Originally published July 13, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1443

“You know the good part about the death penalty in Texas? Fewer Texans.”

–George Carlin

Some years ago, I wrote an issue of The Incredible Hulk which featured a character named Crazy Eight. She was a supervillain or hero, depending upon which side of the law you were on. And she was on death row for having committed a series of cold-blooded murders. She was the Punisher with a string of luck that had run out, and the story involved her final hours and her interaction with Doc Samson. In the last pages, she was strapped to a chair and electrocuted, on panel. She was pronounced dead. Aside from an emotional final page with Doc, that was the end of the story.

When the issue came out, I was flooded… deluged, I tell you, inundated (all right, I got a few letters) from readers who were extremely bothered by the story. Why? Because I’d shown someone being executed.

Continue Reading “On the Death Penalty” →

Originally published July 6, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1442

Spider-Man, having just saved Mary Jane from the clutches of a super-villain, lands with her on the rooftop of a Manhattan building. He exchanges a few words with her, then quickly bolts, vaulting off the roof with a mid-air somersault thrown in for good measure.

From a comic book point of view, this is fairly routine stuff. Except it wasn’t a comic book.

Continue Reading “On the set of Spider-Man (2002)” →

Originally published June 22, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1440

April 27, 1994

Teacher: So class, today we’re going to discuss where you went on Take Your Daughter to Work Day!

Jessica: My Daddy’s a caterer, and he works in a restaurant!

Lindsay: I went to the gym, ’cause my Mommy’s an aerobics instructor.

Courtney: My Dad’s a doctor. He helps people feel better.

Gwen! (age 9): My Daddy has a very important job. He sits around all day and plays on his computer in the basement. I went with him to the Central Offices. It had a bunch of video games and toys and a Batmobile. Everybody there’s real nice and some of them even spend the whole day coloring! It’s so much fun.

Teacher: Gwen!, what exactly does your father do?

Gwen! (still age 9): He writes comic books!

Continue Reading “Guest column: Gwen! David” →

Originally published June 15, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1439

Assorted stuff…

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 Oh yes… summertime memories of comics…

There I was, six years old, relaxing on a playground, hearing the sounds of childish laughter from all around. I was leaning against a tree, enjoy a cool breeze wafting from the east. I was reading a Harvey Comic, the adventures of Casper.

I heard a low chuckle and looked up. Several boys towered over me. They appeared to be behemoths, gargantuan in stature. In retrospect, they were probably about nine years old.

“Look at the baby reading baby comics!” they hooted, grabbed it out of my hand and ripped it to shreds, leaving me fighting back tears.

Ah, summer memories…

Continue Reading “Those summertime comics memories…” →

Originally published June 8, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1438

Well, well… Wizard’s got itself some attention, hasn’t it.

The comic computer boards lit up when Frank Miller torn up an issue of Wizard in the course of his speech at the Harvey awards. The same refrain was heard repeatedly: Wizard had it coming. Wizard’s a piece of garbage. Every axe anyone had to grind with the magazine, every bone that had already been picked over, was resharpened and dusted off and brought out again. Because, y’know, “Frank Miller is a legend in the comics industry” (as Wizard president Fred Pierce told us) and when Frank Miller takes aim at you, you know you’ve been shot at.

Continue Reading “Frank Miller vs. Wizard magazine” →