We as a people don’t talk often enough about Ron Wilson’s swell comics work.

§ May 30th, 2016 § Filed under question time § 3 Comments

“No questions, NO QUESTIONS…well, okay, a few questions.”

ChrisD wonders

“With the Free Comic Book Day coming up, this is a chance for comic book stores to connect more with the community. But it is only once a year. How else should a comic book store connect with the community, besides as a seller of goods? Does it offer any ‘complementary services’ like a comic book meeting club?”

Er, I’m getting to this a bit late, obviously, though I suppose next year’s Free Comic Book Day is technically coming up (see y’all on Saturday, May 6th, 2017!). But in terms of connecting with the community, just in the most basic of ways, the very fact that the thought of “hey, comic shops give away free comics every May, where’s the nearest comic shop?” drives the interested parties in the local community to discover (or be reminded of) your store.

And there are other methods of outreach, too…not to give away all my secrets, but I did mention here a few days ago that I donated a bunch of leftover FCBD comics to a nearby school (and have been getting some new customers in return, specifically citing that donation!), and I regularly donate merchandise or gift certificates as prizes for contests, auction items, and so on for various organizations and causes.

An actual comic club, with meetings an’ all, sounds like fun, but maybe more viable in the pre-internet days, I think? Nowadays if you’ve got an opinion about comics, you just hop online and yell at other people thoughtfully trade ideas with your peers, but perhaps an actual physical place where folks can gather and just chat about funnybooks for an hour or two…hmmm. It’s not like I don’t have a large-ish backroom area that’s little used at the moment…this might be something to ponder.

• • •

DanielT glues me down with

“It seems because his hood was permanently attached to his head, Baron Zemo had to be fed intravenously. Why didn’t he just cut the fabric from his mouth?”

Now, my thought was that the dreaded Adhesive X, which was dumped onto Zemo’s head and bonded his hood to his skin, somehow strengthened the hood’s fabric in the process, preventing it from being cut. However, the hood still was permeable enough to allow him to breathe, so Adhesive X…I don’t know, molded so finely with the individual strands of the hood that it retained its basic physical shape (allowing air to pass through as before) but was now many, many times stronger and couldn’t be damaged? I’m sure all of this hypothesizing is fully supported by current science.

• • •

Turan, Emissary of the Fly World, mightily crusades for this question:

“Marvel and DC are determined now to let none of their trademarks lapse, and so no matter how poorly a character’s previous appearances sold, he is guaranteed to return every few years, or at least have his name attached to a new character.

“Given that, why has there been no return of the Super Boxers? Or has there been, and I have missed it?”

Ah, man, Super Boxers by Ron Wilson (script by John Byrne). That’s a comic that probably needs to be revisited and re-appreciated, since I don’t recall it going over that well at the time. At the very least, Ron Wilson is an artist that definitely was inspired by Jack Kirby, or at least working in a similar style as Kirby, but doing it in his own wonderful way. Go check out his Marvel Two-in-Ones or the 1980s Thing series for some great action-packed work.

Anyway, Super Boxers…I don’t have a copy right in front of me, but a little online research seems to indicate that Super Boxers is actually owned by Mr. Wilson, so if it’s ever to come back, he may have to do it himself. I honestly haven’t heard of any revival attempts over the decades, so…I don’t know. Marvel recently reprinted Greenberg the Vampire from their old graphic novel line, so who knows…maybe we can get Super Boxers out on our shelves again!

3 Responses to “We as a people don’t talk often enough about Ron Wilson’s swell comics work.”

  • Roel Torres says:

    https://www.facebook.com/comicazibookclub/

    “An actual comic club, with meetings an’ all, sounds like fun, but maybe more viable in the pre-internet days, I think?”

    My LCS has a graphic novel book club that meets every two weeks (see the link above). It is pretty well attended, and everyone buys copies of the GN, so it helps the store.

    “Nowadays if you’ve got an opinion about comics, you just hop online.”

    The point isn’t so much to share your opinion about comics, but to have a chance to gather and see friends and experience a communal event.

  • Thwacko says:

    Yes, Ron Wilson is seriously underrated. Loved his Marvel Two-in-One and The Thing solo series. Probably my favorite Thing artist. I’ve never heard of Super Boxers, but with that creative team, looks like I’ll have to check it out.

  • ChrisD says:

    thanks!