himself.

Brown is already running late and wants to make a good impression while the regular Editor is away.

He's almost arrived a Virginia's desk, when suddenly, he trips over a pie! Brown is officially late! Virginia orders Mike Carlin to "Hiddim Widda Pie!"

That ends another installment of AEM Online, I want to thank Eliot R. Brown for writing me about this issue, and thanks to him and Mike Carlin for a nice little Indy parody!

Next:
Dazzler visits the San Diego Comic-Con!

'Bullpen Bulletins':'Assistant Editors' Month' edition!

2011-08-01T14:54:00.006-04:00

I'm still working on the next "real" post about AEM, but here's the 'Bullpen Bulletins' column from that month. Editor In Chief Jim Shooter normally wrote these at the time, but this month it's his assistant, Lynn E. Cohen at the helm. It's nice that Cohen puts the (Marvel) spotlight on some of the unsung heroes of 1980s Marvel:

'Marvel Fanfare' #12

2011-07-22T14:57:00.055-04:00

'Marvel Annfare'

(Above:Back cover for 'Marvel Fanfare' #12)

Since the multimillion blockbuster 'Captain America' movie was released last weekend, I thought it was a good time to look at another AEM story that (sort of) featured Cap.

A little background on this series:

'Marvel Fanfare' was launched in late 1981 (#1 was cover dated March 1982). It was an anthology series printed on glossy Baxter paper. Most issues contained more than one story.

The Editor for the series was long-time writer-artist Al Milgrom. At the beginning of every issue, the inside cover featured a comic strip called 'Editori-Al', where Milgrom(who also drew the strips) spoke directly to the reader. Here's one, from 'Marvel Fanfare' #5:

And Milgrom was usually featured in the corner on most issues of the series too:

Since the book's Editor also served as its "mascot", 'Fanfare' was more AEM-ready than any other title!

But back to #12, starting with the cover. The Black Widow is the main attraction(since the first story of this issue is part 3 of a 4-part Widow story), and it's a "normal" story.

But the corner box shows Milgrom getting pushed aside by Assistant Editor Ann Nocenti, who was featured in an earlier post.

With Editor Milgrom "away" at the Comic-con, Nocenti also takes over his strip, renaming it 'Editori-Gal'. We get appearances from several Marvel creators pitching ideas for future 'Marvel Fanfare' stories. She approves all the story proposals and acting as Editor of 'Fanfare' seems to come naturally and easily to Nocenti.
Check out the "sketch" of Longshot behind Nocenti in the 2nd panel, 2 years before the character mad his debut!

After the Black Widow story, we get to 'Marvel Annfare', written by Nocenti and Roger Stern, with Milgrom providing the art. It sort of picks up where 'Editori-Gal' left off.
Stern rushes in to Nocenti's office.

Stern's upset because no Editors are present and he has ideas he wants to pitch to them. The Assistant Editors don't have the authority to approve of future storylines beyond AEM. Stern is worried he won't be able to get ahead of schedule, which was rare in those days. Nocenti points out that he has extra time to work on an upcoming Captain America story that will be published in 'Fanfare'.
Stern is too depressed to write the story, so Nocenti decides he needs inspiration. She (literally) breaks out a Captain America costume for Stern to wear, hoping to spark his creativity.
Check out panel 3 on the above page for a horrible pun about Thor's Uru Hammer!

Stern dons the Cap suit, and Nocenti is impressed with how great it looks on him!

Until she realizes she was looking at the real Cap, who pops in for a cameo. Stern looks silly in the ill-fitting costume, but Nocenti keeps offering encouragement:

Stern used to write Cap's series and remembers that Cap's principles not his strength & agility were his defining characteristic. He waxes poetic about Cap being a symbol for the qualities that make America great. Stern then gets a little gung-ho and throws Cap's shield around the Marvel offices.
The shield bounces off walls and eventually out the window into the garbage. After debating about what sound effect the shield made when it hit the dumpster, they go outside to retrieve it, but are frightened by what they see.

They stumble on a gang of tough, scary looking vandals who are defacing Marvel's exterior walls! One of them pulls the shield out of the dumpster and Stern is reluctant to ask him to give it back. Nocenti tells him to embrace his inner-Captain America and reason with the vandals.

Much to his surprise, "Captain Ameri-Stern" is able to talk down the vandals and actually convinces them to take pride in their city. They proceed to clean their graffiti off the walls!

