The former DC honcho chronicles the competition, from the late ’60s to the mid ’70s.
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Former DC chieftain Paul Levitz’s new behind-the-scenes history of Marvel as it segued from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age — Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business — is out now from Bloomsbury. We invited Paul to share 13 THINGS he learned while researching it. To find out more about his cryptic references — read the book! Right on. — Dan
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By PAUL LEVITZ
When you dig into a period of history, even one you lived, you learn things. Some could go into print, others not…
1. That Len Wein and Marv Wolfman were at the Worldcon in Washington when Roy Thomas came down there to ask them to replace him as the editors of Marvel Comics… and I was wandering that convention too, driven down there by Len and Marv’s close friend, Mark Hanerfeld. We hadn’t started playing poker together regularly by then, but I was surprised I didn’t even know they were there. Worldcons weren’t the massive events that comics conventions have become.
2. That there’d been original material in Li’l Folks for a couple of issues, much less that it was created by a young African-American cartoonist with loads of talent who would go on to… disappear.
3. That the same Marvel staffer who would go on to create Blue Bloods also wrote for The Sopranos.
4. That it was Lin Carter (or more likely his agent) wanting to be paid decently that allowed Conan the Barbarian to become the wonderful comic it did.
5. That Roy originally wanted John Buscema to do Conan but the cost of the license fee allegedly kept him from the assignment (sounds like an excuse to me, given how tiny the fee was, but Martin Goodman did watch his pennies). Guess that worked out well, both in the short and long run.
6. That not only Len and Marv but also Gerry Conway got their first Marvel credits in the short-lived Marvel mystery titles.
7. Who were the witnesses to Len and Dave Cockrum’s plotting session for Giant-Size X-Men #1 and why.
8. The extent of pushback on Don McGregor’s Black Panther for featuring all people of color on the covers.
9. That Jim Salicrup started his Marvel career as a messenger because the company thought it was cheaper than paying courier services when they needed art rushed around town.
10. That the deal to sell Marvel closed so quickly that Martin Goodman’s name had to be chiseled off the indicia rather than having new type set.
11. What the word was that Stan wouldn’t let Scott Edelman use.
12. That the Marvel line in the years I cover ranged from 33 percent to 50 percent reprint pages. I had never noticed that until I started to tally it all up.
13. And a few things that you won’t find in the book — including the last straw that made Gerry Conway quit as editor-in-chief after only three or four weeks (I think it was three, Gerry remembered it as four).
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Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business, part of Bloomsbury’s Marvel Age of Comics series, is a 176-page paperback. It list for $14.95 and is available now.
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MORE
— 13 QUESTIONS That PAUL LEVITZ’s Upcoming MARVEL History Book Might Answer. Click here.
— 13 Stories That Influenced My AVENGERS Debut, by PAUL LEVITZ. Click here.
