"They must have taken my marbles away."

§ March 2nd, 2008 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on "They must have taken my marbles away."

I wasn’t planning on dipping into the same well twice in a row like this, but I came across another letter of comment from an old issue of Green Lantern (this time #132, Sept. 1980), and wanted to mention it.

So here we go…a question from an inquisitive GL fan:


And the reply from then-editor Jack C. Harris;


That is such an entirely messed-up situation that one wishes they’d actually gone through with it, so today we’d have something else to look back upon and say “what the hell were they thinking?” Just picture it…Hal and his pal Alan, the Green Lantern of Earth-2, trying to fight some bad guy or ‘nother and finding themselves hindered by their own rings, who are too busy whispering sweet nothings to each other. Those sweet nothings would be in those jagged-edge word balloons the GL rings usually speak in, of course.

And that the ring’s personality is apparently Hal’s own subconscious…well, that’s even more deliciously insane. I see a cover, with a clearly distressed Hal front ‘n’ center, while the ghostly images of girlfriend Carol Ferris and Alan Scott’s ring finger loom behind him. “I must pick which one I love the most!” shouts Hal to himself, in that declarative way once common to superhero funnybook covers. “But who? WHO!?” And in big bold letters along the bottom of the cover: “THE DECISION!”

I wish I were better at Photoshop.


No less a personage than former employee Kid Chris popped by the shop on Saturday, where he purchased the latest issue of All Star Batman and Robin, thus identifying himself as a man of quality and taste.

Anyway, Chris mentioned that he wanted to go to the San Diego Comic Con dressed as Wolverine, and I mentioned maybe he should dress as “Patch” (Wolverine’s alleged “disguise” he used in early issues of his first ongoing series). Somehow that evolved into Chris dressing as the gray “Mr. Fixit”-era Hulk, and me dressing as “Patch,” essentially meaning that Chris and I would be in costume as the cover of Wolverine #8 (June 1989):


Honestly, I think I’m at the point where I’ve forgotten how to have an adult conversation.

Anyway, before the tragedy that is the San Diego Con, we have the looming menace of the Wizard World L.A. con to worry about, which, as I said, I’d be attending for some reason. And pal Dorian will be there with me, too, and I’m mentioning it here since Kid Chris and his partner in Bispectacult-crime Dafna will also be in attendance. And we’re all going to ask the various guests if any of them would give us horsey-back rides. “WHEEE! Giddy-yap!” I’d shout, my flowing golden mane waving in the wind as we charge around the dealer tables, dodging guys dressed as Klingons and people trying to sell their CGCed issues of Camp Candy.

Okay, I’m totally kidding…we really wouldn’t ask anyone to do that. Well, maybe if Quesada were there….


Oh, hey, I noticed via referrals that Neil Gaiman linked to my site the other day, which immediately made me worry “Oh, crap, what’d I say about him?” in the same way I always do whenever I find out someone comics-famous has suddenly decided to pay attention to this silly thing I do here. Luckily it was just a link to this post where I quote an old Overstreet sales report, in which X-Force received praise for its excellent market exploitation, while Gaiman’s Sandman was dinged for not doing enough to generate long-term interest. I still think that particular report is a hoot, and I’m glad Mr. Gaiman found it at least somewhat amusing. I hope.

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