More Secrets With Stan

We continue with part 2 (of 3) of Stan Lee's Secrets Behind The Comics from 1947.

One thing i've found particularly interesting about this book is how Stan is already trying to form a relationship with the readers and draw them deeper into comics. This tendency would become the hallmark of the Marvel age, setting them apart from the competition every bit as much as the new trends in characters and story telling.

Picking up where we left off...

Was this the first time that Captain America's origin didn't include Jack Kirby and Joe Simon? It certainly wouldn't be the last. It's also interesting to note that 9 years had passed between 1941 and 1947. Maybe that 6 got pasted on upside down?

We'll be back one more time with the third and final part of this unique book from early years of comics.

continuing from Secrets Behind The Comics (1947)

Pimping A Russian Mail Order Bride

Regulars know i tend to shy away from tagging specifics on people i talk about here, simply to be respectful to them since they've not given me explicit permission to discuss them with the general public. But, i'm going to break that rule today for a bit of promotion. (Maybe it's Stan's influence?)

I previously made mention of my younger son starring on stage in Las Vegas until the beginning of this year. The unmentioned show was Evil Dead: The Musical (The 4D Experience), winning official approval from Bruce Campbell with his portrayal of Ash, King of Groovy. (or something like that. Ask Jack)

A great role, but after a few years one wants to do other things - especially someone like Chris (AKA Strangling Jack Johnson of the Swinging Johnson Brothers) who acts, does comedy, writes, directs and produces. He needed to stretch again.

Hence, his latest project - a new series on Amazon Prime entitled 100 Nights With Strangling Jack Johnson.
The official description:
"Follow Strangling Jack on his quest to become a working stand up comic - from his first night bombing to his first headlining gig and beyond! The show shares tips and tricks from working comedians about what it takes to start a comedy career."

BTW - you can also find his indie comedy Driving Bill Crazy on Amazon. Here's the description, once again:

"Bill’s life has always been a bit crazy, from his swinger mother and his step father who is four years younger than him to his abusive completely unhelpful psychiatrist to the fact that he works in a mental institution. His boss doesn’t like him and has no problem telling him. The girl he likes just started dating his worst enemy. Just when he thinks his life couldn’t get any loonier, he steps into the twisted world of Cameron and Cary Nolan. A massive head wound causes the prohibition of “Lawn Darts” and simultaneously makes the Nolan brothers rich. They realize that working is for chumps. Scams and fraudulent lawsuits are where the real money’s at, and corporate America is quick to settle out of court…especially when there’s a penis splint involved. After several years of falling down hotel stairs, “finding” rats in their fried chicken, and train derailments, they’ve discovered a new scam far superior to all the others. Evidently there’s plenty of money to be made in the mental health industry especially when you don’t exactly play by the rules. Now there’s a race between the insanity of Bill’s everyday life, and the twisted false reality of squirrels, pills and ninjas created by his new roommates to see which one finally ends up, Driving Bill Crazy."

Oh, yeah.... Confused about the title of this post?
This might help.

Oh, Man - 95!

So, while i've been in retreat from the outer world, Stan "The Man" had his 95th birthday. Amazing that he still manages to find the energy for self promotion and all those fun cameos while nearing 100 years old. Joan must either be amazing or terrifying. (that's a joke, son. I done my time)

So, still crawling out of the cave, but such an occasion needs must be marked, no? But how does one choose among the many, many, books he's written over the decades?
We don't! Instead, we'll look at Stan writing about writing comics. That makes sense, right?
So, let's go way back - 70 years back, to 1947, to get a glimpse at early Stan teasing hints of the master promoter to come with an odd and amazing little booklet -

This was only a half decade after Stan Lee's first writing job (the text page for Captain America #3), but he was in a singular position at Timely/Atlas/Etc that allowed a perfect view to create this look behind the scenes of comics. While indeed a "little booklet", it does weigh in at 100 pages, but i want to run it in its entirety, so we'll break it up into 3 parts. Settle in and take a look behind the scenes in the early days of the comic industry as Stan Lee shows you the "secrets" of the craft - though much is common knowledge these many years later. Of course, what makes this book truly Odd can be seen on page 6 and the back cover - a facial hair free Stan Lee!

Join us later today for the second part, in which you get to try your hand at writing, drawing, and lettering comics!  (I checked - the TOC indicates we need exclamation points)

pages from Secrets Behind The Comics (1947)