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. 

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Should I EVER listen to Marv Wolfman?

My life and career have intersected with the wondrous Marv Wolfman at many points along the way. I am proud to call him my friend … or at least a friendly acquaintance. If you’re reading this Marv, the next lunch is on me. I plan to pay up really soon. 

TRULY GREAT: Tomb of Dracula #54 cover by Gene Colan

I first became aware of Marv Wolfman in high school when I was reading as many Marvel Comics as I could get my hands on. Sometimes that was quite difficult. Remind me to tell the story someday soon about how I almost froze to death during high school in my pursuit of new release comics.

For a comic frame of reference, I essentially grew up in Smallville. I lived on farmland five miles from the nearest town, Claremont, Minnesota (pop. 620). It had one very small convenience grocery store that carried comics. Even though new comics came in only once a week or so, I visited that little rack of comics every day at lunchtime.