They return inside, Stern takes off the suit. He is ready to write the Cap story and thanks Nocenti for aiding the creative process. But suddenly a package from Al Milgrom arrives. It's a stack of Avengers stories for Stern, so the 'Captain America' story is pushed to the back burner.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Nocenti returns to her desk. Suddenly, another writer rushes in with a similar problem:It's Bill Mantlo! His proposal for a Rocket Raccoon/Jack Of Hearts team-up has been turned down by Marvel. Nocenti realizes that she's in for a long day, and she has learned that being a full-time Editor is hard work. The end.

Another funny story from AEM. I love the "Orphan Annie" eyes that Milgrom gives Nocenti. It was nice to flashback to the old Marvel Bullpen and the cameos of 80s creators (including the late Frank Springer).

And while we're on the subject of Stern & Captain America, I recommend all readers pick up the Captain America tpb called 'War And Remembrance', written by Stern. I contains some of the all-time best Cap stories!

The issue ends with 'Robbie's Page'. 'Fanfare' normally ended with 'Shooter's Page', a column written by Editor In Chief Jim Shooter. He would talk about the industry, offer commentary on comics, storytelling techniques, stuff like that. But since it's AEM, this month's edition was written by Marvel Colorist Robbie Carosella. He talks about his work in the Marvel Stat room and the Marvel Softball team, which he managed at the time.

Coming up next:
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Late Book!

'Iron Man' #178 Part 2

2011-07-21T17:28:00.001-04:00

'Struggle!'

Today's Iron Man story represents the darker side of Assistant Editors' Month. As we saw in the earlier entry that covered 'Incredible Hulk' #291, not every AEM story was a laugh riot.
We pick up from where we left off in the last post: Assistant Editor Mike Carlin's laughter over part 1 turns into tears over the second story of #178:

'Struggle!' was written by Denny O'Neil, drawn by Luke McDonnell and inked by Steve Mitchell. Once again, we get a different origin banner on the splash page, which nicely sets up the story.
It begins with a hung-over, homeless Tony Stark wandering aimlessly through New York on a hot summer day.

That's some nice descriptive text from O'Neil, I can taste copper in my mouth after reading it!

A man throws Stark a quarter, his companion says it's wrong to give their "hard-earned money away to bums!". Stark protests, saying he's no bum, but a millionaire and a superhero.

Two NYPD officers (let's call them "younger cop" and "older cop", they're never named) notice the slumped over figure of Stark and confront him. He denies being a "drunk", saying he just got out of detox for a "nervous condition". Stark's refusal to admit he has an alcohol problem disgusts younger cop and older cop says Stark is "hopeless".

I have to say that this is one of the lowest points I've seen for any comic book character. This is right up there with Spider-Man after the death of Gwen Stacy.

Younger cop makes a bet with Stark. He'll give him $50 if he can stay sober until midnight. Stark accepts and walks away. We learn that younger cop's father was an alcoholic. He made the bet with Stark knowing that staying sober will be a painful experience.

Stark spends his last quarter on a phone call to Jim Rhodes, who isn't home. Morely Irwin (a former Stark employee) answers the phone, but Stark won't talk to him.

Stark remembers another former employee named Vic Martinelli lives nearby and heads for his apartment. He passes a bar on the way, fixating on the "open" sign on the door.
Vic lends him $20, but Stark disappointed that he hasn't quit his job even though Obadiah Stane now runs the company. He tells Stark he can't expect loyalty anymore because "you drank it away." Vic regrets yelling at Stark, but the damage is done. Stark passes a bar and hears two men talk about getting "knee-walkin' drunk". He contemplates joining them for a drink, but changes his mind.

Instead, Stark enters the bar and uses the pay phone to call his former secretary Bambi Arbogast. She asks if he's been drinking and recommends Alcoholics Anonymous for Stark. He won't do it, still insisting he's not an alcoholic.
Stark is asked to leave the bar if he isn't drinking. Back on the streets, he encounters a man named Ozzie Sanborn, who recognizes Stark from detox. Ozzie says that his liver and kidneys will stop working if he keeps drinking, but his alcoholism is so intense that he doesn't care.
Ozzie's "girlfriend" Gretl(who Ozzie "just met") offers to buy drinks for everyone, Stark turns them down, which angers Ozzie. Left alone again, Stark wonders why he didn't take them up on the drink, as his withdrawal symptoms worsen and he doubles over in pain on a bench.
Stark falls asleep on the bench and is woken up by a policeman who tells him "it's almost midnight". Stark goes to meet younger cop and collect his $50. He says "in five minutes, I'll be drinking again" and thanks the officer for showing him that he is indeed an alcoholic. Younger cop is glad Stark has admitted his addiction, and cries, telling him "That's the reason I did it...You see, my old man was a drunk." The end.

