Comic Related - Bill Gladman's Life in Four Colors

LIFE IN FOUR COLORS #1
“Ten Comics That Changed My Life……….Forever.”

Welcome one and all to the latest feature here at Comic Related. A snazzy little number entitled Life In Four Colors (just in case you missed the heading above.) I will be doing one of these once every two weeks here on the site and each new column will be added to the site on a Friday. Before we jump head long into the deep end, I would like to thank Chuck here at Comic Related for allowing me an opportunity to do this column. I intend to make it as entertaining, educational, and as thought provoking as humanly possible.

I am considered by many in the area an authority on comics, but I’m sure from time to time somebody out there is going to catch something in one of the columns that may not be quite correct. Feel free to let me know if I have unintentionally indeed wandered off the yellow brick road and ended up in the land of flying monkeys. By all means I hope many who read this take the time to comment freely about each column over at the forum section of the site.

The column itself will deal with any “comic related” subjects which may happen to be on my mind at the moment I sit down to start mashing buttons on my poor old, over-used keyboard. That includes but not necessarily limited to comic history, comic trends, features on specific comic creators, reviews of mainstream and independent comics as well as actual interviews with local comic talent, comic store owners, coverage of local comic events and thoughts on comic themed films playing on the big screen, already sitting on the d.v.d shelf at home , and even those just now going into production.

The first installment of Life In Four Colors will deal with quite possibly the ten most important comic books in my life. Not necessarily my favorite, and not by any means intended to be the best of my collection. But I will be the first to admit when I was going through the stacks of long boxes here in my office/studio to find these books I couldn’t help but notice they do tend to speak for themselves. I’m sure if they could they would be the ones writing this column. But unless Doctor Strange has some multi-colored, reality warping spell tucked up that loose fitting sleeve of his I guess it’s up to me to tell their stories.

Feeling very much like the Lorax right now.

The following ten books all represent something much more than faded paper stapled together and tucked away in their Mylar straight jackets. They are responsible for the very reason I collect comics…..for 33 years now and counting with no plans to stop any time in the near future. The creators on these books have influenced me forever with their stylistic story telling and dynamic art work They are the reasons I dream of and work towards producing my own books, weaving my own tales, and breath life into my own characters. In some cases they even helped carve out…..who I am. Help me get through some very trying times as completely crazy as that might sound it’s very true.

For a short period of time in my life I did stop collecting comics. I originally sold off my collection to purchase band equipment when I was fifteen years old. I was sure that the guys in the band and me were destined to be the next Motley Crue. And I was sure rock stars didn’t read comics. (Little did I know). While I was married to my first wife…I collected very little if any at all. I felt she thought comics were silly and juvenile. I would occasionally fall off the wagon and buy a comic….sneak it into the house and stash it in some place known only to me. Almost as if it was a porno mag. And although I did not own a copy of these ten books at the time….I always remembered them and vowed on my parents grave…..oops sorry about that. My parents are very much alive. Thank God. I tend to go overboard once and a while.

Anyway….I knew one day I would once again find each and every one of these books and buy them back. When a comic stays in your mind for years, each panel chiseled into your memory….what else can a guy do? You’re haunted and won’t get any peace of mind…ever. You know what you have to do. You have to own it. Flip through the pages with an addictive surge of déjà vu. Touch it with your own hands and recollect just how much the book meant to you after you read it for the very first time. And each time afterwards.

I just wanted to add this isn’t really a “Top Ten” type list. There’s no way I could pick which of these books I hold more in regard. I love them all, so with that being said I just listed them more or less by the dates they were released.

So….I believe that’s quite enough exposition. Without any further delay, I give to you Ten Comics That Changed My Life Forever!!

1976. Avengers #145. Written by Tony Isabella and drawn by classic Avengers artist Don Heck. Inks by John Tartag. This book was a “filler issue” as was the issue after this one. Steve Englehart was writing the Avengers during this time and had missed a deadline and Tony and Don stepped in to make sure the title still came out on time. (Man, were those the good old days).

This was the very first comic I bought. Literally thousands upon thousands more would follow. And truthfully I didn’t buy it, my grandmother bought it for me for a budget bruising 25 cents from the hospital gift shop during a visit to see my grandfather who was there recovering from the first of many strokes that would eventually claim his life some 5 years later.

She wanted to give me something to keep me quiet as well as keep my mind off of the things she felt was her place to worry about. It worked on both counts.

