I was born in 1961, the year that Marvel published Fantastic Four #1, which according to my wife, makes me one of the oldest nerds alive.
The 1966 Marvel Super Heroes TV show was my first exposure to the mythos of Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four. Combined with the Adam West Batman TV show, that drove me to buy comics at the store.
It wasn't until 1970 that Marvel really hooked me for life. My family had moved to Anchorage, Alaska, because my Dad worked for Exxon during the construction of the pipeline. During the winter there was plenty of time to read comics. I walked into a Circle-K-mart and found Marvel Tales #29 sitting on the rack. This "Double-Feature Special" was one heck of a deal: two Spidey stories (reprinted from Amazing Spider-Man 39-40) plus a Dr. Strange story for twenty-five cents! The cover looked suspicious to me; I never believed that Spider-Man would be unmasked before a villain. This cover had to be like one of those gimmicky DC covers, right?
Hoo-boy, was I wrong. This two-part Spider-Man tale was the greatest super-hero story that I had ever read! Even though it was my first introduction to the Green Goblin and Norman Osborne, I had no trouble following the plot. I couldn't get over how methodically the Green Goblin had taken out Spidey: first, by blunting his Spider-Sense during a robbery. Second, following him around New York City and discovering his secret identity was Peter Parker. And third, attacking him in front of his own house in Queens, with frail Aunt May just a few yards away behind a fog-enshrouded window. This kind of deal just didn't happen in DC Comics! Lex Luthor with his smart-ass brain didn't ever figure out Clark Kent's identity and the Joker never tracked down Batman to Wayne Manor.
I was convinced that I had made the most important discovery of my life. Marvel Comics had more drama, more flair, more impact than most movies, tv shows, or books that I had read. I started buying almost everything on Marvel's Bullpen Bulletin checklist: Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, you name it. I bought the Marvel Monster titles and the black and white magazines. I followed Stan Lee and Roy Thomas anywhere they lead. And then came FOOM.
Imagine being a kid in the 1970s, a Marvel zombie who sent $2.50 to a P.O. Box in New York City months earlier, going to his mailbox and finding a large envelope that you see here. The Hulk's green smiling head plastered all over, with your name and address inside his mouth. It was the membership kit for F.O.O.M. (Friends Of Old Marvel), Marvel's fan organization. Marvel had tried a fan club before in the 1960s, called MarvelMania, but it failed because it was run outside of the company. F.O.O.M. was orchestrated inside the company by Jim Steranko (at least for the first four issues), the incredible writer-artist who worked on S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America. Steranko's imprint made FOOM special. Besides the envelope, there was an incredible poster (depicting Black Bolt, Angel, Captain America, Hulk, Silver Surfer, etc.) by the master, some stickers, and the first issue of the magazine. On the front cover, Stan Lee spouted faux-Shakespearean gibberish about what a great guy I was, just to spend $2.50 on FOOM:
"Here in the hallowed circle thou art truly amongst thy peers-thou art truly welcome-thou art truly safe and secure within the fabled, far-flung Fellowship of Foom!"
And then, in 1974, Marvel created the Giant-Size books. Their answer to the Big Mac and the Big Gulp, Marvel packed 68 pages of material into one thick comic. What better way to start than by having "The Wildest Thing vs. Hulk Battle of All" in Giant-Size Superstars #1? The lead story was written by Gerry Conway, drawn by Rich Buckler, and had nifty pin-up pages and reprint stories. I loved these books more than anything else, hence the title of this blog.
No matter what happened to Marvel, my fanship never wavered. I stayed during the exodus of Marvel's greatest writers from the 1970s: Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Don McGregor, etc. I stayed when Jim Shooter demanded that each character's origin had to be repeated each issue ("Ever since I got bit by that darn radioactive spider..."). OK, I left temporarily when Bob Harras gave the Avengers over to Rob Liefield, but I came back when the Heroes Returned.
My other interests include programming, for that other side of my personality you can view the Attilan Software Factory. I love video games, books, movies, and too many things that require me sitting on my ass. Somehow despite all of this I am married to a wonderful woman who helps me remain partially grounded in the real world. Yes, you can be a nerd and be married, but be prepared to give up some closet space.
My XBox Gamertag is a tribute to Don McGregor and Craig Russell's War of the Worlds series.
Nuff said.