Great story. Tony Stark(and Iron Man,for that matter) was never my favorite character, but I sympathized with him in this story. When I first read this, my image of alcoholics came from "very special episodes" of sitcoms. Ozzie's line about drinking even though he knows it will kill him is still chilling all these years later. O'Neil, McDonnell and Mitchell did a great job here of conveying the pain and emptiness of addiction as well as the disdain some people have for "drunks".

Next:
Ann Nocenti helps Roger Stern find creative inspiration!

'Iron Man' #178 Part 1

2011-07-11T17:18:00.029-04:00

'Once An Avenger, Always An Avenger!'

Welcome back to 'Assistant Editors' Month', today we look at an "Iron Man" story unlike any other.

Some context:

During this era, ‘Iron Man’ was written by Denny O’Neil. Tony Stark had a relapse of his alcoholism, which cost him control of his company Stark International and forced him to give up his Iron Man armor. Obadiah Stane took over the company(renaming it ‘Stane International’) and James Rhodes(Stark’s Chief Of Security) became the new Iron Man. Stark eventually defeated Stane and regained control of his company in 'Iron Man' #200.

The Assistant Editor for this issue was Mike Carlin, we “met” him in an earlier AEM post. Let's recap 'Iron Man' #178, starting with the cover:

In the corner box, Iron Man is turning his back on the issue, and we get the checkerboards and ‘MC’ logo parodying DC’s logo of the 60s again. A disheveled Stark is walking the streets while a boy tears down & defaces posters of Iron Man. Also, if you look closely at the graffiti, you’ll see “Luke + Stevie was here”.

The cover was drawn by Luke McDonnell and inked by Steve Mitchell, that’s a nice way to “sign” the cover.

Instead of the usual "origin" recap normally found atop the splash page, we get an explanation for Editor Mark Gruenwald's "absence":

'Once An Avenger, Always An Avenger' was written by Bob Harras with art by the aforementioned McDonnell and Mitchell.

We open on a kid contemplating vandalism, but he is stopped by the Avengers…or more accurately, a group of young children in homemade “Avengers” costumes. We learn the would-be vandal is Blackie Donovan and the Kostumed Kiddies have pledged to watch the car while its owner is hospitalized.

Donovan promises them they will pay for their interference, while he is taken home by Officer Kelly, the neighborhood beat cop. He wishes Donovan would act more like the "Avenger" kids and we get the impression this isn't the first time Donovan has been caught being a bad boy.

I've always thought that Officer Kelly looked like the Avengers long-time Government Liaison Henry Peter Gyrich. I wonder if that was intentional?

Just like the “real” Avengers, the kids hold a weekly membership meeting, “Iron Man”, whose real name is Mikey, is commended for catching Donovan, but then gets some bad news. In the (then) current issues of ‘The Avengers’, Iron Man had recently left the team, therefore this Iron Man must leave their team.

This part of the story really hit home for me. When I was a kid, I had a friend who always insisted on strict adherence to comic book "continuity" when we played "superheroes". For instance, when we played with Mego dolls, we couldn't use the Joker because Joker was "dead" at the time.

Mikey begs the team to let him stay, but their decision is final.

Mikey wanders the streets, dejected, and discards his “helmet”. Unbeknownst to him, it’s picked up by a shadowy figure, who absconds with it.

On the following day, Iron Man goes on a bullying rampage, breaking toys, stealing bikes and taking lunch money.

When the Avengers go out on a neighborhood "patrol", all the children run away from them in fear.

They’re confused, until Officer Kelly tells them of Iron Man’s recent shenanigans. The Avengers are determined to get to the bottom of this!

Meanwhile, we catch up with Mikey, who just like his hero Iron Man, is “hitting the bottle”…the Coke bottle, that is.

Mikey’s former teammates chide him for Iron Man’s behavior, he pleads innocent and decides to clear his name, Iron Man-style! We get a nice "montage" of Mikey modifying a suit of armor.