Seeing how this was my first comic that I ever read…..this was also the very first time I was exposed to some of the best characters ever created by the House of Ideas. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Beast, The Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and Hawkeye all made appearances in this story. And although I wouldn’t find the conclusion of this story for a number of years I wouldn’t mind. (This was the days of random comics appearing on news stands and comic book stores were pretty much unheard at the time. At least to me.)

I must have read that book at least five times that afternoon. I was hooked from the first page…33 years ago and still hooked today.

Tony Isabella (writer of Avengers # 145) signing the book for me at Mid-Ohio Con 2007. Needless to say one of the highlights of the two day con for me.

1976. Actually that very same afternoon. Defenders # 33 written by the late Steve Gerber, drawn by Sal Buscema, and inked to perfection by the late and great Jim Mooney. This would be the second comic I would ever read. My grandmother shucked out a second quarter for my brother who was there at the hospital to see my grandfather as well. After I read my comic about five times I asked if I could read his too.

And with that more of Marvel’s pantheon of heroes became part of my life. Think back…can you recall the first time you read a story that not only included Doctor Strange and the Incredible Hulk….. and as mind boggling as that was I also got heroes like Nighthawk and the Valkyrie as well. Not to mention the Unholy terror of the Headmen!!!

My brother would never become the die hard comic junkie that I would and just a few weeks later I managed to trade a couple of Hot Wheels for his copy of this book. Both of us were sure that each of us had gotten the better deal.

1976….man what a great year for comics. Amazing Spider-Man #162 written by the legendary Len Wein and drawn by Spider-Man legend Ross Andru. Inks by the ever competent Mike Esposito.

Check out this “groovy” photo of Len Wein and fellow comic
writing superstar Marv Wolfman from back in the 70’s, dude!

Over the years that I collected comics my Dad was never a big supporter of my hobby. He would have much rather had seen me interested in repairing or operating the farm machinery found on my grandmother’s 11 acre farm or pulling weeds from the garden instead of huddled under a shady maple tree reading the exploits of Spider-Man and his fellow heroes.

But there was this one time…..that he really surprised me. I don’t know how he learned about it but I think one night on the way from work he stopped at the local 7-11 store and overheard somebody talking about the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man himself would be making an appearance at the store that coming Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m.

Saturday came and my father suggested taking my brother and me down to the convenient store to get an ice cold slurpee. It was already a hot and humid August morning and the two of us turned off the Super Friends and rode to the 7-11 with Dad.

Imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking and saw Spider-Man waving at kids and signing autographs!!! And although it was just a guy in a red and blue body stocking, who had to be dying in the August heat…..to the two of us it was really Spider-Man.

My Dad bought both my brother and I a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #162, which was the first Spider-Man comic I ever had and it was the first time I read about a character called the Punisher (who actually shot rubber bullets at thugs back then.) It was also the first story I read that featured a character known as Night Crawler (who actually wore a human looking mask to conceal his true appearance back then.) And although I didn’t really know it at the time the book also featured the very first appearance of one of the Punisher’s own personal villains….Jigsaw.

We did also get those slurpees which came in those ultra-cool Marvel Comics collector cups. I got the Red Skull and my brother got the Hulk. The whole thing must have set my Dad back about a $1.60….but for me the experience was priceless.

Spider-Man would also sign both of our copies of Amazing Spider-Man #162……on the bottom of the first page. I would later carefully rip out that section of the first page and carry my copy of Spider-Man’s autograph in my zip up Superman wallet for years to come.

I’m really looking forward to getting this book signed again later this year at Mid Ohio Con. This time by writer Len Wein. And who knows…maybe if I see him there…Spider-Man too.

1977. Avengers Annual # 7. Written and illustrated by Jim Starlin with inks by Joe Rubinstein.

There was a time that the word “Annual” meant something BIG in the comic book world. And back in the summer of 1977 Marvel released an all time fan favorite….Avengers Annual #7.

Bought this book with my $1.00 allowance I used to get back then on a Friday night at a local pharmacy and after reading it I would literally never be the same. There was several “firsts” for me lying in wait between the front and back covers of this mind staggering classic. The first time I experienced the cosmic greatness of the writing and penciling talents of Jim Starlin. AMAZING!!!!!!

The first Captain Marvel, the first Adam Warlock, Pip the Troll, Gamora, and the dire villainy of Thanos. A lunatic in love with Death herself. How freakin’ cool was that?

It was the first time in my life. And during my short period of collecting comics that I learned that sometimes the good guys lose. Even die.

The story attempted to wrap up the loose ends from the story that Starlin first started in Strange Tales before spinning off into a re-launched Warlock series and the final chapter of the story itself would take place in Marvel Two In One Annual #2.

