CAPTAIN AMERICA #140 – My favorite covers: Part 1

If I could own only one piece of original art, this might be it. I can’t even imagine what the price would be. (Perhaps someone can tell me.) John Romita Sr. really knocked it out of the park on this one, in my humble opinion.

Yeah, okay, I admit that part of it is nostalgia. It was released in August of 1971, the end of summer vacation when I was 11 years old. This was no doubt a sweet spot for the fantastic adventures of costume heroes to entrance of young Minnesota farm boy.

Written by Stan Lee and interior pencils also by Romita, this issue had A LOT to like: a cool looking villain that I’d never seen before, Nick Fury on the Helicarrier, Sharon Carter (who never looked better than when drawn by Romita), Cap trying out a secret identity as a policeman, the Falcon’s “radical” girlfriend Leila (who hated cops), the Falcon in his original green-and-gold costume, and a new threat to the world destined to fall into the hands of the Gargoyle, Element X. Thrills and chills in the Mighty Marvel Manner.

And don’t miss my personal story of attending a party in Hawaii with both Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. HERE.

That’s my version of the story.

Eight great JOHN ROMITA Sr. covers … plus Ask the DWO!

 

It’s that time again. Casa de Olbrich opens up its library of vast (and sometimes useless) knowledge to the masses. Sort of like “Big Block of Cheese Day” on TV’s West Wing. Here is your chance to ask me that question you’ve always wanted answered. If you’re stumped about what I might know, check out the Background page for a laundry list of my interests and experience (minus my various drinking mishaps). Just put your question in the comments section below.

And now … on with the show … pull up a bar stool for a walk down a 35-year-old memory lane.

Stan Lee was freezing in Hawaii

There is always a disconnect that happens when you meet a famous person, especially one you hold in extremely high esteem. There is that moment when you realize that you’re not in the presence of the image/icon that you had in your head, but in the presence of the actual person. You know the old saying, “They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else.” Such was the case when I found myself in a multi-passenger van headed to a Hawaiian luau with Stan Lee, John Romita, Sr. and his wife Virginia Romita.

Does this look cold to you?

But first … a little background …

In the late eighties and early nineties, there were a good number of comic book distributors from which comic book shops could order their products. Big, small and medium size distributors offered both competition and a little bit of choice. Often the choice of distributor a retailer used had more to do with which one had a warehouse closest to your shop.