A day later, we find Iron Man(literally) taking candy from a baby! Suddenly, the Avengers show up, followed by another Iron Man...on roller skates!

Before anyone has a chance to yell "Shoot Us both,Spock!", the battle is over! The bogus Iron Man is unmasked and revealed to be none other than...Blackie Donovan! . Officer Kelly shows up and tells Donovan he's taking him home to face his mother's punishment. The Avengers apologize and offer Avengers membership to Mikey. He accepts their apology, rejoins the team, and our story ends with the Avengers traditional battle cry!

The end.

Next up, we get a one-page strip written, drawn and "starring" Mike Carlin:

He's laughing over the previous tale about the kids, which prompts him to go on a tangent about 'Little Rascals' short films. But then he remembers how sad the issue's next story is and fights back tears.

And that's where I'll leave you, next time we'll cover Part 2 of this issue.

Thank you Bob Harass, Luke McDonnell,Steve Mitchell and Mike Carlin for another fun AEM story!

J.A.

'Star Wars'#79

2011-07-02T15:14:00.022-04:00

(Disclaimer:'Star Wars', it's characters, names, and other elements are the sole and exclusive property of Lucasfilm Limited.)

‘Star Wars-The Assistant Editor Strikes Back’

It is a dark time for ‘Star Wars’ fans.

‘Return Of The Jedi’ has come and gone from most theaters.

Darth Vader is dead and there are no more ‘Star Wars’ movies for the foreseeable future.

Many fans were disappointed in the last chapter of the trilogy.

The next novel is 8 years away.

But suddenly, a new champion of The Force appears….

Eliot R Brown!

Today we look at the 'Star Wars' issue that came out during AEM.

Marvel published a series of 'Star Wars' comics that ran from 1977 until 1986. The first 6 issues adapted the first film, after that we got original stories featuring Han, Luke, Leia, et al. The series varied in quality from great to "what were they thinking" but it was usually a lot of fun. Lucasfilm exercised strict control over the series most of the time. For a long time it was the only thing remotely resembling an "extended" universe beyond the movies. Dark Horse currently owns the rights to Marvel's Star Wars stories, you can buy reprint books of the series here.

Let's take a look at 'Star Wars' #79. We get a good, typical space-opera story here, no funny credits or oddball plot. But I love the Han Solo/Harrison Ford caricature on the splash page. Nice work here by penciler Ron Frenz and inker Tom Palmer.

At the end of the issue, we get a one-page strip featuring another appearance from Assistant Editor Eliot R. Brown(who wrote and drew the strip), who we met back in the first post of 'AEM Online'.

Let's take a closer look at this strip:

Brown offers to show the readers how to make their own Darth Vader costume.

He begins with some typical household items, but then it starts getting bizarre...and dangerous.

Brown's ridiculous "Vader" costume is complete, but someone important doesn't approve.

It's George Lucas! Brown feels the wrath of The Force from the most powerful Jedi of them all! When I first read this, I thought Lucas might be violating one of the most important tenets of The Force. Remember what Yoda said?:

"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."

But upon further review, I guess we can say that Lucas is "defending" his concept from Brown, so that makes it okay!

Thanks to Eliot R. Brown for writing and drawing a short but funny strip, and thanks to Lucasfilm for approving it.

Check back in a few days for 'Iron Man:Shame Of The City!'

'Rom,Spaceknight' #50

2011-06-24T21:47:00.000-04:00

‘Life With Rom & Brandy’

Today we look at ‘Rom’ #50, Bob Harras was Assistant Editor at the time, covering for the “absent” Editor Ralph Macchio (no relation to the ‘Karate Kid’ actor).

Harras has had quite a storied in the comic biz, working as a writer and editor for Marvel, DC and Wildstorm. He was Marvel’s Editor In Chief from 1995-2000 and currently holds that same title at DC.

For those who may not remember, Rom the Spaceknight was an action figure created by Parker Brothers in 1979(watch a promotional video for the toy here). That same year, the character was licensed to Marvel for a comic book series. The Rom toy wasn’t a success and Parker Brothers abandoned plans for more “Spaceknight” characters.