I knew nothing of the story that came before and it would take years for me to find a copy of Marvel Two In One Annual #2. But at the time none of that really actually mattered. I had Avengers Annual #7 and that was enough.

I would eventually piece the entire story together thanks in part to a re-launched version of Fantasy Masterpieces which reprinted the classic Stan Lee/John Buscema Silver Surfer tales and would start reprinting Starlin’s Strange Tales as a back up feature once the Surfer stories were reduced to regular size. (an ironic matching considering that Starlin would later resurrect both Thanos and Warlock in the Surfer’s series that ran during the eighties.) I also picked up the rest of the story in a re-printed prestige format book called Warlock Special Edition, also from the eighties. I’m glad to say I now own all the originals, something I never dreamed of as a kid.

Starlin and his characters would leave an enduring mark on my imagination to this very day. About eight years ago I sent Marvel an idea I had for a What If special, which kicked around the idea….What If Warlock Gathered the Defenders to Battle Thanos Instead of Assembling the Avengers? I thought it was a really cool idea and thought the story was incredible and it resulted in yet two more “firsts” for me. My first comic submission and first rejection letter. At least it came in a cool Spider-Man envelope with matching stationary.

A year later. 1978. I hit the jackpot again, with yet another annual released that summer. Marvel paired comic greats Roger Stern and John Byrne on Incredible Hulk Annual #7 (apparently a good number for killer Marvel Annuals and a good idea for a creative team considering what these two guys would later do on their Captain America run.). And as if Stern and Byrne wasn’t enough they threw in quasi-talented Bob Layton on inks.

Stir in a little Walter Cronkite, Doc Samson, The Angel, Ice Man, and a defective Sentinel calling itself Master Mold and you have one Incredible story!!! One that is also beautifully drawn by Byrne and inked by Layton who did almost as good a job on John’s pencils as Terry Austin.

Classic John Byrne photo. Looking a little
Kevin Smithish…don’t tell either of them that I said that.

Roger Stern signing some Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange for me at Mid-Ohio Con 2007.

I was very fortunate to get to see John Byrne in what he swore was his last comic book convention appearance back at Mid-Ohio Con 2004. His trademark blonde hair and beard now white as snow….but no less a true comic book legend. I saw Roger Stern for the first time at that show as well and ended up with both autographs on Incredible Hulk Annual #7.

1979. Micronauts #11. Written by Bill Mantlo, drawn with surgical precision by the phenomenal Michael Golden and inked by Al Milgrom.

Perhaps no comic series has ever influenced me more than first twelve issues of the Micronauts by Mantlo and Golden.

For some unknown reason that I can’t recall my mother bought issue #2 of the Micronauts for me one morning on the way to school at a local King Kwik store. I think she stopped to buy a pack of cigarettes and instead of pocketing the 35 cents in change she bought me a book to shut me up. I wouldn’t get another issue of the series until issue #7, the classic Man-Thing appearance…another favorite character of mine and I would get most of the other issues that came after issue # 7.

Although the Mantlo/Golden team saw several different inkers during the first twelve issues including Al Milgrom, Bob Waieck, and Joe Rubenstein….and issue #12 of the series wrapped up a few loose story ideas (and included Michael Golden’s last interior work on the series. He did stay on to do covers for the book for another year or more.)…. issue#11 of the series is the one issue that sticks in my memory the most.

The first classic showdown with perhaps one of the all-time greatest villains ever, ranking right up there with Thanos, Baron Karza.

The first twelve issues of this book are revered to me on an almost religious level. So much of that stuff was so dark and grim, and to think it was based on a toy line!!!

Baron Karza would greatly influence me when creating Mister Midnight…the villain from my Jack the Rabbit story. Jack himself is influenced by my personal favorite Micronaut, Bug. (an interesting side note here….issue #11 of the Micronauts and #12 was so good I didn’t even mind the fact that Bug wasn’t even in the books….although back when I first read those books I was worried out of my head that they may have killed him off in issue #10 when his space cruiser was shot down. Luckily he would re-appear in issue #13 unharmed, and on his own home planet.)

Another villain from the Jack the Rabbit story (Arsenal) has chest cannons on his armor and a large sword inspired by the character Acroyear. Several other elements inspired by this toy based comic also creep into my story.

Another Mid-Ohio Con highlight for me as Micronauts artist Michael Golden signs issues #1 and #11 of the series. I used to love looking for his trademark letter “G” which he hid in the artwork of every cover he drew . Something else that inspired me, as I draw I often hide the words of songs I’m listening to while drawing into the artwork.

