Hitting bottom

Grrr! Fear me! Is anyone listening?

In stories, there is just about nothing worse than the evil of evil failing to be evil. This post concerns the supervillain whose single contribution to comics is to provide the gauge of bad-guy quality with its lowest indicated reading.

Who I am

This is the fourth and last post for my series on The Amazing Spider-Man #1-100 as a novel.

Aces high

Art by K.C.

This is a tribute post to K.C. Ryan and a reflection on his superhero group the Four Aces. You may be surprised to know it’s not a role-playing post at all, and part of the reason I’m writing about it is to investigate why not.

Uh-huh uh-huh

Don’t give me that look.

Go to hell and burn

During my senior year of college, I was 22, reading a story about a man drinking alone on his 50th birthday, visited by the ghosts of those he’d killed, presented with no particular interest or revelation concerning whether they’re “real” or not. I sit here now just after my 51st birthday and the story is as good today.

Now you’re a myyayun

I almost titled this post “Happy Tart?” but good sense prevailed. Not enough to keep me from mentioning the impulse, though.

Striking twice, some day

I’m realizing from the late 80s through the mid 90s, lots of people missed “the way they were” and tried to reboot Marvel, or more broadly, something about Marvel. Much the same way a lot of us were doing it through the role-playing medium too. And man did people keep trying.

The orgasm that saved the world

In which John is upstaged

Fair warning: I’m about to say some really inappropriate things.

EEEEEEAARRRHHAHH!

Woodgod – oh my I loved this. It was Marvel Premiere 31, bought with my own hands and much revered – I’m sad not to have it today. Even now it stands as Bill Mantlo’s redemption for me.