But the Marvel series continued after the toy was forgotten, running for 75 issues, the last one cover dated February 1986. Rom's greatest foes throughout the series were the Dire Wraiths, a race of shape-shifting aliens. The Wraiths invaded Rom's home planet Galador. They were driven out, Rom pursued them across the universe, eventually following them to Earth. Almost every issue was written by Bill Mantlo and most were penciled by Sal Buscema. The series featured guest stars such as the X-men, Sub-mariner, Power Man & Iron Fist,and Alpha Flight. In addition to the Wraiths, Rom's villains included Galactus and Mystique's Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. For more info on the series, please visit the excellent 'Rom, Spaceknight:Revisited' tribute site.

Rom’s supporting cast included Brandy Clark, who was one of the the first Earthlings to befriend Rom. By AEM, Brandy was wearing the armor of Starshine, a fallen Spaceknight. She became Rom’s partner in his war against the Dire Wraiths.

Rom #50 was double-sized , and featured a war between the Skrull Empire and the Dire Wraiths, with Rom & Brandy caught in the middle. A good story, but it contained none of the weird/quirky stuff associated with AEM. On the cover at the top of this post, you’ll see the AEM “Warning label” and the cover corner features a cartoonish drawing of Rom(in a smoking jacket) and Brandy(in a housecoat).

At the end of the issue, we got a one-page Rom parody, ‘Life With Rom & Brandy’. This take-off on newspaper comic strips was written and drawn by Bob Harras and inked by Terry Austin:

Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that the headlines on Rom's newspaper change in every panel.

The first headline references a 'Dazzler' story that also featured an appearance by Harras(we'll get to that story in another post down the road).

That's very meta, even by the standards of AEM!

Thanks to Bob Harras and Terry Austin for giving us a laugh!

In our next installment:George Lucas invades AEM!

J.A.

'Captain America' #289

2011-06-17T15:15:00.031-04:00

'Bernie America, Sentinel Of Liberty'

Hi again, today’s post focuses on Bernadette “Bernie” Rosenthal, Captain America’s longtime girlfriend.

The Assistant Editor for this issue was Mike Carlin. For those unfamiliar with his work, Carlin has worked as a writer and editor in comics for most of the past four decades. In the 1990s, he worked for DC and served as editor on their Superman books. During his tenure, ‘The Death Of Superman’ was published, it was Carlin’s idea. But let’s get back to Bernie!

Bernie Rosenthal was created by Roger Stern & John Byrne and first appeared in ‘Captain America’ #248 back in 1980. She was a glass blowing artist, described in her official Marvel bio as "one of the most talented glass blowers in the New York metroplex".

Bernie was more than an intellectual match for Steve Rogers and often teased him about his interest in 40s films & music. Eventually, she discovered that Steve was secretly Cap, and the two were engaged to be married for a while. Their relationship ended when Bernie left New York to attend law school. Nothing against Diamondback and the Carter sisters, but for my money, Bernie was the best love interest Cap ever had. The “Mary Jane” to his “Spider-man”, if you will. I was sorry to see her get written out of the book. I don’t follow current comics, but I hear Bernie recently returned for a spell as Bucky’s lawyer and still enjoys a friendship with Cap.

As for this issue, let’s start with the cover at the top of this post. In the corner box, Cap has his back turned. He's being menaced by Mo-Skull (an amalgam of Red Skull and MODOK), while Bernie America rushes in to save him!

The guys in the window are the creative team for the issue. I didn’t know who was who, so I asked writer J.M. DeMatteis about it, he was kind enough to answer my question on his blog:

“(T)hat's me in the dark glasses, Mike Carlin right in front of me in the green shirt. Mike Zeck is the guy with the beard and glasses and our inker, John Beatty, is right behind him.”

A little background: In issue #286, Steve & Bernie are on their way to visit her parents. Steve spies Deathlok and leaves Bernie to tail him, saying he'll be at her parents' house by the next morning, which upsets Bernie. The main story in #289 is straightforward, finishing up a multi-part time travel epic. But on the last page, Cap runs off:

Which leads to the back-up feature. It's introduced by Mike Carlin, dressed as the Watcher! We see Bernie at her parents' house, daydreaming about Steve’s life as Captain America, wondering how Steve would feel if their roles were reversed. She falls asleep and we get to see Bernie's dream!

“Bernie America” attends a meeting with her fellow Avengers at their mansion, when suddenly their attacked by Mo-Skull! Yep, Bernie's subconscious has combined Cap's foes MODOK and the Red Skull into an amalgam villain.

Bernie easily defeats Mo-Skull (I love the way he simply walks away!), and Steve Rogers shows up. He wants to have a “State of the Relationship” talk with Bernie.