1979 again. Yet another summer annual. X-Men Annual # 3 saw the teaming of some of the most talented creators in the comic industry at that time. A list of talent still impressive some 29 years later that included writer Chris Claremont, artist George Perez, and my favorite all time inker….TERRY AUSTIN. And you know what? Although I know there’s no way I can prove it if you look real close at how Storm, Wolverine, and Colossus are drawn on the cover of the book, I believe that’s Frank Miller’s work in an un-credited , secretive cameo appearance.

I wasn’t extremely familiar with Arkon, the misunderstood “villain “of this story at the time I read it (although I wondered to myself if he had a brother named Toledo or Cleveland…I know bad pun.)….but of course I, like every other person on the face of the planet, was familiar with the X-Men.

The best writer to ever work on the X-Men,
Chris Claremont at a recent comic convention.

Writer Chris Claremont, artist and co-plotter John Byrne, and inker Terry Austin was in the middle of their history making run on the X-Men….and everybody was buying that book like it was going out of style (X-Men would of course never go out of style although I feel much of the book’s success even presently is living off the name created for it while these three gentlemen were working on the title).

I think X-Men Annual #3 takes place between issues #124 and 125 of the regular Uncanny book…..(the end of the two part Arcade story and the beginning of the Mutant X storyline.)

George Perez once again proved how versatile his pencils can be as well as his knack for drawing all out action and books with a large cast. (Avengers, Justice League, and Teen Titans to name just a few.) I would spend hours trying to draw some of the fight scenes in this book.

Speaking of George Perez and the Teen Titans….

1982. The “New” Teen Titans #18. Written by Marv Wolfman, drawn and co-plotted by George Perez and inked by Romeo Tanghal.

As I’m sure you may have noticed by now, during the early days of my comic collecting, I didn’t read much D.C. titles. The first comic I read was produced by Marvel. I met a real life Marvel super hero at the 7-11….and I was pretty much a dyed in the wool Friend Of Old Marvel.

That all changed in 1982. I was a sophomore in high school and every Friday in English class the teacher let us read for the duration of the entire class period. Anything we wanted. Of course I read comics. So did this guy that sat across from me by the name of Cary Harlow (can’t believe I still remember that guy’s name after all these years.) Cary thought just the opposite of me when it came to comics. He was a card carrying D.C fanatic.

He suggested that we try an experiment. I would bring in what I considered the two best comics produced by Marvel at that time…..and he would read them on Fridays and in return I would read what he considered the two best titles D.C was putting on the shelves.

So…I got him hooked on Frank Miller’s Daredevil and John Byrne’s Fantastic Four. I started reading The Legion of Super-Heroes (Keith Giffen was doing pencils...and I think Paul Levitz was still writing the book at the time.) He also started me out on the Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. From issue #1 right up to issue #16…at which time I decided I was going to start buying this book.

There was only one problem….none of the local stores I bought comics carried the book. Cary ordered his from a subscription and there was no way I was getting “a huge lump sum of cash like that.” to order “funny books” in the mail. I had to put my collection together a book at a time….50 cents stashed away here, a few returned pop bottles there…you know.

Somehow I convinced my Dad to drive me to the nearest comic book store in our area, which was this store called Dark Star Comics in Yellow Springs Ohio. You would have thought we were driving all the way to Lincoln Nebraska to hear him talk.

No matter how much he complained on the way there…it was worth it. That was my first trip to a real life comic book store. I never saw so many comic books in my entire life up to that point. I only had the money to buy one book and I reminded myself that I came the exact same driving distance as the capital of Nebraska to buy the latest issue of Teen Titans.

I turned one of the many spinner racks in the store and spotted issue #17. A story entitled “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Maladi!” My first issue of Teen Titans. Later I actually convinced the owner of a local pharmacy and good friend of the family to add Teen Titans to the monthly books he requested for his magazine rack at his store and I ended up buying every issue after #17 up to George Perez’s departure from the book. (around issue # 50 I believe).

A legendary run that included Starfire’s battle with her evil sister Blackfire, Brother Blood’s first and second appearances and the still talked about “Judas Contract” storyline.

I can’t remember if my Dad was still complaining about the drive on the way back to Springfield. I was too busy reading my comic.

Marv Wolman at Gem City Comic Con 2007. Still “groovy” after all these years.

I got a chance to sit down and actually get to talk to Marv at Gem City Con this year. We talked for about a half hour. I still can’t believe that.

I also can’t believe I didn’t take Teen Titans #17 for him to sign. Guess I’ll have to catch him again at Mid-Ohio Con this October.