In the middle of their “talk”, Bernie hears a call for help and runs off to save the day. Steve weeps over playing second fiddle to Bernie's crime fighting career. That's when Bernie's sister Nancy wakes her up and announces that she has a visitor! It's Steve! They embrace and Bernie is thankful that her 'Bernie America' adventure was just a dream.

I'd say Bernie is also telling the readers, not just Steve, that being a superhero isn't easy.

Here's one last quote from DeMatteis about this issue:

"I still have a ridiculous fondness for that "Bernie America" story."

And so do I, 28 years later! I've had many dreams where something is just not quite right, people or places sometimes get combined (like Mo-Skull).

A big "thank you" goes out to J.M. DeMatteis for answering my "fanboy" questions about this issue and I also want to thank him, Mike Zeck, John Beatty and Mike Carlin for giving us such a fun & memorable little story.

What does Rom do when he's not fighting the Dire Wraiths? Check back here in a few days to find out!

J.A.

'Marvel Tales' #159

2011-06-01T15:02:00.030-04:00

This time Spider-Man makes his first of four visits to Assistant Editors' Month Online!

The Assistant Editor at the time was Bob Denatale. If you visit his website, you'll see that he has left comicdom and has worked as a musician, stage performer and filmmaker. Denatale was "filling in" for Danny Fingeroth, who was Editor on all the Spider-Man titles at this time.
In case anyone doesn't know, 'Marvel Tales' was a long-running reprint series, issue #1 came out in 1964, the final issue was cover dated November 1994. In the beginning, the series reprinted adventures of multiple Marvel characters, but Spider-man was the only constant. Beginning in late 1981, the series was "rebooted" and went back to the beginning, reprinting Spider-man's first appearance from 'Amazing Fantasy' #15, and continued reprinting early issues of 'Amazing Spider-Man', featuring the first appearances of Spidey's classic villains and Peter Parker's struggles to fit in at Midtown High. It was a great way for 80s kids like me to read classic Spider-Man stories written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
The stories were reprinted in their original form, but every now and then, out-dated pop culture references would be changed for the 80s audience. For example,in this panel from 'Marvel Tales'#150(which reprinted 'ASM' Annual #1) , Aunt May frets about missing 'Dukes Of Hazard':
In the original story , 'The Beverly Hillbillies' was the show she missed.

Which brings us to #159, which reprinted 'ASM' #21. How much "damage" can an Assistant Editor do to a comic that simply reprints an old Lee-Ditko tale?

The main story reprinted in this issue isn't changed. The fun starts on the 'Marvel Mails' letters page. A fan writes in and suggests they should go further with the edits and update 1960s slang and fashions for 1980s readers:

That's exactly what Denatale does!

First, read these pages, from 'Marvel Tales' #157(a reprint of 'ASM' #19):

Now take out a look at the "new and improved" 80s version!:

You'll notice Aunt May is wearing sweats, Liz Allan has a mohawk and Flash Thompson is a skinhead punk. But even in 1983, "Puny Parker" is still rockin' the sweater vest!
Denatale added this note after the "updated" pages:

I think he's right about not changing the stories and I believe they never added another "update" to reprint stories after this. But I'm glad that Denatale & co made sure 'Marvel Tales' participated in AEM!

In our next installment, we'll look the first and only appearances of Bernie America and Moskull!

J.A.

'Conan The Barbarian' #154

2011-05-26T17:18:00.015-04:00

Now it’s time for a trip to Cimmeria, during the Hyborian Age, as we take a look at ‘Conan The Barbarian’ #154.
Our Assistant Editor for this title is Jim Owsley, he was Larry Hama’s Assistant at the time.
Owsley has had a long career as a writer and editor for the Marvel, DC and Acclaim comic companies. He was the first African-American writer and editor in comics, and became a Marvel editor at the age of 22, making him the youngest in the business. He was also one of the founders of Milestone Media.
In the 1990s, he changed his name to Christopher J. Priest and has continued to work in the industry. He’s also an ordained Baptist Minister. For more info on him & his career, check out Priest’s website here

As for Conan #154, you’ll notice that the cover has a circle that says “MC” inside it.

That's an homage/parody of the old "checkerboard" logo DC Comics used in the 1960s.