1982…Doctor Strange #55. I don’t think there’s a Doctor Strange fan in the entire universe that isn’t familiar with this book. Written by tried and true writer Roger Stern (is it comic book blasphemy to say that I liked Stern’s run on Doctor Strange more than Englehart’s?) Issue #55 of the series was one of those rare times when all the stars in the sky line up just right and you can get Stern….Michael Golden and Terry Austin all on the same story. Talent like that rarely comes together for the same time period, but when it does…..you guessed it…..it’s magic.

Doctor Strange actually contemplates suicide in this story as he’s overcome by depression, a result of Clea leaving him.

Always a touchy subject matter and way ahead of it’s time back in 82. Handled with care by Roger Stern.

This is another book that I was lucky enough to get both the writer and artist to sign. Stern signed at Mid-Ohio 2004, and Golden signed it a year later at Gem City. Terry Austin was supposed to attend Mid-Ohio that same year but missed his flight, or got sick. I can’t remember. I almost had all three.

I told you it doesn’t happen very often.

The always incredible Michael Golden with an
impressive showing of some of his best work.

Okay we’re winding it down…..1982…..one last time. Daredevil #181. Written and drawn by Frank Miller and inked by Klaus Janson.

The cover pretty much says it all. Bullseye vs. Elektra. One wins. One dies.

And it wasn’t lying. A death scene forever stenciled on the collective memory of all Daredevil fans. A scene played out for millions on the big screen…and almost taken scene from scene and word for word.

I’m really hoping that Elektra has been a Skrull since Miller’s departure from the book.

Frank Miller is sometimes accused of being over rated. To me that’s like saying fresh air is over rated. He took a book on the verge of cancellation and transferred into a number one selling book that rivaled the sales of the X-Men during the height of that books run.

Daredevil to this day sells well…I think due to Frank Miller’s run on the book. His first and second. (They really need to do a second movie and concentrate on the Born Again storyline.)

Don’t get me wrong…I enjoyed Dennis O’Neil’s run on the book. Kevin Smith and Ed Brubaker’s. Jim Shooter even who was writing the book when I first picked it up and the often overlooked Roger McKenzie run…..which Miller illustrated.

Miller (with help from McKenzie) took a c-list villain in Bullseye and a throw away Spider-Man villain in the Kingpin and crushed Daredevil’s world and comic sales records along the way.

Frank Miller is a huge influence on my writing and art…as I’m sure he is for several other comic creators out there and his legend is going to continue to grow thanks to efforts like Sin City and 300…..both turned into two of the best Comic Related films out there.

Frank Miller is one of the TWO A-list comic creators rumored to be coming to one of the Ohio comic conventions in 2009. You heard it here first! Got it from a VERY RELIABLE source, but even if it doesn’t happen Frank’s presence will be felt in 2009 on the big screen again with Sin City 2, The Spirit, and his own Ronin creation in motion picture production.

A couple of cool things I will always remember about Daredevil #181…outside of the book itself. When it came out I didn’t have the money to buy it. So the family pharmacist that I mentioned previously let me take the book home anyway as long as I brought the money in for it the next time I was in the store. Which I did.

Of course….like an idiot I eventually sold the book like I did all the others. A few years ago I find the book at a very decent price and in great condition at a local flea market, but once again I didn’t have the money to buy it. I didn’t have any money on me that day at all and was just flipping through some boxes to pass the time and ran across it. This time my daughter bought it….we keep our comic collection together anyway, but she always reminded me that book actually belonged to her.

A few months later, after I had gotten her quite addicted to Peter David’s Young Justice…I traded the entire Young Justice run for Daredevil #181 so the book is now rightfully mine once more. I bought the first issue of Young Justice because the cover reminded me of the Teen Titans. After I read it I thought to myself, I bet Raichal would like this book….so I read it to her. She was only about seven (a good time to start reading comics) and I read a new issue of Young Justice to her every month for about two years and then she didn’t wait for me to read them to her any more. She’s been a second generation comic collector ever since then.

She was ecstatic to meet and talk to Peter David at Mid Ohio 2005.

Who got the better deal? Depends on who ask.

It’s a shame to see what D.C has done to those characters since the book was cancelled at issue # 55, a travesty that continues as recently as this past week with the death of Empress in Final Crisis #1.

That’s it. The Ten Comics That Changed My Life Forever. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. See in two weeks. Can’t wait that long? I’ll be popping up on the Comic Related Forum and I’m hoping you will too with comments about this feature. Also check out my blog (G-Notes) here at the site as well.

See you in the funny papers.