Inside, instead of a traditional splash page, we get a “Special Edition” of 'The Hyborian Page, Conan's letters page. Owsley gives us an essay about ‘Caesar’s Commentary on the Gallic War’. By the third paragraph, he veers way off course and gives a funny review of ‘Jaws III’ (which was in theaters shortly before this issue was published).

I’m not proud to admit that I saw ‘Jaws II’ in theaters, and I have to say that Owsley was correct here.

And now we get to this issue’s story, called ‘The Man-Bats Of Ur-Xanarrh!’

Like the cover logo, the title is a reference to The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, a Batman from another planet who first appeared during the Silver Age.

I’ll admit that I’ve never been much of a Conan fan, only picked up a few issues here and there. But besides the title, I don’t notice anything funny or odd about this issue, just a typical "Conan vs. Bad Guys story". If any Conan experts happen to read this, maybe they can point out “offbeat” stuff about this story.

That's it for now, check back in a few days when AEM looks at fashions of 1983...and 1964.
J.A.

'The Incredible Hulk' #291

2011-05-21T13:24:00.027-04:00

'Old Soldiers Never Die!'

Today we look at a Hulk issue from Assistant Editors’ Month. This was published during the era when Bruce Banner could control his transformations and Hulk kept Banner’s intellect. The Assistant Editor on ‘The Incredible Hulk’ was Ann Nocenti.

Nocenti is probably best remembered as co-creator of Longshot and for her run as writer on Daredevil in the late 80s, with John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson providing the art. I loved that run, it was the best post-Miller run I can think of. Typhoid was created by Nocenti in those DD issues and continues to be one of Daredevil’s greatest foes. TPBs of these stories can be easily obtained. Nocenti’s stories often dealt with socio-political topics, which ultimately lead her to a career in Journalism and documentary filmmaking. She currently teaches film in Haiti. You can find Nocenti's personal web site here.

The cover of this issue features a caricature of Nocenti as Hulk in the cover corner.

This story is one of the more serious to be published during AEM. It opens with Bruce Banner paying a visit to the Marvel offices looking for his “official biographers”, the classic Hulk creative team of writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema. His greatest enemy, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has recently betrayed his country by working with MODOK and the Abomination. Banner wonders if revealing this to the world would damage the United States:

This leads us to the issue’s main feature, by the aforementioned Mantlo and Buscema with inks by Gerry Talaoc. It’s a Thunderbolt Ross solo story, in which the General looks back on his life and endless feud with the Hulk.

We learn that Ross is a third generation officer, who married his Captain’s daughter .

It was during World War II (then)Captain Ross earned his nickname:

Victory in WW II and Korea only made Ross restless, since he was happiest when he was in combat.

Ross loved his daughter Betty. But women couldn’t be soldiers in those days, so he would always be disappointed that she wasn’t a son. The death of his wife created even more emotional distance between Ross and his daughter.

Ross’s flashback eventually leads to his involvement with the Gamma Bomb project, created by Dr. Bruce Banner. Ross hated civilians, especially scientists, and was sickened to learn his daughter was in love with Banner. The Gamma Bomb, of course, explodes and turns Banner into the Hulk, setting off the war between Ross and the Hulk. Like past wars, this new conflict gave new meaning to Ross’ life.

Their war seemed to end when Banner gained power of his transformations, allowing the Hulk to become a full-fledged superhero. Pres. Reagan pardoned the Hulk for his past crimes, overriding Ross’ objections. This leads Ross to conclude he must go outside the law to defeat the Hulk, seeking out super-villains, and thus, betraying his sworn oath to the United States. His daughter calls him a “traitor”.

His collaboration with criminals has destroyed his career and legacy, Ross removes his decorations and contemplates suicide. He ultimately decides that the next war will be learning to live with his actions:

We cut back to the Marvel offices. Nocenti watches the Hulk walk away in a rain storm:

This is a powerful story, and nice example of how a comic book can be good even without action or fight scenes. When this was published, Ross had been a comic character for 21 years. In some ways, this story fleshes out his character more than all stories that came before it. Ross is the sort of warrior who can never be at peace with the world or himself. Kudos to Mantlo, Buscema and Talaoc, ‘Old Soldiers Never Die’ belongs on any list of “essential” Hulk stories!

'Uncanny X-men' #177 and 'New Mutants' #11

2011-05-18T00:44:00.005-04:00

We kick off our look-back at Assistant Editors' Month with a Double-Shot of mutants...and Eliot R. Brown!
As impossible as it seems today, in 1983 there were only two monthly titles dedicated to Marvel's mutants. Heck, a year earlier there was only 'Uncanny X-men'. Assistant Editor Eliot R. Brown was "filling in" for regular Editor Louise Jones (later known as Louise Simonson) on 'Uncanny X-men' and 'The New Mutants' during AEM.

A little background about Brown:In addition to being an Assistant Editor, he also contributed many sketches of Marvel vehicles, weapons and technology to 'The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe' and other Marvel "manuals". You can find examples of Brown's technical sketches at his official site.

We begin with a look at 'Uncanny X-men' #177. The cover is normal, with the exception of the Assistant Editors "warning" on the bottom left.

There's nothing funny or offbeat about the story(it's not very good, but this wasn't a very good period of this title). But instead of the letters page, we get a visit from Brown. He's seen here sketching the X-men's SR-71 Blackbird. Professor X thinks he's taking too long and does something we've never seen him do before:

In 'New Mutants' #11, Brown shows up in the corner box, with antlers drawn on his head!

Here's a closeup:

The story inside is standard New Mutants fare, continuing a story from the previous issue. But at the end, Brown announces a "contest" for the readers:

I wonder if anyone entered that contest?

FYI:In addition to starring in both these back-up features, Brown also wrote and drew them.
Thankfully, Brown wrote and appeared in other titles during AEM, I'll discuss those issues here another time, but that's all for now,

J.A.

Introduction

2011-05-10T15:53:00.008-04:00

Why Assistant Editors’ Month?

The early 1980s were a great time to be reading Marvel Comics.
Phoenix became Dark Phoenix and the X-men were never the same.
Spider-man gained a new arch-villain in Hobgoblin, and an alien costume.
Daredevil was battling The Kingpin, Bullseye and assorted ninjas.
Aunt May gained cosmic powers and saved the world from Galactus.

What, you don’t remember that last one?

Back in October of 1983, Marvel launched its first (and only) Assistant Editors’ Month. The comics were cover dated January,1984. The event was announced by Editor In Chief Jim Shooter in the December 1983 edition of ‘Bullpen Bulletins’, shown in this image:

Mike Carlin (Marvel’s Senior Assistant Editor at the time) discussed AEM in ‘Back Issue’ #19:

“ ...Macy’s would have sales where their assistant buyers would be in charge of buying all the stuff that they’d sell. So the idea was that Jim(Shooter,Marvel's Editor In Chief in '83) was going to be taking all the editors out to the Comic-Con in San Diego-all the main editors were going to be out of the office at the same time-and wouldn’t it be funny if the books that came out the month that they were traveling to San Diego reflected the fact that the editors were gone. That,to him, meant the books wouldn’t be quite normal.[laughs]”

In reality, it was just a gimmick. The stories were written & edited months before the editors left for the Comic-con. The issues actually edited by the assistants contained typical, “normal” stories.

I was 12 at the time, probably just the right age to appreciate the (mostly sophomoric) humor. One thing I enjoyed was the “comics insider” nature of the books. Most of the jokes would only be understood by longtime readers. Back then, Marvel made the readers feel like they belonged to a community, these stories felt like a "reward" for a Marvelite like myself!

This blog will review & recap stories from all comics that participated in Assistant Editors’ Month.

Most of the issues that month featured weird/offbeat/humorous stories. Some were great, some were just, okay. But they were certainly all memorable stories. Some just had regular stories, followed by a humorous short, or a one-page “joke” pin-up. Some sites/blogs have covered AEM(I've linked to them), but I plan to go a little further than they did.

This blog’s creation is highly inspired by the aforementioned article in ‘Back Issue’(you can order it here. I’m sure I’ll be referencing that article a few more times.

I was inspired by the blogs/sites listed below, I hope I can be half as good as you these folks:

Bronze Age Babies

Marvel Genesis

Spidey Kicks Butt!

Two Girls, A Guy And Some Comics

Diversions Of The Groovy Kind

Spiderfan.org

Spider-Man Crawlspace

Marvel Comics Of The 1980s

Dave’s Long Box

And I'd also like to thank all the Marvel creators who wrote,drew or edited the stories that will be covered here.

So if you loved ‘Assistant Editors’ Month’ as much as I did, or you’ve never read any of the stories, I hope you enjoy this blog.

J.A.